Paniponi Dash! Volume 1: Lethal Lesson - TheOtaku.Com
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- Gail
- 11/26/06
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"If you are looking for a new classroom based comedy series definitely give Paniponi Dash a try."
"...crazy characters and zany situations."
No, she's not lost on her way to elementary school. And yes, you're right, Rebecca Miyamoto isn't a student at the high school, she's the teacher! In theOtaku.com Screening room today we have a review of the first disk in the Paniponi Dash series. Class, it's time to meet your new homeroom teacher in Paniponi Dash: Lethal Lesson!
10th grade class + 11-year-old teacher. (You do the math.)
Good news? She's an MIT grad. Bad news? She's a 11-year-old MIT grad. So while Becky Miyamoto may be intellectually able, this MIT prodigy is painfully ill-equipped to deal with a group of tempermental teens, especially THIS group. There's the bitchy heather, the ADD spazz, the angry nerd, the identical twins, the invisible girls the freaky class president, the drama geek, the Nancy Drew, the gamer, the princess...whew!
Add to that her pathetically-abused stuffed bunny buddy and idiotic aliens watching her every move and it's no wonder Becky's prone to crying fits, tirades, and flipping the class the bird. Don't miss the Grade-A comedy from the brains behind Negima- Paniponi Dash! It's a lesson in comedy that'll just kill ya.
Overview: Rebecca Miyamoto is like many 11-year-olds on a school morning. She doesn't want to get out of bed. Not only has she slept in but on the way to school she got lost. Unfortunately being late for school means being late for work for Rebecca. Miss Miyamoto isn't a student, she's the teacher. The second daughter of a Japanese mother and American father and a child prodigy who graduated from MIT has just become the newest 10th grade teacher. Not only that but she is under observation by aliens who claim she holds the fate of the world in her hands, well, kind of. While her class of misfits awaits for their new teacher they've already decided to give her the nickname Becky. Along with her weepy-voiced pet bunny Mesousa, Becky finally arrives to school to a barrage of personal questions from her students. Trying to take control Becky asserts herself and yells at the class, as well as flips them the bird, which then causes the class bully to bop her on the top of the head and scold their pint-sized teacher. Breaking down in tears Becky proceeds to hind behind the curtains in the classroom. This is the beginning of the relationship structure between Becky and her students.
As classes actually get underway Becky proceeds to call each of the students by nicknames that match personalities including Bookworm, Bully and Boring Girl. The real reason Becky calls them by nicknames is because she hasn't taken the time to learn the names of her students. Meanwhile Mesousa heads to the drink vending machine where it meets the Cat Lord who is keeping the drinks warm with it's body heat. This cat god likes to antagonize the poor bunny by hiding in vending machines. As if class wasn't strange enough Becky has to deal with crazy classroom distractions like the "new" student robot and the hyperactive maho-saying student Himeko aka "Cowlick". Upon reaching her breaking point by Cowlick's over-the-top personality it drives Becky to pull the cowlick off of the top of her students head, resulting in the complete depletion of Himeko's energy. Realizing that there is a connection between the cowlick and Himeko's personality she decides to return the cowlick. Unfortunately for Becky the aliens' have lost the cowlick when trying to teleport the clump of hair to their spacecraft. Unable to return the original Becky uses her genius to create a replacement hair piece through much trial and error.
Testing time is upon the students. Knowing they have to get some studying in the girls decide to have a slumber party study session where they can learn from Miyako (aka Bookworm) study habits. As Bookworm stresses over the test the girls of class 1-C turn the study session into a day at the spa. Joined by their tiny teacher and even some other students from another class the girls the cram session turns into brain storming on how to cheat. Which, of course, results in Becky having to tell them that it won't work since she already knows what they are planning. Later the 10th grade students venture on a camping field trip. The students break into small groups to complete tasks each of their wacky personalities shine through. As if things weren't strange enough there are Kappa sightings, mysterious missle launches and a talking Giant Salamander. Not to mention the random drink vending machine complete with cat god inside of it warming drinks. Only in the world of Becky Miyamoto could all of this be run of the mill daily life.
Overall Paniponi Dash is quite amusing. Bizarre characters and situations like the Lord Cat trying to pawn off his warm soft drinks to the weepy voiced bunny Mesousa to the alien observers watching Becky, it all makes this anime an interesting series to view since you never know what they'll throw at you next. The animation is excellent and the great casting of English voice actors help bring out the personalities of the characters. A small booklet insert gives character info in the form of the aliens' observations that will help viewers keep track of the cast of characters. Silly and weird Paniponi Dash is an off-the-beaten-path comedy series that is just plain fun to watch.
Paniponi Dash contains the first unnamed episode, #2 A Safflower Stands Out in Any Garden, #3 It's Always Harder on the Ones Who Have to Watch, #4 Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch and #5 It Is A Treasure If It Is Fulfilling.
Verdict: It was wacky funny. It was a mix between Azumanga Daioh with it's main cast of female characters, one of which is a child genius. Then take a page from the Negima formula and make all those students bold stereotypical classroom archetypes: the gamer, the drama club geek, the bookworm and the identical twins. Finally add in some off-the-wall bizarre aliens and situations one would expect from a series like Excel Saga. End result: Paniponi Dash! Oh, and let's not forget the "Chiyo Dad" type "Lord Cat" that seems to appear in drink vending machines. That thing is just plain weird and a bit creepy.
With little movie spoofs here and there like the "Planet of the Apes" opening scenes to the "Terminator" style DVD cover there are references to many pop culture influences. I really liked this series with it's crazy characters and zany situations. If you are looking for a new classroom based comedy series definitely give Paniponi Dash a try.
Posted on Sunday, November 26, 2006 (Archive on Tuesday, December 26, 2006)