Seizon senryaku, bitches.
(I don’t usually spoiler tag things because I expect people to realize that this is a very spoilery blog, but just in case, MAJOR CONTENT SPOILERS for Mawaru Penguindrum.)
himari takakura
Who is Harukappa? — Random thoughts and the visuals of Sarazanmai’s cold open
“I never asked anyone to understand me! This is my own business. It’s the connection between me and Harukappa. For that, I’ll pretend to be anything!”
-Kazuki Yasaka, Sarazanmai, Episode 1
Naturally, some of the questions inspired by Kazuki Yasaka’s outburst is of Harukappa, who they are, and what Kazuki’s relationship or connection to them is exactly.
The short answer is that Harukappa is Harukawa Yasaka, a kid who lives with Kazuki and is likely Kazuki’s younger sibling.
(a few mild spoilers for Mawaru Penguindrum, specifically Episode 9)
Super Frog Saves H-trio — Himari Takakura and the divine
Himari Takakura’s first brush with divinity came years before she met Sanetoshi in the library.
Forgive me, for I am about to blaspheme (a bit).
Kappas, kawauso (otters), Mawaru Penguindrum, and more early Sarazanmai speculation
One of the most striking images from the main Sarazanmai preview trailer is of a red stain expanding outwards from an icon of an otter in a heart. The stain looks like a blood droplet spreading across Asakusa just above (or below in relation to this map, which is rotated) the Sumida River. Sarazanmai‘s Asakusa policeman duo of Reo Niiboshi and Mabu Akutsu appear to set this reaction in motion by throwing their hats in the air and yelling about extracting desire — complete with a transformation sequence that includes a lot of rising otter icons and the character “吸” for sucking or extracting. Given that the basic outline of the story involves three junior high school students transformed into kappa in search of tiny balls (shirikodama) inside the anuses of kappa zombies, Reo and Mabu’s presumed transformation where they “milk desire” is already an interesting addition.
The relationship between kappa and otters (kawauso) goes back to Japanese folklore, much like the existence of the shirikodama itself. Sarazanmai director Kunihiko Ikuhara used a kappa and otter motif around the parents of Mawaru Penguindrum‘s Ringo Oginome in a rather insidious way that could tell us a lot about his plans for a similar motif in Sarazanmai.
Major spoilers for Mawaru Penguindrum.
A slightly-too-early primer of Kunihiko Ikuhara’s Sarazanmai
In two weeks, director Kunihiko Ikuhara’s latest original anime, Sarazanmai, will air in Japan. I’ve found few anime as immersive, both coy and direct with their symbolism, and as emotionally-affecting as Ikuhara’s original works, which include Revolutionary Girl Utena, Mawaru Penguindrum, and Yurikuma Arashi. They all have something important to say and reward watching (and rewatching) with a careful eye. To say that I’m looking forward to Sarazanmai is an understatement.
I rarely preview series, but in the interest of digging into Sarazanmai as soon as possible, and organizing my own thoughts before the first episode airs on April 11, here is a collection of themes that the series may be looking to tackle, based on the information available thus far and Ikuhara’s previous work.
This won’t be as in depth regarding some of the names behind Sarazanmai outside of Ikuhara and a few others. For more on that check out this post at Sakuga Blog. Also special thanks to Good Haro for translation work and providing additional pre-release material.
Major spoilers for Mawaru Penguindrum.
atelier emily 