Line #46 Anime/PuniPuniPoemi


1	[[quoteright:212:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/puni.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:212:Actually, it's nowhere near as serious as this looks. Note the SuperDeformed Poemi in the bottom-left corner.]]
3
4	->''"The Heavens call, the Earth calls, the Fans call!\
5	And heads will roll if this video doesn't sell!\
6	By accepting the power of magic,\
7	Puni Puni Poemi makes her big debut!"''
8
9	Beautiful girls! Naughty aliens! Dead fish! If this anime doesn't offend you somehow, we haven't done our job! It's the weirdest, wildest, rudest and out and out most demented anime ever made. (Oh, and it was [[BannedInChina banned in New Zealand]] until [[https://www.hikari.org.nz/stuff/otaku/ppp/ppp_reconsideration_2021.pdf 2021]]).
10
11	''Puni Puni☆Poemi'' is a SpiritualSuccessor[=/=]NonLinearSequel {{OVA}} to ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' made by the same production team. It manages to cram ''even more'' off-the-wall surreality and self-reference than its predecessor into just two episodes, thus creating a black hole that absorbs all reason around it.
12
13	Poemi Watanabe is the adopted child of Nabeshin (the AuthorAvatar of director Wata''[[MeaningfulName nabe Shin]]''ichi) and Kumikumi, a mountain girl who married Nabeshin at the end of ''Excel Saga.'' Poemi has simple ambitions in life; she wants the attention of her cool classmate K, and she wants to be a voice actress. Unfortunately, K [[ObliviousToLove doesn't even acknowledge]] her existence (given Poemi's MotorMouth and GenkiGirl personality, that's saying something) and she has [[NoFourthWall trouble staying in character]], as she constantly refers to herself as "Kobayashi" (the name of ''her'' real-life voice actress) and calls Nabeshin "Director".
14
15	One day, a mysterious alien with creepy [[GagPenis dangling inappropriate parts]] fatally attacks Poemi's adoptive parents. After taking advantage of this fine opportunity for [[LargeHam dramatic voice acting]], Poemi moves in with classmate Futaba Aasu, who has a not-at-all-secret crush on her, and her six sisters, the hereditary Defenders of the Earth. With great responsibility does not come great power, however, since the sisters possess talents [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway like the ability to land safely from any fall and summoning a whirlwind of flower petals]]. Therefore, when an alien robot begins rampaging around the city it falls to Poemi to save the day by using a [[TransformationTrinket magical dead fish]] to [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext transform]] into [[MagicalGirlWarrior Puni Puni Poemi]]! With her newfound powers, Poemi tries to balance her dreams against the burden of being Earth's representative.
16
17	One thinks that the Earth's standards for its representative could use some reviewing.
18
19	For a large part, the show is a merciless parody of MagicalGirl anime, possibly up to and including the nonsensical plot (or lack thereof). Along the way, however, it also makes fun of the concept of {{Fanservice}} and takes care to self-reference as much as possible. All this is tied together by nonstop gags. Those not put off in the first few minutes will enjoy it tremendously and will take in happily all other GagSeries.
20	----
21	!!This show provides examples of:
22	* ACupAngst: Mutsumi reveals that she would use Poemi's magic to make her bust much bigger.
23	* AnimatedActors
24	* AllPeriodsArePMS: When one of the Aasu sisters hears an explosion in another part of the house, she assumes that her younger sister either is having her period or has missed her period.
25	* AuthorAvatar: Nabeshin.
26	* BigBreastPride: Shii enjoys teasing her sisters about the size of their breasts. Inverted in the {{D Cup Distress}} entry below.
27	* BitingTheHandkerchief
28	* BlushSticker: Poemi gains them when she transforms.
29	* BreastExpansion: Puni Puni Poemi's chest is noticeably far larger than her normal form's. Justified since she's... well... 10.
30	* ClarkKenting: Spoofed when the sisters fail to realize that Poemi and Puni Puni Poemi are the same person. Then when they finally do realize it, they [[LampshadeHanging wonder why they didn't figure it out sooner.]]
31	* CrucifiedHeroShot: Parodied in the scene in which Poemi knocks down the cross in which her father (and mother. And robot dog) is crucified, leading her to repeat the scene with the usual uber-dramatic sound effects. Plus, this takes place AgainstTheSettingSun.
32	* DCupDistress: The main reason Shii wanted Poemi to live with the Aasu? Because she needed a place to rest her enormous knockers (Poemi's head). It is later revealed that she would use Poemi's magic to make her boobs much smaller.
33	* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Parodied with Futaba's ability is to make whatever she wishes upon gentle. The other sisters treat this as a technique that will kill her but never say so outright ("If you use that power, you will...). In the final episode, her sisters note that it's the final episode, so she might as well use it anyway. This technique helps end the story coupled with an OutsideTheBoxTactic [[spoiler: without any negative effects to her]] by the way.
