Japan's Newest Smash Hit Anime Is About Guinea Pig Cars

Your target audience may not match up with your intended target audience. That’s what the makers of Pui Pui Molcar learnt when they released their episodes into the wild. The premise of the show is bizarre: it’s set in an alternative universe that looks much like ours except all cars are sentient guinea pigs.

The Show

The guinea pigs are the stars of the show and it is they who make the “pui pui” sound where the title is drawn from. Objects are sometimes made from felt, like the guinea pigs themselves. Other times, they’re made of paper, like most of the buildings in the show. People on the show appear as action figures outside the cars but are portrayed by actual actors inside the cars.

The term “Molcar” comes from the Japanese word for guinea pig, which is “morumotto”.

Adults Love Pui Pui Molcar

Most episodes clock in at about 2 – 3 minutes, so it’s clear this was meant for children. The colors are bright and wonderful to look at, the vehicles are adorable and the storylines easy to follow. But it’s since become clear from Taiwanese media, at least, that a large percentage of the show’s fans are in fact adults.

As the title of the Mandarin language article reads, “A Show That Only Children Watch? My Mum Watches It Too!”

While we’re not sure if Pui Pui Molcar will take off in Singapore the same way it has in Taiwan, we’re sure Singaporeans will find a lot to love if they were to start watching the series.

There’s A Lot Of Pui Pui Molcar Fanart

Perhaps then, we’ll get to see the creativity of Singaporeans on display on social media. On Japanese social media, fanart for Pui Pui Molcar has been sprouting up like weeds.

From parents preparing Pui Pui Molcar themed food for their kids, to people making their own felted morumottos, the #モルカー is a wonder to explore.

You can watch full episodes with English subtitles here, on Muse Asia’s channel on YouTube.

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