by Anime and game fans are screaming at announcing the new work of “Di Gi Charat,” which prevailed in the early days of modern “otaku culture.”
Been about 20 years since the latest critical visual boom. On June 12, 2021, Bushiroad Broccoli announced the production of a new project, “Reiwa’s Di Gi Charat.” The sudden announcement spread the voice of “nostalgia” on SNS. Why do you release new work in the era of Reiwa? We asked Mr. Takaaki Kidani, Chairman of Bushiroad, who has been involved since the early days of Di Gi Charat’s content, along with his memories of the boom. (J-CAST News Editorial Department Takashi Omiya) Prototype the existence of modern Moe characters. First, I would like to review Di Gi Charat. “Di Gi Charat” is the name of the content and the name of the main character. Di Gi Charat, commonly known as “Dejiko,” was born in 1998 as the mascot character of “Gamers,” a goods shop for games.
The first appearance was a four-frame manga from Gamers’ public relations magazine “From Gamers.” It’s a princess from Di Gi Charat. Its appearance is maid clothes, hair ornaments and ribbons with bells like cats, green hair with a very anime-like look, and a habit of ending with “no,” these elements are 2000. Moe characters took it over from the 1980s. Illustrator Koge-Donbo is in charge of character design. Petit Carat for my sister, Known as “Puchiko,” rival character La Bi Ann Rose, and commonly known as “Usada,” also appeared. In 1999, a short animation called “Wonderful Edition” was produced. The media mix continued after that, and comicalization and drama CDs were also produced. Following the beautiful version of the animation, in 2003, it was titled “Di Gi Charat Nyo,” and it was broadcast for one year on TV Tokyo / TV Osaka series from 9:30 to 10 am on Sunday.
The content also changed from a solid satirical color of otaku culture to a daily fantasy mainly for children. It can be said that the period from the end of the 1990s to the beginning of the 2000s was the most breakable. It was an activity that transcended the frame of Gamers’ mascot. It incorporates catchy attributes such as characteristic tone, cat ears, and made clothes that are still well established in the modern age of 2021. It also conveys the atmosphere of otaku culture in the early 2000s. A song by the voice actor unit “DUP” was also born, and “PARTY ☆ NIGHT,” which was adopted as the song in the play, is still occasionally played as a nostalgic anime song at DJ events related to anime songs. Although the boom subsided in the latter half of the 2000s, the supply of goods and illustrations continued. Meanwhile, the announcement of the production decision of the short animation “Reiwa’s Di Gi Charat” that the deep-rooted fans got excited. Of Dejiko role Sanada Asami’s, of Puchiko role Miyuki Sawashiro’s, Kyoko Hikami role in the USA, cast and crew of Hiroaki Sakurai et al. At the time of supervision is gathered, animation of “Winter Garden” since the 15 years, 2006 It was decided to change.
The 20th-anniversary event-triggered “I want to make things that have accumulated even more exciting.”
“Di Gi Charat” is undoubtedly a long-lived content, but the aspect of otaku culture had changed from around 2000 when the boom occurred, and the number of young net users who know little about this work is increasing. But the reason why Di Gi Charat was chosen was precisely the length of its history. Mr. Kitani told J-CAST News on July 12: “There aren’t much ten or 20-year-old content out there, but Di Gi Charat is one such longevity content now. It’s been over 20 years now. It’s about the same now. It takes a couple of years to prepare for making a hit content. When we want to boost the industry again, it’s already ten years rather than planning a new one from scratch. I thought it would be more realistic to make things that have accumulated for 20 years even more exciting. In 2019, there was an event in which the first cast members reunited and appeared in commemoration of the 20th anniversary. With this as an opportunity, I decided to talk to related companies such as Animate (currently the parent company of Gamers) and Broccoli and try something new again.” It was the first time in 15 years that the animation production decision was made, but during this time. The red-eyed “2nd generation dejiko” appeared in 2007, and I thought that the design was renewed. The story of playing an active part in illustrations continued. “Di Gi Charat has been developing goods so far, and Koge-Donbo * is still drawing the pictures. Furthermore, this time I will be producing a short animation, so a new project. However, one of the strengths of this content is that you can start without being too nervous. “
Character settings and illustrations are handmade from within the company.
