Di Gi Charat - Winter Garden is a two-part special released in 2006 with the first half airing on December 23 and the second half airing on December 24.
Ten years later, Dejiko and Puchiko have hung up their cat ears and Verbal Tics. One evening, on her way home from her job at the bakery, Dejiko ends up falling for a man named Takurou Senba. Now we follow their blossoming relationship as they go through various ups and downs.
It is by far the strangest entry in the Di Gi Charat franchise because of the fact that it is completely down to earth and lacks any of the fantastical elements the series is known for, you won’t find any eye beams or yellow blobs here.
Winter Garden provides examples of the following:
- Adapted Out: The only characters from the franchise that appear are Dejiko, Puchiko, and Rabi~en~Rose.
- Adaptational Seriousness: Easily the most down-to-earth entry in the Di Gi Charat franchise, with very little in the way of comedy.
- Alternate Continuity: The special seems to be in a universe of its own, with many of the more fantastical elements and characters being absent. The special includes a short moment where Dejiko looks at a picture of her and Puchiko as kids and DVD does make mention of Gamers, but otherwise, there is very little to indicate that this is in canon with any of the previous Di Gi Charat anime.
- Art Shift: Several times in the special, characters will switch to a more cartoony, simplistic style of being drawn.
- Bittersweet Ending: Dejiko is moving away and will not be able to see Takurou all too often, but they were able to patch things up and plan to stay in contact.
- Christmas Special: Downplayed. The special begins on Christmas Eve.
- Cosplay Café: Dejiko works in a maid cafe.
- Cuteness Proximity: Puchiko’s co-workers use her cuteness to their advantage in order to calm down a group of angry customers.
- Demoted to Extra: Rabi~en~Rose only makes a few brief cameos in the film.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Non-romantic example. Dejiko and Usada don’t seem to recognize each other, or at least don’t make mention of ever knowing one another when they meet at a department store.
- Gossipy Hens: Dejiko’s co-workers tend to gossip quite a bit and end up causing conflict between her and Takurou in the final half of the special.
- Grand Finale: The back of the DVD dubs it the finale of the original saga. This was indeed the last anime related to Di Gi Charat released until Reiwa came out in 2022, nearly 16 years later. The special still is a finale continuity-wise, however, as Reiwa has Dejiko and Puchiko go back to being 10 and 5 respectively.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Dejiko says she’s fine with Takurou seeing another woman as she believes that he’d be happier with them, however she is still clearly hurt by his seeming betrayal.
- In Name Only: There is very little that ties it to Di Gi Charat aside from the title. While the main characters are named "Dejiko" and "Puchiko", they act very little like the characters they are named after.
- Later-Installment Weirdness: This was the last anime related to Di Gi Charat released for over a decade and a half. Compared to what came before it is quite odd with it being a very serious, down-to-earth romance story.
- Mistaken for Romance: Takurou and his sister, Aiko, are mistaken for a couple by one of Dejiko's co-workers. This causes problems when said coworker informs Dejiko of this alleged relationship.
- Mythology Gag: Even though it is rather detached from the rest of the franchise, it still does contain a few references and nods to past entries.
- Dejiko wears a necklace that resembles Gema, as well, she is shown wearing cat-shaped hairpins.
- Puchiko draws a Yonkoma about Dejiko and Takurou in order to fluster her. Dejiko got her start in these.
- When Dejiko is packing boxes, she looks at a picture of her and Puchiko with their original designs from when they were younger.
- The apartment that Dejiko and Puchiko live in looks exactly like the room that they lived in the original series, except with a bunk bed.
- Dejiko and Puchiko have keychains of their original designs on their umbrella and suitcase respectively on the DVD cover for the special.
- Puchiko mentions a desire to, and later does, join a band. There is a real band based around her, Dejiko, and Usada called DUP.
- No Antagonist: The special doesn’t have a main antagonist, Dejiko and Takurou’s relationship ultimately becomes strained due to misinterpretation and poor communication.
- Noodle Incident: The DVD makes mention of Gamers and the main duos’ verbal tics being gone but does not go into great detail about what caused them to disappear.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted. Takurou shares his name with not just one, but two characters from the original series. However, there is no relation between the three, at least as far as the audience knows anyway.
- Poor Communication Kills: Dejiko doesn’t try to talk at all with Takurou about his alleged unfaithfulness causing their relationship to nearly break apart.
- Product Placement: Puchiko gets a job at McDonald’s.
- Schrödinger's Canon: The special seems to take this approach in regards to the original series and Nyo!, never specifying which entry it is supposed to be a continuation of.
- Snow Means Love: Dejiko and Takurou's Meet Cute takes place during the winter time, while it is snowing.
- Third-Act Misunderstanding: Due to some gossip from her coworkers, Dejiko believes that Takurou is unfaithful.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Rabi~en~Rose is revealed to have grown up into a successful actress.
- Time Skip: Has a 10-year time skip with Dejiko being 20 and Puchiko being 15.
