Pupa

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: Pupa (ピューパ)

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Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 12

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jan 10, 2014 to Mar 28, 2014

Premiered: Winter 2014

Broadcast: Fridays at 02:03 (JST)

Producers: Earth Star Entertainment

Licensors: None found, add some

Studios: Studio Deen

Source: Manga

Genres: Fantasy, Horror

Theme: Psychological

Duration: 4 min. per ep.

Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Statistics

Score: 3.29¹ (scored by 100,758 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #13791²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1185

Members: 181,431

Favorites: 224

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Synopsis

Abandoned by their abusive parents and with only each other to depend on, siblings Utsutsu and Yume Hasegawa find themselves led astray by beautiful red butterflies that have appeared in their world. Unbeknownst to them, these crimson winged heralds trumpet the beginning of a cannibalistic nightmare—a mysterious virus known as Pupa is about to hatch.

After succumbing to the full effects of Pupa, Yume undergoes a grotesque metamorphosis into a monstrous creature with an insatiable desire for flesh; Utsutsu, on the other hand, is only partially affected, gaining remarkable regenerative powers instead. Reaffirming the resolve to keep the promise he made to himself years ago, Utsutsu is willing to sacrifice everything in order to always be there for his precious little sister.

Pupa tells the story of a loving brother's desperate struggles to save his sister while protecting the world from her uncontrollable hunger.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Adaptation:

Pupa

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Hasegawa, Utsutsu

Main

Ise, Mariya
Japanese

Hasegawa, Yume

Main

Kido, Ibuki
Japanese

Yamamoto

Supporting

Imari, Ai

Supporting

Narumi, Kyoko
Japanese

Arita, Yuuhei

Supporting

Mikami, Shiori
Japanese

Hasegawa, Sachiko

Supporting

Noto, Mamiko
Japanese

Arita, Sisters

Supporting

Kurosawa, Yurika
Japanese

Onijima, Shirou

Supporting

Yusa, Kouji
Japanese

Mitsui

Supporting

Maeda, Kunihiro
Japanese

Hotoki

Supporting

Tsuda, Kenjirou
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Mochizuki, Tomomi

Director, Sound Director, Script

Kido, Ibuki

Theme Song Performance

Yamazaki, Erii

Theme Song Performance

MOKA☆

Theme Song Lyrics, Theme Song Composition, Theme Song Arrangement, Music

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Opening Theme

"pupa" by Ibuki Kido & Erii Yamazaki

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Ending Theme

"Dare yori Suki na no ni (誰より好きなのに)" by Kusuma San Shimai (Yurika Kurosawa, Minato Wakasa, Haruna Usui)

More reviews

Reviews

Apr 17, 2014

Marow

Not Recommended

When I first heard of Pupa it seemed rather interesting and worth looking forward to. Based on the horror manga with the same name, Pupa tells the story about two orphaned siblings who only have each other to rely on after severe domestic violence. However, one day they are both infected with the Pupa virus which turns the younger sister Yume into a grotesque man-eating monster while the older brother Utsutsu gains regenerative abilities.

This is, to put it bluntly, an exciting premise and Pupa appeared to have all the elements to make a memorable horror anime. While there had been mixed opinions from those who ... had read the manga, I figured that at the very least it would make for an experience unlike any other in recent years.

What I personally found to be noteworthy was how Pupa appeared to be the complete opposite of the recent brother and sister relationship trend in anime that often danced around incestuous undertones. Here we would instead have an older brother who had to sacrifice his own body to satisfy his little sister’s cannibalistic hunger. Rather than a cheerful outlook it was cynical one full of dread and hopelessness.

Ironically, much like a cruel joke, it was the actual anime adaptation itself that became full of hopelessness. You see, Pupa was originally announced in early 2013 yet all buzz around it quickly faded due to a lack of news. Months passed and finally a vague air date was revealed: the fall anime season. Eventually the fall anime season approached, however Pupa was nowhere to be seen. The staff apologized for the delay and announced the series would instead air in the winter anime season 2014. At this point in time there were also some bad rumors floating around, mentioning how Pupa would be a short five-minute anime and not actually full-length.

Today, we all know the result. Indeed, Pupa ended up only being a couple of minutes per episode. As you might understand, this is a format that makes the actual horror atmosphere a disservice. It is impossible to create a proper eerie atmosphere with such little time, especially if the story is to move forward in a reasonable manner. Speaking of the story, it is nothing but haphazardly told nonsense. It jumps from one event to the next with little to no explanation and ends in the middle of nowhere.

To make the story even more difficult to follow, Pupa suffers from heavy censoring for no obvious reason. It is also incredibly inconsistent – sometimes censoring a mere knife while letting loads of guns pass – and often covers the whole screen with censor beams, effectively destroying what little that was left of the actual horror.

Exactly to who is Pupa aimed towards? Fans of the manga will be disappointed with this mess of an adaptation while anime viewers will be utterly confused. I cannot come up with any good explanation myself other than that this is the worst anime I have ever seen.

