Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
TheBiggestAnime
Do you know why Puparia became somewhat known in the anime community from the flood of 10k+ 1-5 minute long animations? Because it looked pretty.
This review is more of a critic towards this type of stuff rather than Puparia itself. All of this applies to every one of you ''avant garde'' category ''animes'' that have the same issues.
First of all this is not an ''anime''. This shouldn't be in the ''anime'' category full of ''anime''. This is an experimental animation with visuals and symbolisms that only the author can understand because it came from HIS field of perspective and all we can do is ATTEMPT to deconstruct what we saw. This is not an ''anime''. I don't care if the pure definition is animation from Japan. When you think of an anime you think attack on titan , jjk , dragon ball…
Read at the sourceKranst
A brief, but breathtaking three-minute creative expression from Shingo Tamagawa, an individual who devoted three years of their life to making this animation. Every frame is an expressive, traditionally hand-drawn page. Puparia is more imaginative than anything story-driven, and its abstract nature intentionally leaves much not understood, feeling akin to semi-related snippets from a potentially larger vision that will never be realized. There is no narrative or dialogue, but surreal, otherworldly scenes enveloped by a hauntingly beautiful backing track. This is to be appreciated without striving to grasp some objective meaning. Rather, this is a passionate, albeit enigmatic, work of art that is profoundly human.
Read at the sourceCorani
First of all, I don't speak English, so my English is a crap, so take that into consideration...
Anime without a story is like a drum that isn't played. Two big things that are great about this anime are the color mixing technique and the audio, the rest is very boring. Why I don't recommend it for the 'good' and 'worth watching' categories because Puparia is only suitable for those who like anime visually.
My rating points are:
Art style: 5/5 Stars
Animation: 3/5 Stars
Effects: 3/5 Stars
Logic: 1.5/5 Stars
Dialogue/Emotions: 0/5 Stars Voice acting: 0/5 Stars
Music: 3.5/5 Stars
Sounds: 3.5/5 Stars
Thank You :)
Read at the sourceRe4ver
It's a bit of weird one.
First things first, this is brilliantly animated and the art style really stands out, the visuals alone are worth a watch, considering the very short run time.
Fundamentally though, this doesn't convey much more than visuals. Certainly they are quite striking but there isn't really much of a coherent narrative, or even any dialogue. It's very much a piece that aims to be high art but personally I don't think achieves much other than looking quite striking. I'm sure the creator had deeper meaning in mind with some of the shots, particularly the 2nd scene, but some of the others also seem relatively meaningless, such as the 1st, but maybe I just don't get it. In my opinion, I believe that communication is a 2-way street, there's no use putting out a message if no o…
Read at the sourceBikie_magar012
The animation is absolutely beautiful and the music is very good as well.
Given it's just a 3 minute animation, there isn't any story and connection to each scene but still everything manages to give this very strange feeling that attracts the attention of the audience.
The characters look alive yet dead at the same time,their eyes piercing through your soul.
The author of the animation truly worked very hard and poured their time and effort into quality rather than quantity. It's not always that people are able to show their talent this way and so we should show the appreciation for this work.
I would absolutely recommend anyone to watch this short yet stunning masterpiece.
Read at the source11equalsFish
A short work that is an experimental animation of abstract feeling. Detailed animation and character designs that are rarely seen in this hand drawn fidelity. It progresses through scenes in a dream-like way, cutting between strange locations. Seems like free association, so I've seen it a few times over the years to consider it again.
It is a series of scenes and moods that you contemplate, each scene with many layers of shapes and colors that seem to imply a deeper consciousness and surreal presence. There is only steady music, and the visuals. Beings that have strange behaviour and bodies move and travel around, becoming aware of things and staring. It looks detailed and precise.
It seems broad, touches on nature, gals, a house, a crowd, a landscape. With all the silent staring and cu…
Read at the sourceSaturn_girl
3 minutes of pure visual delight that will absolutely fill you with curiosity and leave you wanting more.
Puparia is a hauntingly beautiful 3-minute anime short created entirely by one artist, Shingo Tamagawa, over the span of three years. It's more of a visual poem than a narrative — a surreal, introspective journey filled with symbolism, emotion, and atmosphere.
