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Originally a cute little character created by Korean company Vooz, plenty of merchandise goodies, a Web Animation series, and later a television series and a few games, it's about Pucca, who is a young girl living with her uncles, a trio of Chinese chefs. Pucca is in Mad Love with her "boyfriend" Garu, a Ninja who is none too keen on her outlandish displays of affection. The series takes place in the town of Sooga, an Adventure Town with plenty of Eccentric Townsfolk, including off-season Santa, who spends the 364 other days of the year in town relaxing.

Pucca became popular worldwide because it relies on visual and gag humor rather than language, much like The Pink Panther, the Road Runner and other pantomime cartoons. Though the series has since picked up dialog, translation has worked well enough and the series remains mostly silent. Both show leads, Garu and Pucca, are Heroic Mimes, though they do laugh, sigh and make other sounds.

The TV series, a co-production between Vooz, Studio B Productions, and Jetix Europe N.V. (Majority owned by Disney), aired for two seasons from 2006 to 2008. A third season, which served as a Continuity Reboot, was aired in South Korea in December 2018 on MBC and Tooniverse. It was produced by Vooz and CJ ENM, with Thai animation company RiFF Studio providing the 3D animation, and distributed internationally by Planeta Group without Disney nor Studio B's involvement. The company would also acquire the distribution rights to the first two seasons from Disney.

As of January 2020, Netflix released the third season under the title Pucca: Love Recipe, with an English dub.


This series provides examples of:

  • Abhorrent Admirer: Pucca, Pucca, Pucca. It's suggested in some iterations that Garu does sort of like her, but is completely turned off by her clinginess.
  • Accidental Proposal: Garu does one on Pucca. In one episode, he's trying to save a ring case from being stolen by the vagabonds. When he finally has it, he does somersaults in the air, and when he lands, he's on one knee with the case flipped open...in front of Pucca. Pucca is thrilled at this, and the people around begins to prepare their wedding. But just as Pucca approaches him, Santa comes and takes the case away from him (because it was actually his), much to Garu's relief.
  • The Ace: Garu is considered this in-universe. Part of the humor comes from how easily Pucca outdoes him in everything.
  • Acrofatic: When not getting kicked around, Santa can be surprisingly agile and is no slouch in combat. His agility is best demonstrated in "'Tis the Season of Revenge", where he takes on and defeats Black Powder, his former fellow bandit.
  • Action Girlfriend: While Garu is a ridiculously badass ninja himself, he's got nothing on Pucca, who is more like a force of nature than a fighter.
  • All Cloth Unravels: In "Woolen Warrior" Pucca uses this on a sheep's wool, Muji's hair and a test pattern on the TV to knit a sweater for Garu.
  • Almighty Janitor: Pucca is much stronger than Garu and Tobe, both of whom are supposed to be highly trained elite ninja who can topple entire armies with ease. She's a waitress at a restaurant.
    • Her uncles trained her in martial arts, and while not quite as extreme as Pucca, are all some of the best fighters in the show.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: Usually varies, but most of the time Garu does not return Pucca's affections.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: Let's just say that Dada is not a very popular person in town.
    • Neither is Tobe.
  • Alpha Bitch: Ring-Ring, who just enjoys antagonizing Pucca.
  • All There in the Manual: This is more so with the TV series:
    • According to the Jetix website, the Cat Clan (Mio's rivals) are named, Brutus, Socrates, and Napoleon.
    • According to the credits, Vagabond Ninja Clan's names are "Binggure" (Clown), "Jing-Jing" (Chief), and "Jumong" (Shaman).
  • Alter Kocker: Master Soo talks like this.
  • Alternate Reality Episode: There are MANY of these, usually transplanting the main cast to another stereotype-rife country, e.g. Canada, Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands, or 1950's USA. Surprisingly averted for the Cowboy Episode, where Pucca accidentally digs a tunnel to the other side of the world, where they find an Old West version of Sooga populated with Identical Strangers.
  • Amazon Chaser: A whole episode is dedicated to Ching trying several plans to get Abyo's attention, including intentionally putting herself in danger so he'd rescue her. She only succeeds when he gets caught in her last "scheme" and she saves his life, which has Abyo stunned and almost stammering as he tells her how her Action Girl skills make her "the coolest girl".
  • American Robot: In Super Size Sooga Texas Lugie and Sloppy Sue have two impressive mechas, one of which transforms from their mobile home and the other from their SUV. It is one of the fewest things that is stronger than Pucca herself.
  • Animals Lack Attributes: Partial aversian; as fitting the style, animals have x shapes for buttholes.
  • Animesque: Some thought it was an anime series when they first watched it because of its chibi art-style..
