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輪るピングドラム / Mawaru Penguindrum - Light novel #1
Mawaru Penguindrum, Station 1
Quand Himari, lycéenne orpheline, décède suite à une tumeur au cerveau, ses deux frères sont abattus… jusqu’à ce qu’elle ressuscite, grâce à un étrange chapeau-manchot ! Comme possédée, leur sœur leur ordonne alors de partir à la recherche d’un mystérieux artefact, le Penguin Drum, sans quoi elle risque de mourir à nouveau. Désormais accompagnés de manchots de compagnie qu’ils sont les seuls à voir, les deux adolescents vont mener une quête étrange et burlesque, qui pourrait bien les amener à découvrir de sombres secrets. Car ce qu’ils ne savent pas encore, c’est qu’ils ne sont pas les seuls à rechercher cet énigmatique objet…
- GenresLight NovelFantasyNovels
308 pages, Paperback
First published July 4, 2011
17 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Kunihiko Ikuhara
33 books9 followersKunihiko IKUHARA (幾原邦彦) is a Japanese director, writer, artist, and music producer.
He has created and collaborated on several notable anime and manga series, including his early works Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, and his later works Mawaru Penguindrum, Yurikuma Arashi, and Sarazanmai.
He has done various collaboration with other artists, such as Asumiko Nakamura (Nokemono to Hanayome THE MANGA).
He often uses pen names for his works.
- Ikuni;
- Ikunichowder (Mawaru Penguindrum);
- Ikunigomakinako (Yurikuma Arashi);
- Ikunirapper (Sarazanmai).
He is also the founder of Be-Papas.
He has created and collaborated on several notable anime and manga series, including his early works Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, and his later works Mawaru Penguindrum, Yurikuma Arashi, and Sarazanmai.
He has done various collaboration with other artists, such as Asumiko Nakamura (Nokemono to Hanayome THE MANGA).
He often uses pen names for his works.
- Ikuni;
- Ikunichowder (Mawaru Penguindrum);
- Ikunigomakinako (Yurikuma Arashi);
- Ikunirapper (Sarazanmai).
He is also the founder of Be-Papas.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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September 5, 2019DNF @ 120
J’arrive pas du tout avec la narration.. et c’est trop wtf pour moi 😭😭
J’arrive pas du tout avec la narration.. et c’est trop wtf pour moi 😭😭
October 22, 2021
I can only assume "light" means "easy to read" because this deals with some pretty intense themes including numerous tragic deaths under circumstances that would likely put anyone who experienced them in shock, and a teenage girl drugging and attempting to rape a man in order to get pregnant by him because her deceased older sister dated him. Thee is certainly a clash of Eastern and Western influences going on in the story. In Japanese Buddhism, it was common to have necronyms called kaimyō, that were given to people on the death of relatives and stayed with them for life. They used to be the only name recorded on a gravestone. I could not help thinking of the famous case of Shigechiyo Izumi, who was once recognized as the oldest living person and was said to have died at 120, setting a world record that has been broken by only one person, but apparently was only 105 at the time of his death, having been treated as a replacement for a dead older brother who was named Shigechiyo. The central protagonists in the story find Oginome Ringo's attitude of being a replacement for her sister disturbing and seemingly more western-influenced.
I actually grabbed this liking the cover and assumed from where it was in the library that it was a manga only to find that it wasn't after I left the library. I'm usually not that hasty, but the premise still intrigued me, and I hope that the others in the series get published in English. At least some of the mysteries in the book are resolved by the end.
As I've never read the manga or seen the anime, the downside is that I may find the images in my mind superior to either of them.
This book might be described as an urban fantasy. It deals with a dead sister brought back to life and conditions established by fantastic beings that she stay alive. The penguins, who are described as looking cartoonish and unlike any actual penguins help out with some things, but the book wouldn't be that much different if they were stripped away to focus only on the human characters.
I do take some issue with its point of view changes. The book begins from Shoma's point of view. When he is knocked unconscious, third person omniscient takes over until Shoma is back partway through the second chapter and many times throughout the book. This gives it the feel of a convenience--wanting to write the story in first person then deciding it doesn't work that way. It's not like Dracula, where the story is an assemblage of documents by several characters assembled into sequence. Perhaps I'll change my view when the other volumes are translated into English. There are fairly easy ways to make third person character report scenes for which they were not present, usually establishing that they learned it after the fact.
I actually grabbed this liking the cover and assumed from where it was in the library that it was a manga only to find that it wasn't after I left the library. I'm usually not that hasty, but the premise still intrigued me, and I hope that the others in the series get published in English. At least some of the mysteries in the book are resolved by the end.
