List of Popotan episodes

The DVD box cover of the Popotan anime depicts the three sisters: Ai (left), Mai (right) and Mii (center).

Popotan is a 2003 anime series based on the visual novel of the same name produced by the company, Petit Ferret.[1] The story follows three girls, sisters Ai, Mai and Mii, and their maid, Mea, as they travel through time without aging, along with the mansion they live in. One of the sisters occasionally gathers crucial intelligence from conversations with dandelions—referred to as popotan—as they search for the mysterious figure of Shizuku. Popotan is a play on the Japanese word for "dandelions", tanpopo.[a] It was developed by Shaft, directed and storyboarded by Shinichiro Kimura, and written by Jukki Hanada.[2] The characters were designed by Haruka Sakurai and originally created by Akio Watanabe,[3] under the alias of Poyoyon Rock.[2][4]

Twelve episodes were produced. They originally aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System's satellite station BS-i, from July 18, 2003 through October 3, 2003,[5][6] and were also made available at the same time on the Bandai Channel.[7] On August 27 and 28, 2003, an event with the first volume Japanese DVD of Popotan was shown Animate Ikebukuro in Japan. The event featured guest appearances by the anime's voice actress for the three sisters.[8][9][10]

On June 27, 2003, a teaser DVD with character designs by Haruka Sakurai was released. The DVD, The Secret of the 3 Sisters (3姉妹のひ・み・つ〜, 3 Shimai no Hi・Mi・Tsu)[11] contains video interviews with the anime's voice actors, a CD containing music to the radio drama's, Poporaji (ぽぽらじ), theme "Poporaji no Uta" (ぽぽらじの歌),[12] metallic paint illustrations and a plushie of Unagi.[12] The anime was released on Japanese DVD by Bandai Visual in six discs of two episodes each. The set was released in staggered fashion between September 26, 2003 and February 25, 2004.[13][14] Each disc also came with a promotional figurine of one of the girls.[15][16][17][18][19][20] At the same time, Bandai released DVDs without the figurines at a lower cost.[13][14][21][22] Geneon USA licensed the DVDs for North American release. Between December 7, 2004[1][23] and April 26, 2005,[24] three DVDs were produced, each containing four episodes.[2][25][26] A final box set was released on August 14, 2007,[27][28] shortly before Geneon USA's demise.[29] Sentai Filmworks, the licensing arm of ADV Films, announced that it had licensed the anime and would release the complete series in October 2009.[30]

The Popotan anime has had one album and one extended play (EP) released. The album is the original soundtrack by Osamu Tezuka containing the television edited opening theme "Popotan Hatake de Tsukamaete" (ぽぽたん畑でつかまえて) by Under17 and the closing theme "Suki" by Funta.[31][32] A joint EP, Popotan e.p. (ぽぽたん e.p.), was released by Under17 and Funta which contained the unedited versions of both songs as well as a joint song, "Gem Stone", which has also been listed as a theme song for the anime.[33][34] The opening theme was also released on Under17's greatest hits compilation, Under17 Best Album 2 Moe Songu o Kiwameru zo (Under17 Best Album 2 萌えソングをきわめるゾ!!).[35]

