<s>
is	O
a	O
Japanese	O
adult	B-Application
visual	O
novel	O
developed	O
by	O
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
with	O
character	O
designs	O
by	O
Akio	O
Watanabe	O
under	O
the	O
alias	O
Poyoyon	O
Rock	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
released	O
as	O
a	O
PC	B-Device
game	O
for	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
on	O
December	O
13	O
,	O
2002	O
,	O
and	O
subsequently	O
re-released	O
on	O
DVD-ROM	O
and	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
with	O
certain	O
scenes	O
removed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
title	O
Popotan	B-Application
is	O
a	O
nonsensical	O
word	O
meant	O
to	O
reflect	O
the	O
prominence	O
of	O
dandelions	O
,	O
spelled	O
in	O
Japanese	O
;	O
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
also	O
produced	O
a	O
fan	O
disc	O
shortly	O
before	O
the	O
DVD-ROM	O
re-release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popotan	B-Application
has	O
been	O
adapted	O
to	O
other	O
media	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
novel	O
series	O
(	O
Popotan～	O
Himitsu	O
no	O
Jumon～	O
Kōhen	O
)	O
by	O
Sassami	O
Yachiruda	O
;	O
a	O
manga	O
series	O
by	O
Yūjiro	O
Izumi	O
;	O
a	O
twelve	O
episode	O
anime	O
television	O
series	O
directed	O
by	O
Shinichiro	O
Kimura	O
,	O
animated	O
by	O
Shaft	O
,	O
and	O
licensed	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
by	O
Geneon	O
USA	O
and	O
later	O
,	O
Sentai	O
Filmworks	O
;	O
a	O
radio	O
drama	O
(	O
Poporaji	O
)	O
;	O
and	O
several	O
art	O
and	O
reference	O
books	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gameplay	O
in	O
Popotan	B-Application
follows	O
a	O
semi-predetermined	O
plot	O
;	O
major	O
events	O
remain	O
the	O
same	O
,	O
but	O
personal	O
storylines	O
can	O
diverge	O
from	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
choices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sales	O
of	O
the	O
visual	O
novel	O
and	O
its	O
fan	O
disc	O
made	O
the	O
top	O
50	O
list	O
of	O
bestselling	O
bishōjo	B-Application
games	I-Application
in	O
Japan	O
multiple	O
times	O
and	O
it	O
spawned	O
the	O
Internet	O
meme	O
"	O
Caramelldansen	O
"	O
when	O
the	O
opening	O
was	O
put	O
to	O
sped-up	O
music	O
by	O
the	O
Swedish	O
band	O
Caramell	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popotan	B-Application
is	O
a	O
visual	O
novel	O
in	O
which	O
players	O
spend	O
most	O
of	O
their	O
time	O
in	O
reading	O
dynamic	O
text	O
,	O
representing	O
either	O
dialogue	O
between	O
the	O
various	O
characters	O
or	O
the	O
inner	O
thoughts	O
of	O
the	O
protagonist	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
progressing	O
through	O
text	O
,	O
players	O
either	O
come	O
to	O
a	O
"	O
decision	O
point	O
"	O
where	O
they	O
must	O
choose	O
from	O
multiple	O
options	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
text	O
will	O
end	O
and	O
the	O
player	O
must	O
move	O
to	O
a	O
new	O
location	O
,	O
or	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
DVD-ROM	O
and	O
PS2	B-Device
versions	O
,	O
use	O
a	O
shortcut	O
option	O
to	O
continue	O
to	O
the	O
next	O
event	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
special	O
music	B-Application
mini-game	I-Application
commences	O
at	O
certain	O
points	O
in	O
Mii	O
's	O
scenario	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Finishing	O
Ai	B-Application
's	O
scenario	O
unlocks	O
a	O
new	O
story	O
featuring	O
Unagi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
can	O
save	O
the	O
game	O
only	O
while	O
text	O
is	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
in	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
versions	O
;	O
this	O
limitation	O
was	O
removed	O
in	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PS2	B-Device
port	O
also	O
altered	O
the	O
events	O
and	O
scenes	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
DVD	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
assumes	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
Chris	O
,	O
the	O
protagonist	O
of	O
Popotan	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ai	B-Application
,	O
18	O
,	O
is	O
the	O
eldest	O
of	O
the	O
three	O
and	O
communicates	O
with	O
plants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mai	O
is	O
the	O
middle	O
sister	O
at	O
14	O
;	O
she	O
is	O
a	O
tomboy	B-Language
and	O
disapproves	O
of	O
Chris	O
's	O
behavior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popotan	B-Application
takes	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
distant	O
future	O
within	O
the	O
remnants	O
of	O
Tokyo	O
,	O
destroyed	O
by	O
a	O
cataclysm	O
and	O
since	O
altered	O
by	O
geological	O
transformations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
disaster	O
was	O
caused	O
by	O
a	O
giant	O
dandelion	O
structure	O
resembling	O
a	O
spire	B-Application
that	O
arose	O
in	O
the	O
city	O
atop	O
a	O
hill	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popotan	B-Application
follows	O
Chris	O
's	O
lifestyle	O
changes	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
mysteries	O
surrounding	O
the	O
spire-like	O
object	O
that	O
caused	O
the	O
destruction	O
of	O
