Popoi

Popoi is one of the playable characters in Secret of Mana and a recurring character in the Mana series. A Sprite from the world of Secret of Mana, they are mischievous and boastful, but caring. Popoi's age and gender are unknown, but they are 3 ft. 1 in. tall and weigh 71 lbs.

Background
Popoi is a sprite hailing from Sprite Village in the Upperland. There, all the sprites would partake in several activities, like herb picking, fruit harvesting, fishing, and so on. One fateful day, a powerful storm made them fall into a strong current, leading to them being separated from their kinfolk. They ended up being washed up all the way to Gaia's Navel, where the Dwarf Elder found them. The incident caused them to lose their memory. Smelling an opportunity, the Elder decided to adopt the little sprite and make them a star in a shoddy sideshow for gullible tourists.

Secret of Mana
Popoi makes their debut in Dwarf Village, where they perform in a seedy show operated by the Dwarf Elder. A tiny sprite appears on stage after the Rabiteman, the Elder claiming that they have a 50,000 GP debt to pay off. Randi is coerced into giving some money. The donation is enough to make the sprite grow to their original size as the show comes to an end. Backstage, the Popoi and the Elder are revealed to be scheming con artists, both of them giving the money back to the boy after being caught in the act. The whole village is suddenly attacked by a mutated plant, who end up revealing the entrance to the Underground Palace. However, the place is still blocked by a sea of lava cast by Elinee the Witch. Popoi the sprite is revealed to be amnesiac by the shock of the storm that led them to Dwarf Village, and decides to join the boy in his errand in hopes of returning to his homeland. During that time, Watts has finished forging an axe for Randi and decides to travel the world for himself.

Later on, the party returns with ice magic to solidify the pool of lava blocking the entrance to the Underground Palace and befriend Gnome, the earth elemental, the sprite regains some of their memory by focusing their mind on the palace's Mana Seed. Popoi recalls hailing from the Upperland, and the party decides to head to the aformentioned place by Cannon Travel. The landing impact in the Forest of Seasons makes the sprite amnesiac again, the heroes needing to ask the local Moogles for directions. Translating the foreign tongue, Popoi learns that their neighboring village has been invaded by Pebblers. The heroes decide to help the fluffy creatures by defeating the troublemakers. The townsfolk now being able to regain their homeland give a hint to the sprite to open the path to their village. After following the Moogles' advice and circling the seasons in a certain order, the way to Sprite Village is now open. There, Popoi discovers that the whole village is in a shamble and is currently being attacked by Spring Beak. After defeating the giant bird, the party finds Popoi's Grandpa inside the Wind Palace. The poor old sprite has been blinded by the recent imperial attack to break the Mana Seed's seal and is the sole survivor in the village. The old man tells Popoi that sprites are tied to Mana Power and if the humans succeed in breaking all the seals, the fabled Mana Beast might be released again, causing Mana to disappear. If their very source of power vanishes, the sprite will cease to exist in this world. Grandpa urges the sprite to prevent that incident to happen. He then entrusts the wind elemental Sylphid to assist the party in his place and advise them to venture north to meet with the White Dragon in they want to protect Mana.

Popoi's role in the story only comes relevant at the very end of the game, when the party is about the battle with the Mana Beast atop the revived Mana Fortress. Randi is reluctant to engage with the mighty dragon, as this would entail the sprite to disappear. Popoi tries to reason with him, saying that they won't really disappear since their world is separate from them. The boy must think about his own world perishing throught the relentless assault of the Mana Beast. This is enough to convince the hero, who, with the help of Primm and Popoi, eventually defeat the very threat plaguing their land. By doing so, the sprite vanishes before their eyes, only their spirit to be found gazing at the starring sky in the epilogue scene.

Legend of Mana
Despite not appearing as a character, save statues bear their resemblance in Legend of Mana.

Friends of Mana
Popoi makes a cameo appearance in Friends of Mana.

