''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' is an American animated television series created by

Sam Register Samuel Barnard Register (born June 16, 1969) is an American television producer, animator, and businessman. He is the president of Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. Career Formerly Vice President ...

for

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

. Produced by

Renegade Animation Renegade Animation is an American animation studio located in Glendale, California which currently specializes in Adobe Animate/Toon Boom animation. It was founded by Disney and Warner Bros. animator and director Darrell Van Citters and his busi ...

and

Cartoon Network Studios Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the production arm of Cartoon Network, and started operating ...

, the series stars fictionalized and animated versions of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

group

Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese pop rock duo formed in Tokyo in 1995, consisting of singers Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura. In the United States, they adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, who also performed under the name ...

. The series premiered on November 19, 2004 and ended on June 27, 2006, with a total of three seasons and 39 episodes, leaving a total of 34 episodes aired and five episodes unaired in North America. During its run, the series was nominated for an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally de ...

three times. Merchandise based on the series has also been produced, such as video games, home media releases, toys, and clothing. In March 2022, the entire series was made available on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

in Latin America. An additional web page was made available in North America as well; however, it is currently inaccessible.

Premise

''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' follows the adventures of two

pop stars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

and best friends:

Yumi Yoshimura is a Japanese singer, best known as a member of the pop duo PUFFY, along with Ami Onuki. Early life and career She was born in Neyagawa, Osaka, in 1975. She learned that there was a talent search underway in Tokyo. She successfully tried out ...

(voiced by Grey DeLisle), a cynical, sarcastic, and grumpy

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

and

Ami Onuki is a Japanese singer and a member of J-pop group PUFFY, along with Yumi Yoshimura. Career She has co-hosted several Japanese TV shows with the "cool" half of PUFFY, Yumi Yoshimura, including the talk show '' Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy'', part of a morn ...

(voiced by

Janice Kawaye Janice Hiromi Kawaye (born April 4, 1970) is an American voice actress known for her roles as Jenny Wakeman in '' My Life as a Teenage Robot'', and Lysithea in the ''Fire Emblem'' series. Early life Kawaye was born in Los Angeles, California, U ...

), a peppy, optimistic, and cheerful girly girl. Both are based on the real Japanese

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

duo

, but with different appearances and exaggerated personalities. They travel around the world on their customized tour bus along with their well-intentioned yet greedy manager Kaz Harada (voiced by Keone Young). From rocking out at a concert to hanging out in their hometown of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, the duo take the world by storm with their musical talent, trend-setting style, and humor, dishing out lessons in J-pop justice and establishing the international language of "cool" along the way. Secondary characters include: Jang-Keng (voiced by Grey DeLisle) and Tekirai (voiced by Janice Kawaye), the duo's pet cats who enjoy tormenting Kaz; Harmony (voiced by

Sandy Fox Sandra Marie Fox (née Kessler; born July 13, 1963) is an American voice actress who has had numerous roles in various animated cartoon, anime and video games. She portrayed the live-action Betty Boop and has provided her voice for Universal Stu ...

), a six-year-old girl who is the self-proclaimed "Number One Fan" of Puffy AmiYumi and (later) Kaz and constantly stalks them; Eldwin Blair (voiced by Nathan Carlson), a sinister land developer who tries to tear down beloved places for his own selfish needs; King Chad (voiced by

Katie Leigh Katherine Elizabeth "Katie" Leigh Joseph (born December 16, 1958) is an American voice actress, best known for her roles as Sunni Gummi in ''Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears'', Zuzu in ''Poppy Cat'', Alex in the first two seasons of '' To ...

), a selfish "bad boy" who is a master of the card game ''Stu-Pi-Doh!'' (a parody of ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine between September 1996 and March 2004. The plot follows the story of a boy named Yugi Mutou, w ...

''); the evil Talent Suckers (voiced by Nathan Carlson and

Corey Burton Corey Gregg Weinberg (born August 3, 1955), known professionally as Corey Burton, is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake, Dale and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformer ...

), a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

rock trio from

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

; and Atchan (voiced by

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Anni ...

