1. Introduction/Review
2. Episode 9: The World of Ice

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Introduction/Review

Thank you for visiting Anime Rants. I’ve decided to continue my episode-by-episode analysis of Mawaru Penguindrum, which I started two years ago. I have already seen Penguindrum two or three times, but did not watch it very closely, and missed most of the references and interesting discussion points. To make up for that, I’ll spend some time analyzing each episode of this fascinating anime, starting where I left off two years ago.

These posts will contain spoilers, as they will be written with knowledge of the ending of the anime. Please keep in mind that these posts will not be detailed episode recaps, but collections and discussions of my notes made while watching Penguindrum episodes. Previously, I was covering two episodes per post, but from now on, I’ll take it one episode at a time. Let’s begin with the ninth installment, which is titled “The World of Ice.”

Note: Here are links to previous entries in this blog series:

Penguindrum Analyses Episodes 1 and 2

Penguindrum Analyses Episodes 3 and 4

Penguindrum Analyses Episodes 5 and 6

Penguindrum Analyses Episodes 7 and 8

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Episode 9: The World of Ice

Some say the events of this episode were Himari’s dreams. Strictly speaking, I don’t consider them dreams but components of a near death experience. Himari experienced this on the trip to the aquarium back in the first episode. We also need to keep in mind that the supernatural is real in this anime, meaning Himari visited a real afterlife. Sanetoshi was likewise a real man who died at one point and exists now in a magical afterlife library. Himari followed her penguin there, into “The Hole in the Sky Annex.” She soon met Sanetoshi.

There are several literature references in Penguindrum, and this episode contains an example. Himari was searching for a book called “Super Frog Saves Tokyo.” That is the title of a real short story by Haruki Murakami. The creator of Penguindrum, Ikuhara, loves Murakami’s stories. I learned this from a reddit user on a forum nine years ago. The info came from a tumblr blog called Anime Introspection. See the following link for more resources: “The Literature of Mawaru Pengindrum.” Do be aware it’s full of spoilers.

There were also a few references in this episode to the number 95. That’s because 1995 was the year of the terrorist attack on the subway perpetrated by Himari’s parents. There were a few other numbers that looked important, but if they have any meaning, I’m not sure currently what that would be. Going back to the 1995 for a moment, let’s talk about that terrorist attack.

In case anyone has forgotten, the 1995 incident was real. It was a poison gas attack by a religious cult in Japan. The details are different in Penguindrum, with the cult being more like an evil company. Their plan was to kill thousands of people, but Momoka used the magic diary to reduce the impact of the attack so it presumably only killed about a dozen people. According to wikipedia, 13 people died in the real attack. Obviously, that’s still a tragedy.

In Penguindrum, The Takakura parents were the leaders of the cult that perpetrated the 1995 attack. Before this point, we didn’t know much about the Takakura couple. Based on Himari’s memories, however, Chiemi Takakura was a kind and devoted mother. She sacrificed her own well-being for her child’s safety and wasn’t bitter. Chiemi was genuinely happy and relieved that she saved her daughter.

This brings up the uncomfortable truth that even people who commit great evil may not act evil all the time. They do not usually see themselves as villains and normally still have the capacity to love. Their love and morality is just partitioned in such a way that they don’t have to think about their moral inconsistencies. The drama aspects of Penguindrum are dialectical in nature, often showing contradictory ideas that are true at the same time. Chiemi Takakura is a good example. She was an insane terrorist cult leader and also a loving mother.

Himari’s memories with Hibari and Hikari were enjoyable to watch. I’m glad she had true friends for a time, even if it didn’t last. Unfortunately, something happened that prevented her from becoming an idol. It was something that made her drop out of school. The actual incident is never specified, but we can imply that it was the discovery of Himari’s sickness. Similarly, we don’t know Himari’s illness, but we know it was something with a high mortality rate that could grow worse at a rapid pace. It was probably some form of cancer.

Sanetoshi asked the question, “Why did that happen to such a kind-hearted girl?” This is another one of the uncomfortable topics explored in Penguindrum. Why do bad things happen to good people? Is there a god that willed it? Was it fated to happen by the coldly deterministic universe? The point is that grief sucks and life is unfair. Everyone grapples with this differently.

What happened in the last few minutes of the episode was interesting, as Sanetoshi put the penguin hat on Himari and called her the Bride of Fate. The role of the Bride is to be chosen. Himari is the chosen one of this story. After the hat was placed on her, I believe Himari “switched” and was being controlled by the Princess of the Crystal. She recognized that Sanetoshi was in love with her and rejected his kiss with the simple rebuke, “No.”

(Note: We know from future information that the Princess of the Crystal was one of two entities born from Momoka’s sacrifice. I think it would only be natural for the Princess to reject Sanetoshi, who was one of the perpetrators of the crime that led to Momoka’s death. Indeed, Momoka seemed to despise Sanetoshi during their one known encounter.)

After Sanetoshi released Himari, two things happened. First, a box labeled “Pingroup Inc.” was packed with the three mascot penguins, sealed up, and shipped out. What happened is that Pingroup Inc. (controlled by the Takakura family) probably heard about Himari’s predicament. To help their children, the parents sent off the penguins as helpers. Throughout the series, Pingroup Inc. sends items and money to the real world despite being run by dead people in the afterlife. (Remember, the ending reveals that the Takakura parents are dead.)

The other thing that happened was that Sanetoshi tossed an apple after Himari as she fell downward. He warned her not to forget it. As we know, that apple is the Fruit of Fate, and rich in symbolism. Although the Fruit of Fate many meanings, I believe the best explanation here is that the apple is a metaphor for Himari’s life. After all, she’s just been granted a second chance to live by the Princess of the Crystal.

The Fruit of Fate reminded Himari of an old memory where a boy gave her the apple and chose her to live. We know from the ending that this is a memory of when Shouma saved Himari from the Child Broiler. The very end of the episode shows Himari waking up and not remembering anything from her dream, which I believe was a memory of her experience dying earlier. Anyway, Himari gets the news of Shouma’s accident and the episode ends there.

There’s always more to write about and analyze when it comes to Penguindrum, but that’s all the notes I currently have for episode 9. Also, if anyone knows the name and artist of the insert song that plays as Himari is leaving Sanetoshi’s domain, please let me know in the comments. Also feel free to comment with any additional insights or discussion topics related to this episode.

~Thanks for reading~

Written by 7Mononoke

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