  • Aww, Look! He Really Does Love Her: This seems to depend on the writer, but at least a few of the web episodes show that Garu does love Pucca back - he just doesn't show it very often. Perhaps the most obvious example is the episode "The Ring". There's also the episodes "Flower Delivery", "Dreaming" and "He Loves Me Not".
  • Back-to-Back Badasses:
    • Rootin' Tootin' Ninjas has the Sooga Villagers and their Western counterparts backed up against each other when taking on some Western ninjas.
    • Literally in "Stuck on Goo", where Garu's and Tobe's clothes got washed with candycanes and got them accidentally stuck together, back-to-back. Trying to adapt to the new life of being in that position, one of the mundane things they do is spar.
  • Badass Adorable: Pucca, Garu, Ching, and Abyo pretty much have this covered.
  • Balloon Belly: The show loves this trope:
    • Pucca in "Noodle Round the World" after sucking up the record-breaking noodle Garu was pulling in order to steal a kiss.
      • And again in "Four-Alarm Fire" after drinking a whole lake.
    • Garu's body puffs up like a balloon upon contacting each of the many poisonous Australian things in "Garu Down Under."
    • Almost everyone in town (including a very agitated and confused Garu) in “Sooga Size Me,” having gained considerable weight from the Texan couple's fattening foods.
    • The biggest balloon belly in the show's history was seen in "Noodle to the Stars". In that episode, Muji bloats to planetary size upon eating a special batch of noodles. He becomes so big, in fact, that he becomes a red giant and develops his own gravitational pull. He eventually explodes in a spectacular fashion.
  • Battle Strip: Abyo, though sometimes he does it after beating up the bad guys.
  • Berserk Button: Accusing Garu of having no honor will instantly cause him to want to pick a fight with you.
  • Beta Couple: Abyo and Ching, on and off.
  • Beware the Nice Ones:
    • Ching, Pucca's best friend. She's a sweet Pollyanna who really knows how to use her swords.
    • Pucca is a caring person, but she's still tough as hell, so getting her angry would be ill-advised.
  • The Big Damn Kiss: Almost all shorts and episodes feature Pucca planting these on Garu, usually at the ending, though sometimes she gives them more than once per episode in the series.
  • Blazing Inferno Hellfire Sauce: Exaggerated in "Ring Ring's Party Favors", where a single drop of the hot sauce Ring Ring pours on the floor causes it to heat up like a hot griddle.
  • Bruce Lee Clone: Abyo. He even wears the famous yellow and black jumpsuit at least twice. His dad is also named Bruce.
  • Butt-Monkey:
    • Poor Garu never gets sympathy from anyone for being chased around by Pucca (except maybe Tobe).
    • Tobe is maybe more of a Butt-Monkey. He never gets back at Garu the way he wants and is often beaten to a pulp by Pucca whenever he goes after him.
    • Poor Dada. He is the town's laughingstock and also a loser, but unlike Tobe, he never did anything to deserve his status.
  • Candy Striper: In the 2007 episode "A Leg Up," Pucca volunteers as a Candy Striper so that she can take care of Garu after he ends up in the hospital with a broken leg.
  • Canon Foreigner: While some of the characters have had their roots in the original shorts, several of the characters were made just for the TV series.
    • Canon Immigrant: Ring-Ring was originally created for the TV series before becoming a main character in the franchise.
  • Casanova Wannabe: Abyo is normally seen trying to show off to any girl who is watching, much to Ching's distaste.
  • Cassandra Truth: Everyone seems to believe Pucca is a harmless and adorable girl who needs constant protection, despite her constantly performing mind-bending feats right in front of them on a daily basis. Only Garu and Tobe seem to realize just how ungodly powerful she is.
  • Character Exaggeration: The TV series takes Pucca and Garu's Mad Love to extremes. Pucca went from clingy but still likable to a self-absorbed Clingy Jealous Girl, whereas Garu's "I like you, really, but please give me my space okay?" attitude became him borderline loathing her.
  • Chased Off into the Sunset: There are a couple of episodes that end with Garu being chased by the titular character as she wishes to kiss him (which Garu does not like).
  • Chekhov's Gun: in "Sooga Size Me," while introducing their restaurant to Pucca and the chefs, Tex and Sue start dancing when a radio starts playing some country music. They mention that they can't help but dance whenever such music plays, a compulsion that Pucca uses against them later on when the couple unleashes their mech. She even plays the same song, no less!
  • Chick Magnet: Garu attracts plenty of women (and a few men) over the course of the series. He doesn't want any of them, ''especially'' Pucca.
