Mawaru Penguindrum/Characters: Difference between revisions

== Major characters ==

=== Shouma Takakura ===

 

The younger male of the Takakura household, Shouma is the resident [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] despite being male. {{spoiler|And the only full-blooded Takakura child, since Kanba and Himari were adopted. (And he, in fact, brought Himari into the family).}} Having been tasked with obtaining Ringo Oginome's diary, he seems to be developing an odd relationship with her.

 

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* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: {{spoiler|Rescues Himari from the Child Broiler when she's passed out on the conveyor belt to the incinerator.}}

* [[Bishonen]]

* [[Even the Guys Want Him]]: The seventh audio drama reveals that {{spoiler|his friend Yamashita}} has a crush on him.

* [[The Fatalist]]: ''Especially'' in episode 12.

** Also one to Kanba. While Kanba is willing to go to borderline illegal methods to get Ringo's diary, Shouma tries to approach Ringo first and make her give it up willingly. {{spoiler|Not to mention, Kanba is more accepting of their parents's stance, while Shouma strongly resents them for what has happened. [[Wham! Episode|And then there's episode 21...]].}}

* [[Green Eyes]]

* [[Japanese Pronouns]]: ''Boku'', as befitting his "non threatening dude" traits.

* [[Made of Iron]]: The guy {{spoiler|is hit by a car}} and yet barely suffers bruises and bumps. Lampshaded by Kanba:

* [[Nice Guy]]

* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Red to Kanba, Blue to Ringo.

* [[Spanner in the Works]]: {{spoiler|Ringo pretty much all but states he's one for her "Project M".}}

* [[Stepford Smiler]]: Gives some vibes [http://ninteenpointzerofour.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/spinning-penguin-drum-novel-chapter-1/ in the novels.]

* [[Supreme Chef]]

* [[Supporting Protagonist]]: The narrator of the novels and arguably the viewpoint character of the entire series, but he rarely does anything and seems to be content to sit on the side.

* [[Team Mom]]

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: To {{spoiler|Ringo}} in episode 8, and to {{spoiler|Kanba}} in episode 21. The first one sort-of works, {{spoiler|the second horribly fails.}}

* [[You Are Not Alone]]: To {{spoiler|Himari}} in episodes 19 and 20, when {{spoiler|he takes her out of the Child Broiler and into the Takakura family.}}

* [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair]]

 

=== Kanba Takakura / {{spoiler|Kanba Natsume}} ===

 

The eldest of the Takakura siblings. {{spoiler|However, he is actually Masako and Mario's biological brother and was adopted by the Takakuras when his father died.}} Kanba is known to be quite a playboy, having had several girlfriends in the past. He seems to harbor a deep affection for Himari, bordering on [[Brother-Sister Incest]].

He's also involved with several shady connections, revealed to be {{spoiler|the Penguinforce group his parents are affiliated with}}, in order to gain enough money for a cure to Himari's illness.

 

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* [[Ladykiller in Love]]: For Himari.

* [[Love Hurts]]: To protect Himari, he's willing not just to sacrifice himself (as shown by Episode 18), but to {{spoiler|harm or kill others (seen when he stages the death of the shady reporter who was asking around.)}} And then we have {{spoiler|his [[Face Heel Turn]].}}

** {{spoiler|[[Love Redeems]]: Via an [[Heroic Sacrifice]], [[Death Equals Redemption|in the end]].}}

** It's pretty strongly implied that {{spoiler|Masako}} is the reason why Kanba finds these gestures of affection so disturbing in the first place.

* [[Oh Crap]]: He's openly shocked and almost terrified in episode 11, when {{spoiler|he meets Mario adter several years... and leans about him being Masako's ''other'' motivation.}}

 

=== Himari Takakura ===

 

The youngest sibling of the Takakura household. {{spoiler|She is actually an abandoned child; after getting her out of the "Child Broiler", Shoma offered her a place in the Takakura family and she has been the brothers' beloved baby sister ever since}}. Himari has very poor health and actually dies at the start of the series; her death sparks the plot once the penguin hat that she has revives her, demanding that the Takakura siblings obtain the "Penguindrum".

 

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* [[Animation Bump]]: Her flashback episodes (9 and 20) have a significantly higher quality level than the rest of the show.

