This is an adorable little story about a girl who wants to go the beach with her father, who is constantly held up by work. In the first five minutes of this special, I went from not enjoying it very much to being completely sucked into the story. Story: 9. As I mentioned, it is just the story of a little girl who wants to go to the sea with her father. The only trouble is, her father can't swim, and has been afraid of going into the ocean ever since he was a small child. Right when they are about to go, he gets calledoff to work and is unable to go, and instead is stuck holding umbrellas and being an errand boy to people at his work. Meanwhile, in a world of dreams Maki discovers the dougong floatie she bought for her father wants to take her to the ocean and teach her how to swim. From here, she and the floatie, called Juju, swim around and go to an island where her father is being held captive. Several crazy hi-jinks happen, and I must encourage you to watch the rest to find out the ending. The story is in general, extremely adorable and heartwarming.
Art: 10. Being part of the 2011 Young Animator's Project, I would expect nothing less of the art. What made the art alone so gorgeous was the way the colors flowed together, and how beautifully everything in and under the water moved in the shots. I was reminded of the details put into the sakura blossoms floating around in 5 Centimeters Per Second; it actually felt like there was an extreme attention to detail that sometimes I feel are lacking in newer (and especially some older) series. The colors in this series somewhat reminded me of Usagi Drop, for the way Maki was colored. The animation flowed beautifully, and the movements, shapes, and sizes were distinct and unique. The underwater scenes in general were gorgeous.
Sound: 7. It was sound. There was nothing overly special about it, but the light soundtrack added to the heartwarming feeling. There was nothing wrong with the voice acting, but nothing that made it stand out.
Character: 6. I loved Maki's character design, as well as how Juju was drawn, but I think that is where everything ends. The father is drawn fairly blandly, and he is the only character that is given a semblance of development. The mother and son are forgettable, as is the antagonist and her assistant. This was my main problem with the episode, but I feel that, as that being my only real issue, this series holds out on its own.
Enjoyment: 7. I feel like judging one's enjoyment of something is a bit harsh generally, but in this instance I actually did understand where this rating comes from. In the beginning, I didn't think I was going to like it, and was tempted to quit watching it. But I stuck through, and once the art gets good, it stays good.
I completely recommend this to anyone who loves cuter series, but also to anyone who needs some good animation, or just a reason to smile.
plplaymakerzam
September 27, 2012
Recommended
This is my very first review in MAL so forgive me if i make any mistake. I just had to write a review on this anime because it seems that nobody cared writing one. so her goes. Pokapokajuju or dudu the floatie one of the entries in the young animator training projects is a short heartwarming story that'll touch your heart. Dont know for others but it really did made my eyes wet a little while watching it alone in the dark. lol. the story is simple but it is very heartwarming, a simple family with simple lives,the setting shows that their not really rich,in the familyyou have mika, mom, dad, and baby. it is about young mika who wanted to go to the beach with his father, but his father can't because he has work (even on weekends) as a caddie for golfers.
Now you might wonder who is dudu? dudu is a dugong floatie that mika and her mother bought for her dad because mika's dad doesnt know how to swim. (atleast thats what she thinks)
So fast forward, they were about to go to the beach when worked again interrupted mika's dad. Mika's Mother prepared a Mini Pool in the backyard, Mika briefly enjoyed it but soon realizes that it's still not like the beach and with his dad. She fell asleep and dreamt being on the beach with an alive dudu, she and dudu goes to rescue her dad from mimika ( looks like a bad mika) who held mika's dad captive. (it was a bad dream in the end anyway as dudu , dad and mika were crushed by the monster mimika created)
Fast Forward, it was raining and mika was still asleep in the pool, her father came home, mika told him her dream and the father soon realizes that he must admit why he cant really go to the beach.(besides work) its not really because he cant swim but because hes traumatized from the sea because of what he experienced when left alone in the sea when he was a child. But as soon as the weather became good again dad gathered all the courage and went to the beach with her daughter.
Now heres my favorite part. mika's dad was still scared of the sea, but mika was pulling hes hand, he doesnt want to go deeper so he resisted and their hands finally let go, mika was taken by the waves away further, thats when the Dad's father instincts get the best of his fears,dad went for mika while riding dudu.he reaches her and he realizes that it isnt so bad afterall and both of them enjoyed while floating in the wavy ocean.
Story:8
Art:7
Sound:7
Character:8
Enjoyment:8
Overall:8
its not really one of those magnificent anime titles but it was well done considering its from young animators with limited budget. plus i must admit that i am a little biased because I myself still dont know how to swim at an age of 21. Its a sweet short story that is worth watching
Recommended
Puka Puka Juju, a tale of a young daughter wanting to go to the beach with her father but can't because of work obligations. Effective is a word I would use because it covers the bases of family, creativity, and imagination from a child's perspective. Which links to animation, colorful and full of life. It is vibrant and works with the themes of the plot and the desires of the characters. Which, again, contrast well with the imagination part of the child's mind with how each character must overcome said idea. As a whole, it is the strongest of the 4 shorts of 2011 in termsof simplicity of story and message yet fun expression with animation.
