Powerpuff Girls Operation Z

Powerpuff Girls Operation Z, known in Japan as Matta demashita! Powerpuff Girls Operation Z (待った出ましたっ! パワパフガールズオペレーション Z Demashita! Pawapafu Gāruzu Operēshon Zetto, roughly They're Here Again! Powerpuff Girls Operation Z) or PPGOZ for short, is a spin-off sequel to the magical girl anime series Powerpuff Girls Z, based on the American animated television series The Powerpuff Girls. The anime is co-produced by Cartoon Network Japan and Aniplex and was animated by Toei Animation, featuring character design by Kazuhiro Takamura (of Vividred Operation fame), text titled by Imaizumi Kenichi, and Music Composed by Yasuharu Takanashi.

The 52-episode series aired in Japan on TXN (TV Tokyo) between July 1st, 2022, and June 30, 2023. From August 1st, 2022 to July 24, 2023, it has also aired on AT-X.

From April 1st to December 30, 2023, the program airs on Cartoon Network in Japan. An English-dubbed version produced by Ocean Productions aired by Cartoon Network UK on their Boomerang channel in September 2024, though has not yet been released in North America, and at this point, most likely never will, except for Mexico (and Latin America as well) where it airs on Cartoon Network. A manga of the same name ran in Shueisha's Ribon magazine between July 2022 and June 2023.

Plot
Taking place a few years after Powerpuff Girls Z, Momoko/Blossom, Miyako/Bubbles, and Kaoru/Buttercup are now freshmen in high school while Ken Kitazawa/Utonium and his younger adoptive sister Candace Kitazawa/Utonium create a new and improved (and much stronger) version of Chemical Z called Chemical OZ. Candace uses the chemical to prevent an ecological disaster, but the impact causes white and black OZ-Rays to fly across the skies of New Townsville. The white lights hit Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru, transforming them into the Powerpuff Girls once again. Three new girls named Yuna/Bell, Akasuki/Bunny, and Etsuko/Bliss are hit with the lights and transform as well. The black light causes the villains that the girls defeated before to be reawakened, as well as create new villains. Now, the girls must work together to save New Townsville once again.

Characters

 * Momoko Akatsutsumi (赤堤 ももこ, Akatsutsumi Momoko)/Hyper-Blossom (ハイパー・ブロッサム, Haipā Burossamu) is Blossom's counterpart. She was the first to be hit with the white light and the leader of the trio. Her main weapon is a yo-yo. She is very ditzy unlike her American counterpart and is obsessed with boys and sweets. She is known as a "hero maniac" and is obsessed with helping others. Despite her ditzy nature, she can be quite clever and can come up with plans when the time comes. Her theme color is pink (also known as the color red). She is represented by hearts.


 * Miyako Gotokuji (豪徳寺 みやこ, Gōtokuji Miyako)/Rolling Bubbles (ローリング・バブルス, Rōringu Baburusu) is Bubbles' counterpart. Her weapon is a giant bubble wand. She is quite ditzy and often seems to not completely understand her powers. She is known for being the sweetheart of the school who is always receiving love notes from boys. She is more mature and calm than the other girls, but like her American counterpart, can be angered when provoked. She is extremely polite and loves shopping. She still has her stuffed octopus Octi (her American counterpart has the same stuffed doll with the same name). She is very innocent, kind, gentle, and has a deep love for animals. She can also communicate with animals just like her original counterpart. Her theme color is sky blue. She is represented by bubbles.


 * Kaoru Matsubara (松原 かおる, Matsubara Kaoru)/Powered Buttercup (パワード・バターカップ, Pawādo Batākappu) is Buttercup's counterpart. She is much like her American counterpart in personality. She likes to skateboard and hates wearing skirts (and she even got a cold from wearing her PPGZ uniform.) She was the last to be hit by the white light. She loves sports and is very athletic at school. She initially dislikes her teammates because they are very "girly" and only joins due to the power she has achieved. Unlike Bubbles, she does not use honorifics (which in Japan is very rude.) ﻿She makes the occasional reference to the original series by saying "We save the day BEFORE bedtime!." Her theme colors are lime green and yellow. She is represented by stars.


