If you came of age with Cartoon Network in the late ’90s and early 2000s, chances are The Powerpuff Girls were a part of your afternoon ritual. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were more than cartoon characters—they were pop culture icons. From their burst onto the scene in 1998 to a feature-length theatrical film, the three left their mark across generations. But there’s a chapter in their history that many fans didn’t even know existed: a true Powerpuff Girls anime.
Let’s roll back. The original show, conceived by Craig McCracken, originally started as an offbeat student film called The Whoopass Girls. Getting some tweaks, the idea was brought to Cartoon Network’s What a Cartoon! Showcasee, which then became the beloved series that lasted six seasons. With its in-your-face look, wicked sense of humor, and surprisingly intelligent writing, The Powerpuff Girls became one of the most iconic shows of its time, with a following way beyond the U.S.
The popularity of the show in Japan was so great that even after the American show had concluded, the Japanese public still craved more. That demand resulted in something entirely new: Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z—a complete anime remake. But this was not merely a Japanese dub of the original. This was a remake from scratch, done through a partnership between Cartoon Network Japan, Aniplex, and Toei Animation.
The anime hosted large talent behind the scenes, such as character designer Miho Shimogasa (who has done work on Cutie Honey Flash and Sailor Moon spin-off series) and director Megumu Ishiguro. The show was originally intended to be 26 episodes, but its popularity in Japan caused it to be doubled to 52 episodes.
Things went very differently on the American front, though. Although it was part of a global collaboration, Powerpuff Girls Z was not well-regarded in the U.S. by Cartoon Network. Rather than reviving the original voice actors, the English translation was done by Ocean Studios, which had worked on anime adaptations. The dub made slight cuts for TV standards, but when it was released, it was quietly relegated to Boomerang with barely any advertisement, and it never caught on.
Nowadays, Powerpuff Girls Z is still somewhat of an enigma to most American fans. There is no legal streaming option, no DVD release, and no convenient way to view it. For many, it has become a lost piece of media—a colorful, offbeat interpretation of the popular franchise that flew under the radar.
Powerpuff Girls Z is not alone in being the target of this phenomenon. The world of animation is full of shows that fell through the cracks, especially during periods of programming experimentation. Online forums have helped fill the gap to record and disseminate these forgotten treasures. Toonami Nova is one of these treasures, a fan-run web TV channel that stacks retro Toonami classics against lesser-attended dubs, and little-known children’s shows from networks like Fox Kids, Kids’ WB, and Nickelodeon. These websites are a lifeline for programming that was botched, undermarketed, or simply too far ahead of its time.
Powerpuff Girls Z is something greater than a zippy trivia tidbit—it’s proof that even the best franchises have entire chapters lost. It’s proof that fan sites and niche groups have the power to keep the history of animation alive. And for anyone who loves delving into lost media or lost cartoon history, it’s proof that there’s always more to discover, sometimes, in the most unexpected of places.