Fushigi Mahou Fun Fun Pharmacy

If I told you this show was actually about the setting and not actually a magical girl show, would you believe me?

Fushigi Mahou Fun Fun Pharmacy is actually not the "typical" magical girl shows people would expect. It's an old-school little girl anime (and nobody really makes anime like this anymore). It's reminiscent of Tamako Market, a show not about the plot or characters but about the lively market atmosphere.

Some of the best episodes of Fun Fun Pharmacy involve the market people and Popuri's interactions with them. Of course, being an old school mahou shoujo and all, you do see silly magical and supernatural ... elements. But they're actually secondary to the characterization of the townspeople. Many episodes focus on the lives of these people. There is a surprising amount of depth toward the supporting characters and each episode, I feel, is memorable.

The show is wacky and requires a lot of suspension of disbelief (which kids do have unlike us cynical adults). However, it's all done in the name of Fun and Character that I really don't mind it.

For a childish little girl show, Fushigi Mahou Fun Fun Pharmacy has put me onto the verge of tears. The ending is truly a heartbreaker.

If you enjoy old-school anime for kids, then Fun Fun Pharmacy is definitely a must-watch.

(writing reviews is so めんどくさい)

What can I say? The easier way to describe "Fun Fun Pharmacy" would be calling it "The Little Prince" of anime. I'd say it's The Little Prince on steroids. But in a positive way. Watching it feels like reading a top-tier children literature. Smart, sedate, emotionally addictive. The magic here is not just out-of-place phenomenon with no explanation what so ever. It's rather pantheistically connected to all forces of nature. Some episodes are anchored in the Japanese (not otaku!) culture and Shinto.
The animation is simple, though you are always surprised by Potpourri's (the main character's) face expressions. Blithesome opening, beautiful ending. Hiroko Konishi's voice acting ... is tremendous and magnificent.
"Fushigi Mahou Fun Fun Pharmacy" reached the peak of creativity and it seems Chiaki Konaka's opus magnum. Going into the painting to help remember the painter's memories? Done. Understanding the emotions of yeast? Done. A caterpillar with amnesia? Done. And it's all clever and didactic.
A freaking forgotten masterpiece.