It's amazing how we can discover something that was created over a decade ago. Maybe it's fate…?

Penguindrum is an absurd anime that relies heavily on pure symbolism to tell its narrative. Its unique mystery serves as an effective hook to get you watching. However, this is also when seemingly pointless story developments begin to arise. Even so, that level of absurdity feels unreasonable once the show starts to settle into its characters and plot. Though it will surely keep you thinking as you try to unfold the story.

We can also notice that the direction comes from a creative mind that takes a new approach to exploring philosophical themes about fate, destiny, and the sacrifices we make to achieve what overpowers everything else: love.

After the first episode, I found myself thinking that the story's progression was slowly deteriorating, with a lot of lost potential from when it started. It became worse when developments held no relevance to the characters after the first cour. Even so, I found some good dramatic scenes that remained relevant to the story's central point.

There are many moments where I became emotionally engaged, looking forward to each character's development. Their experiences are interestingly tied together in beautiful ways, allowing characters to connect even through their conflicts, then unexpectedly destroying those relationships (which, despite the problems, they somehow overcome). Still, in so many cases that presented this opportunity, it was suppressed for the sake of the plot, which, after a while became meaningless to me. These experiences eventually felt narrow and shallow compared to what their true motives were.

Even then, these characters aren't bad, but they all suffer from the narrative's lack of focus, which doesn't feel authentic to me (except for the family scenes that are funny and inspiring). Using metaphors and symbolism as narrative tools is effective, but the show fails to maintain focus on the main characters, who lack depth and growth. Another problem is the inconsistency in its narrative direction, which became a hurdle for me to enjoy, due to unnecessary connections to its overall purpose. Even with its overall boldness, it turns into a mess that is only saved by its ending.

One reason for its appeal is the animation work that provides unique direction. The sound design blends perfectly with the art and story. Even with the narrative shortcomings, it succeeds because of how compelling its art is, creating an ambience that feels like you're in a Monogatari-style world.

Just before the conclusion, I started losing interest in all characters except Ringo, who surprisingly proved more compelling than the main characters. Taking everything as a whole, it doesn't hold up until right after the ending. Its lack of focus on characters and key moments became lackluster compared to the serious themes it was trying to address and explore. Even so, because of its unique "show, don't tell" style, it can be amazing for some people to appreciate.

Fortunately, its ending redeems itself enough that I can consider it worthwhile, to say the least. Like what I loved about the first episode, there's the opening monologue:

"I hate the word "fate." Birth, encounters, partings, success, failures, fortune and misfortunes in life. If our lives are already set in stone by fate, then why are we even born? There are those born to wealthy families, those born to beautiful mothers, and those born into the middle of war or poverty. If that's all caused by fate, then God is incredibly unfair and cruel. Because, ever since that day, none of us had a future and the only certain thing was that we wouldn't amount to anything…" – Takakura Shouma

It's a story about fate, destiny, and the sacrifices we make to achieve the truth within our hearts: the sacrifices for love that form self-reliance. Maybe it's also coincidental that I judged it by its appearance of being ripe. Only over time did I realize it's nothing special.