Pop Team Epic / Poputepipikku

Review by: John Fragglepuss Evans

Genre: Comedy, Parody, Short-Form, Bizarre Skits

First Aired: Winter 2018, 12 short-form episodes

Summary: Two high school girls with short attention spans find themselves in the most ridiculous situations. Popuko is short-tempered while Pipimi is the voice of reason, which isn’t saying much since they are both absurd.

Pop Team Epic is a skit anime based on a 4-panel manga. You can tell by the way the skits are organized. They come hard and fast with little to no continuity. The series is completely off the wall and leans on meta humor for its comedy. You’ll quickly notice how the animation in Pop is basic, from the chibi protagonists to the downright cringy “Bob Epic Team”. The creators are obviously going for that style, which works for the nature of the show. I can see it being extremely polarizing and you’ll know if you love or hate it by the end of the first episode. The opening song is good, real trippy.

You might enjoy this if: You’re an otaku or just way into anime. If so you’ll understand a lot of the references, otherwise, good luck!

You might not like it if: Fast-paced absurd skits based on deep anime cuts sounds painful. They never slow down to take a break and there’s mature content. Don’t watch if you’re not ready for an anime version of Tim and Eric: Awesome Show Great Job.

Similar Series: Mr. Osomatsu, Space Patrol Luluco, Gintama, Himouto Umaru-chan, Nichijou – My Ordinary Life

Note to the Viewer: There are two versions of Pop Team Epic. One version has a voice cast with Popuko and Pipimi being voiced by females, which is already bizarre based on the content. If that version isn’t strange enough for you, the other has Popuko and Pipimi voiced by males with deep voices. It kicks it up another notch. To top it off, every episode both the male and female voice cast is different.

AMV – The Golden Girls by maboroshistudio

Pop Team Epic Opening Theme

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