), a caricature of Vo Atsushi (lead singer of the

band New Rote'ka) who speaks in third-person and thinks he is a superhero. The animated Puffy AmiYumi travel all over the world in their tour bus. While appearing the same size as a regular bus on the outside, it appears to have enough internal space to house the girls' rooms (including full-sized beds), Kaz's room, their equipment, televisions, and computers, among other things. In the episode "Domo", Kaz refers to an upstairs area. It also seems capable of running on autopilot, as Kaz, Ami, and Yumi are sometimes sitting in the rear cabin of the bus while traveling. Occasionally, the rear door has been opened to receive packages delivered by a boy on a scooter. During the first season, the show included

live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

clips of the real Ami and Yumi making childish commentary (in English and non-subtitled Japanese) at the beginning and end of each episode. They only performed short clips at the beginning of the show during the second and third seasons. Starting with the second season, the duo was sometimes shown holding title cards introducing the cartoon segments. At the end of the episode "Sitcomi Yumi", Ami and Yumi watched television and saw the animated Kaz with the real Ami and Yumi. All of the live-action clips were produced by Freegate, Ltd. The real PUFFY performs the cartoon's theme song (which is also in Japanese, German, Spanish, and Portuguese in the respective countries), and many episodes feature one or more of the duo's songs playing in the background, along with music by

Andy Sturmer Marvin Andrew Sturmer (born March 11, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and composer who co-founded the rock band Jellyfish in 1989. He was the group's lead vocalist, drummer, and primary songwriter. Following their break-up in 1 ...

. Though the characters speak English, the script intersperses their

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

with

speech, especially when the characters react to events that they find to be surprising. Calling out "Tasukete!" instead of "Help!" is commonly used.

Voice cast

as Ami Onuki, Tekirai, News Reporter Additional Voices * Grey DeLisle as Yumi Yoshimura, Jang Keng, Fan Club President, Additional Voices * Keone Young as Kaz Harada, Domo, Security Guard, Additional Voices *

as Atchan, Dr. Mysto, Clyde Easy Glide, Mr. Darrell, Additional Voices *

as Nikolai, Scar Tissue, Road Kill Flash Backman, Additional Voices *

as Harmony *Nathan Carlson as Vladimir, Eldwin Blair, Pizza Guy, Emecee, Additional Voices *

as King Chad *

Kimberly Brooks Kimberly D. Brooks (née Lawson) is an American voice actress who works in the voice-over, film, video games, and theatre industry. She has voiced in video games since the mid-1990s. She has played Ashley Williams in the ''Mass Effect'' serie ...

as Jill * Lara Jill Miller as Julie *

Will Ryan William Frank Ryan (May 21, 1949 – November 19, 2021) was an American voice actor, musician and singer. He provided the voice of Petrie in the 1988 animated film ''The Land Before Time''. He was also known for his voice work as Eugene Meltsner ...

as Farmer Zeke, Alien Banana #1, Wall, Rumaki, Old Camper 3, Wasabi, Sumo Wrestler, Muscle Bound Guy, Defensive End, Riptide's Coach *

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...

as Jang-Keng (''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the ...

'' audio, "Small Stuff" only)

Production

Development

According to Register, the target audience of the show is boys and girls from 6 to 11 years old. However, it also has a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

of teen and adult fans of the real-life

and

who make up the Japanese

duo

. Register, who was a fan of the band, wished to spread its fame to other parts of the world and thus created the series. The series features the adventures of animated versions of the duo, who have been immensely popular in Japan since making their debut, and is the second television show to be based on the band after ''

Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy ''Pa Pa Pa Pa Puffy'' (also known as ''Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa Puffy'', ) was a variety TV show which aired in Japan (TV Asahi) from 1 October 1997 to 27 March 2002, and re-aired as a PUFFY 10th anniversary broadcast for a short time in 2006. It was hosted b ...

'', which aired in Japan from 1997 to 2002. The group now has its own U.S. albums, including a 2004 companion album to this program, and was known to viewers of Cartoon Network in the US for performing the theme to the ''Teen Titans'' animated series. During production of the series, DeLisle learned some Japanese from Kawaye and Young, both of whom speak the language fluently. The cartoon was one of the few cartoons at the time produced entirely in the United States, with a number of characters designed by famed Canadian artist

Lynne Naylor Rae Naylor (born November 7, 1953) is a Canadian animator, artist, designer, director, and producer for television. She is best known for co-creating DreamWorks' '' The Mighty Ones'', co-founding the animation studio Spümcø with John Kri ...

