Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
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| Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi | |
|---|---|
 The show's title logo |
|
| Genre | Animated television series |
| Creator(s) | Sam Register |
| Starring | Janice Kawaye Grey DeLisle Keone Young |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 39 (5 unaired) (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes approx. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Cartoon Network |
| Original run | November 19, 2004 – June 27, 2006 (still on Hiatus) |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese-American animated television series produced by Renegade Animation for the Cartoon Network, which was created by Sam Register, who also serves as the series' executive producer.
According to Register, the target audience of the show is boys and girls from six to sixteen years old. However, the show also has a following of fans of the real-life Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura who make up the J-pop duo PUFFY, who are known as "Puffy AmiYumi" in North America. Register, a fan of the band, wished to spread its fame to other parts of the world and thus produced the cartoon.[citation needed]
The series features the adventures of animated versions of the band. The duo have been immensely popular in Japan since making their debut there in 1996, and now have several U.S. albums to their credit, including a 2004 companion album to this program, and were already known to viewers of Cartoon Network in the USA for performing the theme to the animated series of Teen Titans comics.
According to the crew's blog on October 2, 2006, Cartoon Network has canceled the show and taken it off the air. In Japan, all thirty-nine produced episodes have been televised. It is unclear if the remaining five unseen episodes will be seen in the U.S., or if there will be any more external support for the series, such as additional DVD releases. The US Cartoon Network website has removed all mention of the show, though the UK Cartoon Network website has not removed any material.
Contents |
[edit] Concept
The cartoon was produced entirely in the United States (the only series that does this full time) using a combination of Macromedia Flash and traditional cel animation.[1] Each program is thirty minutes in length (with commercials) and features three seven-minute segments which borrows inspiration from both American animation and Japanese anime.
During the first season, the show included short clips of the real Ami and Yumi making childish commentary (in both English and unsubtitled Japanese) at the beginning and end of each episode. They only perform short clips at the beginning of the show during the second and third seasons. Starting with the second season, the duo was sometimes shown holding title cards introducing the cartoon segments. At the end of the episode "Sitcomi Yumi," Ami and Yumi watch TV and see the animated Kaz with the real Ami and Yumi.
The real Puffy AmiYumi performs the cartoon's theme song (which is also in Japanese, German, Spanish and Portuguese in the respective regions), and many episodes feature one (or more) of the duo's songs playing in the background, along with music by their American muse, Andy Sturmer.
The animated Puffy AmiYumi travel all over the world in their tour bus. While appearing the same size as a regular bus on the outside, it appears to have enough internal space to house the girls' rooms (including full-sized beds), Kaz' room, their equipment, and several televisions and computers, among other things. In the episode "Domo," Kaz makes reference to an upstairs area. It also seems capable of autopilot, as many episodes have Kaz, Ami, and Yumi sitting in the rear cabin of the bus while traveling. Several times, the rear door has been opened to receive packages, which a boy on a scooter usually delivers.
Though the characters speak English, the script occasionally intersperses their vernacular with Japanese speech, especially when the characters react to events that they find to be surprising. Calling out "Tasukete!" instead of "Help!" is commonly used. While Kawaye and Young speak fluent Japanese, DeLisle learned how to speak some of the language in the series thanks to both her cast mates (this is also evident in the episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy entitled My Peeps).
[edit] Characters
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi depicts characters with the same name and profession as the actual Puffy AmiYumi, but with different appearances and exaggerated personalities as well as the tendency to break the "fourth wall":
- Ami (pronounced /ˈɑmi/) is peppy, optimistic, and a cute girl with pink hair and eyes who favors bubblegum pop, and wears a 1960's styled go-go dress with a flower in her hair and white knee-high go-go boots. Janice Kawaye provides Ami's upbeat voice.
- Yumi (pronounced /ˈumi/) is depicted as a cynical, sarcastic punk rocker with purple hair and eyes, and is dressed in a heavy metal/grunge/goth style with studded necklaces and bracelets, a light purple T-shirt with a skull that make the same expressions as she does, a black miniskirt over purple bike shorts, and black army boots. Yumi is voiced by Grey DeLisle.
- Kaz is their well-intentioned yet money grubbing manager, whose successes are usually balanced out by his foolish decisions. His appearance and name are based on Puffy AmiYumi's real-life manager, Kaz Harada. Veteran character actor Keone Young provides his voice. He is also a huge fan of sumo wrestling, as seen in the episode "Sumo Kaz."
