keroro one oh one
Categories: anime, episodic review, keroro gunso
Tagged: keroro gunso
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Pokopen has become a warground as the Keron platoon is sent to do what the Keroro platoon could not: take over the planet. The Keron Special Forces platoon is as efficient and merciless as the Keroro Platoon is inept and Gundam-addicted. Well, maybe just one frog.
The Keron Special Forces platoon starts their invasion by wrecking havoc on the Earth’s communication networks thus depriving Natsumi of her Mutsumi-pr0n and leads to a fantastic scene disaster management scene with Aki. I’m voting for her for President. Fortunately, Dororo recognizes the threat and sends Koyuki to make sure the Hinatas are okay. However, not long afterwards, the entire planet is encompassed in a Keroro-brand Fuzetzu and only people who know and interacted with the frogs can still move about.
Of course, Natsumi gets attacked by a tentacle monster leading to Koyuki saving her. In the manga, Koyuki gets distracted while flirting with Natsumi and is defeated. Here, Zoruru comes out from the shadows and dispatches Koyuki Mai-Otome-style, complete with dramatic fall sequence and disintergration a la Ers-chan. (Don’t worry, this is Sunrise… the dead don’t stay dead.) Koyuki does buy Natusmi enough time to escape, and Natsumi eventually joins up with Fuyuki only to be attacked by yet another tentacle monster (Keron platoon, I saluate your style!) only to be bailed out by Giroro this time. Giroro has a Mwu/Neo/Ray/Rau-type awareness lightening bolt that most definitely was not in the manga. I’m going to wince if any of them enter SEED mode at this point.
Now, the Keron platoon finally step out of their shadow and reveal that they are taking over the invasion, and they want the Keroro platoon’s Kero ball and Keroro, which would mean a disgraceful exit from Pokopen for Keroro. Giroro is met by his older brother, Garuru, Tama is met by his disciple, Brutus the Barber Beefcake Taruru, and the internet is being own by Tororo. Tama, Momoka, and Paul are easily taken down by Taruru while Giroro stuggles against Garuru. Giroro tries to take the battle far from the Hinatas only to make a crucial mistake in battle (never go up against Garuru) and is defeated.
I’ve been looking forward to seeing this arc animated for some time and seeing how the anime never had a multi-episode arc before, I was losing hope. But I’m glad that they are capable of pulling off a plot line that spans more than an episode, and they even made it seem more serious by getting rid of the Keroro spoof of Midori no Hibi‘s eyecatch.
The Keroro vs Keron battle doesn’t disappoint. While the manga version had more fanservice, the animated version compensates by packing in more action and simplfing the plot a tad. Keroro is a rare anime series that can appeal to a wide audience with good pacing and great storytelling, and I never quite figured out why Keroro never caught on in the US. (For instace, like seven groups subbing REC… or six doing Ergo Proxy…) A lot of people complain about stuff like, “Bleach is just filler.” “Fate/Stay Night is boring.” “Aka needs to get laid more.” “Winter 06 had some horrible shows.” I mean, all this while, Keroro has pumping out episode after episode of quality entertainment in relative obscurity.
14 Responses to “keroro one oh one”
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Indeed it seems that Sunrise (and ultimately Sergei’s scriptwriter defense force, the purple pissing pansies and illgotten children of Tate) are to blame for not giving this more publicity and ramming thsi down our throats like GSD. I am sure once this gets rediscovered the fan subbers will catch up, but as it stands I am stuck on 8 and still waiting.
I’ve been stuck watching the cantonese dubs(and occsionally chinese subs) of keroro just so I can try to get ahead, because I love this series too damn much. Popokenians are no match for the likes of us. Which reminds I must muster my army soon for it’s master plan.
I think it’s the animal factor. Anime shows where animals are main characters are often looked down upon by anime fans. I know many people who didn’t watch a single episode of Keroro Gunso and yet dismissed it as stupid and boring simply because they have seen a few promotional posters featuring Keroro and his comrades in silly poses. One of the main attractions of anime is the huge focus on human relations and human driven stories. That is why a show with animals as main characters tends to remind anime fans of many Disney shows and other animal focused cartoons which is an immediate turn off for many fans. They will probably say: if this is anime then I’m better off watching shows on Nicklodeon or the Disney channel instead.
Now, is this fair?…No. Keroro Gunso might not be the best anime in the world but it is definitely a very interesting comedy with a very unique sense of humor. The satire and parodies featured in the show make it a sort of Japanese version of the Simpsons. It also features many human characters who are just as interesting as our froggy friends and the show can’t be the same without them. Just like Pani Poni Dash and Hare+Guu, this show is not for everyone (it’s a sort of acquired taste) but I’m sure many people will find it interesting once they give it a try.
One more thing: I thought planet earth is called “Pekopon†in this show. Did they change the name to “Pokopen†now?!
I can’t say that Keroro Gunso is the most captivating show I’ve watched, but it is still highly entertaining, and I’m still waiting on ep 9.
I always thought it was Pokopen… ? Ugh.
Jason >>Haha yeah it’s annoying whenever I read Pokopen in the Tokyopop version of the manga. Everytime I read that, I mentally change the word to Pekopon…
Oooh I can’t wait till powered Natsumi starts kicking alien butt… though it didn’t last long in the manga. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the anime pulls it off. Damn, I’ve been looking everywhere to find the limited edition Powered Natsumi figure… I wonder if they’ll ever produce more.
Mohammad >>Wow I actually didn’t think about that at all. That’s actually a very plausible idea… I just couldn’t understand why the rest of the world didn’t accept the popularity of Keroro Gunso… this may be the answer. Also, the anime that has animals as protagonists are generally childrens anime too.
I think my interest got sparked reading the blog reviews here but it is easily one of my faves now, due to the rich comedy and the parodies/tributes. I must have watched that fight between Geroro and Natsumi like six times jut because of the Newtype flash:)
Judging by the next episode preview, I’m not sure if Powered Natsumi will make it in, though it has already made an appearance much earlier on:
http://derailedbydarry.com/arc.....12/04/517/
Aww man, I didn’t see that episode. I started watching from ep97 so I missed whole lot in the middle. I only saw up to ep10, then I started downloading raws from 97. There are lot of difference in the anime from manga.
Also, anyone else noticed Natsumi’s design change from early episodes to recent ones? Her ponytails got smaller! I prefer the Natsumi from the earlier episodes.
Mohammad’s first paragraph really hit the nail on the head in my case. I hesitated picking up the series for a long time even though I was sorely tempted to by Jason’s recommendation because it was a frog comedy. However another reason is that I’m also a bit wary of very long, open-ended series (any Rumiko Takahashi series). These tended to lose their way after a while and I just find it exhausting waiting for closure. That said, my all-time favourite series are also pretty long (but not open-ended) e.g. Cardcaptor Sakura, Hikaru no Go and You’re Under Arrest. I do hope that Keroro Gunso continues to go from strength to strength.
I honestly do not want any closure to Keroro Gunso… kinda like for Aa! Megami-sama. I don’t want to see him return or take over Pokopen… I want to believe that he’s forever living with the Hinatas, even if I’m 50. ^^
Same with Bell and K1… I just hope they don’t pull a Kenshin and show him on his deathbed.
An open ending is better than a bad ending…
Need more Gunso…
They are releasing english dubs in february. AT LAST!!! This show rox my sox off because the comic is awesome and the show is also awesome, but in a slightly different way. Sort of the humor in the Simpsons + the Alien-ness of Invader Zim + the cuddly characters of Hamtaro (though a bit more mature *pokes Kururu*)
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