, who also designed characters for other Cartoon Network shows, including ''

Samurai Jack ''Samurai Jack'' is an American animated action-adventure television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. Tartakovsky conceived ''Samurai Jack'' after finishing his wor ...

'', ''

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'' (also known as ''Foster's Home'', or simply ''Foster's'' for short) is an American animated television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios as ...

'', and ''

The Powerpuff Girls ''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Telev ...

'', which got the show nominated for the coveted Annie Award. The pilot used a combination of

Macromedia Flash Macromedia Flash may refer to: *Adobe Animate, a multimedia authoring and computer animation program formerly known as ''Macromedia Flash'' *Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia software platform ...

and traditional

cel animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proc ...

. Each program was 30 minutes long (with commercials) and featured three seven-minute segments. The visual style of the show is anime-influenced. The show later switched to

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

animation once the show was picked up for a full series, due to traditional cel animation becoming too expensive to use. The show takes inspiration from various works animated in Japan, such as ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...

'', ''

Digimon , short for "Digital Monsters" ( ''Dejitaru Monsutā''), is a Japanese media franchise encompassing virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures, who inhabit a ...

'', the

Sunbow Productions Sunbow Entertainment (known as Sunbow Productions until 1995) was an American animation studio and distributor, founded on June 23, 1980, and owned until May 4, 1998, by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York City and in the United States. Griffin ...

animated series based on

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

properties, the

Walt Disney Animation Japan The Walt Disney Company has owned and operated several animation studios since the company's founding on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; the current Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, Ca ...

animated production, the

Marvel Productions New World Animation Ltd., formerly known as Marvel Productions, was the television and film studio subsidiary of the Marvel Entertainment Group, based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It later became a subsidiary of New World Entertainmen ...

animated series, the

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

animated production, and the

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

animated series. Other inspirations included old

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

cartoons, as well as

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

and

Mirisch Mirisch or Mirić is a Jewish surname of Sephardic origin. The family (Rabbi David Marich merchant and doctor and Don Abraham Marich merchant) is attested in Ferrara following the Expulsion of 1492. Following the immigration of Sephardic Jews to the ...

/ UA cartoons, UPA shorts, and the works of

Jay Ward Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. (September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989), also known as Jay Ward, was an American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bu ...

. Some of the show's crew members included various writers from

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's ''

CatDog ''CatDog'' is an American animated television series created by Peter Hannan for Nickelodeon. The series follows the life of yellow conjoined brothers of different species, with one half of the resultant animal being a cat and the other a dog. ...

'', including

Steven Banks Steven Craig Banks (born November 27, 1954) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and writer of television, plays, books and cartoons, including ''CatDog'', ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'', and ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. Performing In 1987, Banks ...

, Kit Boyce and Robert Lamoreaux. Prior to the show's release, Cartoon Network also released animated promos done by

Klasky Csupo Klasky-Csupo, Inc. (stylized as KLaSKY CSUPO INC., doing business as Klasky Csupo, ) is an American animation studio located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1982 by producer Arlene Klasky and Hungarian animator Gábor Csupó (he ...

, the animation studio behind many Nickelodeon original shows, such as ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently— Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, a ...

'', ''

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on three young monsters—Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm—who attend a school for monsters under a city dump and learn to ...

'', ''

The Wild Thornberrys ''The Wild Thornberrys'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, Steve Pepoon, David Silverman, and Stephen Sustarsic for Nickelodeon. The series portrays an American family of wildlife documentary ...

'', ''

Rocket Power ''Rocket Power'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó, the creators of '' Rugrats''. The series aired on Nickelodeon from August 16, 1999 to July 30, 2004. Premise ''Rocket Power'' revolves aroun ...

'', '' As Told by Ginger'', and ''

All Grown Up! ''All Grown Up!'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. It served as a continuation of the series ''Rugrats'', as explores the daily lives of protagonist Tommy Pickles ...

