Popee the Performer

Popee the Performer (Japanese: ポピーザぱフォーマー, Hepburn: Popī za Pafōmā), also known as Popee the Clown (Japanese: ポピーthe クラウン, Hepburn: Popī za Kuraun), is a Japanese children's 3D CGI anime series created by Ryuji Masuda. It aired on Kids Station between 2000 and 2003. Despite being aimed at children, due its cultural differences depending on each region, the anime is infamously known for its use of adult-oriented and controversial themes.^[1][2]

Popee the Performer
Logo
ポピーザぱフォーマー
Genre	Slapstick Surreal humor Comedy Dark comedy
Created by	Ryuji Masuda
Opening theme	Popee the Clown
Country of origin	Japan
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	39
Production
Production companies	Zuiyo Nippon Columbia
Original release
Network	Kids Station
Release	January 3, 2000 (2000-01-03) – December 28, 2001 (2001-12-28)
Release	January 1, 2003 (2003-01-01)

Premise

Set in the middle of a desert, in a place called Wolf Circus,^[3] the show follows two characters, Popee the clown and his wolf sidekick Kedamono, rehearsing their circus performances. In each episode, the rehearsals go awry and devolve into often violent and/or surreal situations.^[4] The second season introduces Popee's father, Papi, the senior clown of the Wolf Circus, who often acts as the instructor for the other two, but his lessons he tries to teach don't go as planned, and sometimes, he only makes things worse.

Production

Popee the Performer was originally aired in 2000 on Kids Station, a television station in Japan.^[2][4] and in 2014, it was aired on Asianet Maa (now Star Maa) The anime was created by Ryuji Masuda and his wife Wakako Masuda, and there is a manga adaptation created by his wife as well.^[5] Ryuji Masuda created the show to fill a five-minute slot on Kids Station. The show had a budget of 100,000 yen per month.^[2][6] Due to the low budget, the series had no voice actors and was

Reception

Popee the Performer has been described as "a twisted mockery of children's shows" and a "dark, messed-up series" due to its violence and unintentional horror; the visual style has also been called "offputting".^[1] In addition, it has been called a "trauma anime" and a show that "should not be searched online" in Japan.^[2] The show was nevertheless praised for its comedic appeal despite its lack of dialogue.^[4]

The show has been compared to Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry due to its slapstick humour and silent comedy.^[1][4][7][8]