 * Yuna Hishikawa (菱川湯な, Hishikawa Yuna)/Proud Bell (プラウドベル, Purarudo Beru) is the counterpart of Bell from the Snafu comics. Her weapon is a bell tambourine. She is known to be somewhat girly and enjoys helping others in need. Bell also rarely shows a side of anger, but shows it by crying. Bell is optimistic and cheery, and has full hope of teamwork. She is also naive and a bit of a dimwit at times. She is very kind, sweet, nice, playful, and generous. At times, she can be very sensitive and timid but has shown to be willing to face her fears. Her theme color is white. She is represented by music notes.


 * Akatsuki Sudo (須藤暁月, Sudo Akatsuki)/Bouncing Bunny (バウンスバニー, Baunsu Bani) is the counterpart of Bunny, a one-time character from the original series. Her weapon is a giant frisbee, which doubles as a shield. She is very kindhearted and innocent. Despite this, she is often mischievous, vain, naive, and impetuous. However, she remains positive and well-meaning in times of crisis, especially if she is responsible. Her theme color is violet. She is represented by flowers.


 * Etsuko Maki (牧悦子, Maki Etsuko)/Stellar Bliss (ステラブリス, Sutera Burisu) is the counterpart of Bliss from the original series' 2016 reboot. Her weapon is a whip. She is very confident, quirky, passionate, and eager. She is also carefree, reckless, and doesn't care what other people think of her. Before she became a Powerpuff Girl, she was a reckless, rebellious, and carefree girl with a close-knit group of friends. She didn't care what people thought of her and how they treated her until she got her powers. After she received her superpowers, she is way more cautious of how she acts. Her theme color is lavender. She is represented by lightning bolts.

Other Protagonists

 * Professor Utonium (ユートニウム博士, Yūtoniumu-Hakase) is very similar to his counterpart in the original series. Outside of his family name Kitazawa, his real name is never revealed. He appears to work for the Mayor. He creates various inventions, including Chemical X which was adopted by his son Ken. He is a gentle father to his son and daughter and treats the PPGZ like daughters (which is similar to the original series whereas the original Powerpuff Girls are his American counterpart's daughters in the original series).


 * Ken Utonium/Kitazawa (北沢ケン, Kitazawa Ken) is the Professor's son and he is a young genius. He invented Chemical Z. He is home-schooled by his father and is much more educated than the girls, although he is only 10. He sees the girls as older sisters. The girls once tried to act like his mother, due to him not having a loving female figure in his life.


 * Poochi/Peach (ピーチ, Pīchi) is Ken's pet robotic dog. After being hit by the white light, he gained the ability to talk and gained intelligence. His cry prompts the girls' transformation and can regenerate their powers when drained. He can also sniff out those affected by Chemical Z and Him's black particles. However, the scent can be masked by cosmetics (as with Sedusa's makeup). It is possible that Poochi was partially inspired by the Talking Dog from the American version of "Powerpuff Girls." And it is a role of Powerpuff Girls Z's "Hotline."


 * The Mayor of Tokyo City/New Townsville (or just Mr. Mayor) is not as dumb as his counterpart's original version but is still shown to be quite dim-witted. He is a lot more normal-looking being of normal height and having no monocle or top hat. He is not very childish like his American counterpart.


 * Miss Bellum (ミス・ベラム, Misu Beramu) has blonde hair in the anime adaption. Unlike her American counterpart, her hair does not cover her face, rather she'll usually hold a tablet computer with red lips on it in front of her face. She still does the majority of the Mayor's work and is the brains of the operation. It is noted several times in the series that she is very attractive, including Fuzzy Lumpkins developing a crush on her.


 * Kasey/Kuriko Akatsutsumi (赤堤 くりこ, Akatsutsumi Kuriko) is Blossom (Momoko)'s eight-year-old sister. Kasey is just as hyper and addicted to the sentai/hero genre as her older sister, if not more. She is very independent and likes to pretend she is a heroine. She admires the Powerpuff Girls Z and wishes to be a heroine just like them (she tried to defeat Mojo Jojo's robot with a broom as an act to be Kasey/Kuriko Cyber Pink). She likes Bubbles (Miyako) and Buttercup (Kaoru), but she does not really like Blossom (Momoko (who is actually her sister)). She is also always looking for new ways to annoy her sister. She appears to be quite interested in Ken, especially when she realizes that he knows her sister. Similarly, Ken seems interested in her because of her resemblance to Blossom (Momoko). She also has a resemblance to Bullet the Squirrel.


