Puni Puni Poemy

Publisher
ADV
Director
Shinichi Watanabe
Production
J.C.Staff, Victor Entertainment
Country of origin
Japan
Format
OVA
Running time
60 mins total
Year
2001

Puni Puni Poemy

By John Huxley
14th Aug 05

It feels like such a long time since I last picked up a copy of Excel Saga. But far from a distant memory, the utter madness that was Excel Saga has remained lodged in my brain as if it were some kind of traumatic childhood experience. Yet somehow, on viewing Puni Puni Poemy, I think the director would be very pleased to learn of this.

Puni Puni Poemy (pronounced ‘po-emy’, I think) is a bizarre creation, even by Excel Saga standards. An offshoot of the fictional anime from the annals of Excel Saga’s backlog (...the less said about that the better), Puni Puni Poemy fleshes out the concept into a two episode OVA special. Poemi, the star of the show, is a young schoolgirl who aspires to become a talented voice actress. However, when her parents are killed by space aliens with unfeasibly long balls, Poemi must put her dream on hold and move in with the seven Aasu sisters. Here she discovers a dead fish which endows her with the power to become a powerful warrior in a pretty pink tutu, ready to avenge her parent’s death. Well, that’s what she would be doing if only she wasn’t too busy abusing her powers, beating up anyone who gets in her way.

Though the execution is distinctly Excel Saga, the ridiculous premise is pure Sailor Moon. And Puni Puni Poemy’s creators obviously had a lot of fun spoofing the magical girl genre; everything from Poemi’s extravagant costume to the less than subtle lesbian connotations is ripped straight from this silliest of genres. Of course, this being Excel Saga in disguise, Puni Puni Poemy takes everything one step further, adding an extra layer of madness that takes it into the realm of the surreal.

Playing the role of Poemi is none other than Yumiko Kobayashi, the very same actress that gave life to Excel. And surprise surprise - Poemi is an irritating, hyperactive motormouth that just won’t shut up. Yet Kobayashi’s energetic performance is what gives Puni Puni Poemy much of it’s distinctive flavour. Her incessant, almost incoherent babbling sets the pace for a comedy that just doesn’t let up, bombarding the viewer with increasingly bizarre situations until eventually nothing appears particularly strange anymore. And by the time you’ve reached that point Poemi just seems awfully...normal.

If, however, you couldn’t stand the sight of Excel you’re more than likely to dislike Puni Puni Poemy from the get-go. She’s such a boisterous, overbearing personality that liking her, or at least tolerating her, is a prerequisite for enjoying Puni Puni Poemy in the first place. Then again, if you didn’t much like Excel Saga you probably turned off after the first sentence or two!

Puni Puni Poemy certainly has all the right ingredients, but is it actually funny? As was the case with Excel Saga, yes and no. Unlike most anime comedies, Puni Puni Poemy doesn’t strive to create amusing scenarios; it just confronts the viewer with joke after joke after joke irrespective of situation or story. So, by reason of ratio, while there are plenty of moments that will make you chuckle, much of the humour simply falls flat on its face. It’s either far too bizarre for its own good or, as is the case with much of Kobayashi’s lines, too brief to even notice. On the flip side, everything moves so fast that you’re unlikely to notice half of the jokes weren’t even funny. If you didn’t like the last one, there’s bound to be something you’ll find at least vaguely amusing just around the corner.

Of course there are those that will find Puni Puni Poemy’s comedy absolutely hilarious from start to finish. Whatever the case, it’s clear to me that Puni Puni Poemy is an acquired taste. Yet it’s not one of those love/hate and nothing in-between things, because there’s really enough here to entertain even if the humour isn’t right up your street. In many ways it’s like a more coherent version of Excel Saga’s final episode; occasionally funny, vaguely offensive and utterly, utterly bizarre. If you’re new to all this I’d recommend you go check out Excel Saga first. If you manage to last out until the final episode, I can recommend you at least give Puni Puni Poemy a try. It might not be absolutely unmissable, but it’s definitely a unique experience! Well, except for Excel Saga, which is pretty much identical...

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0, English subtitles, weird subtitles, production sketches, character art gallery, clean open/close, fold-out poster, reversible cover, behind the scenes, commentary by staff & cast

Release information: UK: ADV, out now

Notes: Once again ADV have gone to town on the presentation, providing a reversible cover, an A4 poster and a few decent extras. The busy, almost messy cover does a good job of capturing the madcap spirit of the series, and ADV’s amusing annotations will make sure nobody confuses this with a real magical girl show. The reversible cover provides a slightly more sain alternative, with two rather attractive compositions mirrored in Japanese and English. The poster, which folds out to roughly A4 size, is much more risque, mixing the magical girl theme with a heavy dose of S&M. Flip it over and there’s a short story to enjoy, detailing the fictional production of Puni Puni Poemy which is actually quite funny in places and well worth a quick read. The extras include a commentary track and behind the scenes documentary...also about said commentary track. Hardly essential viewing, but a nice addition nonetheless.

-- John Huxley 14th Aug 05

Puni Puni Poemy Images