Beautiful sisters Ai, Mai, Mii, their android maid Mea and slippery pet ferret Unagi make an amazing journey together through time and space without ever leaving their beloved mansion behind! Following the clues of the strange dandelion-like "Popotan," the girls are theoretically seeking the person who has the answers to their most personal questions, but they seem to have more than enough time to take side trips, meet new friends, visit hot springs and occasionally operate the X-mas shop they keep in the house along the way!
Yet, the girls' ultimate destiny holds more than a few surprises of its own, and not every moment is filled with hilarity, as moving through time means having to leave friends behind as well.
(Source: RightStuf)
Nenhum episódio encontrado.
Comentários
Ranivus
Popotan is an ecchi drama with some light comedy added for some extra kick to this melancholy show. When someone says ecchi, some people close their eyes and ears because they assume its going to be another tasteless fanservice show. Indeed ecchi is intended mainly for fanservice, but when done right might even enhance a story into the adult world. Thats the case with this show. Story (Great) I couldn't understand if the story of the show was aimed toward children or adults considering how much boobs and service are in every episode. Even though theres fanservice in every episode its done pretty tastefully and don'treally hinder the story at all. As far as the story goes, its about 3 friends who happen to embark on a journey in a teleporting house. The plot indeed sounds strange but the back story and drama throughout the show makes this show such a joy to watch. Just watching the tragic drama unfold will most certainly bring a tear to your eye. For what its worth, I enjoyed the whole thing from beginning to end.
Art (Good)
The artwork, like any ecchi related anime, are always pretty detailed and the women are all drawn in a cute manner. An extra step they managed to add that drives me crazy when they don't, is the drawing in of the nipples. Not because of the nudity aspect but more for the realistic aspect. Like its okay for guys to have nipples but girls cant? wtf. This is a perfect example to show nudity "tastefully". I put those in quotes because it was nice to notice in the first few episodes, but you'll get an eye full every episode. That might start to get old after a while. It would've been nice if they kept the nudity a little less frequent. Another thing that happens every episode is a shower scene. They always try to sneak a shower/bath scene in every episode. All the other artwork is perfectly fine and quite pretty considering its mostly consisting of light, pastel colors most of the time.
Sound (Fair)
The sound is always light and pleasant, it never interfered with the dialog. Theres a lot of environmental sound effects as well. The seiyu cast wasn't anything great but they all fit their roles perfectly fine. The sound was most definitely the mood setter throughout the show. I don't think the show wouldn't have been the same without such a emotional musical score as this.
Character (Very Good)
The characters are pretty stereotypical anime girl types. Obviously chosen for fanservice flair. But they pull off their drama so well its hard to just think of them as fanservice girls. They have alot of hilarious, ecchi, serious, and sad moments. They do well when its about releasing emotions from the viewers. But as i stated during the art synopsis, the nudity is kind of much. If they laid back on the nudity just a tad bit I could easily say this is the perfect example of an ecchi drama done right. Unfortunately, we'll have to go with best ecchi drama I have seen so far.
Enjoyment (Great)
After watching all 12 episodes, i still don't know if this is directed toward children or adults. But either way, it was an addicting fantasy drama with maybe about a dozen nude scenes too many. But what do u expect from a show based on an H-Game. I still the fantastical story all the way through.
literaturenerd
Overview: It's nearing midnight on Halloween, and I just finished watching one of the most terrifying horror anime ever made! An anime that will make grown men shit their pants in terror! This is an anime that only REAL men can stomach sitting through! This is the Eldritch Abomination that is...Popo -tan! Background: Firstly, the word Popo-tan is not a reference to Mr. Popo and his politically incorrect tan. Popo-tan is a nonsense word that in this series means dandelion, although the actual Japanese word for dandelion is "tanpopo". Basically, it is named that because Popo-tan hates you! Popo-tan was based on an explicit hentai game of the samename. The game had virtually no plot whatsoever and just involved guiding a guy through various romances to unlock heavily pixelated sex scenes. I've never played the game and am just summarizing from the Wikipedia article because firstly, even I have standards, and secondly, the game is actually illegal to own in the US! This is because the main character is an 18 year old, high school graduate and you can have sex with a 12 year old girl!!! In fact, the 12 year old girl has the most sex endings of any character in the game, so that was the choice the game designers clearly wanted the player to make! HOW did this ever get an anime adaptation!!?
The entire reason Popo-tan got an anime adaptation was because the character designs were deemed "very cute" and highly marketable. However, the plot of the game obviously had to go and the anime adaptation has NOTHING to do with the original game in terms of plot or characters besides the characters' designs! So did they create a good plot for the anime? HELL NO!
Plot:
The plot is that there is a mansion that travels through time and dimensions. The mansion is inhabited by 3 obnoxious sisters and their robot maid. Now you would think that if I traveled back to 1992 and spent 1 month there with my current body, then traveled to 1994 and spent one month there, that chronologically my body would be 2 months older. However, the girls are all seemingly immortal and have been hopping back and forth across time and dimensions for hundreds if not thousands of years. They are also telepathic and can communicate with all lifeforms including plants! I guess they're supposed to be Time Lords!? Did I mention their mansion is bigger on the inside? I guess the anime was banking on the British not being as lawsuit happy as Americans are!
