Kari’s Anime Corner: First Impressions of ‘Dokkoida?!’
Hi! My name is Kari Lane, and I’ve been an anime lover since I was a little girl. Those good old days when classics like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z, Card Captor Sakura, Digimon and Monster Rancher were on the most basic of cable.
Over the years, I have expanded my anime repertoire and have attended numerous anime conventions. I’m currently a host on AX Live, a web-based news program produced by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation. Recently, I’ve been watching the first discs of various anime series’, and thought it an excellent idea to write reviews based on my “first impressions”. Of course, you’ll have many unanswered questions after viewing just 4, 5, or 6 episodes, but you can get a feel for the show and decide if you want to pick up the second disc! I hope my reviews will help introduce you to some awesome anime, or help you avoid the more mediocre junk that’s out there!
First Impressions! – Dokkoida?! (Disc 1, Episodes 1-4)
If you just want to watch something silly with a little bit of action, you should check out Dokkoida?! The show is about a young man, Suzuo Sakurazaki, who is currently unemployed and willing to do just about anything to make some money. His prayers are answered by an otherworldly little pre-teen girl, Tanpopo. She wants his help to test an experimental battle suit developed by her employer, an intergalactic toy company. Since he pretty much has nothing better to do and desperately needs the money, Suzuo agrees. Unfortunately for him, the design of the suit is a bit comical because it looks like he is wearing a giant diaper. The suit is in no way imposing and Suzuo’s reluctant attitude to actually fight bad guys gives way to most of the comedy in the show. Hopefully, he will man up and start learning how to use his suit’s special abilities/powers soon.
If that does not sound weird or silly enough for you, maybe some of the villains will convince you. One of the villains is a dominatrix who beats her male slave to the point that he breaks out of his human form and turns into a giant monster. Yeeeaaahhhhh….Somehow, Suzuo manages to defeat all of the villains in his initial encounters with them either by accident or by their own failures and mistakes. Matters are further complicated though, when all of the villains (using their cover identities, of course) move into the same apartment complex as our hero. This is a problem for more than just the obvious reasons because the intergalactic toy companies have mandated that the hero and the villains cannot know each other’s true identities or the experiment will end and Suzuo will lose the apartment provided by the toy company.
How long will everyone be able to live together? Will Suzuo stop whining and learn to use his special battle suit? The show is definitely on the goofy side but the fights are very entertaining. The animation is somewhat average; not too simple but not overly detailed. The style and the close living quarters plot line reminded me a lot of Tenchi Muyo. It is nice to have something light every once and awhile and I am curious to see where this show will go!
