In the anime Pop Team Epic the show opens with a TV being smashed by a baseball bat. If the writer, Bkub Okawa, could do something similar with his original manga, he would start the reading experience by torching the book with a flamethrower. Not because it’s bad (I liked it), but because it’s in the franchise’s nature to burn everything to the ground.
Pop Team Epic is a series of unrelated 4-panel comic strips (Known as 4-Koma in Japan) that typically star two high school girls, Pipimi (the tall, blue-haired one) and Popuko (the short, blonde-haired one). The comics are surreal and absurd. There’s no continuity from one strip to the next (sometimes not even between panels) but that’s what makes it fun. There’s variety in the jokes presented; you never know what’ll happen next. If comedy is subverting expectations, Pop Team Epic does it in spades.
Some may see this anarchy as nothing more than trolling, and that’s fine. I believe Okawa uses the absurd as a tool. For me, this is a postmodern comic that uses absurdity to spotlight parts of the manga and Japanese culture that it finds absurd. Or maybe Okawa is trolling and finding deeper meaning is pointless.
In the end, you’ll find what you’re looking for in this comic. It can be enjoyed on a surface level (like I enjoy reading it) or on a deeper level (like I enjoy reading it). That’s the purpose of art, after all.
“We can hardly believe one of our own would write something so shameless” - Pop Team Epic Editorial Note
Pop Team Epic Manga
A bizarre four-panel gag manga that centers around two 14 year old girls, Popuko and Pipimi. Don’t be fooled by their cute appearance though…. this is a $*#! manga that parodies other manga and pop culture!
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