is a Japanese two-part

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA ...

spin-off from the ''

Excel Saga is a manga series written and illustrated by Kōshi Rikudō. It was serialized in '' Young King OURs'' from 1996 to 2011, and its individual chapters were collected and published in 27 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shōnen Gahōsha. The series fo ...

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series. It features some of that series' secondary characters and many of its staff, primarily director

Shinichi Watanabe is a Japanese anime director and voice actor. He is best known for his over-the-top adaptation of Rikdo Koshi's ''Excel Saga'', in which he appears as the character Nabeshin. Watanabe stated that the nickname Nabeshin (a name blending of ...

. Like ''Excel Saga'', it is a parody of other anime, manga and various aspects of popular culture, though in this case with the

magical girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transf ...

genre providing its primary focus and general structure. The series was originally an in-joke from an episode of ''Excel Saga''; Watanabe decided to take the in-joke to its most extreme logical conclusion, creating the series.

Episodes

''Puni Puni Poemy'' comprises two episodes, both around 26 minutes in length. * Part 1 - Poemy is in a Bad Mood :The introductory sequence shows Poemy fighting shadowy figures of various other magical girls such as

Usagi Tsukino , better known as , is a Japanese superheroine and the main protagonist and title character of the ''Sailor Moon'' manga series written by Naoko Takeuchi. She is introduced in chapter #1, "Usagi – Sailor Moon" (originally published in Japan' ...

from ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The se ...

'', Tickle from ''

Majokko Tickle , also known as ''Magical Girl Tickle'' or ''Tickle the Witch Girl'', is a 1970s magical girl manga and anime by Go Nagai. Unlike Nagai's earlier (and more popular) ''Cutie Honey'', ''Majokko Tickle'' is closer to the more traditional mold ...

'', Utena from '' Revolutionary Girl Utena'', Megu and Non from ''

Majokko Megu-chan is a popular magical girl anime series. The manga was created by Tomô Inoue and Makiho Narita, while the 72-episode anime series was produced by Toei Animation between 1974 and 1975. This series is considered an important forerunner of the pr ...

'',

Sakura Kinomoto is the main protagonist and title character of Clamp (manga artists), Clamp's manga series ''Cardcaptor Sakura''. In the English anime adaptation by Nelvana of the series, ''Cardcaptors'' is known as Sakura Avalon, though her surname was changed ...

from ''

Cardcaptor Sakura , abbreviated as ''CCS'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Serialized monthly in the ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from May 1996 to June 2000, it was also published in 12 ''tankōbon'' ...

'', Sally, from ''

Sally, the Witch , also known as ''Sunny the Witch'', is one of the popular anime magical girls of what would eventually become a genre in Japan. Due to its characteristics, it may be considered the first shōjo anime as well; while titles such as ''Him ...

'' (considered o be the first magical girl in Japanese animation) and for some reason Mahoro from '' Mahoromatic'' despite her not being a magical girl. :At the start of a new school year the over-energetic Poemy Watanabe is introduced, along with her adoptive parents Nabeshin and Kumi-Kumi. Poemy rushes to the school to be the first there, at the same time she repeatedly proclaims her desire to become a successful voice actress. At the school, Poemy's best girl friend, Futaba Aasu, is presented as Poemy's biggest supporter and in fact perennially sexually attracted to her. Back from school, Poemy and Futaba realize the horror of finding Poemy's parents and their robot dog crucified by Alien #1, an extraterrestrial assassin with peculiar genitalia. Her home destroyed, Poemy moves in with Futaba and her six sisters. Later, a massive alien robot attacks the city, whereupon it turns out that Futaba and her sisters are actually a secret team of super-powered heroines dedicated to defending the Earth, also known as Sol III. Unfortunately, the Aasu sisters' magic is strictly defensive, so they are unable to defeat the rampaging robot. Meanwhile, Poemy obtains a talking, magic fish that when used as a magic wand transforms her into Puni Puni Poemy, a powerful magical girl. After the typical transformation, however, she promptly throws away her wand, forgoes the use of magic, and attacks the robot with her bare hands. * Part 2 - With a Dream Greater Than Earth :Continuing from the previous scene, the wastefully energetic Poemy uses her new powers to tear through the alien

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...

