“It doesn’t need to make sense to make you happy.” Or so the saying goes, right? And this must be what the author of Poputepipikku has based the anime on. Poputepipikku, also known as Pop Team Epic, is a parody of genres, based on a 4-Koma manga of the same name written and illustrated by Bkub Okawa, with bizarre characters and absurd skits. It is a surreal comedy that might not be to everyone’s taste and understanding. But it’s so ridiculously random that it’s sure to make you laugh.
The anime depicts the misadventures of two high school girls, Popuko and Pipimi, in a bizarre world. Popuko, the shorter and cuter one who’s ready to kill at any moment, and Pipimi, the taller and calmer one, probably the only person who can tolerate Popuko so much, make an exceptional pop team with their absurd and exaggerated behavior and nack for all kinds of pop culture references. If you are ready to go on a journey with them, expect the unexpected; cause randomness is the new rule.
Thanks to its absurd but unique plot, the series soon gained immense popularity from both Japanese and International audiences. And now after its first anime adaptation in 2018 by Kamikaze Douga, it is getting a second season that is going to be aired in October 2022. But since there is a bit of time and waiting can be hard, here are a few anime similar to Poputepipikku that you can enjoy.
Here are 20 Anime Similar to Poputepipikku
Here are some anime to keep you entertained and make your wait a bit less boring. Hope you have a good laugh and a fabulous time watching. Enjoy!
1. Inferno Cop
Inferno cop is an original animation series of 13 episodes directed by Akira Amemiya in the form of a motion comic style. Similar to Poputepipikku, Inferno Cop also doesn’t have much of a plot and doesn’t make any sense most of the time. The story is of a police officer from hell, made of literal fire and bones, on a mission to eradicate all evil from Jack Knife Edge Town.
After the death of his family, the hell shackles of Inferno’s Cop have been broken. Now Jack Knife Edge Town is his hunting ground to eliminate any lawbreaker and end the Southern Cross, the evil organization that has not only killed his family but is now trying to control the world. He dispenses ruthless justice on the monsters and the thugs to stop the town from tearing apart. It’s a hard job when he not only has to save the city but also himself from the evil organization that wants to kill him and rule the world.
If you enjoyed watching Pop Team Epic, you will like Inferno Cop as well. Similar to Poputepipikku, it also has clever humor revolving around over-dramatic and absurd scenarios.
2. Nekojiru-sou
Similar to Poputepipikku, the name of this series is also so weird that it’s hard to take it seriously. Maybe that’s what the author intended. Also known as Cat Soup is another anime with a weird kind of humor with surreal moments, that will make you wonder what is going on here. Set in a world where even have consciousness, the series orbits around two cat siblings who wander in reality-bending situations to find a flower.
A cat named Nyatta encounters a bizarre scene when he drowns in his bathtub. He witnesses Nyako, his older sister, who has been sick in bed for some time, going with Jizo, the death angel. While trying to take her back, he splits her soul in two and runs away leaving Jizo with only half of her soul. When he comes back, he sends half of her soul back into her body. Now with his half-catatonic sister, Nyatto is on a journey to find a flower to retrieve her half-soul back. And maybe buy his mother’s fried tofu on the way as well.
A bizarre anime, similar to Poputepipikku, that will make you wonder what is exactly going on here and How! If you enjoyed Poputepipikku, do give it a try.
3. Nichijou – My Ordinary Life
Nichijou is another anime similar to Poputepipikku with short skits, parodies, and cultural references revolving around the main characters. Both series have a non-sequitur humor that makes the series even more hilarious. The series revolves around the outlandish adventure of 3 childhood friends and a young genius scientist, in their normal everyday life.
Mio, Yuuko, and Mai are 3 childhood friends with wacky characters and questionable antics that they employ to handle more questionable situations in their daily life. And the entry of a child genius Hakase Shinonome only makes it worse, by bringing in her talking cat and caretaker robot. Now the life of these 4 girls and the people around them is a curious mix of monotone life and absurd scenarios. Now, talking cow and deer in the classroom is as normal as the Nano the robot who attends classes with them.
