DEMASHITAA! POWERPUFF GIRLS Z

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ActionDemashita! Powerpuff Girls Z

REVIEWS

• 

  MegaTheRealOne

  60/100
  Someone Got Japan All Over My Childhood Show

  (Originally Reviewed on Serializd)

  From the mid-90's all the way to the mid-2000's, Cartoon Network had a string of shows that managed to not only define what the network was, but would gain massive popularity around the world for their beloved stories, characters, animations and what have you, but none of their shows quite became a worldwide sensation much like that of The Powerpuff Girls. It was a very simple show, just being about three kindergarteners who were also superheroes who fought crime on a daily basis, but it was a show that managed to take this simple premise and go all the way with it, thanks to the simple yet incredibly entertaining stories, the undeniably lovable characters, the fantastic voice acting, the signature animation style that only a show like that could pull off, and a blend of action and comedy that was perfect to make every episode feel much more fun and exciting then the last.......... until the later seasons, but we don't talk about those, alright? However, on March 25, 2005, the final episode of the show would air, signifying the end of The Powerpuff Girls and all of their adventures........ or at least, that's what many on the western side of the world would be led to believe. For you see, all the way over in this little mystical land called "Jay-pan", a brand new version of The Powerpuff Girls was being developed: one that would capture the spirit and style of the original show, but also put their own creative spin on things that would make it stand out on its own. And so, just a little over one year later after the original series would air, this new show would be broadcast in many places that are not America, and it would be known as Powerpuff Girls Z.......... which is the most creative title for an anime I have ever seen. 10/10, never been done before, truly.

  For the longest time, since I wasn't really into anime that much growing up, I had no idea about this version of the show existing for quite a while. I did grow up with and absolutely adored the original show, while also begrudgingly acknowledging that the shitty reboot exists as well, but this show in particular was always unknown to me. It was only when one day, while I was browsing through Wiki pages out of boredom, I stumbled onto this franchise and saw that this show existed, thought it looked extremely weird, and decided to watch it all sometime afterwards..... which didn't make the show any less weird for me, trust me. It had been a long time though since I had watched the show, and I didn't remember liking it thaaaaaaaat much, so I figured I would go ahead and revisit it to see how good or bad it actually was, and if it deserved the bits and pieces of criticism it would receive later down the road. So, now that I have watched all 52 full episodes of the show again, I can definitely say that......... eh...... it's good, I guess? I can definitely see why many people would have a problem with it, especially if they grew up watching the original show, but on its own, its a fine enough series that has plenty of fun and enjoyable episodes throughout, and even some great ones on top of that, but there is no denying some of the faults this show has, both in terms of the episodes and general elements.

  The stories are pretty much the same, being about these three highschoolers who were also superheroes who fought crime on a daily basis, but everything around this premise has been altered drastically compared to the original show, while slightly changing the tone and attitude the show has as well, but it all still closely resembles the original series enough to where you can let it slide, the characters are a bit of a mixed bag, where the main girls are...... definitely not as likable as their original versions, but they are still fine, and they have their fun moments that make them more likable, even if they can be pretty annoying at times, and as for the rest of the crew, from the allies of the girls to the villains the face, they are all also mostly fine, each one having their own moments to shine and some fun gags to go along with them, even if there are some characters that I just cannot stand in this version like The Rowdyruff Boys, the voice acting is pretty good, with all of the performances managing to capture the overall feel of the originals pretty well, and they do have a lot of energy that they put into these performances, which makes them fun to listen to, even if these guys also have a bad case of The Yells, the animation is...... not exactly the best, where the overall art style is simple and cute enough, and some of the sequences like the transformations and some of the action scenes are very well done, but a lot of it is done on the cheap, and you can definitely see that cheapness glaring through in a number of instances, but thankfully, it doesn't ruin the show as a whole, so it is fine, and the comedy is about what you would expect, having plenty of jokes that are just fine, nothing really anything too great, and there were like, maybe, one or two jokes that did get a laugh out of me, but a lot more of them did get me to groan on the inside, as they were pretty painful to hear.