What truly stands out are the gorgeous hand-drawn visuals: soft pencil textures, flowing hair, delicate lighting, and dreamlike scenes that seem to hover between stillness and movement. Each frame is meticulously crafted, evoking a sense of quiet melancholy and transformation. The color palette is subdued yet expressive, adding to the ethereal tone of the piece.
There’s no dialogue, but the imagery speaks volumes — of change,…
Read at the sourceInter_anime
Puparia is an anime that is difficult to explain because not a lot happens during its 3 minute runtime. Despite having some of the most beautifully detailed and intriguing art you'll ever see, there is no dialogue or story, no real message or plot. It is in a sense just a 3 minute short of nicely drawn art. However, looking deeper, there is a more profound meaning to this short film.
The meaning of Puparia cannot be separated from story of its creator Shingo Tamagawa. In a brief documentary on YouTube Tamagawa explained that after slaving away for a number of years as an animator, he felt that he had lost his artistic passion and was fed up with all the bureaucracy and nonsense in the anime industry. Tamagawa ended up taking a lengthy break from working in anime, and it was then that he d…
Read at the sourceLost_Hearts
I have no idea what just happened.
This short seems more like a "look how good we can animate" short.
Story... what?
Characters? What characters?
Every description of the anime... what?
There really is nothing to it, and had this been any longer than three minutes, I would of had given up pretty soon. Its music is annoying, if you watch it I suggest you just turn it off. It is the same sound over and over again so after hearing the first five seconds, you have heard the whole song.
Don't watch this, I felt like I could of done better things in the three minutes spent watching this.
Read at the sourcetater_
It’s incredible what Shingo Tamagawa is able to accomplish in just 3 short minutes. The mesmerising animation, unique and gorgeous art style and truly spectacular score all blend together perfectly to create a wonderful viewing experience.
The art style and animation is simply stunning; it’s nice to know that there’s still plenty of fresh ideas and individuality to be discovered in the vast world of animation. The use of colour and the way each shot is crafted is, like I said earlier, mesmerising. The same goes for the camerawork, especially in the final scene - the zooms and quick pans are spontaneous and create a wonderful sense of freedom.
The score is fitting and beautiful. It creates an otherworldly feel to the whole piece, as if it wasn’t otherworldly enough. Considering it’s just…
Read at the sourceHikoukigumo
If you're looking for a story, you're missing the point. There's no real concrete story, instead there's a mood, a feeling, an emotion. Yes those are all synonyms but none of them quite fully convey what can be felt here.
I'll admit, when I first saw it, I gave it an 8 only out of artistic obligation. But it's so short, it's easy to rewatch. You start to feel the weight of all the work that took to make it. It took one man three years to make this. It almost forces you to rexamine what's going on here. Surely there is something deeper here he is trying to convey.
But don't be fooled, there is no real answer to what Puparia is about. It's whatever you make of it. You could probably make an argument that it's about any emotion under the sun and I really couldn't argue against it. I can't c…
Read at the sourcepatchworkpants
This is an amazing short. The level of detail in each from is gorgeous, the visual style is beautiful, the soundtrack is stellar and complements the piece beautifully. I don't really know what it was about but it was clearly a labour of love. It had a distinct art style that worked very well, with all the scenes being well composed and using unusual but effective colour pallettes. The characters in it were well designed visually.
All I know is I couldn't take my eyes off it and it blew me away. The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because it was so short and I had no idea what it was about, but it did touch me and it was beautiful.
Read at the sourceTkit
Literally two and a half minutes of animated wallpapers.
Puparia is a nice looking animated short and that's as far as it goes. Sure art looks nice but it's not anything incredible. In case of animation we have some slight movement and facial expressions.
Looking for story in this is futile. Scenes are bearly if at all connected with eachother and we have no dialoge as well. If you want to expierience story on this level take few random pictures and try to come up with something.
With all of that being said it is so short that you might as well watch it.
Read at the sourceilalochezia
Puparia gives us a glimpse into a mesmerizing imagination. Narrative, cohesion, meaning aren’t important here. Instead, the animated short entrances us with vivid imagery, surreal spaces, alluring atmospheres, and masterfully constructed scenes. Thoughts and questions take a back seat as we simply come to savor each moment Puparia offers us.
