Funny Pets

Funny Pets is potentially the most bizarre show I've ever seen. It presents itself like a children's cartoon on the surface, but is actually an incredibly dark, morbid, surreal show. The juxtaposition of super childish content with extremely adult content (both violent and sexual) makes it a very weird, sometimes uncomfortable watch. This is definitely a "you'll either love it or hate it" type of show. I can understand why people would dislike it, but I would also look into what the show is before you write it off. I think there are two types of people who will enjoythis show. Some people will view it as a 'so-bad-it's-good' situation and enjoy it ironically. Others will sincerely enjoy it because it is completely unique, trying something new, and in my opinion, self-aware and succeeding. Definitely watch the first episode (it's only 6 minutes long). By the end, you'll know what the show is about, and you'll know if it's for you.

Right off the bat, I'm going to assume you heard about this anime through director Masuda's underground cult-following hit, Popee the Performer. In the case you didn't, I'd recommend watching the masterpiece that is Popee the Performer instead and seeing if it's your cup of tea; and if it isn't, Funny Pets is probably not for you. In the case you did, if you're planning to go into this hoping to gain the same quality of entertainment as you did with Popee, you might be disappointed. HOWEVER, you would still get more of Masuda's crazy, creative world, albeit a different taste of it. This review will mostly focuson how this show compares to Popee the Performer. Story: (8/10) I see both Popee the Performer and Funny Pets sharing the same quality of story. That's because... the shows share almost the exact same plot progressions. While two aliens live under the same roof with a cute lady, one sun alien impresses her, the moon alien gets jealous and tries to one up him, mostly by resorting to extremes as violence and other psychics/reality defying escapades. Other plots involve what you'd expect: reality gets f***ed, they die an episode then come back the next, and a lot of violent things you'd never expect from a kid show happens. If Popee's story's what you're after, this fits right in. Art: (8/10) People like to criticize Popee and Funny Pets for the art style, but I feel as if Masuda's world could not have worked without it. It creeps to that level of uncanny valley while also avoiding to look like amateur 3D animation, and the facial expressions and bizarre moments play very well to the art style's favor. And at the very least, it is good enough to not be a distraction from what can be enjoyed from this show. Sound: (6/10) The music and sound effects did their purpose, but Popee did both these things subjectively better. I remember nothing of what I heard from this show in terms of music, as a lot of it tends to be relatively minimalistic with a few exceptions. Character: (3/10) THIS, I believe, is where Popee fans might get disappointed. The characters are husks. They are what the plot demands them to be. They will show primary traits, the lady character is dumb and pretty, the sun character is kind and also a boring God (so mostly he's discount Papi), and the moon character is Robbie Rotten from LazyTown (but mostly he's discount Popee), and the neighbors who I think might be moles are... just a family of scavenging moles. Sometimes the two aliens care for the lady, sometimes they don't. Sometimes the lady's sweet and smart enough to have ideas, sometimes she's apathetic, lacks basic depth perception and can't tell a corpse from the living. Sometimes the moon character will hunt the moles, sometimes he'll try and be nice to them. Point is, they are not very consistent, and to a certain extent, not as charming and creative. Enjoyment: (6/10) I wouldn't watch this again, I wouldn't really recommend it, but I was glad I saw it. It's more creativity and wackiness you'd come to expect from Masuda. The scenarios this man comes up with is unlike anything I've ever seen. Overall, this probably won't satisfy your Popee the Performer hunger, but considering one episode is only 4 minutes not including intro/outro, I'd say it's easy to digest and see whether it's for you or not. All episodes are available on Youtube, but good luck finding the second season other than from the DVD release, which I'd recommend, Masuda deserves it.