Di Gi Charat
Encyclopedia : D : DI : DIG : Di Gi Charat
|- ! colspan="2" style="background: #ccf; text-align: center;" | Related works |- | style="background: #e6e9ff;" colspan="2" | Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat (2002), Di Gi Charat nyo, (2004)
|} Di Gi Charat is a popular anime and manga series by Koge Donbo. The series follows a catgirl named Di Gi Charat (Dejiko, for short) who comes from outer space to Akihabara, Tokyo with dreams of becoming an idol, only to find herself working in Gamers, a retail store that sells anime related merchandise.
The anime is produced by BROCCOLI and released under Madhouse in Japan and distributed by Synch-Point in the United States. Originally created as an advertisement for Japanese anime & character goods store Gamers owned by BROCCOLI.
History
The characters of Di Gi Charat and her sidekick Gema first appeared in July 1998 in From Gamers, a promotional magazine for Akihabara store, Gamers. In August of that year, the two appeared in Gema Gema, a four-panel comic-strip (yonkoma) in From Gamers drawn by doujin artist Koge-Donbo. Dejiko was later adopted as the mascot of Gamers. Further characters gradually appeared in Gema Gema, and were later included in the anime series. Several Original Video Animations (OVAs) and movies have been adapted as prequels, sequels and alternate stories.
Gamers
Only the original series and its OVAs are set in the Gamers store. There are 20 [Gamers] stores across Japan. Gamers also opened a store in the United States in 2001, [Anime Gamers], that is located in Los Angeles.
Characters
Most of the characters of Di Gi Charat originally debuted in the yonkoma Gema Gema, and later appeared in the anime series. Across all of the Di Gi Charat series, each catgirl ends their sentence with a cat sounding suffix. The four DVDs of the series Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat are named after each of the four catgirl's cat sounds.
Main characters
- Di Gi Charat (Dejiko for short), also known as Chocola is the main character of the anime. Dejiko is dressed up as a catgirl and is the princess of Planet Di Gi Charat. She is ten years old when she comes to Earth with hopes of becoming an idol singer. She has green eyes and green hair and her maid-like uniform consists of a white and navy blue dress with big cat bells tied to her hair with navy blue ribbons. On the very top of her head are her cat ears, which are white with pink inside and have a set of large, non-functional yellow cat eyes. She always wears white gloves and boots (with the exception of her sleeping outfit) and she has a white tail. Voiced by Asami Sanada, she ends each sentence with nyo.
- Petit Charat (Puchiko for short), also known as Capuccino. At the beginning of the anime it is explained that she is Dejiko's five year old sidekick and also a catgirl. Her relationship to Dejiko isn't explained in the original series, but Gema says that she's also a princess in the Di Gi Charat Movie and she lives with Dejiko in the castle in Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat. However, according to Di Gi Charat Complete 2002, Dejiko saved her by pulling her out of a hole, so Puchiko follows Dejiko to thank her. Puchiko has brown hair and dark brown eyes. She wears a schoolgirl-type uniform plus cat bells in her hair, though they are much smaller than Dejiko's. She also wears gloves, boots and has cat ears but hers are yellow. Her tail is also yellow. Voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, she ends each sentence with nyu.
- Rabi~en~Rose (real name Hikaru Usada), is revealed to the viewer to be Dejiko's rival. Her name is a pun on pop singer Hikaru Utada (best known in the West for her theme songs for the Kingdom Hearts series), and rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel(Ready Steady Go, from Fullmetal Alchemist). In the original anime, she is seen as a normal girl who uses dice to transform into her bunnygirl outfit: a pink, white and red dress with large white rabbit ears and a large round cotton tail. Her parents left her to live on her own in an attempt to help her become an idol. Her name may be a play on La Vie en Rose from Gundam 0083 or the common French saying "La Vie en Rose" which means "life in pink", considering that Di Gi Charat is largely aimed at Otaku, and Japanese doesn't have a "V" sound, often substituting a "B" in its place (the full Japanese pronunciaton being "ra-bi-en-rozu"). Voiced by Kyoko Hikami, she does not end her sentences with a rabbit sound (typically pyo in anime) and is the only character with animal traits in the Di Gi Charat franchise not to do so.
- Gema is explained to be the guardian of Dejiko and Puchiko. Essentially it is a floating yellow balloon that is always upside-down with very small eyes and mouth. Creator Koge Donbo once joked that Gema was the best character because anyone can draw him. He ends his sentences with gema. He can shoot darts out of bamboo sticks, except they do not do much.
- Piyoko (full name Pyocola Analogue III) who is eight years old is shown to be the leader of the Black Gema Gema Dan and hails from the planet Analogue. In the anime it is unclear whether she is the princess of Analogue. Piyoko, a panda-girl, is voiced by prolific seiyū Megumi Hayashibara. Her costume is similar to that of a nurse's uniform. She ends her sentences with pyo.
