Dokkoida?!

Original Title: 住めば都のコスモス荘 すっとこ大戦ドッコイダー
Romanized: Sumeba Miyako no Kosumosu-Sou: Suttoko Taisen Dokkoidaa
Literal: The "You Can Get Used To Living Anywhere" Cosmos Manor: The Idiotic Great Battle Dokkoider

Plot Synopsis

The Galaxy Federation Police, facing a recruting shortfall due to the routine slaughter of its officers, has a contract out for fancy new power armor. The test will be carried out on the backwater planet of Earth, using Earthlings as the operators, and will involve combatting a collection of the worst criminals in the galaxy, let out of prison on special probation as part of the test.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Suzuo is a 19-year-old guy fresh out of school and equally out of work. A job literally falls out of the sky when a scan reveals that he's a perfect fit for Otankonasu Co.'s prototype suit, Dokkoida. It doesn't pay well, and it involves combat with Class-A space criminals, but it does come with room and board at the Cosmos Manor... with those same Class-A criminals. Hey, the GFP's budget is tight.

Now Suzo is living with his "little sister" (Otankonasu's diminutive and thrifty Tanpopo), the good-looking girl next door who just happens to resemble his competition, Neruloid Girl (and her bitter, surly bunny, the Emerald Co. rep), a nice older fellow who bears a striking resemblance to the mad scientist Marronflower, a headstrong little girl who might also be an alien mastermind, and the couple upstairs... who do a lot of whipping and screaming.

Quick Review

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2008-08-16

Dokkoida walks the well-trod "superhero who isn't really super" path, but it does so in a drunken stagger that keeps lurching off into the shrubbery. One episode will race past so fast that the punchlines are trampled and the gags seem to be out of breath, the next will be mellow and oddly melancholy, and after that it'll take an obvious set-up and do something equal parts standard turnabout, totally hilarious, and rather horrifying. To name a few examples: The "battles" elevate the anticlimax to an art form, the mad scientist is the only character with any drama to speak of, it's among the dirtiest things I've ever seen despite not having a single bit of nudity, sex, or even romance, it successfully pulls off a parody of the requisite hotspring episode by giving it a reality TV twist, and it holds the world record (I hope) for most dialogue with a guy in a gimp mask onscreen.

Point here being, it takes a stock framework and adds so many tweaks on expectation, borderline-disturbing moments, and hilarious-if-you-really-think-about-it situations that it ends up being surprisingly unpredictable and at times darned funny. It's got so much going on it trips over its own momentum occasionally, but I'm more than willing to forgive that for something this unexpectedly funny.

US DVD Review

Geneon's DVDs, in addition to the expected decent video and stereo audio in English and Japanese, offer creditless opening and endings, promo videos of Dokkoida, a concert video, some cosplay stuff, and the third disc also had an iron-on insert for DIY Dokkoida shirts. The discs were available individually (first one with or without a box), and an identical box set.

Content Guide

Although there's no nudity or actual hanky-panky at all, Dokkoida is spectacularly dirty. Aside from the really obvious--the underdressed dominatrix and guy in a gimp mask--there are a number of innuendo-laden previews and a hotsprings episode that, while an effective parody, still involves a whole lot of unsavory leering. On balance I'd say it definitely earns the 16-up Geneon put on it.

Violence: 2 - There's a vast amount of destruction, but mostly unserious and entirely bloodless (at least that we see).

Nudity: 2 - No actual nudity, but a lot of skimpy S & M gear.

Sex/Mature Themes: 4 - No actual sex of any kind, but a whole lot of that S & M villain and few-punches-pulled innuendo.

Language: 2 - Nothing of note.

Notes and Trivia

Based on a 6-volume manga series written by Tarou Achi; the manga series only bears the first half of the incredibly long title of the anime, "Sumeba Miyako no Kosumosu-Sou" (rough translation "Cosmos Manor--You Can Get Used To Living Anywhere"). The comic verison is now available in English from DC.

Speaking of which, the second half of the anime's title ("Suttoko Taisen Dokkoidaa") is a play on the colorful phrase "suttokodokkoi," basically meaning idiot/idiocy. Cut it in half and add the common "-der" suffix of Japanese superheroes, and you have Suttoko Dokkoider, very rough translation "Idiotder." The US release drops everything but the hero's name, and they chose to Romanize it directly as Dokkoida(a), rather than Dokkoider. Also, the toy company that built Dokkoida is "Otankonasu," which is another colorful word for "idiot."

Nearly all the characters are named after flowers; Suzuo's family name includes the character for cherry blossom; Tanpopo means dandelion; the competing superhero's family name is Nogiku, meaning wild chrysanthemum, and her rabbit-handler is Hana, meaning "flower." With the sole exception of Pierre, the villains double up; Eidelweiss is a flower, and her Earth-cover family name is Umeki, meaning plum tree; Hyacynth's cover name, Yurine, can mean lilly bulb. The mad scientist and his robot top them all, though; the Japanese word for chestnut comes from the French "marron", so Marronflower is obvious, while Kurika consists of the characters for chestnut and flower, and their cover family name, Kurinohana, includes the same two characters with a third to literally mean "flower of the chestnut." So basically every one of their names means exactly the same thing. Several minor characters continue the theme, as well.

On a related note, though Geneon went with it in the English translation, I'm not sure if Kurika's name was originally intended as a pun on Clicker.

Availability

Formerly available in the US from Geneon on three individual bilingual DVDs or a box set of the three together. RightStuf still has stock, though their clearance prices on the individual DVDs (Disc 1/Disc 1 + Box, Disc 2, Disc 3) are cheaper than the box set.

Looking to buy? Try these stores: RightStuf (search) | AnimeNation | Akemi's a(nime)Store