34	* DeathIsCheap: [[spoiler: Nabeshin and Kumi-Kumi come back to life thanks to Kumi-Kumi's acupuncture skills.]]
35	* DeconstructiveParody: The whole thing is practically a mirror opposite of Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica, which was a DarkerAndEdgier DeconstructorFleet for the MagicalGirl genre. By contrast, ''Puni Puni'' is moreso an irreverent roast, mocking the powersets, the fanservice costumes, the amusing conventions and especially the hammy voice acting. Of course, it makes fun of itself quite often as well.
36	* DecoyProtagonist: Parodied; Poemi is obviously the protagonist, but [[spoiler:Nabeshin claims at the end that it was actually Futaba, who then achieves Poemi's dreams in her place in TheStinger.]]
37	%%* DerangedAnimation
38	* TheDeterminator: Parodied: Poemi notes that she is "too stupid to know when to give up."
39	* TheDitz: Poemi's stupidity is a constant source of jokes and {{Lampshade Hanging}}s.
40	* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Yumiko Kobayashi sings both the opening and ending themes.
41	* DrivesLikeCrazy: Poemi does this ''with a foot-propelled scooter.''
42	* EarlyBirdCameo: ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' Episode 17 features Sandora sketching Puni Puni Poemi, followed by [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot a trailer]].
43	* EnjoKosai: Poemi used her usual subtlety to deal with a Gyaru on a subsidized date
44	* {{Expy}}: Shii Aasu, of Hyatt from ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', and probably Futaba as well, who looks and acts a lot like an exaggerated version of Tomoyo from ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura''.
45	** Poemi is a younger Excel, obviously.
46	** Mutsumi Aasu DOES look like [[{{Anime/ExcelSaga}} Ropponmatsu]], doesn't she?
47	* EverybodyCries: Parodied. When all the girls cry in the living room during the first episode, one of them suddenly dons a scantly-clad outfit and wielding a whip around telling everyone to knock it off.
48	* FacelessMasses
49	* {{Fanservice}}: Played with extensively, the characters are usually aware of when it occurs and point it out. Comes to a head when the BigBad ends up having a shameless obsession with anime fanservice tropes and directly talks to the viewer about how he's giving them what they want.
50	* FreezeFrameBonus: In Episode 2, [[Manga/ExcelSaga Menchi]] can be briefly seen [[ShoutOut on the aliens' dinner table]].
51	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Constantly.
52	* FuroScene: Group one at that. It's apparently family tradition.
53	* GagPenis: The two aliens have ''very'' strange and prominent dangly bits.
54	* [[GainaxEnding Gainax Opening]]: The deathly serious intro to Episode 1 (see article picture above).
55	* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:The two aliens were Nabeshin and Kumi-Kumi the whole time! You know, despite the fact that the aliens were the ones who killed them in the first place!]] K {{lampshades}} the ending by screaming "What kind of corner cutting is this?!" Also, Nabeshin tells Poemi that [[spoiler:[[DecoyProtagonist Futaba was the main character of the series, not Poemi]]]]. Despite her name being the title and the focus of the whole show. Also contains a shout-out to ''Ideon'''s.
56	* GenkiGirl: Poemi makes Excel seem calm and rational by comparison.
57	* GirlishPigtails: Puni Puni Poemi
58	* GratuitousEnglish Parodied in a scene where a bunch of soldiers are supposed to be speaking English, but instead are just yelling out random food names.
59	-->'''Soldier 1:''' * runs towards a fallen Soldier 2* : Banana! Banana!
60	-->'''Soldier 2:''' Cucumber...eggplant!
61	-->cut to strategy meeting
62	-->'''Soldier 3:''' Caviar!
63	-->'''Soldier 4:''' Papaya!
64	-->'''Soldier 5:''' pounds the table GIANT ASPARAGUS!
65	* {{Hentai}} and {{Eroge}}: Both get mercilessly parodied in the second episode, which includes a number of related tropes:
66	** BoundAndGagged
67	** BreakTheCutie: "Don't [[YouBastard you]] love the look of women who've been broken?"
68	** GoGoEnslavement
69	** TheImmodestOrgasm: "Moan! Groan!"
70	** {{Meido}}
71	** [[RapeAsDrama Naughty Tentacles]]
72	** {{Otaku}}, who get several [[TakeThat direct digs]].
73	* HomoeroticSubtext: Poemi and Futaba, especially during the ending. ...Wait. ''Sub''text?!
74	* TheIdiotFromOsaka: One of the Aasu sisters inexplicably speaks in Kansai dialect, translated as a Brooklyn accent in the English version. She [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it, wondering where the accent came from.
75	* IdiotHero: Poemi, with an emphasis on the "idiot."
