Puri Watches Mawaru Penguindrum (Part 2)
Aug. 12th, 2021 02:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shamanicshayminOkay, last time I got severely burned on MPD because the last episodes I watched were the Worst Episodes. And how convenient that this is the time the OP and ED themes change. Will MPD win Puri back? Will Himari be tired of being nice and go apeshit just like the Princess of the Crystal? Will Yuri proceed to piss off Puri even further? LET’S FIND OUT
I even have my doggies to watch with me this time! (And they’ll proceed not to pay attention and nap through the whole thing, as they tend to do with every piece of media ever)
I fused a lot of my texts together to make for easier reading.
Anon 1: i think that was about when I gave up on my rewatch of MPD, with the OP and ED changes
Puri: "I like my men like I like my tea--getting the first sip."
Puri: Princess of the Crystal: (sees that Masako's secretary is stalking her) BUZZ OFF
Puri: Of course my doggos sleep through Rock N' Roll Japan.
Puri: Instead of rap-offs, the Princess has haiku-offs.
Puri: The secretary looks much better with her hair down.
Puri: "Oh god, I think I have a secret kink of being objectified by a pretty lady! I can't take this anymore!"
Puri: lol an actual English speaker in Grandpa's meeting.
Puri: "Oh Mr. President noooooooooooooo"
Puri: "Looks like Grandpa's blasting off agaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin"
Puri: "I'm not giving up on you! I'm your stalker, after all!"
Puri: Weirdly touching coming from Ringo.
Puri: tfw your dad ended up becoming a cultist
Puri: EVERYONE WENT NUTSO
Puri: The ending theme feels weirdly troll-y in a way.
Puri: Shouma and Kanba: lol we don't have to do anything anymore
Princess: omg you idiots
Puri: What's the matter Yuri? Butthurt that Ringo didn't magically transform into Momoka after you raped her?
Puri: Shouma: So we just have to find Himari?
Me: Puh-lease. You and Kanba can't even find a grain of sand at the beach to save your lives.
((In retrospect, it's funny I said that, since Himari considers being found at the beach by her brothers after getting lost to be one of her happiest memories, as that was when she realized she was loved and had a place she truly belonged))
Puri: Aww, girlfriends going yarn shopping! :D
Puri: FUCK YOU YURI. FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU
Puri: Yuri having to land on Himari and Ringo's date like a giant fucking turd.
Puri: "Let's have a dinner with just the three of us!"
Puri: NO
Puri: NO
Puri: NO
Puri: Lulubelle must've sensed my stress because she curled up close for cuddles. ;; What a good girl.
Puri: Masako, do a better job at stopping Yuri this time. Don't be like your damn brother.
Puri: If I didn't hate Yuri so much (and if she wasn't already married), I'd ship Masako/Yuri from their banter.
Puri: "Cheap porn mags are waiting for you!" Buuuuuuuuurn
Puri: Heh at Esmeralda shaking the rose petals
Puri: Tabuki in Lily Hoshino ED art: Hey Momoka, I'm still sexy right? We can still be together, right?
Me: She's still a child you sicko.
Puri: Me: Hard to believe, but having a shitty childhood means you still have to be held accountable for shitty things you do in the present. Believing that you're still children doesn't make your obsession magically not pedophiliac.
Yuri & Tabuki: (Shocked Pikachu Face)
Puri: "Your mother loves talent." Ahhhh, she's one of those moms.
Puri: Ringo: Last time I checked, you broke your fingers because of your abusive mom, and Himari-chan had absolutely nothing to do with it, but go off, I guess.
Puri: Look Tabuki, you may be no child rapist, but you're not exactly winning my sympathy here.
Puri: Momoka: Come with me if you want to live!
Puri: Yeah, I bet Momoka is real proud of you now. Good thing you grew up into such a worthwhile human being, huh? :rolling_eyes:
Puri: No regrets saving you now.
Puri: "Ringo, I must appear very monstrous right now."
Puri: "I will take my father's punishment."
Puri: Please Himari, you owe this dick nothing.
Puri: (slow clap for Shouma being useless Yet Again)
Puri: "Ringo, don't grow up to be like me."
Puri: Perfect life advice, thanks, already took it to heart.
Puri: "What would you have done with the two of them?" Holy shit, the first burn Yuri has ever gotten, even if it's subtle!
Puri: Tabuki: (isn't even fazed by her slap) Bye bitch.
Me: Finally, the first good thing you've done, and the first taste of consequences Yuri has ever had! I'll take that scrap, thank you.
Puri: (sigh) I'd probably be feeling more for the Takakura brothers if they weren't constantly failing and being inept at everything they do. Kanba's a little more sympathetic in that he's obviously putting the effort, but it's like "You two are utterly useless, then you're shocked shitty things happen to you?" I know I sound like an exasperated asshole for this, but... ugggh.
Puri: Even Shinji tries and succeeds sometimes, so we feel more for him when he feels like a failure.
Puri: C'mon Puri, six episodes to go.
Puri: (points to Mrs. Takakura) DEAD MOM HAIR. DEAD MOM HAIR
Puri: "We'll just pretend at first. Then we'll become a real family!" Yeeeeeah, you just learned it doesn't work that way.
Puri: The Point: (sails over Yuri's head)
Puri: "Kan-chan, you'll turn into a cow." Do it Kanba. Follow the Nanami Way.
