Popee the Performer

, or , is a Japanese children's 3D CGI anime series created by Ryuji Masuda. It was shown on Kids Station from 2000 to 2003. It is known for using adult themes, which some cultures accept for children more than others.

Story
In Wolf Circus, which is in the desert, Popee (a clown) and Kedamono (a wolf) practice their circus performances. This goes wrong in every episode, and violent and/or surreal things happen. Popee's father, Papi, the senior clown of Wolf Circus, starts instructing them in the second season, but this also goes wrong, and he sometimes makes things worse.

Production
Popee the Performer was created by Ryuji Masuda and his wife Wakako Masuda to fill a five-minute slot on Kids Station. Wakako Masuda also created a manga of the series.

The show had a low budget of 100,000 yen a month. There were no voice actors, and a 3D animator was hired from a video game company. Production started three months before the series aired, and each episode took 9 to 13 days to animate. For these reasons, it was set in a desert, and patterns and scenes were reused, among other things.

Popee, Kedamono and Papi played the knife game in the 27th episode, "Knife Game". To stop children from also playing it, it was never shown.

Reception
Popee the Performer is known for being much more violent than many other kids shows and its unintentional horror, including from its visual style. It has been called a "trauma anime" and a show that "should not be searched online" in Japan. However, it has also been praised for being funny, even without much dialogue.

The show's comedy style has been compared to Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry.

References

Category:2000 anime television series debuts
Category:2000s animated television series
Category:2000 television series debuts
Category:2003 television series endings
Category:Comedy anime and manga
Category:Japanese children's animated comedy television series
Category:Animated television series without speech
Category:Television series
Category:Comedy