  • Chickenpox Episode: Parodied in "Chicken Spots", when the Vagabond Ninja Clan release an illness through a spell that covers Sooga Village residents in spots and makes them act like chickens. As it turns out, the cure is dressing as a fox and growling at the infected ones.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Pucca, sometimes Ching (but much less, since she tends to be as much a little passive-aggressive).
  • Conservation of Competence: Tobe would be genuinely threatening if he didn't have such incompetent henchmen.
  • Cooking Duel: Pucca's trio of chef uncles often have to defend their culinary honor.
  • Costumer: Some episodes are set in different time periods, such as Greece ("Gold Medal Garu"), Egypt ("Puccapatra"), and the 1950s ("Ching It On").
  • Covered in Kisses: When Pucca is not giving Garu The Big Damn Kiss, she makes it up with many kisses on his face, often leaving his visage covered with two or three lipstick marks from the assault. It's taken further in the series as not only does Pucca have more screen time to kiss Garu but she leaves his face more covered in kiss marks.
  • Cute Bruiser: Pucca, Ching and Ring-Ring. All of them are tiny, pre teen Action Girl types.
  • Cute Mute: Pucca, who communicates through giggles, sighs, and facial expressions without dialogue, and Garu, who mostly remains silent as part of his ninja training, with his occasional grunts of frustration.
  • The Cynic: Garu is an angsty, ultra-serious ninja not unlike Sasuke Uchiha, despite living in the world of a light-hearted Gag Series.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Ching, Dada, Abyo, Tobe, and Ring-Ring all get one-shots. The three chefs get two.
  • Depending on the Writer: Tobe's skill at fighting depends on either what helps move the plot along or what's funniest. He's generally around equal to Garu in terms of skill, but is occasionally portrayed as stronger than him or much, much weaker than him.
  • Deus ex machina: These happen all the time. Mostly with Pucca.
    • One episode has a virus going around turning people into chickens. When the virus tries to infect Pucca it bounces off her, showing she's immune for no reason other than plot convenience.
  • Deuteragonist: Garu is generally shown alongside Pucca in all advertisements and is generally the one who is actually trying to accomplish something in the episode. Pucca always ends up saving the day in the end, though.
  • Digging to China: Inverted; Rootin' Tootin' Ninjas has the characters winding up through a hole in a Western (in most every sense) counterpart of Sooga, whose version of Garu (who is a cowboy drifter here) takes a liking to Pucca; but then there's Pucca's own counterpart...
  • Distressed Dude: Garu takes this role the most often. He always either ends up in trouble, gets captured by someone who falls in love with him, or otherwise is caught in the crossfire of fights between Pucca and Ring-Ring. Poor guys got it rough.
  • The Dreaded: The first instinct of Garu and Tobe upon seeing Pucca is to run on sight.
  • Double Standard: This is played with in "Full Moon Pucca." Pucca figures out a way to use the moon to get Garu to fall head over heels in love with her, constantly chasing her down in her own style, and stealing kisses when possible. In the end, she turns things back to normal because she couldn't stand it.
  • Eagleland / Everything is Big in Texas: From Sooga-Size Me and Monster Truck Island Texas Lugie and Sloppy Sue are both type 2 Americans. They throw packs of dollars into the faces of the people of Sooga, pollute the environment with crude oil and smoke, make people unhealthy and fat with their greasy and unhealthy fast food, and generally just wreak havoc with their obnoxious personalities and their indifference towards the people of Sooga.
  • Eaten Alive: Garu by a lion in "Big Top Bang Bang". Chief is chomped down on shortly after, but it's unknown if she was actually swallowed.
  • Elseworlds: A number of episodes where the setting changes to fit a different genre.
  • Embarrassing Ad Gig: At the end of "The Ring Ring Touch", Mr. Zoom decides that both Ring Ring and Pucca will be his models in a magazine. Ring Ring is initially overjoyed until she reads a magazine that says Mr. Zoom's beauty cream will turn girls from "drab to fab", and a picture of a filthy Ring Ring is seen in the "drab" part. Ring Ring literally explodes in anger from seeing that.
  • Everyone Has Standards: The one place Pucca will never follow Garu into is the bathroom. He actually takes advantage of this, as he stays in there for awhile to get away from her.
  • Everything Trying to Kill You: Australia's tendency for this is spoofed in one episode.
    Watch out for that electric fence. It's poisonous.
  • Eyedscreen: Happens regularly in episodes where Tobe is the main antagonist. In one episode, the bars appeared on the left and right sides of the screen instead of top and bottom as usual and it's revealed Tobe's minions were responsible for that mistake. Tobe was upset for that.
  • Eyes Always Shut: Pucca, except for one episode, The Usual Ching, in which a sock turns her evil and her eyes are opened for a few seconds. We also have this with Ssosso, who has his always closed (one episode lampshading this when he didn't notice his bowl of rice being swiped), except for one instance when he opens them when Abyo destroys his temple (as be seen here).
