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[Puni Puni Poemy box art]
AKA: Puni Puni Poemii, Puni Puni Poemi
Genre: Slapstick satirical magical girl ecchi parody
Length: OAV, 2 episodes, 30 minutes each
Distributor: Licensed by ADV Films
Content Rating: R (adult themes, innuendo, sexual situations, violence, profanity)
Related Series: Excel Saga
Also Recommended: Elf Princess Rane, Excel Saga, Maze
Notes: Spinoff of the Excel Saga TV series, which also features "Nabeshin" (Watanabe Shinichi, the director of both Excel Saga and Puni Puni Poemy) as a self-inserted character.
Rating:

Puni Puni Poemy

Synopsis

Watanabe Poemi (a spastic middle-schooler who insists on calling herself by her seiyuu's name, Kobayashi) wants to be a voice actress. Badly. Unfortunately, aliens bent on world domination kill the Director and Kumi-Kumi-san, er, her parents. To avenge them, she must join the Aasu (Earth ... or Arse?) family to defend the world. Except that their defensive powers are useless against the aliens ... so she decides to become the vigilante terrorist / magical girl Puni Puni Poemy.


Review

I have a new idol. I have nothing but complete and utter respect and admiration for Kobayashi Yumiko, the voice actress who is Poemi. This woman brings new meaning to the words "brave" and "crazy". She is the reason why Puni Puni Poemy is such a joyful riot to watch. Kobayashi is a complete and utter nutball, and she isn't afraid to utter such ridiculous dialogue as "My anus itches because I'm a girl!" as if it were a normal thing to say.

I can't begin to describe this anime. It is from the same director as Excel Saga, so that right there might give you some clue as to what lies in store. However, Puni Puni Poemy is far, far cruder than Excel Saga. (Yes, it IS possible!) Where Excel Saga parodied all of the cliches typical of broadcast anime, Poemi parodies all of the cliches of OAV anime, most specifically, hentai. I do warn you now, Puni Puni Poemy is two steps away from Cool Devices as far as sheer perversion goes. It pokes fun at all the BAD things one finds in anime, and most of the jokes in the second half of the series are highly sexual in nature. While Puni Puni Poemy never gets explicit, it is heavily implied, and there is lots of gratuitous nudity and provocative bondage scenes. This anime is NOT for those with weak hearts, stomachs, or minds. New anime fans would not get most of the jokes (and would probably be either insulted by or fully agree with the alien's definition of 'Japanese culture') and the material is far too graphic for children.

This isn't to say that Poemy is a bad anime. Far from it! It mercilessly parodies and rips apart the genre and reveals the sheer absurdness of the standard plots and archetypes used in anime (and pop culture in general). Even romantic triangles aren't immune to Watanabe's scathing satire. I doubt it's a coincidence that Poemi looks like Card Captor Sakura and that her best friend (and *ahem* bed mate) Futaba looks like Sakura's best friend Tomoyo.

The animation for the series is top notch, and the character designs are very appealing. Even though Poemy's magical girl outfit is the most garish costume since Pretty Sammy to ever be conceived, she stil manages to look very cute nonetheless. The opening and ending songs are incredibly obnoxious and grating, which makes them absolutely perfect for the show!

If you have an open mind when it comes to anime, and aren't afraid to watch a show that all but literally slaps you (repeatedly) across the face for watching it, then I fully recommend Puni Puni Poemy. You will feel cheap, dirty, and humiliated for actually enjoying it. :)

Crude, rude, and we're loving every moment of it! — Christi

Recommended Audience: Not for children whatsoever!!! No *explicit* sex or violence, but nearly every minute includes heavy sexual innuendo, coarse language, censoring mosaics, just-this-side-of-legal fan service nudity (of characters of questionable age), general insanity. Seventeen and up. We warned you.



Version(s) Viewed: digital source
Review Status: Full (2/2)
Puni Puni Poemy © 2001 JC Staff / JVC
 
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