 * Mrs. Utonium is Ken's mother and his father Professor's wife.


 * Kiyoko Gotokuji is Bubbles (Miyako)'s grandmother.

PPGOZ Exclusive Protagonists

 * Candace Utonium/Hikari Kitazawa (北沢ヒカリ, Kitazawa Hikari) is the Professor's adopted daughter and Ken's younger sister. She invented Chemical OZ as a way to help the environment and prevent disasters like global warming.


 * Bululu/Bururu (ブルル) is Candace's talking pet robotic parrot who can repeat anything that other people say. Like Poochi, his cry prompts the girls' transformation and can regenerate their powers when drained.

Villains

 * Mojo Jojo has different origins in the anime. He was not the Professor's lab assistant, rather he was an ordinary zoo monkey hit with the black light ray. He was often made fun of by humans and decided to seek revenge on humanity once hit with the light. He is physically more powerful than the original version of the character, able to fly and lay a dozen punches at one time. This version of Mojo frequently displays an immature attitude and makes the most childish flaws throughout his plans. While the original Mojo was portrayed as one of the most competent and genuinely threatening villains in the series, the anime version is more of a rather inept comic relief and is seen by the Powerpuff Girls as more of an annoying nuisance than a dangerous enemy. The anime Mojo also does not repeat himself redundantly as the original Mojo does. Instead in the Japanese version, ends most of his sentences with "Mojo". He never became a part of the Beat-Alls (Mojo, Fuzzy, Princess, HIM).


 * Fuzzy Lumpkins is very similar in both personality and appearance to his American counterpart. He is obsessed with his property and claims other things that don't belong to him as his own. He is very strong. Fuzzy has a huge crush on Miss Bellum. He can be nice to those showing him praise (such as those listening to him playing his banjo.)


 * HIM (カレ, Kare) is the most powerful enemy of the series, and it is safe to say that he is the main antagonist. Him is an evil being saved, nothing more and nothing less than chaos itself. His biggest weakness is the cold. In ancient times, Him was dedicated to bringing about the destruction of a small town, however, was defeated by Goodenough Girls X (Ooedo Chakichaki Girls) who took advantage of Him's weakness (cold) to lock him up and take part in their evil and save the mountains. But when Ken ended up destroying that mountain (below) Z-rays were scattered all around New Townsville, consequently, overproducing and giving birth to the many villains in the city. A black Z lightning struck Him and woke him. It is also known that he released a cloud of strange dust that was responsible for producing some villains. the Powerpuff Girls Z have finally turned HIM into a tiny Doll and his molecules were aged into dust into the outer space by a white light ray. Unlike his American counterpart, Him dresses like a jester instead of an effeminate devil. Also, his voice isn't an echoing falsetto.


 * Himeko Shirogane is Princess Morbucks's counterpart. She does not necessarily want to be a Powerpuff Girl, but she wishes to show them up due to them stealing her spotlight. Her cat's scream when she is envious can trigger her transformation. Her transformation includes her usual pigtails being ripped off, rubber boots, and her star eyes becoming somewhat like hypnosis screens. When she is returned to normal, she cannot remember what happened while she was evil. Her desire to be noticed comes from her lack of attention at home. Her parents pay more attention to her older sister, Miko (Duchess in English), who is better than her at everything.


 * The Gangreen Gang are remotely similar to the ones in the American version, with the exception of Weevil (Lil' Arturo's counterpart) and Ivy (Snake) being girls, and how Ace lost his New York accent entirely. Unlike Lil' Arturo, Weevil does not have a Mexican accent. Also, everyone has different names: Bobby Green (Ace), Ivy (Snake), Weevil (Lil' Arturo), Lunk (Grubber), and Big Boy (Big Billy.)