  • Faceless Masses: In the first TV series, Sooga has some rendered as blue and pink waist-high smiley faced gum-drop people. They're treated like a separate species sometimes, like in "Four-Alarm Fire" where they were turned into fire goblins just by eating very spicy food.
  • Failure Is the Only Option: Garu's attempts to earn honor by completing various missions due to Pucca's interference. Tobe's attempts to kill/shame Garu for the same reason.
  • Far East: Sooga village and its denizens have elements of Japanese, Chinese and Korean culture.
  • Fast-Food Nation: The first appearance of recurring villains Texas Lugie and his wife has them open a fast food restaurant with fattening and highly addictive food, causing the villagers to become really fat and out of shape.
  • The Fat Episode: In "Sooga Size Me", Tex Lugie and Sloppy Sue start a fast food restaurant that causes almost everyone in town to become bloated and unable to move. Garu and Abyo can't even spar with each other due to how heavy they are. Pucca has to find a way to put a stop to this, especially when the fast food place causes the Goh-Rong to shut down.
  • Fiery Sensuality: In "Hot and Bothered", Ho meets Hottie, the goddess of the fire swamp, who has red hair in the shape of a fire, and can manipulate flames. She is quite flirtatious towards him and they fall in love.
  • Flanderization: All of the characters become much bigger jerks in the TV series, and Pucca's fighting ability is upped from "Equal to a highly trained ninja with the addition of incredibly quick wits and outside the box thinking" to "An unstoppable force that can crush anything and everything in its path".
  • Foot Popping: Pucca sometimes does this, as seen on this page's image.
  • Forceful Kiss: Pucca does one on Garu at least Once per Episode, and never reciprocates it.
    • The mobile game Talking Pucca has Pucca pull this on you when Garu isn't there. Not kidding. But don't worry, Garu also can get kissed as usual.
  • Formula-Breaking Episode: Some episodes in the first TV Series present what-if scenarios with the characters present in different time periods or themes. We've had Tarzan, Jacques Cousteau, Roman games, and more.
  • Foul Medicine: In "A Leg Up", Garu has broken his leg and is in the hospital. Pucca offers him a spoonful of medicine, which he turns down. Pucca becomes frustrated and slaps him on his bad leg to make him yelp, and she stuffs it into his mouth. He groans in disgust after the fact.
  • Fun with Flushing: Pucca pulls a drain under the lake after saving Garu from a shark. They get stuck in the pipes and Dada inadvertently saves them while unclogging one of the toilets, freeing them both.
  • Getting Eaten Is Harmless: Garu might be a little embarrassed when he comes out of a lion's butthole in "Big Top Bang Bang" in front of a crowd, but there's not even a scratch on him from its teeth or digestive system.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: It takes very little for Pucca to kick your ass. Not even Garu is completely safe from it! Though, this is downplayed in the TV series.
  • Head Pet: Won, Ching's chicken. And if she ever goes away, the effects on Ching are TERRIBLE.
  • Here We Go Again!: "Feud Fight" with Dada causing another accident.
  • Heroic Mime: Mostly in the web series, Pucca and Garu, though they do make some noises.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Garu and Abyo.
    • Pucca and Ching, too.
  • He Went That Way: Tobe tricks Pucca with this in "Stuck on Goo".
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: Despite being the title character, it's Garu, not Pucca, who is treated as The Hero in universe along with being the one who goes on all of the adventures. Pucca simply tags along to try and steal a kiss... and almost always ends up saving Garu's hide multiple times.
  • Incredible Shrinking Man: "Cat Toy"
  • Ineffectual Loner: Garu prefers to do things on his own, but unfortunately for him, Pucca won't let him. It generally works out in his favor, as Pucca tends to be the one who saves the day in the end.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Tobe. Dear God, Tobe. It's very hard to hate him, especially when it's hinted that he's Garu's rival just for fun, and not actually malicious.
  • Informed Attractiveness: Garu is supposedly a Bishōnen, though he looks no different from anyone else.
    • Pucca is also apparently the resident World's Most Beautiful Woman. While she's certainly cute, she doesn't particularly stand out compared to some of the other girls, and even dresses rather plainly.
  • Interchangeable Asian Cultures: A rare example of this trope where it's in a Asian (South Korean specifically) work. Sooga takes influence from China, Japan, and Korea. Justified, since it's a fictionalized, vaguely Asian setting.
  • It's All About Me: While usually sweet and open-minded, Pucca has the tendency to force Garu into her activities and threatens him with physical violence if he rejects her and doesn't realize that Garu is busy.
