Popee the Performer
Logo
ポピーザぱフォーマー
GenreSlapstick
Created byRyuji Masuda
Country of originJapan
No. of episodes39

Popee the Performer is a 3D CGI-animated anime series created by Ryuji Masuda.

Premise

Set in the middle of a desert, the show follows three characters, Popee and Papi the clowns and Kedamono the wolf, rehearsing their circus performances. In each episode the rehearsals go awry, and the characters end up trying to kill each other in a cartoonish slapstick manner.[1]

Production

Popee the Performer was originally aired in 2000 on Kids Station, a television station in Japan.[1][2] The anime was created by Ryuji Masuda and his wife Wakako Masuda, and there is a manga adaptation created by his wife as well.[3] Ryuji Masuda created the show to fill a five-minute slot on Kids Station, and the show had a budget of 100,000 yen per month.[2][4] Due to the low budget, the series has no voice actors, and is 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.[2] Production began three months before the show aired.[2] One episode featured Popee playing the knife game, and the episode was not aired for fears that children would imitate the game.[2]

Many shortcuts were taken to save on labor and rendering costs, such as the reuse of patterns and scenes.[2][4] Each episode's animations took between 9 and 13 days to produce.[4]

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".[5] In addition, it has been called a "trauma anime" and a show that "should not be searched online" in Japan.[2] The show was praised for its comedic appeal despite its lack of dialogue.[1]

The show has been compared to Looney Tunes due to its slapstick humor.[1][5][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Animefringe: Features: Popee The Performer". www.animefringe.com. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Obuchi, Kin (2018-06-11). "トラウマアニメ『ポピーザぱフォーマー』の真意". Vice (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  3. ↑ Maldonado, Brittanie (2021-05-25). "10 Things You Didn't Know About The Popee The Performer Manga". CBR. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  4. 1 2 3 kougasetumei (2019-09-27). "『ポピーザぱフォーマー』制作秘話―デジタル製作チーフかく語りき―". Underground Magazine Archives (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  5. 1 2 Shinmaru (2012-09-19). "The Layman's Guide to Popee the Performer". The Cart Driver. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  6. ↑ Bobduh (2016-10-17). "Popee the Performer – Episodes 1-4". Wrong Every Time. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
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