Pani Poni Dash! Vol-1: Lethal Lesson (2005)
Animation Production: Gansis/Shaft
Released by: ADV Films
Episodes: 1-5
By Jeff Couto

Introduction

Last year I said that ADV Films had the best release of the year in their hands, Cromartie High, which I still stand by. In 2007 ADV Films seems to be set to earn my vote for best new domestic DVD series with their release of Pani Poni Dash, a show whose humor is best described as what would result if Cromartie High was fed nothing but candy, energy drinks and mocha swirl lattes for a straight week, in other words, its wonderfully bizarre, frenetic, abstract and to-die-for funny!

I really wish I would have been better prepared for this show, because once it got going there was no stopping the Pani Poni Dash train. This series is just one explosive experiment in kinetic, ever moving anime that not only puts on a hilarious series of scenes, but also brings forth a new style of presentation for an animated series that is quite “unique”. Let’s go right into the heart of what this show is all about.

Story

"Good news? She’s an MIT grad. Bad news? She’s an 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 temperamental teens, especially THIS group. There’s the bitchy heather, the spazz, the angry nerd, the identical twins, the invisible girl, 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.." -- ADV Films' DVD description.

Review

Volume one of Pani Poni Dash contains episodes one through five in the series, which include:

Episode 1: Summertime is the Coldest Season. Winterwear in the Hottest.
Today Class 1-C will meet its new teacher, Rebecca Miyamoto, a foreigner who graduated at the top of her class at MIT! There is one thing her students may not be ready for though, their teacher as it turns out is a super genius who is only 11-years old! Will they still treat her with the same respect they give other teachers?

Rebecca, or Becky as the students nickname her will have her hands full with this group of high schoolers!

Episode 2: A Safflower Stands Out in Any Garden
When Becky starts referring to her students by nicknames exclusively the kids figure out that she hasn’t learned their names yet, with one of them (Momose) taking it particularly hard, because her given nickname is “Plain” girl! Will Becky make an effort to remember her students’ names and will she be able to give Momose her confidence back?

Episode 3: It’s Always Harder on the Ones Who Have to Watch
Himeko Katagiri is a walking dynamo, but when Becky cuts off her cowlick (piece of hair that stands in the middle of her head) she loses her power supply, quickly becoming a shell of her old self. Can her teacher somehow restore her former unending energy supplies before it’s too late!?

Episode 4: Don’t Count Your Chickens Before they Hatch
A surprise test is in the cards for Becky’s class, but are her students ready for it. All indicators say…probably not!

Episode 5: It is a Treasure if its Fullfilling
It’s time for the special camping class and have everyone experience the wonderful world of the outdoors, but as usual not everything goes quite as planned…

One of the reasons I love watching anime is because it’s a medium that keeps evolving and taking its audience to new places, in ways that no other format can match. In the case of Pani Poni Dash, this is a series that thematically doesn’t have anything that is strikingly original (heck, just last week I posted a review for Negima, which like this Pani Poni Dash deals with what happens when a very young kid becomes a teacher at a high school), but the delivery of the story, the energy that each character emits and the ever-moving pieces that populate most of the scenes in each episode add up to something that it completely surreal, engaging and entirely absorbing.

It’s hard to describe exactly what it is that makes this show so unique because there are so many parts to its inner workings but some of the elements that jump to mind include the use of pop culture references within each episode (references on anything and everything from Planet of the Apes, to classic anime series like Ashita No Joe and popular TV series such as Dragonball-Z), the effective use of popular character archetypes and plotlines that are open enough to allow a large quantity of unrelated material into each episode’s story (think Family Guy cut scenes, but with a more natural integration into the scene).

The only area where the series falls short in is the central storyline (the story of Rebecca), which after being setup in episode 1 is almost forgotten about, beginning with episode 2 and onward. Basically what this means is that episodes two through five are stand-alone stories that are barely connected to each other, and thus don’t build serve as building blocks towards something bigger. That being said, these do form the first set of episodes, so this may end up changing later on as we move along in the episode count.

The animation production here (which comes courtesy of Gansis/Shaft) is of very high quality, featuring a smooth frame rate and bright pastel-oriented color palette that makes the show a delight to the eye. The 2D animation as is almost always the case now is tightly seamlessly integrated with CGI effects that add to the overall visual impact of Pani Poni Dash. I also enjoyed the character designs by Kazuhiro Ota, mostly because they didn’t feel generic, which these style of shows traditionally tend to have in unending supplies.

The music soundtrack by Kei Haneoka is appropriately enough, popful sounding and lively, with lots of pieces that hum along to the action and bring to life to our colorful cast of characters in perfect synchronization. In my humble opinion though, it is the opening theme song that ends up stealing the soundtrack with a fun-to-the-ear melody that is sure to stick to you all day long. The voice acting is beyond fantastic here with everyone going the extra mile to ensure their performances match up to the frenetic on-screen action (something which I’m sure was not easy to do).

In terms of what you get with the DVD itself, it’s fair to say that the overall package is decent. Inside the DVD case you’ll find a very handy booklet entitled Pani Poni Dash Lethal Lesson, which contains a who’s who overview of the cast, and with the large number of characters, it’ll be a lifesaver for you to keep track of everyone. In addition the booklet also has part 1 of a Q and A session with the production crew. The DVD itself comes with some nice extra features which include: AD Vidnotes, 2 TV spots, Special Opening: Yellow Vacation, Chalkboard Champions Contest, a clean copy of the closing theme and previews for other ADV Films releases. Oh, and did I mention the cover is reversible? Good stuff!

Final Thoughts

Love it! Love it! Now crave it!

Pani Poni Dash is at the top of our radar going into 2007. If you love to watch crazy, zany, unique anime, check this title out. Just make sure to have some caffeine rich energy drinks nearby, because you’ll need it in order to keep up with these characters!

Jeff Couto