    • She will even attack others when they try to point out that Garu wants to be left alone.
  • It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans: The episode set in Brazil took place during Carnaval.
  • Jailed One After Another:In “The Shirtless Avenger” episode, Abyo receives a super-hero kit in the mail and becomes a defender of justice by calling himself “The Shirtless Avenger". However, the power quickly goes to his head and end up sending everyone (including his father) to jail for no reason.
  • Jerkass:
    • Garu can veer into this territory, generally when he acts like a jerk to Pucca for no real reason.
  • Jerkass to One: For no reason, the Chefs tend to be rather cruel to Dada in the series. Admittedly, he's a bit clumsy, but their treatment of him doesn't paint them in a good light.
  • Jump Rope Blunders: An online game called "Jumping Rope" has Santa and Ssoso holding two sides of a jump rope as Pucca (and as levels go on, more characters) jump in the middle. If you fail to make a character jump in time, they'll trip and land on their side, causing you to lose the level.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: After constantly acting all lovey dovey towards Garu, Pucca gets a taste of her own medicine in the episode Full Moon Pucca.
  • Let Us Never Speak of This Again: In "Stuck on Goo", Garu and Tobe share a bed due to their clothes being stuck to each other. In the morning, Tobe takes Garu's hand in their sleep, and then they both wake up, surprised and embarrassed. Tobe's response is what the trope says.
  • Little Miss Badass: Pucca. She's able to take out Tobe without effort (while Garu struggles to do so). Ching too, who uses swords and martial arts.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Garu's hair is almost always in pigtails, but the few times we see it out of them it reaches his waist.
  • Love at First Sight: In the television series, episodes where those versions of Garu and Pucca meet for the first time, it's undoubted Pucca will immediately fall for Garu instantly, but always one-sided.
  • Luminescent Blush: Happens to Garu a lot, usually after Pucca catches and kisses him.
  • Made of Iron: Pucca, although mostly for a Running Gag.
  • Mad Love: Pucca and Garu's constant cat-and-mouse chase for her to steal kisses.
  • Martial Arts and Crafts: The prime example being the three chefs, martial arts masters who exclusively use their talents for cooking noodles.
  • Mcninja: Regardless of the setting of the episode Garu will always be a ninja. Even when he's already a spaceman, an ancient Greek Olympian or a 1950's high school football quarterback.
  • Mooks: Tobe's Ninjas, who double as Faceless Goons.
  • More Deadly Than the Male: Ching is much, much more skilled than Abyo at fighting. While Garu himself is a fantastic fighter, he's still got nothing on Pucca, who goes beyond superhuman all the way to godlike.
    • It goes for the villains too. While Tobe can be quite competent and even deadly, Ring Ring is one of the only characters to even come close to Pucca in terms of power.
  • Motor Mouth: This is one of the few examples of a trope whose aversion was subverted. In the episode "Trial By Fury," Garu is called to the witness stand. The scene cuts to Judge Soo telling him to step down, after which he whispers, "I thought he'd never shut up."
  • Miles Gloriosus: Abyo thinks he's a badass on par with Garu. In reality, he's incredibly weak and doesn't actually know how to fight. Garu humors him with a few sparring matches sometimes, but they're always one-sided.
  • Missing Mom: We never see Ching or Abyo's mothers
  • Mistaken for Gay: Abyo, by Garu. Pucca made herself invisible in a chain of events, and goes after Garu to harass him with kisses. Of course, Garu doesn't see her, and wonder what the heck is going on. When she stops for a moment, Garu turns around and sees Abyo, suggesting that they spar. The look on Garu's face certainly proves that he thought this.
  • Nephewism: According to Slam Bam Birthday Bash, Linguini, Dumpling, and Ho are Pucca's uncles and it's not said how they came to be guardians of her.
  • Never Bring a Knife to a Fist Fight: Pucca never fights armed, and though Tobe uses a katana, he's lucky if he can get a swing in edgewise.
  • New Job as the Plot Demands: Santa Claus. No, really. He's had A Day in the Limelight episode or two, but he's mostly there to be whatever strange job is needed, from ticket taker, to "guy in a frog costume." Since he only works his well-known job one day a year, he seems to have a lot of hobbies and side jobs.
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands: Pucca will sometimes have a new power out of nowhere when it suits the plot. Like when she used her hair buns as a beacon to contact aliens.
  • Nice Girl: Pucca is generally presented as this, though later animations, particularly the TV show, amp up her Yandere aspect. When not chasing Garu, she can be quite a sweet girl even to Ring-Ring, who hates her guts.
    • Ching is a more consistent case.
  • Night of the Living Mooks: Muji, a recurring villain in the show, has an army of zombies (named 'Xombies') that serve him.
