Pupa (2014) User Reviews

Worst anime 2014

[commando-razor · 2/10 · 1 March 2014]

This is probably going to be the worst anime of the year.

It honestly makes me wonder what the guys at DEEN were thinking when they decided to make this adaptation, "Hey we have so much money, let's just animate this crappy manga" is probably an accurate assumption to make.

Because really, let's judge it from every possible perspective: Animation: Not good at all, like really, incomplete scenery, crappy censorship (for example, there was a scene where they censored a knife for some reason, but at the next scene it was shown explicitly), horrible, and I mean HORRIBLE, art style and both the OP and EDs are, literally, still images.

Sound: This is at least the only decent aspect of the anime, the opening song is pretty catchy and so is the ED, nothing especially good, though. The background music does not fit the atmosphere, given that it's a horror anime, you hear violins that, at first, sound like some country music song.

Story: Pfhaha, don't even get me started on this one, the story is by far the most ridiculous one I've ever seen. Like, taking the first and second episodes as example, Utsutsu, right after he saw his very own sister turn into a demon and eat two live persons, he just casually goes to it (her) and just tells her to "go home". What kind of terrible writing is that? It also leaves several plot holes, but for the sake of not-spoiling, I'll just leave it there.

Characters: I have no idea what anyone is. Like really, there's a witch scientist, a demon zombie monster girl, a guy and a scientist. That's all. No character development has been seen so far either. The character design is plain and boring.

My conclusion is that this anime shouldn't even exist. That is all.

Horrible anime

[braydenpoole · 2/10 · 23 December 2020]

The biggest turn around for anime yet, avoid this ugly thing, that is a so-called anime.

Pupa is the biggest turn-around I've experienced. Its lackluster gore aspects aren't worth it.

[Piegoose · 1/10 · 1 December 2014]

I remember hearing about Pupa when the project was starting, and I remember the disappointment when hearing it featured four-minute episodes. The show looked vaguely interesting and I assumed that it was going to be shortened because the content was going to be so severe, possibly carrying some of the most grotesque scenes in anime. However, that isn't quite what's here, and one's feelings to the shortening might suddenly change upon watching it. If I had to guess why it's this way, I would guess the reasoning is that Pupa is pretty bad. People misuse the term "edgy" all the time, but Pupa is one of those anime that reminds us that there is still use for the word.

Pupa gave people the impression that it would be one of the most brutal and gory anime around, but it would be a lie to say it met that marker. When the show was decidedly shortened, it also felt as though the budget itself was dropped for funding each minute of screen-time. The animation, at its best moments, is just about average for anime series back in the 2000's. The art style (not the style the characters are drawn in terms of line-work, but the actual art style of shading and the color scheme) doesn't have character and just feels cheaply made. There are many moments where the animation will look a bit shoddy. The "gory" moments are where the animation is at its best, and this usually involves our beloved imouto eating human flesh. Is an imouto eating a handful of opaque, purple goo considered gory? If not, that is basically the goriness of this series.

The sound of the series is average, and most of the music tracks will likely not be too memorable. However, the opening song is very catchy and Pupa should be given a thumbs-up for that. The ending song is also alright, but for the type of song it is, a shortened version doesn't do it justice. The music itself carries electronics with drumbeats to it, along with some piano. The music serves its basic purpose to the series, but rarely sounds good enough to the level of pulling the viewer in. Switching to the sound effects, Pupa fails to an extent. There are many times where a scene will be almost silent and the only sound playing will be the character's voice. In those moments, the atmosphere will feel very plain. Pupa tries to hide this by playing a light soundtrack song to cover up the silence, but the songs being so light most of the time makes this phenomenon still noticeable. In terms of audio and sound, Pupa stays around an average level.

The story of Pupa is about a monster needing to maintain its cannibalistic desires, and the spread of this monster's disease. That will lead to some light gore of cannibalistic behavior, and some other disturbing scenes of people trying to stop the monster. By the end, none of this is explained in the smallest detail and what I state is where that plot element stays throughout. What also doesn't develop is the characters. The main, sibling characters barely develop in their relationship, even though it's basically all they talk about the entire time. No character here is sensible, and the character roster relies heavily on tropes and archetypes. The story is very simple with flat characters and, even though its elements don't even attempt to become understood, another issue rises with the series' closure. The ending of Pupa is entirely unsatisfying and doesn't give closure to any of its characters or any information to its basic, plot elements. The story also ends in a very unfinished state from what it considers to be a reasonable ending. The main characters get out of a dilemma and escape for a brief moment, but for some reason they choose to end it there. The ending shifts the stories focus to the sibling's understanding of their love (not to incest level) for one-another, which they seemed to already know long before these series of events even started.

