is an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series which parodies the

magical girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transfo ...

genre, particularly ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...

'' and ''

Cutie Honey is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champions 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisaragi, who trans ...

''. A 24-minute

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

was released in 2003 followed by a six-episode

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in 2006. A

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

collection containing the OVA and TV series was released in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

in 2010. The origin of this anime series is different from most other anime series' as it is based on an

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

hoax A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...

rather than a previously existing

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series.

History

''Papillon Rose'' started out as a

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasises its own narrative structure in a way that continually reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...

joke on what was claimed to be the website for a new anime project ''Lingerie Fighter Papillon Rose''. The website posted pictures of characters (which were usually copied from scenes in ''

'', with the artwork changed) and a lyrics to opening and ending theme songs. Demand grew due to people finding the page and assuming it was for an actual series. Subsequently, an episode guide for the (non-existent) first series and manga was also made available, as well as a set of

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

s containing a 2-minute animated promotional clip, eight tracks (six BGM and two vocal songs), system voice clips for computers, a ''Papillon Rose''

mahjong Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: ) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-play ...

game, and two screen savers. The CDs were only made available for

Comiket , more commonly known as or , is a semiannual ''doujinshi'' convention in Tokyo, Japan. A grassroots market focused on the sale of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, Comiket is a not-for-profit fan convention administered by the volunteer-ru ...

, and were not distributed outside Japan. The project homepage was redesigned and fake

illustrations and notes from the fictional author were added. Amateur

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

s and singers were also contacted online to provide sample character voice clips for a handful of the villains and heroines. A 25-episode

ONA Ona or ONA may refer to: Anthropology * Ona people, an indigenous people of southern Argentina and Chile ** Ona language, a language once spoken in Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego * Ona, a pre-Aksumite culture in Sembel, Eritrea Geography * On ...

series was promised in 2001 along with the release of an animated

teaser trailer A teaser (or more specifically teaser trailer) is a mini- trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release move or television show advertisement. Short in length, te ...

. Nothing other than the trailers were ever released online or elsewhere. In January 2002, a second season concept was introduced, named ''Lingerie Soldier Papillon Rose R'', aiming to be released as an artbook on Comiket. In April 2004, a movie finale concept was introduced as well, named ''Lingerie Soldier Papillon Rose G''. Subsequently, all of the project websites were either taken down or replaced with a blank page with the former content removed. There is no evidence that any fan-submitted material was ever used for either the OVA episode or the TV series. In the fall of 2014, a blog was opened featuring new artwork for what claimed to be a new version of the ''Papillon Rose'' series, a rebuild of the original idea as a film trilogy. A new website was opened a few days afterwards, advertising a ''Papillon Rose'' booth in the 2015 Comiket. A new doujinshi artbook was released together with two pencil boards, featuring new artwork for the characters and a similar storyline to the original incarnation of the web series.

''Lingerie Soldier Papillon Rose'' OVA 2003

was released as a single 24-minute OVA episode, produced by Echigoya. This one-episode OVA was distributed on VHS and DVD formats by Pink company and Office F&O in 2003. This OVA episode is included in the 2010 North American DVD release with the six-episode ''Papillon Rose: The New Season'' TV series.

''Papillon Rose: The New Season'' TV series (2006)

A six-episode TV series titled ''Papillon Rose: The New Season'' was broadcast in Japan in 2006. The TV series images and dialog are toned down considerably from the 2003 OVA. The TV series covers a time beginning a year after the ending of the OVA events and introduces new characters.

Plot summary

We find the girls in town going about their lives without any memories of their past exploits or ability to transform. Tsubomi is approached by Rama, the cat, whom, at first, she does not understand. But the Earth, specifically the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in ''Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorativ ...

district of Akiba, is under attack by a trio of powerful alien women along with their minions. The explosions around her restore her memories and she reassembles the rest of the Papillon team to defend the town. The Papillon team is reassembled and the enemies are won over by the team's magical-girl powers and their "charms".

North American releases

In March 2010,

Section23 Films SXION 23 LLC, doing business as Section23 Films is an American multimedia distributor based in Houston, Texas specializing in releasing anime and Japanese films. Established in 2009, Section23 is one of five successors to ADV Films; alongside Se ...

announced plans to release the six-episode TV series and the OVA on DVD for North America on behalf of

Maiden Japan ''Maiden Japan'', released as ''Heavy Metal Army'' in Japan, is a live EP by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The title is a pun of Deep Purple's live album '' Made in Japan''. Release There are at least two different versions of ...

. The collection was released on June 8, 2010, on a single DVD titled "Papillon Rose." This title was the first

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

d by Maiden Japan for release in North America. It is in the Japanese language with English subtitles. In January 2014 the six episodes of the TV series and the single OVA episode were posted on the

Anime Network Anime Network is an American video on demand (VOD) network dedicated to anime owned by AMC Networks. History The network was launched in North America in late 2002 and is marketed to multi system operators (MSOs) as both a free and subscript ...

website for online streaming.

Reception

The North American DVD release was reviewed by Chris Beveridge on the popular media blo
Mania.com
and given an overall grade of B. He summarizes his review:

″Papillon Rose serves up just the right kind of parody of the Sailor Moon and magical girl world with this release. I do admittedly prefer the OVA more than the TV series because it's concise and has a much dirtier mindset to it. The TV series tones things down for obvious reason but it still has a good deal of fun and manages to get dirty in its own way. This was the kind of show where its reputation certainly it and you always fear it may not live up to expectations. With the broadcast version of the TV series here, that's a definitely downside. But for what we do get, it's a lot of fun and a good way to spend an evening watching pretty anime girls doling out justice in a slight smutty way with smiles on their faces. It's a title for discerning tastes, to say the least.″

References

External links

Anime Network - Watch - Papillon Rose

Maiden Japan - Papillon Rose

パピヨンローゼ New Season
Tokyo Metropolitan Television Broadcasting corp. * {{anime News Network, anime, 904, title=Papillon Rose (OVA) 2003 anime OVAs 2006 anime television series debuts Anime with original screenplays Maiden Japan Magical girl anime and manga Parody anime and manga Sex comedy anime and manga Magical girl parodies Hentai anime and manga