  • Ninja: Garu, Tobe, and a dozen of other characters.
  • Noodle Incident: It's not said as to why Tobe keeps challenging Garu or, for that matter, why the latter has taken a vow of silence but the fact that Tobe often mentions his ancestors may have something to do with the former.
  • The Noseless: Nobody is drawn with a nose, though some of the humans have dotted nostrils.
  • Not So Above It All: Garu of all people gets giddy at the thought getting presents from Santa during Christmas.
  • Ocular Gushers: In Slam Bam Birthday Bash Pucca creates a literal waterfall when she can't find any of her friends on her birthday. The blast get turned on Garu and knocks him away!
  • Once an Episode: Several running gags, like the misfortunes of Santa and Dada, and Abyo ripping his shirts. One of Tobe's ninjas screwing up is also a constant.
  • One-Man Army: Garu slaughters an entire ninja army in one short. Pucca easily tops him soon afterward.
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Tobe is Garu's sworn rival. In a sense, Abyo also fits, though more in a friendly way.
  • Only Sane Man: Garu is the only character that seems to consistently notice Pucca's superhuman abilities.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
    • In "Feud Fight", Pucca is so distraught over the chefs' feud and refusal to cook together again that she completely ignores Garu. He's so taken aback by this that he tries offering flowers to her, just to confirm that she's lost interest in him. Sure enough, he gets no response in return, and he couldn't be happier until Pucca later returns to normal.
    • In "Soap Opera," Dada encounters a magic bottle of soap containing Mr. Dishy, a whimsical cleaning spirit who speaks in rhyme. He cleans up Dada and makes him handsome enough for Ring Ring to consider dating him. Unfortunately, Dishy's magic wears off whenever Dada gets even slightly dirty... which happens during every activity throughout his date. He keeps having Dishy reapply his magic to keep up his appearance when no one is looking. This happens so much that Dishy eventually drops his rhyming and firmly warns Dada about his wastefulness.
      Mr. Dishy: You're using me up too fast! [He casts his magic onto Dada once again.] Now stay clean!
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: Everyone who isn't Tobe is much weaker than Garu, while Garu and Tobe are much weaker than Pucca.
  • Parachute Petticoat: Pucca uses her dress as a parachute in several episodes.
  • Parental Abandonment: In the birthday episode, we find out that Linguini, Dumpling, and Ho are Pucca's guardians but we don't know why or how she came to live with them, let alone what side of the family they come from
  • Party Scheduling Gambit: In Ring-Ring's Party Favors Ring Ring held a party and invited everyone except for Pucca, who instead got a note stating she wasn't invited and that, Ring Ring so wanted her not to show up, she wouldn't even tell the day of the party. Ring Ring also told Pucca not to wear the same dress as her during the party. Pucca and the chefs then held a party at the Goh-Rong. Pucca invited everyone. That included Ring Ring but she didn't open the letter, assuming it was fan mail. Both parties were held at the same day and nobody showed up at Ring Ring's (other than the Vagabonds but they just ate and left). After several attempts to ruin Pucca's party, Ring Ring finally read her invitation and learned Pucca wanted Ring-Ring to tell the day of her party to avoid holding hers the same day.
  • Personal Rain Cloud: Pucca gets one that turns into a hurricane in "He Loves Me Not".
  • Pint Sized Power House: Pucca. She is able to carry a freaking house.
  • Poor Communication Kills: In the television series, Garu's taken a vow of silence. Unfortunately, it's because of that vow he can't tell Pucca that he's not interested in her, causing her to misinterpret incidents as him showing affection or let people think they're a couple.
  • Potty Failure: A running gag with Dada, as he tends to pee his pants.
  • Pretty Boy: Garu is described as one in the opening song.
  • The Power of Love: Allegedly the reason why Pucca is so damn powerful.
  • Protagonist Title: Pucca stars Pucca.
  • Recurring Element: Love Recipe has a few shared traits between itself and the original TV series.
    • Dong King and his crew follow similar beats to a few antagonists from the previous TV series:
      • Much like the Lugies, they employ hi-tech gadgetry, run a rival restaurant, frequently put the village in danger, and are not native to Sooga. Dong King himself caps off his visit by attacking the island with his own giant, pilotable machine.
      • Casano, much like Laslow Gotzalotovich from "Prince Not So Charming," is very popular with women not named Pucca, whom he has an unrequited crush on.
    • The Pirates are a greedy, thieving trio (sometimes a quartet) that each have a distinct quirk, much like the conspicuously absent Vagabond Ninja Clan.
