Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z (出ましたっ！パワパフガールズZ, Demashita! Pawapafu Gāruzu Zetto, roughly "And They're Off! Powerpuff Girls Z") is the name for a Japanese anime based upon the American animated television series The Powerpuff Girls. It is of the magical girl genre of anime.
| Powerpuff Girls Z | |
| File:Powerpuffynessies!.jpg Powerpuff Girls Z charcters | |
| Genre | Action, Comedy, Magical girl |
|---|---|
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Hiroyuki Kakudou |
| Studio | Cartoon Network, Toei Animation, Aniplex |
The show being made by Cartoon Network, Toei Animation, and Aniplex; with Hiromi Seki, and Hideo Katsumata producing; Hiroyuki Kakudou directing; and character design by Miho Shimogasa of Sailor Moon fame. Craig McCracken, the original creator of The Powerpuff Girls, is not involved in this project.
Toei Animation's anime reimagining of Cartoon Network's Powerpuff Girls, entitled Powerpuff Girls Z, debuted in Japan on July 1, 2006 on TV Tokyo, replacing Sugar Sugar Rune in its time slot. The initial order is for about 52 episodes at 30 minutes each, with more possible depending on how successful the show turns out to be. As of this writing, it is unknown when, or if there will be a U.S. release, and even if so, whether or not it would feature the original actors who voiced the American show.
Since the anime was first revealed around April 1 at the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2005, it was believed by many to be an April Fool's joke which started at the animation news web site Toon Zone.
Story
The story in this Japanese-produced series is dramatically different from the original American-produced series. Rather than the fictional American city of Townsville, the setting is now Tokyo City. Professor Utonium is again responsible for creating Chemical X, but in this series a daifuku bun dropped by his robotic dog Peach (created for the series) transforms it from Chemical X into the more powerful Chemical Z. When his son Ken (also new to the series) attempts to use it as a weapon, a burst of energy gives super powers (and inexplicably, costumes and complex transformation sequences) to three girls: Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru (in the original story, the girls were literally born from the chemical). Together, they fight the evils of Mojo Jojo (a revamped version of the original), a zoo monkey who received super powers and super intelligence courtesy of the same accident (as opposed to the American series, in which he only has super intelligence).
Theme Songs
- Opening
- "Kibō no Kakera" (希望のカケラ "Pieces of Hope") by Nana Kitade
- Ending
- "Mayonaka no Doa" (真夜中のドア "Door of Midnight") by Liu Yi Fei
Characters
Note that in this spin-off, the girls are not sisters; they all come from different families. Names here are in the Western naming order, with the family name after the given name.
- Momoko Akatsutsumi (赤堤ももこ Akatsutsumi Momoko) / Hyper Blossom (ハイパー・ブロッサム Haipā Burossamu)
Transforms using the phrase "Hyper Blossom" and uses a yo-yo. Like her PPG counterpart, she assumes the leader role of the trio, or to be accurate, she's the self-proclaimed leader. She seems to be a bit boy-crazy now, and is also possibly an otaku, as she is intimately familiar with the "magical heroine" genre, along with some typical anime concepts (like the leader wearing red and the aura color, as she often remarks). She is well known in school for this behavior. (Kaoru calls her a "magical girl maniac") She is mentioned as having a little sister in the third episode. Momoko also has a strong penchant for candy, which is part of the reason for her initial aggression against Mojo, who stole her candy. Momoko/Blossom is represented by hearts. She breaks the fourth wall in the first episode (saying she is the heroine of the story, which is 'Japanese common sense'), and continues to do so far more than any other character.
- Blossom's Special Attacks
- Shooting Yo-yo - Flings her yo-yo at an opponent.
- Spinning Yo-yo - Horizontally spins her yo-yo at an opponent.
- Ichigo-Daifuku Spin - Vertically spins her yo-yo at an opponent, similar to Spinning Yo-yo. Ichigo means strawberry in Japanese
- Annin-dofu Shoot - A similar move to Shooting Yo-yo, but the yo-yo string moves out in a spiralling fashion, allowing it to grab on to and throw objects. Annin-dofu literally means "Almond Tofu," a Chinese tofu dessert dish[1].
- Icecream Shoot - A softer, weaker version of Shooting Yo-yo. It was used to redirect one of Mojo's monkey helmets in episode 4 while it was airborne.
- Fruits Shoot - A faster, more rapidly repeated version of Shooting Yo-yo.
- Light White Choco Shoot - A tricky move where the yo-yo appears to attack from three different points.
- White Choco Shoot II - Same as Light White Choco Shoot, but more powerful.