As I've never read the manga or seen the anime, the downside is that I may find the images in my mind superior to either of them.
This book might be described as an urban fantasy. It deals with a dead sister brought back to life and conditions established by fantastic beings that she stay alive. The penguins, who are described as looking cartoonish and unlike any actual penguins help out with some things, but the book wouldn't be that much different if they were stripped away to focus only on the human characters.
I do take some issue with its point of view changes. The book begins from Shoma's point of view. When he is knocked unconscious, third person omniscient takes over until Shoma is back partway through the second chapter and many times throughout the book. This gives it the feel of a convenience--wanting to write the story in first person then deciding it doesn't work that way. It's not like Dracula, where the story is an assemblage of documents by several characters assembled into sequence. Perhaps I'll change my view when the other volumes are translated into English. There are fairly easy ways to make third person character report scenes for which they were not present, usually establishing that they learned it after the fact.
July 16, 2023
Ok so here's the thing. Mawaru Penguindrum is possibly one of the most powerful, fascinating, and surreal stories out there. It's heartfelt, it has so much to say about society, people, love, and family. I genuinely think it's a landmark story.
The light novel adaptation is Bad.
Most of Penguindrum's storytelling is super visual and relies heavily on background visual cues and gags. That doesn't translate well to narration. But even more than that, it's just. It's not written well. I don't know if this is a translation issue or if it was like this in the original, but it's just. It's stilted. The POV choices are weird. It has weird descriptions and emotion tags that don't match the moment or situation. It skips over entire scenes and sort of quickly paraphrases them after the fact in a such a way that even I, someone who had watched the anime 3 times and read the manga twice, was confused about what had just happened.
While there's a couple of passages here and there that the narrative lets us get into certain characters' heads for that I found interesting, they were so few and far between that getting through the rest of it was a slog. The thing about a written narrative is that you get to see into people's heads more, which could have been a great take on Penguindrum, but instead, it somehow overall felt like a much shallower understanding of the cast than the anime. It relied way too much on just reciting events rather than giving much depth to the characters.
I have the rest of the LN series and I will probably read it, but I absolutely cannot recommend this to anyone except for the most diehard Penguindrum fans who might want a few sentences to add to their dissertations about character motivations.
Do yourself a favor and just watch the anime if you're interested in the story. It's so worth it.
The light novel adaptation is Bad.
Most of Penguindrum's storytelling is super visual and relies heavily on background visual cues and gags. That doesn't translate well to narration. But even more than that, it's just. It's not written well. I don't know if this is a translation issue or if it was like this in the original, but it's just. It's stilted. The POV choices are weird. It has weird descriptions and emotion tags that don't match the moment or situation. It skips over entire scenes and sort of quickly paraphrases them after the fact in a such a way that even I, someone who had watched the anime 3 times and read the manga twice, was confused about what had just happened.
While there's a couple of passages here and there that the narrative lets us get into certain characters' heads for that I found interesting, they were so few and far between that getting through the rest of it was a slog. The thing about a written narrative is that you get to see into people's heads more, which could have been a great take on Penguindrum, but instead, it somehow overall felt like a much shallower understanding of the cast than the anime. It relied way too much on just reciting events rather than giving much depth to the characters.
I have the rest of the LN series and I will probably read it, but I absolutely cannot recommend this to anyone except for the most diehard Penguindrum fans who might want a few sentences to add to their dissertations about character motivations.
Do yourself a favor and just watch the anime if you're interested in the story. It's so worth it.
February 20, 2019
Très honnêtement, je suis déçue. 😩
Je n'en attendais pourtant pas énormément, juste quelque chose de fun... avec despingouins manchots.
Mais, bien que ça avait l'air de bien démarrer, au final j'ai trouvé le tout trop décousu. Et puis, sans vouloir être inutilement vulgaire... y'a un moment où c'est franchement trop parti en couilles.
Sinon, j'ai aussi très (très très) moyennement apprécié que le livre ne se lise pas indépendemment. Dans le sens où on est un peu obligé de lire le(s) livre(s) suivant(s) car il pose plus de questions qu'il n'y a de réponses, et laisse énormément de fils irrésolus. Ça part un peu dans tous les sens, et rien n'a de conclusion.