  If you are like me, and you grew up solely on the original series before jumping into this one, then you will find yourselves with a show that, while still having the same overall set-up and style as the original, is MUCH different everywhere else. Unlike the original show, which is a superhero show that focused on quick humor and intense and fast action, this series is a magical girl anime, which slows things down a bit and, rather then having intense and fast action scenes, they are much more goofy and fun, especially considering now that the girls don't attack with their fists, but instead with weapons like yo-yos and bubble wands. Not to mention, the characters are also changed around all together too: the girls aren't related to the Professor anymore, he has a son, some of the villain teams now have girls where they didn't have before, some characters like Sedusa have been changed around completely, some new characters are introduced that get the spotlight in some episodes that don't really matter, and PLENTY of other things that I could go on and on about. So yeah, rather then sticking too closely to the style of the original show, this is a completely new style that this show takes on, reinventing these characters for the sake of this new style of animation, while also telling a completely different tale that they want to tell as well.

  Now, again, on one hand, I can definitely understand why many didn't like this: it is very different from the original series, focusing way less on the fantastic action and more so on comedic bits mixed with magical-girl-esque action, which I know isn't everyone's cup of tea, but personally? Eh.... it's not that bad. Yes, I do still think the original show and style is much better, and some of the characters and aspects of this show do bother me to no end, but it does feel enough like the original show to where you can get past that and have a good time watching this version of the girls in action. Not to mention, it was just really interesting seeing all of the different ways they integrated elements from the original show into this one, whether they kept the elements exactly the same, changed them up slightly to take a different spin on it, or even altering it completely to make for something new and interesting. And hey, this technically counts as my first exposure to magical girl anime, so for my first introduction to it, it certainly could've been a hell of a lot worse.

  However, that doesn't mean the show is perfect by any means, as there are plenty of issues holding it back. For one thing, the show is CONSTANTLY flip-flopping in quality it feels like, to where most of the episodes are generally decent, nothing too incredible or fun, but they can very easily go from that to either actually pretty great, or just straight up garbage, and this happened constantly throughout the entire show. You just never knew what you were going to get in terms of quality, whether it be from the episodes themselves, what they would do in said episode, the plot, the characters, the animation, what have you: it was never consistent, which did make it pretty hard to watch at times. Not to mention, while I will still say I don't hate this version of the show, I can't say that I enjoy the action scenes that much in full confidence, because they are nowhere near the same level as the original show, and sometimes can feel pretty slow at times, especially when they do decide to stop the fights for some comedic bits that rarely get any laughs.

  But as a whole, I think the biggest problem that this show suffers from at the end of the day is that....... it really isn't that remarkable. Sure, it is The Powerpuff Girls in anime form, and all of the staples of the series from the characters to events do happen here, but if you are someone who had no clue what The Powerpuff Girls was, or you may have never even heard of the series before, then what you will be getting out of this is a very typical magical girl anime. I wouldn't say it is completely lifeless and boring, as there are some fun and genuinely great parts to be found in the whole thing, but not only do you have to sort through some of the muck to get to all that, but the rest of it really isn't anything special, as it follows a very typical formula that only sometimes diverges into an on-going narrative, while also integrating plots that we have seen time and time again in many other shows. It is not all bad by any means, but I can't say it is anything that you will be absolutely amazed by either, especially if you have seen many other similar shows like it in the past.

  Overall, despite its inconsistent quality and lack of originality when it comes to the genres it is a part of, Powerpuff Girls Z is still a pretty decent adaptation of the original show that did manage to get quite a lot of it, and it is a good show as a whole too, what with the simple, yet entertaining enough premise, enjoyable voice acting and characters, and some decent enough storylines that you can definitely get along with and enjoy, while also looking forward to the moments where shit gets really good as the show goes on. I would recommend it for those that loved the original series, as well as those who love superhero/magical girl shows like this, because while I can't say you will like it more then the original by even a little bit, it should still be fun and entertaining enough to where you wouldn't mind putting it on and watching for a bit, just to relax to and possibly enjoy for a lot of it as well. And besides, even if a lot of people don't like this alteration of the original show and anything that is involved with it, at least we can all be thankful that it doesn't try to include any of THOSE moments in the course of its 52 episode run. It's a safe bet to assume they wouldn't since it is a CN show, yeah, but you don't know what those creators over in Japan are thinking over there when making these! It could all flip on a dime, and that scares me still.

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