In the first episode, a 12 year old boy with a camera decides to just walk into the mysterious mansion in order to try get a picture of a ghost. He ends up bumping into one of the girls coming out of the shower and taking a picture of her naked before she trips and smothers him with her absurdly huge breasts. The sisters befriend the young boy and help him take some fake ghost pictures to impress his friends. However, just as he begins to get close to the 3 sisters, their mansion disappears and leaves him wondering if they really were ghosts after all.
The next episode and each new episode takes place in a different time and place, but the series NEVER tells you what time and what place! Judging by the fashion and technology, they all seem to be a similar time in modern Japan, but perhaps they are alternate dimensions. The series never explains because Popo-tan HATES you! The backstory of the 3 sisters and how they found the mansion is never explained. The story of the mansion and how it got its powers is never explained. Why they have a robot maid is never explained! NOTHING in this fucking series is ever explained!!!
Art:
The art is mediocre to average for the series' release date. Popo-tan is an ecchi series, so of course it tries to show a LOT of nudity, including lots of underage nudity that hopefully creeps the viewers out. However, despite their large amount of screen time, zero attempt is placed into giving Ai's massive boobs any realistic sag or movement or any real detail whatsoever. The fact that they have nipples and not black bars is I guess the best this series has to offer.
Sound:
The anime soundtrack is annoying, but ultimately forgettable. The original hentai on the other hand, has a REALLY famous opening called "Caramelldansen" that became a widespread internet meme after someone posted it to the Japanese website Niconico. That innocent meme that even Disney referenced in one of their cartoons...actually came from an illegal loli game! I think I just died a little inside.
Overall:
I have to agree with one of my favorite anime critics, Bennett the Sage, when he said "Bad should be an acronym for: Boring, Annoying, Dumb." Those 3 words are exactly the right way to sum up Popo-tan. I mentioned previously that Popo-tan hates you, but hate is an emotion that still has a wide spectrum. On this hate spectrum I would place Popo-tan's feelings for the audience as greater than Freeza's hatred of the Saiyans in DBZ, slightly greater than Zbigniew Brzezinski's hatred of Russians, and slightly less than Hitler's hatred of Jews. That's a level of hatred that should keep all but the most batshit insane viewers from sitting through this pile of shit!
Fear_the_Reefer
Let me just say this: The things I do for you people. SMH, reader, SMH. Popotan is a 2003 anime series about three magical sisters and their maid, who travel through time and space in their mysterious, enchanted house. Every time their house phases out of the physical realm, it jumps into the future by about five years, finding a new location with an ample supply of dandelions for the girls to extract more magic from. They can communicate with these dandelions, but they also make time to communicate with the people... They live in whatever area the house landed in,carrying on normal lives in society until they need to leave again.
Why don’t they wait for Dandelions to die and be replaced by new ones, which should happen in fairly quick succession considering the short life span of a dandelion? Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Our main character, at least in the anime, is Mei, the middle child. She’s a tomboy, as well as the emotional center of the story, who is always forming the tightest social connections outside of the family. Her insistence that they should quit their journey and settle down leads us to several revelations throughout the show, and while I’m glad they used this plot device instead of endless exposition dumps, it’s still generally information that they... And we, as well... Should have known from the beginning.
Her older sister, Ai, has giant breasts and glasses. And... She probably has some sort of personality.
Her little sister, Mii, is a hyper little moppet who loves dressing up as a magical girl and is obsessed with poofy-poofies. She likes to snuggle Ai’s poofy-poofies, and makes remarks about Mei’s poofy-poofies being too small.
I’ll give you five seconds to figure out what ‘poofy-poofies’ are, and if it actually takes you that long, you should go bash your head against something.
They’re looked after by their devoted maid, Maya, a long-suffering sarcastic woman who cares deeply about her charges. A lot of people theorize that she’s a robot, but since she’s shown eating take-out on camera, I’d say that’s unlikely.
So, based on what I’ve just told you, you’re probably expecting me to say that Popotan is some dumb, wacky little comedy. I mean, with the Drifting Classroom style house, the dandelion-flavored plot, and the cliched characters, you probably expect this to be full of wacky randomness in the vein of Magical Play. After all, that’s why Magical Play works... It has a quick pace, and the joke-a-minute delivery fits the gleefull randomness to a T.
The truth is, Popotan isn’t like that at all. The pacing is slow, the story is played completely straight, and the tone of the series is more along the lines of sentimental and atmospheric. This is a great choice of execution for a serious coming-of-age story like Beck, but when juxtaposed with Popotan’s ridiculous... Everything... It’s not so much a match made in heaven as it is a match made in Shou Tucker’s basement. When you combine this tone-deaf approach with the constant fan-service, Popotan’s attempts at emotional depth just come off as incompetent, insincere melodrama.
Speaking of which, when I was only half-way through this show, I noticed that MAL listed it as Rated R for ‘mild nudity,’ and I flipped out in the forums. Compared to Popotan, the average Playboy magazine only has ‘mild nudity.’ There is at least one bath scene in every episode, and all four of our main characters... As well as several side characters... Get in on the action. And there’s no convenient fog here, folks, oh no. Every single nipple is meticulously and painstakingly drawn in, even for the little girl Mii. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no prude... I love Strike Witches, and even have a soft spot for the clunky This Ugly Yet Beautiful World, Gainax pretense be damned. Those shows have more to offer than just nudity, which I can’t honestly say about Popotan.