- Miyako Goutokuji (豪徳寺みやこ Gōtokuji Miyako) / Rolling Bubbles (ローリング・バブルス Rōringu Baburusu)
Transforms using the phrase "Rolling Bubbles" and uses a bubble wand as a weapon, waving it or blowing into the wand to unleash a wave of bubbles. Her PPG counterpart was the shy, most easily frightened, and most "childish" of the group. In this version, she is the ditziest member of the three, often appearing a bit clueless, and doesn't seem to understand her powers completely, among a few other things. She is more concerned with shopping, her appearance and her outfits (she adores her transformation outfit), and perhaps because of this, she seems to be very popular among her male classmates, for which she is famous throughout her school. She retains her hairstyle during the reimagining, but her pigtails are slightly longer, and curl into ringlets. Miyako/Bubbles remains typified, however, by her PPG counterpart's compassion, gentleness and innocence, as well as her love of animals (in episode 2, she initially refused to harm Mojo on the grounds that he was an innocent monkey; to convince Miyako/Bubbles to fulfill her role as heroine, Momoko/Blossom had to explain to her that normal monkeys could not speak). She is also often depicted in artwork with a small, top hat-wearing octopus doll, which is almost certainly Octi, the favourite soft toy of the US Bubbles. Miyako/Bubbles is represented by bubbles and a gentle theme, reminiscent of her henshin phrase, "Rolling Bubbles".
- Bubbles's Special Attacks
- Bubble Champagne - Waves her bubble wand, launching several bubbles capable of capturing her opponents.
- Bubble Poyon - Creates a bubble that deflects anything that hits it. Poyon is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound of bouncing, equivalent of the English "boing."
- Bubble Popper - Creates a bubble that explodes upon impact. She will sometimes use this attack when she requires brute force; in episode 4, for instance, upon learning that Mojo's "super assistant" is actually a transformed (and forcibly coerced) Ken, she becomes angry enough to use this attack on Mojo in lieu of her earlier, more peaceable battle strategy.
- Balloon Catcher - Creates a number of bubbles specifically for the capturing of objects.
- Balloon Neba-neba - Creates several bubbles that, upon impact, turn into a sticky goo. Neba-neba is Japanese for "stickyness."
- Bubble Champagne II - A second more powerful version of Bubble Champagne.
- In the second episode, Bubbles also utilizes her wand as a javelin by throwing it at Mojo and rendering him unconscious with a large bump on his head. She was admonished by Blossom several times that doing so was an improper use of her wand.
- Kaoru Matsubara (松原かおる Matsubara Kaoru) / Powered Buttercup (パワード・バターカップ Pawādo Batākappu)
Transforms using the phrase "Powered Buttercup" and uses a Daruma Otoshi hammer (similar to Amy Rose's Piko-Piko Hammer). Her PPG counterpart was the "tough girl" tomboy of the group. In her makeover, she now dresses and acts like a boy, and is also averse to wearing skirts and dresses. She seems to have a considerable group of fangirls in this version, much to her dismay; in the first episode, numerous girls surrounded her with gifts as she was skate boarding. She is known in the middle school for being the most athletic girl, playing tennis, doing karate, and numerous other acivities, as well as watching sports on the television. However, she hates girls who she considers very "girly"; this includes Momoko and Miyako, which, in conjunction with the skirt her transformation forces her to wear, makes Kaoru the most reluctant of the three heroines, with her primary motivation in participating in the group being the destructive power it gives her. In this reimagining, Kaoru has her hair slightly spiked up, unlike her US counterpart, whose hair was straight in contrast. Kaoru/Buttercup is represented by stars.
- Buttercup's Special Attacks
- Megaton Dunk - A dunking strike at her opponent using her hammer.
- Graviton Drive - A powerful shock wave is created by smashing her hammer on the ground.
- Smash Block - A smash against thin air that effectively creates a powerful shield for a split-second.
- Swing Sonic - An offensive projectile move done by intensifying the sound of her hammer's swing. It is performed similarly to the Smash Block move.
- Hurricane Lutz - Buttercup spins her hammer around as if she were a tornado or a hurricane.
- Swing Sonic II - Same as Swing Sonic, but more powerful.
- Professor Utonium (ユートニウム博士 Yūtoniumu Hakase)
This series' version of Professor Utonium. His true name is unknown, aside from his family name Kitazawa. In this incarnation, he has a son named Ken, who is responsible for "creating" the Powerpuff Girls. Professor Utonium was originally experimenting with the substance Chemical X and strived to find a way to change it's chemical properties. He seems to be aware of the effect Ken's lack of a mother has had on his son; in episode 4, when the girls attempt to trick him into believing that Ken has behaved in a bullying fashion, he assumes that he has spoiled his son. However, this does not change his behavior towards Ken; in conjunction with how quickly he forgave Ken for his rash actions in episode 1, he appears to be a gentle father figure much as the original Professor Utonium was in PPG.