L'autre truc qui m'a dérangée, je ne sais pas si ça vient de la traduction qui n'est pas très bonne, ou si c'est le texte original, mais j'ai trouvé ce livre plutôt mal écrit... 'fin, désagréable à lire. 🤔
Et puis euh... bon, vous commencez à savoir que je suis de plus en plus en froid avec Akata, et en l'occurence, le même problème que j'avais eu avec le premier Le Pâtissier de mes rêves, les coquilles (ça va d'une faute de frappe à un mot entier qui manque) un peu trop fréquentes hein... ça m'a sérieusement refroidie.
M'enfin, maintenant que j'ai commencé, j'irai quand même prendre la suite quand ça sortira quoi. 🙄
Je n'en attendais pourtant pas énormément, juste quelque chose de fun... avec des
Mais, bien que ça avait l'air de bien démarrer, au final j'ai trouvé le tout trop décousu. Et puis, sans vouloir être inutilement vulgaire... y'a un moment où c'est franchement trop parti en couilles.
Sinon, j'ai aussi très (très très) moyennement apprécié que le livre ne se lise pas indépendemment. Dans le sens où on est un peu obligé de lire le(s) livre(s) suivant(s) car il pose plus de questions qu'il n'y a de réponses, et laisse énormément de fils irrésolus. Ça part un peu dans tous les sens, et rien n'a de conclusion.
L'autre truc qui m'a dérangée, je ne sais pas si ça vient de la traduction qui n'est pas très bonne, ou si c'est le texte original, mais j'ai trouvé ce livre plutôt mal écrit... 'fin, désagréable à lire. 🤔
Et puis euh... bon, vous commencez à savoir que je suis de plus en plus en froid avec Akata, et en l'occurence, le même problème que j'avais eu avec le premier Le Pâtissier de mes rêves, les coquilles (ça va d'une faute de frappe à un mot entier qui manque) un peu trop fréquentes hein... ça m'a sérieusement refroidie.
M'enfin, maintenant que j'ai commencé, j'irai quand même prendre la suite quand ça sortira quoi. 🙄
September 1, 2020
Definire quest'opera semplice non è. La si può chiudere sotto la grande nicchia delle light novels (una sorta di young adult alla giapponese), ma ha, nonostante i classici cliché del genere, una profondita inaudita.
Ikuhara d'altronde è sempre stato un autore criptico in molte cose, eccentrico a suo modo ma molto più fascinoso di un Yuasa a cui viene spesso paragonato. (opinione personale).
Basta guardare il capolavoro: Revolutionary Girl Utena, per capire che tiene molto a cuore la formzaione dei giovani, quei processi di terrore di una gioventù che ha paura degli adulti.
Il tema viene ripreso anche in Penguindrum in questa trasposizione scritta dell'anime (raccomandatissimo, ma estremamente di nicchia), dove i personaggi "giovani" si muovono spaesati, in un mare di adulti inesistenti, incopetenti, o incomprensibili.
Il professore di scuola che è un sempliciotto che per un motivo non chiaro sposa un'attrice famosissima (dalla personalità molto ambigua), che non si rende conto dello stalkeraggio di Ringo, un'adolescente che segue il fato, divenuta inesistente agli occhi dei genitori troppo impegnati a piangere l'altra figlia scomparsa.
Himari che nasconde un senso di colpa, la quasi incestuosità di Kanba, l'eccessiva inutilità di Souma, i edicenni vittime della rivista Sixteen, ed i pinguini che rappresentano la personalità dei protagonisti. Lo zio approfittatore. Il capitolo finale con cliffhanger che lascia aperto tutto. I misteri sul Penguindrum, che forse è la "speranza" dei giovani.
Ikuhara (nell'anime gli adulti sono dei pupazzetti anonimi ed i nostri giovani si muovo in questa metropolitana piena di immagini flashanti disorientando lo spettatore), riesce a mascherare sotto una scrittura leggera e per ragazzi temi profondi, destinati a noi adulti che chiudiamo gli occhi o non comprendiamo il disagio dei giovani che lottano per il proprio destino e sopravvivenza.
Scritto per ragazzi ma destinato a noi adulti.
Una delle migliori Light Novel che abbia letto. Raccomando la lettura poi la visione dell'anime (fermandosi dove il libro si ferma), e mentre attendete i volumi successivi (altri due), andate e recuperate Utena.
Perchè quello è uno degli anime meglio concepiti di sempre.
Ikuhara d'altronde è sempre stato un autore criptico in molte cose, eccentrico a suo modo ma molto più fascinoso di un Yuasa a cui viene spesso paragonato. (opinione personale).
Basta guardare il capolavoro: Revolutionary Girl Utena, per capire che tiene molto a cuore la formzaione dei giovani, quei processi di terrore di una gioventù che ha paura degli adulti.
