New anime film <\/span>Penguin Highway<\/span><\/i> springs from the mind of author <\/span>Tomihiko Morimi. Over the past decade, four of his novels have received the anime treatment: <\/span>The Eccentric Family<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>The Eccentric Family 2<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Tatami Galaxy<\/span><\/i>, and <\/span>Night is Short, Walk On Girl<\/span><\/i>. If you have seen any of these, you likely know his MO by now: mixing the normal with the surreal to create a story of personal discovery. But while <\/span>Penguin Highway<\/span><\/i> still fits that pattern–packaged with<\/span> all the eccentric characters and witty banter you\u2019d expect–it does away with the common Kyoto setting and focuses not on 20-something adults but on elementary school children.<\/span><\/p>\n Penguin Highway<\/span><\/i> is the story of young Aoyama, a super logical 4th grader who wishes to be recognized as a grown up as soon as possible. He is fascinated by the world around him–especially the natural world. He fills notebooks with sketches and his thoughts as he works to understand things he can\u2019t fully explain–like why he is so captivated by the local young dental assistant\u2019s ample chest.<\/span><\/p>\n One day, on his way to school, he sees a colony of ad\u00e9lie penguins wandering through a field–something a bit odd as they\u2019re a bit far from their Antarctic habitat. Soon enough animal control has rounded up the birds, but as no zoo has reported a mass escape, the mystery remains: where did the penguins come from? Aoyama sets out to solve the case.<\/span><\/p>\n From the start, it\u2019s easy to understand what kind of person Aoyama is. Both smart and mature for his age, he is ridiculously hard working–taking notes that would make a professional scientist blush. But with his intelligence comes ego. <\/span><\/p>\n He believes he is above the rest of his classmates (with one notable exception)–though that doesn\u2019t mean he dislikes them. He is more than willing to be friends with anyone that wants to accompany him on his research. However, his attitude is like a lightning rod to bullies who hate feeling inferior intellectually–especially as he is more than willing to escalate the situation using his intelligence as a weapon.<\/span><\/p>\n Due to his attitude, it’s no real surprise that he feels more in common with adults than children his own age and longs to be treated as one. This is most obvious in his friendship with the aforementioned dental assistant, a woman known only \u00a0as \u201cOnesan.\u201d They meet regularly to play chess in a local cafe–and it is clearly the highlight of his daily life. <\/span><\/p>\n Part of it is that he is on the edge of puberty, of course, but the other part is that she recognizes his intelligence. While she doesn\u2019t treat him as an adult exactly, she doesn\u2019t patronize him either. She sees through his posturing and ego–and is more than willing to call him on his BS–but that doesn\u2019t mean she doesn\u2019t respect him and what he can do. So when she somehow turns a can of soda into a living, breathing, penguin, she decides to leave it up to him to solve the mystery.<\/span><\/p>\n \u300c\u50d5\u304c\u5b50\u4f9b\u306e\u6642\u306b\u6620\u753b\u9928\u3067\u89b3\u305f\u4f5c\u54c1\u306e\u4f53\u9a13\u3084\u8a18\u61b6\u3092\u3001\u4eca\u5ea6\u306f\u304a\u5ba2\u3055\u3093\u306b\u6301\u3061\u5e30\u3063\u3066\u6b32\u3057\u3044\u300d<\/p>\n \u30ad\u30e3\u30b9\u30c8\u306e #\u5317\u9999\u90a3<\/a> \u3055\u3093\u3001#\u84bc\u4e95\u512a<\/a> \u3055\u3093\u306e\u8d77\u7528\u79d8\u8a71\u3084 #\u30da\u30f3\u30ae\u30f3\u30cf\u30a4\u30a6\u30a7\u30a4<\/a> \u4f5c\u4e2d\u306e\u5370\u8c61\u7684\u306a\u30b7\u30fc\u30f3\u306a\u3069 #\u77f3\u7530\u7950\u5eb7<\/a> \u76e3\u7763\u306b\u305f\u3063\u3077\u308a\u304a\u805e\u304d\u3057\u305f\u30a4\u30f3\u30bf\u30d3\u30e5\u30fc\u304c\u516c\u958b\u4e2d\uff01<\/p>\n \u25bc\u8a73\u3057\u304f\u306f\u3053\u3061\u3089\u25bchttps:\/\/t.co\/QPgF7tddQF<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mYD5SGAQwz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \u6620\u753b\u300e\u30da\u30f3\u30ae\u30f3\u30fb\u30cf\u30a4\u30a6\u30a7\u30a4\u300f\u516c\u5f0f (@pngnhwy) August 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/DdSbS2JVAAAwwz-.jpg?w=700&ssl=1\")
Image source: \u6620\u753b\u300e\u30da\u30f3\u30ae\u30f3\u30fb\u30cf\u30a4\u30a6\u30a7\u30a4\u300f\u516c\u5f0f<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/DfIy_3BUcAAmvPT.jpg?w=700&ssl=1\")
Image source: \u6620\u753b\u300e\u30da\u30f3\u30ae\u30f3\u30fb\u30cf\u30a4\u30a6\u30a7\u30a4\u300f\u516c\u5f0f<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/Dgp4vtwV4AAHAIE.jpg?w=700&ssl=1\")
Image source: \u6620\u753b\u300e\u30da\u30f3\u30ae\u30f3\u30fb\u30cf\u30a4\u30a6\u30a7\u30a4\u300f\u516c\u5f0f<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n\n