- Ken Kitazawa (北沢ケン Kitazawa Ken)
A young boy genius, the 8 year old son of Professor Utonium who is somewhat responsible for turning regular girls into the Powerpuff Girls and a normal monkey into Mojo Jojo using "Chemical Z". He used this chemical to blast a mountain in order to set the weather back to normal. Strange streaks fly off the mountain and hit the girls. This is in contrast to the original show, in which Professor Utonium used "sugar, spice, and everything nice" as the base ingredient, and actually created the girls rather than transforming them. Despite being younger than the girls, he acts a lot more mature and the education he receives from his father is considered more advanced than what the girls learn in their school. Ken sees the girls as older sisters and has to often put up with them, though he still cares for them deeply. He seems to want to call his father "Papa", but always apologizes right afterwards, addressing him as "Professor".
- Peach (ピーチ Pīchi)
Ken's pet robot dog. Peach was also affected by Chemical Z, gaining the ability to talk, as well as a considerable boost in intelligence. Peach's shout prompts the girls to transform either in person or through a long-distance communication device. Peach is also capable of sniffing out those who are affected by Chemical Z and responds kindly to those affected by the white lights but is quite unfriendly to those affected by the black light. In episode 4, however, Peach demonstrates another component to her sniffing capabilities: Peach is the one who reveals the truth to the girls about Mojo's alleged "super-assistant" by sniffing the primate and discovering that the latter smells like Ken. Peach's phrases always end with a bark (or "wan", literally his bark). Although Peach is technically a new character, he seems to have been inspired by Talking Dog, a running gag character who appeared in the original Powerpuff Girls. Talking Dog's ability to speak was completely unexplained, however, and he was not a robot.
- Mayor Mayor (メイヤー市長 Meiyā Shichō)
Despite being the counterpart to The Mayor of Townsville, his design greatly contrasts his counterpart as he has no monocle or top hat, and is of normal height. Whilst he is easily flustered, and retains a slighty childish streak (his attention span seems short, and he is quite easily amused and distracted), his personality is still far less extreme than that of his moronic, empty-headed US counterpart. Shichō translates as "Mayor", making his name "Mayor Mayor" as in the original. He seems to worry quite a lot when the girls are fighting, and wishes that they could cause a little less damage when fighting. His attention span seems to be rather short, and he has referred to Momoko as "the peppy girl" and to Miyako as "the charming girl".
- Miss Bellum (ミス・ベラム Misu Beramu)
The running gag is kept intact in which her face doesn't appear on screen; however, she wears a white dress instead of red, and is now blonde. While the mayor is different from his original counterpart, Miss Bellum in the anime does most of the mayor's work for him in a manner similar to the original Miss Bellum, and still appears to be the brains of the operation. She also instructs the girls a bit, which she has done several times in the original. Interestingly, character artwork on Toei's official website depicts Miss Bellum wearing a red dress once again, but even more bizarrely, with her head totally unobscured, revealing an entirely blank face [2].
- Miss Keane (キーン先生 Kīn-sensei)
She first appears in episode 3. It is possible that she is a new teacher at the girls' school and will be a teacher for one of their classes (similar to Kaho Mizuki in Cardcaptor Sakura). She is very pretty and loved by her male students, although the female students don't like her as much, especially Himeko.
Villains
- Mojyo Jyojyo (モジョ・ジョジョ Mojo Jojo)
(This series' version of Mojo Jojo) - The main villain of the series. The original Mojo Jojo's overly-talkative, redundant speech pattern has been discarded and this version simply ends every sentence with the word "Mojo". Instead of being Utonium's lab monkey he was a normal monkey 'abused' by humans in the Tokyo City Zoo until he was affected by a black light from Chemical Z making him highly intelligent, seeking revenge on all humans. Now he can fly and can unleash numerous punches, whereas in the original he was only very intelligent owing to his abnormally large brain gained by Chemical X while being a lab assistant for Professor Utonium. Mojo also possesses a destructive - though largely redundant - robot called Mojo Robo as well as other machines which vary from episode to episode. Personality wise, Mojo is somewhat different. He has far less of a tendency to ramble on about his plans (as his redunant speech pattern has been eliminated) and seems to have an obsession with food, mainly sweets (which he shares with Blossom.) He retains his huge ego and his tendency to make foolish mistakes, but this incarnation of Mojo seems a bit less intellegent and less dangerous than his American counterpart, as his personality is now less like the mad scientist he was originally, and more like a malevolent, food-crazed animal. In reality, he is about the same size as the original Mojo Jojo, his giant cape conceals his small figure. He and Blossom break the fourth wall in the first episode. Mojo remarks that Blossom is like the main character of the story. Mojo also tends to blast off into the sky when defeated like Team Rocket in Pokémon.
