[Trivia] The word “ringo” as an argot in Japanese

Trivia 2 Responses »
Sep 282011

Here is a but of trivia about the word ringo (meaning “apple”) which I doubt has any bearing in Mawaru Penguindrum but is nonetheless interesting to share.

In Japan (at least in the finance industry), the word ringo is an argot for any client entity you do not want to mention by name, such as the government and so forth.

This I just learned today, actually. I was reviewing an internal document produced by the Tokyo office and suddenly it started to talk about ringo. Why is this document suddenly talking about apples? thought I, and rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Sure enough, the document said ringo alright. I got out my dictionary to check if ringo had any special meaning that I was not aware of. There was none. Dumbfounded, I asked a colleague what ringo meant, and she kindly explained to me it is an argot (隠語) and its peculiar meaning in financial parlance.

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Posted by Wabisabi at 9:32 pm

Episode 11: Youyaku kimi wa ki ga tsuitanosa /ようやく君は気がついたのさ

Episodes 10 Responses »
Sep 242011

1) To those of you who missed the comment section of the post on episode 10 for whatever reason – I strongly suggest that you have a read at Auto’s excellent (and very long) analysis. I totally took my hat off. Bravo!

2) I have always said that the depiction of lost love is an acid test of film-making – it is an acid test because you have to try very hard to not fall into banalities and clichés. And within this general umbrella of depicting of lost love the most difficult scenes to execute are: i) the farewell and ii) the meet up of former lovers.

I personally like the meet up of Kanba and Masako a lot; it is magnificently done – probably the best directed part in this series after the part with Sanetoshi letting go of Himari’s hand in episode 9.

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Posted by Wabisabi at 5:01 pm

[Translation] “The Duelist’s Qualification” by Oguro Yuuichirou

Translation 6 Responses »
Sep 222011

This is the first entry of a series of translations of staff commentaries and interviews of Mawaru Penguindrum and Shoujo Kakumei Utena I intend to post on this blog. Before people begin to throw eggs at me for including Utena stuff on a Mawaru Penguindrum blog, let me just say that a lot of thought and personal philosophy from the creators had gone into the making of Utena over 10 years ago, and Mawaru Penguindrum does feel to me like a reunion of these creators. While 10 years is neither long nor short in the span of one’s life, it is significant enough for gradual changes to modify one’s worldview one way or other, and it is interesting to ponder on the then and now.

Besides, ever since I came across this very comprehensive archive of Utena-related staff commentaries and interviews in Japanese that was begun in 2007, I have always wanted to translate some of them. Very likely some or all of them have already been translated by various individuals in the vast realm that is the Utena fandom… I confess that I have been living under a stone and I reckon that it would be quicker for me to translate them myself than to search for each of them by Google… (However, if you know where such translations can already be found, please feel free to let me know.)

The format of this series is simple: brief biography of the commentator, followed by the translation, and finally some personal comments.

Here we go:

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Posted by Wabisabi at 9:40 pm

Episode 10: Datte suki dakara / だって好きだから

Episodes 7 Responses »
Sep 182011

1) Fans of Utena should be no stranger to the “twisted” music that was played in Kanba’s descent in the hospital building. Touga also played this piece of music on a gramophone in episode 15 of Utena (that was during his period of sulking after being defeated in duel by Utena). It was the second movement of Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony “From the New World”.

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Posted by Wabisabi at 1:07 am

[Storyboard] The hand that speaks a thousand words

Storyboard 6 Responses »
Sep 172011

I have always thought that the scenes in Utena that delivered the most emotional impact and stylish beauty were inevitably close-up shots of the hand.

If you have ever tried to draw the human figure, you would appreciate how difficult to draw hands. The hand is probably more difficult to draw than than the face. And Utena had the most elegantly drawn hands and hand gestures I have ever seen in animation. I have never seen animators paying such artistic attention to the hand ever since.

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Posted by Wabisabi at 11:26 pm

Illustration from Oct 2011 issue of NewType

Illustration 1 Response »
Sep 112011

Courtesy of Baidu -

As usual, the write-up is as thin as you normally find in NewType articles. The only thing of interest is the mention of kotodama [言霊] in relation to the Fate Diary. Those of you who remember my post on Mouryou no Hako [魍魎の匣] may remember this concept, which essentially is the belief that what you say in words has a magical way of becoming true:

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Posted by Wabisabi at 9:38 pm

Beautiful fan-made goods of Mawaru Penguindrum

Fandom 4 Responses »
Sep 112011

1) Papercraft of the Pingroup delivery box with the three penguins. The source is here.


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Posted by Wabisabi at 5:07 pm

[Trivia] Voice actor of Watase Sanetoshi: Koizumi Yutaka

Trivia 2 Responses »
Sep 102011

Here is a bit of interesting trivia I found on Wikipedia JP’s entry on Koizumi Yutaka [小泉豊], the voice actor who voices Watase Sanetoshi. Apparently, he plays more than one role in this series:

  • Watase Sanetoshi: This we already know from episode 9. He plays this character to perfection.
  • Doctor A: This would be the doctor in the emergency room in episode 1.
  • Teacher of World History: This would be the teacher at Ringo’s school in episode 2.
  • Event Host: I believe this would be the event host on the TV show in episode 4.
Anyway, I believe Watase Sanetoshi would be a breakthrough role for him in terms of gaining a fan base…
Posted by Wabisabi at 9:19 pm

Episode 9: Koori no Sekai / 氷の世界

Episodes 10 Responses »
Sep 102011

1) A word on Gandhi’s seven social sins displayed in front of the library:

What do they correspond to in Mawaru Penguindrum? Some preliminary guesses:

  • Wealth without work -> The money (in the yin/yang penguin mark paperbag) that Kanba obtained
  • Pleasure without conscience -> Kanba’s kiss on the sleeping Himari
  • Knowledge without character -> Tabuki (once his true colour is revealed?)
  • Commerce without morality -> Pingroup?
  • Science without humanity -> The red bullets used by Masako to erase other people’s memory
  • Worship without sacrifice -> Ringo’s belief in Fate and the Fate Diary?
  • Politics without principles -> ???
Posted by Wabisabi at 5:17 pm

Episode 8: Kimi no Koi ga Uso demo Boku wa / 君の恋が嘘でも僕は

Episodes 2 Responses »
Sep 042011

1) No.2 usually likes to eat just about anything happily. If you recall how No.2 ate half of many sandwiches and put them right back on the table in the last episode, that was a signal that something was the matter with No.2.

Could it be, that ordinary food like sandwiches was no longer satisfactory to him? To add to this point, No.2 also did not look too happy when he tasted the sandwiches at all. He also bit the sandwiches in such a way that makes them resemble the letter “M”.

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Posted by Wabisabi at 11:10 pm
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