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I never would’ve thought that some random, terribly rated film, that I watched on whim because I heard it was supposed to be dark would impact me in such a way. I had a very hard time deciding on a rating for this one—and still do. However, I can tell you that this is one I will not be forgetting any time soon.

First off, the animation. This film is completely done in 3d. That is probably an instant turn off for plenty people. And, as things often turn out with 3d, some parts look quite awkward and are a bit painful to watch. But ... don’t lose hope yet. As a hater of 3d animation myself, you can trust me when I say some parts of this film actually look really really good. Some parts of it turned out seamless. So, I desperately urge you to at least try and get past the animation if you don’t like it at first.

Next, the story itself. This film is unlike anything I’ve seen before. It scares you, but not in a horror type of way. The characters themselves scare you with what they might do next. The relatability you find yourself sometimes having with these insane characters scares you. This anime is brutal and unforgiving. There’s violence, but more grounded, realistic violence than most other anime, which makes it all the more frightening. It blows me away what this film was able to do in just 1 hour 36 min. It puts you in these characters minds, forcing you to experience what they’re experiencing. If you’re like me, this anime will make you cry. It’s depressing and it makes you SAD—in a good way of course. It sets out to tell a story outlining the apparent evil of humanity. To characterize the cold and unforgiving world that people can find themselves in, the same world that _you_ can find _yourself_ in. It’s tragic because it’s realistic, and it puts you in this terrible kind of environment that you know exists out there right now. There’s always something oddly intriguing about seemingly mentally unstable characters, in any medium. I think it activates a portion of our brain we’re not used to very much when we explore, try to understand, and sometimes even relate with these kinds of characters. But anyway, that’s a whole other discussion. In short, this film is an atmosphere. It’s atmosphere was somewhat similar to aku no hana, if you’ve seen that. I believe if you are able to immerse yourself in that atmosphere, you will love this anime as much as I do.
Finally, the ending. The ending of this movie is what caused it to cling to my brain and not let go. It’s what really drove home the whole idea of it and made it a truly unforgettable experience for me. Try to go into this one with __no__ expectations. Let it surprise you. I think that’s probably the best way to experience it.

I’m gonna preface this by referencing you to an incredibly well done video essay that delves much deeper into some of the topics of this anime, called “Why mawaru penguindrum is like curry - meaning from multiplicity”
(The video has many spoilers)

I came into this anime, knowing almost nothing besides the fact that it had a theme of fate, and I came out of it with quite possibly the best experience of anime I’ve ever had. However, I’m not gonna pretend it doesn’t have any flaws at all and I’ll list some that I can think of now so that you don’t have to waste your ... time if this doesn't sound like an anime for you. It has quite a bit of goofiness to it as well as a good amount of comedy that you may like, or you may hate. Also, the comedy at times feels misplaced into more dramatic scenes. There are some parts having to do with the characters that feel a bit rushed. While I, very obviously, love this anime, it definitely won’t be for everyone.

With that out of the way let me briefly explain what this anime does absolutely phenomenally. It is a complete masterpiece of symbolism, which I will delve a bit deeper into later. It’s characters have a certain charm to them that makes them very likable. It has some great thought-provoking commentary on different societal issues and interesting introspection of the characters. It has a lot of well-done twists and turns in the plot that come together perfectly and it keeps you guessing the whole way through. It has some extremely hard hitting scenes that got me emotional many times. And finally, it has what is probably my favorite ending in all of anime.

One of the focal points of this anime is it’s heavy heavy themes of cruel fate, sacrificial love, and family bonds, as well as more that I won’t be discussing here. I believe the very first line in episode one is a monologue about how cruel god must be if fate exists, even for those born into inescapable terrible situations. Throughout the show it poses this question and it directly connects this idea with the second theme of sacrificial love, in a way that is somewhat spoilery. It also has the theme of family bonds. It shows how they can be extremely detrimental to a child in their impressionable young age. It also questions whether you really need to be family to share these types of bonds.

Finally, the most prevalent and complex part of this anime is it’s intertwining and rich symbolism. From religious symbolism inspired by the the 1985 film, Night on the Galactic Railroad (my favorite film) to symbolism criticizing the Japanese work culture and touching on the Tokyo gas attacks of 1995. To put it simply, this anime is wild; almost a mess. But it’s all deliberate. It uses drastic tone shifts, character emotions, and a jumble of themes and ideas to all connect into one somehow cohesive experience. In the video I referenced before it is described as curry. Many disparate parts or ingredients formed into story or dish. The show reinforces this idea extensively, from it’s title’s multitude of meanings relating to its themes, to the multiplicity of the animal ever present in the story, the penguin.

This anime, even with some flaws, in my eyes, is an absolute masterpiece because of its transcendental theming and symbolism that made it a truly special experience that I enjoyed every second of.

This story won’t be for everyone but I think the people that enjoy it will absolutely love it. It is essentially a slice of life, comedy, human drama, and it does each of these three things phenomenally.

Following the lives of the kids living at the Star Home Orphanage, who all were left by their parents due to various circumstances, this story delves very deep into almost every kids’ emotions and lives up to this point and you can really feel just how broken these kids are. There wasn’t one single character that I didn’t like, and many of them had a ton of charm ... to them and their distinct personalities. Taiyo Matsumoto is extremely skilled at writing kids who act in a very believable way due to their personal situations. For a 37 chapter series, this has some of the best characters I’ve ever seen.

The art style, while very unique and possibly even ugly to some, fits the characters and story perfectly. I believe it adds a lot to the comedy and it works extremely well at portraying subtle emotions in the characters that you, as the reader, can tell they are trying to hide.

Overall, this series is an extremely well done story with likable and well-written characters. It connected with me very very much personally because of its realistic portrayal of the kids emotions as well as the immense charm and character the series has. It also has a style of humor I really loved, making this, quite possibly, my favorite manga ever.

If you’ve enjoyed any other of Matsumoto’s works, please check this one out, if you’re like me it may just become your favorite of his.