Penguin Musume

Penguin Musume

Cover of the first volume
ペンギン娘
(Penguin Girl)
Genre Comedy
Manga
Written by Tetsuya Takahashi
Published by Akita Shoten
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion
Original run 2006 – 2007
Volumes 3
Manga
Penguin Musume Max
Written by Tetsuya Takahashi
Published by Akita Shoten
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Champion Red
Original run December 19, 2007 – finished
Volumes 4
Original net animation
Penguin Musume Heart
Directed by Hitoyuki Matsui
Studio Picture Magic
Released April 19, 2008 – November 25, 2008
Episodes 22 (+ 1 extra episode)
Anime and Manga Portal

Penguin Musume (ペンギン娘 Pengin Musume?, lit. Penguin Girl) is a Japanese manga series, written by manga author Tetsuya Takahashi. The manga was serialized in the Japanese shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion between 2006 and 2007. After the manga ended serialization in Weekly Shōnen Champion, the serialization was restarted from the February 2008 issue of Champion Red magazine with the Penguin Musume Max title. An original net animation adaptation entitled Penguin Musume Heart (ペンギン娘♥はぁと Pengin Musume ♥ Hāto?) was streamed on Nico Nico Douga between April 19, 2008 and November 25, 2008.

Contents

Plot

Main article: List of Penguin Musume Heart episodes

The story follows Sakura 'Penguin' Nankyoku and her friends Kujira Etorofu and Nene Kurio through their daily lives, which are often corrupted by either Penguin herself, her economic rival Mary Whitebear, or other people who have interest in the Nankyoku family.

Sakura Nankyoku is a total otaku. Due to a fluke, she gets elected as her class' student council president. Everything takes off from there into a series of crazy misadventures revolving around Sakura, her family, and her classmates.

Characters

Main characters

Sakura 'Penguin' Nankyoku (南極 さくら Nankyoku Sakura?)
Voiced by: Azusa Kataoka
The lead character who is obsessed with manga and anime. Whenever she cosplays as someone, she obtains the abilities of the outfit she is wearing. She is part of a very rich family and is nicknamed Penguin (ペンギン Pengin?) due to her penguin-like hairstyle and her surname which means "South Pole". Growing up with anime and manga has led her to have an erratic and slightly perverted personality, and she often latches on to her female friends.
Kujira Etorofu (択捉 鯨 Etorofu Kujira?)
Voiced by: Mariya Ise
A girl who is skilled in Etorofu martial arts. She was raised as a boy by her father to become a strong fighter, and while she has since realized she is actually a girl, her father hasn't. She is generally hounded by Penguin due to a likeness to one of her favorite anime stars.
Nene Kurio (栗尾 ねね Kurio Nene?)
Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjō
A calm girl who always remains composed with a smile on her face, no matter what happens. She lives near the shrine and works as a shrine maiden, but she also has some ninja-esque capabilities.
Cha Chi (シャー・チー Chā Chī?)
Voiced by: Sakura Nogawa
A strong fighter from China who is skilled in her family's martial arts. She made a promise with Kujira, who was still under the delusion she was a boy, that if Cha could defeat her, Kujira would become her husband. While Kujira has since realized she was a girl, Cha still remains clueless and vows to make her her husband someday, often going against people who would steal her away.
Kaede Nankyoku (南極 楓 Nankyoku Kaede?)
Voiced by: Rina Hidaka
Penguin's younger sister, who is a lot more composed than her. She generally has to sort out Penguin's errors and punish her by sending her to 'the lecture house'.
Marie Chupacabra W. Whitebear (マリー・チュパカブラ・W・ホワイトベア Marī Chupakabura W. Howaitobea?)
Voiced by: Mai Kadowaki
Penguin's rival, represented by a polar bear. She is almost always accompanied by her servants, the White Knights. A tragic moment in her past has caused her to despise the Nankyoku company, and constantly seeks to overwhelm it, normally by building something bigger than what they have. Later on though, she becomes bankrupt and has to use tattered clothing while maintaining her lady-like dignity. She is also referred to as 'Shirokuma' (a literal translation of Whitebear) and is sometimes called 'Kuma-san' by Penguin.

The White Knights

Maguro Hōjiro (頬城 鮪 Hōjiro Maguro?)
Voiced by: Masami Suzuki
Maguro Hojiro is Marie's right-hand woman and one of her four knights. She wears an eyepatch and a maid's outfit. Maguro has a fierce composure, but becomes shy around Kujira and communicates with cutesy text messages.
Mary Chupacabra W. Whitebear (メアリ・チュパカブラ・W・ホワイトベア Meari Chupakabura W. Howaitobea?)
Voiced by: Yukako Yoshikawa
Nicknamed 'Hunting Maria', Mary is Marie's younger sister and one of her four knights. She is proficient in rapier techniques and has a sadistic streak, as well.
Kiyomi Kodami (児魂 清海 Kodami Kiyomi?)
Voiced by: Satomi Akesaka
Kiyomi Kadami is one of Marie's four knights. She generally shows her prowess as a quiz show host.
Karei Ijuin (伊集院 鰈 Iijuin Karei?)
Voiced by: Yuto Suzuki
Kare Ijuin is one of Marie's four knights. Kare is actually a transvestite.

Kurobara Communications

Mariana (マリアナ?)
Voiced by: Chieko Honda
Head of Kurobara Communications, nicknamed Black Rose, who organizes the kidnap of Marie as bait for Penguin. She takes a rather unhealthy interest in Penguin and uses a thorned whip to punish her opponents. She is actually Penguin's mother.
Aqua (アクア Akua?)
Voiced by: Rumi Shishido
Chief of Kurobara Communications. She specializes in using all kinds of cards to attack, but can also attack using her long hair. She constantly has to bail her assistant, Reef, out of jams during missions.
Reef (リーフ Rīfu?)
Voiced by: Tomoko Akiya
Aqua's assistant. She is called out to execute missions for Kurobara Communications, but her actions usually end up backfiring against her.

Other Characters

Sebastian (セバスチャン Sebasuchan?)
Voiced by: Kōji Ishii
The Nankyoku's family butler. He has a wide variety of skills used to serve Penguin and Kaede, and occasionally dresses in women's clothing.
Saki Hojiro (頬城 咲 Hōjiro Saki?)
Voiced by: Jun Miruno
Maguro's little sister. Just like her sister, she is bashful and mostly communicates through text messages. She immediately becomes the victim of Penguin's affections, but luckily seems to rather enjoy them.
Shira K Sosu (シーラ・K・ンス Shīra Kē Sosu?)
The leader of the Hotsuyoku Yakuta, who appears in the Penguin Musume MAX manga. She constantly tries to kidnap the Nankyokus to hold for ransom in order to pay the rent. Her name is generally forgotten by Penguin whenever they meet.

Themes

Up to the 8th episode, each episode used a slightly different opening, featuring different animations of the characters. They would generally end with a depiction of Penguin and Mary's battleships in space. The 8th episode's opening was a fan creation from a member of the site Nico Nico Douga. Since episode 9, the opening used in episode 7 has been used. The second ending animation was produced by IOSYS. The opening and ending theme song's are sung by the cast of the show.

External links