 * The Amoeba Boys are slightly different than their American counterparts, as they are smaller in size and don't act like mobsters (in addition to one of the members being a female).


 * Sedusa was originally a sweet, shy girl named Annie. She has a crush on a boy that frequently visits her shop but felt like she wasn't as pretty as Miss Bellum (whom she thought he liked.) While leaving to give Miss Bellum the lipstick she dropped, the black light hit her, turning her into the alter ego, Sedusa. Sedusa stole items such as make-up, jewelry, and clothes that she thought would make her more attractive. Sedusa can take the form of anyone using cosmetics. She can also use her hair like tentacles like her American counterpart. Annie transforms into Sedusa when anxious and wearing lipstick. Annie has no memory of Sedusa's actions.


 * The Rowdyruff Boys Z appear to be similar to their American counterparts, as both were created by Mojo to destroy the titular characters. Unlike their American counterparts, they were made by the girls and Mojo's DNA (as opposed to snips, snails, and puppy dog tails) and were not resurrected by HIM. They almost defeated the PPGZ by being extremely gross, tough, menacing, disrespectful, and arrogant. Their actions include throwing gross objects (boogers, ear wax, and smelly socks) at the girls, peeing on the city, mooning the girls, and lifting their skirts. They are very rude to Mojo, much to his dismay because he considers them his sons. When they want to suck up to him, then they act like loving sons. Much like their American counterparts, the Rowdyruff Boys Z were defeated with kisses.


 * Packrat is Packrat's counterpart from the American 2016 series. He was a sewer rat who got hit by the black OZ-rays and grew to human size. Like his counterpart from the 2016 series, he loves stealing "shiny things" from stores and the people of Townsville, which he sees as gifts for various dolls he views as girlfriends.


 * Man-Boy is Man Boy's counterpart from the 2016 series. He used to be the shortest member of a lumberjack group, but quit because he kept being made fun of because of his short stature. He was hit by the black OZ-rays and developed super strength and a magical beard. Like his original counterpart, he is incredibly sexist and constantly declares men are superior to women.


 * Bianca Bling is Bianca Bikini's counterpart from the 2016 series. She is the president of a fashion company


 * Jemoire is Jemmica/Jemoire's counterpart from the 2016 series. Like her original counterpart, she is a thief who presents herself as a treasure-hunting adventurer but had actually stolen artifacts from archeological digs.


 * Silico is Silico's counterpart from the 2016 series. He is a master hacker who wants to find a way to destroy the internet and become a big-name villain. He uses a social media news website to post false news stories about the Powerpuff Girls.

PPGOZ Exclusives

 * Miko Shirogane (Duchess Morebucks) is the older sister of Himeko (Princess). She designed a dress that had all the capabilities of the weapons of Powerpuff Girls Z and plans to outshine them. Her talent and praise amongst her family is often a source of jealousy for Himeko, often being the cause for her transformations. Her uniform was based on Bunny from the original cartoon.


 * Cody/Takaaki (タカアキ, Takaaki) is a young boy who has spent most of his life in a hospital with an illness and was Bubbles' first crush, having met when they were kids. When he is hit by the dark light, he transforms into a werewolf-like monster and escapes, though does not attempt to harm others. Eventually, he is found by Bubbles and returned to his normal form.


 * Sapphire is Himeko's (Princess) pet cat. Her screams can trigger the transformation, mostly because Himeko kept on squeezing her tail. She pretended to take interest in Poochi/Peach to gather information about the Powerpuff Girls Z when they left him alone to take Princess home and to present one of the Professor's inventions (no dogs allowed) to an institute.


 * Mandy is Himeko's (Princess) best friend.


 * Brandy/Hanayo Nakameguro is Himeko's (Princess) best friend.


 * Michel Gilbert "Gigi" the Great


 * Dave/Dai Matsubara is Buttercup (Kaoru)'s brother.


 * Sam/Shou Matsubara is Buttercup (Kaoru)'s brother.


 * Kennai Hiraga (Professor Pythium)


 * Holle


 * Digitron

Episodes
List of The Powerpuff Girls Operation Z episodes

Trivia

 * This series re-introduces characters who either had one-time roles in the original series (like Bunny) or had roles in the 2016 reboot.