Premiering on January 6, 2002 on TV Tokyo, Panyo Panyo is the second anime series based on Di Gi Charat and acts as a Prequel of sorts to the original series.
The show takes place two years before the original series and follows Dejiko living on planet Di Gi Charat where she attempts to do good deeds for everyone alongside her friends Puchiko, Gema, and newcomers, Rinna and Meek. However, Piyoko and the Deji-Devil will do everything they can to stop the group and spread misery.
It is rather different from what came before as this series abandons the subversive otaku-based humor for a more cutesy style.
In addition to the returning cast of Dejiko, Puchiko, Gema, and Piyoko, the show also introduces a few new faces:
- Rinna: A Sleepyhead who runs a cake shop. Ends her sentences with "-myu".
- Meek: A tomboy who works with her parents at a fish stand. Ends her sentences with "-mya".
- Deji-Devil: A troublemaker who exists to create evil and is also Piyoko's boss. Ends his sentences with "-devi".
This was the first entry of the franchise to be released in North America note , receiving a dub by ADV Films which covered all 48 episodes.
The series provides examples of the following tropes Devi!:
- Adapted Out: The rest of the Black Gema Gema Gang (Rik, Ky, and Coo) are absent, instead, Piyoko works with the Deji-Devil. All of the earth characters, with the exception of Rabi~en~Rose, are also absent as the series takes place on Dejiko's home planet.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Dejiko and Gema actually have a rather affable relationship in this series, with Gema very rarely ever suffering abuse from Dejiko, due in part to Dejiko being much nicer. Case in point, Dejiko's only complaint about Gema coming with her is that he is a loudmouth and doesn't put up much of a fight to get him to not come with her and Puchiko.
- Aesop Amnesia: Played for laughs in the second episode. After learning from Rinna that she can not rush baking good cakes, Dejiko immediately begins rushing Gema and Puchiko to start making cakes in order to feed the hungry customers waiting in line after Rinna falls asleep again. Rinna lampshades this at the end of the episode.Rinna: I wonder if she remembers what we talked about.
- Angry Cheek Puff: Due to the show's more cutesy style, the characters will puff out their cheeks when they get frustrated, most commonly Dejiko.
- All Women Love Shoes: Hilary Haag, Puchiko's English VA, references this during her commentary of Episode 24 stating that Puchiko fighting with Piyoko over the egg is like her at a Nordstrom shoe sale.
- Back for the Finale: Episode 48 features cameos from multiple characters from past episodes during the celebration at the end.
- Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: It's a slight Running Gag that Deji-Devil and Piyoko take offense whenever someone describes them or something they have done as being good.
- Balloonacy: In order to help the ghost girl in Episode 8 learn how to ride her bicycle, Rinna ties balloons to it. However, they end up causing the bike and the girl to float into the sky.
- Bodyguard Crush:
- Episode 31 has the group tasked with bodyguarding an idol named Airi, and Gema ends up getting a crush on her.
- Episode 32 has Meek end up falling for a prince that the group was sent to guard.
- Bullet Seed: Episode 17 has Gema rapidly spit up urchins at the group causing them to run away in a panic.
- Butt-Monkey: Surprisingly this role is not filled by Gema, although he suffers a fair bit of abuse, but rather by Piyoko and the Deji-Devil. Of the two, Piyoko tends to get the short end of the stick more often than not, but Deji-Devil does also take his fair share of abuse over the course of the series.
- Call-Forward: Piyoko asks the Deji-Devil to teach her his Breath Weapon attack technique after she sees him use it.
- Cat Up a Tree: Episode 37 has Dejiko and her friends as firefighters attempting to rescue a cat who got stuck up on a pole. Dejiko near the end has to resort to Tightrope Walking in order to save the cat, however by the time she makes it to the other side, the cat has left.
- Chased Off into the Sunset:
- Episode 3 ends with Dejiko, Puchiko, Gema, and Rinna chasing after Meek.
- Episode 24 ends with Piyoko, Dejiko, Puchiko, and the Deji-Devil being chased by a dinosaur and ostrich.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: The series zig zags this trope. Piyoko and the Deji-Devil almost always cheat in the competitions or contests they participate in, but they are just as likely to win as they are to lose. Their wins tend to be downplayed however as they are usually a Meaningless Villain Victory.