The nudity really is the only thing this show has to offer, and even taking that into consideration, the characters are so poorly designed and badly drawn that it’s like looking at a horny twelve-year-old’s sketchbook. And that’s saying nothing about how creepy the fan-service is. This show’s pedophile vibe is so intense that it makes UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie look innocent by comparison.
The artwork and animation suck... I won’t go any deeper than that, just trust me... and the stories of the individual episodes aren’t just badly written, but in a way that could actually be considered dangerously irresponsible with the message they try to send. The relationships that our cast form are sophomoric at best and unhealthy at worst.
The strongest relationship that Mii forms... Aside from her metafictional relationship with pedophilic viewers... Is with a little Shinto girl who wants to celebrate Christmas. The idea on it’s own doesn’t sound like anything bad, but the way it’s pursued is bafflingly ignorant. The strongest relationship that Ai forms is with a little boy whom she bathes naked with, and then kisses full on the mouth later on. And the strongest relationship that Mei forms is so deeply wrapped up in contradictory bullshit and disturbingly damaged human behavior that I’d have to spend an entire paragraph of spoilers just to explain what’s wrong with it.
If I had to say some positive things about this show, I can name three off the top of my head.
1: Anna Cummer does a decent job playing the voice of Maya. It’s a subtle and nuanced performance, but if I’m being honest, somebody more talented like Michelle Ruff would have blown her completely out of the water. Then again, compared to the rest of her co-stars, Anna might as well BE Michelle Ruff.
2: There are a handful of ways this show could have been worse.
3: Umm... I think I may have grossly overestimated my capacity for complimenting this show.
All in all, I would rather kill myself with a spoon than recommend this show to anybody. Even if it doesn’t offend the everloving daylights out of you, there’s nothing good about it... At all. In fact, the only reason my friends are currently borrowing my soon-to-be destroyed copy is because they asked for it, to see what kind of series could piss me off this much. Popotan is just so insidiously bad that it may actually be bad FOR you, as a person.
Over the years, i’ve given a handful of 1/10 reviews, with my general reason being that as crappy as they are, there’s something good about them... Maybe there’s a decent voice cast, or a few good characters, or some good action, or maybe it’s just so hilariously bad that it would be fun to watch while drunk. But Popotan is just a dreary, off-putting experience that I can’t imagine any amount of alcohol saving. For the first time in my reviewing career, I’m giving Popotan a 0/10. Yes, I know, I've ranked it as a 1/10, but that's only because MAL doesn't give a 0/10 option. Avoid at all costs, and you’ll thank me later.
seekster
I have to say that this is certainly one of the most inconsistent anime series I have ever seen. Its almost like it isnt sure where it wants to go and keeps switching between all sorts of anime types, its almost like Excel Saga only the changes are not done tongue in cheek and they are not as drastic. Ok maybe thats a bit of an exaggeration but I am not kidding you when I say that there are a few fight scenes in this anime...yeah ill try not to spoil anything but its gonna be hard. Story: 7 Although inconsistent the story is interesting, in factit is so interesting that I spent the entire series asking what the heck is going on. Seriously, so so many questions are left unanswered. We never even find out how the whole time traveling thing with the three sisters (who incidentally look nothing like each other but in between Ai-chan and Mai-chan im not complaining...). We also are not given much of an idea of exactly why they are traveling which leaves the characters without a solid motive for their actions but ill get more into that when I talk about the characters.
Despite the fact that we are never given much of an explanation for the plot, the story is still very solid and the last few episodes WILL tug at your heartstrings (id say more but its says no spoilers). All and all I think the story would have been alot better if they gave us some kind of backstory but instead we get an elementary school boy running headfirst into a naked woman's cavernous-cleavage...which isnt really that bad of a swap for some people.
Art: 6
Whoever drew the characters also liked to draw naked girls apparently. I am not kidding when I say that every single main female character in the series shows up bare chested on multiple occasions (granted most of which are bath scenes and the absence of any main male characters keeps them from being what I like to call "Love Hina bath scenes") That being said he (or she) did a pretty good job. Each character looks unique and there is no possibility of getting any of them confused (like I said the sisters look nothing like each other). The scenery did seem a bit dull though and the whole magic flower in the sky that makes the house dissolve and travel through time thing (which no attempt is ever made to explain) also looks a bit stale.
One last point to note, if you are like me and want to watch this anime because of the (in)famous MeMe with Caramelldansen, they never actually dance like that in the show itself.
Sound: 6
Like with the art, the best sound in this series involves the characters. Each of the voice actresses do a good job of conveying the proper emotions and give the characters a character all of their own. Also like the art, the sound was pretty stale on anything that didnt involve the characters. Now it wasnt bad but halfway through the series I found myself just skipping the opening song and I dont recall any times when the sound effects or music really added much to the scene but I also dont remember any times when they seemed off or inappropriate.