Puri: "I've already taken the punishment." You boys are so duuuuuuuumb
Puri: "Your forehead is mine!" Lines That Look Weird Out of Context #32756375
Puri: Waiting for the "Oh, then you and Mario must not be a real family either!" comeback.
Puri: Late, but Himari's Madotsuki sweater is adorable.
Puri: Geez, this marks the second time on an Ikuhara show a kitten becomes a casualty. :(
Anon 1: Ikuhara kills a kitten (again)
Puri: What do you have against kittens, Ikuhara? (shakes fist)
"To Sho. Good bye. I'm going to the Child Broiler. Thank you for everything. I was actually really happy when you first talked to me. Ever since, I've been waiting for you there. My mom never returned, but... I got to wait for you, so... I wasn't lonely at all. That was the first time I'd ever thought that waiting wasn't painful."
Puri: Got misty-eyed there. Had to hold Lulubelle. ;;
Puri: God, this is what I missed from the show. Not this Yuri & Tabuki bullshit.
Puri: Yuri & Tabuki: o no Momoka is dead look what horrible people we've become because of this uwuuuuuuu
Me: Oh my god shut the fuck up I do not fucking care
Me: Get back to the child broiler and actually keep developing the relationship between the Takakura siblings pleeeeeeeeeease
Puri: Ringo and Himari are so cute when they sing together. ;;
Puri: "How typical of them to mess up in the end!" Oooh, burrrn. XD
Puri: Why is Makoto/Sailor Jupiter on a beer ad?
Puri: Kanba talking to his parents at the bar reminds me of Jack Torrance talking to Lloyd.
Puri: Just talking to ghosts in a long abandoned building...
Puri: Uh oh, that's blowfish. D:
Anon 1: I don't think they're ghosts so much as memories
Anon 1: the idea of parents Kanba invented to fill the role he needed them to
Anon 1: (hence like... everything they say in present-day is really things Kanba is saying to himself)
Puri: I guess we've forgotten all about finding the Penguindrum, huh...
Anon 1: well, y'know, things came up
Puri: "Oh hey, the dad's been dead all along! lol that means we can make up right?"
Me: Really? Fucking really? :unamused:
Puri: Assassin Dude: (slashes at Tabuki and Yuri)
Mystery Blood: (falls on floor)
Me: And nothing of value was lost that day. =)
Puri: Catchiest ED yet.
Puri: Sunny: Nooooooooo you burned your porn mags!
Puri: So that's how the terrorists play bowling these days.
Puri: Okay. The voice-acting and the music are really good. But I feel like the entire scene with Kanba and Masako would have so much more impact and maybe actually make me tear up if we actually saw why Masako cared about Kanba and why she is so desperate to save Mario.
To compare with Utena, we saw that Touga was basically Nanami's entire world. So when it came down to her final episodes, her rejecting Touga's advances in the car ride actually meant something. But Masako as a character honestly feels really flat. She hardly has chemistry with anyone and hardly does anything except do cool poses and follow Kanba around. We don't know anything about Mario or why he's so important to her. Why don't know why she's so clingy to Kanba aside from "he's my blood family." And?
Anon 1: Mario really is just a little-brother-shaped hole in the story
Puri: Kanba pretty much ignores her. And not in a "I'm gonna use her as a pawn, so I'll humor her" or "I'm secretly resentful against her because I've been shielding her from my step-dad" sort of complexity way like Touga toward Nanami. It's just "Oh, you exist. Who are you again?" So Kanba saving Masako from the glass and her deciding to commit to save him for "everything he's done for her" feels like... nothing. Just empty.
Me: "Oh. Okay. Why should I care about this?"
As flawed as Kureha and Ginko's relationship was, at least you got to understand why Ginko was so desperate to get her to remember her again. At least you got to understand why Lulu fell in love with Ginko and still wanted to help her even if her love wouldn't be reciprocated.
Masako and Mario and her whole arc feel like trying to eat donuts in a dream. It looks delicious on the surface, but once you bite into it, you realize you're actually chomping nothing but air. Like... where is it? Where is the story? Where's the substance? Himari and Shouma's childhood where they raised a kitten together in one episode had more substance than Masako's entire runtime combined. 'Cause they actually showed Himari and Shouma being actual characters and people.
I like Masako despite her flatness. I just feel like if she had been properly developed, she could’ve been amazing. :(
Puri: Two episodes left! We're getting to the final showdown!
Puri: Two rabbits, two hats.
Puri: Himari has one hat, Mario has the other.
Puri: GEE IT WOULD'VE BEEN REALLY HELPFUL IF WE LEARNED MARIO'S SIDE OF IT
Puri: The secretary definitely has a crush on Masako, and Princess of the Crystal dominating and humiliating her is her wish/fantasy of Masako someday doing the same thing to her.
Puri: LAST EPISODE
Puri: It's not an Ikuhara ending if it doesn't make you cry. Which it has. :thumbsup:
Puri: I'm gonna let my thoughts sink in for a while as I read the TV Tropes page.
Anon 2: Did it make you cry because it was good or did it make you cry because you were weeping for all the lost potential?
Puri: lol. I mean, the ending was good.