- Christmas Episode: The last four episodes of the show take place during Christmas Time and feature the gang Saving Christmas.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Rather strangely, despite the show taking place on Planet Di Gi Charat and several episodes having the castle as a major location, Dejiko's mother and father never show up.
- Cinderella Plot: Episode 11 has Meek and Rinna wanting to go to a royal ball. The Deji-Devil gives them both magic dresses and tells them that they need to return home before midnight or else their dresses will turn into water. Unlike the original story, Rinna and Meek return their items before midnight strikes.
- Cut-and-Paste Note: The note that talks about kidnapping Dejiko in Episode 29 is made from magazine clippings.Puchiko: [tossing the note away] Cut and paste threats are so 1999 nyu.
- Cute Ghost Girl: Episode 8 has the gang meet a young girl who needs to learn how to ride her bike in order to finish the last scene of the movie. The end of the episode reveals that she was a ghost and that learning how to ride a bike was her Unfinished Business.
- Dead All Along: Episodes 8 and 26 both feature the gang helping someone out only for them to be revealed to be a ghost at the end of the episode.
- Demoted to Dragon: Piyoko acts as a minion for the Deji-Devil rather than leading the Black Gema Gema Gang. It is somewhat downplayed though as since Piyoko is the one often pulling off the schemes, she is usually the one mainly antagonizing the group rather than the Deji-Devil.
- Demoted to Extra: Rabi~en~Rose only makes a brief non-speaking cameo in the last episode of the show.
- Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: Piyoko, despite having the advantage over Dejiko due to having the ref on her side, since he's being controlled by the Deji-Devil, and a point lead, still feels the need to try and blow her up with a grenade ball during a tennis match. Predictably, this ends up costing Piyoko the game and Dejiko wins.
- Disqualification-Induced Victory: Due to the final two teams of Dejiko and Puchiko and Piyoko and the Deji-Devil failing to get their egg in time, the team of Meek and Rinna, who had forfeited last round, end up winning.
- Domino Mask: Gema wears a black domino mask over his eyes when he's dressed as a phantom thief.
- Drop the Washtub: Piyoko attempts to drop a heavy item on Dejiko three times in Episode 6, the first heavy item is a washtub that she instead drops on her own head.
- Drunk on Milk: Inspector Holic gets drunk on orange juice.
- Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help: Dejiko and Puchiko, during a boat race, stop to help a mermaid be reunited with her mother. It's downplayed somewhat due to the mermaid's home being the ocean, which is at the finish line of the race.
- Dwindling Party: A minor non-lethal example in Episode 16. Each member of the Phantom Thieves is captured one by one by Piyoko; Gema gets captured by a net, Rinna gets trapped in a bed, Puchiko follows a trail of candy leading to a cage, Meek falls for some decoy coins that Piyoko set up, and Dejiko gives herself up in order to be trapped with her friends.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Episode 2 has Dejiko nearly reveal that she's actually a princess, with Gema being the one who has to stop her and remind her that she's supposed to be acting like a commoner. Later episodes would reverse the roles, with Gema being the one to almost reveal Dejiko's status as royalty with her or Puchiko having to shut him up.
- A dub example, the songs that the characters sing in the episodes are all dubbed. Later entries, with occasional exceptions, would keep the songs in their original Japanese.
- Easy Amnesia: The Deji-Devil attempts to invoke this in Episode 6 by getting Piyoko to attempt to drop several heavy items on Dejiko's head which would then cause her to forget her lines.
- End-of-Series Awareness: Dejiko announces during the title card of Episode 48 that the episode is the finale of the series.
- Explosive Results: Episode 16 ends with the Deji-Devil mixing some chemicals together and them blowing up in his face.
- Extreme Omnivore: The ghost that the gang encounters in Episode 25 will eat literally anything, including cars, trash, and Gema.
- Face Fault: At the beginning of Episode 18, when Dejiko sees that her crew is lounging around rather than helping to look for the treasure she falls flat on her face, all the way from atop the crow’s nest.