* [[Badass Damsel]]: Despite being pretty much ''{{spoiler|[[Death Trap|dangling from an empty construction crane from several floors above the ground]]}}'' in episode 18, [[Plucky Girl|Himari]] manages not to cry and panic. She is even willing to {{spoiler|''jump to her death'' if it means she can save Kanba and absolve her family from the parents's sins, which actually makes Tabuki change his mind about killing her at the very last moment.}}

* [[Because You Were Nice to Me]] - [[I Owe You My Life]]: To {{spoiler|Shouma}}

* [[Show the Forehead]]: When she has her hair in buns, complete with a shine sound effect.

* {{spoiler|[[Stepford Smiler]]: All but stated. She ''is'' a very kind girl, but she keeps her thoughts and pains to herself.}}

* [[Team Mom]]

* [[We Used to Be Friends]]: Subverted, according to her. As often as she is reminded of {{spoiler|Hibari and Hikari's success as idols}}, she is supportive of them because they used to be her friends.

* [[Wise Beyond Their Years|Wise Beyond Her Years]]

 

=== Ringo Oginome ===

 

A student from an all-girls school who gets roped into the plot after Himari's possessor orders the Takakura siblings to obtain the "Penguindrum" from her. A very strong believer in fate and destiny, Ringo possesses a diary with events written down on it that she has taken upon herself to fulfill. She's obsessed with Keiju Tabuki, whom she has known ever since childhood, to the point of stalking {{spoiler|and attempted rape}}. She befriends Himari, has a rather weird relationship with Shouma, and turns out to have multiple issues coming from {{spoiler|her sister Momoka's death and her parents's divorce}}.

 

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* [[A-Cup Angst]]

* [[First-Name Basis]]: With "Himari-chan". On the other hand, she refers to the twins by their first names ("Kanba-kun" and "Shouma-kun") whereas they call her "Oginome-san".

* [[Foil]]: For the Takakura brothers, but Shouma in particular. They're both doing crazy things for the sake of their loved ones, but Ringo is willing to go farther in pursuit of her goals.

* {{spoiler|[[Her Heart Will Go On]]: After Shouma's [[Heroic Sacrifice]].}}

* {{spoiler|[[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}: Subverted in the final episode, where {{spoiler|Shouma takes the punishment of the diary instead}}.

* [[Magic Skirt]]: Given how short her skirt is, it would seem that she's frequently flashing people just by bending over. Especially evident in episode 2, when Shouma and Kanba get an eyeful thanks to the camera on 2's head as she's crawling through the ducts under {{spoiler|Tabuki's apartment}}, but we don't see anything. Subverted for a brief moment in episode 5 after she {{spoiler|flips back up the shaft the Crystal Princess had sent her down in the Dream World}}.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Her name can be read as "[[How Do You Like Them Apples?|Apple]]".

* {{spoiler|[[My Sibling Will Live Through Me]]}}: The real reason she's so obsessed with Tabuki is because {{spoiler|she's trying to become a [[Replacement Goldfish]] for her older sister Momoka, who was Tabuki's Childhood Friend and [[Victorious Childhood Friend|would have been his eventual wife]]. Ever since she was a child, Ringo's thought that if she "becomes Momoka", her divorced parents will get back together, and in episode 11 she flat out states that she believes herself to be Momoka's [[Reincarnation]].}}

* [[One-Note Cook]]: By her own admission, can only make curry. Gets better under Himari and Shouma's tutleage. Like [[World of Symbolism|everything else]], this ties into her [[Character Development]].

* [[Precocious Crush]] / [[Stalker with a Crush]] / [[Stalking Is Love]]: Ringo is one for Tabuki, Shoma and Kanba's homeroom teacher, and has had feelings for him since she was a child.

** {{spoiler|[[Stalker with a Test Tube]]}}: {{spoiler|Wants to have Tabuki's child to "become Momoka" and fix up her broken family. She gives up later, though.}}

== Secondary characters ==

=== Keiju Tabuki ===

 

The homeroom teacher of Kanba and Shoma, an eerily cheerful and sometimes detached from reality young man. Has known the Oginome family since he was a very young boy, thus he's been a constant presence in Ringo's life.

