Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun

Aired: 1992

A wild gag-comedy TV anime broadcast on TV Asahi, based on Ami Shibata's hit manga from Weekly Shonen Jump. After being entrusted with a critically important item by his organization, Sergeant Shintaro is washed up on the tropical Papuwa Island, where he encounters the carefree native boy Papuwa-kun and a menagerie of talking animals such as Tanno Chitta. From there, the series spins into a relentless cyclone of absurd, surreal humor and joyfully unhinged character interactions, amplified in the anime by exuberant performances and exaggerated reaction acting. With TOME's catchy opening theme Nbaba Love Song, the anime became enormously popular among elementary and middle school audiences, establishing itself as a singular highlight among Jump-era 1990s gag anime — and eventually leading to a sequel series, PAPUWA.