, destroying it. Next, Poemy decides to use her new strength to continue pursuing her career as a voice actress, and right wrongs as she sees them throughout society. However, Poemy appears to do more bad than good, as she harshly punishes citizens for small incidents, and accidentally sends a

nuclear missile Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a nuclear weapon at the position of detonation, on or near its target. Several methods have been developed to carry out this task. ''Strategic'' nuclear weapons are used primari ...

off-course, completely destroying an entire country. Then, the Aasu sisters finally decide to confront Puni Puni Poemy, and realize she is actually the Poemy Watanabe they have been hosting in their own house. Afterwards, it is revealed that K, the school boy whom Poemy is attracted to, is actually an octopus-like alien, and he will be commanding the following invasion to Earth. Next morning, the invasion proceeds, with a massive

Death Star The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the '' Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves t ...

en route to Earth, and with K capturing the Aasu sisters, and subjecting them to

hentai Hentai is anime and manga pornography. A loanword from Japanese, the original term ( ) does not describe a genre of media, but rather an abnormal sexual desire or act, as an abbreviation of . In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exi ...

-related

bondage Bondage may refer to: Restraints *Physical restraints **Bondage (BDSM) Bondage in the BDSM subculture, is the practice of consensually tying, binding, or restraining a partner for erotic, aesthetic, or somatosensory stimulation. A partn ...

, as he learned from

Japanese animation is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

. In the end, the two alien henchmen are inexplicably revealed to be Poemy's foster parents, Nabeshin and Kumi-Kumi, who are thus not dead, and Poemy and Futaba combine their powers in order to make the world nice and end the extraterrestrial menace.

Characters

* : :The star of the show, Poemi Watanabe is 10 years old and hyperactive beyond comparison. Described as "wastefully energetic", she's an eager student, she's got a crush on K, the popular boy in her class, and she wants to become a voice actress. She normally breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

by referring to herself as "Kobayashi", which is the last name of her own voice actress, Yumiko Kobayashi. Poemy also breaks the fourth wall by referring to Nabeshin as "the Director", since Nabeshin is voiced by

himself, the director of the series. :After her adoptive parents, Nabeshin and Kumi-Kumi, are killed by Alien #1, Poemy moves in with her best friend, Futaba Aasu. Then, when an alien

attacks the city, Poemy encounters a mysterious and silent man playing the

shamisen The , also known as the or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usua ...

, who is apparently her real father, and he gives her a fish, which when gutted and used as a magic wand, allows her to transform into Puni Puni Poemy, a magical girl embodying the will of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

itself. * Shinichi "Nabeshin" Watanabe (ワタナベシンイチ ''Watanabe Shin'ichi'', ナベシン ''Nabeshin'') : :Nabeshin is the animated alter-ego of real-life director

, who previously appeared in ''Puni Puni Poemys forerunner, ''

''. At the conclusion of that series, he married Kumi-Kumi, and at the beginning of this show, they have adopted ten-year-old Poemy. As in ''Excel Saga'', Nabeshin seems to be constantly hunted down by different enemies, and being the director of these shows, he displays super-human abilities that involve his afro. In this occasion, Nabeshin and his wife are successfully killed by

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

, along with their robotic pet dog, by Alien #1. However, near the end of the second part they are inexplicably alive and appear to be the alien henchmen themselves. * Kumi-Kumi (クミクミさん ''Kumikumi-san'') : Voiced by:

Satomi Korogi is a feminine Japanese given name which is also used as a surname. Possible writings Satomi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *里美, "hometown, beauty" *怜美, "wise, beauty" *聡美, "wise, beauty" *智美, "wisdo ...

(Japanese, uncredited);

Tiffany Grant Tiffany Lynn Grant (born October 11, 1968) is an American voice actress and script writer who is known for her English-dubbing work for ADV Films on such anime films and television series as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', in which she voiced the cha ...

(English) :Introduced in ''

'', Kumi-Kumi was a simple mountain girl who rescued Nabeshin from an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and ea ...

and attempted to feed him

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...

