Paniponi Dash!

If I could be given a chance to describe Paniponi Dash! In one sentence, I would say it’s a very chaotic and experimental take on the slice-of-life school comedy genre of its time. It mercilessly bombards you with random referential humor. It doesn’t follow a distinct format in delivering its jokes. Whatever Shafts in the creator's minds on what they think is funny, they will insert it regardless if it makes sense to the overall theme of the show or not. In most cases, the show is not even identifiable as a school comedy but a jumble of genres instantly shifting themes from time to ... time.

This review might have some minor spoilers but Paniponi Dash! the story is not the main focus of the show so you won't be losing much on the experience.

First of all, we need to discuss the show's story. To summarize Paniponi Dash! It's all about Rebecca’s daily struggles in managing her main class while at the same time confronting bizarre forces lurking in the corner as the story goes on. The only twist the story has to offer to differentiate it from the rest of other slice-of-life school comedy is that Rebecca is an 11-year old genius that graduated top university in America. After Graduation, she flew to Japan to become a high school teacher. . In my opinion, she is better off doing things that might benefit the human race with her self-proclaimed superior intelligence, than doing a profession she literally has no passion for. That alone for me as an initial story doesn’t impress me or appeal to me even if it’s just a comedy show.

But wait! There’s more! Not being satisfied for being just a plain old-school comedy. The show also has the audacity to add some sci-fi and paranormal stuff in the mix. It is revealed in the first minute of the show intro that Rebecca's intellectual potential has caught the eyes of these weird-looking mushroom head aliens and decided to monitors her every action 24/7. Does this show bother to explore an interesting story as to why Rebecca is special or explore the origin story of why is a genius in the first place? The short answer is no. It was never mentioned again in the next 26 episodes and the aliens only serve as trouble makers to do more weird shenanigans to Rebecca Life thus feeding the show with random SciFi and paranormal humor. The show even bothers to show the alien daily lives in a comedic fashion that serves no real purpose aside from Gag Filler. And that’s what will you expect in Paniponi Dash Main Story. The spoiler ends here.

The main heart and blood of this series is comedy. I usually put the comedy in a separate section when I made reviews for school comedy. But for Paniponi Dash! case, I will be talking about both the comedic elements and the characters side by side to explain my points on what I found funny and not funny in this show.

Let’s start with the characters first. I have an issue when a show has far too many characters and not a single one stands out or makes an everlasting impression on me. In your standard school comedy you might get 3 to 5 characters sometimes more than 10 but Paniponi Dash! has like 20+ plus regular characters and some other extras along the way. And not a single one gets a fair amount of characterization, fails to retain their sparks in a few episodes, or worst a few minutes of screen time. Taking into account the show bother to highlight some of them but don’t have the dedication to make the audience feel invested in them.

For a school comedy, characters don’t really need to be complex or written with layers of personality but they need to have some additional identity aside from their core punchlines. If you are going to use them for more than 1 to 3 episodes at least add a little bit of character. The only character I see that changes a little bit is Rebecca's interaction with her students and that's about it. Characters in this show are defined by their surface-level traits, not personality but particular physical traits that define their one-liner joke. For example, there is a character defined as looking bland and boring, another one describes having a shiny forehead while there is a girl describe for her hairstyle, not joking. Kind of an offensive joke trait if you ask me. And sadly, they never improve upon the status the show gave them. And we spotted the first problem of the show, the characters feel irrelevant. The show never invents new gag to make the characters funny, they continue repeating the joke over and over again in every single episode. It gets boring really fast. Sure, the first 1 or 3 joke getting repeating is ok, but abusively repeating it from episode 1 is pretty overkill.

Another thing I want to highlight is referential humor. I really don’t think this show nailed what makes those references funny in the first place. Instead of making a creative satire of the source material, they just added it there without any meaningful context thus a cheap knock-off parodies. I can forgive if the reference is in small amounts since a lot of school comedy does the same tactic but in Paniponi Dash! it is a constant barrage minute by minute that even the most hardcore of hardcore otakus might find overwhelming. Referential Humor occupies the majority of its episode runs.

For Visual complaints, not so much except for CGI NPC's is just an uncanny valley for me. Sure it's intentional for comedic purposes and it was already done before by other shows. But for me, 2D NPC's has some charm on it on not alienating its setting and characters. And that’s sums up my negative gripe with the show comedy.

