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Popee the Performer (ポピーザぱフォーマー) is a Japanese CGI anime series that was created and directed by Ryūji Masuda, and produced by the animation studio Zuiyo. The series follows misadventures of the titular Popee, a clown who has anger issues and constantly torments his assistant Kedamono. A total of 39 episodes aired on Kids Station between January 3, 2000, and January 3, 2001. A manga adaptation was serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Magazine Z. The anime is infamous for its depictions of violence despite airing on a children's channel.

Sypnosis
Most of the episodes take place in the town square, where Popee and Kedamono will be engaging in zany, often violent, homicidal behavior. The aggressor is usually Popee, who forces Kedamono to go along with his antics. Each episode is inconsequential to the next, meaning that no matter what transpires in an episode, the next episode will reset with all characters alive and uninjured. Much of the comedy in the anime revolves around slapstick.

Characters

 * Popee (ポピー)
 * A 17-year old apprentice clown who works at the Wolf Circus. He wears red and white striped clothes and pink headgear with rabbit ears. He is short-tempered and prone to jealousy, which often leads to him trying to torture or kill Kedamono and others. Wakako Masuda, the character designer of Popee the Performer, has suggested that Popee's gender, while confirmed as male, is more complex than just being male or female.


 * Kedamono (ケダモノ)
 * Kedamono, literally meaning "beast", is a purple wolf-like creature who wears orange trunks and always has a mask over his face. Each mask slips off to reveal a new mask with a different emotion drawn on it. He is Popee's assistant. He has a friendly and timid personality and is often the target of Popee's murderous ire. He has a gluttonous love for chicken which is often used to manipulate him.


 * Papi (パピィ)
 * Papi is a senior clown at the Wolf Circus, and Popee's father. He made his first appearance in episode 14. Papi's headgear resembles a sun. He is much calmer than Popee and, unlike Kedamono, is capable of outsmarting him. He often uses his mysterious inhuman powers to torment Popee.


 * Frog (カエル)
 * A frog that sometimes gets involved with the antics of Popee and the others.


 * Paola (パオラ)
 * Popee's pet. She has a pink car body and a light green elephant head with jewels on her forehead. She seems to dislike Popee.


 * Marifa (マリファ)
 * Popee's younger sister who only exists in the lore outside of the show. She pretends to be more innocent than she really is, but she is not as violent as Popee.

Production
Ryūji Masuda created Popee the Performer to fill the vacant 5-minute spot on Kids Station. Masuda had a low budget of 100,000 yen to work with and had to limit the number of characters that could be present onscreen to two at the beginning of the anime. The anime often recycles animation and does not feature any voice acting, measures taken to cut costs. A small number of Zuiyo employees worked on CGI production and editing for the series. Masuda's wife, Wakako Masuda, was placed in charge of all character design and art, and Osamu Tezuka composed the music. In 2017, Masuda was approached by Kids Station about a sequel to Popee the Performer, but he declined the offer due to his discontentment with the current state of the anime industry.

Anime
Popee the Performer, produced by the animation studio Zuiyo, was aired on children's satellite channel Kids Station between January 3, 2000, and January 3, 2001. There are 39 episodes in total, and each episode is five minutes long. Three DVD volumes, each containing 13 episodes of the anime, were released on April 20, 2002, by Nippon Columbia. The opening and ending theme of the anime is "Popee the Clown" sang by Tsuneo Aoyagi. This song was included in the anime's original soundtrack CD titled Original Soundtrack P.O.S.T.&K.O.T. which was released by Nippon Columbia on December 21, 2002. Two episodes of the anime, episode 11 and 27, stopped airing on Kids Station as they were deemed too violent. In episode 11, Popee is skewered by a sword and dragged around by a car, and in episode 27, the characters play with knives.

Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Wakako Masuda was serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Magazine Z and published as a single bound volume on December 18, 2002. On February 18, 2011, Fukkan.com republished the manga, containing brand new illustrations.

Reception
The anime was initially planned to be 13 episodes long, but it was so popular with Japanese audiences that the anime's length was extended to 39 episodes. Dillon Font of Anime Fringe compared Popee the Performer to old Looney Tunes shorts and commended Ryūji Masuda's ability to "communicate these simple stories not only effectively, but also memorably." In a ranking of the eight worst anime in history on Vix.com, Popee the Performer was ranked at number eight, and was criticized for having animation "so disastrous that it looks like something out of a creepypasta."