Puffy (sometimes stylized in all-caps), also known as Puffy AmiYumi in the US, are a Japanese pop rock duo formed in Tokyo in 1995, consisting of singers Ami Ōnuki (born in Machida, Tokyo '73/9/18) and Yumi Yoshimura (born in Neyagawa, Osaka Pref. '75/1/30). In the United States, they adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs , who also performed under the name Puffy. The duo sings in Japanese as well as in English and in Mandarin Chinese.
59-597: Splurge is a Japanese-language pop album by Puffy Amiyumi that was released on June 28, 2006 in Japan. It was released in the US on July 25, 2006, after their East Coast Tour. On tracks 12 and 13, "Camel Country" and "Security Blanket", the vocal parts are sung by Yumi Yoshimura and Ami Onuki solo, respectively. A promo EP was released in Japan on July 25, 2006. Track naming from Japanese edition of album, with translated English in brackets. In Japan it peaked at # 19 and stayed in
118-429: A big craze known to some as “Puffy-mania.” Asked if they were surprised by the attention after its success, Yumi told an interviewer "... everything that was put together for that song all came together and made it happen, but we didn't expect it. It was luck." On July 13, 2005, their song Song of Origin ( はじまりのうた , Hajimari no Uta ) was used as the ending theme of the eighth Pokémon film: Pokémon: Lucario and
177-659: A command center, and a variety of training facilities on an island just offshore from the West Coast metropolis of Jump City. The team deals with all manner of criminal activity and threats to the city, while dealing with their own struggles with adolescence, their mutual friendships, and their limitations. The first season focuses on the Teen Titans' introduction to the mysterious supervillain Slade ( Ron Perlman ), who seeks to turn Robin into his apprentice. The second season
236-482: A crossover film with Teen Titans Go! was released, titled Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans . It features the first appearance of the original series characters after 13 years. The series was first shown on Boomerang from February 2, 2009, replacing the Super Friends until October 31, 2010. It returned to Boomerang's line-up on October 3, 2011, and left the schedule again on January 4, 2015. Teen Titans
295-399: A duo. Producer and American pop musician Andy Sturmer christened them as " Puffy ", and is considered by both Ami and Yumi as "the godfather of Puffy". Ami had previously met Tamio at a Sparks Gogo concert, and he had produced her then-unreleased solo CD. He was eventually signed on to produce the duo's first studio album, titled AmiYumi . Their debut single, "Asia no Junshin", launched
354-464: A fight with the comic incarnation of the Titans. Red X is later included in the mainstream comic publications through the two-issue teaser comic Future State Teen Titans and its follow-up series Teen Titans Academy . Early into the series' run, Executive Producer and Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Animation Vice President Sam Register responded to criticism regarding the style of the show with
413-470: A statement slightly contradicting Murakami's statement about wanting Robin to "be cool" with his metal-tipped boots: Justice League is awesome and Samurai Jack is awesome and we buy a lot of anime shows that are great, but those shows really are directed more towards the nine to fourteen age group, and the six and seven and eight-year-olds were not gelling with the Justice League and some of
472-422: Is an American animated superhero television series created by Glen Murakami and developed by Murakami, David Slack and Sam Register . Based on DC Comics 's superhero team Teen Titans , it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation , and DC Comics (for season 5). The show premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003; its first two seasons also aired on Kids' WB . Initially, only four seasons were planned, but
531-485: Is an adaptation of "The Judas Contract" storyline where new hero Terra ( Ashley Johnson ) joins the team while secretly plotting against them with Slade. The third season depicts Cyborg's conflict with the evil organization H.I.V.E. and their leader Brother Blood ( John DiMaggio ), prompting Cyborg to form the superhero team Titans East with Aqualad ( Wil Wheaton ), Speedy ( Mike Erwin ), Bumblebee ( T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh ), and Más y Menos ( Freddy Rodriguez ). In
590-414: Is based primarily on stories by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez from the 1980s, featuring characters, storylines, and concepts introduced during the run, and incorporating a similar group of members. The five main members of the eponymous team in the series are Robin ( Scott Menville ), the intelligent and capable leader of the Teen Titans; Starfire ( Hynden Walch ), a quirky, curious alien princess from
649-541: Is centered on a specific Titan on the team. Starfire is the only individual member who was part of the original roster to not have a season focused on her. Unlike most other superhero television series, the Teen Titans characters maintain their superhero identities at all times, with any hints at the concept of an alter ego or secret identity rarely explored. It was really important to me that little kids watching it could identify with characters. And I thought that