Now after bursting the weight in my chest, let's move on to the interesting and funny part of the show that made me believe it’s not a total dumpster fire.

When it comes to jokes and humor that are not related to any outside media source, the show is funny for me. Simple conversations about daily living and personal interests are very engaging to watch. Added with some very enjoyable soundtracks between the comedy and the relaxing moments, the show has a good ambiance in setting the mood. Too bad this good trait of the show is overshadowed by the creator’s ambitious nature in making the show as explosives and chaotic as possible.

When it comes to creativity and animation, I give this show a pass. I can appreciate the sure amount of passion and effort place in the visual presentation of this anime. Combining 2D animation with real-life still images with eye-pleasing color choices. Even on complicated sequences like SciFi machinery and fast-paced action, the animation is very fluent and consistent which some other referential comedies failed to replicate. Studio Shaft also improves upon the art style of the source material making an extra plus in my book.

Final Thoughts

It is obvious by this point Paniponi Dash! sole purpose is delivering a different approach to the ever-developing boom of the cute girls doing cute things sub-genre. It's quite an experimental series since this is the time when Shaft is still trying new things to spice up the visual experience. I admit because of this experimentation the anime visually made an identity for itself at the time. Thought because of this trial and error pace took a toll on the character writing and possible potential the show can produce.

To me, the show can be a potentially good slice of life series since it has the elements. A relatable setting, relaxing atmospheric soundtrack, and probable likable characters if they were flesh enough. But that’s just me wanting the show to be more than just a wacky flavor of the seasoned comedy.

I can’t really blame the show if it decided to focus on the comedy elements since the plot itself is a joke. But it also works against its since the gag is so random and trivial, it gets less impact as the show continues. If the series lasted long enough before the comedic magic grew stale, I would find this show memorable and recommendable but it's 26-episode series that repeats its joke. It gets less and less engaging over time for having a lack of direction to its characters. I’ve lost interest around episode 7 when nothing is actually changing. I found it bad because of that.

When it comes to referential comedy, it’s always a hit or miss to me. But when it does hit, it’s pretty enjoyable. I like when they pay tribute and homage to very classic anime like Gunbuster and other mecha shows but that is not enough to keep my attention.

The very thing that I acknowledge and happy that Ponopani Dash! anime existing is that it gave way for better adaptations of series Shaft created with similar style and cinematic approach. They improve upon the same concept with Hidamari Sketch which one of the best Slice of Life School Comedy the studio ever made and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei that perfected the comedic formula. Especially the usage of the same visual style in the Monogatari franchise. Thus establishing Shaft Animation style as a whole.

Final Scoring:

Characters Mediocre (4/10) Comment: Characters define by 1 line jokes and appearance. Need fleshing out to become memorable.

Story Mediocre (4/10) Comment: There isn't any plot, what you read in the synopsis is basically what you get in the entire show. Comedy is a hit or miss.

Music Good (7/10) Comment: Have a very good set of soundtracks ranging from calm to wacky. In my opinion, OP 2 is the best song "Roulette☆Roulette by by Momotsuki Gakuen Ichinen C Gumi". Very fun to listen to from time to time.

Art Good (7/10) Comment: Experimental and Consistent. It's a pass.

Enjoyment (6/10) Above Average Comment: There are times the show is very fun. There are times it's very boring. Since this is a referential humor-heavy show that is also very dated now from the time I write this review this 2021. Not all folks will enjoy it. I am already familiar with the culture and seen quite a lot of old media references. because I have no problem with most references and get some giggles for it.

Overall (4.9 or 5/10) Ok or Meh School Comedy Series Comment: I am saying it now. The only thing that interests me to watch Paniponi Dash! that serves as a stepping stone in improving Shaft's later works. The premise and appeal alone of this show are not enough for me to actually continue finishing it. To me, I only recommend this anime if they are looking for a wacky comedy made in the early '00s. Other than that they are even better off watching newer comedy shows if they want referential humor they can relate to. To me, this anime is a relic of the past that nobody is obligated to or a must-watch. But if you want to travel back in time to see what is Shaft is all about in 2005, go ahead and try it.