Character: 7
Ah the characters. As another reviewer mentioned, each of the main characters is basically an anime stereotype: Ai is the VERY well endowed mother-like gentle elder sister (who can talk to plants which is never quite explained). Mai is the athletic tomboyish type (and my personal favorite) who grapples with deeper emotions on the inside while looking cheerful and positive on the outside. Mii is...well Mi is the hyperactive little girl/magical girl character (complete with a "magic" hammer which she waves at people for the duration of an entire episode). Despite the stereotypes the characters do not fill two dimensional at all. The emotions are portrayed and dealt with very well and you really cant help but feel sympathy for them (especially around the end of the series).
Ah right I forgot to mention there is a android maid (actually I dont think its ever actually revealed that she is an android even though it says so in the intro on MyAnimeList. There are several occasions where the maid does bathe herself and also eats (alot) but based on behavior and appearance its a pretty safe assumption that she is in fact an android).
There are several reasons why I only gave a 7 for characters. One of which is that unlike the 3 sisters, most of the other characters really do seem two dimensional and sometimes they act almost spontaneously and inconsistently (example is the silver-haired guy who shows up in the second half of the series. His role is never explained much at all. The only thing he seems to be there for is to provide a fight scene or two using enhanced speed and strength which again is never explained.)
Enjoyment: 6
As I keep saying, this show would have been alot more enjoyable (probably up to an 8 overall or at least a 7) had they given us at least some explanation of why the girls are time traveling, how the whole thing got started with the house, who/what exactly is _____ (so many characters can go in the blank), how can Ai talk to plants (And for that matter, why?), etc.
Im the kinda guy who likes to at least be given a hint as to what is going on, I kept hoping that we would get some plot explanation at some point but it just never happened which left me with sort of a hollow feeling. Yeah the show was enjoyable, it made you grin alot and made you think a few times too but all that is lessened by the fact that at the back of your mind you are saying "What the heck is going on?" at least you are if you are me.
Overall: 6
Its not the best anime out there but there are alot worse ones out there. If nothing else it is certainly unique. Maybe if you go into it knowing ahead of time that you will never be given much of a hint as to the backstory then you may have more fun with it than I did but all and all I dont regret watching it.
BatCountry9000
Ai, Ai, Ai... Ai love you! Mai, Mai, Mai... Mai darling! Mii, Mii, Mii... help Mii! Sorry, but i just had to start this review with that song. It's just so catchy, not to mention fitting for this review. Popotan is an anime adaptation of the visual novel of the same name. If you're familiar with visual novels, you might have heard about the Popotan visual novel. Well, I'm not exactly knowledgeable about visual novels (the only ones I've ever played were the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney games, but that's beside the point), but I have done my homework on Popotan. From what I've heard, the anime I'm reviewinghere doesn't follow the visual novel's story. Instead, it takes place in an alternate reality (kinda reminds me of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie, if you ask me) with a completely different story and shares only a few characters. However, the story that is presented here is actually pretty good. Each of the 12 episodes in this series focus on a single character and the situation they get into in that episode.
The artwork looks fantastic. Almost everything looks colorful, full of life, and absolutely cute (Hetalia, an anime that tried to look cute and failed miserably, could definitely learn a few animation lessons from Popotan). Also, one thing I'd like to bring up is the style. Ever heard of Nurse Witch Komugi, that spin-off of The SoulTaker? I've never watched that anime, but I've definitely seen shots of it, and the animation in that and Popotan look incredibly similar. Nurse Witch Komugi was made in 2002, while Popotan was made in 2003. I honestly would not be surprised if they were animated by the same person.
As for sound, the music is well done. The opening theme, Popotan Hatake de Tsukamaete, by Under17 is super catchy, awesome, and fits perfectly with this series. The credits theme, S-U-K-I by Funta, is also catchy, and it kinda reminds me of video game music. At times, the music playing during scenes can be happy and cheerful, or very emotional and sad. The voice acting, at least in the english dub by Geneon USA, is also pretty good.
As far as characters go, the main protagonist from the visual novel makes no appearance in the anime whatsoever. Instead, our protagonists are the three sisters and their maid in the magical house that the protagonist interacts with in the game. There's the oldest sister, Ai, voiced by Nicole Oliver, who is calm, easygoing, and caring, wears glasses, and has a nice set of... assets. There's the middle sister, Mai (my personal favorite character), voiced by Nicole Bouma, who is tomboyish, short-tempered, and constantly annoyed by being reminded about her small breasts. Then, last but not least, is the youngest sister, Mii, voiced by Jocelyne Loewen, who is energetic, perverted (which, in all honesty, I didn't expect from her), naive, as well as a cosplayer. Finally, there's the maid, Mea, voiced by Anna Cummer, is an android with all the personality of a brick (which is understandable because, as I just said, she's an android).
As far as whether or not you'll enjoy this, that depends. First of all, there's a lot of nudity in this anime. Granted, there aren't any scenes of sexual intercourse (quite unlike the visual novel), not even a shot of the girls' pussies, but there ARE plenty of shots of their nipples. Second, there's very little blood. There is an episode where one of the characters gets injured and blood is shown, but blood isn't something you'll see in every single episode. The same thing applies to cursing. There's only one instance of swearing I can recall, where Mai says 'damn it'. When you think about it, if you took out the nudity and, to a small extent, the blood, Popotan would make the perfect kids' TV show (that single swear word uttered by Mai can be left in, since there ARE kids' shows and movies that get away with using the word 'damn' once or twice, such as Power Rangers RPM and The Transformers: The Movie). If you don't mind the nudity and you're someone like me who can get into kids' shows easily, you'll find enjoyment in this.