Puri: I guess overall I was kind of... disappointed? Like I’m glad I got it over with, but I’m also glad I got my bf to torrent it for me instead of me buying it. Maybe differing expectations and length had something to do with it? Like I was expecting YKA to be cringe and while I had several annoyances with it (Ex. Kureha’s ineptitude as an MC, Yuriika), I was pleasantly surprised by it. Whereas I expected MPD to be better/more complex than YKA and just felt... let down.
Anon 2: valid!
Puri: Like the first half of MPD, I was invested. I loved the Princess of the Crystal, I was totally down with the Child Broiler, and I wanted to know more about the damage the terrorist attacks left on the cast. But once Yuri tried to rape Ringo and the narrative tried to make me shed tears over her then acted like the attempted assault didn’t happen, it left a horrendously sour taste in my mouth. Then it was like the pace of the show went to a grinding halt and I was so pissed off after Yuri’s thing that I had no patience with Tabuki’s. I just Did Not Care about those two.
The show was supposed to be about the Takakuras, yet it seemed to go all over the place. It had so many ideas and it felt like at the midway point, it lost focus and decided to try to make us cry over the worst people. The whole cast shows up and yet it feels like it’s not enough. They actually feel more abstract to me. At least in YKA the characters were meant to be more or less symbols. There just isn’t enough substance to the character relationships the way there is with Utena and Sarazanmai. When it actually does focus on Himari, Kanba, and Shouma and their sibling bond, that’s where the show shines brightest. 24 episodes and I feel like I’ve mostly watched filler that doesn’t really add much to anything. Sarazanmai is a remarkable difference from MPD and YKA because the character development and chemistry is better.
Puri: Chief Otticer feels a lot more menacing and memorable to me, even though he literally spells himself out as a concept. Sanetoshi just feels... kinda there. He’s like a more abstract Voldemort to the Umbridge of Akio, Invisible Storm, and the Otter.
Anon 1: I think it's less that he's abstract and more that he's... not the villain
Anon 1: kinda a Mikage
Puri: Sure, the individual members of the Invisible Storm don’t get a whole lot of development or screentime (though Mitsuko is definitely memorable and made the most of her time) but they definitely felt more recognizable as a threat.
Anon 1: his solution to the problem that drives the series (societal neglect and abandonment) is horrible, but it is a solution to the problem that drives the series, not the problem itself
Puri: Whereas Sanetoshi is more of an allegory and feels a lot more distant. He just didn’t really make a dent in me. I want to feel incensed and/or drawn or creeped out by the antagonists. Sanetoshi has a neat character design, but again, just... the lack of substance.
Anon 2: I feel like a moment at the end, where upon realizing his evil plan has failed, Sanetoshi freaks out, would have gone a long way towards making him more memorable. He always acts like he's three steps ahead of everyone, even when he's clearly lost, and it's just not satisfying
Puri: Even Kyubey emotes more than him and he’s part of an alien species that considers emotions to be a mental illness.
Puri: Sanetoshi was more interesting at the beginning where he looked like he was having fun. Then “I’m the all-knowing unstoppable manipulator” became his single face and that’s it. He just feels like a more boring Mikage/Akio lovechild. :/ The most visceral reaction I had toward him was when he was flaunting the scarves Himari made for Double-H after she expressed doubt they would care about them. I wanted more of that.
His relationship with Kanba feels less developed than it should be too. With Akio and Utena, you really felt the latter was getting groomed and set up to becoming a bride. Same with Touga, where he’s led to believe he’s gaining power but he’s just yet another puppet on a string. Sanetoshi and Kanba should’ve felt even more emotional than Akio and Touga, since like Touga, Kanba is a teenage boy forced to grow up way too fast. Because of his desire and desperation to save Himari, it would’ve been even easier to prey on his insecurities to have him follow his father’s footsteps and become a cult leader. We’d be looking into the mindset of what makes an otherwise noble person join a doomsday cult. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, yada yada. Maybe Kanba even begins feeling close to Sanetoshi because he believes he’s the only one who understands and listens to him, which inevitably leads to him lashing out at Shouma. (And turning the brothers against each other would precisely be part of Sanetoshi’s plans)
But we just don’t get that. The extent of Sanetoshi and Kanba’s relationship is “Oh, he’s gonna help me save Himari” and it’s easy for him to turn back to the light. Kanba ignoring Sanetoshi and carrying Himari to the train to the living just does not have the same impact or cheer-worthy defiance as Utena shoving away Akio while limping toward the Rose Gate does.
It’s also part of why I wanted so badly for Kureha to be the one to shoot Yuriika instead of the Invisible Storm popping in via Deus ex Machina to rescue her. Not only would it have given Kureha some agency (which she desperately needs at this point), it would’ve been a moment of her realizing she’d been tricked and lied to by a trusted adult (and someone who knew her mom at that!) and successfully fighting back. Not only would she be calling out Yuriika, Yuriika would also realize that A. Whoops, Kureha is her own person and not a clone of her mother or a doll to project her Reia fantasies on and "box in." B. Exactly what a horrible twisted person she had become, making her remorse much more genuine and not just "Oh no I’m sorry I’ve been caught."
Puri: Oh god... Yuri and Tabuki.
I know what they’re going for with those two: two people with childhood trauma with unresolved issues in adulthood that lead to them becoming predators themselves. How despite becoming horrible people that they are still worthy of love and therapy and that the two of them being saved is a good thing, that they deserve a good life and a second chance as much as anyone else.