Despite highlighting the artwork, Puparia also makes a statement on the value of the process. Having been painstakingly produced for three years, it embodies the union of artistry, technique, and dedication. Puparia makes it clear that there is value to be found in such a meticulous process - that sometimes we should admire a work not for its greater significance, but for its beauty alone.
The creative world’s baton of finesse has certainly been pass…
Read at the sourcecevurn
best 3 minutes of my life.
this was so pleasing to watch, an actual masterpiece.
story: 8 - only because it confused me
art: 10 - honestly anything below 10 is a crime, such beautiful art
sound: 10 - the music is so beautiful and matches perfectly with the breath taking art
characters: 10 - every character was drawn and animated so wonderfully
enjoyment: 10 - i really enjoyed this !! cant stop rewatching aaa
overall: 10 - highly recommend you watch this beautiful movie
please watch this if you haven't already, you can find it on youtube, ill3gal sites 0-0 and im not sure but i think its on crunchyroll too??
- Jade
Read at the sourcefloury
pupa season 2 looking really fresh
This short film is the result of years in the search of enjoyment in doing the thing the author loves, animation, after a hiatus due to a feeling of loosing himself and dissapointment from part of the industry.
-10/10 inspiring handmade art work.
-Not the best soundtrack, but the music fits very well with the overall work.
-Lacks of character development cause its a shortfilm obviously, but the expressions and actions of the characters in the animation are beautiful and realistic.
Hope the author could use this life time experience and bring back the life once animation had originally, which the industry has slowly turned down throughout the years.
Read at the sourceTenshika11
I can say that I this is a very great short. I usually watch pixar shorts, so this something "new" to me. When I watched this I felt like beeing in art gallery.The art style is very unique and pleasant. The music gives deapth to the short and also completed the picture.
I don´t think this Anime has "story" but the telling is very well done. It´s amusing even without story. The storytelling partly reminds me of Disney Fantasia.
Amazing short that you will love even if you don´t like anime. It´s wonderfull and must watch. Definitely a must watch for lovers of short films.
Read at the sourceNextUniverse
I have zero reasons why I am always late on these kinds of anime.
Visuals, visuals, visuals. For some reason, slap high-quality visuals into something and people will like it. Of course, it is obvious why, but it gets pretty biased in the community when that is the only aspect that is rated upon when watching anime. It is essentially a Konami code of rating things towards your way.
It is clear that Puparia may have a message within its duration, but that wooshed over my head, probably because of how implicitly intricate it is. It was kinda chilling though, paranormal distortions were present throughout, probably somewhere along these lines is where the meaning lies. But as said with the opening paragraph, the visuals hit the most. They are indeed amazing, and why I liked this quite a bit…
Read at the sourceHendy
Puparia is a stunningly beautiful short that's well worth your time, all three minutes of it.
The biggest selling point here is the visuals. The art is absolutely god-tier, each frame could be a painting. It has a level of detail and vibrancy that you rarely see in anime. What I appreciated most was that as detailed as it was, it was aiming for something different than hyper-realism - it was very creatively stylised and illustrative. I just loved looking at it, evidenced by the fact that I've seen this short four times already. However, I can see that perhaps some people wouldn't like it since it's definitely different to the typical anime style.
In terms of story, I can't particularly comment a lot - it's a very short anime, it clocks in at around 3 minutes and it has no dialogue. There…
Read at the sourceslushliss
This is my first review on this site. To be honest, I wasn't ever planning on writing a review, but after watching PUPARIA, I needed to say something.
Shingo Tamagawa effortlessly entices you within the first few seconds of this short film. From the earthy music that grounds you to the Junji Ito-Alice in Wonderland hybrid art style, you cannot help but watch over and over again to understand the deeper meaning of this piece of art.
You can immediately see the immense amount of love and care put into this 3 minute work. It's quite amazing, and though I don't feel like I understand all of it, I feel as if this is valid all the same. Maybe I'm not meant to understand all of it, maybe I need to forge ahead my own thoughts.
Go and watch it. You won't regret it.
Read at the source