Il tema viene ripreso anche in Penguindrum in questa trasposizione scritta dell'anime (raccomandatissimo, ma estremamente di nicchia), dove i personaggi "giovani" si muovono spaesati, in un mare di adulti inesistenti, incopetenti, o incomprensibili.
Il professore di scuola che è un sempliciotto che per un motivo non chiaro sposa un'attrice famosissima (dalla personalità molto ambigua), che non si rende conto dello stalkeraggio di Ringo, un'adolescente che segue il fato, divenuta inesistente agli occhi dei genitori troppo impegnati a piangere l'altra figlia scomparsa.
Himari che nasconde un senso di colpa, la quasi incestuosità di Kanba, l'eccessiva inutilità di Souma, i edicenni vittime della rivista Sixteen, ed i pinguini che rappresentano la personalità dei protagonisti. Lo zio approfittatore. Il capitolo finale con cliffhanger che lascia aperto tutto. I misteri sul Penguindrum, che forse è la "speranza" dei giovani.
Ikuhara (nell'anime gli adulti sono dei pupazzetti anonimi ed i nostri giovani si muovo in questa metropolitana piena di immagini flashanti disorientando lo spettatore), riesce a mascherare sotto una scrittura leggera e per ragazzi temi profondi, destinati a noi adulti che chiudiamo gli occhi o non comprendiamo il disagio dei giovani che lottano per il proprio destino e sopravvivenza.
Scritto per ragazzi ma destinato a noi adulti.
Una delle migliori Light Novel che abbia letto. Raccomando la lettura poi la visione dell'anime (fermandosi dove il libro si ferma), e mentre attendete i volumi successivi (altri due), andate e recuperate Utena.
Perchè quello è uno degli anime meglio concepiti di sempre.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2020
Les éditions Akata nous ont habitués aux mangas et particulièrement aux mangas qui cachent plus de profondeur qu’ils n’en ont parfois l’air, c’est également le cas pour ce premier roman de leur nouvelle collection Young Adult.
Le résumé en dévoile peut-être trop à mon goût et je suis content de ne pas l’avoir lu avant de démarrer ma découverte de cette histoire digne des Studios Ghibli ! En effet, alors que je tournais les pages, j’avais la sensation d’être en train de regarder l’un de ces animés dont on ne présente plus les titres. Avec peut-être un petit bémol sur les transitions parfois trop brutes à mon goût, ce qui m’amène à ne pas être totalement enthousiaste sur mon avis.
Mais qu’on ne s’y trompe pas, j’ai passé un excellent moment en compagnie des jumeaux et en les suivant dans leur quête pour sauver leur sœur. Ils plongent dans une réalité qui n’a rien à voir avec celle qu’ils connaissent et s’adaptent comme si c’était normal de se retrouver alliés avec ces manchots mignons mais un peu limités question jugeote…
Bien sûr, leur aventure s’avèrera plus compliquée qu’elle ne l’est à la base et c’est dans un prochain tome que nous en apprendrons plus sur cette histoire dont je préfère ne pas vous gâcher le plaisir de la découverte en en dévoilant trop.
Toujours est-il que si vous aimez les univers décalés se situant dans notre monde et que le Japon vous attire, ce roman (qui peut être aussi classé en jeunesse à mon avis) vous fera passer un excellent moment ! À mon avis, pari réussi pour le lancement des romans chez cet éditeur de mangas !
Le résumé en dévoile peut-être trop à mon goût et je suis content de ne pas l’avoir lu avant de démarrer ma découverte de cette histoire digne des Studios Ghibli ! En effet, alors que je tournais les pages, j’avais la sensation d’être en train de regarder l’un de ces animés dont on ne présente plus les titres. Avec peut-être un petit bémol sur les transitions parfois trop brutes à mon goût, ce qui m’amène à ne pas être totalement enthousiaste sur mon avis.
Mais qu’on ne s’y trompe pas, j’ai passé un excellent moment en compagnie des jumeaux et en les suivant dans leur quête pour sauver leur sœur. Ils plongent dans une réalité qui n’a rien à voir avec celle qu’ils connaissent et s’adaptent comme si c’était normal de se retrouver alliés avec ces manchots mignons mais un peu limités question jugeote…
Bien sûr, leur aventure s’avèrera plus compliquée qu’elle ne l’est à la base et c’est dans un prochain tome que nous en apprendrons plus sur cette histoire dont je préfère ne pas vous gâcher le plaisir de la découverte en en dévoilant trop.