76	* InsistentTerminology: Even while transformed, Poemi still prefers to answer to "Kobayashi".
77	* ItsASmallNetAfterAll: Subverted, when the aliens trying to use the Net to learn about Earth [[TheInternetIsForPorn they find nothing but porn]]. And they are absolutely fascinated by it.
78	* JapanesePoliteness: Parodied when Poemi meets the sisters and bows so enthusiastically that she cracks her head on the coffee table.
79	-->'''Mitsuki:''' Oh, you don't have to bleed over everything just to be polite.\
80	'''Poemi:''' It's just the Japanese etiquette!
81	* {{Kappa}}: One stole Poemi's scooter and is seen outside the Aasu house riding it.
82	* LargeHam: Poemi is the main one, although there's plenty of ham throughout the cast.
83	** This might be the hammiest of all the hammy anime.
84	* LateForSchool: Played straight in one instance, but inverted in another where Poemi leaves at four o'clock in the morning and still hurries toward school. She arrives so early she falls asleep in class the next day.
85	* LoudspeakerTruck: Rather than a truck going by, three guys with FacelessMasses-type detail bounce by on oversized rubber balls, each one singing a line about their ball.
86	* LuckyCharmsTitle: The Japanese title has a heart in one of the Japanese characters. Both versions have a star after Puni Puni.
87	* MagicalGirl: Parodied mercilessly
88	* MarsNeedsWomen: K's reason for why the aliens are invading Earth.
89	* MarshmallowHell: Shii Aasu introduces herself by resting her large breasts on top of Poemi’s head.
90	* MeaningfulName: The Aasu sisters are named after the Japanese pronunciation for the English word "Earth"... oh, and [[DoubleEntendre "arse"]].
91	* MentorMascot: Parodied in the form of Poemi's [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext dead fish]] advisor/magical token. Not mentioning that she has to gut him open for him to work.
92	* ModestyBedsheet
93	* MotorMouth: Poemi may beat even Excel at this category.
94	* NegativeContinuity: Please ignore This show and ''Anime/ExcelSaga'''s [[MutuallyFictional official in-universe connection to each other]] when noticing that we get a continuation of [[HeroOfAnotherStory Nabeshin's adventures in latter.]] [[MindScrew It'll only create a bigger blackhole of logic]] than this show ALREADY has.
95	* NoFourthWall: Not so much a case of breaking the fourth wall as a case of never even considering ''building'' one. Considering Poemi's tendency to refer to herself with the name of her real-life voice actress and to Nabeshin as the director, she seems to be having trouble with other walls besides the fourth.
96	* NoIndoorVoice: Poemi. Between that and the MotorMouth, Poemi's English V.A. remarked that she blew out her voice on the first day of recording.
97	* ObliviousToLove: Parodied: K is oblivious to Poemi's crush on him, despite the fact that she's about as easy to ignore as a [[GenkiGirl stampeding]] [[NoIndoorVoice rhino]], and Poemi is in turn oblivious to Futaba's crush on her, despite the fact that Futaba makes no attempt to hide her feelings and even gets Poemi naked and into bed with her at one point.
98	* OcularGushers: "This is making me cry waterfalls!"
99	* OlderAlterEgo
100	* OracularUrchin: Spoofed by Hitomi, who has accurate but completely useless visions of the future.
101	* {{OVA}}: A two-episode microseries, but it's designed to look like two episodes from the middle of a full-length season.
102	* OutsideTheBoxTactic: Futaba's ability allows her to end ALL worldwide conflict. How? She uses her ability to make anything gentle on Poemy. Since Poemy is an avatar of the Earth, it ends everything quite quickly.
103	* PetalPower: Parodied with Nanase's ability, since the only "power" of her "Earth Dance of Flowers" is that [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway they look pretty]]
104	* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Used for some of the faceless background characters and for K's parents.
105	* PreviouslyOn: For non-existent previous episodes at the beginning of the first episode
106	* RedStringOfFate: Treated as a corporeal string that forcibly drags Poemi around the city
107	* RefugeInAudacity: The show pulls very few punches. The first episode opens with the main character nearly leaving the house with nothing on below the waist. Then it introduces aliens who use their junk as weapons. Shii, having the largest breasts out of any character, frequently plops them on Poemi and Futaba's heads to relieve her back pain. She also quite frequently moans and gasps since they're [[TheImmodestOrgasm extremely sensitive]]. And finally, the Aasu sisters get kidnapped by the aliens and put through erotic torture as a means to lure Poemy out, but none of them are too worried about being saved.
108	* RelaxOVision: Mercilessly used to cover up the various "tortures" in Episode 2.
109	* SerialEscalation: The entire point. Condensed and distilled to boot. All the insanity of a full season of ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', now available in ''two episodes.''
