is a Japanese four-panel surreal comedy webcomic and digital manga series written and illustrated by Bkub Okawa (alternatively romanized as "Bukubu Okawa"), which started serialization on Takeshobo's Manga Life Win website in August 2014. Takeshobo has released eight volumes in Japan. The manga is licensed in North America by Vertical.
The manga chronicles the misadventures of two 14-year-old girls named Popuko and Pipimi, who encounter a variety of both mundane and bizarre situations and respond to them in equally bizarre and exaggerated ways. The manga is noted for its frequent parodies of pop culture and its combination of surrealism, absurdity, and non-sequitur, all of which have contributed to it developing a cult following among both Japanese and Western audiences. An anime television series adaptation animated by Kamikaze Douga and produced by King Records aired on Tokyo MX and other channels from January 7, 2018, to December 18, 2022, for two seasons. The first season concluded on March 25, 2018, and two special episodes aired on April 1, 2019. The second season was co-produced by Space Neko Company and premiered on October 2, 2022.
Characters
One of two protagonists. A quick-tempered, short, blondish orange-haired school girl. EpisodeJapanese voice actorEnglish voice actorNotes1S1–1Masashi Ebara, Yūji Mitsuya (original)Mami Koyama, Ryūsei Nakao (Repeat)Christopher R. Sabat, Justin Briner 2S1–2Aoi Yūki, Toshio Furukawa (original)Sumire Morohoshi, Tesshō Genda (Repeat)Trina Nishimura, Sonny Strait 3S1–3Mikako Komatsu, Ryūsei Nakao (original)Eriko Nakamura, Sōma Saitō (Repeat)Sarah Wiedenheft, Barry YandellPop Team Epic Kinen4S1–4Yōko Hikasa, Tesshō Genda (original)Sora Tokui, Showtaro Morikubo (Repeat)Jad Saxton, Alejandro Saab5S1–5Tomoko Kaneda, Yūichi Nakamura (original)Yūko Sanpei, Hiro Shimono (Repeat)Cherami Leigh, Eric Vale6S1–6Yūko Sanpei, Hiro Shimono (original)Nana Mizuki, Masaya Onosaka (Repeat)Brittney Karbowski, Todd Haberkorn7S1–7Satomi Kōrogi, Showtaro Morikubo,Shunsuke Itakura (AC-bu), Tōru Adachi (AC-bu) (Pop Team Story)Alison Viktorin, Greg Ayres8S1–8Sumire Morohoshi, Masaya OnosakaStephanie Sheh, Johnny Yong Bosch9S1–9Eriko Nakamura, Sōma SaitōTomoko Kaneda, Yūichi Nakamura (Repeat)Alexis Tipton, Justin Cook10S1–10Sora Tokui, Rikiya KoyamaEmily Neves, Cris George11S1–11Nana Mizuki, Hozumi GōdaWendy Powell, Sean Schemmel12S1–12Mami Koyama, Shō HayamiMikaela Krantz, Micah Solusod13SP–1Yukari Tamura, Sōichirō Hoshi (Blue Dragon),Kana Hanazawa, Kappei Yamaguchi (White Tiger),Sakiko Tamagawa, Yūki Ono (Vermilion Bird),Yumiri Hanamori, Takahiro Sakurai (Black Tortoise)Bryn Apprill, Bryce PapenbrookSpecial14SP–2Mariko Kouda, Nobuo Tobita (Blue Dragon),Emiri Katō, Tomokazu Seki (White Tiger),Junko Takeuchi, Toshihiko Seki (Vermilion Bird),Etsuko Kozakura, Hikaru Midorikawa (Black Tortoise)Erica Mendez, Austin TindleSpecial15S2–1Aya Hirano, Kazuhiko InoueGwendolyn Lau, Bill Jenkins16S2–2Romi Park, Nobuyuki Hiyama17S2–3Ikue Ōtani, Junya EnokiAaron Dismuke18S2–4Megumi Han, Hiroya IshimaruCristina Valenzuela, Ryan Colt Levy19S2–5Junko Minagawa, Toshiyuki ToyonagaMacy Anne Johnson, Derick Snow20S2–6Mayumi Iizuka, Tasuku Hatanaka21S2–7Shunsuke Itakura (AC-bu), Koichi YamaderaChristopher R. Sabat, Jim ForondaTeam AC special22S2–8Asami Sanada, Kenyu HoriuchiJenny Yokobori, Christopher Wehkamp23S2–9Megumi Ogata, Fumihiko TachikiSuzie Yeung, Ray Chase24S2–10Kumiko Watanabe, Nobuhiko OkamotoKatelyn Barr, Ciarán Strange25S2-11Aki Toyosaki, Takaya Kuroda
Bob Epic Team segments: Japon Mignon segments: Fanny Bloc
