PaRappa The Rapper

PaRappa The Rapper is an anime television series based on the video game series of the same name, originally airing on Fuji TV in 2001, and rebooted and reworked by ABS in 2015.

Original series (2001)
The show was originally intended to be targeted towards teenagers and young adults, the main age demographic that was targeted by PaRappa's video game series. The show that resulted, however, was targeted at children under the age of 12.

Premise
The show centres around the adventures of PaRappa, a dog who has a great talent in rapping, and his friends, Sunny, PJ and Katy.

PaRappa appears to have a very close relationship with Sunny Funny, an anthropomorphic sunflower character who gets along well with her friends, PaRappa being one of them. PaRappa, however, does not try to win her heart all the time, but rather bonds to her as a friend. Their relationship soon progresses, and at the end of the series, it becomes apparent that PaRappa and Sunny are more than just friends.

When not expressing affection with Sunny, PaRappa is seen engaging in games and activities with his friends.

Reception
Despite the show not living up to its original expectations, the anime still had a cult following.

The name "PaRappa The Rapper" seemed to be slightly ironic, as PaRappa is very rarely seen rapping in the show. This may have been due to the sudden shift in its demographic. Rodney Greenblat, who designed the titular PaRappa, said that he had not influenced the plot or show's development in any way. He believed that the show was simply a marketing tool for PaRappa merchandise.

The show ran on Fuji Television (and a number of stations affiliated with the Fuji Network System) for 30 episodes, split across two seasons, through April 2001 to January 2002. Reruns were previously shown by ABS Television in 2005 (until being stopped by order of the network's founder), and then again in 2013 via the ABS Plus CS channel, but the show has been entirely removed from ABS schedules with a brand-new series in production.

Rodney Alan Greenblat
Rodney Greenblat, who designed the characters for the PaRappa games, slammed the 2001 anime series in an interview with an online gaming magazine. Below is an excerpt from Gamasutra's interview:

"[The show's producers] decided that they wouldn't let anyone from the game team side work on the TV side, they didn't want to pull anyone from the game development for the TV show development. And then they wanted to slate the show for little kids, 5 year olds or something, mostly to sell toys. There were two different animation houses doing the show and each had a slightly different style and that was really bugging me; my characters looked a little different in one episode to the next. I had to create a whole new PaRappa world and check things; I would get rushes for each episode and make corrections, and they wouldn't even do anything about it! Characters kept on changing and messing up... in the game PaRappa could drive a car so you figure he's 16 or 17, but in the show he's sitting in the third grade and his antics were based on what 8 or 9 year olds are doing!"

Kenji Yukimura
Kenji Yukimura, the founder of Kabushiki Gaisha ABS, had been enlisted to distribute the series internationally via the ABS International satellite channel in 2005. However, around 7 episodes into the series, Kenji Yukimura ordered that the show be cancelled. Just hours later, ABS N24 interviewed him regarding the decision.

"This is an insult to my childhood! I played and loved the PaRappa The Rapper games since 1997 when they came out, but now the popularity has been exploited to create this stupid marketing ploy. The psychos at Fuji TV may as well be hanged for what they have done to the franchise with this... MISTAKE of an anime. A MISTAKE! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!?! IT'S A DISASTER! *sobbing*"

Kenji's emotional breakdown in the news studio attracted much attention to himself. Kenji declined to comment. The interview has recently been compared to Ryutaro Nonomura's breakdown, which happened whilst he was making a public apology after misusing millions of yen worth of government funds to pay for his own spa breaks.

Rumors
In late 2014, some media speculators said that a new anime series starring PaRappa The Rapper could be in production, and set for a debut in 2015. These claims were rejected by fans, who believed that the series has ended entirely. Fuji Television stated that "in no way, shape or form are we working on a new PaRappa The Rapper series."

Confirmation
In April 2015, Kabushiki Gaisha ABS officially announced that they were working to produce a new show that would be totally different from the original 2001 series. A promotional website was also launched at parappa.abs.jp.

Premise
Kabushiki Gaisha ABS has stated that the new PaRappa The Rapper series would be closer to the spirit of the original games that started the series. They also stated that the new series would be presented in 3DCG, similar to the style of PaRappa The Rapper 2 for the PlayStation 2. The animation team would be run by numerous companies, but would be lead by Kabushiki Gaisha ABS (PaRappa 's 2015 iteration being their first anime series), J.C. Staff (who worked on the animation for the 2001 Fuji TV PaRappa series) and Shin-ei Animation (of Doraemon fame), and would be supervised by Shikoku Television Broadcasting (an ABS Television affiliate in Central Japan, who is starting their production career with this show).

With Dred Foxx, PaRappa's original voice actor in the games, confirmed to star in the new series, it was clear that the show would be in English, unlike other Japanese anime productions.

ABS also stated that the new series would not be driven by story to the same extent as the original; ABS believes that this is why the original series was only on the air for 30 episodes. ABS plans for the series to run much longer than the original, and hopes that it will run into at least 2020. When asked for comment, ABS stated that "we're being very ambitious. We've never made an anime series ourselves before, but with STB and Shin-ei on our side, I think we can do it. As PaRappa himself would say, We Gotta Believe."

The show premiered on the Aso Broadcasting System on the 20th June, 2015.

Companion series?
UmJammer Lammy is currently speculated to have her own show as a companion to the new PaRappa series. Lammy is going to appear in the new PaRappa series as a supporting character, however no plans have yet been confirmed for her own seperate show. Kabushiki Gaisha ABS has stated that "we are currently considering the feasibility of a spin-off UmJammer Lammy series, however the development of such a series will depend entirely on PaRappa 's popularity, and potential demand for such a spin-off."

Advertising
The show is being heavily advertised by ABS. Meet-and-greet sessions with PaRappa and his friends are being held at the ABS Broadcasting Center and the HBS-Harborland Broadcasting Center, ABS has adopted PaRappa's "You Gotta Believe" motto as the station's slogan, and ABS is also holding other PaRappa-themed activities.

Many new PaRappa merchandise items are now available, and special figurines (of a character wearing an ABS staff outfit, with PaRappa, Sunny Funny, Lammy and Katy Kat variants) are being given out to ABS Broadcasting Center visitors.

Distribution
In addition to airing the show across Japan via the ABS Television Network, Kabushiki Gaisha ABS is now running the show on the following channels: