is a 2001 Japanese

anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening o ...

television series based on NanaOn-Sha's ''

PaRappa the Rapper is a rhythm game, rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997. Created by music producer Masaya Matsuura in collaborat ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

series created by

Masaya Matsuura (born June 16, 1961) is a Japanese musician and video game designer based in Tokyo, Japan. He was born in Osaka on June 16, 1961, and majored in Industrial Society at Ritsumeikan University. He has worked extensively with music and images, and ...

and Rodney Greenblat. The series was produced by J.C.Staff and aired in Japan on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

between April 2001 and January 2002, running for thirty episodes. Episodes 29 and 30 aired together as a 1-hour special.

Summary

The series focuses on PaRappa, a cute and happy dog who enjoys music and dancing and often spends time with his friends PJ Berri, Katy Kat, and his love interest, Sunny Funny. Along with various characters who make returning appearances from the video games, the anime introduces several new characters who are exclusive to the TV series. These include Matt Major, PJ's friend from Club Fun, Paula Fox, Sunny's friend who was rivals with Katy, Pinto, PaRappa's little sister, and Gaster and Groober, a villainous duo who cause all sorts of mischief.

Production

During the production of '' PaRappa the Rapper 2'', Sony wanted to develop a PaRappa anime aimed at children in order to boost merchandise sales. The series was a joint production effort between

, SME Visual Works, and J.C.Staff. Rodney Greenblat, the art director for the PaRappa games, was asked to design new characters who would appear in the anime. He was against the idea of the show being aimed towards children and instead wanted it to be aimed towards teenagers, but this did not end up happening. He was not allowed to work on the anime at all aside from the character design, as the anime team did not want anyone pulled away from the production of the second game. In an interview with

Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine ''Game ...

, Greenblat voiced his frustration about the production of the anime.

Music

The series' soundtrack was composed by series designer

, along with Yoshihisa Suzuki and Yasushi Kurobane. The series uses four pieces of theme music; two opening themes and two ending themes. For the first fifteen episodes, the opening theme is by Nona Reeves while the ending theme is "School Girl" by

Bennie K Bennie K was an Urban Contemporary female duo formed in 1999 that consists of vocalist Yuki and rapper Cico. They met while Yuki was in Los Angeles undergoing voice training with Roger Burnley. They made their debut in January 2001 with the si ...

. For episodes sixteen onwards, the opening theme is "Attitude" by

Crystal Kay is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host. After releasing her first single, "Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, ''Almost Seventeen'' (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese O ...

while the ending theme is by Chara. The original soundtrack was released in two volumes by

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainm ...

in 2001 on August 22 and December 19, respectively.

Voice cast

Episodes

References

External links

Official Fuji TV Website
* {{J.C.Staff 2001 anime television series debuts Japanese children's animated action television series Japanese children's animated comedy television series Japanese children's animated fantasy television series Anime television series based on video games Comedy anime and manga Fuji TV original programming J.C.Staff PaRappa the Rapper Production I.G Works based on Sony Interactive Entertainment video games Animated television series about dogs Aniplex Animated television series about cats Animated television series about bears Animated television series about rabbits and hares Animated television series about foxes Surreal comedy anime and manga Surreal comedy television series ja:パラッパラッパー#テレビアニメ