, also known as through its anime adaptation , is a Japanese manga series that uses parody

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

, frequently referencing Japanese and American pop-culture in many ways. It features several first year students and their teachers in a school in Japan, though the main focus is on class 1-C.

Pani Poni first began as a manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series by Hekiru Hikawa which was first serialized in the Japanese manga magazine G Fantasy, published by Square Enix

Square Enix

is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...

, in November 2000.