Overall, Popotan may not be for everyone, but if you're willing to look past the nudity and and any other flaws, you'll have found yourself another great show. It's on Netflix for streaming, so if you have it, check it out.
Karasu994
Popotan is an early 2000s anime which exists, it’s a strong contender for the most “literally made for me” anime I’ve ever seen, it’s a clusterfuck of early 2000s camp/aesthetics with a story about 3 girls finding a place in the world they live in at its core. I should acknowledge first that it’s an adaptation of a Visual Novel, although it heavily deviates from the source, essentially becoming its own original story, I have not touched the VN myself and doing so is not a top priority. For 9 episodes, this series follows an episodic narrative and each one feels like a different self containedcampy early 2000s anime. The production isn’t anything glamorous in the slightest, but I still really adore the type of aesthetic it’s going for, the show is set in a bright, colourful, surreal early 2000s video game world and as an enthusiast of the Denpa music genre, the OP and ED songs are among my personal favourites within the medium, each one being from a favourite artist of mine respectively. Popotan contains a lot of nudity, every girl gets naked at some point (even the underage ones) which can be off-putting for a lot of people, the way I see it is that it’s establishing a laid back, unsophisticated atmosphere, presenting its 3 main characters as very carefree people, I’d argue that it isn’t trying to be particularly arousing either, the ecchi scenes mainly existing for comedic purposes.
Popotan doesn’t have a clear goal to begin with and its characters don’t have a clear purpose they’re working towards, it follows an episodic formula in which its characters travel to a different location every episode, living their lives in each setting in a carefree manner at first, but gradually realizing how the world around them functions and the drawbacks that come with them living the way they do, the episodes vary between simple juvenile campy stories and more melodramatic ones (this may come across as a critical remark, but actually, I eat this shit up if its executed to my preferences), some of these episodic stories contribute more notably towards the central themes than others, the last stretch focuses on them facing reality and coming to a decision based on what they have learned. Popotan is ultimately about being confronted by reality, the series does have a fairly optimistic approach to this theme, the world it's set in is fun, happy, colourful and full of opportunities, the main challenge its characters have to face is the fact that chasing after one opportunity means missing out on another.
My interpretation of the series is that it contextualizes what it feels like to follow a path in life that is comfortable for yourself, but gradually be faced with the fact that you’re missing out on other opportunities by doing so, Popotan’s world is also presented in such an abstract manner that when its characters come to a conclusion, the show doesn’t feel like it's making any direct statement about which path in life is the correct one, it’s up to the audience to decide which path in this world looks more inviting and/or beneficial with the context they’ve been given.
Sonia1020
I seen this horrible series and I hate it for everything.One the animation is not great on the characters all the the characters seem like they want to kill.The second voice acting is terrible it's like they took people off the street.The characters are awlful one who is ai no i'm not kidding that is her name.She can talk to flowers and doesn't care if she is naked or sexually assault.She say's flowers can talk anyone that says that should be in a insane asylum.The other girl is mii.now I hate hakufu from ikki tousen.But this girl is so god damned annoying I basically.want tohit her with a hammer cause she won't shut up.maii is the smart girl but at least she is smart unlike the other two.The only thing is she is a lesiben.The last one is the maid mea.honestlly I don't who did her but she is horrible like a cross from frankenstein and a hobo.The other I like to say is the ferret.It's like a four year old drew the ferret.The music is god awlful want to hit your head on the wall for the worst anime intro and ending intro.They lived in a christmas house during the summerand it disappears for no reason at all.There is no plot at all.No character developement.It has the worst ending.The rest of the characters are worst.It's like geneon wanted to magical series but with no plot it failed not to meanten it has way too much nudity in it.This is why they went down.The only character I like was mai cause she was smart.look at these names ai mii mea and mai.I don't know who came up with those names but the director must be really stupid.I wouldn't recommend this piece of garbage not to buy watch it or rent itanyone that watches is perverted.
cuteisanarchy
Is there anything worse than bad-looking fanservice? If you said bad-looking fanservice padded with 12 episodes of inexplicable story, you'd be right, and this brings us to Popotan, an early 00's vehicle for breasts and panty shots very loosely inspired by an erotic visual novel by the same name. I had very low expectations and ample warning for this show, expecting only said breasts and panty shots with a modicum of light storytelling to carry them. Unfortunately I was to be disappointed even in these very qualified expectations. What Popotan is about doesn't matter - the show makes this very clear early on. Yes, there's a largerstory about connecting with others which is given undue seriousness for such a light piece of entertainment, but what underpins it is a plot so half-baked you're risking salmonella poisoning by watching it. It's not even clear that the characters are time travelers until about halfway in, but by that point you've likely learned to take the show's storytelling in stride (or better yet dropped it). However, things just get more confusing from then on, with dramatic scenes falling laughably alongside gratuitous nudity for some extra tonal dissonance. Where did these characters come from? Who is the person they're looking for? Why do only two of them appear to be able to use magic? Why does Mai try so hard to befriend an anti-social girl when she knows that she's going to disappear and leave this girl alone, repeating the exact thing she now deeply regrets from a previous point in history? None of these and more will be answered.
