Jan 6, 2024
As another reviewer said, if you've never seen Mawaru Penguindrum and are thinking about watching these movies to find out what it's all about, don't do that. They move so quickly through the plot points of the series that it's difficult to keep track of what's going on, who the various characters are, or how in the world they relate to the other characters. It gets particularly bad in the second movie. I will need to go rewatch the series to remind myself of exactly what's going on.
Also, by watching the movies first, you miss out on what is (in my opinion) the best part
...
of the show: the repeated instances of Himari's over-the-top and absolutely delightful transformation sequence and bop of a song, followed by her brothers perplexed and panicked reactions to [redacted].
All that being said, I've been waiting to find an English sub of these films ever since they finished airing in Japan, and the experience did not disappoint. It was fun to revisit the characters and the crazy story (which is crazy and difficult to follow in even the series. Let's be honest: Ikuhara isn't exactly known for straightforward, linear stories). The penguins were still cute. The art was still lovely. But at a certain point I had to give up on trying to understand everything and just enjoy getting swept away by the spectacle.
tl;dr If you've never seen Mawaru Penguindrum, do yourself a favor and watch that first. Then, if you want more, watch the movies later on. You'll get a lot of repeats of the content, since this isn't an entirely new experience like Adolescence of Utena, but a summary movie with some new content, more along the lines of End of Evangelion. But if you're a completionist or just really love Penguindrum, this is worth your time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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