I’m always going to favor something that begins with a crude parody of Dragon Ball Z. And that was the first skit in tonight’s episode of Pop Team Epic, “Train Battle.” They put their spin on it, with Popuko shooting her “Gatling Gun” style blast at Pipimi, asking if she got Pipimi, with Pipimi holding up a sign that said “ya did.” I give this show some shit sometimes, but something short and to the point like this did the job well. Flash forward to later in the episode, and Popuko powers up again, to look left and right at the same time, only to split and a mini Popuko.
After the genius opening. the next skit Popuko traveling to Kyoto, to put “get off my lawn stones.” It was about this point where I finally understand this week’s title. The main sketch this week gives us the Pop Team Epic spin on a Bullet Train battle. The movie itself was trash, so Popuko and Pipimi do their own thing. The battle is relegated to one single car, and the shit goes…mildly above normal.
There was a skit that, while short, was just long enough to make me smile. Popuko had some trash, and it needed to get thrown out. However, when she threw out a black hole, most of eastern Asia got destroyed. Meanwhile, the latest “Pop Team Epic: B-Side” was probably the most entertaining one yet. Angry Pipimi, with a jacket full of weapons, completely intimidated the teacher.
Let me say this. There was a skit where the skit may as well have been called Popuko Woman X, because she had a power just like X. the “game hud” looked close enough to it to call it that too. Pipimi heals up, and she fires a return volley of the same power. Like I said last week, nostalgia is one hell of a fucking drug, and when that vein is hit, it fucking hits.
And then there was the Square Enix portion of our show. This take on an old Square RPG was god damn hilarious. They’re trying to figure out what’s going on with an unnamed crime. The ending of this skit was just so weird. At this point, I’m here for the nostalgia, and it’s hitting just right.
There were some skits that were short, and made me feel like kind of out of sorts. There wasn’t a lot to go off of. “Bob Epic Team,” for example, was just nonsense. Later, there was a skit where Popuko and Pipimi were reading poems to each other. Popuko was being extra rude, and Pipimi scolded her through poem. It was entertaining, but I was left wanting more. I have no idea what the skit is, but it’s a “Dumbass Personalities Fight,” and I was all for it, until I saw that it was just silly faces, and the ending credits started to roll. I was expecting more, I guess.
That said, the flip side of the episode, with the gender swapped voices, was a marked improvement for some of the skits. The opening skit is a definite improvement. “Train Battle” was also it. There was a lot more violence and emotion in it instead of it being a comedic sketch. This felt like a full on Shonen comedy. Shit, even “Pop Team Epic B-Side” improved. The Square Enix skit somehow turned into a Nintendo game with a Final Fantasy X style voice over.
There was a lot to love this week. The only two skits that kind of sucked were “Bob Team Epic” and the “Dumbass Personalities Fight.” But there was a lot to love. The DBZ skits, the poem sketch outakes were fucking hilarious. The Mega Man X, and “Bullet Train” parodies were god damn hilarious.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this week. I think I’m finally coming around to enjoying my time sitting down and reviewing Pop Team Epic. They hit enough nostalgia this week to make sure I come back next week. So I’m good.