Sadly, for those who can suffer a terrible story for some decent fanservice, the art of Popotan does its best to disappoint here as well. While the character designs themselves are distinct and cute, in motion here they're mediocre at best and sometimes reduced to blocky geometric shapes. Certainly some of the best animation is reserved for the frequent bath scenes, but even here the show fails to deliver consistently. On a side note - it's somewhat remarkable that for such a brazen work that features all of the characters with detailed upper-body nudity in every episode (often more than once) it's surprisingly skimpy when it comes to Mii.
As for positives? First and foremost is likely the capable voicework of Momoi Haruko as Mii, who is just as nauseatingly (enchantingly?) cute as you'd expect. You also get some nice early 00's atmosphere and a decent soundtrack. The fanservice is also decent when it wants to be, but is probably not worth the price of admission.
_Kaorinite
This review will have a spoiler free section with the ratings and a spoiler section after the ratings which you can avoid reading if you prefer to remain spoiler free but it is necessary for me to include the spoiler section in order to properly review Popotan. Rest assured I'll warn you when we come to the spoiler section and the spoiler section won't be before the ratings. If you didn't see the genres/themes and didn't read the Synopsis for what this anime is about, then it won't be until episode 6 or around there that it's confirmed what genre this is, this in and ofitself adds a nice little mystery of what's going on in the story and i suspect this was done intentionally back in the day. This review assumes you already know what the genre/theme is however there is one that is not on the list at this time of review which i feel SHOULD be on there as, Popotan is one of the better Slice of Life anime. How so? Its story and the characters you'll meet along the way is how. Despite not having all the answers we were hoping would be answered in the show itself, its story and the emotions you feel for certain moments and plenty of characters are what makes Popotan so delightful to watch. It can be heart warming and heart breaking at times.
Popotan seemed to have first been a Hentai VN based on what other reviews here have said and it's my guess based on the description of the Manga that only has 2 Volumes that it too is it's own adaptation, something that wasn't uncommon back when Popotan was made. So know that there isn't (To my knowledge) anything else for Popotan from where the anime ends, which is both fitting and yet a shame too as i would've LOVED to see more and get confirmation about some things but I do believe I know some unanswered questions you will WANT to know so when you finish the anime if you watch it that is, please be sure to come back and read my spoiler section.
With all that said there isn't much else to say except stuff in the spoiler section but I really am touched by how moving Popotan's characters and story is. I would also say that this anime has aged well and the art is still beautiful and cute as it most likely was back in the day. However, Popotan is NOT without some faults but nothing that would ruin your enjoyment of the story and it's characters and this is why much as I wish I could rate the anime higher, I cannot, yet my love for it, the enjoyment I had with it's characters and so on are why I'm giving it a separate rating from the first rating that I call a Love rating. I rate Popotan a 6.5 out of 10 and I give Popotan a Love rating of 7.5 out of 10. I know there are plenty of reviews harping on it but don't let that stop you from giving Popotan a chance.
The rest of this review will be the spoiler section, it's my hope when you finish the anime that you will come back and read it as it may provide some answers to some of the unanswered questions the anime has...
So let me get the bad stuff I have to nit pick out of the way before we get to the unanswered questions as those unanswered questions are the main reason why I was forced to rate the anime lower than my love score but these nit picks were also a small part of it. To start off, at some point in the anime the girls get to choose what point in time to go back to. Ai weirdly enough decides to go back to the child version of Daichi, when you'd think she'd have gone back to the grown up version of Daichi since they more or less made a promise when Ai and her sis' journey was over, she'd go back and tell him about it, but this version she cannot do this. Its also very ODD that she KISSED the child version of him... despite clearly being interested in adults. It just felt out of place but this was the LEAST of my nit picks and believe it or not, this had NO affect on the rating at all. Nope, the next 2 sisters do though, Mai is next and I found it believable she went to see Konami about a year give or take after she said her good bye, but this could affect the future? (This isn't explained, more later on this...) But I guess given other factors, going to a few years before when Konami's daughter Mai would've caused issues if its all 1 timeline and not multiple timelines/dimensions like other fans suspect. Sadly thats not confirmed far as I know so yeah, just odd... but even then going back at all would've had an affect on the future... so *shrugs* goes the anime.
Now, Mai wasn't THAT bad since its possible multiple timelines exist, even if not confirmed or explained in the show itself but Mii on the other hand? She chooses to go abck to the time period that had Nono... why is THIS a problem? Weeeell... in a previous episode Mi made a friend in a hospital, you know it, the girl from that Magical Girl mii episode where Mii made her debut as a Magical Girl. This girl is not shown in the characters page (sadly) so i can't recall her name but we never see her again besides standing next to the characters on the mid point intro cut in where everyone from the series shows up and says Popotan. She is seen there though this cut in isn't canon sooo... but the point is I can't even say the writers forgot about this girl cus they bothered to include her here... and to refresh your memory the reason WHY this girl whose illness Mi and her sisters and Unagi cured is a big deal is because Mii PROMISED to come back and play with that girl again, but instead LEFT said girl behind. This REALLY didn't sit well with me when Mai and the story itsef was making SUUUUUCH a big deal about how the oens they leave behind is causing them to suffer. It just felt in poor taste to make Nono the girl who mii goes back to when it SHOULD HAVE BEEN the girl in the hospital who Mii went back to see. Both girls and the ones taking care of them KNEW about either the house and or the powers they had so you can't even excuse that as a reason for why one and not the other... and its Nono and her Grandpa who kenw about the house so further reason you'd THINK it'd be the girl and her father from the hospital that Mii would go see...