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Jan 10, 2015

literaturenerd

Not Recommended

Overview:

Little can be said about Pupa that hasn't been said already. It combines some of the more...icky fetishes together into one cluster fuck, but then censors itself and fails to even entertain those few individuals it was aimed at. Imagine if the Human Centipede or Salo was censored down to a PG-13 rating. What the hell would be the point of watching?! The brilliant plot?! The splendidly written characters and dialogue? There is NOTHING left of value!

Marketing skills: -10/10

Let us do a little math. Let us say hypothetically that 1 in 1,000 people have a sibling incest fetish and 1 in 100,000 have a ...

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Mar 27, 2014

eririri

Not Recommended

Pupa is a symbolic story of an abused maiden, Yume, who upon entering puberty develops an abominable and perilous love for her older brother Utsutsu. Seemingly a series which only caters to those who are gratified by gore and incestuous lust, Pupa actually explores, more than most other “imouto shows”, the complexities of the tabooed love between siblings.

Perhaps most importantly, understanding of the series’ themes necessitates recognizing the circumstances surrounding the siblings’ childhood, and the Freudian psychoanalyses which the author may well have been inspired by. Sigmund Freud pioneered the field of psychology during his time, and a significant portion of his revolutionary findings ... can be summarized into the notion that powerful childhood experiences, even if the subject does not remember said experiences, can subconsciously and drastically affect the development of libido and bring about what is known in psychology as “sexual aberrations”.

Yume and Utsutsu grew up with an abusive and sadistic father, their only solace lying in each other. Utsutsu seeks comfort from his sole purpose of defending his beloved sister, whereas Yume is soothed only by her brother’s protecting arms. Yume is, metaphorically, a pupa containing the unnatural feelings imprinted into her subconscious during her childhood. Fast forward to puberty, and these feelings undergo a metamorphosis into a “monster”, in this case her monstrous lust for her brother. Both Yume herself and her surroundings realize the abominable nature of her love, yet Utsutsu remains in complete denial as Yume’s love has always been a natural and pivotal part of his life.

There are several factors which gives rise to this interpretation. Yume morphs into a monster in a set time-cycle, and requires feeding in this cycle. This is comparable to the menstruation cycle which initiates during puberty, and the cyclical inclination to sexual activities which arises from it. While this depiction is blatantly simplified and even sexist, it is not completely unjustified as a symbolic representation of an especially anomalous case. The infamous feeding sessions are, as many suspected, metaphors for sexual intercourse. Both parts are reluctant to this act; Yume is afraid of hurting his brother for her own selfish desires, while Utsutsu is unable to derive sexual enjoyment from intercourse with his sibling, hence his suffering during feeding. Yet, he is unable to leave his sister in misery, and Yume imminently succumbs to her lust. Interestingly, neither characters perceive the act as perverted or sexualized, further proving the psychological derangement of them.

As Yume and Utsutsu fall deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, their conflicting feelings are depicted as outside forces which seek to interfere with their relations. Both are chained and tormented by unknown institutions, which they are eventually forced to confront and demolish. Perhaps they shatter the barrier erected by the morality of society, as symbolized by the slaughtering of the soldiers? Or do they overcome the innate biological repulsion toward incestuous acts, symbolized by the malign scientists? Yume’s and Utsutsu’s struggles with themselves as well as each other are undoubtedly convoluted, and Pupa provides an interesting and unconventional depiction of this strife.

Any analysis above is only that of the writing and themes, and it is important to keep in mind that the anime is an adaptation by studio DEEN of the manga original. As is widely established, the animated Pupa’s production values are certainly not top-notch. While the animations are completely inexcusable, I personally do not find the art or sound too terrible considering that most shorts are not visual spectacles. Though this is rather inconsequential in its evaluation. More importantly, the short length of the adaptation has simplified the story to the point that it scarcely contains anything beyond vital plot elements. Add to this the frequent interruption of the narrative and the pacing problems it imposes, it becomes rather difficult to form an emotional attachment to the characters or the story.

In conclusion, I do not think Pupa deserves all the ridicule and hatred that is being dished out. It provides a fascinating and unique symbolic illustration of the overused incest trope, complete with a hint of psychoanalysis that it deserves. Yet, when subjected to the magical touch of studio DEEN, it becomes a terrible series from every perspective other than the psychological.

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Poll: Pupa Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jan 16, 2014	141 replies	by janiterska »» Yesterday, 2:03 PM
Poll: Pupa Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Mar 27, 2014	290 replies	by Wiziliz »» Jan 15, 4:01 AM
Poll: Pupa Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Mar 20, 2014	106 replies	by Wiziliz »» Jan 15, 3:40 AM
Poll: Pupa Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) tsubasalover - Mar 13, 2014	89 replies	by Wiziliz »» Jan 15, 3:18 AM
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