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R1 DVD Reviews
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Wednesday, 12 May 2010 00:00 |
 I hate it when good series come to an end. While Dokkoida!? never really seemed to hit the mainstream - and it really did deserve to, by the way - it's been one of the best parody shows I've seen, period. Or maybe that just means I've been watching anime for long enough now that I 'get' the parody. While the parody does still play a part in these final episodes, though, the show indulges in a change of tack for the final two episodes, and gets all superhero with us...
9 - Some Like it Hot?!
Kosuzu's been given a 'missing persons' job, which turns out to be easier than she expected when said missing person turns up at the apartment, asking to be sheltered. Suzuo doesn't mind as she's a famous actress by the name of Marilyn, but she has a past connection to Marronflower that could spell trouble - especially as there's now a price on her head, and Marronflower's old pirate accomplices are first to catch up with her. All Marilyn wants, meanwhile, is a rare taste of ordinary life - which makes her decision to choose Cosmos House as a hiding place all the stranger...
10 - Mogumokkuru's Make-Over
Someone at the Galaxy Federation Police has decided the project trials on Earth (that's the Cosmos House mob...) could do with a televisual makeover - and so Mogumokkuru is dispatched to Earth (undercover as the Cosmos House manager) to make sure all goes well. He's not at all happy at the TV crew being there - it's supposed to be a secret project, after all - but what's a guy to do? With the show being presented in a 'Reality TV' style & loaded with fanservice, it's a ratings hit - especially after Suzuo 'wins' a trip to an onsen for the Cosmos House residents...
11 - Cosmos House's Last Hour?
The Galaxy Union Police finally have the information they need on how Dokkoida and Nerloid Girl have been performing - not that all their hard work will count for much, as the project's just been cancelled. With the Cosmos House mob now all out of a job, it seems it's time for everyone to go their separate ways, with Kosuzu's parting 'gift' for Suzuo being the erasure of his memories of her and the rest of the residents. It seems it's the end for Suzuo's good times, until Mogumokkuru turns up at Tanpopo's office, asking for Dokkoida's help..
12 - Battle of Zealousness!
Tanpopo's been accused of being a spy & is now considered on the run along with Dokkoida - it all seems to be something of a setup, now that they both know about the plan to seize control of the Galaxy Federation. Dokkoida's doing his best to fight off the Galaxy Federation Police, but he's heavily outnumbered - until the Cosmos House gang turn up to help out. And so the stage is set for what could be Dokkoida's final battle...
I've watched the full series of Dokkoida?! several times now, and I'm still undecided about the final two episodes, where all trace of parody goes out of the window in favour of a straight powered-suit-hero story. On the one hand, UFOTable do a pretty good job of recreating the sort of show that Dokkoida!? took a lot of its inspiration from, but at the same time it isn't really the sort of story this series has been about. Sure, the characters do bring their quirkiness to the conclusion, but compared to some of the episodes that went before, it just doesn't feel quite right.
The other two episodes are more what you'd expect. Episode nine covers love, loss & betrayal (awww...), with Marronflower pulling off a remarkable impression of a certain Captain Harlock in the opening scenes. It's one of those episodes were Dokkoida!? gets a little bit sentimental on us, but as before that's no bad thing - Marilyn's desire to just live a quiet, normal life is one that's easily understood, while the arrival of bounty hunters on the scene is used as a good excuse to get Suzuo back into action as well.
Episode ten using 'reality TV' as an excuse to fill our screens with fanservice, since we all know that bare flesh will do wonders for a show's ratings. Now, I could swear that using the tests as a reality show had already been covered in a much less obvious way in the show's opening episodes, so I could call this whole episode a huge continuity 'fail', but I also have to say that it's also classic Dokkoida!?, and well worth watching - which makes the final two episodes, with their different tone and feel, stand out even more as a result. Hmmm.
Still, that's not a huge criticism, and it's certainly not enough to spoil the series as a whole. As the saying goes, "Always leave them wanting more", and that's something that Dokkoida!? has managed brilliantly. Very highly recommended.
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