Dokkoida?! is a six-volume light novel series written by Taro Achi (with illustrations by Yu Yagami) which was published from 1999 to 2003 with six volumes. It has been adapted into a three-volume manga (written and drawn by the same pair, released in English by CMX) and a twelve-episode anime series (released in English by Geneon) that aired in 2003, following the antics of the residents of Cosmos House both on and off the job.
Suzuo Sakurazaki has just come to the big city for college, but he needs a job. When Tanpopo, a green-haired little girl representing a toy company, offers him a belt that will transform him into the superhero Dokkoida, Suzuo mistakes the whole thing as an advertising gimmick. He realizes too late that it's for real, and toy companies can make weapons, too.
Tanpopo's company and their rival are, in fact, competing to market their super suits to the galactic police. Whichever one is proven more effective will gain a contract for mass production. To test them, the police have unleashed three powerful supervillains and promised a full pardon to whichever of them can successfully unmask our heroes. Everyone is provided Secret Identities, which if found out would render the entire test null and void. Despite this, budget constraints force everyone to be placed in the same apartment building.
And so Suzuo and his "new" little sister "Kosuzu" come to live at the Cosmos House apartment, befriending their (strangely familiar) neighbors while fighting for truth, justice, and winning the contract.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Asaka/Neuroloid Girl
- All Men Are Perverts: Parodied when all it takes is a soap opera episode to convince most of the women of Cosmos House that Suzuo is a sex fiend who wants to get it on with his little sister, and Marronflower's input does not help.Tanpopo: It looks like [Suzuo] couldn't hurt a fly. I shouldn't judge him by his looks though, 'cause according to even the earliest edition of the Earth manual, all men are basically depraved primates with cell phones.
- And You Thought It Was a Game: Suzuo
- A Twinkle in the Sky: Happens to Suzuo when he goes overboard welcoming Marilyn Ronmoe.
- Baleful Polymorph: Pierre
- The Beard: In the manga, Suzuo's grandfather came to drag him back to the family business in the country since he's failing college, but will let him stay for love. Tampopo immediately orders aging pills to pose as Suzuo's girlfriend. The other women (and Pierre) get more or less the same idea. Grandpa doesn't buy it, but decides friends are an acceptable excuse, too.
- Beast Man: A number of the aliens, particularly Captain Mogumokuru (a mole-person) and his boss (a lion-person).
- Big Bad: Senator Woodpecker, in the anime
- Big Eater: Hyacinth.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Episode 8, "Little Sister LOVE" parodies this to the point of Deconstruction.
- Cowardly Lion: Suzuo.
- Dating Catwoman: Combined with Unwanted Harem.
- Deathbringer the Adorable: The general end result of Edelweiss's attempts to create fearsome golems.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Hyacinth
- Dirty Old Man: Dr. Marronflower, especially in the anime.
- Do Androids Dream?: The theme of Kurika's A Day in the Limelight episode.
- Doomed New Clothes: Asaka's yukata.
- Fake Memories: Ruri's family and Suzuo's parents have their memories manipulated to think Edelweiss/Ruri and Tanpopo/Kosuzu are respectively their children.
- Gag Boobs: Sayuri, she broke chopsticks with her boobs.
- Gecko Ending
- Happiness in Slavery: Pierre loves his job.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Asaka, preferring beer, really.
- Humongous Mecha: Dr. Marronflower's specialty.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Marronflower was quite dashing in his younger days.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Dr. Marronflower, Hyacinth, and Edelweiss.
- In the Name of the Moon: Justified given that the heroes are trying to sell their super-suits.
- Knight of Cerebus: Sweet Pea from the manga; Senator Woodpecker in the anime.
- The Lad-ette: Asaka
- Lethal Chef: Kosuzu/Tanpopo; Suzuo eats anyway, both because it's free and to protect her feelings.
- Like Brother and Sister: Suzuo and Kosuzu/Tanpopo end up Becoming the Mask in this respect.
- Living with the Villain: Everyone lives at Cosmos House.
- Long Title: The original Japanese title is Sumeba Miyako no Cosmos-sou Suttoko Taisen Dokkoider
- Loves My Alter Ego: Hyacinth, Edelweiss, and Neuroloid Girl aren't too crazy about Dokkoida, but each of them harbors feelings for Suzuo in their civilian identities. It's probably significant that this is a reversal of the most familiar expression of the trope.
- Mad Scientist: Dr. Marronflower
- Magic Feather: See "Theme Music Power Up".
- Mood Whiplash: The last two episodes.
- Mundane Utility: Inverted: The Dokkoida suit has a frightening number of mundane-use "special attacks", which Suzuo eventually learns to use in combat more effectively than the real special moves.
- Mutual Masquerade: Everybody, hero and villain alike, are under strict direction to not reveal their secret identities or let them be discovered by of the others. Everybody, hero and villain alike, are also housed in the same apartment complex, unknowingly in close proximity to one another.
- Paper Fan of Doom: Tanpopo's weapon of choice
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Mogumokuru wears a cheap kabuki(?) mask over his snout to pass as human in the anime.
- Precocious Crush: Ruri/Edelweiss towards Shizuo.
- Punch-Clock Villain / Punch-Clock Hero: Somewhat literal, as everyone involved receive pay for living expenses.
- Reality Show: One episode has the Cosmos House made into one to defray the Space Police's costs. Fanservice and a Hot Springs Episode Ensue.
- Reed Richards Is Useless: Averted, an entire episode is dedicated to Dokkoida using his supersuit to make money at various part-time jobs.
- Replacement Goldfish: Episode 9 ends with the reveal that Marronflower based Kurika's human form's design off Marilyn Ronmoe when she was younger.
- Robot Girl: Kurika/Clicker.
- Romanticized Abuser: Hyacinth. Just ask Pierre.
- Secret Identity: Everyone lives at Cosmos House and doesn't know it.
- Stripperific - Neuroloid Girl and Hyacinth
- Theme Music Power-Up: Literally, or at least it was supposed to be.
- Tin-Can Robot: Clicker in robot mode; she changes into a Ridiculously Human Robot through a Transformation Sequence.Dr. Marronflower: (to Kurika) Can you go through that again, in slow motion?
- Tomboyish Ponytail: Asaka
- Tsundere: Kosuzu for Suzuo in Episode 8, due to paranoia because of the content of a soap opera.
- Tyke-Bomb: Edelweiss
- Unwanted Harem: Asaka/Neuroloid Girl, Ruri/Edelweiss, Sayuri/Hyacinth.
