English Dub Review: Pop Team Epic “The Documentary”

The girls are at it again.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

The Documentary ~On the Other Side of an Idol’s Dream~

The life of rising pop idol Pop-chin is chronicled in a documentary. While her costars are regular idols, Pop-chin curses, smokes, and acts overall very rowdy. Despite this, her manager PipiP has the utmost faith in her and continues to try and elevate Pop-chin’s performance. When no other collaborations work out, PipiP decides to take drastic measures and instead create clones of Pop-chin. However, Pop-chin running wild instead results in destruction and eventual world domination, with PipiP as the ultimate dictator.

The documentary itself is a parody of the ever-popular The Nonfiction by Fuji Television, and Pop-chin’s rowdy behavior is clearly reminiscent of Kago Ai from Morning Musume, and her smoking habit that heavily tarnished her reputation. It starts out normal and then escalates into sci-fi, with the final scenes being of course, parodies of Dragonball Z and Street Fighter.

Score

9/10

 

Morning Music

Popuko wakes up to Peer Gynt’s “Morning”, but when she opens the curtains, she realizes that it’s actually at night. In a fit of fury, she destroys the music description.

A sequence that’s far too relatable.

Score

10/10

 

Car Sales:

Pipimi goes out to buy a car. While the salesman tries to sell her a red car she’s interested in, she’s most intrigued in its ability to act as a murder weapon. 

There’s nothing better than uncomfortable murder jokes.

Score

9/10

 

Side Job:

Popuko complains about wanting a job, and Pipimi says she knows of one. Pipimi hands her a briefcase of money, telling her she’s paid up front. Later, Pipimi hands her a list of targets and a gun, telling her to “Do it.”

We never do find out who Pipimi is trying to kill, but it’s known that these two girls don’t stop for anything. Whoever it is had better watch out.

Score

9/10

 

Bob Epic Team (1):

Popuko sees a lesser panda and tries to pet it. However, when she gets close, it turns into a monster. Popuko backs away, saying that it was larger than she thought. 

While the style of Bob Epic Team is still bizarre, it works in the case of the transformation. The lesser panda is a parody of Noroi from Gamba no Bouken.

Score

7/10

 

Letter:

Pipimi gets a letter from a fan, criticizing the show of having too many parodies. Popuko is moved to tears… before performing a parody.

Popuko ends up parodying Pripara, to criticize any sort of naysayers. Considering the reaction to Pop Team Epic has been very polarized, with either blatant confusion or appreciation of its absurd humor, this letter is from one of the many anime watchers confused by the series. To the criticism, the writers say that they’re going to keep doing whatever they want. What a power move.

Score

10/10

 

Cuckoo:

Popuko finds the cuckoo in a cuckoo clock cute at first but then realizes it’s actually annoying. Taking out a hammer, she hovers over it, waiting, and declares that “Your life is over in about thirty minutes”.

This is probably one of the most well-known skits, having circulated as a meme long before the anime aired. Seeing it animated was great, and it’s just as extra as the comic.

Score

9/10

 

Other Skits:

Popuko steals a towel and starts a video game session, where she is promptly defeated by Pipimi. After falling, Popuko can’t stop spinning, much to Pipimi’s disbelief. On another Bob Epic Team, Popuko and Pipimi’s casual samba and ole hurt the Samba and Flamenco Masters.

 

Best Sketch: Letter

Worst Sketch: Bob Epic Team (the second one)