Pop Team Epic

Episode 7

Ya know what'll happen to a dude who's caught in an earthquake?

He'll shake, yanno?

…

*dies*

I'll admit that this show might be getting to me at this point. In other words, I feel like I'm approaching a point where mere words become inadequate as a response to Pop Team Epic. This is made worse by the fact that I've gone through most of the tangentially related topics of interest (production, shitposting), so I must now attempt to form coherent responses to solely what's present within the show's runtime. At this point, I feel a bit like a sailor stranded at sea, who's just run out of food and fresh water and is starting to succumb to the grip of s e a m a d n e s s. Remember, Gab: you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this you chose this y̵͕̳̭̹̙̩̰̮̠̟̬̞̍͊̃̆̀̾͋͆͌̏̍̐̈́̈͝ ̴̨̹̩̥̠̯̰̼͕̦͍͖̎͂̀̓͛o̷̫̼̞̩̺̬̝͈̳͚̫̘͍͑̌̊͗̊͂͐̔͆̚ ̶̹͓͙̄̾̅̀̃̑̈́̀̔̑̀̏ͅṵ̷̧͓͙͙̞͔͉̿̓ ̵̡̻͉̥͓̞̪̦͖̜̗̫̟̀́̀̈́̔̍̓́͝ç̷̛̳̮͇̜͙̼̹̭̺͖͐̃̈̐̈ ̷̠̇̍̎̀̍̂ȟ̵͕͙̯̥̩̘͉̎͝ ̵̦͙͙̯̗̼̄͌͗̍̌͋̋̾̋͌̓̾͘̕͠ǫ̵̛̘̜̤͈͎͖͓͉̭̉̇̌͂̃͋ͅ ̶̲̞͍̮̼̘͎̺̻͎̪̀̀̾͊̓͝s̸̢̢͕̠͙̞̹̮̲͚͇̬̻̊͂̐̊̈́̀ ̴̡̙̜͇͎̲͒̒̏͂̉̄͒̏̿̈́̔̃̈́͜ȇ̷̟̙̺̆̅̌̀͘͘̕ ̵̛͍̯̲͚̼̝̯͊̔̐͝ͅͅt̸̢̗͍͖͚͓́̅̿͑́͜ ̵̧͔̳̞̥̻̝̠͖̣̼͕̣̲̀͐̈̍͌h̶̨̢̧̡̹̖̘̺̟͈̞͐̾̈̏̍̍̊͆̒̎̎̿ ̶̯̥̈́̃̾̈͠i̴̖̬̘̝̓͛̓̏ͅ ̶͖̙͇͔̞̮̩͙̩̝̤̬͖͈͈̅̾s̷̢̭̐̽̾͂̈́͋̄͘

Ahem.

At least this was a more substantive episode than last week's (by a loose definition of the word). AC-bu have destroyed anime once again with their rendition of the Hellshake Yano skit, which they take as a pretense for acting out a deranged version of kamishibai picture theater starring the fictional superstar. It nearly goes without saying, but if you weren't thinking about Hellshake Yano before this, every day, at all times, you most certainly are now, and it's all thanks to the very same gentlemen who produced this aesthetic blight upon the earth:

Can you believe that most of the segments they turn in for PTE are apparently first drafts?

(I can.)

Other than that, some other things happened this week that I maybe might remember. The girls have partaken of the flesh of man(atee), revealed their HD forms, and confirmed that Undertale is in fact anime. It's everything that I could want out of PTE, especially following last week, which marked the show's most significant foray into the bad (as in boring) side of shittiness. Seven episodes in, and it looks like Poputepipikku has established enough a standard for itself for me to distinguish between its “best” and its “worst.” Usually, “better” means “crazier” – although I am a little concerned about developing a tolerance for this sort of lunacy.

Besides that, I've just learned that the show's voice actors are also improvising most of what they do, which means that you can place all the blame for that MARILYN MONROE WOLOLOLOLOLOL segment on the actresses for that week, Tomoko Kaneda and Yū Kobayashi. This week's tributes are Akiko Yajima/Satomi Koorogi for girls and Kousuke Torikumi/Showtaro Morikubo for boys. In terms of entertainment value, I think I'd give the edge to the former this week, mostly for Koorogi's ultra-moe performance as Popuko. As usual, the losers in this contest will be summarily executed. Did I not mention that before?

Do I even have to say anything?

Read Part Two of this review here!

Grade: E

Pop Team Epic is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and HIDIVE.

Gabriella Ekens would have liked to get part two of this review professionally translated by someone who actually speaks French, but her editor nixed that idea for expedience reasons. Instead, she had to do it herself. Compliment her French skills on Twitter.