The second protagonist and Popuko's friend. A slightly less quick-tempered, tall, blue-haired school girl. EpisodeJapanese voice actorEnglish voice actorNotes1S1–1Hōchū Ōtsuka, Noriko Hidaka (original)Kotono Mitsuishi, Norio Wakamoto (Repeat)Ian Sinclair, Colleen Clinkenbeard2S1–2Ayana Taketatsu, Shigeru Chiba (original)Azusa Tadokoro, Akira Kamiya (Repeat)Brina Palencia, Mike McFarland3S1–3Sumire Uesaka, Norio Wakamoto (original)Asami Imai, Kaito Ishikawa (Repeat)Jamie Marchi, Kent WilliamsPop Team Epic Kinen4S1–4Satomi Satō, Akira Kamiya (original)Suzuko Mimori, Kōsuke Toriumi (Repeat)Caitlin Glass, David Wald5S1–5Yū Kobayashi, Tomokazu Sugita (original)Kaori Nazuka, Yūki Kaji (Repeat)Monica Rial, J. Michael Tatum6S1–6Kaori Nazuka, Yūki Kaji (original)Mamiko Noto, Daisuke Namikawa (Repeat)Luci Christian, Jason Liebrecht7S1–7Akiko Yajima, Kōsuke Toriumi,Tōru Adachi (AC-bu), Shunsuke Itakura (AC-bu) (Pop Team Story)Stephanie Young, Chris Rager8S1–8Azusa Tadokoro, Daisuke NamikawaLeah Clark, Robert McCollum9S1–9Asami Imai, Kaito IshikawaYū Kobayashi, Tomokazu Sugita (Repeat)Kara Edwards, Jerry Jewell10S1–10Suzuko Mimori, Wataru TakagiJessica Calvello, Christopher Bevins11S1–11Mamiko Noto, Banjō GingaCynthia Cranz, Michael Sinterniklaas12S1–12Kotono Mitsuishi, Jouji NakataKate Oxley, Matthew Mercer 13SP–1Yui Horie, Akira Ishida (Blue Dragon),Haruka Tomatsu, Kenichi Ogata (White Tiger),Atsuko Tanaka, Kenshō Ono (Vermilion Bird),Nao Tōyama, Jun Fukuyama (Black Tortoise)Elizabeth Maxwell, Jessie James GrelleSpecial14SP–2Kikuko Inoue, Bin Shimada (Blue Dragon),Kaori Fukuhara, Yōsuke Akimoto (White Tiger),Rei Sakuma, Kōji Yusa (Vermilion Bird),Chisa Yokoyama, Takehito Koyasu (Black Tortoise)Amanda Lee, Patrick SeitzSpecial15S2–1Minori Chihara, Ryō HorikawaLydia Mackay, Greg Dulcie16S2–2Rie Kugimiya, Toshiyuki MorikawaAaron Roberts17S2–3Inuko Inuyama, Yuma UchidaMichele Knotz, Jarrod Greene18S2–4Mariya Ise, Yū MizushimaReagan Murdock19S2–5Yuki Kaida, Shintarō AsanumaMegan Shipman20S2–6Hekiru Shiina, Toshiki Masuda21S2–7Tōru Adachi (AC-bu), Koichi YamaderaIan Sinclair, Jim ForondaTeam AC special22S2–8Kyoko Hikami, Akio ŌtsukaDani Chambers, Alex Organ23S2–9Yūko Miyamura, MugihitoNatalie Van Sistine, D.C. Douglas24S2–10Kumiko Nishihara, Atsushi AbeDawn M. Bennett25 S2-11Minako Kotobuki, Hidenari Ugaki26 S2-12Shuuichi Ikeda
Bob Epic Team segments: Japon Mignon segments: Christine Bellier (TV series), Kaycie Chase (TV special)
Media Manga Pop Team Epic is written and illustrated by Bkub Okawa, previously known for his Touhou Project dōjinshi. The series was serialized in Takeshobo's Manga Life Win website between August 29, 2014 and November 7, 2015. The first volume was released in print on December 7, 2015. Okawa released the "second season" on the Manga Life Win website between February 18, 2016, and April 30, 2017. The second volume was released on June 7, 2017. A "third season" began on the Manga Life Win website on October 10, 2017. The manga is licensed in North America by Vertical, who began releasing the series in October 2018. A comic anthology based on the fictional Hoshiiro Girldrop manga featured in the series was released on January 9, 2018.
Anime An anime adaptation of the series was announced on April 2, 2017. It was initially teased as an adaptation of Hoshiiro Girldrop on April Fool's Day 2017. The anime features animation by Kamikaze Douga and production by King Records, and is directed by Jun Aoki and Aoi Umeki. The first season aired on BS11, Tokyo MX and other networks for 12 episodes from January 7 to March 25, 2018, following a delay from October 2017 due to an "error by King Records". A television special aired on April 1, 2019, which consists of episodes 13 and 14.