Pupa tells a story that allows the creators to fill it with gore to be disturbing, but without even the attempt of explaining the elements that allow the gore in the first place, making it all feel forced and as if it was the only selling point of the series. Also, with the lacking budget in place, not even the gore is carried out well enough to be worth watching for that alone. The animation is average, and there are many moments with barely any animation whatsoever, even with this series only totaling to thirty-seven minutes in length. The art style is basic and feels incomplete for the type of style it wanted to represent. The music serves its place, but the lacking sound effects can make entire scenes feel incomplete with moments of literally no sound effects whatsoever. The characters are plain archetypes with some carrying inscribed symbols on their faces for an aspect of uniqueness, but that only makes their roles feel even more plain as you stare at their out-of- place tattoos that give them the extent of their uniqueness. No character goes beyond their archetype and there are even moments of pure stupidity, like a soldier calling out the lost torso of his ally's legs. Those moments go laughably near the level of Mars of Destruction. Yet, one plus Mars of Destruction has over this series is that it's half as long, and its elements were so conventional that it could all be considered stupid fun. Pupa's elements aren't compatible with fun, but only with the inclusion of gore. Without a proper disclosure as to why it's that way: Pupa feels plain, desperate, and self-conscious as one of those anime that deserves to be labeled with the term "edgy". Should one watch Mars of Destruction or Pupa? Mars of Destruction, if imoutos aren't all that.

Terrible

[loganmwynn · 1/10 · 18 May 2021]

Bad animation, bad writing, no development, and gore for the sake of gore. Definitely a pass.

A Disastrous and Disturbing Anime Experience

[lipnusis · 1/10 · 2 June 2023]

Pupa is an anime series that dives headfirst into disturbing and grotesque content without any semblance of narrative coherence or meaningful storytelling. It is a prime example of shock value gone horribly wrong, leaving viewers disgusted and questioning the purpose of such a repulsive and poorly executed anime.

One of the most glaring issues with Pupa is its gratuitous and excessive use of graphic violence and disturbing imagery. The series revels in showcasing explicit scenes of blood, gore, and cannibalism, seemingly for the sake of shock value alone. These scenes are not only disturbing but lack any narrative purpose or artistic merit, making them feel gratuitous and exploitative. Pupa's attempts to shock and disgust its audience ultimately come across as juvenile and desperate, devoid of any meaningful substance.

The animation and art style in Pupa are subpar at best. The character designs lack detail and consistency, and the overall visual presentation feels uninspired and amateurish. The animation itself is stiff and lacks fluidity, failing to engage the audience on a visual level. Pupa's lackluster production values further contribute to the overall disappointment of the series.

Narratively, Pupa is an incoherent mess. The story is disjointed, with disjointed and disconnected scenes that fail to form a cohesive plot. The lack of clear exposition and world-building leaves viewers confused and frustrated, unable to invest in the narrative or connect with the characters. Pupa's attempts at psychological horror and suspense fall flat due to its inability to establish a strong foundation for its storytelling.

The characters in Pupa lack depth and development, rendering them one-dimensional and uninteresting. Their actions and motivations are poorly explained, leaving the audience with little reason to care about their fates. The lack of emotional investment in the characters further hampers any potential engagement with the series.

Furthermore, Pupa's episode length is disappointingly short, with episodes lasting only a few minutes each. This severely limits the storytelling potential and hampers any attempt at meaningful character development or plot progression. The truncated episodes feel rushed and incomplete, leaving viewers with a sense of dissatisfaction and confusion.

In conclusion, Pupa is a disastrous and disturbing anime that fails on multiple fronts. Its gratuitous use of violence and shock value, coupled with its lackluster animation, incoherent storytelling, and underdeveloped characters, make for an abysmal viewing experience. Pupa's attempts at psychological horror and suspense fall flat, and its lack of narrative coherence leaves viewers frustrated and repulsed. This series serves as a cautionary tale of how shock value alone cannot compensate for a lack of substance and thoughtful storytelling.

Worst anime ever

[nmvp-53368 · 1/10 · 28 June 2022]

Just watch episode 6 and you'll get forever traumatized. And i really wanna know who gave this anime a 10/10 score and why, it's impossibile that someone liked this.

