Pupipo!

I'm not gonna lie, part of me wanted to hate this based on on obviously short the show is, but up until the very last episode, I kind of liked it. But let's break it down a bit further. 1: Story- Now i'll be frank, the story was short with a bit of inconsistencies, but it grows on you as the story goes on. The story follows a young girl named Wakaba who happens to see spirits and as a result, anyone who has any contact with her ends up "cursed." As a result Wakaba is the center of ridicule and has no friends, ultimately keepingher in a very depressing isolated state. This changes one day when she spots a pink being later named "Po" and Wakaba brings him home. 2: Art- Slightly above average for an anime this short, though I did annoy me a little that the other characters had pointed teeth, possibly to represent these characters as the not-so-friendly crowd. Animation was average at best. 3: Sound- Definitely one the highlights of the show, not one track was out of place and fit the mood perfectly. 4: Characters- The main characters both had meaning and their personal back stories were interesting, but the other two characters who showed up to be the plot devices were uninteresting and plain. I would have liked to see a bit more on who they were and where they came from before they met the main characters. 5: Enjoyment- A part of me likes the show, while another part wanted to see more to fully understand what the creators were trying to push with these characters, but the last episode was probably my biggest "WTF" moment when you come to terms on what PO really is and how Wakaba displayed a bit more of her feelings outside of a blank stare as the show progresses. It's definitely worth your hour of viewing time, if you really don't have anything else to watch.

Pupipo! is a surprising find, as I don’t think I’ve found a show this short that has such a robust and fully-realized narrative structure as this one. It only takes about an hour to finish, and yet it has all the qualities which shows three or four times its length can boast of. There’s solid worldbuilding, compelling characterization, and a story which gracefully arcs through every necessary moment and point, culminating in a shocking yet satisfying ending. Having said this, I must explicitly reiterate how great the story is here. A good story is the foundation of any anime, andI believe it had the potential to just keep going. Indeed, while its brevity made it a convenient watch, it could easily have gone for much longer, and I wish it did, which is this show’s only serious drawback. It could have played on a monster-of-the-week scenario by encountering different ghosts and having the main trio (yes I’m counting Pupipo) overcome different challenges and grow closer as a result. Then the courting phase of the romance could have had its own whole arc, maybe add Yuuki as another member of the gang for season 2, really letting these relationships simmer and build up to the ending we already got here. Regardless of its length, it manages to excel and meet every expectation perfectly, and I honestly don’t know how they did it. There are huge, multi-season epics with endings that aren’t half as satisfying and poetic as the ending to this little anime from 2013. The art meets all standards of quality, with a fun art direction that really expresses itself in the general character design, as well as the visual language of the spirit world. Though, the static illustrations in the ED look like absolute garbage, and I have no clue why they look so bad. Of course, they’re only on screen for maybe 15 or 20 seconds an episode, so it’s not that much of a problem. The sound was satisfactory, with fun and engaging voice work throughout. The characters rise to the occasion of the world they’re in, and every one of them manages to occupy comedic and dramatic moments in equal measure, my favorites being Azuma and Himeji. Overall, Pupipo! is an anime with shocking depth, construction, and emotional intelligence. I was expecting this to be baseline at best, but instead I was met with a strong, high-quality show that I can enthusiastically recommend.

This anime is one of those "Slice of Life" series, which you may suspect to be episodic, but actually delivers a compelling plot that ties all major plot lines together and sucks you in, however short. The art has a noticeable uniqueness to it. If you have seen "High Score Girl" you will recognize it. This short anime is not CG mind you. All episodes put together are 1 hour of watching, so with such a modest length, even if you do not like it, you will not have lost much. On the other hand, you might enjoy it and will discover something you may consider alittle hidden gem. I think it is worth the "risk", and I am certainly glad I checked it out

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