StoryPicture the scene: you’re relaxing on a tropical beach,
listening to the waves lap at the shore and the parrots squawking in the
jungle. Then, as you sit up and look around, you see a giant red fish with
hairy legs and fishnet stockings running towards you; some dangerous looking
fungi is attempting to make you as high as a kite; and the parrot you thought
you heard is actually some pink flying hippo-horse thing with an endless supply
of blood gushing out its nose. Welcome to Papuwa Island.
Set four years after the original series – Papuwa of the
South Seas – a young boy named Kotarou washes up on the beach of the second
Papuwa Island suffering from a bad case of amnesia. However, the island’s
residents already know the young lad, as he possesses an incredible power that
previously destroyed their original home. So, in order to keep him from
remembering who he is, thus re-awakening his power, ex-soldier Liquid changes
the name on Kotarou’s underwear to read Rotarou (apparently this is enough to
convince someone of their name). Now with a new name, the blonde-haired child
lives a carefree life with his new friends, Papuwa and Chappy, and their
long-suffering ‘maid’ Liquid.
The first thing to note is that although it’s a sequel, it
isn’t essential to have seen the original anime. The show provides enough
flashbacks to fill in the majority of gaps, and if the odd reference still
seems alien then don’t worry, as Papuwa is the kind of series where just
glossing over it won’t affect the narrative one iota.
Papuwa’s strength, without a doubt, lies in its
madcap comedy, random violence and frankly mind-boggling weirdness. Granted,
the series relies on the same repartee throughout its twenty-six episode run,
but somehow I never tire of the gushing jets of blood, trippy mushroom spores,
or Umako’s increasingly terrifying displays of affection. Though you can spot
some of the jokes hurtling towards you from a mile off, this anime still has
the ability to surprise. Even when one installment adopts a particular running
gag, it’ll quash your expectation of seeing a huge, hairy man-woman crush some
unsuspecting men by flinging a hermaphroditic snail in your face instead.
Sadly, this anime falters when it attempts to include an
actual plotline. In fairness, the show requires a certain amount to allow for
all the players to arrive on the island – it wouldn’t be anywhere near as funny
without Harlem tormenting Liquid, or if the emo Arashiyama wasn’t being ignored
– however, the anime loses a lot of its sparkle when it flips over to its
narrative. In particular, the fun aspect loses out in a big way during the
series’ final four episodes when the bulk of the plot finally kicks in. The
manic laughter every few minutes at Ito and Tanno’s antics or Oshoudani’s
incessant drumming gets tossed aside in favour of a limp and rather cheesy
storyline that fails to really grab the attention. Yes there are still some
moments where Papuwa’s comedy stylings make a brief re-appearance, but
these feel tacked on in an almost desperate bid to remain funny.AnimationI’ve found over my years of watching anime that most of the
‘sillier’ series never tend to have outstanding animation, and while Papuwa’s
artwork is reasonably good, it doesn’t set the world alight. Demonstrating
smooth movement, and exaggerated gesturing, the show remains pleasant to look
at while truly getting into the spirit of its wacky humour.
The series’ character designs vary more in terms of
quality. Most of the humans, such as Liquid, Harlem and Arashiyama, feel like
stock visuals from nineties shounen anime like Dragonball Z. At the
other end of the cross-dressing spectrum, the appearance of the island’s more…
“eccentric” personalities triumphs. Ito’s feminine colourings mixed with a
repulsive saliva-coated tongue and manic eyes reflect her kind, yet ultimately
terrifying nature. Whereas the likes of Umako’s ultra-masculine appearance
would make even Toriko wince, but mixing this with her feminine clothing and
ample bosom, makes for utter hilarity all nicely wrapped up in one giant, hairy
shell.SoundAnyone who knows me is well aware of my intense
hatred of dubs, but despite this, I concede that Papuwa’s English
translation actually holds its own very well. Don’t get me wrong, most of it
sounds like a stilted Pokémon episode, but the outrageously camp vocals
of Ito and Tanno mixed with a few dialogue alterations make for highly
entertaining viewing. The American adaptation takes a more flamboyant approach
to an already wacky series and not only gets more creative with the insults –
choosing the likes of “Ass-tard”, “Ass Clown”, and “Stinkin’ A-hole” instead of
the more straightforward ‘scum’ that the sub opts for – but also tends to be
slightly more foul-mouthed and has a bit of fun with the opening message.
Instead of repeating the standard ‘don’t sit too close to the screen’ line, Ito
happily gives us a whole host of helpful tips such as not to ‘piss off any
Germans’, or ‘get your arm caught in the meat grinder’.CharactersOh where to start! Papuwa boasts a reasonably large,
and incredibly bizarre host of characters that range from perverted and
masochistic mercenaries or gambling, alcoholic militia, to numerous
gender-bending animals and useless squid-men. Though the majority of the
series’ players have but one defining trait and stick to that throughout, this
isn’t actually detrimental to the show and actually enhances its humorous
content; indeed, Papuwa wouldn’t work anywhere near as well if its cast
weren’t so one-dimensional.
The least interesting characters are actually the
series’ central protagonists: Papuwa and Rotarou. While the former remains
fairly enigmatic through the entire show, the latter simply falls into the category
of annoying, spoiled brat. Though Rotarou manages to redeem himself with the
occasional moment of kindness and caring it’s not quite enough to suppress my
desire to poke him in the eyes with a rusty spoon. Though Papuwa’s mysterious
nature and unflappable calmness means that he allows many of the wackier
personalities to shine, as main pillars of the series both he and Rotarou fail
to carve their way into my memory as much as the likes of Ito, Tanno and Umako
who steal the spotlight every time they appear on screen.OverallIf looking for silly, fun anime then you can’t
really do much better than Papuwa. While not a work of animated genius,
it’s highly entertaining and anyone who enjoyed series like Jungle wa Itsumo
Halé Nochi Guu, will most likely love this. If not, then sprinkle some of
Komoro’s spores on yourself and I guarantee you’ll soon think it’s an absolute
masterpiece!
Screenshots
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