Parappa the Rapper

Parappa the Rapper is a kids show at heart. A show made for small children on top of that. It runs like a cartoon, with a different plot each episode and no continuity. The whole series focuses on Parappa and his friends on everyday adventures. No plot, no action, no music. Just strange, everyday happenings.

The first problem with this series is the lack of trademark rap music. When I first saw the opening for this series (Very catchy, by the way), I though music would be this Anime's strong point. But no, once it started, cheesy background music were played, mixed with badly drawn crayon ... backgrounds and childish scenarios. Makes you wonder what their budget was.

The series is just full of morals like helping people and how to be a good friend. Even though the humor in this show tend to be amusing, the jokes are softened with either morals or "explaining the joke". One example is the episode where one character is so afraid to lie to his friends (In this case, making up stories), that just after 5 minutes, he confesses it was all a lie, without the others even having the slightest idea about what he is talking about.

The animation here is rather cheap too. Badly drawn crayon backgrounds with backgrounds characters standing completely still, as well as very limited animation from the main characters. The character design is great though, as Rodney designed every one of them. Just keep in mind, the character's are not flat as in the games.

Now that I've mentioned everything bad about this show, let me give you some positive facts:
- Features cameos from old Parappa games, like the octopuss hair-cutter, fireman dog and even tamanegi-sensei, using the same voice actor as in the game. Still no Lammy though.
- The openings and endings (On both seasons) were pretty good
- The characters are mostly in character. Just four years younger.
- All of the text on signs, buildings and posters were in English. Parappa town is meant to be located in an English speaking town, so this was a really nice touch.

I do not hate this Anime. It's fairly entertaining. But 5 is the highest score it can possibly get, due to the childish nature of this show, limited animation and incredibly stupid and clichêd plotlines. I'm happy they made a Anime out of Parappa (this was actually my debut to Anime!), but to keep the original creators out of this project was a stupid move. They've all been punished with bad TV-ratings and reviews, which will make them think twice before attempting to do something like this again. This is something only hardcore fans would somewhat enjoy.

At last, a little episode summary to show how cliche it is:
Ep1- Item is stolen, Parappa gets the blame.
Ep2 - Parappa helps an old lady to fulfil her dream.
Ep3 - PJ goes on a Date.
Ep4 - Teacher too shy to teach his students.
Ep5 - Drunk demon telling about his boring past
Ep6 - Series' antagonists robs the bank and Parappa's for some reason in the same area.
Ep7 - Chief Puddle in love, Parappa and his friends tries to help him.

Do I need to say more?