Circle of Mana
Popoi makes a cameo appearance alongside many other characters from the Mana series.

Rise of Mana
Popoi appears as a recruitable Monster Pet in Rise of Mana.

Echoes of Mana


Popoi was a character and obtainable unit. They had three variants.


 * Popoi (Headed for the Home Village)
 * Popoi (I'm the Boss!)
 * Popoi (Bringer of Blessings)

They were also depicted in numerous memory gems:


 * Banquet of Champions
 * Mana Tribe Duty
 * Overcoming Yourself
 * Pity Peddlers
 * Sinister Bloodsucker
 * Substituting Santa
 * To Save the World
 * Who Bears the Sword

Character Bond Dialogues
'Startin' to think of you like one of my family, bro. Aw man, look at me, gettin' all sentimental!'

'Hey, there goes my favorite lackey! Good lookin' out, bro!'

'Just happy to see me, is it?'

'Training? You can do that later. Let's go have some boss 'n' lackey fun, eh?'

'Bro, you gotta hide me. Sis is comin' and she knows about the prank I pulled!'

'Got some treasure did ya? I'd be beamin', too! Geheh!'

'I don't got the wings and all, but I am a faerie you know? So, uh, handle me with care. Got it?'

'May not look like it, but I'm quite the actor, you know? Geheh!'

'Come to pick up you boss, eh? Now that's a good lackey!'

'Boy, am I bored. Don't suppose your favorite lackey could provide some entertainment, eh?'

Physical appearance
Popoi is of short stature, sports yellow eyes with thick, mane-like red hair that extend all the way to the floor. They wear two white feathers resembling horns in some older artwork. They wear a long green robe with wide sleeves, trimmed with several diamonds and flower patterns. The sprite is usually depicted holding a long wooden staff made of twisted branches with blue orbs on top. The same orb can be seen on their chest, with the remake adding a sleeveless yellow tunic to accentuate the jewel. Finally Popoi's large feet are fitted in brown leather boots.

Personality
The sprite is one of the most mischevious protagonists in the Mana series, enjoying making pranks to their companions Randi and Primm. They are frequently played as a comic relief foil to the more mild-mannered Randi and hot-headed Primm. Popoi's main character traits seem centered about their love of food, as they are seen contemplating eating Mana Seeds or Matango people. In fact, the sprite blames their upbringing for being so obsessed with food, as the Forest of Seasons offers a wide variety of produce all year round. Popoi also like to make scenarios where he is a powerful wizard and frequently call their companions their "underlings", which tend to irritate Primm to no end. Overall, the sprite is a very optimistic and lively character who enjoys playing tricks to people and doesn't take life too seriously.

Profile and statistics
Popoi's default weapon is the boomerang, also joining with a bow, and their specialty in battle is attacking magic, which delivers devastating amounts of damage from a safe distance. This is especially important because Popoi is the exact opposite of Randi in terms of parameters: Popoi's attack, defense and HP are the lowest of the team, and they learn special attacks with weapons very slowly.

Magic
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 * width=50% style="vertical-align:top;"|

Equipment
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Headgear

 * [[File:Rabite Cap SOM sprite.png]]Rabite Cap
 * [[File:Quill Cap SOM sprite.png]]Quill Cap
 * [[File:Golden Tiara SOM sprite.png]]Golden Tiara
 * [[File:Raccoon Cap SOM sprite.png]]Raccoon Cap
 * [[File:Quilted Hood SOM sprite.png]]Quilted Hood
 * [[File:Tiger Cap SOM sprite.png]]Tiger Cap
 * [[File:Circlet SOM sprite.png]]Circlet
 * [[File:Unicorn Helm SOM sprite.png]]Unicorn Helm
 * [[File:Dragon Helm SOM sprite.png]]Dragon Helm
 * [[File:Needle Helm SOM sprite.png]]Needle Helm
 * [[File:Duck Helm SOM sprite.png]]Duck Helm
 * [[File:Cockatrice Cap SOM sprite.png]]Cockatrice Cap
 * [[File:Amulet Helm SOM sprite.png]]Amulet Helm
 * [[File:Faerie Crown SOM sprite.png]]Faerie Crown
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Torso gear