The take-away message shouldn't be "Dammit, Momoka should’ve let them die" or "Man, if Momoka knew the kind of people they’d grow up to be, she'd just let Tabuki fall and retgone both Yuri and her dad. She must be filled with regrets."
Making Yuri a rapist (or an attempted rapist) was the single biggest mistake the show has made. Why should we feel compassion for a woman who wants to transform Momoka's sister into her dead friend via rape while she never gets called out or forced to pay consequences for it? Sure, Tabuki is nowhere as heinous as Yuri, but judging from the imagery of him lusting over Momoka, can you blame me that after the rape scene, I have an uncharitable view of him that they’re implying he's also a pedophile? Sure, it's only his memory of Momoka he’s doing this with, but it’s still ick. So naturally, I didn't have patience with him when he started rambling about how Momoka's death made him evil and it's all the Takakuras' fault he's like this (which again, while he's still shown as the villain here, he's not called out for how ludicrous this view is, or point out that he was the one who decided to be a dick)
There's the implication that Himari refusing to panic and cry and caring for nothing but Kanba's safety made him realize that hey, maybe I'm the bad guy here, but it's kind of too little too late. Especially when we get the implication after that that he knew exactly what Yuri did to Ringo (and would've done again to Ringo and the same to Himari), meaning he'd been enabling her all this time. Sure, he walks out on her right after that, but only because "we're a fake family" and not out of any revelation that they’re vindictive criminals just using each other for petty revenge against Momoka's killers. They don’t learn anything, just "Oh! Momoka believes all kids deserve to know they're loved and given a second chance! :D"
Not saying Yuri and Tabuki should march straight to jail or become selfless martyrs who donate all their money to child abuse charities, but they never acknowledge that they've hurt other kids or feel remorse for carrying out the cycle of abuse (except again, maybe Tabuki) and are perfectly content with that. Every other character was forced to hold their own actions responsible. But Yuri and Tabuki don’t have to, apparently. =)
And it's the show's preferential treatment of Yuri and Tabuki that really drags the show down. I feel like the show didn’t make good use of its 24 episode run-time. While YKA needed more episodes to smooth out some kinks, MPD needed a tighter focus. I hope the two movies fix this. Especially if they cut the goddamn rape scene.
According to TV Tropes, fandom picked on Shouma in favor of Kanba. Shouma was "weak" and "useless," but in the way that people ragged on Shinji Ikari for not being Generic Masculine Shounen Hero.
Me: Oh come on, both boys were inept and useless. Sure, Kanba became a more active protagonist, but only after he switched to the Dark Side, and that’s not exactly an improvement. :p
That said, I feel like Shouma’s rescue of Himari would have even more impact after the usual failures, if before that he wasn't shown to do nothing but fail. Like if he was a regular guy who just happened to be unlucky, as opposed to having Final Fantasy V Syndrome where our MCs are always failing/too late to save any Crystals.
I get that Ikuhara wanted passive protagonists to show how they’re kicked around by fate and society in MPD and YKA, but the execution is frustrating. It works with Anthy in Utena because being passive is the entire point (and it helps she’s paired with active protagonist Utena) and it works with Himari because of her illness, though she is able to make active decisions that still influence the plot (Ex. Being the one to successfully befriend and invite Ringo into their home. Once again, she’s paired with the active Princess of the Crystal, who in turn despite her power is still limited and dependent on Himari) Ringo is also an active protagonist who actually gets shit done, be they for good or bad.
Kureha, Shouma, and pre-Cultist Kanba are passive protagonists pretending to be active, and it’s annoying seeing them get shuffled around when they’re supposed to be driving the plot. I guess another reason I liked the first half of MPD more was because Ringo was more or less in charge, which meant things were happening, as opposed to things just happening to everyone. I was more engaged, and then after Ringo got less focus and it was more or less Shouma and Kanba waffling around, it felt more like I was watching as an audience member as opposed to traveling and responding with them. (It’s also the reason I’m convinced Ginko and Lulu are the real MCs of YKA as opposed to Kureha, similar to how the Three Good Fairies are the real MCs of Sleeping Beauty. Though unfortunately Lulu does get fazed out a bit until her death. :( )
I feel Madoka as a passive protagonist worked better too, since 1. Homura made her passiveness an Invoked Trope. 2. There’s really not much a 14-year-old girl can do against eldritch forces unless she gained powers to fight them herself (which would result in her death if she did, whoops) so she’s got not much choice except to observe what’s happening until she can finally make the decision that does work. Normies don’t get much rights in Madoka.
Puri: Himari is still Best Character. So is Princess of the Crystal, and I was bummed out she showed up even less as the series went on.
Puri: Himari/Ringo is my favorite MPD ship and I wish they interacted more. ;; (prays for even better moments in the movies)
Puri: Also kinda liked Ringo/Shouma while it lasted; he worked as the Sane Man to her chaotic energy and she refused to let him push her away when he was lonely and depressed. ;;
Puri: And obviously they had much more natural chemistry than any of the other, erm... one-sided het or incest ships on the show.
Puri: Himari/Shouma and Himari/Kanba feel much more familial than romantic and I prefer it that way.
Puri: The Takakuras being family—and even more so than their blood relations—is what the show is based on, after all. ;;
I know I bitched a lot, but I do like the show! It's That Scene and the lack of ramifications for it that I hate. I'm glad I watched Sarazanmai first before I got to YKA and MPD. Otherwise I think if I watched all the shows in the order they came out, I would've been really skeptical about trying Sarazanmai.
