Papuwa

パプワ

7.08(1K votes)

Ranked #4405Popularity #12078

episodes

Type

Status

Finished Airing

Aired

Sep 30, 2003 to Mar 30, 2004

Studios:Nippon Animation

AdventureComedy

Synopsis

In this sequel series, events continue four years after they left off in the first series. Papuwa-kun is a mysterious boy who lives on a new tropical island full of the same crazy creatures. Along with his maid, Liquid, and his new amnestic friend, "Rotarou", they lead nonsensical adventures as they try to evade and confuse the Ganma Army, Special Corps, and even the Shinsengumi from discovering Rotarou's real secret and taking him away. (Source: ANN)

2,382 Members

Worth Watching? — Global Verdict

9.0/10

Average Review Score

100%

Recommend It

Reviews Worldwide

International Reviews

Jirachiman

Recommended

Before I start I will say that you should watch this Dubbed. The Japanese voice actors are good enough, but I feel that you only get the energy that the comedy requires from the American ones. It might also seem silly that I would rate this show a 10 out of 10 too and you would probably be right, because this show doesn't look good, it doesn't have a deep and interesting story, and to be honest the jokes probably wouldn't even be funny half the time if it weren't for the dub. Yet I not only enjoy Papuwa, but I adore it, I adoreit enough to put this on my favorites list, and not because the show is as flashy and stylish as something like Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei or Bakemonogatari, not because its as deep as Cowboy Bebop or Serial Experiments Lane, but because it makes me feel good. This anime is fun to watch, and that is what makes this a 10. For starters the characters are all very strange. Not only is the main villain (or what could pass as the main villain as they're isn't really a central villain) a man who's anxiety is so extreme that he practices his lines to a wooden posing doll, but one of the goals of the main character is to become the most beautiful boy in the world. Then there is the variety and admittedly large cast of side characters that each get an ample amount of screen time to give you an idea of what they are like, or at the very least what their gimmick is but that in itself gives them some personality where other anime have characters that have no personality despite their gimmick. Then the large cast of sort-of villains have their own unique quirks that get built upon and give them personality as well. Now before I get too carried away, I will briefly explain the plot: The main character Kotaro suddenly awakens from a deep slumber some time after the events of the first series, and yes it is a sequel series but you don't need to read the first manga series (there is a show but as far as I know it hasn't been subbed at all) to know what has gone on as the show explains at the beginning that Kotaro destroyed the first Papuwa island (where the events of the first series took place) and now through the magic of a blue and red orb a new island was born where the second series takes place. Kotaro then escapes the place where he was being kept and through a series of events lands on the second Papuwa island where he meets Papuwa, a boy who become his best friend and Liquid the man maid, who looks after him. After that the series is fairly episodic and needs to be seen to be believed. Sure, maybe this isn't going to be someone's 10/10, maybe you'll even hate it, but I've watched this series several times over, and I still feel the same about it as when I first saw it. It's a comedy at heart, so the show is only as good as you believe the comedy is, and no amount of explaining is going to help you laugh at them. I've probably talked too much too, and the only reason I unloaded everything like this was because no one saw this, no one, and that's a shame. For those who just skim towards the bottom: It's not deep, it's not beautiful, it may not even be funny to some people, but it has heart, and so does the manga its based on, so watch it please, and read the manga obviously.

Community Discussion

StarlightShiba

Recommended

When I was 12 years old I went to fye and looked at anime and found a lot of really underrated anime which also came from exploring animes to watch next. One day at fye I found papuwa. I only found the first three volumes watched those and I thought it was the whole thing until I saw a preview for the next episode. After years of finding it I finally went online and got them when I was 14. Ever sense then I've been thinking what made this anime entertaining and why it stuck out to me and why is it so underrated? I haven'tseen the original papuwa kun anime but this one basically told you what happened before. So today I will be reviewing papuwa. Story 7/10 The story was unique in a lot of ways. Basically before this one kotaro explodes the papuwa island and comes back later and older with amnesia. So liquid changed his name on his underwear to rotaro which in simpler ways of explaining コko to ロro. So kotaro or the newly named rotaro can't argue with his underwear so that's his name and what happens is other people go to the island to find him and get him back but instead live their. Art 8/10 The art style and character design were very good because its colorful and fun to look at. But the animation was OK it wasn't horrible it was just normal looking. Sound 8/10 Originally I gave the sound a 6/10 but I forgot about the english dub. The english dub was AMAZING, the voices were fitting for each character the acting and emotion in the voices were solid and it was amazing in its quality. The good dub aside, I thought the opening and ending songs were good but not great. The the soundtrack was a little forgettable. Character 8/10 This is one of the parts that makes me surprised the anime is so unknown because the character cast was one of the most entertaining to watch. I feel like the interactions with each character was great. I liked almost every character. Plus a lot of the characters were really memorable too. But one thing that bothers me is the anime totally ignored introducing the names of the characters sometimes . Enjoyment 7/10 Despite all the good things I said i think i enjoyed this less than i thought i would I laughed a lot it was good too. But sometimes I felt like i want enjoying to the most of it because i feel like I grew out of being a big fan of comedy. But something took away my enjoyment that I just don't know. Sorry i can't because I just don't know I could think of a few theories but I cant always be sure. Overall 7/10 I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good crazy comedy with a story. I would also say that you should watch it to know you've watched something really underrated but I think overall it was a good series that shouldn't be taken to seriously

10 found helpfulMay 23, 2015

Corniculum

Recommended

I love this series so much I stole my favourite characters name( Liquid ). In all seriousness, though, I adore Shibata Ami and all of her work because I saw this anime randomly when I was browsing around on the family computer back in 2007 or so. I stumbled across a lot of anime back then, but THIS is the one that stuck with me the most. I consider it a critical part of who I am, not only as a person, but also as a writer. It's your traditional Gag Manga, with an underlying plot. The plot isn't especially well-done or written, but it's fun andit helps amplify the amazingly fun cast of characters. The plot also isn't especially clear in this sequel, and I'd highly suggest to read Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun first before watching this. It helps clear up the plot better than the brief synopsis in this anime, especially concerning Kotaro, Shintaro, Kintaro, Jan, (Gion Kamen) Arashiyama, and Liquid. Also, due to the fact the manga for this sequel is untranslated, the full story isn't readily available to english speakers, and you're left with the rushed ending from the anime. And trust me, there's a LOT more to the story that the anime doesn't get the chance to touch upon. Maybe one day.... One day. ( I've been saying 'one day' for over 10 years now ) This is a series very near and dear to my heart, and if I could, I'd make a full-blown essay on how great Shibata Ami and her works are. But I'll spare everyone that, and just say, hey! If you like stupid gag anime and manga, then give this a shot! The insanity of Papuwa Island is something every connoisseur of the genre should experience at least once.

1 found helpfulJan 2, 2022