[Kerokero Chime] Comments TV 1-4
Donny CHAN
- Kerokero Chime. TV. Ep 1-4.
So I finally broke down and watched the first four episodes
of Kerocha (Kerokero Chime). Here are some impressions I brought away.
*SPOILER ALERT*
Kerocha TV is based on the shoujo manga by Fujita Maguro and
published in Ribbon, the same mag that has Kodocha (Kodomo no
Omocha). Actually, it's more of a children manga than a shoujo manga.
The heroine, Mimori, is the Princess of the Frog Tribe
(Kaeru Zoku) of the Frog Country (Kaeru no Kuni), in the Magic
World (Mahou no Sekai). Though she's human (the monarchy that
rule the frogs in the Frog Country are all humans), Mimori has
some frog characteristics: she can jump far and high, sing well,
swim well (and probably breathe underwater), and talk with animals.
The male protagonist, Aoi, is an ordinary boy from the
mundane world, with about as much unluck as Ranma. One day, in a
park, Aoi met a guy (with a braid like Duo's in Gundam Wing) who
splashed Aoi with a bucket of water, and since then, Aoi turns
into a blue frog whenever he's wet (even when he splashes some
water on his face), and turns back into a human whenever he's
dry. After turning Aoi into a frog, the guy, Makaeru, told Aoi he
didn't know how to dispel the magic, threw Aoi into the Magic
World, and told Aoi to look for Mimori for the cure. After some
drop kicks (note plural) to his face, Aoi found Mimori and learnt
she doesn't know how to dispel the magic. (Mimori is apparently
not a magical girl (mahou shoujo).)
However, the two began to search for the missing pages of a
magic book, and for Makaeru, who's Mimori's older brother. (In
shoujo manga, seems the heroines' older brothers tend to be
incomprehensible weirdoes. Eg, in Card Captor Sakura, Koko wa
Greenwood, and Tokyo Babylon.)
En route, Mimori and Ao-chan (guess who gave him this
nickname?) collect the occasional items and some secondary
characters. Eg, three tail-like flying hairy worms (Shippo-chan
and parents), a crystal ball (Akiko-chan) that uses some English
words (and has a Washuu-like pride, IMO), and a girl-like forest
spirit (Lip) who can hover but not fly (treacherous and
apologetic; reminds me of Pastel in Megapara). Makaeru pops up
now and then, but neglects Ao-chan.
Mimori's VERY carefree... and careless. Though ALWAYS as
cheery as Kasumi in Ranma (didn't see Mimori become angry in
these episodes), Mimori's slightly more aware of her surroundings
than Kasumi. Eg, when Ao-chan fell off a cliff, Mimori jumped
down the cliff and told Ao-chan she thought she could save him,
but she realised this idea was unreasonable while they were both
falling. (No, they didn't fall to their deaths, or Kerocha
would've been a very short TV series. This isn't Minky Momo
anyway.) Mimori can be surprised though.
Correct me if I'm wrong: Tatejima is the green frog, and
Mizutama is the red frog?
The anime chara designs are similar to Cha-Cha (Akazukin
Cha-Cha), esp the eyes and visual effects.
The OP song ("You are the only one" by Love Connection) and
ED song ("Something" by Chikazawa Miho) are predictably gentle
for a children anime.
Don't know how loyal or not the anime is to the manga, but
ISTR Mimori's parents weren't mentioned so early (or at all?) in
the manga.
IMO, Kerocha doesn't have as much sight gags as Cha-Cha or
St*Tail. Though Ao-chan's often frustrated by Mimori's
friendliness, and she tends to babble on and on like Maririn in
Mizuiro Jidai, they don't argue as much as Asuka Jr and Meimi did
in St*Tail.
The sound effects are... distracting. Eg, when a character
shouts, the sound effect sounds like a Mobile Suit's exhaust
note. When Mimori jumps and glides, the sound effect sometimes
sounds like Lum-sama's. >8(
OK, I admit I gave Kerocha a chance only because Mimori's
CV, Higuchi Chieko, voiced Taka-chan in Mizuiro Jidai. In
comparison, Mimori's voice is sharper and softer than
Taka-chan's. (Though Kerocha involves some YAG (Yoyogi Animation
Gakuen) personnel and af-reco (after recording) facilities, it
doesn't have any of those idiotic YAG TV CMs (commercials).) 8D
To me, a Mizuiro fan, Kerocha sounds lonely without Miyajima Eri,
Sakamoto Ma'aya, and Suzuki Masami. :_: Namiki Noriko is in
Kerocha though. OTOH, Kerocha probably has guest seiyuu for the
minor characters.
According to resources in the Web (see below), Ep 19
(97.07.10) and later episodes had OP and ED songs sung by Higuchi
Chieko. I'll sample those episodes next, if only to comment on
the quality of those songs. OTOH, as of now, Kerocha already has
more than 26 episodes. [970914]
Don "Gamera" Chan
PS For Kerocha info and pics, try:
http://members.aol.com/aitenshi/index.html
http://www.mnet.or.jp/~minmay/index2.htm
--
"Yokatta. ORE mo, iya, atasi mo, omae no koto ga suki
nanda." - Arai Kiyomi, Sotugyou Crossworld SS (1997)