Pop Team Epic ⬢ Extremely Silly, Great Fun, But What?

Original Run: January 7, 2018 - March 25, 2018
Number of Episodes: 12
Genre: Comedy
Based on the Series Created By: bkub Ookawa

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Pop Team Epic. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

This series is not summarizeable. Regardless:

Pop Team Epic showcases the misadventures of two high school (question mark) girls: Popuko and Pipimi.

Popuko is of a short stature and an even shorter temper. She often lets the slightest annoyance throw her into a violent rage.

Pipimi is less trigger-happy than her friend, but she is equally dangerous. What she lacks in raw anger, she more than makes up for in soft-spoken absurdity.

When together, these two do…stuff. What kind of stuff? That is an excellent question, but stuff does get done. However, if you’re wondering if said stuff that gets done makes sense, well, who’s to say?

Series Positives

We’re going to try and review this thing.

Should you find yourself walking around any manga section in Japan, Pop Team Epic’s Popuko and Pipimi stand out; they are attention-grabbing. How could they not be?

After all, you see these two stubby-looking girls in sailor uniforms flipping you the bird. Naturally, an anime version of this franchise would, at the very least, be intriguing.

There is no reliable way to predict what this show will do. But should you decide to brave the insanity that is this series, here’s a word of warning: Don’t assume anything. Any preconceived notions beyond bat-s@#$ crazy will be wrong.

After all, how many anime have the cajónes to repeat the same fifteen-minute episode again with different voice actors?

So, what does that mean, you might be wondering. Exactly as it sounds.

Each thirty-minute block was the same episode played back-to-back, kind of. The term “same” is for ease of conversation. The plot of each half is nearly identical, with a few subtle plot changes here and there.

However, the most prominent difference within a single episode is the actors for Popuko and Pipimi. And on top of that, every episode changes the actor and actress playing our leads. Thus, this show’s voice cast is actually massive.

Perhaps you are beginning to see how absurd the idea of reviewing this series is.

Therefore, there is only one way to enjoy Pop Team Epic. You need to ask yourself:

Do you find the style of humor this series relies on funny?

If the answer is yes, there you go; you’ll most likely find yourself a fan. But if the answer is no, stay away. Stay far, far away.

Amongst everything, though, Pop Team Epic never felt cheap, even with the occasional evidence to the contrary. Still, even when this show went low-budget, the amount of talent behind the scenes was incredible. Granted, you could mention a few segments that, on the surface, make me sound insane. But I would argue there was a lot of thought and talent that went into this show.

Wheater it was 2D, 3D, stop motion, or live-action segments, Pop Team Epic was always giving it all it had.

There isn’t much else to talk about concerning Pop Team Epic. If you watched the first half of the first episode and thought it was funny, then the rest of this show is for you. If you thought this was the dumbest thing you’ve seen in your life, the series doesn’t get any better afterward.

Series Negatives

We’re going to try and review this thing.

Should you find yourself walking around any manga section in Japan, Pop Team Epic’s Popuko and Pipimi stand out; they are attention-grabbing. How could they not be?

After all, you see these two stubby-looking girls in sailor uniforms flipping you the bird. Naturally, an anime version of this franchise would, at the very least, be intriguing.

And yes, we’re really doing this.

There is no reliable way to predict what this show is going to do. But should you decide to brave the insanity that is this series, here’s a word of warning: Don’t assume anything. Any preconceived notions beyond bat-s@#$ crazy will be wrong.

After all, how many anime have the cajónes to repeat the same fifteen-minute episode again with different voice actors?

So, what does that mean, you might be wondering. Exactly as it sounds.

Each thirty-minute block was the same episode played back-to-back, kind of. The term “same” is for ease of conversation. The plot of each half is nearly identical, with a few subtle plot changes here and there.

However, the most prominent difference within a single episode is the actors for Popuko and Pipimi. And on top of that, every episode changes the actor and actress playing our leads. Thus, this show’s voice cast is actually massive.

No, seriously. Are you still reading this far in?

Perhaps you are beginning to see how absurd the idea of reviewing this series is.

Therefore, there is only one way to enjoy Pop Team Epic. You need to ask yourself:

Do you find the style of humor this series relies on funny?

If the answer is yes, there you go; you’ll most likely find yourself a fan. But if the answer is no, stay away. Stay far, far away.

If you find this review’s format annoying, guess what it’s like to watch this show.

Amongst everything, though, Pop Team Epic never felt cheap, even with the occasional evidence to the contrary. Still, even when this show went low-budget, the amount of talent going on behind the scenes was incredible. Granted, you could mention a few segments that, on the surface, make me sound insane. But I would argue there was a lot of thought and talent that went into this show.

Wheater it was 2D, 3D, stop motion, or live-action segments, Pop Team Epic was always giving it all it had.

There isn’t much else to talk about concerning Pop Team Epic. If you watched the first half of the first episode and thought it was funny, then the rest of this show is for you. If you thought this was the dumbest thing you’ve seen in your life, the series doesn’t get any better afterward.

You did it; you actually made it to the end. You are a trooper.

Final Thoughts

How many of you did we lose?

This show is not for everyone. Talent and effort are backing this series. But for better or worse, all that work is supporting a vehicle to deliver high-quality crude humor. That’s not going to sound like a fun time for some people.

For others, though, you will get what you want out of this if you’re going to turn your brain off for a moment.

As a result, you can’t argue that this series did whatever it set out to do. Thus, Pop Team Epic has earned a recommendation.