Popotan

is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Petit Ferret with character designs by Akio Watanabe under the alias Poyoyon Rock. It was originally released as a PC game for CD-ROM on December 13, 2002, and subsequently re-released on DVD-ROM and for the PlayStation 2 with certain scenes removed. The title ''Popotan'' is a nonsensical word meant to reflect the prominence of dandelions, spelled in Japanese;In the Japanese language, nouns do not have a separate form in the plural. Petit Ferret also produced a fan disc shortly before the DVD-ROM re-release. ''Popotan'' has been adapted to other media, including a novel series (''Popotan～ Himitsu no Jumon～ Kōhen'') by Sassami Yachiruda; a manga series by Yūjiro Izumi; a twelve episode anime television series directed by Shinichiro Kimura, animated by Shaft, and licensed in North America by Geneon USA and later, Sentai Filmworks; a radio drama (''Poporaji''); and several art and reference books.

Gameplay in ''Popotan'' follows a semi-predetermined plot; major events remain the same, but personal storylines can diverge from the player's choices. The game focuses on protagonist Chris, a drifter who meets three girls, the youngest of whom is 11 years old, and their maid in a mansion near the ruins of Tokyo in the distant future.

Gameplay

''Popotan'' is a visual novel in which players spend most of their time in reading dynamic text, representing either dialogue between the various characters or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. After progressing through text, players either come to a "decision point" where they must choose from multiple options, or the text will end and the player must move to a new location, or, in the DVD-ROM and PS2 versions, use a shortcut option to continue to the next event. Time elapsed between decision points varies. The game pauses at these points and, depending on which choice the player makes, the plot will progress and may branch off in a specific direction. The player must romantically pursue the three sisters, and can seek other characters if one of the sisters' scenarios has been completed.

A special music mini-game commences at certain points in Mii's scenario. The goal of the mini-game is to max out "Magical Girl Mii"'s magical power meter by hitting balls at the right moment. The outcome of the mini-game affects the storyline. Successfully completing her scenarios unlock an ''omake'' option on the main menu, allowing the player to play the mini-game with different music tracks. Finishing Ai's scenario unlocks a new story featuring Unagi. The player can save the game only while text is on the screen in the PC versions; this limitation was removed in the PS2 port. The PS2 port also altered the events and scenes based on the DVD version.

Plot

Characters

The player assumes the role of Chris, the protagonist of ''Popotan''. Chris is a high school dropout who dislikes the direction of society and refuses to get a job. He wanders the streets making a living as a guitar-playing busker. He feels he cannot play well without an audience, which is hard to find as a drifter. The other main characters include three sisters and their maid who live in a western-style mansion. Ai, 18, is the eldest of the three and communicates with plants. Mai is the middle sister at 14; she is a tomboy and disapproves of Chris's behavior. Mii is the youngest at 11 and the most energetic; she often cosplays as "Magical Girl Mii" and helps people. Their maid Mea appears emotionless at first, but reveals hidden depth later in the story.

Story

''Popotan'' takes place in the distant future within the remnants of Tokyo, destroyed by a cataclysm and since altered by geological transformations. The disaster was caused by a giant dandelion structure resembling a spire that arose in the city atop a hill. The main location of the game is a European-style mansion, seen as completely out-of-place in the city. Much of the daytime is spent outside the mansion wandering around town meeting characters and triggering event sequences.

''Popotan'' follows Chris's lifestyle changes, as well as the mysteries surrounding the spire-like object that caused the destruction of Tokyo in the past. The story opens as Chris desperately considers stealing food from a stand near a shrine entrance. His theft is unsuccessful, and he wanders around town looking for work. He finds a convenience store, where he gets directions leading him to the mansion. He enters without asking permission and runs into the three sisters and their lifelike android maid. Chris asks permission to stay because the rent is cheap and the girls are pretty; they consent, but force him to take a part-time job. The convenience store owner hires him, and as the story progresses, Chris opens up socially and begins caring about others as he interacts with the girls. He also meets new friends, including a classmate Konami, a local shrine maiden named Nono and a mysterious girl named Shizuku.

Development

Petit Ferret developed ''Popotan'' in 2002. Seki Hayabusa and Iwashinichi Shimizu handled scenario development, and Akio Watanabe designed its characters while working under the alias Poyoyon♥Rock. Higuchi Hideki and Kajihara Masahiro composed music for the series; Under17 contributed theme music with vocals. Petit Ferret created over 1,000 two-dimensional computer graphics for backgrounds, events, and character poses. Though only characters' mouths and eyes are animated, numerous poses exist for both major and minor characters; Petit Ferret created slightly fewer graphics for the latter to reduce production costs. The game uses a character placement system to display the characters relative to the protagonist; distant characters appear small, and grow larger as the player approaches them.

Petit Ferret requested applications for Japanese voice actresses from May to June 2002, seeking to fill the roles of the three sisters first. Satisfied with the applicants, Petit Ferret held open auditions for other roles starting June 30, 2002.

WellMADE produced and distributed the PS2 port, , based on the DVD-ROM version of the original game. Petit Ferret made Akio Watanabe project supervisor for the PS2 port.