And Always Thanks for Reading

Pani Poni Dash can be best described as Azumanga Daoih as done by Shaft. A comedy about a bunch of cute teenage girls doing dumb stuff. This was one of the first anime made by Akiyuki Shinbo's start up studio, only their second after Moonphase, and his style is as prevalent as ever. Quick cuts, otaku references, bizarre imagery, dynamic camera angles, shifting art styles and the usual unsettling fascination with the pre-pubescent female form. I've always rather liked his style (well, apart from the pedophilia, but whatever) because it makes scenes far more interesting to watch than bland talking heads. If anything, Shinbo ... has probably toned down his weirdness in recent years. Pani Poni Dash is probably the most visually eccentric of any of his works (bar possibly Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei). There's never not something happening on screen. Most of it is sheer non-sequitur strangeness and I was struggling to find some sort of connecting thread between what Shinbo was trying to do with this. It did eventually click though.

You see, there is no plot or driving force to Pani Poni Dash. It is ostensibly about Rebecca Miyamoto, child genius, becoming a teacher and trying to gain the respect of her students. But rarely were the on-screen events of any real interest. What the real 'story' was about was the Shaftyness of the directing breaking the fourth wall, laughing at its existence as an anime. Frequently the camera would zoom out to reveal the characters were all on a set. Big fluffy microphones would occasionally drop down into view. Stage hands would walk across the camera. Visual metaphors would be drawn attention to by the characters. A giant hand descended from nowhere to turn the world around to indicate the passing of time, only for some aliens to notice this giant hand and desperately trying to convince his captain of what he had just seen. Those aliens were reoccurring characters and I liked them a lot. Their mission was supposed to be monitoring Rebecca, but what they acted as was viewers of this television production, commenting on their inability to follow the plot or choosing their favourite characters.

There are loads of other little tricks like this pulled to poke fun as its existence as an anime, and I'm not going to go through them all, but I would like to mention this final one. Sometimes when the girls were talking, they would pose in some sort of sexy position, their curves amplified, even though it had nothing to do with whatever nonsense they happened to be saying at the time. It was a perfect example of "what these characters are saying is of no importance, they're only here to give you eyecandy". With the boom of 'cute girls doing cute things' anime that occurred just after Pani Poni Dash, it was rather funny to see Shaft mocking the pointlessness of them before they even existed.

The problem with Pani Poni Dash is it really only has this one trick, and it doesn't develop. It's a problem I have with a lot of early Shaft anime, from SZS to Maria Holic. There's no development of the jokes. They're just one-trick ponies. It may be a brilliant trick, but it still gets old when you keep repeating it. The other problem I had with early Shaft stuff is the visual fuckery has nothing to do with the actual story. I get that the visuals being disconnected in Pani Poni Dash is kind of the point, but the story the visuals tell don't develop either. This is the main reason why I love new-age Shaft with Arakawa and Madoka Magica. Their crazy visuals actually serve to enhance the story itself and develop along with the story.

There's no development of anything in Pani Poni Dash. Going back to the Azumanga comparisons again, what made Azumanga click so well is because the characters and the jokes built up over time. Azumanga's big thing is reoccurring jokes, but these jokes develop as the series goes on, playing on your perceptions of how the joke is supposed to go. I consider Azumanga's final episode to be one of the best endings of all time, because you really feel like you've lived their high school lives with each of the characters and watched them develop. Pani Poni has none of that whatsoever. The characters are either shouty irritants or people whose actions have no bearing on sentient thought. They aren't the focus of the anime, the fourth wall destruction through the visuals is, but that doesn't develop over time either. It stagnates incredibly quickly.

Pani Poni is genuinely funny and entertaining, but it has absolutely no right being 26 episodes long. I don't think it has any right being even 13 episodes long. By extending the length of the series far beyond its jokes sell-by date, it cheapens and damages the things it actually did well. The more I watched, the more my enthusiasm for the series was sapped out of me. In fact, I dropped it after 14 episodes. Call me an unproffesional reviewer with no patience who can't review of anything if they don't consume every single part of it, but fuck you. I had gotten everything I wanted from Pani Poni Dash after 6 episodes. I saw no indication that it was going to improve. Watching anymore would have only damaged my opinion of it. I'm not going to continue doing something I don't like simply because it's not considered a 'proper review'. I'm not getting paid for this. So, for what it's worth, my review of the first 14 episodes. Funny stuff, but gets stale very quickly.