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#1732798285209708-547: The Young Justice team appear. Much like the DC Animated Universe (as well as X-Men: Evolution and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends ), the series has affected the comics that initially inspired it, including: Beast Boy adopting the series' purple and black outfit during DC's " 52 " storyline and later appearing with the pointed ears and fanged teeth originated by the series, future Cyborg having
767-464: The 1995 hiatus of Batman: The Animated Series , which was retooled in 1997 as The New Batman Adventures . According to Rob Hoegee, this had been suggested by Sam Register after he and David Slack had left the show, leaving Glen Murakami and Amy Wolfram to develop a proposal for a new show that would have expanded the team with all the new characters introduced in Season 5. However, when they had sent
826-465: The 2011 anime series, Bunny Drop , airing on July 8, 2011. They also performed the opening theme to the anime. Puffy AmiYumi has collaborated with producer Tamio Okuda and American singer-songwriter Andy Sturmer . The duo's vocals have been compared to American vocal sister group The Roches . The following is a list of albums published under the names Puffy/Puffy AmiYumi and their release dates. Teen Titans (TV series) Teen Titans
885-640: The Chotto Sokomade talent search underway by Sony Music Artists at the age of 18. After passing the company's audition, Yumi moved on her own from Ōsaka to Tōkyō, where she eventually met Ami by chance in the Sony Music offices. Both felt alone within the large Sony organization and were not confident in their abilities as solo artists. Although Ōnuki had recorded a solo CD under the guidance of former Unicorn frontman Okuda Tamio , which later become half of solosolo, she and Yumi requested Sony pair them as
944-710: The Flash in Justice League Unlimited ; both characters are the Wally West incarnations. The follow-up series, Teen Titans Go! , has featured several appearances by Batman , but they have all been non-speaking appearances. Both Batman and Alfred Pennyworth appear in DC Nation's New Teen Titans "Red X Unmasked". In the season 2 episode of Teen Titans Go! , "Let's Get Serious", Aqualad (voiced by Khary Payton ), Superboy , and Miss Martian of
1003-558: The Japanese band Puffy AmiYumi . The title theme used in the regions where the show was broadcast varied; some would play only one version, while Japan - and the English language video editions - would use both, according to the respective episode's plot theme: the English lyrics for more serious stories, the Japanese version for more comedic tones. The first-season episode "Mad Mod" also featured another song by Puffy AmiYumi, "K2G". In
1062-689: The Legion of Doom , Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash , Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout along with Cipes, Walch, and Menville (although he played the Damian Wayne Robin), Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash , and Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman – Rage of Atlantis . He has also reprised his role as Cyborg on Justice League Action . Several character details from Teen Titans , like Raven's standard incantation Azarath Metrion Zinthos and Beast Boy's super-werewolf form from
1121-522: The Midas touch and was accompanied by an ever changing roster of superpowered suiters as well as a posse of robot girls, and see the return of fan favorites from the original series, such as Mad Mod (in a story titled "The Mad Mods"), Control Freak ("The Battle of the Geeks"), and Soto ("Planet Soto"). Series artist, Brianne Drouhard, has also stated doing visual development on a character that wasn't mentioned in
1180-649: The Mystery of Mew . Puffy made their first appearance in the United States as part of Music Japan's "An Evening with Japan's All-Stars" showcase at the 2000 South by Southwest festival in Austin , TX. Soon after their SXSW performance, attorneys for Sean "Puffy" Combs sent the band a cease and desist letter asking them to change their name. After adopting the new name "Puffy AmiYumi", they told Entertainment Weekly : Yumi: It doesn't bother us at all. We respect
1239-620: The Teen Titans. It is written by Thomas Krajewski and Jennifer Muro, illustrated by Gretel Lusky. The comic focuses on Ashley Rayburn putting her powers to the test in order to be put on the team with the rest of the main cast. Bandai released a line of action figures based on the Teen Titans animated series. The line included 1.5 inch "Comic Book Hero" mini figures, 3.5 inch action figures (including "Teen Titans Launch Tower Playset", "Teen Titans Command Center", "Battling Machines", "T-Vehicles", "T-Sub Deluxe Vehicles"), 5 inch action figures, 6.5 inch plush Super-D Toys, and 10 inch figures. Amongst
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#17327982852091298-501: The Titans from both shows, titled Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans . The film premiered at San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, followed by a digital release on September 24 and a DVD and Blu-ray release on October 15. The events of the film take place during the fifth season of Teen Titans Go! . The series was revisited as a series of shorts in 2012 for the DC Nation programming block on Cartoon Network. Dubbed New Teen Titans ,
1357-403: The Titans...You'll meet them some day". The character Speedy , who first appeared in the episode "Winner Take All", later appeared in Justice League Unlimited with the same costume design and voice actor ( Mike Erwin ) as the Teen Titans incarnation (though he is older in appearance). Kid Flash was voiced by Michael Rosenbaum in his appearances in the show, who was the same actor who voiced