Taking after its source manga, the anime takes the form of an animated parody show, featuring numerous, typically disjointed skits of varying lengths; while some of these shorts are adapted from the original comic strips, the majority of them are original creations. The various shorts collectively showcase a variety of animation styles, most often CGI, professional-looking 2D animation, and idiosyncratic animation from . Each half-hour episode features two near-identical 15-minute segments, each containing different voice actors and other subtle differences.
The opening theme for episodes 2-10 is "Pop Team Epic" (remixed as "Pop Team Epic (Rebroadcasting Mix)" in Pop Team Epic Repeat from the second half of Episode 4 to the first half of Episode 9) by Sumire Uesaka, while the ending theme for the first 9 episodes and episodes 11 and 12 is "Poppy Pappy Day" (remixed in Episode 5 as "Poppy Pappy Day (Route 66 Mix)" and Episode 7 as "Poppy Pappy Day (8 Bit Mix)") is sung by Popuko (Yui Makino/Kenji Akabane (ep 1–6), Hiromi Igarashi/Toshiki Masuda (ep 8–9, 11)) and Pipimi (Yui Watanabe/Shunsuke Takeuchi (ep 1–6), Rei Matsuzaki/Wataru Hatano (ep 8–9, 11)), with Shouta Aoi (Portrayal: Shouta Aoi) performing the theme for the male part of episode 12. The ending theme for episode 10 is also by the Igarashi/Matsuzaki and Masuda/Hatano duos as Popuko and Pipimi, respectively. The opening theme for Episode 1, which opened with a Hoshiiro Girldrop segment, is the first season's opening theme, "Twinkling Star" by Drop Stars (Sosogu Hoshifuri (Yui Ogura), Shizuku Tsukino (Inori Minase), and Korona Yuhi (Uesaka)). Episode 12 used the classical music pieces Night on Bald Mountain and Dies Irae in its storyline. The opening theme for episode 13 is "last sparkle" by Uesaka, while episode 14 uses the opening theme for the second season of Hoshiiro Girldrop, "Pretty candle star" by Drop Stars (Hiroshifuri (Ogura), Tsukino (Minase), and Yuhi (Uesaka)) in the first half and parodied by AC-bu (Shunsuke Itakura (voicing as Popuko) and Tōru Adachi (voicing as Pipimi)) (voicing as Yuhi) in the second half. The insert song and ending theme for episode 13 are and , respectively; both are sung by Popuko (Yuka Ozaki/Kent Ito) and Pipimi (Aya Uchida/Ryuichi Kijima). The insert song for episode 14 is "Bansaku neender", sung by the Ozaki/Uchida and Ito/Kijima duos and the Mendez/Tindle and Lee/Seitz duos as Popuko and Pipimi in both Japanese and English, respectively with Aoi (Portrayal: Aoi) singing his version of the ending theme "Fūsen Hikō" for episode 14a, as well as his own ending theme, "AOI Traveler" for episode 14b.
The series was renewed for a second season on December 26, 2021, following the finale of Pop Team Epic Repeat. Jun Aoki returned as director and scriptwriter, while Space Neko Company is animating the season alongside Kamikaze Douga, and aired from October 2 to December 18, 2022. The opening theme for episodes 16-25 is "Psycho:logy" by Aoi (Portrayal: Aoi) and the ending theme for episodes 15-25 is (Remixed in Episode 2 as , Episode 5 as , Episode 8 as , Episode 10 as and Episode 11 as ") by Popuko (Manaka Iwami/Jun Osuka) and Pipimi (Ikumi Hasegawa/Hiroki Takahashi). The opening theme of episodes 15 and 26 is "Endless Love" by Aoi (Portrayal: Aoi), while the ending theme for the episode 26 is "Shota Aoi Gymnastics" by Aoi (Portrayal: Aoi).
Sentai Filmworks simulcast the series on Hidive. Crunchyroll simulcast the series worldwide outside of Asia. Funimation simulcast the English-dubbed version in English-speaking territories as it aired; Funimation also acquired the rights to release the anime on home video in North America. Funimation also arranged the series to air on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block starting on July 1, 2018. In Australia and New Zealand, the series simulcast on AnimeLab. Aniplus Asia simulcast the series in Southeast Asia. The series became available on Netflix in February 2020 in what was originally 11-minute episodes. It was replaced by the original half-hour format due to complaints from users. A remixed rerun titled Pop Team Epic Repeat, which mixes up the voice actors from the original run, began airing from October 9, 2021, and is being simulcast by Crunchyroll. It also features re-recorded versions of the Team AC segments and Japanese dubs of the Japon Mignon segments. There are also visual differences in the Repeat version.
Series overview
Season 1 (2018)
Specials (2019) Both episodes for the main segments are by Space Neko Company.
Season 2 (2022)
Marketing