 

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* {{spoiler|[[Dude, She's Like, in a Coma]]}}: In episode 8, {{spoiler|Ringo drugs him and tries to rape him.}}

* [[Good Scars, Evil Scars]]: On his left hand. It looks like, at some point, [[Fingore|he had his fingers SEVERELY injured]]... if not cut off and then reattatched. Episode 18 explains that {{spoiler|he ''deliberately'' injured his own fingers in a misguided attempt to win the affection of his psychologically-abusive mother. It didn't work.}}

** And again, in episode 13, {{spoiler|he and Ringo discuss the Takakura family's relationship to their lives.}}

** Episode 17 has him {{spoiler|tricking Ringo and Himari into going with him to he can have [[Revenge]] for Momoka's death}}. Episode 18 subsequently reveals several things about his past. {{spoiler|[[Break the Cutie|It's NOT pretty]].}}

 

=== Yuri Tokikago ===

 

A beautiful and eccentric Takarazuka actress, as well as Tabuki's childhood friend and actual girlfriend.

 

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* {{spoiler|[[Abusive Parents]]}}: In episode 15, we see her past. {{spoiler|Her father, a famous sculptor, told her that she was ugly, started poisoning her against her own mother and the rest of the world, and started "sculpting" her into something beautiful...with his chisels.}}

* [[Feather Motif]]: Pure white feathers scatter from her side during her firefight with {{spoiler|Masako}} in episode 17.

* {{spoiler|[[Freudian Excuse]]}}: A ''huge'' one revealed in Episode 15, involving {{spoiler|her father ''carving her body with a chisel'' to make her "worthy of being loved".}}

* [[Japanese Honorifics]]: Refers to her own fiance as "Tabuki-kun", even when she thinks no one else is around, which is [http://www.tofugu.com/2010/01/12/what-do-you-call-your-japanese-sweetheart/ unusual by Japanese standards]. {{spoiler|Most likely foreshadowing of the fact that their relationship is fake}}.

* [[I'm Not Pretty]]: {{spoiler|A very tragic case, since she believes herself to be ugly because of her [[Mad Artist]] dad's abuse.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Love Makes You Crazy]]: To get Momoka back, she will do anything. ''Anything''.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Loving a Shadow]] / [[The Mourning After]]: To Momoka. To the point of tying up and almost raping her younger sister [[Replacement Goldfish|because]] [[Strong Family Resemblance|they look and act similar]].}}

* [[Pimped-Out Dress]]: Yuri is a [[Takarazuka]] performer, so she gets these.

* {{spoiler|[[Poisonous Friend]]}}

* [[Purple Eyes]]

* [[Rule of Glamorous|Rule of Fabulous]]: Governs basically everything she owns. Hell, she's got a clean white {{spoiler|''crossbow''}} with gold trim.

 

=== Masako Natsume ===

 

An attractive, shady young woman with red hair and uncanny aim skills. {{spoiler|She also has her own Project M focusing on Kanba, along with a Survival Strategy centered on her little brother Mario. Also possesses her own penguin, a black one named Esmeralda. Her [[Weapon of Choice]] is a slingshot with mind-wiping bullets.}}

 

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* {{spoiler|[[Abusive Parents]]: Or better said, abusive grandfather.}}

* [[Action Girl]]

* [[Actor Allusion]]: In episode 16, she dreams of poisoning {{spoiler|her grandfather}} with [[Fruits Basket|a basket of fruits]] concealing a snake.

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Played with in Episode 14. {{spoiler|1=Kanba is surrounded by MIBs and Masako attacks them -- but it turns out that he was with them willingly, getting paid by them for services unspecified.}}

* [[Big Fancy House]]: A black mansion, apparently set in the outskirts of Tokyo

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Gosh, I need to crush it/him/her/them soon." {{spoiler|Which ''almost'' become her [[Famous Last Words]] in episode 22.}}

* [[Clingy Jealous Girl]]: Is one for {{spoiler|Kanba}}, her {{spoiler|[[Big Brother Attraction|twin older brother]].}} She ''is'', however, quite more manipulative and calculating than the standard.

 

=== Himari's possessor/"The Princess of the Crystal" ===

 

An otherworldly life-form (possibly) residing in a penguin hat purchased by Shoma in the aquarium. It kickstarts the plot by reviving Himari and essentially holding her hostage to order Kanba and Shoma to obtain the "Penguindrum".

 

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* [[Catch Phrase]]:

** "Shall we initiate the survival strategy?"

* [[Cooldown Hug]]: Sorta gives one to {{spoiler|[http://i39.tinypic.com/2em0gih.jpg Kanba]}}, in episode 17.

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Compare her behavior in episode 1 with what she does and say in episodes 12 and 17.

* [[Incoming Ham]]: "SURVIVAL STRATEGY!"