1416-625: The animated series Teen Titans and SD Gundam Force . They have also done a cover version with Cyndi Lauper of her hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". They also performed their songs "Hi Hi" and " Red Swing " on the show. They came back to the US in 2006 for their Splurge Tour, and also toured with Tally Hall for the Super-Ultimate Awesome Exploration tour the same year. In January 2017, they announced their Not Lazy tour to hold place in April. That same month,
1475-404: The band made an appearance at Anime Boston for autograph signings. On November 19, 2004, an animated series featuring cartoon versions of Ami and Yumi, titled Hi! Hi! Puffy AmiYumi , premiered on the United States' Cartoon Network on their Friday-night block, Fridays . Despite both of them being voiced by American actresses (although Janice Kawaye , who plays Ami, is of Japanese descent),
1534-501: The characters included in the line were the main members of the Teen Titans, Titans East, and various allies and villains. Teen Titans is a video game released on October 16, 2005 for the Game Boy Advance . It was the first video game adaptation based on the animated television series. The plot of the game followed Brother Blood having stolen copies of the Titans' DNA to create a clone army. Playable characters featured
1593-496: The characters. How can I keep all the characters really iconic and really clean. The secret identity of Robin , an alias assumed by multiple characters in the comics, is never explicitly revealed in the series. However, several hints are provided to suggest he is Dick Grayson , the original Robin and founding member of the Teen Titans: The Teen Titans Go! episode "Permanent Record" would satirize
1652-510: The chart for 5 weeks, in the world chart peaked at number 9 and stayed in the chart for 2 weeks. Puffy Amiyumi Both Ami and Yumi were scouted by Sony-affiliated talent agencies and put together in the mid-1990s. Most of their work was produced or co-written by Okuda Tamio and Andy Sturmer , formerly of the bands Unicorn and Jellyfish , respectively. The duo's first single, Asia no Junshin (1996), sold one million records. They gained mainstream success in Japan in 1998 following
1711-454: The creature and repair the rift. According to series artist Derrick J. Wyatt, this would have tied back to the original show, and the unnamed creature from the series finale, "Things Change". A mid-credits scene from Teen Titans Go! To the Movies featured the 2003 Titans' return, in which Robin states they've "found a way back". In 2019, Warner Bros. released a crossover film featuring
1770-567: The episode "The Beast Within", were incorporated into the animated film Justice League vs. Teen Titans . Teen Titans has never been established to be a part of the larger DC Animated Universe or The Batman animated series. Series producer Bruce Timm said the series would not cross over with Justice League Unlimited . Despite this, the series was alluded to in the Static Shock episode "Hard as Nails", where Static asked Batman where Robin was, to which Batman responded, "With
1829-445: The fact that Puff Daddy is Puffy in the U.S. Ami: The bottom line is that we don't know what the word “puffy” means. We were given our name by somebody else (Andy Sturmer) six years ago, and we really don't have a clue. After their show, Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy ended production in 2002, Puffy focused on performing in the United States. Several of their previous Japanese albums were released for the US market and they recorded theme songs for
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1888-535: The feature-length film Trouble in Tokyo , a literal translation of the Japanese song, whose actual lyrics differ greatly from its English counterpart, is performed for comedic effect. In mid-November 2005, TitansTower.com reported that prospects for a sixth season were looking extremely unlikely, and fans were urged to express their support for the show to Cartoon Network . Several days after this initial posting, word came that Cartoon Network had officially terminated
1947-604: The fourth season, Raven finds herself unwillingly involved in a plot that threatens the existence of the world when her demon father Trigon ( Kevin Michael Richardson ) seeks to enslave the Earth. For the fifth season, the Teen Titans join forces with numerous other heroes to combat the Brotherhood of Evil , Beast Boy's longtime adversaries, and their army of villains. Each season contains a distinct story arc that
2006-436: The last episode, Warner Bros. Animation released a feature film titled Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo . The film premiered at San Diego Comic-Con and was shown on Cartoon Network first on September 15, 2006, before airing on Kids' WB on September 16, and finally releasing on DVD on February 6, 2007. As early as August 2006, there were reports that Teen Titans may undergo a re-branding, with producer Glen Murakami citing
2065-416: The latter, the former acknowledges "Starfire" as the English translation of her name in the season 5 episode "Go!" and her native name, Koriand'r, is used in the season 3 episode "Betrothed". The comic versions of these characters, however, also use the civilian aliases Kory Anders and Rachel Roth, which are not used on the show. The policy of not mentioning the characters' secret identities would be broken in