- Jeng Kang and Tekirai are Yumi and Ami's pet cats, respectively. The girls adore their cats, but Kaz is a constant victim of their mischievousness. Ms. Kawaye voices Tekirai ("Teki" for short) voices Ms. DeLisle does Jeng Kang (sometimes called "Jengo".)
[edit] Minor characters:
- Harmony, the self-proclaimed "Number One Fan" of the girls, and of Kaz by the end of the episode "Dis-Harmony" and in "Fan Clubs." She is very obsessive to the point that she follows the band around the world, annoying them to no end. This six-year-old is voiced by Sandy Fox.
- Eldwin Blair, a sinister land developer who is the antagonist of the two episodes in which he appears. He usually tries to tear down beloved places for his own selfish needs.
- King Chad, "a bad boy super hunk," as the girls once described him. He is obsessed with the card game Stu-Pi-Doh! (a parody of Yu-Gi-Oh!) and thinks highly of himself. In "Janice Jealous," he had a girlfriend named named Janice, who shares his interests in video games, yo-yo tricks, and comics. True to his character name, Kid Chad has worn a fur-lined cape and gold crown, and sits on a beautifully-adorned throne. In the episode "Janice Jealous", the character that King Chad goes out with is based on Janice Kawaye, Ami's voice actress. She also went ahead and voiced the character Janice, although according to the creators of the show, "The real life Janice Kawaye is a thousand times nicer than the animated one."[citation needed]
- Wall, a hulking yet somewhat slow-witted man whom Kaz hired as the girls' bodyguard. He is overprotective, pummeling anyone with whom Ami and Yumi attempt to make contact. Kaz later hired him as a bouncer for a party he was throwing, and more recently, Ami had him try his hand at being a roadie.
- Domo, Kaz's dog who looks much like his owner, sharing even a similar style of glasses. Like Kaz, he is constantly in conflict with the cats, especially since he enjoys eating their food.
- Talent Suckers, a rock group from Transylvania who first appeared in the eponymous episode, "sucking" Ami and Yumi's talent from them. They later returned in two other episodes. The tall vampire and straight man of the trio is Vlad, who speaks with an Transylvanian ascent. The short vampire is known as Nicolai, who is easily made nervous. A running gag involves Vlad slapping Nicolai back to his senses. The third vampire is named Mitch; he does not talk, but rather grunts and groans.
- Atchan, a character whom both Ami and Yumi met at Camp Youwannasushi. He thinks he is a superhero. He is based on Vo Atsushi, the lead singer of the J-Pop band New Rote'ka and one of Yumi's real-life friends.[citation needed] Before becoming a superhero, his face resembles Mac from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. After he declares himself a hero, he looks modeled after Kamen Rider. Plus, the painted star over his right eye resembles that of KISS guitarist Paul Stanley.
- Julie, a new friend of Yumi in the episode "Julie AmiYumi," which was not aired in the USA, is discovered by the end of the episode to actually be evil. Julie is voiced by Tara Strong.
[edit] Episode list
[edit] Broadcast details
"Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi" premiered in the USA on November 19, 2004. Since Cartoon Network is available in worldwide, the show dubbed into several languages and aired worldwide as well as on YTV in Canada.
In Japan, the show began airing on Cartoon Network in English with Japanese subtitles in 2005. A dubbed version began airing on TV Tokyo's Oha Star block on October 6 of 2005,[citation needed] and started to air on January 8, 2006 on Cartoon Network Japan.[citation needed]
[edit] Awards
The series was nominated three times for the Annie Award.[2] Two of them came in 2005 and one came in 2006.
| Year | Result | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Nominated | Annie | Character Design in an Animated Television Production for Shakeh Haghnazian |
| Production Design in an Animated Television Production for Michael Giaimo (for first episode) | |||
| 2006 | Nominated | Annie | Best Production Design in an Animated Television Production for Michael Giaimo |
[edit] Cultural references
- "Surf's Up" was originally titled "Tsunami Yumi", but was changed as a mark of respect after the South Pacific Tsunami struck on December 26, 2004.
- "In The Cards" has a card game called Stu-Pi-Doh, a parody of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, manga and card game franchise.