Tokyo	O
in	O
the	O
past	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
developed	O
Popotan	B-Application
in	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
created	O
over	O
1,000	O
two-dimensional	O
computer	O
graphics	O
for	O
backgrounds	O
,	O
events	O
,	O
and	O
character	O
poses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
only	O
characters	O
 '	O
mouths	O
and	O
eyes	O
are	O
animated	O
,	O
numerous	O
poses	O
exist	O
for	O
both	O
major	O
and	O
minor	O
characters	O
;	O
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
created	O
slightly	O
fewer	O
graphics	O
for	O
the	O
latter	O
to	O
reduce	O
production	O
costs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
requested	O
applications	O
for	O
Japanese	O
voice	O
actresses	O
from	O
May	O
to	O
June	O
2002	O
,	O
seeking	O
to	O
fill	O
the	O
roles	O
of	O
the	O
three	O
sisters	O
first	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Satisfied	O
with	O
the	O
applicants	O
,	O
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
held	O
open	O
auditions	O
for	O
other	O
roles	O
starting	O
June	O
30	O
,	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WellMADE	O
produced	O
and	O
distributed	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
port	O
,	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
DVD-ROM	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
made	O
Akio	O
Watanabe	O
project	O
supervisor	O
for	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
released	O
a	O
trial	O
version	O
of	O
Popotan	B-Application
for	O
download	O
on	O
November	O
25	O
,	O
2002	O
and	O
released	O
the	O
full	O
PC	B-Device
version	O
on	O
one	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
the	O
following	O
December	O
13	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
increase	O
pre-order	O
sales	O
,	O
Ferret	O
packaged	O
the	O
initial	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
release	O
of	O
Popotan	B-Application
with	O
a	O
special	O
maxi	O
single	O
CD	O
of	O
Under17	O
's	O
theme	O
songs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
fan	O
disc	O
preceded	O
a	O
re-release	O
of	O
the	O
main	O
game	O
as	O
Popotan	B-Application
Po	I-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
on	O
August	O
1	O
,	O
2003	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
DVD-ROM	O
with	O
game	O
enhancements	O
;	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
's	O
last	O
official	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WellMADE	O
produced	O
a	O
PS2	B-Device
port	O
named	O
Oshiete	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Popotan	B-Application
,	O
released	O
March	O
11	O
,	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
limited	O
edition	O
release	O
of	O
Popotan	B-Application
on	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
suffered	O
critical	O
errors	B-Error_Name
,	O
such	O
as	O
graphic	O
display	O
issues	O
,	O
saving	O
and	O
loading	O
issues	O
,	O
the	O
inability	O
to	O
complete	O
some	O
routes	O
and	O
Mii	O
's	O
mini-game	O
not	O
starting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
issued	O
a	O
patch	O
on	O
January	O
10	O
,	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
were	O
released	O
bug-free	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Issho	O
ni	O
A-SO-BO	O
also	O
contained	O
several	O
serious	O
errors	B-Error_Name
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
addressed	O
these	O
issues	O
in	O
two	O
patches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ferret	O
released	O
the	O
second	O
patch	O
on	O
July	O
7	O
,	O
2003	O
;	O
it	O
corrected	O
grammatical	O
errors	B-Error_Name
,	O
adjusted	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
difficulty	O
,	O
and	O
enhanced	O
stability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
anime	O
television	O
series	O
adaptation	O
of	O
Popotan	B-Application
was	O
animated	O
by	O
Shaft	O
and	O
directed	O
by	O
Shinichiro	O
Kimura	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewers	O
have	O
experienced	O
difficulty	O
categorizing	O
the	O
Popotan	B-Application
anime	O
,	O
though	O
it	O
does	O
feature	O
an	O
overall	O
comedic	O
tone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
story	O
centers	O
around	O
the	O
three	O
sisters	O
as	O
they	O
travel	O
through	O
time	O
in	O
a	O
mansion	O
,	O
run	O
a	O
Christmas	O
shop	O
,	O
and	O
search	O
for	O
the	O
dandelion-resembling	O
"	O
popotan	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under17	O
added	O
their	O
theme	O
songs	O
to	O
their	O
Best	O
Album	O
soundtracks	O
along	O
with	O
Popotan	B-Application
Kiss	O
from	O
the	O
radio	O
drama	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under17	O
plays	O
work	O
composed	O
for	O
Popotan	B-Application
in	O
their	O
live	O
events	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
coincided	O
the	O
visual	O
novel	O
's	O
premiere	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
a	O
special	O
maxi	O
single	O
containing	O
the	O
anime	O
's	O
vocal	O
theme	O
songs	O
and	O
their	O
instrumental	O
counterparts	O
,	O
otherwise	O
unavailable	O
to	O
listeners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