Release information

Petit Ferret released a trial version of ''Popotan'' for download on November 25, 2002 and released the full PC version on one CD-ROM the following December 13. To increase pre-order sales, Ferret packaged the initial CD-ROM release of ''Popotan'' with a special maxi single CD of Under17's theme songs. The firm then released a fan disc on July 11, 2003, titled . The disc includes several character-based mini-games (including the original's "Magical Girl Mii" mini-game), new storyline content and routes based around Mii and Nono, a separate music CD containing background music from the original game, themed computer wallpaper, and desktop accessories. Some of the items must be unlocked. The fan disc preceded a re-release of the main game as ''Popotan Po!'' on August 1, 2003, as a DVD-ROM with game enhancements; it would be Petit Ferret's last official release. WellMADE produced a PS2 port named ''Oshiete! Popotan'', released March 11, 2004. Scenes in the port were changed or removed to comply with Sony's ban on sexual content, but the release still warranted CERO 18 rating. Later, after the CERO revised its rating system, it was given a CERO D rating. WellMADE tried to compensate for their absence with graphics and gameplay improvements. WellMADE enticed buyers of the port with a bonus themed calling card, reversible poster, and music CD. WellMADE also released two free spinoff games in December 2003 and March 2004, collectively named and featuring Unagi as the heroine. WellMADE designed the games to be humorous and fun; the second allows Unagi to transform into her humanoid form after a certain point in the story.

The initial limited edition release of ''Popotan'' on CD-ROM suffered critical errors, such as graphic display issues, saving and loading issues, the inability to complete some routes and Mii's mini-game not starting. Petit Ferret issued a patch on January 10, 2003. Later versions of the game were released bug-free.

''Issho ni A-SO-BO'' also contained several serious errors. Petit Ferret addressed these issues in two patches. The first patch added missing voice data from the original game CD; customers were given the option of downloading the patch or exchanging for a new CD. Ferret released the second patch on July 7, 2003; it corrected grammatical errors, adjusted the game's difficulty, and enhanced stability. The second patch did not contain the first's fixes.

Related media

Anime series

An anime television series adaptation of ''Popotan'' was animated by Shaft and directed by Shinichiro Kimura. A pseudonymous animator going by the name "Haruka Sakurai" (桜井はるか) designed the characters for animation; and Rondo Mizukami served as the chief animation director, with Shaft animator Yoshiaki Itou helping with episodes 6 and 9. Half of the series was animated in-house at Shaft, while the other half was outsourced to a number of other studios: episodes 4 and 10 at studios Animaru Ya and Studio Deen; episodes 5 and 11 at Studio Tama; episode 7 at Satelight; and episode 8 at A.C.G.T. Under17 composed the opening theme song in the same style used for the game; Funta wrote the ending theme song. Tokyo Broadcasting System's satellite station BS-i and the Bandai Channel aired the anime from July 18, 2003, through October 3, 2003.

The narrative is episodic and usually focuses on one character at a time. Each of the first four episodes focuses on one of the four main characters, depicting social interaction and growth. The anime's use of time travel allows focus on the older versions or children of previously featured characters, and contrasts their experiences with the protagonists' agelessness. Reviewers have experienced difficulty categorizing the ''Popotan'' anime, though it does feature an overall comedic tone. The characters are very lighthearted and eager to help new acquaintances. Nudity appears in many episodes, though no sexually explicit scenes occur. Geneon rated the series for ages 16+; Section23 Films gave its re-release a TV-MA rating.

Shaft released a teaser DVD entitled on June 27, 2003, featuring character designs by Haruka Sakurai. The DVD also contained video interviews with the anime's Japanese voice actresses, a CD of music from radio the drama, 's theme , metallic paint illustrations, and a plushie of Unagi. Bandai Visual released the anime on six Japanese DVDs containing two episodes each. Bandai staggered the discs' release over the period September 26, 2003 and February 25, 2004. Each disc came with a promotional figurine of one of the girls;




Bandai provided DVDs without the figurines at lower costs. A misprint on the volume 3 DVD jacket occurred during production, numbering the episodes incorrectly. Bandai Visual offered free exchanges of the jackets to purchasers. Geneon USA licensed the DVDs for North American release, producing three DVDs containing four episodes each between December 7, 2004 and April 26, 2005. Geneon USA began selling a box set on August 14, 2007, shortly before the firm's demise. Sentai Filmworks licensed the anime for distribution in late 2009, having made an announcement July 28. Section23 Films re-released the complete series through a 2-disc set on October 27, 2009.

Setting and plot

An adaptation of the visual novel, the anime takes place in an alternate reality. The main female characters and their relations are unchanged, but the storyline is unrelated to the game's. The plot follows the perspective of the three sisters and their maid rather than the game's protagonist; all the game's major female characters appear and many of the minor characters are used in supporting or cameo roles.

The story centers around the three sisters as they travel through time in a mansion, run a Christmas shop, and search for the dandelion-resembling "popotan". The sisters interact with others and try to improve their situations. The anime suggests that others, including the antagonist

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