Ikuhara Rankings:
1. Utena
2. Sarazanmai
3. Yuri Kuma
4. Penguindrum
I even have my doggies to watch with me this time! (And they’ll proceed not to pay attention and nap through the whole thing, as they tend to do with every piece of media ever)
I fused a lot of my texts together to make for easier reading.
Anon 1: i think that was about when I gave up on my rewatch of MPD, with the OP and ED changes
Puri: "I like my men like I like my tea--getting the first sip."
Puri: Princess of the Crystal: (sees that Masako's secretary is stalking her) BUZZ OFF
Puri: Of course my doggos sleep through Rock N' Roll Japan.
Puri: Instead of rap-offs, the Princess has haiku-offs.
Puri: The secretary looks much better with her hair down.
Puri: "Oh god, I think I have a secret kink of being objectified by a pretty lady! I can't take this anymore!"
Puri: lol an actual English speaker in Grandpa's meeting.
Puri: "Oh Mr. President noooooooooooooo"
Puri: "Looks like Grandpa's blasting off agaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin"
Puri: "I'm not giving up on you! I'm your stalker, after all!"
Puri: Weirdly touching coming from Ringo.
Puri: tfw your dad ended up becoming a cultist
Puri: EVERYONE WENT NUTSO
Puri: The ending theme feels weirdly troll-y in a way.
Puri: Shouma and Kanba: lol we don't have to do anything anymore
Princess: omg you idiots
Puri: What's the matter Yuri? Butthurt that Ringo didn't magically transform into Momoka after you raped her?
Puri: Shouma: So we just have to find Himari?
Me: Puh-lease. You and Kanba can't even find a grain of sand at the beach to save your lives.
((In retrospect, it's funny I said that, since Himari considers being found at the beach by her brothers after getting lost to be one of her happiest memories, as that was when she realized she was loved and had a place she truly belonged))
Puri: Aww, girlfriends going yarn shopping! :D
Puri: FUCK YOU YURI. FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU
Puri: Yuri having to land on Himari and Ringo's date like a giant fucking turd.
Puri: "Let's have a dinner with just the three of us!"
Puri: NO
Puri: NO
Puri: NO
Puri: Lulubelle must've sensed my stress because she curled up close for cuddles. ;; What a good girl.
Puri: Masako, do a better job at stopping Yuri this time. Don't be like your damn brother.
Puri: If I didn't hate Yuri so much (and if she wasn't already married), I'd ship Masako/Yuri from their banter.
Puri: "Cheap porn mags are waiting for you!" Buuuuuuuuurn
Puri: Heh at Esmeralda shaking the rose petals
Puri: Tabuki in Lily Hoshino ED art: Hey Momoka, I'm still sexy right? We can still be together, right?
Me: She's still a child you sicko.
Puri: Me: Hard to believe, but having a shitty childhood means you still have to be held accountable for shitty things you do in the present. Believing that you're still children doesn't make your obsession magically not pedophiliac.
Yuri & Tabuki: (Shocked Pikachu Face)
Puri: "Your mother loves talent." Ahhhh, she's one of those moms.
Puri: Ringo: Last time I checked, you broke your fingers because of your abusive mom, and Himari-chan had absolutely nothing to do with it, but go off, I guess.
Puri: Look Tabuki, you may be no child rapist, but you're not exactly winning my sympathy here.
Puri: Momoka: Come with me if you want to live!
Puri: Yeah, I bet Momoka is real proud of you now. Good thing you grew up into such a worthwhile human being, huh? :rolling_eyes:
Puri: No regrets saving you now.
Puri: "Ringo, I must appear very monstrous right now."
Puri: "I will take my father's punishment."
Puri: Please Himari, you owe this dick nothing.
Puri: (slow clap for Shouma being useless Yet Again)
Puri: "Ringo, don't grow up to be like me."
Puri: Perfect life advice, thanks, already took it to heart.
Puri: "What would you have done with the two of them?" Holy shit, the first burn Yuri has ever gotten, even if it's subtle!
Puri: Tabuki: (isn't even fazed by her slap) Bye bitch.
Me: Finally, the first good thing you've done, and the first taste of consequences Yuri has ever had! I'll take that scrap, thank you.
Puri: (sigh) I'd probably be feeling more for the Takakura brothers if they weren't constantly failing and being inept at everything they do. Kanba's a little more sympathetic in that he's obviously putting the effort, but it's like "You two are utterly useless, then you're shocked shitty things happen to you?" I know I sound like an exasperated asshole for this, but... ugggh.
Puri: Even Shinji tries and succeeds sometimes, so we feel more for him when he feels like a failure.
Puri: C'mon Puri, six episodes to go.
Puri: (points to Mrs. Takakura) DEAD MOM HAIR. DEAD MOM HAIR
Puri: "We'll just pretend at first. Then we'll become a real family!" Yeeeeeah, you just learned it doesn't work that way.
Puri: The Point: (sails over Yuri's head)
Puri: "Kan-chan, you'll turn into a cow." Do it Kanba. Follow the Nanami Way.
Puri: "I've already taken the punishment." You boys are so duuuuuuuumb
Puri: "Your forehead is mine!" Lines That Look Weird Out of Context #32756375
Puri: Waiting for the "Oh, then you and Mario must not be a real family either!" comeback.
