Mawaru Penguindrum - Episode 2

Kanba and Shouma might have their sister alive, kicking and completely healthy thanks to the mysterious extra-terrestrial-cum-hat that has somehow taken over her body to initiate its rather bizarre (and overly showy) "Survival Strategy", but I would wager neither brother had realised just what a pain in the backside their payment for this miracle would be.

As the legs on the ground in the search for the mysterious "Penguin Drum" of the show's title, the brothers first task presented to them is to follow a girl named Ringo Oginome who is purported to be in possession of said item.... at least, she might be.  Possibly.  Who knows, you can't expect a penguin-alien-hat thing to know everything now, can you?

Anyway, off traipse our two brothers to trail Ringo, backed up by their adorable penguin helpers who absolutely and unequivocally steal the show from beginning to end as their invisibility to everyone outside of the Takakura is put to good use as Ringo goes to school, makes a trip to a lingerie shop and does some bird watching.  It's here that we reach a twist in the tail, as the normal and seemingly innocent Ringo's darker and downright creepy side is exposed - is this anything to do with the Penguin Drum or are we just being dragged along on an intriguing but ultimately fruitless wild goose chase?  This story arc isn't over yet, so we shall have to wait and see where this particular track is taking us.

While I'm sure I should be caring about some of the deeper implications of this episode, be it Ringo's proclivities or her particular take on the role of fate and destiny in her life and how that compares to those of the Takakura brothers, all I really have to say about this episode is that its trio of penguin helpers are the most adorably hilarious thing I have ever, ever seen.  Simply every scene in which they appear is stolen by these cute little critters as they waddle about whilst acting goofily and generally being pretty rubbish at whatever objective they are tasked with, and I absolutely love it.  It's almost as if someone has delved into the recesses of my mind, pin-pointed exactly what will make me shout "Awwwwwww" out loud between bursts of hysterical laughter, and then distilled it into animated form just for me.  Yes, other stuff happens in this episode and all that, but who cares - give me episodes of cute little penguins trying to do undercover work and I'm utterly smitten.