. But Nabeshin isn't too good with hot foods, so he refused, only to have her pursue him across the rest of the series. He finally relented, marrying her at the end of the final episode. At the start of ''Puni Puni Poemy,'' she and Nabeshin now have Poemy as their adopted daughter. Despite being killed by the alien invader along with Nabeshin, Kumi-Kumi apparently saved her husband using

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

, and they are both alright at the end of the second part. * K (Kくん ''K-kun'') : :K is one of Poemy's classmates, but unfortunately for Poemy, her wild crush on him isn't reciprocated. In the second episode, K discovers that he is an octopus-like alien who had been raised in human form for ten years, and he takes charge of the invasion of the planet, which is focused on ravishing Japanese women, since

transmissions have given the aliens the idea that that's what women are really like. K, whose real name is Space Alien Prince, is composed entirely of

tentacles In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work mainl ...

as he and his family parody the Mars People from the game series '' Metal Slug''. * Mage Queen (魔道士の女王 ''Madō-shi no joō'') : :A mysterious figure, the precise nature of the Mage Queen is not explained. Initially, her somewhat threatening

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

aboard a

space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station ...

that oversees Earth seems to count her an enemy. However, she greets the eventual arrival of Puni Puni Poemy with joy and considers the invading aliens a threat. Her reign as queen of the magic is cut short when she is assassinated by Alien #2. Her design is based on the female characters of

Leiji Matsumoto is a Japanese mangaka, creator of several anime and manga series. His wife Miyako Maki is also a manga artist. Early life Matsumoto was the middle child of a family of seven brothers, and, in his early childhood, Matsumoto was given a 3 ...

. * Alien Henchmen : - Alien 1 : - Alien 2 :These extraterrestrial assassins dress like

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

s from the waist up and speak in an undecipherable hipster

jargon Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a partic ...

. Their

genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

look like

Bungee Ball Bungee balls were toys marketed as a means of enhancing a person's hand–eye coordination. At one end of an elastic bungee cord Bungee cords equipped with metal hooks A bungee cord (sometimes spelled bungle; also known as a shock cord) is an ela ...

s that hang down to their knees, and can be used as sort of like

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

s. Alien #1 has one such

testicle A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testoste ...

, and Alien #2 has two, and no reason for this anatomical difference is given. Early in the first episode, Alien #1 kills Nabeshin and Kumi-Kumi, and then controls the giant robot that attacks the city. Then, during most of the second episode, he spends his time at the Aasu household completely unnoticed, even joining the girls in the

bathtub A bathtub, also known simply as a bath or tub, is a container for holding water in which a person or animal may bathe. Most modern bathtubs are made of thermoformed acrylic, porcelain-enameled steel or cast iron, or fiberglass-reinforced pol ...

, until he captures them. Alien #2's main role is in arriving with a giant battleship and attacking the Mage Queen. Ultimately, both alien henchmen are not whom they appear to be, as in a

paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

they take off their disguises and reveal to be Nabeshin and Kumi-Kumi, who are alive and well.

The Aasu Sisters

Poemy's classmate, Futaba, is but one of the seven Aasu sisters, protectors of

. ''Aasu'' is the Japanese

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

of the English word "Earth", and each of the girl's names is derived from a number: seven, six, five, and so on. All of the girls have magical powers, but given that these powers are purely defensive in nature, the family is useless as an offensive unit. Additionally to their family name referring to the Earth, ''aasu'' is also the Japanese transliteration of the English words "arse" or "

ass Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Ass'' (album), 1973 albu ...

", which is comically exploited in the English dub, such as the character Futaba saying "save my Aasus" when the sisters are captured. * Nanase Aasu (ああすななせ ''Āsu Nanase'') : :At 28 years old, Nanase is the eldest sister, who works as a data processor in an office. Her power is the Earth Dance of Flowers, the ability to summon a whirlwind of flowers, to absolutely no effect. Her name is derived from ''nana'', the Japanese word for "seven". * Mutsumi Aasu (ああすむつみ ''Āsu Mutsumi'') : :Mutsumi is 22 years old, and much to her own surprise speaks with a

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

accent (in the English language dub a Brooklyn accent is used). She has something of a complex about the small size of her breasts. Her power is the Earth Breakfall, which means she can fall over safely. Her name is derived from ''mutsu'', the Japanese word for "six". Her short, purple hair, and her white outfit, make her physically similar to the first Ropponmatsu from ''

''. * Itsue Aasu (ああすいつえ ''Āsu Itsue'') : :The 19-year-old Itsue is working her way through high school as a

dominatrix A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...

