Hi! Hi! Puffy AmiYumi Show! It’s a phrase squirmier and happier than 150 yipping puppies. Leave it to Puffy AmiYumi, J-pop superstars and domestic cult faves, who will finally hit American pop culture Hello Kitty-style with a Cartoon Network series based on their happy fun ball lives. Hi! Hi! the show features animated versions of Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura, the beguiling dual force at Puffy AmiYumi’s center. But together with collaborators like Jellyfish mastermind Andy Sturmer, the human girl version of Puffy has developed a bright and incredible library of happy-go-lucky pop music that’s as excitingly lid-flipping as their animated adventures are sure to be. Seriously, if you’re still a sourpuss after hearing the kooky “Boogie Woogie No. 5,” the ’60s pinwheels and girl-group harmonies of “Forever,” or “Sunrise” and its astronomic keyboards, if you’re not feeling the spy-kitschy “Teen Titans Theme” or the bash-rock head rush of “Planet Tokyo” and the Hi Hi theme, then you are soulless, and beyond help. Most of Hi Hi has been previously released, making it a greatest hits for Puffy AmiYumi veterans. But it’s the perfect place to start for wide-eyed neophytes, or those battling early bouts of seasonal affective disorder.
Johnny Loftus writes about music for Metro Times. E-mail [email protected].