* [[Oh Crap]]: Not a full blown one, but her haughtiness snaps in Episode 5 before {{spoiler|Ringo climbs up the chute, runs to her and punches her in the face.}}

* [[Precision F-Strike]]: Himari is rather polite and softspoken, but her possessor has a much rougher speech pattern:

** [[Cluster F-Bomb|And it goes downhill from there.]]

* {{spoiler|[[Sealed Good in a Can]]}}: Episode 23 reveals that {{spoiler|the two penguin hats (Himari's and Mario's) are two halves of Momoka's soul, sealed away by Sanetoshi}}.

 

=== Sanetoshi Watase ===

 

A mysterious librarian{{spoiler|/doctor}} who appears to Himari in a dream. He reappears later on, with some plans of his own.

 

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* [[Dissonant Serenity]]

* [[Dude Looks Like a Lady]] : Quite a portion of the Japanese ''and'' English fandoms were shocked to find out he was a guy.

* [[Hot Librarian]]

** {{spoiler|Either [[Hot Scientist]] or [[Hospital Hottie]]. Or maybe even both. It's hard to define.}}

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Seems to have his own designs for Himari and her possessor. Even more obvious from episode 12 and then on.

* [[Meaningful Echo]]: He echoes the opening narration in the first episode at the beginning of Episode 12.

* [[Not So Stoic]]: Finally shows some emotion other than a perpetually serene cheerfulness in the last two episodes.

* {{spoiler|[[Nietzsche Wannabe]]}}: According to his soliloquies in episodes 13 and 23, {{spoiler|the apparently godly powers he shares with Momoka have only served to alienate him from others and depress him, as he believes that he cannot save anywhere near all the people who need help. This eventually led to his epiphany that the world is empty and the only way to change anything is to burn it all down.}}

** [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: {{spoiler|... But that's what led to Ringo getting their CD and learning the "fruit of fate" spell.}}

* [[Rose-Haired Girl|Rose Haired Guy]]

* {{spoiler|[[Sealed Evil in a Can]]}}: {{spoiler|His encounter with Momoka 16 years ago resulted in him being split and sealed inside the two black bunnies usually seen inside the hospital examination room.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Stepford Smiler]]: Of the depressed and intensely nihilistic variety.}}

* {{spoiler|[[We Can Rule Together]]: Again, to possessed!Himari. He's rejected, but doesn't seem to give up. Considering the end of episode 12 as well as episode 13, he didn't, and seems to have more mysterious plans... centered on the girl who rejected him, who may or may not be Momoka.}}

** Also offers {{spoiler|Masako}} to join him. {{spoiler|He's rejected again.}}

== Background characters ==

=== The Penguins (#1, #2, #3) ===

 

 

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=== Momoka {{spoiler|Oginome}} ===

 

A young girl who seems to have extremely close conections to many people in the story. {{spoiler|She actually was: the firstborn daughter of the Oginomes (deceased in the attacks of 16 years ago), Ringo's dead older sister, Tabuki and Yuri's childhood friend, maybe Sanetoshi's fated person, '''and''' the original owner of Ringo's infamous Destiny Diary. Oh, and she ''may'' be the real identity of the Princess of the Crystal.}}

 

 

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* {{spoiler|[[Never Found the Body]]: Her lifeless body was never located, and only her Destiny Diary remained.}}

* {{spoiler|1=[[Reality Warper]]/[[Winds of Destiny Change]]: She claims to be able to change the fate of living beings via her Destiny Diary.}}

* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: At times.

* [[Romantic Two-Girl Friendship]]: Her relationship with {{spoiler|Yuri Tokikago}} is an elementary-school version of the trope. {{spoiler|16 years later, [[Broken Bird|Yuri]] [[The Mourning After|is still in love with her]].}}

 

=== Kenzan and Chiemi Takakura ===

 

The parents of the Takakura household. So far, they have only been developed through flashbacks, as they have not appeared in the main story as of yet. {{spoiler|They participated in the series of subway bombings that caused Momoka Oginome and other's deaths as part of a Survival Strategy}}.

