DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ComedyPoputepipikku
MANGA ComedyPoputepipikku
ANIME AdventureMade in Abyss: Retsujitsu no Ougonkyou

REVIEWS

• 

  befalt

  38/100
  Epically repeats its past mistakes.

  This review is spoiler-free.

  **〈 It did not work once... 〉**

  ---

  As we all know, perceiving certain jokes as laughter-worthy is a purely subjective matter. Not everyone will enjoy the same type of humour, and no style of comedy stands head and shoulders above the others. With that being said, it is challenging to look Pop Team Epic in the eyes and wholeheartedly appreciate it for its absurdist comedy, even though I, for one, should be one of its most dedicated fans. I love and treasure random, dumb memes and gags that could kill you with their absurdity, yet, as is the case with Pop Team Epic, it does not offer any worth remembering. The show is not as funny or entertaining as it should have been.

  In the same vein as its predecessor, the second season does not comprehend how to compose its gags. While references can be fun and ecstatic, the ones on display here are either very hit-or-miss or fall on deaf ears altogether. Merely mentioning or displaying an element from a well-known IP is not enough to garner respect. It is vital to morph them into content that interacts with the source material in some fashion and offers tangible substance. Surely, one could argue that these segments devoted solely to parodying genres, narratives and tropes from various types of media do a solid job of transforming these ideas and concepts into worthwhile skits. However, in my eyes, they are nothing more than a gimmick and take up too much of the scarce screen time. To top it off, they disappear off the screen without closure or any chuckles along the way.

  This trend of concluding gags without punchlines poisons every single episode of PTE. It goes without saying that they are innately disorganised, nonsensical and haphazard. Their randomness and absurdity are what should make them charming. Despite that fact, their structure and how they progress leave much to be desired; they lack timing, delivery and flow. Their nature does not serve as any sort of excuse or way out of the harsh reality. Besides a singular instance, the jokes are shockingly wishy-washy. All of them follow a certain layout: they begin after the title card makes its appearance, advance by beating around the bush, introducing their ideas or repeating phrases, and abruptly end without dropping a conclusion. One could attribute this to the essence of absurdist comedy and the fact that, by definition, it does not follow specific norms related to crafting gags, which does have some merit. Nevertheless, even the most outlandish of skits need to end in a way that satisfies the addressee; something that ties up the entire gag and creates a funny, entertaining performance. The anime's jokes are super unimpressive, and PTE does not care one bit.

  None of the segments that work as separate entities within the show, such as the infamous Bob Epic Team, the newly introduced B-Side and many others, warrant a reaction other than being taken aback, apathy and a loud sigh. They range from quirky yet unremarkable to deeply shallow, and the staggering majority of these are unfun to experience.

  

  Once again, the sole highlights of the production are the visuals, the voice acting and the sheer creativity with which they ooze. While none of the content sparks my interest on account of its aforementioned issues, these three elements prove time and time again that they are beating with life, with blood running through their veins. Sure, the jokes may pack no punch and be mediocre in and out, yet they always manage to strike a chord with their vivid presentation. The art style and animation are forever changing and showing off their wit, and the voice actors have genuine fun when they deliver their lines. Their immense energy stands in stark contrast to the bleakness and absent-mindedness of the "narrative"; had the jokes been crafted with palpable care, in tandem with the other components, they would have created an experience that is at least a decent watch. That obviously never happened.

  At this point, I am sad whenever I think about _Pop Team Epic_. Experiencing its endeavours on a weekly basis felt like a chore that you merely do not want to complete, but are forced to do. If you like it, good for you. I wish I could say the same.

  ---

  **〈 ...it did not work the second time. 〉**

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• 

  illdie

  80/100
  A creative smorgasbord that doesn't stop surprising

  As has been the case since its first season in 2018, the comedic content of Pop Team Epic is hit or miss to most viewers. Its humor is very eccentric, often shitposty, and full of references such that, while some episodes had me laughing all the way through, others stood out as being largely composed of duds.

  However, while it is certainly a comedy show, my favorite element of Pop Team Epic has always been its focus on assembling a wide assortment of creatives to experiment and bring their unique vision and techniques to the table, and season 2 continues to ramp that up even further. PTE may be a compilation of shitposts, but it's really high effort shitposts the likes of which you'd never see anywhere else. The passion its creators put into it is palpable and had me constantly excited to see what surprises they served up with each new installment.

  Just like in the first season, our first episode begins with an opening sequence for an entirely different, fictionalized series, this time a live action tokusatsu show called "Endless Love" - though now it's not as much of a fake-out as it is upholding a tradition and one-upping the prior season. The second episode was mostly dedicated to an extended mecha sequence animated by Sunrise and directed by Masami Oobari with magnificent designs and transformations. A personal favorite of mine, episode seven, was an ENTIRE EPISODE expanding on the Hellshake Yano segment seen in season one with a full set, a faux-ad break, and opening/ending credits delivered via flipping sketchbook pages in the bathroom.

  Then there are the Boys' Love segments, the retro delinquent anime segment, one ending credits sequence animated by Kekeflipnote, the list goes on. One detail I really liked was the inclusion of a post credits section where the voice actors for that episode have what seems like a semi-improvised conversation, which also contain some running gags between episodes. It was thanks to these that I realized the often very intentional choices of Japanese voice actor pairings - for one episode, Popuko and Pipimi share the same voices as Killua and Gon from Hunter X Hunter 2011, another the voices of Solid Snake and Raiden from Metal Gear. If you think a certain episode's voices sound familiar to you, you might like to look them up and see if you know what they're from!

  I would also be remiss not to mention the final episode. I believe it's best experienced blind, but it delivers in a way I never thought the series would and ties together PTE S2 in a finale that's surprising as ever.

  Having said all of this, I'm not going to say Pop Team Epic is a 10/10 or will blow your mind. I like to say it's my favorite 4/5 star anime - it's a fun, shitposty time that offers something no other anime does. If you just go in wanting hilarity, you might be disappointed, but if you properly set your expectations and go in with a curiosity for what strange things it has to offer, it can be a fantastic time.

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