''.

originally pitched the idea of

having their own television series on

, and afterwards,

developed a test short on April 22, 2003 in hopes of making the channel greenlight the show's production. Renegade Animation originally, at first, created other Cartoon Network pilots before ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi''; two of which feature ''Captain Sturdy''; one in 2001, entitled "Back in Action", and the other in 2003, entitled "The Originals", but they were ultimately rejected, and Renegade Animation then started working on ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' starting with its pilot on April 22, 2003. The pilot was not broadcast, but was initially successful, and got the green-light from Cartoon Network. Finally, it was shown in non-full version as a preview on Cartoon Network DVDs and VHS tapes. The entire pilot was found by series' director,

Darrell Van Citters Darrell Van Citters (born October 29, 1956) is an American director, animator, and author, whose credits include directing the animated television series ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' and directing popular ''Looney Tunes'' cartoons featuring Bugs Bun ...

, and was uploaded to Vimeo on April 5, 2018. The series was officially announced at Cartoon Network's upfront on February 26, 2004. It was originally planned to premiere in December 2004, but was later pushed back to November 19.

Cancellation

On October 2, 2006, the show's crew announced on their blog that Cartoon Network had cancelled ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' after three seasons and 39 episodes due to management shakeup, leading Sam Register to leave the channel, until Register officially became the president of

on August 28, 2020.

Appearances in other media

The show had been acknowledged and referenced several times, even outside of Cartoon Network themselves. These also come in the form of parodies, albeit rare. * A clip of the episode, "AmiYumi 3000", can be seen playing on a TV in the film ''

Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Cre ...

''. * In 2012, Ami and Yumi appeared on Cartoon Network's 20th anniversary poster. * Yumi later made a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the ''

OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes ''OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes'' is an American animated television series created by Ian Jones-Quartey for Cartoon Network. The show is based on Jones-Quartey's pilot ''Lakewood Plaza Turbo'', which was released as part of Cartoon Network's 2013 Su ...

'' special ''Crossover Nexus''. * Ami and Yumi made a background appearance, within their poster in a TV pilot for '' Villainous''. * Ami's haircut appeared as a wardrobe item in the 2020 mobile game, ''KleptoCats: Cartoon Network''. * Parodies of Ami and Yumi, named Ori and Yori, show up in the

series ''

Kappa Mikey ''Kappa Mikey'' is an American animated television series created by Larry Schwarz. The show was created by Schwarz's studio Animation Collective. The series premiered on February 25, 2006 and ended on September 20, 2008. 52 episodes were produce ...

''.

Episodes

''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' premiered in the United States on

on November 19, 2004. After ending on June 27, 2006, the show continued to rerun until December 22, 2006, where it aired in reruns normally, and occasionally, would be one of the few non-

Cartoon Cartoons Cartoon Cartoons is a collective name used by Cartoon Network for their original animated television series originally aired between 1995 and 2003 and produced in majority by Hanna-Barbera and/or Cartoon Network Studios. Beginning with its incept ...

to air in reruns on ''The Cartoon Cartoon Show'' before being removed from the network's schedule. Since Cartoon Network is available worldwide, the show has been dubbed into multiple languages and aired on Cartoon Network worldwide. In Canada, the series premiered on YTV on September 5, 2005. In Japan, the show began airing on Cartoon Network in English with Japanese

subtitles Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informa ...

in 2005. A dubbed version began airing on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...

Oha Suta ''Oha Suta'' () is a Japanese children's breakfast television show. Produced by Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions (ShoPro) for TV Tokyo, the show airs on TV Tokyo & TX Network. It premiered in 1997 as a relaunch of (. ''Sutajio'' is a loanword f ...

block on October 6, 2005, and started to air on January 8, 2006 on

Cartoon Network Japan is a Japanese cable and satellite television channel operated by Turner Japan, a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel is aimed at children, and mostly airs animated television se ...

