Mawaru Penguindrum is a Japanese anime series produced by Brain's Base, the very same animation studio that brought us Amnesia, Blood Lad and Durarara!!.
Mawaru Penguindrum falls under the themes of comedy, romance, drama, tragedy, psychological and even magical girl.
Mawaru Penguindrum is written and directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara, a man whose famous for his stellar work in Sailor Moon R and Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Mawaru Penguindrum started broadcasting since July 2011 on MBS, TBS and AT-X.
As of December 2011, Mawaru Penguindrum has ended with 24 jaw-dropping episodes.
PLOT:
Once you have made a decision, does the universe conspire in your favor for it to happen?
Is destiny a matter of chance, a matter of choice or the complex outcome of thousands of warring strands of fate?
When a terminally ill girl, Himari Takakura, collapses and dies at an aquarium after going out on a trip with her twin brothersm, Kanba and Shoma, she was miraculously saved by a spirit in the penguin-shaped hat.
Although convenient, it was only a provisional resurrection and it comes with a price: to keep Himari alive, they must find the mysterious and elusive Penguin Drum with the help of three strange penguins which are only visible to the siblings.
Thus begins the race against time and against all odds as the siblings search for clues for the elusive item.
Mawaru Penguindrum is a story of love, fate, life, death... and Penguins!
CHARACTERS:
Himari Takakura is the terminally ill sister of the twin brothers, Shoma and Kanba. Despite her ailing body, she tries to be cheerful as she possibly can so that her brothers won’t have to constantly worry about her condition. After her morbid death, she is miraculously revived by a spirit in the penguin hat. Everything comes with a price and in order for her to continue living, she has to find the elusive Penguin Drum.
Kanba Takakura is the more serious and the more experienced of the brothers. Unlike his goody-two shoes brother Shoma, he has a history of being a playboy, dating girls only to dump them soon after before everything gets serious. He cares deeply for his family and would do just about anything to keep them happy. As the eldest brother, it falls onto him to keep the family’s finances and livelihood, and is more than willing to resort to any method for his family.
Shoma Takakura is the younger twin brother of Kanba. He is depicted to be the innocent brother between the two and is mostly uneasy at the thought of doing morally ambiguous deeds unlike his brother. He was assigned with taking Ringo’s diary only to hesitate later when he was told to obtain it by any means necessary.
UPDATE:
Mawaru Penguindrum was warmly received by the audience which was later licensed by Sentai Filmworks for a North American release.
Kaze UK also licensed Mawaru Penguindrum in the United Kingdom whilst Siren Visual licensed it for Australia and New Zealand.
Dynit also licensed Mawaru Penguindrum in Italy.