Both the series are not bound by reality and sense, to the extent that makes you wonder the level of imaginative power their authors must possess. Similar to Poputepipikku, Nichijou presents an exaggerated sense of humor with outrageous skits that have you rolling on the floor.
4. Magic Shoujo Ore
Magic Shoujo Ore is an exaggerated, over-the-top parody of the Mahou Shoujo genre. Similar to Poputepipikku it is also skit based and makes fun of various genres of anime, manga, and games, to make the viewers laugh. The series orbits around a girl who suddenly gets magical power and has to save the world.
Saki Uno is a middle schooler and a pop idol belonging to a rather unpopular idol group, whose life suddenly changes when a yakuza-like man tries to enter her house. Apparently, the said man is a mascot named Kokoro-chan who has come to recruit her as the new Magical Girl Ore after her mother retired. Initially, she refuses, but after Kokoro tells her that squirrel-like monsters want to kidnap her crush Mohiro, she reluctantly accepts. But to her utter embarrassment, she must transform into a large muscular man in a girly dress and fight these squirrel demons to save Mahiro and the world.
Anyway, with the help of her best friend and partner of her idol group Sayuko, she somehow manages. If you enjoy parodies similar to Poputepipikku, then Magic Shoujo Ore is a gem that you must try at least once. The series is not only absolutely hilarious, but it also teaches you the power of love and ambition.
5. FLCL
FLCL, also known as Fooly Cooly is a short anime series, similar to Poputepipikku, that is packed with meta-humor and parody portrayed in various animation styles. The series revolves around a 12-year-old boy Naota Nandaba, and his suddenly not-so-monotonous life caused by the arrival of an eccentric girl named Haruko Haruhara.
Naota is an ordinary sixth grader living a monotonous life in a boring city. After his brother’s departure to America, he now lives a busy but peaceful life with his father and grandpa. But it all changes when a pink-hair girl riding a Vespa with a bass guitar runs over him and somehow gives him a horn. And if that wasn’t enough, now that psychopath girl named Haruka is living in his house as the live-in maid. Unbeckoned to him, it’s just the start of his involvement with evil robots, aliens, and space police.
Although FLCL does have some serious parts, it still doesn’t lack parody or absurd comedy. The series similar to Poputepipikku has a bizarre sense of humor that will make you think, what did you just watch?
6. Gal & Dino
If you like animals there must have been at least one time when you brought a stray home and tried to keep them. Whether you got to keep them or not is another story. But Kaede takes the whole case to a completely different level; not a cat or a dog, she somehow brought a living dinosaur home with her while drunk. The series, similar to Poputepipikku, is also an anime adaptation of a manga adopted by Kamikaze Douga.
Kaede is a cheerful fashionista who, while drunk one day, brings a dinosaur home but can’t remember how or why. Now Dino, the dinosaur who’s somehow more human than Kaede could have thought, is living as her roommate and enjoying his life with food, tv, and fashion. Though Dino doesn’t speak, the two make a good pair and start learning about each other through bite-size adventures.
If you are looking for an absurd comedy that similar to Poputepipikku is a mix of various animation styles and live-action segments, then Gal & Dino is just for you. It is also similar to Poputepipikku with its skits and non-sequitur humor.
7. Ai-Mai-Mi
Another anime, similar to Poputepipikku, whose name doesn’t make any sense. The series depicts the ordinary life of 4 girls from the manga club, who are always in the middle of some bizarre situation when they are not drawing comics; which is more often than you would expect.
Ai, Mai and Mii are the three members of the Manga Club who seem to be doing everything except drawing manga. Along with their Ponoka-senpai, the three girls are always on an adventure; making things interesting with their vivid imagination and absurd methods to solve ordinary everyday problems. With them, you can expect anything from rescuing an abandoned cat to fighting evil invaders to save the Earth.
If you loved the senseless comedy in Poputepipikku, then you will enjoy watching it. Similar to Poputepipikku, the girls are just trying to have fun living in their own world, doesn’t matter how absurd that world can be at times. It’s a series that you can watch after a busy day to relax and forget the day’s hassle.