- Rik Heisenberg General. He plays the role of the veteranarian of the doctor trio. He takes pride in his profession and loves animals. The brains of the group and the oldest.
- Ky Schweitzer Lieutenant General. He is a dentist and always worries after Piyoko. Ky makes sure that Piyoko practices proper dental hygiene. The second-oldest of the group.
- Coo Erhard Major. The physician of the group. He is Piyoko's childhood friend and is closest too her. Sometimes if food flies through the air he will jump up and catch it in his mouth in a doglike manner.
- Nazo Gema, Gema's counterpart in the Black Gema Gema Dan. It has large spooky eyes and red lips.
- Takeshi - One of the two self-confessed "fans of Dejiko".
- Yoshimi - Takeshi's friend the other of the "fans of Dejiko".
- * Bukimi - In the original series, Dejiko misreads the kanji for Takeshi and Yoshimi's names as "Bukimi" (meaning 'weird'/'unpleasant smell') and refers to the pair collectively as "Bukimi" for the remainder of the series.
- Takurou Minagawa (Minataku for short) - A boy who comes into the store to buy some trading cards and falls in love with Rabi-en-Rose. Enjoys melonpan. Not related to Kimura.
- Takurou Kimura (Murataku for short) - A rich and long-haired man infatuated with Puchiko's cuteness. Not related to Minagawa.
- Abarenbou - A rowdy creature seemingly made of water. His appearances in the series are always incredibly random and crazy.
- Rodoyan (Rod Young)- An American fan of Di Gi Charat
- The Manager - A thoughtful finger-person who runs Gamers and sends Dejiko on errands.
- Hokke Mirin - A cat, is Puchiko's sidekick. Can walk sideways and has five kittens; Sa, Shi, Su, Se, and So.
- Majin Gappa - A small green creature, is Rabi-en-Rose's sidekick.
- Henna Ikimono - A mysterious, tiny, yellow bear. Its face always appears to be angry, crying, depressed and laughing all at the same time. It always remains in its box. On one side of the box, 'Take whatever you want' is written in Japanese.
Anime
While continuing to appear in Gema Gema, an animated Dejiko and her sidekick Gema starred in a television advertisement for Gamers, set to the store's theme song "Welcome!" by Hiroko Kato. Dejiko soon starred in her own animated series.
Original series
The Di Gi Charat anime premiered on television program Wonderful in November of 1999. Set in a Gamers store in Akihabara, the original series was sixteen episodes long, with each episode running only three minutes. Light-hearted and relatively cheaply animated, the series follows the story of Di Gi Charat (Dejiko), her new sidekick Petit Charat (Puchiko) and Gema, who arrive in Akihabara only to realise that they have no money and nowhere to stay. The manager of a Gamers store takes pity on them, and the series follows their exploits as they work in the shop. The series introduces Dejiko's rival, Rabi-en-Rose, and minor characters Abarenbou, Takeshi, Yoshimi, Takurou and Takurou. All other citizens of Akihabara, including the manager, are (inexplicably) drawn as anthropomorphic fingers.
Specials and OVAs
Despite the series' low budget and its status as an advertisement for a games store, Di Gi Charat was popular enough that several feature-length Di Gi Charat special episodes and OVAs followed. Each special was around twenty minutes long. The specials introduce the Black Gema Gema Gang (Black Gema Gema Dan) and Dejiko's rival Pyocolla Analogue III (Piyoko).
- Di Gi Charat Christmas Special (2000)
- Di Gi Charat Summer Special 1-4
- Di Gi Charat Ohanami Special 1-4
- Di Gi Charat Natsuyasumi Special 1-4
- Kuchikara Bazooka
- Piyoko Ni Omakase-Pyo (OVA)
In 2001, the Di Gi Charat movie Gekijouban Di Gi Charat: Hoshi no Tabi (デ・ジ・キャラット] 星の旅) was shown in Japan. The twenty minute animation follows the adventures of Dejiko, Piyoko and Gema as they use the spaceship from the first episode to travel back to Dejiko's home, Planet Di Gi Charat.
Di Gi Charat Nyo!
- Main article: Di Gi Charat nyo
Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat
A prequel to the original story, Panyo Panyo (ぱにょぱにょ デ・ジ・キャラット) aired from January 5 2002 until September 29 2002. The characters are drawn in chibi style to look much younger. Princess Dejiko and Puchiko wish to escape castle life to help people of Planet Di Gi Charat achieve happiness. Pyocola Analogue III and hologram Deji Devil try to stop her. In this series Dejiko, Puchiko and Gema also meet friends Meek and Rinna.