- In the episode "Camp Capers", Ami is captured by Bigfoot. Yumi pretends it is a video game, and she runs through a 16-bit forest area, jumps on a crab then runs through a checkered loop, a reference to the video game Sonic the Hedgehog. Another screen is modeled after the famous jungle of Pitfall.
- In the episode "Dance A-Go-Go", the word Renegade (the show's animation producer) is spray painted on the wall, in front of which Ami and Yumi dance.
- In "Bad Manager", Ami & Yumi's new manager is called Slick Shady, a reference to Eminem, once entitled "Slim Shady."
- In "Collect All 5!", Ami goes to Lostco, a parody of the store Costco.
- In "Claw and Order," a pun off the longtime TV series Law & Order, a store called "Pet Boys" is a spoof of the automotive parts dealer Pep Boys.
- In "Phantom of Rock", a character at the very end claims Ami and Yumi to be "Prima Donnas." Both the title and the comment are references to Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera.
- Ami made a cameo in the Teen Titans movie Trouble In Tokyo, in which she is depicted wearing jeans next to the animation producer's logo.
- When asked his opinion on his animated likeness during a panel at the 2005 Otacon event, Kaz Harada admitted that he had never actually seen the show.[citation needed]
- The Kappa Mikey episode "Battle of the Band" features two characters, Orie and Yorie, who look much like Ami and Yumi and are also musicians.
[edit] Merchandise
[edit] CD
[edit] DVD
[edit] Video games
- Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! (Game Boy Advance) (2005/2006)
- Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: The Genie and the Amp (Nintendo DS) (2006)
[edit] Marketing tie-ins
- A "falloon" (a float with balloon elements) of Puffy AmiYumi's cartoon tour bus, complete with the supporting characters in puppet form, the cartoon version of Puffy AmiYumi as a balloon and the real Puffy AmiYumi appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2005. A video of this Macy Parade Float in Chicago can be viewed on SUMO.tv.
- A line of toys intended for girls were produced by Mattel (the makers of the popular Barbie doll and Hot Wheels cars) and released for the 2005 Christmas season.
- Two DVDs, "Let's Go!" and "Rock Forever", featuring various episodes of the show, were released on November 29, 2005.
- In September 2005 console, handheld, and PC games based on the show were licensed to D3Publisher of America (D3PA). Currently a Game Boy Advance game called "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped!" has been released. A Nintendo DS game titled "The Genie and the Amp" was released on June 27, 2006. Kaznapped! has also been released in Japan.
- The American costume company Rubie's had a line of Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi costumes and accessories for girls in time for Halloween 2006.[3][4]
[edit] See also
- Puffy AmiYumi
- Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! (Game Boy Advance) (2005/2006)
- Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: The Genie and the Amp (Nintendo DS) (2006)
- Pink Lady and Jeff (the previous, and unsuccessful, attempt to import a Jpop group to US television)
[edit] External links
- Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi on YTV
- Official site at Cartoon Network (UK)
- Official site at Cartoon Network (Japan)
- Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi Forums
- Blog from the show's crew
- TV.com Page
- Hi-Hi-Puffy-Ami-Yumi on deviantART
- Early poses of Ami and Yumi
- TV Ad
[edit] References
- ^ See boards drawings on Puffy Crew Blog.
- ^ Awards for "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on August 28, 2006.
- ^ Yumi. Rubie's. Retrieved on August 28, 2006.
- ^ Ami. Rubie's. Retrieved on August 28, 2006.
| Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi | |
|---|---|
| Created By: | |
| Original Run: |
November 19, 2004 - June 27, 2006 |
| Starring: |
Ami Onuki | Yumi Yoshimura | Janice Kawaye | Grey DeLisle | Keone Young |
| Official Site: | |
| Characters |
Title Characters: Ami | Yumi | Kaz |
| Episodes: | List of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi episodes |
| Merchandise | |
| CDs | Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi | Hi Hi |
| Video Games: | Kaznapped! | The Genie and the Amp |
| DVDs: | Let's Go! | Rock Forever! |
| Books: | Hi Hi PUFFY English |
Categories: Articles lacking sources from June 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi | Puffy AmiYumi | 2000s American television series | 2004 television program debuts | Animated television series | YTV shows | Shows on Cartoon Cartoons | Anime-influenced animation