Please keep in mind, for the majority this review is going to biased due my tastes; you've read my Excel Saga review, you'll know I don't particularly like over-the-top humour/parody.

STORY: So. This really has no linear plot line. You'll be fine watching this, if you want something that's ridiculous, light-hearted and colourful. You know, a lot of hyperactive characters, monsters randomly falling from the sky, and a crap attempt at trying to insert some fan service in, /subtly/. Oh, and you know, random references from other anime, manga, and things outside of that. Instantly, we know that there has to be some sort of relation ... to the Negima series (same director), when we're introduced to a class full of whack-job students, taught by a child prodigy who is younger than the students. Notice anything else similar to another anime? So then, I'll move onto the art part.

ART: Moon Phase. Once again directed by the same director. Notice those scenes out of both series, and Negima, where the setting is a cross-section cut view of a building or room? You can even tell by the colours used. I know that the colours were what attracted me to this anime, which is weird. I really don't like the character designs in this, they all look kind of chubby. As expected from the same director as Moon Phase and Negima, animation is lovely and smooth, although more smooth in the opening sequences. Again, with PPD!, Moon Phase and Negima!?, their openings and ending tend to be artistic and experimental.

SOUND: The music was alright. Nothing much to expand on that though.

CHARACTER: Aaaah.. Nothing like an anime where almost all the characters tick you off. Only Rebecca and Rei didn't annoy me; Rei didn't annoy me because of her serious nature and that she's voiced by Shmion's seiyuu. The most annoying being Himeko, her personality, behaviour her seiyuu and how she uses 'Maho' and 'Omega'.

What was really off-putting, was throughout the series, because I was watching it subbed, there were a lot of notes about the different references from anime, manga and such. It was so hard to actually keep up with both the notes and subs, and I ended up not being able to read all of the notes or the subs in time. Then further into the series, the fan subbers stopped putting the notes in the actual episodes, but made a separate .pdf for them. You really need the patience for this anime, not just because of the notes/subs, but with it in general.

This is actually really odd piece of work. It revolves around a small girl that is a child prodigy that is being watched by aliens. The show feels a lot like School Rumble, Lucky Star, and Azumanga Daioh. It’s all over the place and hard to understand and yet it is fun and energetic. The story really doesn’t have much of a plot and even makes itself seem like a low budget TV show. The only thing that really keeps the show interesting is the characters. Many things don’t seem to actually blend in together.

Rebecca is a really odd girl, supposed to be smart ... but they never show that she is. She may seem smarter then most of the characters there but that isn’t much to be proud of. She’s a loudmouth, smart ass little girl that really cares more about herself then most of her students feelings. She is pretty much like a whiny little brat though she does she have a little bit of good traits and yet she might be the only lovable character in the show. I’m really not all that sure about the other characters because they seem to all blend into each other. I don’t even get how the cat is considered God too. It just seems really strange.

My favorite character is Rebecca’s rabbit actually. It’s a really strange mutant bunny that walks around is almost always depressed. To me, that’s the best character in this moe induced world.

The opening reminds me of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and some of the old spy shows in how the whole thing seems to be old colorations and somewhat grainy sometimes. The artwork in the actual show is down right crazy sometimes. It’s very bright and sometimes even too bright. It’s somewhat hard to watch because the style jumps from rather good to somewhat decent quality especially when the characters squash and stretch.

The music is alright, mostly the sappy slice of life stuff we normally get and has a feeling of Azumanga almost while still being its own. I’m not sure why every character seems to have a ‘hair-lo’ as some people call it, like its stage lighting. Another thing that feels strange is times when the whole show becomes a video game or stage in itself, and the characters talk about it, breaking the 4th wall to bring the watcher in more.

So, I dropped this at episode 7. Clearly I won't have a full perspective on this anime. But it's a continuous story of randomness so that doesn't really matter. It's not about a narrative.

I really wanted to like this anime. I'm a fan of studio Shaft, and a fan of wacky comedy anime (Nichijou is my favourite anime, and I'm also a fan of Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan and Osomatsu-san), but PaniPoni Dash just didn't do it for me.