8. Cromartie High School
While choosing a high school anyone with average intelligence would avoid a school known for the toughest delinquents, right? Apparently not. Takashi Kamiyama, an above-average IQ student who has nothing to do with delinquent life decides to enroll in a school where everyone else is one. Similar to Poputepipikku, it is also a high school comedy solely based on absurdity.
Takashi is a non-delinquent who, for reasons unknown, decides to enroll in a school filled with the toughest delinquents who could end him with a minute. But thanks to some reverse psychology, everyone thinks he is the strongest in his class. Cause, of course, to be a sheep among lions, you sure must have some hidden cards right? And as if his life was still dull, he decides to improve the reputation of the school when everyone around him is bent on bringing hell down to earth. With a mission such as his, there is bound to be trouble, especially when robots and chimpanzees get involved.
Cromartie is a plotless high school parody of the tough-guy theme which, similar to Poputepipikku, is filled with meta-humor, gags, and absurd skits. If you enjoyed Poputepipikku, you will most probably love this one too.
9. Plastic Neesan
There is always one upperclassman who is everyone’s brother or sister and is also referred to as such. In this anime, this title is bestowed upon Iroe Genma, a third-year high school student. Similar to Poputepipikku, it also presents rapid-fire humor with solid punchlines. The series follows the daily hijinks of the 3 members belonging to the School’s Model Club.
Iroe Genma is a third-year upperclassman who, despite her short stature and troublemaking personality, is often referred to as Neesan. She is also the President of the School’s Model Club, which is dedicated to building plastic models. Iroe, with Hazuki Okamoto and Making Sakamaki, two of her underclassmen, try to fulfill their duties as the club members, but due to the attention span of a puppy, the task becomes harder than it actually is.
If you are looking for a plotless gag comedy with absurd skits, similar to Poputepipikku, then you will enjoy watching Plastic Neesan. A senseless comedy that you can enjoy in the evening after a hectic day.
10. Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan
The stereotype is that angels are kind, smart, beautiful, and soft-natured, but maybe that’s just what it is, a stereotype that doesn’t apply to all of them. Because except beautiful no other adjective here goes together with Dokuro- chan. Similar to Poputepipikku, Angel Dokuro Chan also revolves around weird characters and their bizarre antics.
Dokuro Mitsukai is an angel sent as an assassin from the future to kill Sakura Kusakabe before he makes an evil world-changing device that stops girls from aging after they are 12. But after meeting Sakura, Dokuro changes the plan and decides not to kill him but instead keep him distracted so that he can never make that device. Seeing that Dokuro won’t kill Sakura, another angel Sabato is sent to complete the mission. Now with the two angels in his life, Sakura’s life is never boring but never safe either.
Similar to Poputepipikku, the randomness of this show and the questionable actions of the crazy characters make it hilarious. It’s an anime that you can enjoy during your break time if things are too heavy because here you don’t need to use your brain to understand what’s going on cause nothing makes sense anyway.
11. Grand blues!
Although the series doesn’t deal with surreal comedy, it still has a skit-based structure similar to Poputepipikku. If you loved watching the Granblue Fantasy series, then this will show you another side of your favorite characters. Grand Blues! also known as Guraburu!, is a spin-off of the popular action-fantasy series Grand Blue Fantasy.
Set in a world where islands float in the sky, Gran lives with his adorable winged lizard named Vyrn on an island named Zinkenstill, known for its mysteries. Their life changes after their encounter with Lyria, a girl who escaped from Erste Empire. The short series presents a gag-comedy version of the adventures and the daily life of the whole team from Granblue fantasy.
If you are looking to try an anime similar to Poputepipikku that is skit based, but a lot cuter and light-hearted, then you should try watching Grand blues. It has the same randomness and nonsense humor type similar to Pop Team Epic, that will have you laughing within minutes.
12. The Super Milk Chan
The Super Milk Chan is another anime similar to Poputepipikku that presents its humor through parodies and absurd situations. Even the main characters of the two series are quite similar to each other. The anime orbits around a baby named Milk, who works for President and delays paying rent by any means possible.
