My favorite character in this series. My long-time character image in LowYat.Net forum.
Di Gi Charat is one of those anime I have always wanted to watch, but I have no willpower to get it. In a sheer coincidence, I managed to get it without having to spend time trawling around the tubes, and here is the review for it and also for the prequel Panyo Panyo.
Story:-
Three interplanetary aliens lands in Akihabara, Tokyo and was forced to work in one of the shops there, violating child labor rules. Even in slavery, the main character dreams of becoming a great idol and she works towards that end while working as a cashier at Akihabara. Meanwhile in the prequel, the same main character is still trapped at her home planet, doing whatever she wants.
The original Di Gi Charat is awesome (enough to get at least 9 points), but the prequel is not. The main character Dejiko is different in some certain (but important) ways in both titles. I watched the TV series first before the prequel, and I really miss the cynical but awesome Dejiko in Akihabara as I watched the prequel even more. The prequel may be longer, but cleary inferior. Maybe this is the result of over commercialisation?
Dejiko in Akihabara also has that freestyle storytelling mode you can see in Galaxy Angel or the latter half of Haruhi Suzumiya, and this allows this anime to appeal to a wider audience. This is better than the story-laden prequel that main fits as a morning-slot title aimed at younger audiences like elementary school students. The audience has to be that, or else how else you can explain the excessive singing in that prequel?
Character developments are more evident in the prequel than the Akihabara version, but that’s to be expected. The story in the prequel as a whole is average, but considering the probable target audience, it may also have to be expected.
Anyway, the Dejiko, Puchiko and Usada Utada Hikaru in Akihabara version are awesome, but less so in the prequel. Maybe I should consider looking for the remake of the TV series and see whether it is better or not.
Voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, what did you do not like?
Character Design:-
It is very well done, although seems to be dumbed down in the prequel. As the main characters are aliens from outer space, I will excuse the lack of black hairs here.
Voice acting:-
A positive point for this series, at least for the Akihabara version. Voice acting in this series is awesome, especially for Dejiko, Puchiko and Utada Hikaru. These three really stands out. It was diluted somewhat in the prequel, but I still think they are very good.
Music:-
For Dejiko in Akihabara, only the Party Night insert in episode 15 is of any good, because the OP/ED themes and OST is almost non-existent. The OST in the prequel is decent, but not so the OP/ED themes.
Animation/Direction:-
Both have decent animation, especially the prequel. Fast-paced scenes do not seem to be affected by low frame-rates, but choreography is average. And so is the directing for both titles good but not the best.
Conclusion:-
If I only watched Dejiko in Akihabara, it would got at least 9, but coupled with the prequel, it loses 2 points, so 7 out of 10 it will be.
Unfortunately, she is being dumbed down in the prequel, so no screenshots from there.