  • Reality Warper: Pucca gets upped from simply an Action Girl into this in the TV series. In one episode, she effortlessly opens up a rift in the time-space continuum with a pair of chopsticks.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Garu has a heart on his uniform and is apparently better at knitting than Pucca is in "Woolen Warrior". Also, when Garu, Pucca, Abyo and Ching became Super Sentai expies, Abyo was the pink one. He didn't like it.
  • Red Shirt Army: Tobe's Ninjas.
  • The Rival: Tobe to Garu for some reason. Ring-Ring is this to Pucca, which is mostly one sided.
  • Rule of Funny: The whole show pretty much lives off of this trope.
  • Running Gag: Various; the most frequent is Abyo randomly tearing off his shirt, which comes close to being a Once an Episode event.
    • Don't forget the misfortunes that befall either Santa or Dada Once an Episode.
    • Hungry Vagabonds.
  • Scenery Porn: The web episode "Fragrance of Spring".
  • Scout-Out: The Dragon Girls.
  • Serial Escalation: The TV series seems to thrive on becoming as weird as possible, then topping it. Santa is secretly a ninja ex-thief? We got that. A jive-talking, lounge-singing dragon being added to the supporting cast partway through the series? We got that. An entire episode revolving around a sock that turns anyone who touches it evil? We got that. The web animations are a bit less bizarre.
  • Serious Business: The three uncles' perseverance to be the best noodle cooks in Sooga.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: In "The Chef's Leave", the three uncles feel like they lost their culinary honor when they noticed a customer hadn't finished their meal, so in order to regain it, they endured a quite dangerous trial full of deadly traps. Turns out the customer (who was actually Bruce) got his plate taken away by Dada before he could finish, so all their effort was rendered moot. The uncles get understandably pissed off at Dada for his screw up.
  • She Is Not My Girlfriend: Garu, for Pucca. However, there are a few instances in the web animations where he does seem to have feelings for her - an example is when he actually melts down his beloved sword to make a ring for her, which he also uses as a holder for a long, rolled up note that he intends to give to her. He is later horrified when she completely fails to notice the ring, throwing it away and fawning over the letter instead.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Shipper on Deck: Unless they are competing for their affections, everyone is this for Garu and Pucca, much to the former's annoyance.
  • Silent Snarker: Garu.
  • Single-Target Sexuality: The only one Pucca has eyes for is Garu. One episode featured a playboy who had every girl fawn for him save for Pucca, who he obsessed over.
  • Smug Smiler: The only times Garu ever smiles are when he's giving a cocky grin, generally while looking at the camera.
  • Spaghetti Kiss: Done with Pucca and Garu in "Noodle Round the World" with the world's longest noodle.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Pucca, on occasion.
  • Stalking Is Funny if It Is Female After Male: Basically the entire show.
  • Start My Own:
    • Pucca and Ching wanted to visit Abyo and Garu's treehouse but Abyo wouldn't allow girls in. They built their own treehouse (which was better as expected of something built by Pucca) and wouldn't allow Garu and Abyo in.
    • When Ring-Ring wouldn't allow Pucca and Ching to join the cheerleading squad, they started their own.
    • Also, because Texas Lugie and Sloppy Sue didn't like the food served at the Goh Rong, they started a rival restaurant.
  • The Stoic: Garu, foiled because Pucca's schemes to steal a kiss succeed often.
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In "Sooga-Size Me", the heavily overweight Garu and Abyo try sparring after days of gorging on the Texan couple's fast food. Acrofatic characters do exist in the show, but because of the boys' unhealthy diets, they run out of breath quickly and can barely lift themselves off the ground.
  • Swallowed Whole: Garu by a lion in "Big Top Bang Bang".
  • Terrible Trio: The Vagabond Clan; Chief, Shaman, and Clown. Not exactly evil since most of their schemes center around getting food.
  • Thick-Line Animation: Yes, though much of this due to originating as flash animation series.
  • 30 Minutes, or It's Free!: One episode features the Vagabonds trying to get free noodles by delaying Pucca when the chefs send her to deliver their order. Officer Bruce arrests them for the laws they break during their efforts and seizes the noodles when Pucca shows up.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: One episode is all about Garu trying to perfect a move and Pucca's interference constantly both impeding and progressing the progress. He perfects the technique, making him intangible. Pucca attempts to glomp him, but fails, giving Garu a much needed happy ending.
    • Another episode gave the Chew Toy Dada a temporary level in badass, using his janitorial skills to fight in a tournament.
    • There's a food drive for the Vagabonds in "Jingle Cans".
  • Tiny Tyrannical Girl: Pucca and Ring-Ring. The latter is mostly the case.
  • Toilet Humor: All the time. Notably the birthday episode (Slam Bam Birthday Bash), where Garu glared at an animate statue - who made a farting noise and dropped a brick. And not five minutes later, the police station falls down to reveal Bruce sitting on the toilet. A minor example is Dada being visibly shown peeing his pants.