 * [[File:Midge Robe SOM sprite.png]]Midge Robe
 * [[File:Chain Vest SOM sprite.png]]Chain Vest
 * [[File:Spiky Suit SOM sprite.png]]Spiky Suit
 * [[File:Fancy Overalls SOM sprite.png]]Fancy Overalls
 * [[File:Chest Guard SOM sprite.png]]Chest Guard
 * [[File:Golden Vest SOM sprite.png]]Golden Vest
 * [[File:Ruby Vest SOM sprite.png]]Ruby Vest
 * [[File:Tiger Suit SOM sprite.png]]Tiger Suit
 * [[File:Magical Armor SOM sprite.png]]Magical Armor
 * [[File:Tortoise Mail SOM sprite.png]]Tortoise Mail
 * [[File:Battle Suit SOM sprite.png]]Battle Suit
 * [[File:Vestguard SOM sprite.png]]Vestguard
 * [[File:Vampire Cape SOM sprite.png]]Vampire Cape
 * [[File:Faerie Cloak SOM sprite.png]]Faerie Cloak
 * width=17% style="vertical-align:top;"|

Accessories

 * [[File:Elbow Pad SOM sprite.png]]Elbow Pad
 * [[File:Power Wrist SOM sprite.png]]Power Wrist
 * [[File:Cobra Bracelet SOM sprite.png]]Cobra Bracelet
 * [[File:Wolfs Band SOM sprite.png]]Wolf's Band
 * [[File:Silver Band SOM sprite.png]]Silver Band
 * [[File:Golem Ring SOM sprite.png]]Golem Ring
 * [[File:Frosty Ring SOM sprite.png]]Frosty Ring
 * [[File:Ivy Amulet SOM sprite.png]]Ivy Amulet
 * [[File:Gold Bracelet SOM sprite.png]]Gold Bracelet
 * [[File:Shield Ring SOM sprite.png]]Shield Ring
 * [[File:Lazuri Ring SOM sprite.png]]Lazuri Ring
 * [[File:Guardian Ring SOM sprite.png]]Guardian Ring
 * [[File:Ninja Gloves SOM sprite.png]]Ninja Gloves
 * [[File:Dragon Ring SOM sprite.png]]Dragon Ring
 * [[File:Watcher Ring SOM sprite.png]]Watcher Ring
 * [[File:Imps Ring SOM sprite.png]]Imp's Ring
 * [[File:Amulet Ring SOM sprite.png]]Amulet Ring
 * [[File:Faeries Ring SOM sprite.png]]Faerie's Ring
 * }

Brave Frontier
Popoi appears as a 4★ and 5★ unit in Brave Frontier.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
Popoi appears in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a rare summon.

Heavenstrike Rivals
Popoi appears in Heavenstrike Rivals as a special collab with Secret of Mana.

Last Cloudia
Popoi appears in Last Cloudia as a special collab with Collection of Mana.

Merc Storia
Popoi appears as a wind unit in Merc Storia.

Spelunker Z
Primm appears in Spelunker Z.

Trivia

 * Early translations of their name spelled it as Popoie.
 * Gold statues of Popoi are used for saving the player's game in Legend of Mana.
 * In the original SNES translation, Popoi is referred to with masculine pronouns while on the Sandship. A guard says "He ate up ALL the ship's food!". Another says "'Zat your friend? Show him outta here!" This was most likely an error as the rest of the game follows the Japanese script in referring to Popoi with gender-neutral words. In the remake, this error is fixed.
 * A potential reconciliation for the sandship dialogue, in-universe, is simply that the characters speaking are not familiar with sprites and assuming Popoi is male.
 * Popoi is the only character in the Mana series with gender neutral pronouns.