Back to lolitsgriff's Profile lolitsgriff's Profile

Gyo, being the first work by Ito to be animated, was met with high expectations. UFOTABLE handled the animation, which relieved many fans due to Ufotable's spot as one of the highest tier animation companies currently.

Gyo, in effect, captured the essence of the manga without falling prey to the issues that plagued it. The justaposition of humanity and monsters was done more appropriately than the manga -- by splitting Kaori's character into 3 different girls, the characterization becomes far more complete and powerful. The struggle between Aki and Erika shows the inherent issue of morality in an immoral world.

Furthermore, the choice to change the lead ... from Tadashi to Kaori was also in good taste. Despite the overt sexual overtones present in all of Ito's work, Kaori's characterization lacked a "feminization". What we were left with was a strong female lead, and one that stood up to challenges and outdid her male counterparts. This deliberate change turns the tone from typical to unique, even among the current crop of anime that features 'Strong female leads.' It takes the female isolation from Uzumaki and Tomoe and manages to adapt those feelings into Gyo's position, strengthening the work.

The voice acting, as well as the Animation is strong. While it's not the best I've seen, it stands above most typical standards and along with Fate/Zero manages to be ufotable's "Worst" work -- Which is to say, they are massively above standard.

Gyo is the best adaptation of the manga we would ever hope to get. Thematically it is closer to Uzumaki, placed as not only a female-centered love story but a story of hopelessness. The last line mirrors a hopelessness throughout.

"I've gotten used to it."

Ikuhara's remake of Night on the Milky Way Train is good, but not perfect. The reviews that state Penguindrum is an 'epic', is 'outstanding' and 'beautiful' are not quite correct. Penguindrum is a good anime, this is not wrong, but it is difficult to view the show objectively from this standpoint. Penguindrum has above all immense flaws. It is important to view it as a surrealist piece, post-modern and most certainly not concrete.

Over the course of the story, very little is actually answered. Questions are posed without reason, and are very rarely given closure. While many of these questions are open-ended and their lack of ... closure fails to "matter", the audience is left with an apathy which feels hollow. My experience watching the show was less in the show itself, and more trying to figure out what was going on on my own. While this in itself is good, it's not due to a mastery of writing or plot on Ikuhara's part but rather a lack of coherent planning that went into the narrative.

The Animation is on large poor past episode 11, with 11 and 19 being peaks of off-model animation on-tier with Studio DEEN's poor work. While episode 9 is gorgeous and so are 20-24, the consistency in the art and animation is extremely low and as a result there is a schism in the way the story is presented.

That all being said, Penguindrum was a fun journey and I would recommend it. The faults are almost purely technical, and despite having no real closure nor a consistent plot, Ikuhara managed to rewrite Night on the Milky Way train well enough to make it enjoyable.

I'm not sure, however, if it will stand up to a marathon-run, as the very inconsistent nature of the show benefited from the week-long wait.