The story is mostly done in episode 1. Rebecca "Becky" Miyamoto is a genius 10 year old from abroad who becomes a Japanese high school teacher. It's ... a pretty good premise, and the characters interact with her well. I can't really speak on development of the story. Some characters gradually change their attitude towards Becky as it goes on, but that's just their sympathy towards her childish side. There's also the side-story of these robot alien things watching the events at this school (with particular focus on the character Ichijou) but nothing's really come of that yet, so it's just a side gag. My bad for dropping it, I guess.

Obviously we don't watch these anime for a "story". So, it's best to talk about the character comedy. In a word, it's weird. It's very weird, bizarre. Hard to comprehend, and full of Japanese references that fly past me. Sometimes it does make me laugh, but most of the jokes are a miss. Crazy stuff just happens out of nowhere. Unlike Nichijou where extremes are found in mundane events, PaniPoni dash is about extreme things happening in what should be a mundane setting, often as a result of unexplained and bizarre characters, or just not explained at all.

The characters are probably why I haven't gotten into this anime. Basically, there are too many of them. They all have a set personality trope and have the same kind of interactions with each other, but from what I've seen we don't get to know them. They're just all their to do their own thing. Becky is the best one because she is multi-faceted. The rest are set in stone. Which I actually don't mind if it's done well, like in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. There are like 4 classes and each have their own set of students. Becky's class are by far most important, but the others are given a good amount of screen time too. The hijinks they all get into are quite predictable, but there's also the problem of being too many things happening to care about anything. There are cutaways from the events of students in one class to the events in another that do feel a little jarring to me. I'm unable to remember the names of them and all that happens is nothing but a bizarre thing that aims to make you laugh. And fails, usually. They lack depth, and this is not made up for by strong enough comedy. Ichijou is a character that I like but has too much power to just do anything. It makes her completely un-relatable, even though she's one of the strongest comedy elements. The characters are actually not as wacky as you might expect. Most of the eccentric personalities here are more annoying than funny. Another character I care for, though, is the bunny mascot. So seeing it suffer all the time is tough.

The art is mostly quite simple. It works for the anime, though I'm not a huge fan of the colour palette. Then the anime kicks it up to extremes and has really experimental stuff. I enjoy this element of the anime; it does set up some pretty good visual humour.

The soundtrack isn't really memorable. I remember there being a song I like but I can't fully remember it. The Opening songs are very good though. I especially like the 2nd one, it's always a real blast. The ending themes are solid too, perhaps the first one is a bit weak though. The voice acting (Japanese) is also very solid. Some seiyuu's I know and like are here, the usual Shaft anime suspects with Chiwa Saito, Ai Nonaka and Yui Horie all in major roles. There was also the blessing of a minor character voiced by Tomokazu Sugita. Someone familiar with Japanese voice actors will appreciate the voices in this anime.

Overall, though there are clear redeeming qualities to this anime and I encourage anyone to watch this anime if they think it looks good, my personal enjoyment could not hold up my experience watching. The jokes and situations fell flat a lot of the time, and I couldn't find much attachment to this large cast of characters. Give it a try, but I don't accept the notion that a fan of wacky comedy anime will certainly like this anime.

I love absurd comedy. I love Akiyuki Shinbo's shows.
But this doesn't work at all. I know that this show relies on the comedy of the absurd and that it is (mostly) episodic. I mean it has an overarching plot. So you can't judge seriously a comedy.
But is there any comedy? Sure you might find funny the characters' personalities and their interactions. It is good for 1, 2 even 3 episodes. But during all the show the jokes are the same. Take episode one and episode 26. Is there any difference?
No! I repeat each and every episode ... has the same jokes. When something repeats over and over it just gets lame and boring.
I had hopes for the show and on the mid point, there were 2 or 3 episodes that were better than others, but after that everything got even worse.
The best part of the show is the music. The OST is decent enough and it helped me finish the show. Endings were good too.
But the utmost value of the show are the openings. There are several and they all are amazing. I can't choose which one I prefer.
But was it worth to watch 26 episodes just for music?
I would recommend find OST in the internet and listen to it, but don't watch the show.