- Failed a Spot Check: Episode 22 has The Deji-Devil sabotage everyone at the beginning of a race by spreading oil across the ground, failing to realize he accidentally trapped Piyoko in it as well.
- Feud Episode:
- Downplayed example in Episode 25. The beginning of the episode has Dejiko, Rinna, and Meek angry at one another because they believe the other one ate all the donuts. They end up reconciling halfway through the episode when they discover that a very hungry ghost ate the donuts.
- Episode 43 has the gang get angry at Dejiko for wanting to win a house in a tennis tournament by herself. At the end of the episode, she reveals that she wanted to win the house in order to give it to a group of dogs.
- Fishing for Sole: While trying to fish, Dejiko ends up fishing up a giant boot.
- Five-Man Band: Dejiko, Puchiko, Rinna, Meek, and Gema form a group of five, with Dejiko often acting as The Leader.
- Foreshadowing:
- Episode 8 has the characters begin the episode talking about a supposed ghost that is haunting the set. The end of the episode reveals that the young girl they were teaching to ride her bike was the ghost they were talking about.
- In Episode 32, Prince Pegus states that on his planet bodyguards are adults. Despite this, his bodyguard is roughly the same age as the girls. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that the prince and his bodyguard had swapped roles.
- Fractured Fairy Tale: Episodes 33-36 feature the cast recreating classic fairy tales.
- Episode 33's retelling of Sleeping Beauty has the Prince who’s supposed to wake Sleeping Beauty, played by Piyoko, being occupied taking care of an old woman. She is revealed at the end of the episode to have also been cursed, and her Prince is also old by the time he shows up due to getting lost.
- Episode 34 is a retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. However, Dejiko’s group and Piyoko end up getting in a fight over who can get the rats to leave which ends with them destroying the town and everyone moving out from fear.
- Episode 35 is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel with Deji-Devil and Piyoko playing the role of the witch. After failing to attract the duo, the Deji-Devil learns to bake in order to create a gingerbread house. After doing so, he runs into the issue of no one wanting to eat it due to it being gross and unsanitary. And when Dejiko and her group eat it and become big, the Deji-Devil refuses to capture or cook them because he doesn’t want to use his cooking skills for evil.
- Episode 36 is a retelling of The Little Mermaid. The gang convinces her to change her destiny of turning into sea foam and get with the Prince.
- Frothy Mugs of Water: Inspector Holic gets drunk from drinking OJ. Puchiko lampshades this by questioning if he's actually drinking juice.
- Good-Times Montage: Episode 12 has a montage where the characters play with a time traveler, who states that he has never had a happy moment.
- Harmless Freezing: Episode 15 has Dejiko and her Phantom Thieves saving Mr. Dolphin by freezing him and having him slide back into the ocean. Piyoko herself ends up falling into the pool that Mr. Dolphin is held in and gets frozen as well.
- Heroic Sacrifice: A non-lethal example. In Episode 22 during the race, Piyoko lies to the big pig that she's riding on that the loser of the race will be eaten. He ends up stopping just before the finish line in order to protect one of the other pigs from becoming a meal, earning him their respect.
- Hoist by His Own Petard:
- This often happens to Piyoko and the Deji-Devil. One episode features them trying to trick Dejiko into traps that will cause a weight to fall on her head. Every time it ends up falling on Piyoko.
- Another episode features Dejiko and Puchiko trying to help Meek catch a cat. Dejiko sets up a Pit Trap while Puchiko sets up a Box-and-Stick Trap with a fish in it. The cat ends up jumping on the box while Puchiko is under it and jumps on Dejiko's head which causes her to lose her balance and fall into the pit.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: DVDs in this case, but each DVD volume is named by one of the girl's Verbal Tics.
- Just Like Robin Hood: Episodes 13-16 have the gang become the Phantom Thieves of Di Gi Charat who steal from the rich and give to the poor. This earns the ire of Piyoko and the Deji-Devil since the group are making people happy by stealing.
- King Incognito: Dejiko and Puchiko do their best to hide their royal status from Meek and Rinna.