. In Germany, the show aired on Cartoon Network Germany with all episodes. It premiered in 2005 on the Cartoon Network's block of Kabel eins. The show stopped airing there after two seasons in 2006. The reason was that Cartoon Network Germany launched and most of the shows moved there. In Poland, the show aired on

Cartoon Network Poland Cartoon Network is a Polish pay television channel aimed at children, which launched in 1998 as a localised feed of the U.S. television network of the same name. The channel is owned by TVN Group, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Hist ...

from 2005 to 2006. In Australia, the show premiered on April 3, 2005. It stopped airing on

Cartoon Network Australia Cartoon Network Australia & New Zealand is an Australian pay television channel launched on October 3, 1995 and owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific. It primarily shows animated programming. The channel began broadcasting as a part ...

in November 2008. The third season was never shown there. From August to November 2009, the Australian channel

9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, ani ...

showed the last season instead and was abandoned in January 2010. As of March 2022, the show still airs on

Tooncast Tooncast is a Latin American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its International division. It was launched on 1 December 2008; its programming consists of classical animation, both from Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Netwo ...

at 2:30am and 2:30pm respectively. While the show has had a limited release on DVD in America (as seen below), the entire series was quietly released on

in the Latin America area. The release includes both the Spanish and original English tracks.

Reception

Critical response

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

wrote that the show is "modern, in its retro, Asian-tinged way -- in other words, right in line with the Cartoon Network aesthetic -- but nothing new", and called it "bright and loud and sensational".

Ratings

''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' debuted on

on November 19, 2004 at 7:30 PM ET/PT with two half-hour episodes. The show charted double-digit increases with Girls 6–11 in ratings and delivery for Cartoon Network's Fridays programming block. During the following week, the show became the network's top-rated hit for kids 6–11. It also increased Cartoon Network's audience among that age group by 49% over the previous year.

Awards and nominations

The series has been nominated three times for the

. Two of them came in 2005 and one came in 2006.

Merchandise

CD

* ''

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' is an American animated television series created by Sam Register for Cartoon Network. Produced by Renegade Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, the series stars fictionalized and animated versions of the Japanese pop ...

'' * '' Hi Hi''

Home media

Video games

There are two video games released by D3Publisher of America (D3PA) based on the show: * ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped!'' (

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...

, 2005): Ami and Yumi return from a world tour and decide to take a break. Harmony hypnotizes and kidnaps Kaz, and traps Ami and Yumi onto a giant lollipop. Their cats, Jang Keng and Tekirai, lick them free, and Ami and Yumi set off on a journey to rescue Kaz. This title was developed by Altron. * ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: The Genie and the Amp'' (

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in t ...

, 2006): Ami and Yumi are having trouble getting their creative juices flowing to lay down some tracks for their new album, only for them to find a magic

genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

that sends them to various time periods to collect magic notes, which are required for the girls to play the "Ultimate World Tour." This title was developed by Sensory Sweep Studios.

Marketing

* A "falloon" (a float with balloon elements) of Puffy AmiYumi's cartoon tour bus (complete with the supporting characters in puppet form), the cartoon version of Puffy AmiYumi as a balloon, and the real PUFFY appeared in the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States wit ...

in 2005. * A line of toys intended for girls was produced by

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in mor ...

(makers of the popular

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

doll and

Hot Wheels Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then owner of Matchbox. Many automobile manufacturers h ...

cars) and released for the 2005 Christmas season. * Two DVDs, ''Let's Go!'' and ''Rock Forever'', featuring various episodes of the show, were released on November 29, 2005. * The American costume company Rubie's produced a line of ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' costumes and accessories for girls for

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

2006.

References

External links

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
at ''

'' * {{Navboxes, list= {{Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi {{Puffy AmiYumi {{Former Cartoon Network original programming 2000s American animated television series 2004 American television series debuts 2006 American television series endings American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated fantasy television series American children's animated musical television series American flash animated television series American television series with live action and animation Animated duos Animated musical groups Animated television series about teenagers Animation based on real people Anime-influenced Western animated television series Cartoon Network original programming Television series by Cartoon Network Studios English-language television shows Japan in non-Japanese culture Metafictional television series Puffy AmiYumi Television series based on singers and musicians Television series created by Sam Register Television shows adapted into comics Television shows adapted into video games Television shows set in Japan Vampires in animated television

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