Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi is an American animated television series created by Sam Register for Cartoon Network, Produced by Renegade Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. The shows centers on animated and teenage versions of the Japanese power pop group Puffy AmiYumi. The series premiered in 2004 and ended in 2006 with 39 episodes.

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi

Anything is Possible!

Genre:	Animation Comedy Slapstick Pop rock Power pop J-pop
Running Time:	22 minutes (7 minutes per segment)
Country:	United States Japan
Release Date:	November 19, 2004 - June 27, 2006
Network(s):	Cartoon Network
Created by:	Sam Register
Distributed by:	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Starring:	Yumi Yoshimura Ami Onuki Janice Kawaye Grey DeLisle Griffin Keone Young Nathan Carlson Corey Burton
Seasons:	3
Episodes:	39 (117 segments)

Plot

The show follows the adventures of two female pop stars and best friends; Ami and Yumi, as they travel around the world on a tour bus with their manager; Kaz, as they find themselves going through various misadventures throughout the show.

Why It Proves that Anything is Possible

Despite its subpar animation in seasons 1-2, it had an amusing art style.
Unlike most other American cartoons, it had absolutely no outsourcing as it was made entirely in the United States, which does make the subject matter slightly ironic.
It served as an awesome throwback to classic cartoons from the golden age of cartoons, with its own 2000s touches.
Unlike Hannah Montana, there is more to the show than just teenage girls as pop rock stars.
The theme song “Hi Hi” was great.
Pop culture references that are surprisingly understandable.
The Bob Clampett-style slapstick is insanely hilarious, similar to Tom and Jerry, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and Heckle and Jeckle, as well as Tex Avery-style fourth wall breaks, similar to Ed, Edd n Eddy and Chowder.
Yumi and Ami are likable and relatable characters. They are very cute protagonists, as their character designs are pure adorable, to become both of Cartoon Network’s cutest pop/rock stars.
Cool anime references.
Despite getting a cult following in the USA and Canada, it became very successful in Japan.
The backgrounds are more stylized, similar to the UPA cartoons of the 1940s and 50s.
Amazing visuals.
The cutesy musical montages are great.
The show uses a unique blend of Flash Animation (by Renegade Animation, who did The Mr. Men Show) and anime-esque traditional animation combined.
Very catchy songs by Puffy AmiYumi, including the theme song “Hi Hi”
The voice acting is really very good, especially from Janice Kawayne and Grey DeLisle as Ami and Yumi respectively.
The show has good life lessons and morals.
It was nominated for three Annie Awards and had its own merchandise line.
The show has a lot of pretty colors and appealing backgrounds.
While Ami and Yumi usually speak American English, they also occasionally speak in Japanese, which is cute, funny and awesome all at the same time.
Amazing power pop soundtrack.
It uses clever jokes and gags.
The show features cameos by the real Puffy AmiYumi themselves every now and then.
So many great episodes like Ami´s Secret, Dance a Go-Go, Run Cat Run, Camping Caper, Julie AmiYumi, Yumi Goes Solo, Gridiron Maidens, Disco-Caper, Surf's Up, Manga Madness (Part I & II) and the list goes on.
The final episode "It’s Alive!" was a great way to end the show, despite ending it on a cliffhanger.

Bad Qualities

As mentioned before, the animation in the first two seasons is quite subpar. Although it did improve by the third and last.
Some jokes (mostly in season 1) had a few weak jokes, for example, the biggest weak joke is "Something Elephanty too".
Kaz and Harmony can be unlikable at times, and the one-shot character Julie is even more unlikable than the former two due to how horribly she treated Ami throughout her appearance.
Ami is very annoying sometimes. She can also be considered a Mary Sue as she is flawless and the other characters (except for the villains obviously) love her too easily.
A few bad episodes like Treasure Map, Stop the Presses, and House Unkeeping to name a few.
The live-action segments are forgettable and pointless, but luckily, they were not present the second season.

Trivia

The show has a number of CatDog writers.
- Steven Banks later worked on SpongeBob SquarePants starting on his debut episode "Funny Pants"
At first, Cartoon Network gave the show a primetime slot, overexposed promotion, daily reruns and merchandising—all in an effort to make it the next Powerpuff Girls. It even had a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Float in 2005. However, the show unceremoniously stopped production during the third season's run and was nearly forgotten.
- There were talks about a fourth season right before the show's cancellation in October 2006, due to a management shakeup that found Sam Register leaving Cartoon Network for Warner Bros. Animation. As a result, CN removed it from reruns and scrubbed all evidence of it from their website; they never even acknowledged the show's existence from then until October 2012, when the main characters appeared in the network's 20th anniversary poster.
The show never aired on Boomerang.
Seasons 1 and 2 were released in Japan, while the entire series was released on DVD in Thailand.
Much of the character designs were done by Lynne Naylor, who also designed characters for Samurai Jack and Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, and would go on to create The Modifyers with her late husband Chris Reccardi, which was a failed Nickelodeon pilot.
A long-time rumor was spread about the show's third season not airing all of its episodes in the United States.
The entire show was made available for streaming on HBO Max in Latin America in 2022 in both English and Spanish.

Videos

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