There have been a good amount of anime parody shows being released lately, Excel Saga and Nurse Witch Komugi come to mind.  The latest spoof show is Dokkoida, a take off on Ultraman and harem shows, among other things.  While parodies are often uninspired and frequently fall flat, this one is pretty funny and well worth watching.

Suzuo is a country boy who has gone to the big city to find his fortune.  Unfortunately, he hasn't had much luck finding a job and has run out of money.  Luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it) Tanpopo spots Suzuo.  She's a representative from Toys of the World, the maker of children's toys and high tech battle armor, and needs someone of Suzuo's build to wear the latest battle suit.  When she offers him with the job, he agrees to wear the suit and become Dokkoida thinking he's accepting a job as company mascot.  He doesn't realize he's signing on to fight interstellar villains.

It seems that Toys of the World is trying to win a contract with the Galaxy Federation Police (GFP) to provide them with a powered suit to make up for their lack of man power.  But there is competition for the contract, and it arrives in the form of Nerloid Girl, the rival's battle suit.

In order to determine which outfit is better suited for the GFP, a not to bright middle management drone at the organization decides to release some Class A hardcore space criminals.  Dr. Marronflower arrives on Earth, a technological genius with his giant mechanized termite.  He is soon followed by Edelweiss, a young girl who can mold magical clay into monsters, and Hyacinth, an S&M queen who whips her slave until he morphs into a wild animal (or possibly a trained seal, he doesn't have a lot of control of what he turns into.)

All of this is bad enough, but Suzuo, Tanpopo, and the space criminals all have to find a place to live, and they all end up in Cosmos House, in their civilian identities of course.  Here the women all fight over Suzuo, since no one recognizes anyone else.

This show is a lot of fun.  It's energetic with a good amount of action, but still very silly and odd.  These first four episodes manage to introduce all of the main characters and get them rooms at the Cosmos House.  The villains are all great, but my favorite is the little girl Edelweiss, whose terrifying clay creations are often more cute and cuddly than horrific.

Each show has a good share of laugh out loud jokes and wonderfully odd characters, a mix that I've always enjoyed.  The show also manages to avoid becoming a 'monster of the week' show by keeping the cast small and together.  A very enjoyable show all around.

Audio:

This DVD includes the original Japanese audio track in stereo, along with a two channel English dub.  I viewed the show with both soundtracks and they were both very good.  The front soundstage was used to good effect with the action scenes having a good amount of directionality.  The dialog was clean without any distortion or hiss.

Video:

The full frame image looked very good too.  The picture was very colorful, with bright images and a good amount of detail.  The was a little aliasing, but other digital defects were nonexistent. A great looking show.

Extras:

This DVD also includes a textless opening and closing, and a two minute promotional video for the show.  There are also previews for Popo Tan, Paranoia Agent and The Daichi's Family Defense Force.

Final Thoughts:

This was one of the more humorous anime shows I've seen lately.  The characters are amusing and the humor works well.  The way Dokkoida wins some of his battles is good for a few deep laughs just by themselves.  If you are looking for an energetic anime series that doesn't take itself too seriously, look no further.  Highly Recommended.