Mojo ‘Abraham Lincoln’ Jojo would have been far more successful in his destiny to rule the world if he has access to this website. Then again, almost all villains in this anime need to read that website.
After seeing Wolf and Spice taking over the provisional title of Anime of the Year 2008 in the last post, now let’s see whether Demashita Powerpuff Girls Z, an anime adaptation of a Cartoon Network series, can do the same to our current Anime of the Year 2006, Chocotto Sister.
The scene where the epic rivalry starts.
Story:-
Three unsuspecting middle-schoolers were turned into superheroes after they were bathed in a white light that comes out from an iceberg that was destroyed by Professor Utonium’s son with Chemical Z. After that, the three of them has to protect a futuristic Tokyo City from the threats of monsters that was spawned from the black light that comes out from the same explosion.
Do you watch the Cartoon Network version as I do? If yes, do not hope that there are many similarities between USA and Japan versions because you can safely say that this anime is basically a remake of the Cartoon Network version. For example, our heroines here are not even made with Chemical Z, but a variation of the same chemical made a long time ago by Professor Utonium’s ancestors. Chemical Z was instead used by Mojo Jojo (whose origin is completely different than the Cartoon Network version) to make the Rowdyruff Boys, thus making them immune when Him (Kare) summoned all his black particles back to him. There are extra characters not found in Cartoon Network version, and some settings are changed like where our heroines go to middle-school while the America’s versions’ went to kindergarten.
This anime STARTS VERY SLOWLY, with nearly the first third of the 52-episode anime completely dedicated to characters introductions and developments. The story primarily consists of appearances by Mojo Jojo and co. having their collective asses kicked by our protagonists, splashed by some monster-of-the-week episodes. Kare (and the plot) only appears in the middle of the series and was woely undeveloped for at least 10 episodes after that. It is only in the last third of the series did this anime comes to life with a somewhat decent story, but the ending is awful in both substance and presentation. This is the first weakness of this anime, which is uneven pacing of the flow of the storyline.
As mentioned above, the anime started slowly, then started to roll faster after Rowdyruff Boys and Kare were introduced but sped up too much during the also aforementioned awful ending, which is the second weakness of this anime. My main complaint about the ending is about the time-travel plot device used in the penultimate episode because that alone punches some holes in the overall plot of this series (like how all the white lights is supposedly needed to seal Kare when you can see as plain as daylight that the Powerpuff Girls predecessors in the distant-past Edo did not need to do so) and also how the ending’s pacing is too fast relative to the pacing of the whole series (spread across only 3 episodes, surely the director can kill some of the monster-of-the-week episodes and give it towards the presentation of the ending).
Hyper Blossom and Mojo Jojo, the best characters in this series. Both hated each other guts, acts first without thinking, extremely destructive in their actions, love sweet foods/snacks and are failures in romance. Sometime I wonder whether these two are twins separated at birth.
What saves this anime from the oblivion Hayate no Gotoku finds itself in is that the character development in this anime is excellent in most places. Two characters comes to mind; Mojo Jojo and Hyper Blossom respectively. These two awfully similar characters are completely superior compared to their Cartoon Network counterparts. Being a remake, Hyper Blossom in this anime seems to be a cross between Cartoon Networks Blossom and Buttercup, while Mojo Jojo of this anime is less serious than the American version and more like Sokka in Avatar The Last Airbender. Other characters are very well done too to a degree, but some characters are woefully underused and undeveloped, like Taka-chan and the Rowdyruff Boys.
(said by Hyper Blossom) Quoted For Truth.
Character Design:-
Considering the target demographic, the design is very well done especially our superheroes. Monster designs can be mixed bag though and the mecha at the end of the anime is awful to say the least. Even the numerous short-lived Mojo Robo mechas looks better. The lack of black hair, except for Professor Utonium and son is acceptable considering the futuristic setting this anime is set up in.
Yet another parody of The Scream in Japanese anime. To be fair there is also Mona Lisa being featured in this anime.
Voice Acting:-
In general, voice acting in this anime is good, with Mojo Jojo, Hyper Blossom, Shirogane ‘Princess’ Himeko and Kare being the best. Definitely a plus point of this anime.
A creepy near-bestiality moments in this anime.
Music:-
The OST is great, but from all 6 OP/ED themes, only the 1st OP and 2nd ED themes are of any good.
This is a good parody of Darth Vader by Mojo Jojo in one of the best episodes in this series. Scenes like this are the reason why Mojo Jojo is one of the best characters in this anime.
Animation/Direction:-
The animation in this anime is decent for most parts, but it can be awful at times in low-area low-motion scenes. Fast-paced scenes do not seem to be affected. Unfortunately, choreography is just average with so many repetitive techniques been used by the heroines. The directing is not really that good either, for reasons mentioned in the story section.
(a monologue by Mojo Jojo) Quoted For Truth.
Conclusion:-
7 out of 10. Chocotto Sister still reigns supreme as the Best Anime of the Year 2006.
This anime could have done better with more appearances from this trio.
