“but most children in the world are the same as us. so, even just once is fine. we just need someone to tell us ‘i love you’.”ikuhara 😭😭
it’s really impossible to hate something that this man creates. the amount of thought and care and love but into
penguindrum is so visible. i think this anime really exemplified and cemented ikuhara’s sensitively convoluted style of storytelling. the use of disparate ideas, drawing from seemingly simple concepts, forming a cohesive theme, using metaphor and repetition (and cycles) to drive the plot forward.
“curry eaten with the people you love taste like happiness.”just as penguindrum is made up by an amalgamation of ideas and themes and tones and concepts, curry is the same. curry is a mishmash of ingredients, just like the takakura family, who aren’t related by blood. to experience familial love, in non traditional structures of family is a testament to how love is all around us, and everything is fated to be fine.
“let’s share the fruit of fate.”(this reminded me of sora and kairi sharing the paopu fruit in kingdom hearts so much 😭.)
in
penguindrum the 2 major themes are the cycle of fate, and the synonymous nature of love and reciprocal sacrifice. with references to
night on the galactic railroad and the biblical story of adam and eve, these themes are further emphasised. all we need is someone to care that we exist, someone to love and choose us, and give us something to live for. and in return, we alter someone else’s fate by loving them the same way. to be like the ever-adaptable penguins, to sacrifice our penguindrums for the people we love.
"to live is punishment in itself. but even if it is, i wanted to be with you. i wanted to be chosen."just like how trains have set destinations, all it take is transferring to a different train line, and sometimes all we need is a little love to alter fate itself.
「愛してる
aishiteru」
“i love you”
