Popee The Performer

Popee the Performer (ポピーザぱフォーマー, Popī za Pafōmā) is a Japanese CGI anime series that was created and directed by Ryūji Masuda, and produced by the animation studio Zuiyo. The series follows misadventures of the titular Popee, a clown who has anger issues and constantly torments his assistant Kedamono. A total of 39 episodes aired on Kids Station between January 3, 2000, and January 3, 2001. A manga adaptation was serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Magazine Z. The anime is infamous for its depictions of violence despite airing on a children's channel.
== Premise ==
Set in the middle of a desert, in a place called Wolf Circus, the show follows three characters, Popee the clown, his wolf sidekick Kedamono and his father Papi, rehearsing their circus performances. In each episode the rehearsals go awry and devolve into often violent and/or surreal situations.
== Characters ==
; Popee (ポピー, Popī)
: A 17-year old apprentice clown who works at the Wolf Circus. He wears red and white striped clothes and pink headgear with rabbit ears. He is short-tempered and prone to jealousy, which often leads to him trying to torture or kill Kedamono and others. Wakako Masuda, the character designer of Popee the Performer, has suggested that Popee's gender, while confirmed as male, is more complex than just being male or female.
; Kedamono (ケダモノ)
: Kedamono, literally meaning "beast", is a purple wolf-like creature who wears orange trunks and always has a mask over his face. Each mask slips off to reveal a new mask with a different emotion drawn on it. He is Popee's assistant. He has a friendly and timid personality and is often the target of Popee's murderous ire. He has a gluttonous love for chicken which is often used to manipulate him.
; Papi (パピィ, Papī)
: Papi is a senior clown at the Wolf Circus, and Popee's father. He made his first appearance in episode 14. Papi's headgear resembles a sun. He is much calmer than Popee and, unlike Kedamono, is capable of outsmarting him. He often uses his mysterious inhuman powers to torment Popee.
; Frog (カエル, Kaeru)
: A frog that sometimes gets involved with the antics of Popee and the others.
; Paola (パオラ, Paora)
: Popee's pet. She has a pink car body and a light green elephant head with jewels on her forehead. She seems to dislike Popee.
; Marifa (マリファ)
: Popee's younger sister who only exists in the lore outside of the show. She pretends to be more innocent than she really is, but she is not as violent as Popee.
== Production ==
Popee the Performer was originally aired in 2000 on Kids Station, a television station in Japan. The anime was created by Ryuji Masuda and his wife Wakako Masuda, and there is a manga adaptation created by his wife as well. Ryuji Masuda created the show to fill a five-minute slot on Kids Station. The show had a budget of 100,000 yen per month. Due to the low budget, the series had no voice actors and was set in a desert to avoid rendering complex scenes. The show had three people working on it: Ryuji Masuda, Wakako Masuda, and a 3D animator hired from a video game company. Production began three months before the show aired. The 27th episode, "Knife Game", featured Popee, Kedamono and Papi playing the titular game, and the episode was not aired for fears that children would imitate the game.
Many shortcuts were taken to save on labor and rendering costs, such as the reuse of patterns and scenes. Each episode's animations took between 9 and 13 days to produce.
== Media ==
=== Anime ===
Popee the Performer, produced by the animation studio Zuiyo, was aired on children's satellite channel Kids Station between January 3, 2000, and January 3, 2001. There are 39 episodes in total, and each episode is five minutes long. Three DVD volumes, each containing 13 episodes of the anime, were released on April 20, 2002, by Nippon Columbia. The opening and ending theme of the anime is "Popee the Clown" sang by Tsuneo Aoyagi. This song was included in the anime's original soundtrack CD titled Original Soundtrack P.O.S.T.&K.O.T. which was released by Nippon Columbia on December 21, 2002. Two episodes of the anime, episode 11 and 27, stopped airing on Kids Station as they were deemed too violent. In episode 11, Popee is skewered by a sword and dragged around by a car, and in episode 27, the characters play with knives.
=== Manga ===
A manga adaptation illustrated by Wakako Masuda was serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Magazine Z and published as a single bound volume on December 18, 2002. On February 18, 2011, Fukkan.com republished the manga, containing brand new illustrations.
== Reception ==
The anime was initially planned to be 13 episodes long, but it was so popular with Japanese audiences that the anime's length was extended to 39 episodes. Dillon Font of Anime Fringe compared Popee the Performer to old Looney Tunes shorts and commended Ryūji Masuda's ability to "communicate these simple stories not only effectively, but also memorably." In a ranking of the eight worst anime in history on Vix.com, Popee the Performer was ranked at number eight, and was criticized for having animation "so disastrous that it looks like something out of a creepypasta."
== Reception ==
Popee the Performer has been described as "a twisted mockery of children's shows" and a "dark, messed up series" due to its violence and unintentional horror; the visual style has also been called "offputting". In addition, it has been called a "trauma anime" and a show that "should not be searched online" in Japan. However, the show has been praised for its comedic appeal despite its lack of dialogue.
The show has been compared to Looney Tunes due to its slapstick humor.
== Legacy ==
=== Our Internet Wargame Universe ===
Popee The Performer became the obscure and hidden gems of anime television series nearly few years after the broadcasting aired on the Kids Station, Popee The Performer later appearance in James's Media Our Internet Wargame Universe
Category:2000s anime television series debuts
Category:Dark comedy anime and manga
Category:Slapstick comedy
Category:Television shows set in circuses
Category:Television shows about clowns
Category:Japanese computer-animated television series
Category:Japanese children's animated comedy television series
Category:2000s Japanese animated television series
Category:2001 Japanese television series debuts
Category:2003 Japanese television series endings
Category:Surreal comedy anime and manga