 

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* [[Dark and Troubled Past]]: {{spoiler|They were in ''very'' shady deals in the past, specially with the Penguin Factions.}} In episode 12, {{spoiler|Kenzan is shown as a member of the group branch that performed the attacks that led to Momoka and other people's deaths. Chiemi also was a follower, but the extent of her involvement is unknown.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Dead All Along]]: [http://i.minus.com/ib1mdsBnGyVxi1.jpg As seen in] [http://i.minus.com/iSeHseeMguMF0.jpg episode 21].}}

* [[Good Parents]]: Kenzan carried little Himari on his back to an hospital ''during a typhoon'' and '''by foot''' to get her medical help. (With little Kanba in tow, even protecting him from a falling lamp). Then in episode 9, we learn that Chiemi went [[Mama Bear]] by shielding little Himari from a falling mirror [[Diving Save|with her own body]], getting injured in her place and having to be hospitalised as a result.

* [[Like Father, Like Son]]: Kanba appears to inherit Kenzan's personality as well as his looks (except for the red hair), while Himari inherits Chiemi's looks and both she and Shouma inherit her personality traits. {{spoiler|Even though both Kanba and Himari are adopted.}}

* [[Parental Abandonment]]: Left their kids alone in their run-down house one day, and never came back. {{spoiler|They didn't exactly have much of a choice in the matter.}}

 

=== Satoshi and Eriko Oginome ===

 

Ringo's divorced parents. She lives with Eriko and meeets up with Satoshi outside home.

 

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* [[Hot Mom]]: Eriko

 

=== Double H (Hibari Isada and Hikari Utada) ===

 

Two very famous [[Idol Singer|idol singers]] whose merchandising is everywhere.

 

 

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* [[Idol Singer]]: The two of them.

* [[Named After Somebody Famous]]: [[Utada Hikaru|Hikaru Utada]] and [[wikipedia:Hibari Misora|Hibari Misora]], to be precise.

* [[Rose-Haired Girl]]: Hibari

* [[Those Two Girls]]

=== Mario {{spoiler|Natsume}} ===

 

 

A quiet young boy seen very few times. {{spoiler|He is Masako's younger brother, and apparently died in undisclosed circumstances. He has his own Penguin Hat, and his older sister's other motivation aside of winning Kanba's affections is to save his life.}}

 

 

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* {{spoiler|[[Abusive Parents|Abusive]] [[Raised by Grandparents|Grandfather]]: Was raised by Sanbei alongside Masako.}}

* [[Creepy Child]]: {{spoiler|Though he wasn't always like that, judging by episode 20.}}

** {{spoiler|And after the [[Grand Finale]], he actually gets better and is seen acting normally towards his [[Onee-Sama]] Masako.}}

 

=== Sanbei Natsume ===

 

Masako's grandfather and leader of the Natsume family. {{spoiler|Until his death, several years ago.}}

 

 

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=== Renjaku ===

 

A maid in service of the Natsume family, who has worked for them for many years.

 

 

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* {{spoiler|[[Beautiful All Along]]: [[The Glasses Come Off|Remove her]] [[Stoic Spectacles]] and [[Letting Her Hair Down|undo her chignon bun]]. [http://imageftw.com/uploads/20111113/renjaku_noglasses.png Why, Miss Renjaku, you're a hottie!]}}

* [[Expy]]: Of Anthy from ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'', both visually and {{spoiler|in terms of [[Hidden Depths]] and [[Beautiful All Along]]}}.

* [[Meido]]

=== Souya and Shirase ===

 

 

Two strange children who hang around Sanetoshi. {{spoiler|They may actually be two bunnies able to take human form.}}

 

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* [[Creepy Twins]]

* [[Cross-Dressing Voices]]: Played straight with Souya, averted with Shirase since [[Motoki Takagi]] is one of the few male seiyuus able to voice pre-teen boys regularly.

* [[Hair Decorations|Pre-teen Boys are Cuter With Hair Decs]]: Their red headbands {{spoiler|that look like their bunny ears}}

* {{spoiler|[[Everythings Better With Bunnies]]: Their true forms are two very creepy black bunnies}}.

=== Tsubasa Yuuki ===

 

 

Yuri's partner in their trope. She's modeled after the ''otokoyaku'', or [[Takarazuka]] actresses that play exclusively male roles.

 

 

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* [[Large Ham]]: [[Gratuitous French|"Mon amoooooour!"]]

* {{spoiler|[[Love Makes You Evil]]}}: {{spoiler|Implied that she stabbed Tabuki out of jealousy once Yuri broke off their affair.}}

* [[Put on a Bus]]: Pretty much disappears after episode 14.

** {{spoiler|[[The Bus Came Back]]: Episode 22!}}