Milk is a 5 year-old-baby with a bad mouth who solves crimes for the President in her free time. Milk lives with her robotic maid slash partner Tetsuko and her pet slug Hanage in an apartment that’s rent has been due for the last 6 months. Milk, with her dysfunctional family, is always ready to take on the mission given by the President, whether it is to fight crime or counsel a school of drunk fish.
If you enjoyed watching the Dynamics of Popuko and Pipimi, then you would enjoy watching Super Milk Chan as well. Similar to Poputepipikku Super Milk Chan is an adult comedy-filled with absurdness and randomness that will make you laugh out loud.
13. Teekyuu
Although it is not similar to Poputepipikku in the sense of reference and parody, the random comedy in Teekyuu sure will remind you of Pop Team Epic. Similar to Poputepipikku, Teekyuu also forgets most of the time that something called reality and logic exists, cause sense and reality are overrated here anyway. It is a sports comedy that depicts the wacky antics of tennis club members that do everything except play tennis.
Yuri Oshimoto is the youngest and probably the most sincere member there is in the tennis club. Surrounded by three extremely eccentric out-of-control seniors who are serious about everything except the sports they joined the club to learn. Kanae Shinjou somehow has the ability to break all the laws of physics, Nasuno Takamiya, a rich maiden who knows how to get what she wants, and Marimo Bandou, who is going to be arrested one of these days, make sure that Yuri’s life is never monotonous or easy.
If randomness and senseless humor in absurd situations is what keeps you going, then Similar to Poputepipikku, Teekyuu is going to be on your list of favorites.
14. Holo no Graffiti
Holo no Graffiti is another anime with surreal comedy similar to Poputepipikku. Similar to Poputepipikku, it also uses references to various pop culture and internet memes as a source of humor. Also known as HoloGra, it is an animated comedy short series that premiered on the official Hololive Youtube channel.
The series portrays the day-to-day life in the Hololive Production Office, following the various members of Virtual YouTubers, also known as VTubers. There can be nothing ordinary, even in the most ordinary things where these eccentric VTubers are involved. whether it is opening a door or dealing with a flooded office, everything is dealt with in the most absurd and hilarious way
If you are looking for a surreal comedy where logic and sense occupy no place, then you should absolutely give this series a try. Similar to Poputepipikku it is also a non-sequitur humor coupled with crazy characters and their absurd antics.
15. Space Dandy
Do you believe that there are aliens out there in space? Even though the technology is so advanced yet but there will be a time when anyone could go on an adventure, explore space and interact with different species of aliens. Although it’s not possible in our world, it is in Dandy. The series is a sci-fi comedy that revolves around the misadventures of a space hunter named Dandy.
Dandy is a space explorer with a unique fashion sense whose job is to find new species of aliens and get them registered for reward. But in a business like this, where ‘first come, first get’ is the rule, things are never easy. Accompanied by his trusted robot vacuum QT and cat-like alien companion Meow, Dandy roams the space, meeting exceptional beauties and wacky characters, hunting new aliens all the while avoiding other alien hunters and the evil scientist Dr. Gel.
Similar to Poputepipikku, Space Dandy also presents a parody of different anime tropes and a non-sequitur humor. The anime is absolutely hilarious, with sassy characters who are always up to something disastrous.
16. Kill Me Baby
School life is never easy, especially if you are classmates with a ninja and an assassin. Even more so when you are an airhead with a tendency to play a prank. Now, you can imagine the life Yasuna must be living, or maybe not. Similar to Poputepipikku, this series also revolves around two polar opposite friends who encounter bizarre situations in their daily life that they counter with even more bizarre logic and techniques.
Yasuma never thought she would be in so much danger near her friend Sonya. But this is what happens when you make an assassin your best friend and try to play pranks on them. Breaking the neck for a hug is only a calculated risk after all. And life is never boring even more so when a laid-back ninja comes into the mix. It is a school adventure of three friends who are trying to live a normal life with hidden abnormal talents.
If you enjoyed watching Poputepipikku, you should give this one a try too. Similar to Poputepipikku, it is also based on a 4-Koma manga that will have you rolling on the floor; perfect for you to watch and relax after a tiring day.