- Loves Me Not: The Deji-Devil does a non-romantic version of this routine, debating whether or not Dejiko and her friends will eat the gingerbread house he made in episode 35 due to so many others rejecting it and calling it gross beforehand.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: Episode 7 has Dejiko cast as a version of Cinderella who is much rougher around the edges. Piyoko uses this to her advantage and causes Dejiko to go off script several times by pointing out how what Dejiko is doing as her character goes against her goal of spreading happiness, which ultimately causes Dejiko to lose the part.
- Message in a Bottle: While hunting for treasure, the gang finds a bottle that has a map leading to the treasure they are looking for. Except that it was actually a map leading to a trap set up by the Deji-Devil.
- Mix-and-Match Creatures: Episode 24 features a dinosaur-ostrich hybrid.
- Monster Whale: The thing causing all the fish to disappear is a giant whale, known as the "King of the Sea".
- Mythology Gag:
- In Episode 28, Dejiko and her imposter engage in a broccoli-eating contest to see who the real one is. Broccoli is the name of the company that owns Di Gi Charat.
- In Episode 17, after being shot into the water via cannon, Gema gets larger with Puchiko stating that he gets puffy when he goes swimming. Something very similar happened in Episode 8 of the original series, with Gema growing very large after being tossed into a river by Dejiko.
- Episode 1 has Dejiko wearing a blue dress which she ditches for a pink one once she leaves the castle.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Piyoko and Deji-Devil help the heroes succeed more often than they cause them to fail.
- Planet of Hats: Denizens of Planet Di Gi Charat all wear hats with cat ears and cat tails.
- Protest by Obstruction: Episode 14 has Piyoko tie herself to a giant diamond that she believed the Phantom Thieves were planning to steal. However, they were not going to steal it but rather cover it up due to its shine blocking off the night sky. As well, by the time Piyoko realizes this, she is unable to untie herself leaving her trapped.
- Rampage from a Nail: The King of the Sea, a giant whale, is attacking all the fish due to an anchor being stuck in its tail. Once it is removed, it calms down.
- The Real Spoofbusters: When tasked with battling ghosts, Dejiko, Puchiko, and Gema don brown jumpsuits and suck up ghosts with a vacuum cleaner.
- Rock–Paper–Scissors: Dejiko and her impostor play a game of this during their competition to see who the fake Dejiko is.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: Episode 26 has two thieves disguise themselves as ghosts in order to commit robberies.
- Second Episode Introduction: While Dejiko, Puchiko, and Gema are introduced in the first episode, the rest of the main cast; Rinna, Meek, Piyoko, and the Deji-Devil, are introduced in Episodes 2, 3, and 4 respectively.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Episode 24 has Piyoko and Puchiko feud over whether an egg belongs to a dinosaur or an ostrich as that item is needed to win the competition. Deji-Devil decides to hatch the egg, which doesn't help to end the confusion. Then the gang decides to bring in a dinosaur and a giant ostrich, who quickly chase after the gang causing both teams to be eliminated since neither brought their item back in time. The judge then tells the audience that neither of the two teams would have won anyway if they brought the egg back as it didn't belong to an ostrich or a dinosaur.
- Shark Fin of Doom: Part of the trap the Deji-Devil sets for Dejiko and her group when they are pirating involves having Piyoko wear a shark fin and spook them while they're in the water.
- Shoot the Medic First: Non-lethal example in Episode 16. Rinna is the second phantom thief captured during their heist by Piyoko, and she identifies her as being the group's healer. The first captured is Gema, who Piyoko identifies as being the group's handyman.
- Shout-Out: The Little Mermaid featured in Episode 36 has red hair just like the Disney version.
- Spin-Off Babies: Downplayed. The series takes place two years before the main series.
- Story Arc: Each batch of four episodes relates to a certain theme or overarching plot. This was done in order to recreate the feeling of a Yonkoma.
- Episodes 1-4 focus on introducing Dejiko, Puchiko, and Gema and introducing them to Meek, Rinna, Puchiko, and the Deji-Devil.
- Episodes 5-8 features Dejiko trying to become an actress.
- Episodes 9-12 has the gang watching over a clock tower.
- Episodes 13-16 have the gang act as phantom thieves, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
- Episodes 17-20 have the gang go on several adventures at sea.