Puri: Late, but Himari's Madotsuki sweater is adorable.
Puri: Geez, this marks the second time on an Ikuhara show a kitten becomes a casualty. :(
Anon 1: Ikuhara kills a kitten (again)
Puri: What do you have against kittens, Ikuhara? (shakes fist)
"To Sho. Good bye. I'm going to the Child Broiler. Thank you for everything. I was actually really happy when you first talked to me. Ever since, I've been waiting for you there. My mom never returned, but... I got to wait for you, so... I wasn't lonely at all. That was the first time I'd ever thought that waiting wasn't painful."
Puri: Got misty-eyed there. Had to hold Lulubelle. ;;
Puri: God, this is what I missed from the show. Not this Yuri & Tabuki bullshit.
Puri: Yuri & Tabuki: o no Momoka is dead look what horrible people we've become because of this uwuuuuuuu
Me: Oh my god shut the fuck up I do not fucking care
Me: Get back to the child broiler and actually keep developing the relationship between the Takakura siblings pleeeeeeeeeease
Puri: Ringo and Himari are so cute when they sing together. ;;
Puri: "How typical of them to mess up in the end!" Oooh, burrrn. XD
Puri: Why is Makoto/Sailor Jupiter on a beer ad?
Puri: Kanba talking to his parents at the bar reminds me of Jack Torrance talking to Lloyd.
Puri: Just talking to ghosts in a long abandoned building...
Puri: Uh oh, that's blowfish. D:
Anon 1: I don't think they're ghosts so much as memories
Anon 1: the idea of parents Kanba invented to fill the role he needed them to
Anon 1: (hence like... everything they say in present-day is really things Kanba is saying to himself)
Puri: I guess we've forgotten all about finding the Penguindrum, huh...
Anon 1: well, y'know, things came up
Puri: "Oh hey, the dad's been dead all along! lol that means we can make up right?"
Me: Really? Fucking really? :unamused:
Puri: Assassin Dude: (slashes at Tabuki and Yuri)
Mystery Blood: (falls on floor)
Me: And nothing of value was lost that day. =)
Puri: Catchiest ED yet.
Puri: Sunny: Nooooooooo you burned your porn mags!
Puri: So that's how the terrorists play bowling these days.
Puri: Okay. The voice-acting and the music are really good. But I feel like the entire scene with Kanba and Masako would have so much more impact and maybe actually make me tear up if we actually saw why Masako cared about Kanba and why she is so desperate to save Mario.
To compare with Utena, we saw that Touga was basically Nanami's entire world. So when it came down to her final episodes, her rejecting Touga's advances in the car ride actually meant something. But Masako as a character honestly feels really flat. She hardly has chemistry with anyone and hardly does anything except do cool poses and follow Kanba around. We don't know anything about Mario or why he's so important to her. Why don't know why she's so clingy to Kanba aside from "he's my blood family." And?
Anon 1: Mario really is just a little-brother-shaped hole in the story
Puri: Kanba pretty much ignores her. And not in a "I'm gonna use her as a pawn, so I'll humor her" or "I'm secretly resentful against her because I've been shielding her from my step-dad" sort of complexity way like Touga toward Nanami. It's just "Oh, you exist. Who are you again?" So Kanba saving Masako from the glass and her deciding to commit to save him for "everything he's done for her" feels like... nothing. Just empty.
Me: "Oh. Okay. Why should I care about this?"
As flawed as Kureha and Ginko's relationship was, at least you got to understand why Ginko was so desperate to get her to remember her again. At least you got to understand why Lulu fell in love with Ginko and still wanted to help her even if her love wouldn't be reciprocated.
Masako and Mario and her whole arc feel like trying to eat donuts in a dream. It looks delicious on the surface, but once you bite into it, you realize you're actually chomping nothing but air. Like... where is it? Where is the story? Where's the substance? Himari and Shouma's childhood where they raised a kitten together in one episode had more substance than Masako's entire runtime combined. 'Cause they actually showed Himari and Shouma being actual characters and people.
I like Masako despite her flatness. I just feel like if she had been properly developed, she could’ve been amazing. :(
Puri: Two episodes left! We're getting to the final showdown!
Puri: Two rabbits, two hats.
Puri: Himari has one hat, Mario has the other.
Puri: GEE IT WOULD'VE BEEN REALLY HELPFUL IF WE LEARNED MARIO'S SIDE OF IT
Puri: The secretary definitely has a crush on Masako, and Princess of the Crystal dominating and humiliating her is her wish/fantasy of Masako someday doing the same thing to her.
Puri: LAST EPISODE
Puri: It's not an Ikuhara ending if it doesn't make you cry. Which it has. :thumbsup:
Puri: I'm gonna let my thoughts sink in for a while as I read the TV Tropes page.
Anon 2: Did it make you cry because it was good or did it make you cry because you were weeping for all the lost potential?
Puri: lol. I mean, the ending was good.
Puri: I guess overall I was kind of... disappointed? Like I’m glad I got it over with, but I’m also glad I got my bf to torrent it for me instead of me buying it. Maybe differing expectations and length had something to do with it? Like I was expecting YKA to be cringe and while I had several annoyances with it (Ex. Kureha’s ineptitude as an MC, Yuriika), I was pleasantly surprised by it. Whereas I expected MPD to be better/more complex than YKA and just felt... let down.