Villains Yet To Make an Appearance
These characters were either mentioned in magazine articles or appeared in the anime opening and most likely will appear in the series. It is possible that, like Mojo Jojo, the villians have been altered through the black chemical Z lights as numerous black lights appeared in the sky alongside the white lights.
- Gangreen Gang: Designs are overhauled.
- The Amoeba Boys: Seems to be 2 male and one has been converted to female. They disguise themselves as a person wearing a coat and hat.
- Rowdyruff Boys: Their design is reminiscent of a street gang
- Princess Morbucks: Her Japanese name is Himeko Shirogane. In the first episode, she is briefly seen in the classroom before Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup go to the roof and transform. She is seen again in episode 3. She appears to hate it when attention is taken away from her, especially when the boys begin to fall for Ms. Keane. In school, she has puffy pigtails, while her appearance in the opening makes her look more mentally unstable and her hair looks like an afro. Perhaps, Princess will have dual personalities in the anime.
- Sedusa: Her design is more elaborate; reminiscent of Elvira.
- Him: The new design has "him" in more of a harlequin-esque motif.
- Fuzzy Lumpkin: More or less the same design as the American version, will debut in episode 6
- The Kat: Appears briefly in the opening, and seems to be well-groomed as in original cartoon.
Additionally, the character designs are dramatically different from the original show. Whereas the girls originally appeared as having heads disproportionate to their bodies (and with "finger"-like arms and legs), in this series, the girls are more "human" and "realistic" looking. Also, as stated above, the girls still posses super strength and the ability to fly but now use weapons (instead of just their bodies), while it is unknown if their "comic book" like powers (heat vision, ice breath, etc) will be retained.
In the original series, the girls' battles have also occasionally ventured into the world of the surreal; the most prime example being fights against giant monsters, and space aliens, among other "surreal" concepts. It is unknown if this element will also be incorporated in this series.
Trivia
- Voice actor Nakao Ryusei was thought to be the narrator, but he was just narrating the promo.
- Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru gained super powers from an accident involving Ken. Originally in Powerpuff Girls, there was an experiment to create the "perfect little girl" with "sugar, spice, and everything nice". Chemical X was accidentally added to the mix, which is what gave the girls their superpowers. It could be argued that the Sweet cake that fell into the chemical X and caused the change to Chemical Z is the sugar and spice and everything nice that created the Powerpuff Girls.
- In the original series, Professor Utonium had a monkey lab partner named Jojo who caused the accident that resulted in Chemical X being added to the formula. The accident also transformed Jojo into Mojo Jojo. In this anime, Mojo Jojo was created when an ordinary zoo monkey was transformed the same way that the three girls were. Conversely, the accident that turned Chemical X into Chemical Z was caused by Peach; a robotic dog that assists in Utonium's lab.
- The main girls are now 13 years of age each, as opposed to kindergarteners in Powerpuff Girls. Himeko (Princess) and the Rowdyruff Boys are also likely 13 years of age as opposed to 5 years.
- The girls now have secret identities as Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru, who are not sisters and are not related in any way, though they attend the same school. "Blossom", "Bubbles", and "Buttercup" are only their PPG names. In the original, their actual names were Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup (with no secret identities).
- All three girls gain their powers while attempting to protect other children from the Chemical Z accident (coincidentally, the protected children were of the same age as the original PPGs, however, Kaoru's protected was a boy). It should also be noted that the children that were protected were playing with certain toys at that time. Those toys became the girls' weapons.
- Episode 4's plot is reminiscent of the episode "Monkey See, Doggy Do" from the original Powerpuff Girls series. It is the first episode in the new series to have some parallels in the storyline.
- The basic powers all three girls posses is Flight & Enhanced Strength, while in the original the girls posses several number of powers including a few of their own individually. But like the original the girls leave signature color streak lights behind them while their in flight.
Cast
- Emiri Katou - Momoko Akatsutsumi/Blossom
- Nami Miyahara - Miyako Goutokuji/Bubbles
- Machiko Kawana - Kaoru Matsubara/Buttercup
- Masashi Ebara - Mojo Jojo
- Taiten Kusunoki - Professor Utonium
- Tanaka Hideyuki - Mayor
- Makiko Ohmoto - Ken Kitazawa
- Yoko Kawanami - Ms. Bellum
- Chigusa Ikeda - Himeko Shirogane (English:Princess Morbucks)
- Tomoko Kaneda - Peach
- Ryusei Nakao - Promotion Narrator (Not in the series)
External links
- Powerpuff Girls Z Screenshots
- Powerpuff Girls Z Screenshots II
- To the Z!: Powerpuff Girls Z Fan source
- Toei Animation's official site
- Aniplex's official site
- Video from the Pilot episode: Video 1, Video 2