third	O
Popotan	B-Application
image	O
album	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
visual	O
novel	O
was	O
packaged	O
as	O
a	O
pre-order	O
item	O
with	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
port	O
the	O
following	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
released	O
two	O
full-length	O
albums	O
and	O
one	O
extended	O
play	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
anime	O
in	O
late	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
developed	O
a	O
radio	O
drama	O
named	O
Poporaji	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
song	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
anime	O
's	O
broadcast	O
premiere	O
DVD	O
,	O
The	O
Secret	O
of	O
the	O
3	O
Sisters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
announced	O
on	O
January	O
22	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
that	O
Poporaji	O
would	O
be	O
replayed	O
on	O
BEAT	O
NetRadio	O
on	O
Bandai	O
Visual	O
's	O
website	O
and	O
compiled	O
into	O
two	O
CDs	O
,	O
and	O
Poporaji	O
Popoi	O
CD2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Magazine	O
Z	O
published	O
a	O
two-part	O
Popotan	B-Application
manga	O
series	O
by	O
Yūjiro	O
Izumi	O
whose	O
story	O
revolved	O
around	O
the	O
three	O
sisters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
Popotan	B-Application
reference	O
books	O
have	O
been	O
released	O
—	O
,	O
published	O
by	O
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
and	O
SoftBank	O
Publishing	O
,	O
and	O
distributed	O
by	O
Raspberry	O
Books	O
;	O
and	O
by	O
Air	O
Publications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Popotan	B-Application
Visual	O
Fan	O
Book	O
featured	O
a	O
new	O
side-story	O
printed	O
in	O
western	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popotan	B-Application
illustrations	O
also	O
appear	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
fan	O
book	O
by	O
for	O
the	O
television	O
series	O
was	O
released	O
March	O
5	O
,	O
2003	O
,	O
entitled	O
and	O
containing	O
a	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
CD-ROM	B-Device
with	O
extra	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popotan	B-Application
visual	O
novels	O
released	O
by	O
Petit	B-Application
Ferret	I-Application
enjoyed	O
strong	O
initial	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCNews	O
 '	O
national	O
rating	O
of	O
bishōjo	B-Application
games	I-Application
listed	O
Popotans	B-Application
initial	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
release	O
at	O
ninth	O
place	O
around	O
one-and-a-half	O
months	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
;	O
it	O
stayed	O
on	O
the	O
charts	O
another	O
half-month	O
at	O
twenty-first	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
fan	O
disc	O
's	O
release	O
propelled	O
it	O
to	O
eleventh	O
among	O
the	O
most	O
sold	O
bishōjo	B-Application
games	I-Application
within	O
one	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PS2	B-Device
port	O
Oshiete	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Popotan	B-Application
received	O
a	O
score	O
rating	O
of	O
22	O
/	O
40	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
scene	O
's	O
popularity	O
helped	O
the	O
Popotan	B-Application
franchise	O
and	O
Caramell	O
attain	O
a	O
cult	O
following	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
popularity	O
of	O
Popotan	B-Application
in	O
Japan	O
brought	O
Haruko	O
Momoi	O
and	O
her	O
band	O
Under17	O
to	O
prominence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
English	O
Popotan	B-Application
DVD	O
met	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Anime	O
Jump	O
gave	O
it	O
1½	O
stars	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
beyond	O
the	O
pretty	O
pictures	O
,	O
"	O
it	O
is	O
created	O
specifically	O
to	O
sell	O
DVDs	O
,	O
tiny	O
figurines	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
merchandise	O
to	O
introverted	O
adult	B-Application
men.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
reviewers	O
praised	O
Popotans	B-Application
storyline	O
,	O
considering	O
it	O
especially	O
complex	O
for	O
a	O
video	O
game-based	O
anime	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popotan	B-Application
has	O
proven	O
notoriously	O
difficult	O
for	O
English	O
reviewers	O
to	O
categorize	O
,	O
leading	O
several	O
to	O
praise	O
its	O
multi-genre	O
style	O
and	O
appeal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
the	O
latter	O
,	O
Allmovie	O
gave	O
Popotan	B-Application
4/5	O
stars	O
and	O
DVDtalk	O
awarded	O
it	O
"	O
recommended	O
"	O
status	O
,	O
citing	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
discs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
John	O
Oppliger	O
of	O
Anime	O
Nation	O
feels	O
explicit	O
nudity	O
ruined	O
the	O
Popotan	B-Application
anime	O
,	O
overshadowing	O
its	O
character	O
depth	O
and	O
complex	O
storyline	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Geneon	O
's	O
voice	O
acting	O
also	O
elicited	O
good	O
reception	O
,	O
credited	O
to	O
Rob	O
Beckwell	O
,	O
Popotans	B-Application
English	O
voice	O
director	O
.	O
</s>
