Surprise! Pop Rabbit

Surprise! Pop Rabbit is a Japanese Shōjo yonkoma manga series serialized in several weekly shōjo magazines from June 1992 to February 2019. The manga never released outside of Japan. An anime adaptation by Toei Animation began airing in 1995, running until 1998 and adapting the first three volumes.
A second TV anime adaptation, Surprise! Pop Rabbit Fantasy, which adapts the next five volumes, aired from 2000 to 2004.
A third TV anime adaptation, Surprise! Pop Rabbit Reboot, which features an anime-only story, aired in 2010.
A fourth TV anime adaptation and crossover with Cottonsweet, Surprise!! Cottonsweet x Pop Rabbit, aired on Anime Time in summer 2018 and was simulcast on Nickelodeon Family's website, marking the franchise's first non-OVA, non-Cartoon Network-funded release outside of Japan.
In 2018, just before it was bought out by Venga, Axiom, and Typewriter, Seikunime lost the rights to develop further Surprise! Pop Rabbit material; the anime production rights were given to Studio Aura, though Seikunime will continue to be the master licensee for the series they oversaw. A second reboot by Studio Aura aired on all TXN stations from September 1st, 2019 to April 19th, 2020. NickFamily Studios has the master license to the Studio Aura version outside of Japan, marking the first main Surprise! Pop Rabbit series to have a release outside Japan planned.
On February 1st, 2019, Discotek Media announced that it had licensed most of the anime, excluding Reboot and series already licensed by NickFamily Studios.
The manga ended in February 2019 in Japan.
In May 2019, Studio Aura announced that episodes of the 2019 adaptations of both Surprise! Pop Rabbit and Contract Wars would air in the same half-hour, necessitating an 11-minute episode length, including splitting already-completed episodes into two parts.
The 2019 anime is simulcast on Crunchyroll, NickFamily Stream, FunimationNow and Hidive, but only in North America. Nico Nico Douga has exclusive Japanese streaming rights. According to a press release, streaming simulcasts would be exclusive to North America and Japan, though Jetix Cymru may stream the series on Disney Channel's Welsh website a few weeks after the dubbed release in the US on FunimationNow and NickFamily Stream.
==Characters==
*Pop Rabbit (voiced by Mami Koyama (Japanese), Veronica Taylor (English, pre-2018), Stephanie Sheh (English, Surprise!! Cottonsweet x Pop Rabbit))
TBA.
==Premise==
TBA.
==Media==
===Anime===
The first anime adaptation by Toei Animation began airing in 1995 and ended in 1998. Discotek Media announced that it had licensed the series for a physical release, alongside other previously-unlicensed Pop Rabbit material, on February 1st, 2019.
An OVA adaptation began release in Japan in February 1999. Bandai Entertainment licensed the OVA in 2001. The first 12 episodes of the OVA are available in Surprise! Pop Rabbit: The Video Game as extras, alongside 12 episodes of the original anime (Japanese release) or a test dub of Contract Wars (North American localization). Majesco Entertainment sub-licensed the OVA from Bandai Entertainment for release on Game Boy Advance Video. Only the first half of season one (episodes 1-6) were released on GBA Video cartridges. The first season was released on Region 1 DVD on January 23rd, 2004. Between 2004 and 2006, the first season of the OVA was made available on the VideoNow systems, specifically the VideoNow Color onward. The second season was released on Region 1 DVD on March 1st, 2005. The third season was released on Region 1 DVD on February 2nd, 2006. The DVD releases have gone through two print runs a year prior to 2012, when Bandai Entertainment was shut down. Discotek Media announced that it had rescue-licensed the series for a physical release on February 1st, 2019.
A second TV anime adaptation, Surprise! Pop Rabbit Fantasy, aired from 2000 to 2004, and like its predecessor, wasn't licensed prior to February 1st, 2019, when Discotek Media announced that it had licensed the series for a physical release, alongside other previously-unlicensed Pop Rabbit material.
A spin-off anime, Pop Rabbit Adventure, which was funded primarily by Cartoon Network, aired from March 2005 to May 2005 on the United States Cartoon Network. In Canada, the anime was broadcast on Teletoon. Jetix broadcast the anime in Wales, while CITV broadcast the anime in the rest of the UK and Ireland. The anime was never aired on television in Japan, though was given a Region 2 DVD release. Discotek Media announced that it had licensed the series for a physical release, alongside other previously-unlicensed Pop Rabbit material, on February 1st, 2019.
The sequel to Pop Rabbit Adventure, Pop Rabbit Adventure II, was also funded primarily by Cartoon Network and aired from March 2006 to May 2006 in the United States. In Canada, like the first Pop Rabbit Adventure, the anime was broadcast on Teletoon. Unlike the first Pop Rabbit Adventure, the sequel was never broadcast or released in Europe. Like its sequel, the anime was never aired on television in Japan, though was given a Region 2 DVD release. The English dub is currently available on FunimationNow. Discotek Media announced that it had licensed the series for a physical release, alongside other previously-unlicensed Pop Rabbit material, on February 1st, 2019.
A third TV anime adaptation, Surprise! Pop Rabbit Reboot, aired in 2010. It was originally considered for the Noitamina block, but was moved to a morning slot. As of February 27th, 2019, Seikunime is streaming the series on its English website.
A prequel, simply called Pop Rabbit, aired on TV Tokyo during the defunct Comedynime block in 2012; the series was cancelled alongside the rest of the block (except for Pocket Mon-chan B&W, which was scheduled to finish its run after 13 episodes regardless) thirteen weeks afterward. Discotek Media announced that it had licensed the series, alongside other previously-unlicensed Pop Rabbit material, on February 1st, 2019.
A prequel, Pop Rabbit Origins, aired on TV Tokyo in Japan in 2013 and became the first Pop Rabbit work to be simulcast by Crunchyroll, the second being the 2019 reboot. Thanks to being funded primarily by Cartoon Network, the anime also aired on television in North America, via Cartoon Network in the United States and Teletoon in Canada. Aside from the Crunchyroll simulcast, the anime was not released in Europe. In 2017, NickFamily Studios licensed Pop Rabbit Origins for a physical release in Region 1.
A fourth TV anime adaptation and crossover with Cottonsweet, Surprise!! Cottonsweet x Pop Rabbit, aired on Anime Time in summer 2018 and was simulcast on Nickelodeon Family's website, marking the anime's first non-OVA, non-Cartoon Network-funded release outside of Japan.
In 2018, upon Seikunime losing the rights to develop further Surprise! Pop Rabbit material, it was announced that a new anime by Studio Aura would be set to air on all TXN stations in 2019. NickFamily Studios has the master license to the Studio Aura version outside of Japan, marking the first main Surprise! Pop Rabbit series to be set for release outside Japan.
==International broadcast==
Although most of the franchise (mainly the main works and certain videogames) was not released outside Japan until Discotek licensed most of the anime, Surprise!! Cottonsweet x Pop Rabbit was simulcast on Nickelodeon Family's website, though has yet to see an official televised broadcast.
==Trivia==
TBA.
==See also==
*Contract Wars, a shōnen manga based off of a gag featured in the anime