, and is prone to using her whip to physically abuse her sisters when she gets angry. Her power, the Earth Barrier Shield, enables her to generate a protective energy field, which she activates while spinning her

. Her name comes from ''itsu'', the Japanese word for "five". * Shii Aasu (ああすしい ''Āsu Shī'') : :Shii is 18 years old, and her most distinctive feature are her excessively large breasts. She constantly grabs them and announces how heavy they are, but in one occasion she mentioned she would use Poemy's magic to make them much smaller. Her special power is Earth Healing, which does no damage. Her name comes from ''shi'', the Japanese word for "four". Shii has blue hair and resembles

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and va ...

from ''

'', and in fact, both characters have the same voice actresses, Omi Minami and

Monica Rial Monica Jean Rial (born October 5, 1975) is an American voice actress and ADR script writer affiliated with Funimation and Seraphim Digital/ Sentai Filmworks. She provides voices for English language versions of Japanese anime films and telev ...

. * Mitsuki Aasu (ああすみつき ''Āsu Mitsuki'') : :Cute and energetic, Mitsuki is 15 years old, and seems to play an active role in the running of the Aasu household. Initially, she opposes the idea of letting Poemy stay with them, and later she distrusts Puni Puni Poemy's actions. Her power is Earth Acceleration, enabling her to run at vast speeds. Her name is derived from ''mittsu'', the Japanese word for "three". With her long ponytail Mitsuki is physically similar to Misaki Matsuya from ''

''. * Futaba Aasu (ああすふたば ''Āsu Futaba'') : :10-year-old Futaba is Poemy's classmate and best friend, and she is madly in love with her, a fact to which Poemy is oblivious. Futaba's power allows her to pacify hostile creatures, making them happy and harmless. In the final confrontation with the invading aliens, Futaba combines her power with Poemy's, and since Poemy is a representation of

, this act pacifies the planet's population, resulting in peace with the aliens. After this event, director Nabeshin casually mentions that Futaba is in reality the main character of the show. Her name comes from ''futa'', the Japanese word for "two". Futaba is mostly a parody of

Tomoyo Daidouji This article covers the major characters of Clamp's manga ''Cardcaptor Sakura'' and its respective anime and movies. The manga and anime focused on Japanese schoolgirl Sakura Kinomoto who finds the magical Clow Book in her father's basement study ...

, the best friend of magical girl

from ''

''. Unlike Tomoyo, however, Futaba displays more extreme fantasies and lesbian arousal whenever she is with her friend. * Hitomi Aasu (ああすひとみ ''Āsu Hitomi'') : :The youngest of the Aasu sisters, at only 3 years old, Hitomi is in a hurry to grow up and grow breasts. She possesses the power of

precognition Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...

, although it is not very good because she mostly foresees the obvious. Whenever she is having a vision, she seems to have

bowel movements Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging f ...

. Her name comes from ''hito'', the Japanese word for "one".

Reception

Lynzee Loveridge called the series an "over-the-top magical girl premise" which lampoons the

genre, with "bondage, crucified robot dogs, and weird alien dicks."

Banning in New Zealand

Due to its sexual and violent scenes, the Classification Office banned ''Puni Puni Poemy'' in New Zealand. A New Zealand anime fan, Simon Brady, unsuccessfully appealed to the Film and Literature Board of Review to change the classification, citing that the show was only rated MA15+ in Australia. However, the Board of Review stated that a program would be banned if they felt that it promoted the exploitation of children or young persons for sexual purposes, extreme violence and extreme cruelty. On 8 June 2021, the Classification Office re-classified ''Puni Puni Poemy'' R16 after granting a request from a member of the public to reconsider the classification of the series.Classification Office (2021) 'OFLC No. 2100071.000 Register Page'. https://register.classificationoffice.govt.nz/. Retrieved 20 July 2022.

References

External links

''Puni Puni Poemy'' official website
* {{Authority control 2001 anime OVAs ADV Films Anime and manga controversies Anime spin-offs Censorship in New Zealand Excel Saga J.C.Staff LGBT in anime and manga LGBT-related controversies in animation Magical girl anime and manga Magical girl parodies Obscenity controversies in animation Parody anime and manga Surreal comedy anime and manga Works by Yōsuke Kuroda