110	* SayItWithHearts: When Futaba tells Poemi she wants to see her transformation.
111	* SayMyName: Futaba and Poemi get a ''really'' long series of these towards the end of the second episode.
112	* ShoutOut: Obviously ''Excel Saga'', also ''Anime/SailorMoon'' and several other shows:
113
114	** A [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Stand]] shows up that looks more than a little bit like Star Platinum.
115	** [[{{Pun}} "It's a stand-off!"]]
116	** There's also the [[Franchise/StarWars Death Star.]] and Poemi collecting [[Franchise/DragonBall Dragon Balls]] at one point to try and bring Nabeshin back to life.
117	** The opening sequence has Poemi beating up numerous other magical girls, including ''Manga/SailorMoon'' and ''Manga/SallyTheWitch''. The sequence is done with black silhouettes on a red background, a recurring visual theme in ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'', who incidentally also seems to be in that scene, although it's hard to tell who's exactly who.
118	** And the ending is an homage to [[spoiler: Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon]]
119	** The opening quote of used in this article is a parody of the same one used by ''Series/KamenRiderStronger''.
120	** The creepy alien has [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion EVA-01]]'s purple and green color scheme, and a red round gem on his ring that can be interpreted as the Angels' core.
121	** When Poemi enters the alien ship is similar to ''Film/IndependenceDay''.
122	** At one point Nabeshin says he's "GDW", or "Great Director Watanabe", a nod to ''[[Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka GTO]]''.
123	* ShowWithinAShow: ''Puni Puni Poemi'' began as ShowWithinAShow on ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', and ''Excel Saga'' is a show in ''Puni Puni Poemi''.
124	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The article page itself is "Puni Puni Poemi". The English title is "Puni Puni Poemy". The subtitles justify this as when she is normal, her name is Poemi Watanabe. When she transforms, she becomes Puni Puni Poemy.
125	* StandingInTheHall: Lampshade hung when Poemi complains about the punishment being outdated in modern Japanese schools
126	* StockFootage: Parodied
127	* StrangeSalute: At one point, the Aasu sisters all do a ''very'' peculiar salute which one of the English voice actors described as the "international sign for cameltoe."
128	* StylisticSuck: The opening.
129	* TakeThat: One sequence involves Poemi beating up a stereotypical ''[[GyaruGirl kogal]]'' girl, a guy partaking in EnjoKosai, a bunch of {{Delinquent}}s, a stereotypical {{Otaku}}, and a guy playing an {{Eroge}}.
130	* ThemeNaming: Each of the Aasu sisters' given names is derived from a number from one to seven, starting with the youngest one -- which means their parents were ''counting down''. What would have happened had they reached zero?
131	** Zero is no problem: just call her "Rei". -1, on the other hand...
132	** [[FridgeBrilliance Their parents decided they wanted to have exactly seven kids. The counting scheme was to make sure they did exactly that.]]
133	* ThirdPersonPerson: Poemi. Er, I mean, Kobayashi.
134	** Yumiko Kobayashi is one in RealLife, if you've ever seen interviews of her.
135	* ThisIsADrill: Futaba... brandishes a hand-drill while imagining doing... well... ''something''... to Poemi
136	* TomatoInTheMirror: K finds out that he's a tentacle monster alien. Never mind that he lives with his parents, who are obviously tentacle monster aliens. Or that apparently his limbs are all fake and that they pop off easily to reveal tentacles. Or that in one scene he goes to school riding a ''UFO''.
137	* TransformationSequence: Parodied with a transformation involving a dead fish which automatically strips Poemi naked -- except for her socks, which she has to remove manually before she can take her magical form.
138	* TransformationTrinket: A dead fish.
139	* [[invoked]]TheUntwist: Parodied with the revelation that K is an [[OctopoidAliens Octopoid Alien]]. The show makes absolutely no attempt to hide it, and K's shock and horror over his TomatoInTheMirror realization just ends up making him look dense.
140	* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: inverted -- out of all the Aasu sisters, only Itsue has a power that proves even vaguely useful. Some of them ''could'' be useful, if even one of them had any offensive ability at all.
141	* WhipOfDominance: Itsue Aasu, a dominatrix, uses a whip and has the expected bossy and domineering attitude.
142	* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Poemi lands a German Suplex on a guy for playing h-games on his computer during the day. Well, playing them in the ''afternoon'', anyway. She also performs a ''textbook'' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpshooter_%28professional_wrestling%29 Sharpshooter]] on [[LawyerFriendlyCameo totally-not-Sally-the-Witch-honest]] in the very first scene.
143	--> '''Puni Puni Poemi [[InsistentTerminology (Called Kobayashi)]]:''' I mean, seriously, these are for nights!
144	----
145	''Puni Puni Poemi''. When ''Excel Saga'' isn't enough.

Context Anime / PuniPuniPoemi