  • Too Dumb to Live: In one episode, Master Turtle warns Tobe that whatever is written as a fortune will come true when read aloud. Well, this doesn't stop him from trying to get Garu with a fortune that says, "Anyone that reads this will explode". He ends up reading it himself and doing just that. Adding to this, he seemed to forget that Garu took a vow of silence.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Pucca loves to eat the chefs' noodles. It seems to be the only thing she eats as she eats them in place of popcorn while watching a movie. And only the noodles they make, as she rejects Santa's North Pole Noodles.
  • Tsundere:
    • Despite his constant annoyance at her, Garu does seem to possess some feelings for Pucca, although whether or not they're romantic is ambiguous.
    • Pucca herself is a type B. She's almost too sweet and affectionate when dealing with Garu, but isn't afraid to beat the crap out of him when he's being a jerk or not returning her affections.
  • Ultimate Job Security: Dada screws up so much it's a miracle he hasn't been fired.
  • Unconventional Food Usage: In "Noodle Around the World", Pucca's uncles make an extremely long noodle and get Garu to walk around the world with it so they can beat the record for the world's longest noodle.
  • Unexpectedly Dark Episode: "He Loves Me Not." There aren't as many humorous moments compared to other episodes; Ring-Ring constantly rubs her newfound relationship with who she thinks is Garu in Pucca's face, and only a few of her jeers are played for laughs. Meanwhile, Pucca herself spends the majority of the episode horribly depressed and irritable. Eventually, she lets her rage and envy build up until she unleashes a terrible power upon Ring-Ring and the surrounding environment.
  • Unholy Matrimony: Tobe almost had this with Chief in one episode, before the love potion wore off. He did still marry her though
  • Unknown Rival: Abyo considers Garu his rival, when there's really no comparison. Interestingly, Garu does appear to consider Abyo to be his best friend, as the two are frequently shown hanging out.
  • Unwanted Harem: Almost every girl in the show has a thing for Garu, who isn't interested in romance at all. None of them have a chance at competing with Pucca for him though.
  • Verbal Tic: Officer Bruce. Over.
    • Clown, eh!
  • Violently Protective Girlfriend: Pucca, when Garu is in trouble. Despite being very peaceful and child-like, she can be roused into the most powerful martial artist in Sooga.
  • The Voiceless: Pucca and Garu. It's explained that Garu took a vow of silence, making him The Quiet One. Pucca...who knows. However, in the animated series, this is played with, as we do hear her speak briefly (she says "Hello" in one episode) and sing (in another episode when they went to Tokyo).
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: Abyo has an habit of ripping his shirt before going Kiai.
  • Wanting Is Better Than Having: In "Full Moon Pucca", Pucca finally gets her dream of Garu returning her affections, but realizes how annoying it is for her and decides to change him back.
  • Weak, but Skilled: Garu is nothing compared to Pucca when it comes to fighting, but he comes closer than every other character by being an incredibly skilled ninja with moves Pucca doesn't know how to use. It should be noted that he's only weak in comparison to Pucca, as he also appears to have some level of superhuman ability.
  • Weaksauce Weakness: Tex and Sue's first mech dances uncontrollably when square dance music is played nearby. Pucca and the three chefs trick it into dancing off a cliff.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Garu has an almost psychological fear of Pucca in the television series.
  • Wise Old Turtle: The Wise Turtle, who is apparently a master ninja who makes fortune cookies that always seem to come true.
  • World of Badass: Everyone is a martial artist.
  • Worthy Opponent: Tobe and Garu have a grudging respect for each other, brought on by both their skill and their mutual understanding that Pucca is a much greater threat than either of them.
  • Yandere: Pucca. Woe betide you if you get between her and her Garu. Ring-Ring found that out the hard way.
  • Younger Than They Look: Most of the characters are preteens to teenagers. Pucca and Ching are 10-11, Garu, Abyo and Ring-Ring are 12-13, and Dada and Tobe are 14-15. This can be quite egregious to guess because many of them, most noticeably Garu, live alone without a guardian.
  • Zombie Apocalypse: A comical one occurs in "Feud Fight" when the chefs split up and stop making Jajang noodles, causing the town's residents to fall into zombie-like trances, complete with grey skin and blank eyes.

 
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Garu, Pucca and the Lion

Garu, as usual, is trying to escape from Pucca's love, and finds himself choosing between her and a sleeping lion. Naturally, he chooses the lion and forces himself into its mouth. But to the embarrassment of both, Pucca startles the lion with a whip and causes it to force Garu back out... through its butt.

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