  1. ^ a b Beveridge, Chris (November 16, 2004). "Popotan Vol. #1 (of 3)". Mania: Beyond Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 28, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Popotan: Vanishing House (back cover). Shinichiro Kimura. Long Beach, California: Geneon. 2004 [2003].{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ ぽぽたん [Popotan] (in Japanese). Bandai Visual. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  4. ^ "Akio Watanabe - Art Works". beNippon. Archived from the original on November 17, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
  5. ^ "ぽぽたん" [Popotan]. TV Drama Database. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  6. ^ "過去の仕事(全年齢向け)" [Past Work (For All Ages)]. テレビアニメ. Taiki Nishimura. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  7. ^ ぽぽたん [Popotan] (in Japanese). Bandai Channel. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  8. ^ Doi, Hitoshi. "Momoi Haruko events" (in Japanese). Seiyuu Database. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  9. ^ Doi, Hitoshi. "Asano Masumi events" (in Japanese). Seiyuu Database. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  10. ^ Doi, Hitoshi. "Seiyuu event database" (in Japanese). Seiyuu Database. Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  11. ^ "DVD発売日一覧｣ 5月12日の更新情報" [DVD Release Date List "Updates on May 12] (in Japanese). Impress Watch. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  12. ^ a b "ぽぽたん 放送開始記念版 もうガマンできない〜3姉妹のひ・み・つ〜" [Popotan Broadcast Premier Edition: Secret of the 3 Sisters info] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  13. ^ a b ぽぽたん (1) 通常版 [Popotan Volume 1: Limited Edition] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  14. ^ a b ぽぽたん 6巻 通常版 [Popotan Volume 6: Limited Edition] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  15. ^ "ぽぽたん 1巻 あなたにア·ゲ·ルBOX 〜あい〜 初回生産限定" [Popotan Volume 1:Limited Edition Box ~Ai~] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  16. ^ "ぽぽたん 2巻 あなたにア·ゲ·ルBOX 〜まい〜 初回生産限定" [Popotan Volume 2:Limited Edition Box ~Mai~] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on August 2, 2003. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  17. ^ "ぽぽたん 3巻 あなたにア·ゲ·ルBOX 〜みい〜 初回生産限定" [Popotan Volume 3:Limited Edition Box ~Mii~] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  18. ^ "ぽぽたん 4巻 あなたにア·ゲ·ルBOX 〜メアー〜 初回生産限定" [Popotan Volume 4:Limited Edition Box ~Mea~] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  19. ^ "ぽぽたん 5巻 あなたにア·ゲ·ルBOX〜小奈美〜 初回生産限定" [Popotan Volume 5:Limited Edition Box ~Konami~] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  20. ^ "ぽぽたん 6巻 あなたにア·ゲ·ルBOX 〜雫〜 初回生産限定" [Popotan Volume 6:Limited Edition Box ~Shizuka~] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  21. ^ ぽぽたん (3) 通常版 [Popotan Volume 3: Limited Edition] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  22. ^ ぽぽたん (5) 通常版 [Popotan Volume 5: Limited Edition] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  23. ^ "Popotan - Vanishing House (Vol. 1) [DVD]". Target.com. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  24. ^ "Popotan, Vol. 3: Decisions of the Heart [DVD]". Target.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  25. ^ Popotan: Enigma (back cover). Shinichiro Kimura. Long Beach, California: Geneon. 2004 [2003].{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ Popotan: Decisions of the Heart (back cover). Shinichiro Kimura. Long Beach, California: Geneon. 2004 [2003].{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. ^ "Popotan: Bailey Box". Reviews. DVD Talk. August 14, 2007. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  28. ^ Thomas, Mark. "Popotan Complete Collection". Anime/Manga Reviews. Mania. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  29. ^ "Geneon USA to Cancel DVD Sales, Distribution by Friday". News. Anime News Network. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  30. ^ "Sentai Filmworks Adds Clannad After Story, Ghost Story, He Is My Master". News. Anime News Network. July 28, 2009. Archived from the original on July 30, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  31. ^ "TVアニメ ぽぽたん オリジナルサウンドトラック "POPO MUSIC"" [Popotan Original Music Soundtrack CD Popo Music] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  32. ^ ぽぽたん オリジナルサウンドトラック POPO MUSIC: (Media notes). (band) Tezuka, Osamu. Japan: Lantis. 2003. (mbid) a1d1355e-be30-4ada-87df-945984ded5b0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  33. ^ "ぽぽたん e.p./UNDER17、Funta、UNDER17+Funta" [Popotan e.p./UNDER17、Funta、UNDER17+Funta] (in Japanese). Getchu. Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  34. ^ Popotan e.p. (Media notes). Funta & Under17. Japan: Lantis. 2003.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  35. ^ Best of UNDER17 2 (Media notes). UNDER17. Japan: Lantis. 2004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)


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