Back in the beginning of April, plans for a Powerpuff Girls anime were announced at the Tokyo Animation Fair. It will be a joint venture between Toei Animation, Aniplex, and Cartoon Network. Toei Animation is well known for their work on “Fist of the North Star” and “Sailor Moon,” while Aniplex has also produced “Read or Die” and “Full Metal Alchemist.” The individuals behind the project have been announced. Kakudou Hiroyuki (“Digimon Adventure”) will be the director. The character designer will be Shimogasa Miho (“Sailor Moon,” “Cutey Honey F”). The producers that were listed are Sam Register (“Teen Titans,” “Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi”) from Cartoon Network, Seki Hiromi (“Ojamajo Doremi”) from Toei Animation, and Katsumata Hideo (“Full Metal Alchemist”) from Aniplex. So this project is helmed by some well established companies and individuals, which is usually a good sign. There has not been any word as to whether Craig McCracken (creator of the Powerpuff Girls) will have an active role in this project or not. Personally, I hope he does have some say in the project, but I’m also looking forward to seeing a different look at the Powerpuff Girls.

A promo for the anime was also shown at the Tokyo Animation Fair. I was able to find some clips from promo as well as plenty of screen captures. This is definitely an extremely different take on the Powerpuff Girls. The first major difference from the original is that it takes place in Tokyo City instead of the City of Townsville. This change makes perfect sense since this is a Japanese show. Another major change is they are called the Powerpuff Girls Z. Now, I am not sure why this change was made, but this isn’t the first time that a “Z” was slapped on the end of an already established franchise title. More changes to the story were made as well. The Professor appears to be a young boy genius (in the same fashion as Dexter) instead of the father figure found in the original version. He is still responsible for creating the Powerpuff Girls, but in this version they are ordinary Japanese girls that gain super powers from an accident. The girls are not even sisters either. While trying to destroy a huge iceberg that was terrorizing Tokyo City, the professor used Chemical X on the iceberg and the ensuing blast emitted black and white light. The black light hit some animals and turned them into monsters. The white light hit the girls granting them super powers. So the story matches with traditional super hero origins, where an ordinary person gains super powers from contact with some kind of substance. So as I mentioned above, the Powerpuff Girls are actually ordinary girls that transform into their super powered alter egos by shouting their individualized catch phrase. Blossom shouts “Hyper Blossom!” to transform, Bubbles shouts “Rolling Bubbles!”, and Buttercup shouts “Powerful Buttercup!” One of the clips from the promo showed the girls transforming, so I had the chance to see this scene for myself. When transformed into the Powerpuff Girls Z, their clothing changes and they reveal their weapons. Yes, it is true, the Powerpuff Girls Z use weapons along with their super powers. Blossom wields a red yo-yo with a nifty “P” logo on the face (wonder what the “P” stands for), Buttercup sports a giant yellow hammer or mallet (looks very similar to a squeaky toy hammer for a small child, except very large in size), Bubbles uses soap bubbles as her weapon (yes, I know, kind of lame). There is another clip from the promo that shows the girls wielding their weapons against the evil Mojo. That’s right, just Mojo, not Mojo Jojo (the name is shortened for some reason). Mojo was also created by the professor, as he was one of the animals caught in the blast of black light. Mojo’s persona remains almost unchanged from the original, probably because Mojo Jojo was already similar to a typical anime villain.

Though these changes are major, they are insignificant in comparison to the difference in animation style and character design. Take one glance at any screen capture, and it’s evident that these girls appear to be significantly older. I also like the fact they actually have legs with actual feet and their heads are not bigger than their bodies, but I guess that is my own biased opinion for wanting characters that are humans to actually look human. The animation style is vastly different from the original. The city environment is definitely more realistic, and the characters’ actions tend to obey the laws of physics a bit more. Don’t get me wrong, it is still your classic over-the-top animation style found in plenty of anime, but seeing the Powerpuff Girls that we have come to know and love in this fashion is really something to marvel at. The best way to really get a feel for the animation is to watch the clip from the promo that shows the girls fighting Mojo.

This show definitely has an unlimited amount of potential to succeed. It looks like it will be a lot of fun to watch, even though it appears to be geared towards children. Then again, let’s not forget that shows geared toward children in Japan are vastly more mature than the children shows in the US. I am anxious to see the anime versions of the other classic Powerpuff Girls villains and how they are utilized, especially HIM. Since the only material released was the promo at the Tokyo Animation Fair, it’s hard to judge as to whether the storyline will be more complex than its American counter-part. I have a feeling that the studios are planning for an extremely long run with this show. While I wouldn’t be upset about this, a short solid storyline would definitely be a much welcomed departure from the original. There are rumors that this show could premiere as early as June 2005, though I seriously doubt these rumors. No official dates have been released at this time. But as soon as any new information is released, you better believe that we will have it posted in our Anime 3000 News Forum.