The hugely popular anime "Kemono Friends" continues to gain momentum even after its broadcast has ended. Anticipation for a second season, a stage play, an app game, and more...it's all the rage.
Have you heard of "PPP," the penguin idol group that appeared in "Kemono Friends"?
They're an adorable idol unit made up of penguin friends!
In this article, we'll take a thorough look at "PPP"!
What is PPP?
It's pronounced "Pepapu."
It's an abbreviation for "PENGUINS PERFORMANCE PROJECT."
This idol unit is made up of five penguin friends who perform in "Japari Park," the setting of the story.
Everyone wears penguin-themed clothing.
PPP Member Introduction
From here, we'll introduce each member one by one.
The five members of PPP all have different personalities and individuality.
Royal Penguin
Voice Actor: Sasaki Miku
Order: Sphenisciformes, Family: Penguinidae, Genus: Macaroni Penguin. Nickname: "Princess."
She wears penguin-colored tracksuits and lace knee-high socks. Her hair is in pigtails.
She has a strong sense of responsibility and leads the group. She was the one who begged the doctor to allow them to perform a live show.
She stays up late researching choreography and songs, and works harder than anyone else at practicing dancing and singing.
Rockhopper Penguin
Voice Actor: Aina Aiba
Order: Sphenisciformes, Family: Penguinidae, Genus: Macaroni Penguin. Nicknamed "Iwabi."
Distinguished by eyebrow-like ornamental feathers, erect head feathers, and yellow feathers.
She wears a penguin-colored long-sleeved tracksuit over her swimsuit. Her shoes are pink.
She has a boyish appearance and speaks in a masculine tone, ending her sentences with "It's..." (that's it). She loves rock music. She tends to go a little overboard, and was told to pay more attention to the other kids during studio practice.
Gentoo Penguin
Voice Actor: Rena Tamura
Order: Sphenisciformes, Family: Penguinidae, Genus: Adelie. Her nickname is "Jane."
She wears a penguin-colored tracksuit and a white miniskirt. She also wears orange boots and has long hair.
She has a kind, gentle personality and is hardworking, but she has a weakness for action.
Emperor Penguin
Voice Actor: Nemoto Ruka
Order: Sphenisciformes, Family: Penguinidae, Genus: Emperor Penguin. Her nickname is "Emperor."
She wears a tracksuit over a turtleneck high-cut swimsuit. She only wears knee-high socks and black boots.
She is the leader of the PPP. She can swim quickly underwater, making her a valuable member of the aquatic community.
Humboldt Penguin
Voice Actor: Yukiko Tsukita
A member of the family Penguinidae, order Sphenisciformes, genus Humboldt. Her nickname is "Fururu."
She wears a penguin-colored tracksuit dress, socks, and black boots.
She has a natural, laid-back personality. She's often teased by the Rockhopper Penguin.
PPP in the anime preview
PPP was the "Pepap Preview," a preview that appeared after each episode's ending. The five members of PPP chat about the habits of animals that will be the motif for the next Friends to appear.
By the way, it's all ad-lib, and they often talk about the voice actors' inner lives and private matters. The laid-back worldview was very popular.
PPP "Pepap Preview!"
King: "This week, we're studying about lions. Apparently they take a 20-hour break..."
Everyone: "20 hours?! What!?"
King: "But I think a video of us sleeping for 20 hours would sell quite well..."
Iwabi: "Then let's just sleep!"
Everyone: "Oh, so happy! Ugh... ah..."
King: "Next time, on the plains."
In this way, we chat about the next animal in casual conversation.
The History of PPP
In fact, PPP has a long history, with the current members being the third generation.
The group has disbanded twice in the past, but "Princess," also known as Royal Penguin, called everyone together and reunited with an entirely new lineup.
Originally, PPP consisted of four members in the first generation and three in the second. Originally, PPP was not a group of five, and Royal Penguin was the first to join the group in the third generation.
When Margay, a huge PPP fan, pointed this out to Royal Penguin, he became upset. He was afraid of what the audience would think of Royal Penguin, who had not been in PPP until then. This led to an incident where he ran away just before the live show.
However, Kaban-chan and Margay were quick-thinking, and Royal Penguin returned to the venue. As a result, the live show was a great success, and they performed "Ozora Dreamer," a song about the dream of flying through the sky.
PPP Songs
PPP has music. The first of these is the theme song, "Ozora Dreamer," mentioned earlier.
The opening line of the song plays at the end of every Pepapu trailer. It was also performed in episode 8, "Pepa Private Live," along with dance, as part of PPP's live performance. The lyrics faithfully describe the ecology of penguins, and the dance choreography is also penguin-like.
The lyrics, composition, and arrangement are by Vocaloid producer "halyosy." His signature songs include Hatsune Miku's "Sakura no Ame" and Kagamine Len's "Fire◎Flower." He primarily performs on Nico Nico Douga.
He also sings the "Kemono Friends" theme song, "Welcome to Japari Park," with Doubutsu Biscuits.
"Doubutsu Biscuits" is a voice acting unit consisting of Yuka Ozaki (Serval), Saki Ono (Raccoon), and Kana Motomiya (Fennec).
They also made waves by appearing on Music Station under the names "Doubutsu Biscuits x PPP" and "Doubutsu Biscuits + Kaban x PPP + Margay + Asian Small-Clawed Otter"!
Their performances were also amazing.
PPP Outside of Anime
So far, we've been talking about PPP in anime, but PPP exists in other content as well.
PPP on the App
A penguin idol unit also exists in the app version.
However, its name is different: "PIP (PENGUIN IDOL PROJECT)." There's a strong theory that this is the "second generation PPP" mentioned in the game.
The members are Koutei, Jane, Iwabi, and Fururu. This is the group excluding the Royal Penguin from PPP, but the other four are completely different from the PPP members. This shows that there isn't just one individual friend per animal.
By the way, since this is the app version, the voice actors are different.
PPP in the Comics
PPP also appears in the Kemono Friends comic, currently being serialized in "Shonen Ace."
They appeared as Toki's tutors, but the exact members are unknown.
PPP on Stage
The stage play "Kemono Friends" was also a hot topic! The voice actors who provided the voices for the characters in the anime performed on stage, so the voices remained the same and the worldview was retained.
PPP, who are also active on stage, are very cute.
Cafe Collaboration Menu
A limited-time Kemono Friends collaboration cafe opened in April 2017. It's called "JAPARI CAFÉ CONCEPT SINCE 2017."
The cafe's concept is "Mountains, Desert Area, and Pepapu," and it offers a variety of original menu items and cafe-exclusive merchandise.
By the way, inside this cafe there is also a summer-only area called "PPP WORLD" where you can enjoy a penguin paradise.
The PPP collaboration menu item is "PPP WORLD Penguin Pancakes."
It consists of stacked pancakes dipped in five different sauces.
While the PPP area is only available in the summer, the collaboration cafe is scheduled to operate until spring 2018.
Summary
This concludes our introduction to "PPP" in "Kemono Friends."
Even among the many unique and diverse Friends in "Kemono Friends," PPP exudes a unique atmosphere.
We can't wait to see how PPP will be integrated into the story in Season 2!
