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© Mine Yoshizaki/Kadokawashoten, SUNRISE, TV TOKYO, NAS. Licensed By: Mighty Delta Investments Limited
Keroro Gunso (aka Sergeant Keroro)
is one of those few anime that I got into because of my obsession for
seiyuu (Japanese voice actors). Personally, I most definitely wouldn’t
have watched it because, at first glance, with those five cute alien
frogs, it was screaming "kiddie-fare" in my ears.
What happened then was that everyone in the Gankutsuou LJ
community were obsessing over Jouji Nakata — the seiyuu of the Count
of Monte Cristo — whose deep voice could make any lady swoon. But then
someone posted something in the community that caused the
disillusionment of several female diehards — a YouTube clip of the
third ending song (ED) of Keroro Gunso, "KERORO Shoutai Kounin!
Netsuretsu Kangeiteki Ekaki Uta!!" To fans of the anime, it’s simply
"The How-To-Draw-the-Keroro-Platoon Song", and you have each member of
Keroro’s platoon singing out silly instructions on how to draw him.
Don’t ask how Nakata-san sounded. If he sounds sexy when he’s speaking,
you would cringe when you hear him singing.
However, it
certainly got my curiosity piqued that I decided to watch the first 50+
episodes, and needless to say, it’s all because of the great seiyuu
voicing the characters. Nakata-san proved to be such a delight taking a
comedic turn as Giroro. But the one who was truly hilarious is Koyasu
Takehito who played that nutball Kururu. With time, I grew to love the
series so much. It’s not a "kiddie" anime. There are certain storylines
that even adults can relate to. Personally, I found it a silly,
light-hearted and nice show to watch if you’re feeling bored or if you
have tons of problems and you want to watch something that is sure to
make you laugh (although I have to admit to having tears in my eyes in
that one sweet little episode wherein Keroro got lost). Not
surprisingly, I got hooked on Keroro Gunso so badly that it’s one of my greatest frustrations trying to find the remaining episodes on DVD.
So it was that I
had to admit to having serious reservations when I learned that the
anime was going to be aired on Animax, and in English. While the
characters, especially the Keroro platoon, are challenging roles that
any voice actor would want to attempt, if done improperly, it could
lead to a total disaster.
Thankfully,
however, the Animax voice cast did a marvelous job with the characters.
Applause is in order for Andrea Kwan who was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! as
Keroro. The vocal chops of this lady are just truly amazing! Scott
Evans (?) was also a surprise when he played Giroro. Originally, I
would’ve wanted Russell to dub Giroro since he had dubbed two of
Nakata’s characters in the past (namely the Count and Roy Revant in Solty Rei),
but Scott certainly did a wonderful rendition of Giroro. I can’t wait
to see how he’d do in that episode where Giroro has to battle Natsumi
who has run amuck. Oh yeah! I don’t know the name of the gentleman who
dubbed Kururu, but you are so fiendishly sleazy!! I just love it!
While the Animax version of Sergeant Keroro has
been a delight to watch, I must admit to cringing whenever I hear
Natsumi call Keroro a "reptile". I mean, frogs aren’t reptiles. They’re
amphibians. I doubt if it would be possible to change that line though.
Even with that little flaw, Sergeant Keroro is a must watch for those who want their anime fare light, silly, but still with a lot of slambang action.
A Trio of Keroro Gunso Trivia
1. Did you know
that Saburo — Kururu’s human sidekick — is also the same guy who does
that radio show that Natsumi always listens to?
2. If you’ve been
dancing to the first ending (ED) theme "Afro Gunso", you’ll be glad to
know that the guy singing that song Dance Man will be appearing in one Keroro episode.
3. In case you haven’t noticed, Keroro has
been spoofing several anime. One that would probably be recognizable
especially for AXN fans would be the second ending (ED) theme, "PEKOPON
Shinryaku Ondo" by ONDO Girl Meets Keroro Shoutai. The dance that
Keroro performs in the anime is very similar to the dance that Kanna
performs in the second (ED) theme of the anime Sakura Wars. While I have yet to confirm it, a friend of mine said that the singer ONDO Girl is actually Kanna herself!
[Watch SERGEANT KERORO, weekdays, 6 to 6:30 pm, only on ANIMAX.]
NEXT
BLOG: Is Originality Dead? What happens when certain manga artists
actually trace arts and plagiarize stories from other sources?
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