Panyo Panyo was arranged into five minute mini episodes. This was indended to make it feel like classic four panel manga. Panyo Panyo did not, however, have the wide open endings which the original series had.
Characters
- Dejiko - でじこ (also known as Di Gi Charat ) - Princess of the planet Di Gi Charat, she wishes for all people to be happy
- Puchiko - ぷちこ (also known as Petit Charat ) - Dejiko's trusted partner
- Piyoko - ぴよこ (also known as Pyocola Analogue III ) - Eccentric and accident prone enemy of dejiko
- MeeK - みけ (Pronounced "mee-keh", also spelled Mike) Strong-willed daughter of a fishmonger who ends her sentences with mya
- Rinna - りんな - A sleepyhead cake shop operator who ends her sentences with myu
- Deji Devil - デジデビル - A hologram, tries to tell Piyoko what to do
- Gema - ゲマ - Tries to tell Dejiko what to do.
| Name | Type | Relation | Length | Year |
| Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat | TV | Prequel | 48 x 5 mins | 2002 |
| Di Gi Charat | TV | Original | 16 x 3 mins | 1999 |
| Di Gi Charat nyo | TV | Alternate | 52 x 20 mins | 2004 |
| Ohanami/Summer/Xmas | OVA | Sequel | 12 x 20 mins | 2000 |
| Gekijouban Di Gi Charat | Movie | Sequel | 20 mins | 2001 |
| Piyoko ni omakase pyo! | OVA | Sequel | 6 x 20 mins | 2003 |
Manga
A Di Gi Charat manga began around the same time as the anime.
Broccoli Books in the US is currently publishing the Di Gi Charat Theater series, which contain a number of Di Gi Charat manga by Koge Donbo and several doujin artists. The comic strip Gema Gema, which still runs in From Gamers, is also republished in these volumes.
Current Di Gi Charat Manga released in the US:
Broccoli Books
- [Di Gi Charat Theater - Dejiko's Summer Vacation] (also a limited DVD release by Synch-Point)
- [Di Gi Charat Theater - Piyoko is Number One!]
- [Di Gi Charat Theater - Dejiko's Adventure]
- [Di Gi Charat Theater - Leave it to Piyoko] (also an DVD release by Synch-Point)
- Di Gi Charat Anthology v. 1 - 4
And Comic Di Gi which is a bimonthly magazine that issued by Broccoli, included Di. Gi. Charat comic called GemaGema Theater by Koge-Donbo.
Music
A great number of Di Gi Charat albums have been released, including soundtracks to the anime as well as collections of original songs sung by the main characters. Some of these albums include drama CDs which expand the Di Gi Charat story.
Games
Di Gi Charat Fantasy
A game titled Di Gi Charat Fantasy was released for the Sega Dreamcast. It's a visual novel style game, in which the player takes on the role of a boy with a crush on Dejiko who, along with Dejiko, Puchiko, and Rabi-en-Rose, gets sucked through a dimensional vortex into a fantasy world. The player finds himself alone with Dejiko in a forest, and she's lost her memory. In this game we're given a very different view of Dejiko, as the amnesia makes her innocent and shy.
Di Gi Charat: Di Gi Communication I & II
Di Gi Communication is a game series for the Game Boy Advance. On October 25 2002 the first game was released by Broccoli, the sequel a year later. The games are based on money management. Choosing any of the three main characters of the anime, the player takes the role as the manager of the store with the objective of running the store on the little money available. The game takes many aspects of the anime into it's gameplay including character art and an instrumental music score of popular songs from the anime composed by Manabu Namiki for the games. The two games were released only in Japan, and, as of yet, have not received any English translations.
Glove on Fight
Dejiko appeared as a selectable character in the 2D fighting game Glove on Fight for the PC. The game contains several popular anime characters from well known anime such as To Heart and Shingetsutan Tsukihime.
See also
Related animeOther anime series have been known to reference Di Gi Charat and the characters make appearances in:
- Broccoli-created anime Galaxy Angel and Aquarian Age
- Pita-Ten like Di Gi Charat, a Koge Donbo creation.
- Cromartie High School - Piyoko and Dejiko can be seen.
- A parody of Di Gi Charat appeared in Megatokyo. The main character dressed up as Puchiko and his co-worker, Erika, as Rabi~en~Rose in a store called MegaGamerz.
- There is also a parody of Di Gi Charat in episode 23 of Excel Saga, in which Excel's secret fighting technique turns baddies into "cute" versions of themselves, which look like Dejiko.
External links
- () [Di.Gi.Charat Official website]
- () [Di.Gi.Charat Russian fansite]
- () [Asian-Stuff.com] - Di Gi Charat Review
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