Penguindrum: Collection 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.5

Penguindrum: Collection 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

This is one drum worth beating.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 11, 2013

Many of us become so numb to the rhythms, let alone the trials and tribulations, of everyday life that we tend to forget that there should be a certain sense of wonder to merely being alive. Should be being the operative qualifier. Philosophers from Plato to Nietzsche to more New Agey pundits like Gurdjieff have long lamented people either deliberately choosing or at least not working very hard to prevent falling into a sort of sleepwalking trance through much of their lives. That numb feeling tends to also permeate a lot of popular culture (and some might argue a lot of pop culture is merely an anesthetic to keep us all pacified), and certainly anime is no exception. Partly due to career demands as well as personal taste, I watch a lot of anime. A lot. And sadly a lot of anime tends to be cookie cutter reproductions of other outings, with only a few salient characteristics changed (sometimes quite slightly) to set that particular entry apart from whatever image it’s (usually intentionally) mirroring. Now, this weird opening combining a dash of philosophy or ontology with a critique of anime might seem spectacularly silly, but both elements play rather strongly into Penguindrum. As was discussed in the Penguindrum: Collection 1 Blu-ray review, this weird but compelling anime doesn’t shirk in the slightest from tackling some of the biggest questions that face Mankind, but it does so in such a bizarre way that some at least may not even realize how deep those questions are. When was the last time you saw an anime that effortlessly discussed the eternal debate over whether we’re bound by fate or acting with free will, while at the same time depicting the antics of a gaggle of maybe imaginary penguins? Talk about spectacularly silly—and yet that (and much more) is what Penguindrum does, often with an intelligence that is startling in both its simplicity as well as its profundity.

The more I watched Penguindrum, the more I started to think of this anime as a sort of sibling to Lost, as odd as that may sound. In both series, seemingly mundane everyday elements collide with sudden flights of fancy (for example, replace Lost’s infamous polar bears with penguins, another denizen of that icy climate). Both series feature resolutely philosophical underpinnings and perhaps most saliently, both series play with time, back stories, and revealed interrelationships between characters in totally unexpected ways. If Penguindrum doesn’t ever reach Lost’s totally unique, Baroque labyrinthine qualities, that’s hardly a slam—the fact that it even comes close is one of the best accolades imaginable for a “mere” anime.

A rather interesting thing happens in this second half of Penguindrum (well actually a lot of interesting things happen, but I digress): the focus of the series would seem to be on Himari Takakura, the supposedly mortally ill (if not outright deceased) little girl and her two brothers Kanba and Shouma. But as this second half gets underway, a subtle but fascinating shift takes place as Sanetoshi Watase, the mysteriously unctuous character who’s been dwelling around the fringes of the story, takes more of a central role. Sanetoshi seems to be a “man of a thousand faces”, appearing in different guises and with some motivations that may in fact not be entirely pure. He also seems to have an almost personal interest in the penguin hat that acts as a conduit to another realm when Himari wears it (like I said, this series is weird).

Penguindrum has an unabashedly bittersweet quality, one that deals quite a bit in mortality, and not just with regard to Himari, whose life has been on the line since the series’ opening episode. In fact some of the most moving elements of this second half come toward the end of the show, when several key decision need to be made and which have a very sad undercurrent that will probably bring a lump to many throats. The relationship between Himari and her brothers continues to provide the bulk of this series' emotional heft, something that the repeated flashbacks illuminating the unexpected details of their parents' history only makes more visceral. But Penguindrum doesn't just exploit these relationships willy-nilly; instead, everything is used to magnify some of the overriding themes this series explores, some of which are quite abstract and almost always have a philosophical (or, as mentioned above, even an ontological) edge.

There’s another perhaps salient comparison to Lost, in that some of the answers Penguindrum finally posits are perhaps not quite as compelling as the many questions that have gone before. The series actual does a fairly coherent job of tying together what has happened in the past to how it has rippled out in the present, but there are still some basic elements of this show which are frankly never explained in any sensible form (take those penguins, for example). But that’s part of the allure of Penguindrum, and one might imagine an intentional one at that: that part of the mystery of being alive is not being able to figure everything out.

Penguindrum: Collection 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Penguindrum Collection 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. This second half has a few more artifacts than the first, including some stability issues (you'll notice it in scenes inside the grid like interior with all the stairs, where there's noticeable shimmer on all the parallel lines). But like the first half of the series, the second half offers a riot of colors and animation concepts which give the series an unending visual variety and allure. Line detail continues to be sharp, and the only other niggling complaint some may have is some minor, though persistent, banding, perhaps more noticeable simply because the series is so colorful to begin with.

Penguindrum: Collection 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Penguindrum Collection 2 follows suit with Collection 1 by offering two lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks, one in English and the other in the original Japanese. Both of these tracks offer excellent fidelity and good prioritization which delivers the dialogue cleanly and clearly and supports the sometimes whimsical sound effects (often having to do with those notorious penguins), as well as an enjoyable music score. As with the first half of the series, there's really not a lot of aural bombast here, so dynamic range is somewhat limited.

Penguindrum: Collection 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Clean Opening Animation (1080i; 1:32)


• Clean Closing Animation (1080i; 10:54) actually includes several closing sequences.


• Japanese Commercials (1080i; 1:21)


• Japanese Promos (1080i; 4:17)


• Trailers for other Sentai Filmworks Releases

Penguindrum: Collection 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Penguindrum is without a doubt one of the most innovative, thought provoking anime in recent memory, and perhaps of all time. Resolutely philosophical but also intimate and personal, this series manages to touch the heart while engaging the brain, certainly no easy feat. Couple that with a really exciting and alluring visual style, and you have the makings of a modern classic. There are some very minor video anomalies that are present in this second half, and the supplementary package leaves something to be desired, but otherwise this is a stellar release and easily comes Highly recommended.