2124-523: The main cast, Robin, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg. A console version of the game and a sequel titled Teen Titans 2 was released in 2006. On July 21, 2019, the DC animated film Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans features the main cast of Teen Titans along with the one of Teen Titans Go! in a crossover where both versions must fight villains from their respective worlds. The DC animated film Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three
2183-411: The main characters. During its run, the series was nominated for three Annie Awards and one Motion Picture Sound Editors Award. Spin-off media included comics, DVD releases, video games, music albums, and collectible toys. In 2013, the show spawned a spin-off, titled Teen Titans Go! , which received a theatrical film that was released on July 27, 2018, titled Teen Titans Go! To the Movies . In 2019,
2242-526: The minute you start giving them secret identities then kids couldn't project themselves onto the characters anymore. And that was important to me. I know it's kind of important to have secret identities and stuff like that but we wanted everything to be really, really, iconic. Like, "Oh, there's the robot guy . There's the alien girl . There's the witch girl . There's the shape-changing boy . There's the…" We just wanted it really clean like that. We wanted it like old Star Trek . We just wanted it simple… …And
2301-399: The more of the fanboy shows... The main mission was making a good superhero show for kids. Now if the fanboys happen to like the Teen Titans also, that's great, but that was not our mission. However, while the series' creators initially stated that younger children were the intended audience for the series, Teen Titans Go! writer J. Torres notes that the progression and deeper themes of
2360-428: The music. The duo then made an appearance and performed in the 2005 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade where they were also represented by their own Hi! Hi! Puffy AmiYumi float and balloon. On January 16, 2006, Puffy AmiYumi were appointed goodwill ambassadors to the United States as part of the Japanese government's campaign to encourage tourism in Japan. Puffy AmiYumi also performed cameo voiceovers in episode 9 of
2419-432: The mystery of Robin's identity by explicitly giving his name as "Robin v.3: Tim Drake " (the third Robin), with "Dick Grayson" and " Jason Todd " (the second Robin) being written over. Subsequent episodes, however, establish him as Dick Grayson through vague flashbacks to his boyhood at Haley Circus. In the comics, Starfire and Raven are the real names of their respective characters. While the show does not specify this with
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2478-466: The pitch in, it was ultimately declined. According to reports, the new show would have been titled New Teen Titans , and rather than focusing on the original five, would have featured a rotating cast, like Justice League Unlimited , working from 5 separate headquarters linked together by a communications system designed by Cyborg. Some of these proposed teamups included: The show was slated to introduce new villains, notably one named "Athena" who had
2537-499: The planet Tamaran; Cyborg ( Khary Payton ), a half-human/half-robot cyborg who is known for his strength and technological prowess; Raven ( Tara Strong ), a stoic girl from the parallel world Azarath who draws upon dark energy and psionic abilities; and Beast Boy ( Greg Cipes ), a good-natured joker who can transform into various animals. They are situated in Titans Tower , a large T-shaped building featuring living quarters,
2596-634: The popularity of the series led to Cartoon Network ordering a fifth season. The final half-hour episode of the show, "Things Change", aired on January 16, 2006; it was later followed by a TV movie, Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo , that premiered on September 15 the same year, serving as the series finale . A 15-minute episode titled "The Lost Episode" was released as part of an online promotional campaign by Post Consumer Brands in January 2005. Teen Titans became one of Cartoon Network's most popular series, renowned for its humor, storylines, and banter between
2655-530: The real Puffy AmiYumi star in short live-action segments video-recorded in Japan. The series also featured some of the duo's best songs around the time. Yumi said in an interview with LiveDaily : Yumi: The Cartoon Network show has given us a great opportunity to introduce the music to a new audience. When we toured, after the Cartoon Network show started, so many little kids came to our show. We always wanted as many people as possible to listen to
2714-481: The release of their album, Jet and continued with several more full-length releases (totaling 15 million sales in Japan). In 2004, an animated series featuring animated versions of themselves, Hi! Hi! Puffy AmiYumi , premiered on the US's Cartoon Network . Although their characters were voiced by different voice actresses, the singers portrayed themselves for short live-action segments taped in Japan. When Ōnuki
2773-481: The reporting. Murakami also expressed interest in using Phobia , Mister Twister , and Ravager . The pitch documents included information on a holiday episode, as well as a plot line in which Herald would unknowingly create a rift in "DIMENSION X", allowing a microscopic, freeloading creature to travel with them to Earth. The creature multiplies exponentially, and in the end the New Teen Titans must battle
