Somebody seriously needs to put GTO up on a legal streaming service somewhere. Alexei’s highly enthused recs for the show are so persuasive that I was thinking about it the whole time I was watching this. That’s not to say that PANIPONI DASH doesn’t work on its own merits - - it’s just that I find no shortage of amusement in anything that flips the familiar “daring, unorthodox teacher cleans up a class” plot on its head.
To be totally honest, I had to consult some outside sources to clarify the set-up of this show. I got it that Ms. Miyamoto’s supposed to be a young prodigy fresh out of MIT, but I figured the notion was that she was 22 while her students were all 18, at most.
That, in itself, is pretty funny. Not only does it reinforce how absurd the often arbitrary conditions of authority are, it also happens rather frequently in real life, too. Think about how ridiculous the notion of a senior teaching a freshmen is; then think about how only a single year somehow makes a significant enough difference to make that acceptable. After that, it’s hard not to look at each successive year’s pupil/teacher age differential as being just as arbitrary.
While that may seem like a bit of tangent - - considering how the joke is that Ms. Miyamoto is actually an 11-year-old, college-educated prodigy - - I’d say the satire still applies. Maybe she’s got serious academic brilliance, but she’s got plenty of professional and emotional intelligence to acquire - - and that sounds like a recipe for an endlessly funny show to me.
I suppose this has been an overly-serious meditation on a light and goofy comedy, but whatever. The winds blows where it chooses to blow with these write-ups. I thought this a funny show, and I thought that right from seeing the totally-unexpected PLANET OF THE APES parody in the first scene. What more is there to say, qualitatively, about PANIPONI DASH?
Watch this episode, "Summerwear in the Coldest Season, Winterwear in the Hottest Season” here and decide for yourself.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
I always meant to take a look at this, sadly I never got around to it
This was one of early Shaft works of their craft of symbolism, randomness, and oddies.
I personally find this to be an absolutely hilarious show, but a lot of it hinges on your ability to catch references, similar to stuff like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (which SHAFT also animated and is very satirical) and Excel Saga. Also PPD's opening songs are catchy as all hell. OOOOOH MAHO!
So many Special Reviews. I'll make a different section on the Tom Pinchuk's Watch and Learn 2012 Archive List.
Edit: For the topic, I'll try this one, but it doesn't fit my preferences.
I really enjoyed the goofy fun of this series. There are sooo many references to other anime all throughout the show. This series is literally all about parody of other series.
I thought the English dub was nicely done, but I still prefer the Japanese. Ichijo's lines kind of lose their appeal at times in English.
Ugh, to be honest I really hate this show and shows like it. WEIRD DOES NOT EQUAL FUNNY, ANIME, STOP TRYING TO CONVINCE US OF THAT WITH AWKWARD DRECK LIKE THIS AND PANTY AND STOCKING!!!
@thekokapelli said:
@sickVisionz: Yeah, and I hate Lucky Star too. I intensely dislike that kind of show just on principle. Even if I thought a bunch of in-joke oktaku references were funny, which I don't, I still wouldn't be able to NOT be creeped out by the "Look, it's cute girls doing cute things!" premise. As for Arakawa I haven't seen it, so I can't really say, and I agree it applies to Lucky Star but I think it applies here as well.