DIGI CHARAT
Make me spazz like bobcats on booze!
Review by: Craig "Pixie Stick Hangover" Norris
Length (bear with me, now): 16 five-minute episodes; three 4-episode OAVs at 12 minutes per episode; a 25-minute movie; a 25-minute Christmas special; and an additional 15-minute special
Genre: Comedy, spazz fit
Watched: All, subbed
DiGi Charat is one of those rare series that defies definite description. Yes, it's a comedy, but what kind of comedy is it? Is it random insanity? Is it a social expose? Is it a contrast of characters and action? One things for sure, it goes fast. Really fast. Like that guy from the Micro Machines commercials after five lines of coke. That fast. So fast, in fact, that many of the jokes were over and gone before I had time to laugh at them.
Plot synopsis: After landing on planet earth, Dejiko and Puchiko, two aliens from the planet DiGi Charat that cosplay as catgirls, as well as their amorphous companion Gema, must find a way to support themselves. So, the take a job at a game store in Akihabara called Gamers. They instantly attract a large following, as well as several rivals, including the aspiring idol Rabi-En-Rose who cosplays as a bunnygirl, and Pyoko, leader of the Black Gema Gema, enemies of the planet DiGi Charat.
Artwork: The artwork ranges from standard anime fare to really, really, REALLY bad. However, the bad artwork is supposed to be part of the comedy, which it succeeds in being the majority of the time. Backgrounds are usually the most poorly rendered, constantly reminding the viewer that it is a simple production that is not supposed to be thought about too much. Character designs are... weird. A ten year-old alien girl cosplaying as a catgirl isn't the half of it, either. Crowds of people are depicted as multi-colored fingers. Abarenbou is a naked blue person with what appears to be an onion for a head. Gema is... something... round. The artwork, like the whole show itself, really must be seen to be believed.
Music: J-pop isn't really my cup of tea, but the songs in this anime are the cream of that particular crop. Apparently, the seiyuu take their ambitions of being pop idols a lot more seriously than their characters, because they belt out some real winner tunes. In fact, one of the five minute episodes is basically a music video for one of their original songs, and is one of the more enjoyable episodes. Sometimes, the show seems like a vessel for the soundtrack. And not in that pathetic Mortal Kombat 2 way, either.
Characters: Each and every character in the show is some kind of weirdo. Dejiko is a self-centered girl with a poor work ethic. When she is annoyed, she has a tendency to shoot beams out of her eyes and destroy the offending individual(s). Puchiko is a practical thinker whose sharp tongue belies her cuteness. Gema seems to be a caretaker for Dejiko and Puchiko, but receives nothing but abuse from the two. Rabi-En-Rose is a very argumentative girl who sees Dejiko as her main rival. She winds up working at Gamers as well, which she believes is a short stop on her way to becoming a famous idol. Pyoko is a young girl who believes herself to be evil, but she is never more than a minor annoyance in reality. Her greatest joy is making Dejiko angry. As a result, she is often the victim of Dejiko's eye beam. There are lots of other characters that range from quirky to completely deranged. Probably the most outlandish of them is Abarenbou, who often pops in solely for the purpose of saying random things that make sense only to him. Kind of like Nabeshin after being hit in the head several times by an aluminum baseball bat. Those who do not enjoy goofy characters will undoubtedly be buried under the weight of this bunch.
Plot: Humor was given top priority, so plot was really scraped down to the bare bones. In fact, besides the rivalries between characters, there's really no distinguishable plot that holds the episodes together. Really, you can watch the last episode first and it will make just about as much sense as if you watch it in order. The whole point of the show is having the characters do what they do best: spazz out. That alone is fairly entertaining, and I never really found myself missing the fact that there was virtually no plot (for a change). The plot is substituted with raw energy, and you'd better switch off your brain or you'll never keep up.
CHICKS!: One word: Lolita. Sure they're cute, but not in that yummy sort of way. The most realistically beddable is probably Rabi-En-Rose, but even she at 14 years of age is too young. So I apologize if I got your hopes up by mentioning girls cosplaying as catgirls and bunnygirls, but believe me, I was just as heartbroken as you are when I saw.
Overall: This show is on a perpetual sugar high. Its hyperactive pace and wide variety of jokes reminds me of a food fight; everything gets mixed together and hurled at you, and you don't know what you'll get hit with if you poke your head up. In conclusion, I will sum up the experience that is DiGi Charat by paraphrasing the immortal Mark Twain: "Persons attempting to find a motive in this anime will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Condensed comedy
+ Controlled (sometimes) chaos
+ Memorable soundtrack
+/- Weeeeeeiiiiird
- May be too much, too fast for some
- Not much left underneath the jokes
Rating: 6/10
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