120th G-View: Popotan

Hello and welcome to the G-Views, where creativity is respected and Dokuro-chan is rejected. Popotan…PO-PO-TAN, that’s all you’re going to get for this introduction…this is Popotan.

Genres: comedy, drama, supernatural

Themes: ecchi, fanservice

Number of episodes: 12

G-Rating: 7.5/10

Plot Summary: Sisters Ai, Mai, Mii, and their housekeeper android Mea inhabit in a mysterious house that transports them through time and space. Following leads obtained from dandelions (or “popotan”), the sisters attempt to locate a certain someone believed to hold the answers to their questions. Their peculiar method of transport, however, does not come without its own set of painful drawbacks…

If I were to describe this show in one sentence it would have to be: An uncensored Slice of Life show.

Yes, there’s nudity from both young and teenage so I suppose that’s enough incentive for the male otaku crowd. Oh, and the show’s based on an eroge but I could care less about that. Subarashi, Shischa and who knows how many other GO members may want to check that game out for themselves…meh, whatever.

Moving on, the show’s a basic SoL show whose premise is that the 3 sisters are itinerants who travel from one place to another, searching for something (or someone) with the help of “tanpopos”, or dandelions in English. That’s right; Popotan is a play on the word Tanpopo, or a bastard way of referring to Dandelions.

Through the course of their journey the girls, along with their android maid Mare (Fav character) meet a wide array of different people they befriend and help out with their problems, however, for some reason they can’t stay for very long and are transported somewhere else. That’s right, transported. Keep this in mind for it’ll play a very important role as the show progresses. Each episode’s title gives a clue as to the episode’s theme and what kind of problem the people or the sisters themselves are going through in said episode. Although the show is an SoL, expect heartwarming and heartbreaking moments at the same time. It’s not exactly tear jerking but it hit me deep, especially one couple in particular (hint, it involves Mai).

Although the show’s quite entertaining to me the plot did have some problems, mainly the lack of explanation. I was left scratching my head and asking questions starting with the words, who, what, where, why and how? It’s really no big deal since I’m the kind of guy who can forgive a not so solid plot as long as the characters are likeable, and thankfully with this show that’s the case for the most part.

Animation: Quite a sight to behold. I enjoyed looking at the lush, open environments the girls explored throughout their travels and the locales were pretty neat. I just have one question, why a Christmas ornaments shop? Oh, and the teen/adult girls are “nice”. Also for some reason the character drawing style is very similar to Nurse Witch Komugi’s. Oh, and did I mention this is based on an eroge, so expect fanservice…thankfully not to the brink of driving one insane.

The music is soft and calming, while the OP and ED are upbeat and wiggy. No complaints here really, unless you’re not into Fruits Basket style music.

The characters:

Ai: Oldest sister. She’s a kindhearted, easygoing airhead-ish megane babe who can talk to flowers. Expect to see her beauty quite often since…she doesn’t like wearing pajamas very often.

Mai: Middle sister. She’s the victim of constant “flat” jokes courtesy of Mii, energetic, kind of short tempered yet the most sensitive of the whole itinerant lifestyle they’re forced to live. You’ll understand why when you watch the show. Needless to say I really felt for her. Her power is the ability is to increase her human abilities to above average, allowing her to jump much higher and run much faster than a normal human.

Mii: Youngest sister. Stereotypical loli character who is probably the originator of the “Puni Puni “, likes a magical girl show so much that she decided to become one herself. I emphasize the word stereotype because she’s EXACTLY that, a somewhat naïve and hyperactive loli stereotype, however, it fits her age so I don’t exactly dislike her per se since I have a younger cousin who’s just as energetic as she is. Her special power is healing.

Mare: Maid with an attitude. She’s usually an obedient maid who willingly serves the sisters…while secretly criticizing things inside her head or through mumbling, just like me. She’s so confident of her skills as a maid that she considers herself indispensible and irreplaceable and she knows it. Think of her as a less rebellious Android 18. Not the best comparison, I know, but that’s all I’ve got right now. Of course like most android maids, there’s more to her than meets the eye, aside from being a swindler, cynical and a bottomless pit.

Unagi: The show’s mascot character, a white ferret. She does what she does. As a running gag after each post credit, Unagi transforms into a furry and tries her best to do the preview for the next episode but usually has a hard time doing so, let the giggles ensue as you watch her try each week and get conked by the preview billboard.

Fav side character: Konami and I guess Mai-2 (Insert Konami joke here).

In conclusion, this show’s combination of SoL and uncensored ecchi worked quite well imo. Sure there are plot holes and some things that confused me but the lovable characters serene settings and good character interactions make this worth a look if you’re interested.