2832-591: The same armor pattern of his animated counterpart in the Titans Tomorrow storyline, Raven adapting her animated counterpart's costume design in the " One Year Later " storyline, the characters Más Y Menos making appearances in 52 and the Final Crisis limited series, the character Joto was renamed "Hotspot" during 52 to match his cartoon counterpart, and the villain Cinderblock appearing in
2891-774: The same, but not significantly related in terms of story to both the Teen Titans series and the New Teen Titans shorts. The series premiered on April 23, 2013. Richardson, Payton, Strong, Cipes, and Walch reprised their respective character roles as Trigon, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Blackfire in DC Super Hero Girls . Payton reprised his role as Cyborg in Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered , Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League , Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of
2950-449: The season 5 premiere "Homecoming" when Elasti-Girl refers to Beast Boy by his real name, Garfield. Cyborg's real name in the comics, Victor Stone, is referenced in the season 3 premiere "Deception" when he uses "Stone" as an undercover alias, although the series does not identify this as his real name. The series is known for featuring both an English and Japanese version of its title theme song, created by Andy Sturmer and performed by
3009-422: The shorts began airing on September 11. The shorts featured the Titans in chibi form, with the principal cast members of the original series returning. Ciro Nieli , one of the show's directors, would go on to create Disney's Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! , another superhero action show with a large anime influence, but premiered in 2004 on Jetix , and featured Beast Boy's voice actor Greg Cipes as
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#17327982852093068-450: The show widened the appeal to a much broader audience: ... [The show] started out skewed a lot younger... but along the way, I think the producers discovered it was reaching a wider audience. ... [the show] got into some darker story lines, and they introduced a lot more characters, so they expanded on it, and they let the show evolve with the audience. In 2009, Teen Titans was named the 83rd best animated series by IGN . TVLine lists
3127-401: The show. According to Wil Wheaton , the actor who provided the voice of Aqualad, the series was terminated by new Warner Bros. Animation executives, who made the decision not to renew the series based on its sixth season pitch. Wheaton's story was contradicted by series story editor Rob Hoegee, who stated that the decision came from Cartoon Network, not WB, and that the crew was informed during
3186-401: The television series. While the comic's stories stand independently, its issues were done so as not to contradict events established in the animated series' episodes. Often, Teen Titans Go! also referenced episodes of the show, as well as expanding on parts of the series. On July 10, 2024, DC Comics published a comic book series named Primer: Clashing Colors that features this iteration of
3245-412: The theme song from the series among the best animated series themes of all time. From 2004 to 2008, DC Comics published a comic book series based on Teen Titans called Teen Titans Go! . The series was written by J. Torres and Todd Nauck , Larry Stucker was the regular illustrator. The series focuses on Robin , Raven , Starfire , Beast Boy , and Cyborg who are the main cast members of
3304-427: The voice of Chiro, the show's main protagonist. Sam Register , producer of the series, also made his own show in 2004 with Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi on Cartoon Network, which was based on the pop duo who did the theme song, and also had an anime influence, but was created more to be a slapstick comedy in the veins of Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry . Teen Titans Go! was announced as a spin-off, with many voices
3363-399: The whole "Who's Robin?" controversy is really kind of interesting to me. My big concern is just trying to make Robin cool. And just really set Robin apart from Batman. So if it seems like I'm avoiding the question, I sort of am. Because I don't think it's really important. My concern is how do I make Robin a really strong lead character without all that other stuff. And I feel that way about all
3422-409: The writing phase of season five that there were no plans for a sixth season. The show's producer David Slack indicated that he was given different reasons for the show's cancellation; either the ratings dropped after the "scary" season 4, or Mattel wanted the show dead because Bandai had the show's toy deal. Cartoon Network announced that Mattel had become its "master toy licensee" in 2006. After
3481-445: Was in high school, she sang for a band called Hanoi Sex that participated in a Sony SD Audition and passed, becoming employees of Sony Music Entertainment. She later took vocal lessons and attended a professional school to learn how to become a better performer. The band eventually disbanded, leaving only Ami under Sony's employment. She was encouraged to stay despite lacking a band and a clear musical direction. Yoshimura had learned of
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