17. Keroro Gensou
We have lots of bizarre dreams, right? What if one day one such dream comes true? This is what happens with Fuyuki Hinata. One day he dreams that an alien race that looks like a frog has covered the sky of his city with their UFO and is trying to invade, and the next thing he knows, a frog alien named Kororo is trying to take over his house.
Sergeant Keroro is the leader of the preliminary squad whose mission is to conquer Earth. But due to some issue, the rest of the aliens fleed back to their planet but Sgt. Kororo is left behind on Earth since his identity has been revealed. Now, he has to live with Hinata and his family, where he is forced to do household chores and sleep in a dungeon haunted by a ghost. Life is not easy for him, but he gets a breath of relief when he meets some of his other comrades who were also abandoned on Earth.
If you enjoyed the pop references and ridiculous situations in Poputepipikku, then Kororo Gensou will be to your liking too. Similar to Poputepipikku, it is also a fast-paced comedy with wacky and ridiculous characters.
18. Gintama
If the concept of aliens in the historical era of samurai doesn’t sound bizarre to you, then I wonder what would. Similar to Poputepipikku, Gintama is also a parody series with slapstick comedy revolving around skits and gags, with the only purpose to make you laugh.
Gintoki Sakata is a samurai living in a feudal era that is now influenced by Amanta, a powerful alien species that invaded the Earth. The new government has now banned all kinds of swords in public, which consequently makes most samurai look for a different way of living. But Gintoki couldn’t dream of a life where he is not a samurai. So now he roams the streets with a wooden sword and has started his own business called ‘Yorozuya’ where he takes odd jobs and helps people. Accompanied by his giant dog and two employees Shimura and Kagura, Gintoki now goes on missions that may range anything from meeting alien royalty to fighting local gangs.
Gintama, Similar to Poputepipikku with its absurd situations and wacky characters will make you wonder what is exactly going on here. A meta-humor comedy with various references to other anime and genres, similar to Poputepipikku, to make you laugh out loud and forget about any worry for the time being.
19. Shiba Inuku-san
Have you ever been in a situation where you are the only one to notice an oddity regarding something when no one seems to notice it? If yes, then you would relate to Chako. One of Chako’s classmates is a Shiba Inu whose appearance no one else but she notices. Shiba Inuku-San is a plotless skit-based 4-Koma manga adaptation similar to Poputepipikku.
Chako Ishibashi is a normal middle high school student living a normal life, doing normal school girl things. The only abnormal thing in her life is her classmate Shiba Inuku-San, who doesn’t look like a human but like a Shiba Inu. What’s weirder is that everyone around her is oblivious to her appearance. Despite it all, Chako and Naho become friends with Shibainuku San and encounters all kinds of day-to-day adventure together. With a literal furry friend among the trio, life is never boring.
Another anime similar to Poputepipikku will keep you entertained with its comedy-centered story, weird scenarios, and intriguing characters.
20. Himouto! Umaru-Chan
Himouto is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name, written and illustrated by Sankaku head. Similar to Poputepipikku, the series is also an episodic comedy with references to several other anime, music, video games, and manga. The anime presents an adorable story revolving around the relationship between siblings and friends.
Umaru Doma, the perfect idealistic high school student, has a hidden side that only older brother Yaihei and closest friends know. A girl with refined manners and top-notch scores in academics becomes a lazy, junk food inhaling otaku that throws tantrums to her brother, after wearing her hamster hoodie. Umaru uses her kid-size hamster personality to make new friends, all the while making the lives of her friends, Nana and Kirie an obstacle field.
If you are looking for a referencial comedy with absurd scenarios, similar to Poputepipikku you must give Himouto! Umaru Chan a try. If the idiotic tantrums and stupid fights among siblings endear you, then this is a series that you will enjoy watching.
Poputepipikku is an anime that really has no parallel to it; it’s just so unique in its own weird way. But these are some anime series that shares the same genre or theme as Poputepipikku. All of them are bizarre comedy that is going to make you laugh out loud and at times, wonder what did you just watch? Do share with us which anime from this list of 20 anime series similar to Poputepipikku made you laugh the most.