| Title: | PaniPoni Dash! |
| Episode: | 18: Good Things Come To Those Who Wait |
| Synopsis |
| Mesousa is enjoying some all too rare peace and happiness when he is confronted by a strange little girl who asks him to become unhappy. It turns out that the girl, Taeko, is an apprentice Yakubyougami, or "Jinx God", and since she's new at this, the curses she has placed upon Mesousa aren't making him as miserable as they should. Mesousa's luck seems to have taken a turn for the worse when he wakes up from a nap and finds a ticking time bomb imbedded in his forehead(!). Becky and the explosives experts Media and Behoimi attempt to disarm the bomb, but their efforts only reduce the time left on the clock. Mesousa is politely sent away for the time being, so that the three can try to figure out how to dismantle the bomb without being in danger themselves. He wanders about, first running into the Intelligence Club members, then finding Taeko. She was indeed responsible for the bomb, and wants to take credit for Mesousa's bad luck, but she doesn't know how to disarm it herself. A plan slowly comes together in Mesousa's mind--too slowly, it turns out. Meanwhile, the aliens have acquired a new "research sample". Since Mesousa is no longer available, Becky, Media and Behoimi have found a substitute to take his place in their highly realistic simulations of alternative methods of dealing with the bomb... |
| Comments |
| This episode was a definite winner. The last few didn't seem to have much of an ongoing plot, and, though amusing, felt like a garbled mix of bizarre jokes with little in common. This one, however, did have a sort of continuity--plus the usual garbled mix of bizarre jokes. The arguably small difference makes this one a lot more fun. There were lots of references to other shows, and also to other PPD episodes, which a die-hard PPD fan like myself appreciates. And then there are those which can only be described as WTF jokes--Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket?! I don't really understand why, but it was hilarious. Come to think of it, I can't really claim to understand most of the references this show makes (even with the optional "Detailed Notes") but they are so wild that I find them funny anyhow. It was nice to see the pathetic Mesousa get the limelight for once. Another critic described him as this series' only truly original character. That may or may not be true; perhaps what's really "original" about PPD is the way it dares to throw conventions to the wind, and target itself to a relatively small portion of TV viewers who would be fairly familiar with the pop culture references it makes--or, as in my case, would find them amusing even if they didn't completely "get" the jokes. Could a show like this ever be R1 licensed? I tend to doubt it, since distributors seem to be less willing nowadays to take chances on unusual shows than they once were. |
