Powerpuff Girls, what can I say that hasn't been said before? The show was innovative by showing girls as the world savers this time, with a perfect mix of action, comedy, and seriousness, including actual conflicts as well as creepy elements thanks to HIM. That led to the show being everywhere at its apex—video games, toys, merchandise... and that was only in the USA. Imagine how big they were in Japan, where small adorable girls + giant monsters rampaging = money printer. That popularity led TV Tokyo to acquire the rights to make their own franchise for non-cable users. That partnership led to...
Powerpuff Girls Z, or by its original title "Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z" ("And flying away they go! Powerpuff Girls Z"), is a mahou shoujo take on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon. It aired for 52 episodes from 2006 to 2007. With that, lots of elements from the original show were nerfed: the violence was replaced with cutesy attacks, the enemies had simplistic goals, and rather than fighting crooks, the PPG now battle enemies in a Monster-of-the-Week format. How much has changed aside from that? Let’s see:
History:
Professor Utonium Kitazawa (yes, different name) is called by the mayor of Tokyo City/Townsville to deal with an iceberg threatening to destroy the city. Unable to figure out what to do, his son (yes, in this one he has a son) Ken tries to solve the disaster using an experimental power—this adaptation's version of Chemical X: Chemical Z (and no, there is no Chemical Y before you ask). It’s the typical magic MacGuffin that powers stuff.
Good news: Ken shoots the thing and shatters it.
Bad news: THE SON OF A SCIENTIST WHO HAPPENS TO BE A SCIENTIST HIMSELF FORGOT THAT LASERS ARE LIGHT AND LIGHT REFLECTS.
That causes the beam to spread into two colors—black and white. Gee, I wonder which one creates the villains? The white beams hit the titular girls, who aren’t sisters here, but rather bystanders.
Momoko Akatsutsumi / Blossom: An anime and manga junkie with a big appetite, especially for sweets. She’s the typical hard-fighting-but-soft-hearted protagonist of the genre. Her powered form is called Hyper Blossom, and she wields a yo-yo.
Miyako Gōtokuji / Bubbles: Nothing has really changed—she's still the girliest of the bunch. That said, you still don’t want to mess with her. Her powered form is named Rolling Bubbles, and she wields a staff that, fittingly enough, shoots...
Kaoru Matsubara / Buttercup: The tomboy of the gang. In the first episode alone, she hates the idea of dealing with the cuteness of her non-sisters... I don’t want to break her heart by telling her what genre the show she’s in is—she’d break my spine. Her powered name is Powered Buttercup, and she wields the only thing that can actually be deemed a weapon: in this case, a hammer.
Meanwhile, the black beams are spreading, creating chaos by generating the monsters the girls have to face in every episode. With the help of the Professor, Ken, and Poochie (a robot dog that got hit with a white beam, giving him sentience and making him more or less the original show’s phone analog), the girls use their new superpowers to once again save the day in Townsvillen’t.
The plots aren’t anything new to the genre:
Oh no! Something innocuous gets hit with "Evilium" and now it causes problems.
The girl who happens to have a personal issue—usually related to the villain—goes to kick their ass in all their moe-ness, and everybody is happy... for the first part, anyway.
The second part (not season), which I consider a massive improvement, gives us the return of the most vile character from the OG cartoon: HIM. One of the black blasts hits the seal where he had been imprisoned long ago, and now he’s free—finally giving the show some actual stakes that make it way more enjoyable.
Even before HIM’s return, the show still has some surprisingly grim or emotional moments, such as a subplot where a sick kid gets hit by a black blast and becomes a werewolf. Bubbles tries to help him, but his resentment from being stuck in a hospital makes him emotionally closed off. The ending is bittersweet—and absolute fire.
Characters:
As mentioned above, the OG cartoon’s characters got major retools:
- Utonium now has a child named Ken (still no Miss Utonium—in fact, that’s even a plot point at times).
- The girls, instead of being sisters, are unrelated girls who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.
- Mojo Jojo never knew Utonium; he was just a regular monkey in a zoo who got hit with a black blast.
In fact, most of the classic villains are created by said blasts. But the one with the most notable retool is HIM, who here is an ancient demon that—SPOILERS AHEAD:
He’s the most vile villain and so powerful that until the finale, no amount of white blasts can even dent him.
As for minor characters:
- The Mayor is still a dimwit, but now slightly more competent.
- Miss Keane is your average anime teacher (and since she doesn’t know about the girls’ world-saving antics, they constantly have to lie to her).
- Sara Bellum isn’t changed a lot—but she’s not quite as you remember her, due to her character. Wink.
Plot Progression:
Kinda slow at first—until the plot threads start to build up. Some characterization is given to the girls individually, but otherwise, they stay true to their archetypes. Thankfully, the episodes work well as self-contained stories or plot-progressing entries.
THE MOST ANCIENT QUESTION SINCE MAN DISCOVERED FIRE...
Dub or Sub?
DEFINITELY SUB.
Aside from the original voices of Blossom, Utonium, and Mojo Jojo, the dub ranges from passable (Buttercup, HIM, Poochie) to atrocious (Princess). And that epic intro shown earlier? In the U.S., we got this:
Not bad, but why are Americans allergic to vocal themes?
RECEPTION
A blast and a success… in Japan.
Since reruns and new episodes of the original series were still airing in the U.S., the reception there was much colder—many dismissed it as “Powerpuff Girls at Home.” Fortunately, Latin America—especially Mexico—was more receptive, since anime access was limited to three options:
- Screwing yourself over
- Watching it Jack Sparrow mode
- Praying Dragon Ball or Pokémon wasn’t hogging Cartoon Network (and not even the good DBZ—the Kai redub)
So, this show felt like a breath of fresh air.
Still better than the 2016 rubbish.
Conclusion:
The show is not without flaws:
- Transformation sequences are long
- Before character development kicks in, the girls are flatter than pancakes
- The art style, while good, can be too cute for some tastes
That said, it’s a great level entry series into the mahou shoujo genre. So unless you’re really not into that kind of thing, you’re not missing much—but even then, give it a chance. Even if it’s not your cup of tea, it’s a fun way to kill some time.
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