Toujours est-il que si vous aimez les univers décalés se situant dans notre monde et que le Japon vous attire, ce roman (qui peut être aussi classé en jeunesse à mon avis) vous fera passer un excellent moment ! À mon avis, pari réussi pour le lancement des romans chez cet éditeur de mangas !
January 30, 2019
Je ne savais pas du tout à quoi m’attendre, ok j’avais malgré tout une information de taille avec le résumé, qui a d’ailleurs suffi a me faire dire que je voulais absolument faire une nouvelle découverte.
Eh bien, je peux mai tenant dire que c’est une très belle surprise. Bien que le début soit plutôt triste, tout le reste ne peut que séduire le lecteur. C’est vrai que je ne suis pas habituée aux prénoms, aux noms, aux lieux, il m’a fallu un petit temps d’adaptation, mais je me suis rapidement sentie à l’aise.
Avouez que la couverture ne paye pas de mine, pourtant, celle-ci cache un récit surprenant, loufoque par moments, étonnant, et nous ne sommes ici qu’au premier tome !!! Mais que va donc donner la suite ?
Ce que j’ai franchement apprécié c’est cette immersion dans la vie japonaise, j’y ai appris une autre manière de vivre. Si un livre nous fait passer un bon moment, que le décor est grandiose, et qu’en plus nous avons l’occasion d’apprendre quelque chose, du moins pour les personnes n’étant pas habituées au décor asiatique, que demandez de plus ?
Moi, je dis, foncez, tout simplement !
Eh bien, je peux mai tenant dire que c’est une très belle surprise. Bien que le début soit plutôt triste, tout le reste ne peut que séduire le lecteur. C’est vrai que je ne suis pas habituée aux prénoms, aux noms, aux lieux, il m’a fallu un petit temps d’adaptation, mais je me suis rapidement sentie à l’aise.
Avouez que la couverture ne paye pas de mine, pourtant, celle-ci cache un récit surprenant, loufoque par moments, étonnant, et nous ne sommes ici qu’au premier tome !!! Mais que va donc donner la suite ?
Ce que j’ai franchement apprécié c’est cette immersion dans la vie japonaise, j’y ai appris une autre manière de vivre. Si un livre nous fait passer un bon moment, que le décor est grandiose, et qu’en plus nous avons l’occasion d’apprendre quelque chose, du moins pour les personnes n’étant pas habituées au décor asiatique, que demandez de plus ?
Moi, je dis, foncez, tout simplement !
October 9, 2020
I told myself, after the lamentable Wolf Children that I would avoid novelizations of original anime. Unfortunately, with Penguindrum, I had a bit of a chicken or egg moment as I wasn’t certain which came first before it arrived at my door. I tried to read first and then watch the source material this time. It surprised me how much the light novel leaves out. I wasn’t surprised by some of the embellishments in the written version. There are some basic changes in relationships that occur when certain bits are left out of the LN—a certain romantic rivalry for one. It isn’t a terrible read, but it lacks much of the magic and energy of the anime.
September 17, 2021
If you haven't seen the anime I don't recommend reading this. This is a story that really only works in a visual format. However if you have seen the anime and enjoyed it then this works as a sorta supplement. There's new tidbits of information added along with how the characters view things that weren't present in the anime, plus it was nice to experience the story again since it's been almost 10 years since I first watched it. It made me want to watch it again.
Overall this is just for fans of the anime and I liked it pretty well to pick up the other two volumes.
Overall this is just for fans of the anime and I liked it pretty well to pick up the other two volumes.
March 17, 2022
3.5 yıldız verilebiliyor olsa öyle yapıcaktım - elim 3 vermeye gitmediğinden 4 verdim mecburen. çok böyle sürükleyici ahım şahım bi hikayeye ve anlatıma sahip olmasa da yine de hoştu diyebilirim. yıllar önce animesini izlemiştim ama pek bir şey hatırlamadığım için emin olmamakla birlikte animesi daha ilgi çekiciydi galiba
April 5, 2021
This is not a review of the book, but my feelings after 10 years of being Penguindrum trash. Its not the kind of book my friends would enjoy, so I strongly encourage them not to read it. For the rest of you out there, it'll depend on how much you enjoyed the show back in the day.
November 22, 2021
The beginning was pretty good…a bit of a slow burn, but then I had some questions that just didn’t quite make sense to me. 3.5 stars because it wasn’t all that bad. I have not seen the anime to this, but I sure want to now.
September 24, 2020
It is good but a little boring
December 28, 2023
this book gave me more laughs than it should have. i love how most scenes are serious but mixed with humor and such. loved reading it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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