"They were like, ‘Cartoon in America? Okay. We’ve done everything else, why not?’ Ami and Yumi are comfortable with what they are, and I think they’re just having fun with it. It’s sort of like if Harrison Ford does a Schlitz ad in Japan — he knows that people in the US aren’t really gonna see it. For Ami and Yumi it’s like, ‘Well, we’re still Puffy and we still have our Japanese thing: this is just something for the rest of the world.’ They realize that their animated counterparts are them and at the same time absolutely not them."
As Ami explained, "The cartoon presents a certain image of us, but I think that the differences [between the characters and us] will be figured out."
Ami and Yumi see the show as a means to an end; they want to be taken seriously as performers. "I like recording, performing, recording again, performing again — I love the cycle," Yumi said. And Register is optimistic. "I want them to be a band long after the animation has run its course. And I think they will. Above everything, they’re still a rock-and-roll band." And they also play one on TV.
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi airs on the Cartoon Network in three-episode blocks January 12, 17, and 18 at 9 pm and January 14 and 15 at 7:30pm
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On the Web:
Puffy AmiYumi: http://www.puffyamiyumi.com/
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi Show at the Cartoon Network: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/puffyamiyumi/
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