Anon 2: valid!
Puri: Like the first half of MPD, I was invested. I loved the Princess of the Crystal, I was totally down with the Child Broiler, and I wanted to know more about the damage the terrorist attacks left on the cast. But once Yuri tried to rape Ringo and the narrative tried to make me shed tears over her then acted like the attempted assault didn’t happen, it left a horrendously sour taste in my mouth. Then it was like the pace of the show went to a grinding halt and I was so pissed off after Yuri’s thing that I had no patience with Tabuki’s. I just Did Not Care about those two.
The show was supposed to be about the Takakuras, yet it seemed to go all over the place. It had so many ideas and it felt like at the midway point, it lost focus and decided to try to make us cry over the worst people. The whole cast shows up and yet it feels like it’s not enough. They actually feel more abstract to me. At least in YKA the characters were meant to be more or less symbols. There just isn’t enough substance to the character relationships the way there is with Utena and Sarazanmai. When it actually does focus on Himari, Kanba, and Shouma and their sibling bond, that’s where the show shines brightest. 24 episodes and I feel like I’ve mostly watched filler that doesn’t really add much to anything. Sarazanmai is a remarkable difference from MPD and YKA because the character development and chemistry is better.
Puri: Chief Otticer feels a lot more menacing and memorable to me, even though he literally spells himself out as a concept. Sanetoshi just feels... kinda there. He’s like a more abstract Voldemort to the Umbridge of Akio, Invisible Storm, and the Otter.
Anon 1: I think it's less that he's abstract and more that he's... not the villain
Anon 1: kinda a Mikage
Puri: Sure, the individual members of the Invisible Storm don’t get a whole lot of development or screentime (though Mitsuko is definitely memorable and made the most of her time) but they definitely felt more recognizable as a threat.
Anon 1: his solution to the problem that drives the series (societal neglect and abandonment) is horrible, but it is a solution to the problem that drives the series, not the problem itself
Puri: Whereas Sanetoshi is more of an allegory and feels a lot more distant. He just didn’t really make a dent in me. I want to feel incensed and/or drawn or creeped out by the antagonists. Sanetoshi has a neat character design, but again, just... the lack of substance.
Anon 2: I feel like a moment at the end, where upon realizing his evil plan has failed, Sanetoshi freaks out, would have gone a long way towards making him more memorable. He always acts like he's three steps ahead of everyone, even when he's clearly lost, and it's just not satisfying
Puri: Even Kyubey emotes more than him and he’s part of an alien species that considers emotions to be a mental illness.
Puri: Sanetoshi was more interesting at the beginning where he looked like he was having fun. Then “I’m the all-knowing unstoppable manipulator” became his single face and that’s it. He just feels like a more boring Mikage/Akio lovechild. :/ The most visceral reaction I had toward him was when he was flaunting the scarves Himari made for Double-H after she expressed doubt they would care about them. I wanted more of that.
His relationship with Kanba feels less developed than it should be too. With Akio and Utena, you really felt the latter was getting groomed and set up to becoming a bride. Same with Touga, where he’s led to believe he’s gaining power but he’s just yet another puppet on a string. Sanetoshi and Kanba should’ve felt even more emotional than Akio and Touga, since like Touga, Kanba is a teenage boy forced to grow up way too fast. Because of his desire and desperation to save Himari, it would’ve been even easier to prey on his insecurities to have him follow his father’s footsteps and become a cult leader. We’d be looking into the mindset of what makes an otherwise noble person join a doomsday cult. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, yada yada. Maybe Kanba even begins feeling close to Sanetoshi because he believes he’s the only one who understands and listens to him, which inevitably leads to him lashing out at Shouma. (And turning the brothers against each other would precisely be part of Sanetoshi’s plans)
But we just don’t get that. The extent of Sanetoshi and Kanba’s relationship is “Oh, he’s gonna help me save Himari” and it’s easy for him to turn back to the light. Kanba ignoring Sanetoshi and carrying Himari to the train to the living just does not have the same impact or cheer-worthy defiance as Utena shoving away Akio while limping toward the Rose Gate does.
It’s also part of why I wanted so badly for Kureha to be the one to shoot Yuriika instead of the Invisible Storm popping in via Deus ex Machina to rescue her. Not only would it have given Kureha some agency (which she desperately needs at this point), it would’ve been a moment of her realizing she’d been tricked and lied to by a trusted adult (and someone who knew her mom at that!) and successfully fighting back. Not only would she be calling out Yuriika, Yuriika would also realize that A. Whoops, Kureha is her own person and not a clone of her mother or a doll to project her Reia fantasies on and "box in." B. Exactly what a horrible twisted person she had become, making her remorse much more genuine and not just "Oh no I’m sorry I’ve been caught."
Puri: Oh god... Yuri and Tabuki.
I know what they’re going for with those two: two people with childhood trauma with unresolved issues in adulthood that lead to them becoming predators themselves. How despite becoming horrible people that they are still worthy of love and therapy and that the two of them being saved is a good thing, that they deserve a good life and a second chance as much as anyone else.
The take-away message shouldn't be "Dammit, Momoka should’ve let them die" or "Man, if Momoka knew the kind of people they’d grow up to be, she'd just let Tabuki fall and retgone both Yuri and her dad. She must be filled with regrets."