And ofc, Mea, while she doesn't get to choose a time, this Android was stopped in a time period and LEFT THERE seemingly frozen... This REALLY bothered me in more ways than one because the girls just forgot about her and none of them chose to go back for her. There was SOME concern at first but that was gone as quickly as it went in one ear and out the other. THAT'S WHY this soured me and also ruined some believablility which affected the rating. Thankfully Mea was fine, and we know she cares about the girls, but this wasn't even the first time the girls showed they didn't care about Mea in return, it was the second time which ticks me off. Am sure they DO care about her, its just the writers messed that up twice... Lastly, there were a few moments in the anime where I felt they either needed more time or should've done things a bit differently, especially with Keith whom the story couldn't make up it's mind on what it wanted Keith to be...
This brings me to the unanswered questions and the MAIN reason the rating took a hit. In episode 6 I think it was, or around there I think, we finally come to know what the girls have been searching for... its a girl... eventually we come to know this girl's name is Shizuku but who or what she is, isn't properly explained, the most we know is, she is someone who helps travelers to either start a new journey or to end it. But hold on... that's odd, VERY ODD... early when we first see her, based on everything that'd happened b4 they met her, it sounded like she was THE REASON they were on that journey in the first place and yet, you're telling me, they dunno WHY they're on this journey and trying to find her in the first place? And wait, there were OTHER travelers who not only could speak to the Popotan like Ai can but also traveled through time like the sisters do and also had VERY SIMILAR experiences these girls have been having? Whom ALSO are searching for this girl and also wanted answers for why they're on this journey? Yet the divergence ended where those 2 boys gave up when Shizuku had no answers for them... I suspect Keith is one of those two boys, likely the older one and remember, they burnt their house down and that house, if its like the one the sisters use is what kept the boys immortal, assuming it had that function which it likely did so this checks out, though, assuming Keith wasn't lying when he said others would come for the girls if the truth got out no matter what point they were in and how he's been through that (Or that's what it sounded like), makes ya wonder even more about Keith, assuming that was the truth and assuming he was also telling the truth that he was once a traveler too...
Anyway, back to Shizuku and what the girls were searching for. Let's assume for a moment this was always the case, that the girls were on this journey and searching for this girl who they dunno even her name or what she looks like and dunno WHY they're doing this to begin with. Let's assume THIS as i said, was ALWAYS what Popotan's anime had in mind. If we assume this, doesn't that seem odd, out of place and leaves unanswered questions? Well, you're in luck as I may have an answer for what is going on here. Though and let me just say, since the anime is sadly over and this is where the story ends, this is just speculation on my part but I have 2 theories that may both go hand in hand or you could just pick one over the other. Its also worth reminding you that we never did see or get answers to how the girls came across the house that time travels. So, here is my two theories. The characters that can time travel are a life form of Popotan, or what they're also known as, Dandelions. I know I know sounds far out, what's this girl talking about but hear me out and keep an open mind here.
Think back on the show itself, every single time the characters time traveled and even the house, two things always happened, maybe 3, the 3rd am unsure of is Popotan were either almost always or always right by the house or not far from the house. The 1st thing is the characters and house always faded into light which looked exactly like the form Dandelions takes when they're seeds and in a fuzzy white state. Upon reaching their destination they fade back from light form to themselves. And the 2nd thing that always happened was when it was almost time to time travel or time to do so, a weird shape in the sky appeared above the house, when you see this in one episode, it's shape and appearance no longer seems odd and unfamiliar, for its the exact shape of a Dandelion that has had its seeds blown off it. Which is equally fitting for this time travel stuff and further leads into two other points am about to make here.
Some travelers can talk TO Popotan (Dandelions) while some cannot but the fact some can is further evidence but its the ending itself that finalizes this theory and also leads into the other theory too. At the end, the girls find their OWN answer for why they're on this journey, it's so they can bring hope to those they meet. I think if am recalling correcting the anime's English Dub even said seeds of hope.
My other theory is that Shizuku hasn't been truthful with the girls and other travelers. She seemed to be testing them, as if she herself wanted them to find their OWN answer to why they were on this journey. In the end many may feel Popotan has no conclusive answer to why the girls are on this journey but perhaps, the answer is just so they can bring hope to those they meet and the anime sure enough basically tries to end on this as the reason why, however, I am not satisfied with this ending as that'd mean forever traveling through time and always parting with those they care about. It also feels like there is no care for how time travel would affect the timeline(s) and in fact, even Keith tried to kill someone from the past... not to mention Shizuku sending travelers to any point in time they wish to go to. Not to mention the random time jumps b4 meeting her... Which may've and seemed to be planed by Shizuku herself which is why I believe Shizuku wasn't honest with the girls and that the journey isn't truly over yet and likely won't go on forever but alas, sadly this may never get a proper ending, as like i said, the anime seemed to want to end on the girls bringing hope to those they meet...