A brother and sister story

[WeAreLive · 6/10 · 9 March 2018]

This anime is about two brother and sister called Yume and Utsutsu they are both infected by a virus called Pupa from birth. The Yume has a desire for human flesh but since she can't actually eat a human, so her brother Utsutsu lets her eat his flesh because he has the ability to regrow his human organs and flesh.

Personally I can see why a lot of people are put off of this by this show because of how vulgar,cringey disgusting and disturbing it can be. Since there were a few scenes which would make me not want to revisit this anime again like for example when they are in a toilet and in there own home the sister is eating her brothers flesh, we even see her actually hold an organ in her hand and eat it. But I am actually glad the episode were only 4 minutes long otherwise i might not have watched this.

Another disturbing scene is when the brother is being torchered by the scientist by having his organs removed. The scene can give you nightmares.

I know a lot of people have said the manga is better but coming from a person like me who has never read the manga I think its pretty decent.

Honestly i am not into horror/gore animes but this was not actually that bad as critics say it is and it has opened up my horror shell a bit. Plus there is worse stuff in kids show and CW DC shows I have seen like in Star Wars The Clone Wars I have seen an alien being electrocuted to death and in an episode of Smallville i see a girl eat a dead dear on the road.

However I wish it explained what happened to there abusive father and a cure for both the brother and the sister.

All I am going to say is try this anime for yourself not everyones opinion would be accurate. Maybe it's for you? Maybe it's not for you? I respect your opinion if you don't like the anime. However the only reason i am neutral to this anime is because I watched clips of before I dived into it and I think Yume is very cute especially with that flower hair clip villian or not.

Warning ahead though after mathining the whole anime you might not be able to sleep properly for one if you are not use to horror or limbs being munched on.

Regardless of whatever the haters says in my eyes its not a failure by all means. But it not the best either I just think the amount episodes probably didn't do any justice to the series and on top of that episodes just had no meaning to them. Fun Fact: Tokyo Ghouls was inspired by this anime.

Anyways this is my review for Pupa I hope I never have watch or revisit it again unless if the guts to dub it in english. Have a good day.

Okish even though there was lack of unique character development and a Tokyo Ghoul rip off entirely

[Irishchatter · 6/10 · 4 November 2018]

So to get the Halloween vibes while figuring out what anime to watch on Halloween night, I managed to step on this Tokyo Ghoul rip off anime thanks to a post by Fandom who did a list on "5 Anime That Are So Bad, They're Good". Definately check out the post if you are wanting some new anime to binge at! Don't ask me why I watched all episodes of this anime, I didn't know myself because I certainly hooked on this for no reason lol...

While watching the anime, it definitely was dark in a way. The brother and sister involved in this had an abusive father and the mother of course was unstable from the abuse. The mother was badly wanting to kill the sister because basically she's a Kaneki rip off. It honestly doesn't make one bit of sense to me having her being "ghoul like" because obviously the parents weren't ghouls and we still didn't see a reason why she became a ghoul in the first place! Despite having 12 episodes, there wasn't even enough proof of a reason on why the sister became a ghoul in the first place from birth?!

The brother and sister were the only ones who had each others backs regardless of incest involved. To be honest, despite the pair of them being "lovers", you can only see the sister eating the brothers skins. Then he dies after she's finished eating, he's back to being alive thanks to the women in black who saved him from when he discovered his sister was a demon! If you are screamish with human skin being ripped off and eaten by another human, I strongly suggest to avoid this anime.

I honestly would have liked to have seen more serious character development on each character. I feel like having all episodes at under 4 minutes doesn't cover anything interesting or anything original about the anime. It was like it rushed a lot just to kill time and never be taken seriously.

I've seen way worse anime but I wouldn't at the same time say bravo to this one either. It really needed to be more in depth with its character development and work on being original then copy a horror anime that already had that technique to be interesting.

Not much here sadly

[jaypost · 6/10 · 30 March 2022]

Despite seeing the ratings for this i decided to watch it anyways. I was expecting it to be horrible BUT it wasn't that bad honestly. For those who say its like tokyo ghoul are wrong. I found it more like Prasyte than anything. The girl was born abnormal and was infected with a parasite called a pupa which is an unknown virus that cause the host to crave human meat. Her brother, determined to help her, gets infected as well and becomes her personal source of food given his self healing abilities he received when infected. Its brutal, gory, dark and very unsettling but I found it to only be disappointing in its length and lack of character expansion. So many other characters were introduced and didnt have much backstory to make their motives understandable. The brother and sister were the only two characters that received a backstory that helped the audience ce to understand ther powerful bond for one another. But for what was made, the show was decent. Give it a watch if you're looking for a quick anime.