Making Yuri a rapist (or an attempted rapist) was the single biggest mistake the show has made. Why should we feel compassion for a woman who wants to transform Momoka's sister into her dead friend via rape while she never gets called out or forced to pay consequences for it? Sure, Tabuki is nowhere as heinous as Yuri, but judging from the imagery of him lusting over Momoka, can you blame me that after the rape scene, I have an uncharitable view of him that they’re implying he's also a pedophile? Sure, it's only his memory of Momoka he’s doing this with, but it’s still ick. So naturally, I didn't have patience with him when he started rambling about how Momoka's death made him evil and it's all the Takakuras' fault he's like this (which again, while he's still shown as the villain here, he's not called out for how ludicrous this view is, or point out that he was the one who decided to be a dick)
There's the implication that Himari refusing to panic and cry and caring for nothing but Kanba's safety made him realize that hey, maybe I'm the bad guy here, but it's kind of too little too late. Especially when we get the implication after that that he knew exactly what Yuri did to Ringo (and would've done again to Ringo and the same to Himari), meaning he'd been enabling her all this time. Sure, he walks out on her right after that, but only because "we're a fake family" and not out of any revelation that they’re vindictive criminals just using each other for petty revenge against Momoka's killers. They don’t learn anything, just "Oh! Momoka believes all kids deserve to know they're loved and given a second chance! :D"
Not saying Yuri and Tabuki should march straight to jail or become selfless martyrs who donate all their money to child abuse charities, but they never acknowledge that they've hurt other kids or feel remorse for carrying out the cycle of abuse (except again, maybe Tabuki) and are perfectly content with that. Every other character was forced to hold their own actions responsible. But Yuri and Tabuki don’t have to, apparently. =)
And it's the show's preferential treatment of Yuri and Tabuki that really drags the show down. I feel like the show didn’t make good use of its 24 episode run-time. While YKA needed more episodes to smooth out some kinks, MPD needed a tighter focus. I hope the two movies fix this. Especially if they cut the goddamn rape scene.
According to TV Tropes, fandom picked on Shouma in favor of Kanba. Shouma was "weak" and "useless," but in the way that people ragged on Shinji Ikari for not being Generic Masculine Shounen Hero.
Me: Oh come on, both boys were inept and useless. Sure, Kanba became a more active protagonist, but only after he switched to the Dark Side, and that’s not exactly an improvement. :p
That said, I feel like Shouma’s rescue of Himari would have even more impact after the usual failures, if before that he wasn't shown to do nothing but fail. Like if he was a regular guy who just happened to be unlucky, as opposed to having Final Fantasy V Syndrome where our MCs are always failing/too late to save any Crystals.
I get that Ikuhara wanted passive protagonists to show how they’re kicked around by fate and society in MPD and YKA, but the execution is frustrating. It works with Anthy in Utena because being passive is the entire point (and it helps she’s paired with active protagonist Utena) and it works with Himari because of her illness, though she is able to make active decisions that still influence the plot (Ex. Being the one to successfully befriend and invite Ringo into their home. Once again, she’s paired with the active Princess of the Crystal, who in turn despite her power is still limited and dependent on Himari) Ringo is also an active protagonist who actually gets shit done, be they for good or bad.
Kureha, Shouma, and pre-Cultist Kanba are passive protagonists pretending to be active, and it’s annoying seeing them get shuffled around when they’re supposed to be driving the plot. I guess another reason I liked the first half of MPD more was because Ringo was more or less in charge, which meant things were happening, as opposed to things just happening to everyone. I was more engaged, and then after Ringo got less focus and it was more or less Shouma and Kanba waffling around, it felt more like I was watching as an audience member as opposed to traveling and responding with them. (It’s also the reason I’m convinced Ginko and Lulu are the real MCs of YKA as opposed to Kureha, similar to how the Three Good Fairies are the real MCs of Sleeping Beauty. Though unfortunately Lulu does get fazed out a bit until her death. :( )
I feel Madoka as a passive protagonist worked better too, since 1. Homura made her passiveness an Invoked Trope. 2. There’s really not much a 14-year-old girl can do against eldritch forces unless she gained powers to fight them herself (which would result in her death if she did, whoops) so she’s got not much choice except to observe what’s happening until she can finally make the decision that does work. Normies don’t get much rights in Madoka.
Puri: Himari is still Best Character. So is Princess of the Crystal, and I was bummed out she showed up even less as the series went on.
Puri: Himari/Ringo is my favorite MPD ship and I wish they interacted more. ;; (prays for even better moments in the movies)
Puri: Also kinda liked Ringo/Shouma while it lasted; he worked as the Sane Man to her chaotic energy and she refused to let him push her away when he was lonely and depressed. ;;
Puri: And obviously they had much more natural chemistry than any of the other, erm... one-sided het or incest ships on the show.
Puri: Himari/Shouma and Himari/Kanba feel much more familial than romantic and I prefer it that way.
Puri: The Takakuras being family—and even more so than their blood relations—is what the show is based on, after all. ;;
I know I bitched a lot, but I do like the show! It's That Scene and the lack of ramifications for it that I hate. I'm glad I watched Sarazanmai first before I got to YKA and MPD. Otherwise I think if I watched all the shows in the order they came out, I would've been really skeptical about trying Sarazanmai.
Ikuhara Rankings:
1. Utena
2. Sarazanmai
3. Yuri Kuma
4. Penguindrum