Ultimately, Popotan's story is finished, in a way that you wish there was more, but also doesn't truly answer questions and other plot points and that's why i was forced to rate it lower but i truly enjoyed it and my theories do bring some light on some unanswered questions, whether you can get behind the theories or not is up to you, but imho, I think the 2nd theory for sure is the case and its a shame that we never got a S2 to finish the anime with but if it was always intended to be this way then some stuff makes more sense if the girls were basically born on that house and it's Shizuku's role to look after her off spring which, is another theory of mine as we did see her basically sprouting out of a flowerbed of Popotan when they first saw her and she also seems to be the one who decides when and where the girls jump to amongst other things. So if this is the case, one has to then wonder WHY Shizuku is putting travelers, her potential off spring through all this? Perhaps its so they can find their own path in life? Their own destiny, home etc.? Or perhaps, its so Shizuku herself can find some answer to something that only the travelers can find the answer to that she is looking for?
All theories are valid and great and may shed light on stuff, while the 3rd sheds some light but also adds more questions... Ultimately whatever the take away is here, I personally believe that Popotan is trying to tell a heart warming and heart wrenching story with lovable characters that are full of life and that the slice of life elements are there to help you in some ways. Perhaps Popotan (the anime) wants you to take something positive away from it? Perhaps it wants to bring a seed of hope to you no matter if its small or big. Popotan did have plenty of life lessons after all so hopefully you enjoyed the anime and took something positive away from it and with that, I end my review of Popotan. It isn't perfect and I wish there was more, but it was a great watch and i hope you found it to be enjoyable too. Popotan~
HybridMedia
In the grand rules of anime, most eechi/fan service shows are considering to either being the bottom of the barrel and likely the target when it comes to ridiculing anime as a whole, but can an eechi series can be light on the fan service but actually, have some dramatic story elements? Can this one turn the tide for me and be a show that can be taken seriously….or at least, not suck so bad? Then again, I’m a guy that gave Sekirei a decent grade despite most of it being all fan service and that’s where Popotan comes in at. Sisters Ai, Mai, Mii, andtheir housekeeper android Mea inhabit in a mysterious house that transports them through time and space. Following leads obtained from dandelions (or "popotan"), the sisters attempt to locate a certain someone believed to hold the answers to their questions. Their peculiar method of transport, however, does not come without its own set of painful drawbacks…..
…and speaking of those painful drawbacks, don’t expect any other arcs aside from the main three characters and some side characters who I won’t spoil for you because for each episode, they and their whole house disappeared will without a trace and sometimes people can actually notice an entire house gone just like that. I’m surprised nobody reported a missing house and three girls, although if they did, they would be declared insane. There are dire consequences to the power they’ve gotten, especially when they get too close to somebody; when they leave, the heartache gets more and more
Anyway, there is actually a hint of storyline and added-in depth into some of the episodes while having some parts of the excessive fan service and since that is to be expected, I was never bothered by the fan service aspect with some exceptions of excessive shots of Mii. It’s there and as much as I’m 50/50 with that element, it needed to pump the breaks on that.
On to the main three characters, mostly because no other character is actually shown more for one episode aside others, there are basically the fan service stereotype of anime girls and in my opinion, the names they’ve gotten…..I sense no creative or imaginative sense from the creator and/or the director. Ai (I) is the well-endowed older sister who is motherly to her younger siblings but her calm personality really get distracting in more of the tense moments of the show and she is really bland throughout. Mai (My) is the middle sister who is the most normal, often the emotional/sensible one and often gets teased because of her bust size being small….and yet the one teasing her is her younger sister Mii (Me), who is also the very energetic and naïve one who can be a bit annoying (I’m just being honest). They also have an android maid named Mea and that’s basically it. She helps around the house, cook their meals, clean after them, and do what any android maid would do. Oh yeah, they also have a pet ferret named Unagi and yet she transforms into a human after every episode to introduce the next one.
The animation, like I said, is very liberal on the eechi and fan service and it’s no surprise that studio SHAFT are the ones responsible for this, considering looking at their past work (Mahoromatic, Dance in the Vampire Bund), they are no stranger to the fan service genre and if they were going for their signature style of animation, then they have done relatively well. The music is the standard cutesy style, which can be irritating to me, as in, I just skip the opening and ending songs the second I was getting into these episodes as I find them skippable if you’re not into that.
The dub by Geneon/Ocean Group…….is bad and I mean, it was just really annoying to watch and hear some of the voices including Mii, who is very similar to Nurse Witch Komugi, being that Jocelyne Lowyen was the voice of her. Ai’s voice just felt like the voice actress’ only motivation was to keep calm and nothing else, it’s just too jarring to not change any emotion of the voice
FINAL VERDICT: Popotan is actually not that bad with some glaring problems but it’s nothing to get into a rage about. It is a little cute at some times but it’s not something you should rush to watch. I’ll say if it’s on Netflix or at some streaming site, that’s the time to check it out.
