Dokkoida!? - Vol. 1: Ultra Diaper Man

Pros: Four uncut, uncensored episodes of a great series
Cons: The long wait until I get Vol. 2!

My Take:

Even in anime, it's hard getting a job.

A young man named Suzuo has been looking for work all over his neighborhood. By chance, a young alien girl named Tampopo sees Suzuo and gives him an interesting proposition. She wants him to wear a prototype battlesuit made by her employers, a toy company, and take on criminals that threaten the city. Suzuo isn't impressed figuring that Tampopo's company would eventually collapse in debt and passes on it. When danger does arise, and another fighter in another prototype suit calling herself Neruloid couldn't stop this madman who's using a giant robot to wreck the city, Suzuo reluctantly dons the battlesuit and becomes Dokkoida, a warrior who looks a little like legendary superhero Ultraman in a diaper. And the only reason he finds confidence to fight will surprise you. What's more surprising is that both Suzuo and his opponent (both in their "civilian" clothes) live in the same apartment building, Cosmos House. As the episodes continue, more villians (including a little girl whose blood could turn clay into powerful golems and a dominatrix who whips her obedient underling into any creature that could be released), a family of four, and a young woman named Asaka all end up at Cosmos House. And the true reason for the power-suit competition is revealed.

Man, why can't our Real World editions be this good?

Dokkoida!? is one of those shows that just comes around once in a blue moon. Like Gainax's FLCL before it, Geneon's Dokkoida perfectly blends surreal comedy and outrageous action. The whole premise of the series could have been serious, but they turned it upside down and made it comedy gold. Seriously, who would have put a reluctant hero in the same apartment complex with people that tried to kill him earlier in the day? There are plenty of in-jokes throughout the disc that only true otakus would know (which may explain why this psuedotaku could only point out a few). If the classic 80s action comedy-drama series The Greatest American Hero was animated and played strictly for laughs, it would be Dokkoida!?

The first volume from Geneon Entertainment comes in two great flavors, either original (with just the DVD) for thirty bucks or spicy (a DVD with an iron-on patch) for ten dollars more. Now, find that theme song within and head to your video shop of choice and pick up one of the funniest anime shows ever made.