Di Gi Charat is anime that ran for 16 episodes over the course of December 1999 on TBS. The show is a Gag Series with each episode only being about 3 minutes long, not counting the intro or credits. It was the first anime based on the Di Gi Charat franchise, and it certainly would not be its last.
Dejiko is an Alien Princess who came to earth in order to become an idol, landing in Akihabara. However, due to high rent, she ends up having to take a job at a store called Gamers in exchange for a room to live in. Starring alongside Dejiko are her friends, Puchiko and Gema, as well as her rival, Rabi~en~Rose.
Despite its short run, it would leave its mark since this was not the last time we saw these iterations of the characters as a series of specials, and a movie would be released that also took place in the same continuity. As well, in 2022 an anime called Reiwa no Di Gi Charat would be released and would act as a continuation of this series
The series received a dub by Synch-Point which covered all 16 episodes.
The series provides examples of the following tropes nyo!:
- A Day in the Limelight:
- Episode 8 puts focus on Puchiko and her attempts to perfect her Eye Beam attack.
- Episode 9 focuses on Minataku and Rabi~en~Rose with Dejiko only showing up for the last few seconds of the episode.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Episode 7 has Gema grow huge after drinking a bunch of water, only to shrink back to his regular size after going to the bathroom. Rabi~en~Rose then tells the kids in the audience to not think about how or where Gema went to the bathroom.
- Buy or Get Lost: Happens twice in episode 3. When Minataku sees some customers leave without buying anything, they proudly cheer about being useless customers, Dejiko blasts them with her eye beams. Later, when Minataku wants to leave the store after being spooked by it, Dejiko is not happy and threatens him with Usada quickly telling her to knock it off.
- Bystander Syndrome: Episode 7 has Dejiko and Puchiko running away from a giant Gema. Once Puchiko realizes that Gema is only after Dejiko, she quickly ditches her.
- Christmas Episode: Episode 16 takes place during Christmas.
- Demonic Possession: Episode 13 has Dejiko get possessed by a Shijimi clam in retaliation for wasting them by throwing them out of her soup. At the end of the episode, Puchiko gets possessed by a snail.
- The Dog Bites Back: Episode 8 has Gema turn giant after drinking some water and chasing down Dejiko for all the abuse she has put him through. However he ends up having to go to bathroom which causes him to shrink back down to his usual size.
- Do You Want to Haggle?: Played for Laughs in Episode 3. When Minataku asks how much the trading cards he wants are, Usada, Dejiko, and Puchiko offer the prices of 5,000 dollars, 10,000 dollars, and 30 million dollars. When he says that's too expensive, Usada and Dejiko quickly offer them for free, while Puchiko ups the price to 60 billion.
- Drop-In Character: Rabi~en~Rose, Murataku, and Minataku all show up in Dejiko's room in Episode 13. Gema lampshades that they have no real reason to be here or have been headed here.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Rabi~en~Rose appears at the end of the first episode laughing behind a wall, and telling the audience that the best is yet to come at the end of the episode.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Compared to the anime that came later this one can be viewed as rather odd seeing how it places great emphasis on gags and subversive otaku-based humor, which later entries would ditch note . As well, it is rather short being only 16 episodes that were three minutes each, with the next series, Panyo Panyo, bumping the runtime to five minutes and having 48 episodes total.
- Dejiko averted Calling Your Attacks when using her Laser Eye Beam the first few times. It wouldn't be until the end of Episode 4 when she'd start doing it. As well, the beams were sometimes portrayed as being red rather than yellow.
- Easy Impersonation: Episode 10 has Dejiko accused of various misdeeds by the other members of the cast. Though she insists she's innocent, no one believes her. She attempts to bribe the other characters into forgiving her with some Dejiko Candy, which happens to draw out her imitator, which is simply a blob with a Dejiko hat.
- Faceless Masses: The minor characters are portrayed as literal finger puppets, even when they are in the foreground. This is based on how Koge-Donbo* originally drew other people that weren't Dejiko or Gema in the original "Gema Gema" comic strips.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: Dejiko and Puchiko perform alongside Usada in Episode 15.
- Got Me Doing It: In his debut episode, Takurou Kimura goes to Gamers to investigate the rumors of language being corrupted, and is sent into despair by all the various Verbal Tics being used by Dejiko, Gema, and Puchiko, especially hearing the customers in the store using them, too.
- The Greys: The alien who visits in Episode 12 has grey skin and black eyes.
- Heavy Voice: In the seventh episode, Gema falls into the river and drinks a lot of water, making him grow huge and giving him a deep voice.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Episode 8 has Puchiko attempting to learn how to properly use her eye beams.
- I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: Takuro Kimura favors Puchiko the most, and has a habit of picking her right up and speaking affectionately to her. In his debut appearance, he even asks Dejiko if he could "buy" her.
- Last-Second Joke Problem: Episode 13 has Puchiko get possessed by a snail at the end of the episode. And Minataku is unable to help as he only knows how to exorcise clams.
- Left the Background Music On: In Episode 14, when Abarenbou introduces himself, Dejiko asks him to repeat his name due to being unable to hear him over the loud rock music playing.
- Lost Food Grievance: Episode 4 has Dejiko blast Usada out of the sky after she ruins her and Puchiko's picnic by purposely blasting dirt everywhere with her rabbit ears while flying.
- Millennium Bug: The subtitles for the show's opening mention Y2K.
- More Dakka: Rabi~en~Rose's plan to take down the monster in Episode 12 is by blasting it with all manner of firearms. However, it vaporizes her with its Breath Weapon before she gets the chance to fire at it.
- Musical Episode: Episode 15 has Dejiko, Puchiko, and Rabi~en~Rose singing a song called "Party Night".
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Episode 3 has Dejiko, Puchiko, and Rabi~en~Rose freak out Minataku and accidentally confirm his suspicions that Gamers is a spooky store.
- Not Helping Your Case: In order to get everyone to stop thinking she's guilty, Dejiko offers everyone some Di Gi Charat candy in exchange for belief that she's innocent. Gema quickly points out that this is bribery, which is also illegal. Subverted in that this actually helps Dejiko prove her innocence by summing out the impostor Dejiko.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted. Takurou Minagawa and Takurou Kimura share the same first name. This is rarely an issue however as they are usually known by their nicknames of Murataku and Minataku.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: The two Takurous usually go by "Murataku" and "Minataku", with the former also going by Mr. Longhair sometimes as well.
- Picnic Episode: Episode 4 has Dejiko, Puchiko, and Gema going on a picnic.
- Strange Minds Think Alike:
- Mr. Manager somehow correctly guesses that Dejiko got hit by a car, fell into a river, and nearly got eaten by a giant koi when Dejiko asks him to guess what happened to her on the way to the store.
- Episode 7 has Gema correctly guessing that Dejiko plans to make a naughty doujinshi with the two Takurous which royally pisses her off.
- To Be Continued: A to-be continued card appears at the end of the first episode, with Usada appearing and telling everyone the best is yet to come.
- Trash the Set: The last episode of the original series has Gamers being destroyed due to Dejiko's explosive cake.
- Verbal Tic: The episode introducing Murataku, also known as Mr. Longhair, has him going to the store to get them to stop, as he thinks them doing it will cause language to degrade, and provides examples of words that will sound silly if each character says their verbal tic after them.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Somewhat inverted in the first episode. Dejiko gets pissed at Gema for telling Mr. Manager that he shouldn't give the group the room for free.