- Episodes 21-24 are a Tournament Arc of sorts which feature the gang competing against Piyoko for a year's supply of whatever the winning team wants.
- Episodes 25-28 have the gang fighting ghosts.
- Episodes 29-32 have the gang being bodyguards.
- Episodes 33-36 are themed around fairy tales.
- Episodes 37-40 have the gang acting as firefighters.
- Episodes 41-44 are based around different sports.
- Episodes 45-48 are about Saving Christmas with the group Subbing for Santa.
- Suddenly Always Knew That:
- Episode 17 has Dejiko state that she knows everything there is to know about being a pirate. When Puchiko asks her how she learned this, Dejiko states she did it when Puchiko wasn't in the room.
- Episode 22 has Piyoko state she has been training to be the fastest rower. When the Deji-Devil asks how or when she had the time, she replies that she made it due to her livelihood being at stake.
- Sugar Bowl: Planet Di Gi Charat is described by the narrator in Episode 4 as a peaceful planet where everyone lives in harmony.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Episode 11 has Deji-Devil give Rinna and Meek cursed dresses that will turn to water when the clock strikes midnight. However, Gema ends up returning the dresses before then, pointing out how midnight is way past Rinna and Meek's bedtimes, as both are only eight.
- In Episode 17, when trying to help Meek's parents' store stay open due to the fish disappearing, the gang first tries fishing. Unsurprisingly, they catch barely anything with Gema pointing out if it were that easy then Meek's father should not have had any trouble.
- Team Rocket Wins: Piyoko and the Deji-Devil actually manage to get one over on our heroes a few times in the series, however, they are usually rendered a Meaningless Villain Victory.
- In her first appearance in Episode 4, Piyoko actually wins the best-behaved child contest. However, the prize for winning is a year's worth of school supplies.
- Episode 7 has Piyoko take the lead role from Dejiko in a film…just in time for her to be kidnapped by a giant Killer Gorilla and it is revealed that the film being shot is Cinderella and the Legend of the Giant Monkey.
- Episode 9 has Deji-Devil get revenge on the girls for making him miss his cartoons by tricking them into ringing the bell in the clock tower multiple times over the course of a few minutes and throwing off the schedule of the town. Unfortunately, this also includes the TV stations so he still ends up missing his cartoons.
- Episode 16 has Piyoko successfully catch Dejiko and her group of Phantom Thieves. However she becomes annoyed when the gold coins she was protecting from the thieves are revealed to be chocolate, and she begins to eat them. This causes the owner to chase after her while Dejiko and her group to escape and take the coins.
- Episode 35 has Dejiko and her group eat the gingerbread house that the Deji-Devil made and are too tired to move, but the Deji-Devil decides at the last minute that he doesn’t want to use his cooking skills for evil.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: The female pig in Episode 22 wears a red bow around her neck and has eyelashes.
- To Be Continued: Episodes 45-47 all have text saying "To be continued". This is because, unlike other episodes, Episodes 45-48 all continue directly from where the previous one left off.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Meek is the tomboy while Rinna is the girly girl.
- Unfinished Business:
- Episode 8 has the ghost of young girl who needs to learn how to ride a bike for a scene.
- Episode 27 has the ghost of a grandfather who is looking for his grandson's toy airplane that fell into a river.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Played for laughs at the end of Episode 3. After finding out the cat was stealing fish to feed its family, Meek says she'll just tell her folks that Dejiko, Puchiko, Rinna, and Gema stole the fish. Naturally, the four are not pleased, especially after spending the entire episode helping Meek to capture the cat.
- Villain Episode: Episode 35 primarily focuses on the Deji-Devil and Piyoko attempting to lure people into their gingerbread house with Dejiko and her group not showing up until the last third of the episode.
- Widely-Spaced Jail Bars: The cell that Piyoko captures Dejiko and her friends in Episode 16 has rather large gaps between the bars, Dejiko practically has to stretch her arms to reach two that are next to each other. It's revealed at the end of the episode that the group was tricking Piyoko as they easily walk between the bars in order to escape.
- With Friends Like These...: Lampshaed by Gema in Episode 17 when the gang stuff him in a cannon.Gema: This isn't how friends are supposed to treat friends gema!
