Released in March 2003, Di Gi Charat Theater - Leave it to Piyoko-pyo! is an eight-episode OVA miniseries in the Di Gi Charat franchise that focuses on the exploits of Piyoko and the Black Gema Gema Gang as they attempt to capture Dejiko.
An English dub for the series would be released by Synch-Point which covered all eight episodes. Due to the company also dubbing the original series, several VAs from that series reprise their roles.
This series also has the honor of being the first anime where a Japanese voice actor reprised their role for a dub, with Miyuki Sawashiro voicing Puchiko in the English dub, but only for six of the eight episodes.
The series provides examples of the following tropes pyo!:
- Adaptation Expansion: Episode 3 is a retelling of the first episode from the Summer Special 2000, which introduced Piyoko, and adds in scenes of Piyoko landing in Akihabara and also Rik, Ky, and Coo who were not in the special.
- Bottle Episode: Episode 2 primarily takes place on the Black Gema's spaceship with only a brief scene or two happening on Earth with Dejiko.
- Bowdlerize: Piyoko tells Coo to take out the mention of boogers in her drawing song due to her believing that boogers will ruin her image, he obliges and changes it to algae. However he has two more mentions of boogers in the song, which Piyoko chooses not to change due to Rik and Ky liking them.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Episode 1 has Piyoko say that the Black Gema Gema Gang can introduce themselves after they've finished eating.
- Buy or Get Lost: Episode 4 has Dejiko attempt to blast Piyoko and her gang for being in her store to only mooch off the air conditioning.
- Continuity Cameo: Several characters from the original series make brief cameo appearances in a few episodes.
- Episode 3 features brief appearances from Minataku, Murataku, and Bukumi. However, they only appear drawn as Faceless Masses, with items and VAs being used to identify them.
- Episode 4 has Dejiko mention meeting Abarenbou, however, she is unable to remember his name.
- Demoted to Extra: Downplayed. Due to the series being focused on Piyoko and her lackies, Dejiko, Puchiko, Gema, and Rabi~en~Rose all have smaller roles compared to other entries in the franchise, but they still are rather prominent.
- Gone Horribly Right: Episode 8 actually sees the gang successfully capture Dejiko. However, her Jerkass behavior ends up causing misery for them.
- Interactive Narrator: A narrator appears in Episode 3 to explain how Upchuck Bazooka works, only for him to be blown up by Piyoko while explaining.
- Opinion Flip Flop: After hearing that Rik and Ky enjoyed Coo's drawing song, Piyoko changes her tune and decides to learn it.
- P.O.V. Sequel: Episode 3 is a retelling of the first episode of the Summer Special that is from Piyoko's perspective.
- Revisiting the Roots: The series returns Dejiko, Puchiko, and Rabi~en~Rose to working at Gamers.
- Running Gag:
- Episode 5 features a running gag of boogers being in drawing songs. Gema angrily tells Puchiko to knock it off at the end of the episode when she sings a drawing song about him that primarily features boogers.
Gema: Stop all the booger nonsense, gema!- Also from Episode 5, people being drawn as potatoes, most often Coo.
- Taken for Granite: Episode 7 has Rik, Ky, and Coo turned to stone.
- Terrible Artist: All the characters do a rather horrible job of recreating Piyoko and Dejiko after seeing how to draw them, with both getting very angry at the results produced. Gema actually says that everyone did a good job at drawing Dejiko, which earns him a laser eye beam.
- Team Rocket Wins: Subverted and Played for Laughs in Episode 5. When Dejiko and Piyoko are arguing over who’s drawing song is better, Coo points out that Dejiko's song doesn’t have any boogers in it causing Piyoko to celebrate. Dejiko at first thinks she's lost only for her to quickly realize that there's no rule saying that boogers have to be a drawing song.
- Villain Protagonist: The main character of the series is Piyoko.
- Whole Episode Flashback: Episode 6 details how Piyoko met Coo.