Mr. Kitani founded Broccoli Co., Ltd. in 1994 and has been involved in Di Gi Charat since the broccoli era. In 1996, Gamers, a store for goods such as games, opened as a retail store for Broccoli, and two years later, Di Gi Charat was born as the mascot of Gamers. At that time, Mr. Kitani was involved as the president of Broccoli. “At first, Jiko was born from the idea of a broccoli employee who wanted to make a mascot character for Gamers. At that time, making a mascot character for a specialty store like this was a boom, and I don’t know if it will be a hit. I started with the feeling of seeing it. I left it to the site to come up with ideas and adopted cats, maid clothes, bells, etc., that seemed to be geeky, and it became that design of the Broccoli.” Usamimi Chara’s Usada is 14 years old. It seems that Mr. Kitani decided this. “I decided that ten years old is a girl who is as close to an adult woman as possible, and 14 years old is a girl who is as close to a girl as possible,” he said. Characteristic attributes such as a beam coming out of the eyes and the ending “Nyo” were also given by the staff involved at that time. “It was said from that time that it was the first content that started from character creation and expanded the world view. It is called” symbolization, “but this method of mixing various attributes and giving it to the character is, I think it was new and fresh to the fans.” I think it was good that De Gi Charat was born because of the relationship with Koge-Donbo *. “At that time, Koge-Donbo * was exhibiting at the broccoli doujinshi convention, and I remembered Koge-Donbo’s illustrations. I started to draw advertising illustrations, and I asked for a description of De the Carat, and I have been pulling it ever since. It was a new painting style at that time, but it is cute even if the times change.
Advance to actual events, but regret during the boom
At first, it started with a free paper four-frame manga distributed by Gamers called From Gamers and gradually became recognized by otaku. “The fans who came to the event said, ‘This character is good,’ and I gradually realized that it was popular. When I made the goods, they sold well, so when I made an anime commercial, I said, “What the hell is that! ?” He talked about it. That’s why the wonderful short animation (1999) was made by receiving an offer from TBS. I think the animation has expanded the boom even further. The first commercial had a strong handmade feel, and employees were singing commercial songs.” In this way, the boom of Di Gi Charat broke out in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Mr. Sanada, who plays the role of Dejiko, and Mr. Sawashiro, who plays the role of Puchiko, are both selected by audition. Still, it is also the debut work of Mr. Sawashiro, a junior high school student at the time. It was also an era full of “handmade feeling” where the distance between the fans and the staff was close, as the auditions were decided by the judges’ votes and the fan votes. “I think that many fans in their thirties now know about” Di Gi Charat Nyo. ” It has been broadcast for one year from April 2003 on Sunday morning in a 30-minute frame. The contribution of the thing was great. It seems that many fans in their 40s and above have seen it since the time of short animation. Many people also remember the representative song “PARTY ☆ NIGHT.” And our rhythm game “D4DJ Groovy Even when I implemented the cover song in “Mix,” there was a reaction of “nostalgic” and “I’ve heard it.” “It is also one of the works that became the beginning of the live performance. “When I held a live concert at Yokohama Arena, the florist who always delivers flowers at the performances held here said, ‘I delivered flowers to people who don’t know their names for the first time.’ Until then, anime voice actors said. You probably wouldn’t have held an event at a venue on the scale of the Yokohama Arena. A voice actor-producer who was still in the early stages came to the event and said, “There is such a way,” and used it as a reference for the subsequent live performances. I also hear stories about it. “But it’s not that I have no regrets. Originally it was a mascot for core manga and anime fans, so in short anime, it was also a style that satirized the otaku culture of the time. It is said that there were some disadvantages in the process of refining this for children. “At first, it was the sale of Di Gi Charat that had a cute face and a poisonous tongue. That’s how popular among core enthusiasts became, and I wanted to develop it for the masses. I’ve seen it, but the harsh elements of the character have indeed diminished to be accepted by the masses. However, few works lasted for 5 to 10 years with short animation alone. Is it about “Tom and Jerry”? Many people remember it in “Di Gi Charat Nyo,” so I think it’s good to develop it for the masses in the long run, considering that it is still going on. “There are almost no works that lasted for 5 to 10 years with Toanime alone. Is it about “Tom and Jerry”? Many people remember it in “Di Gi Charat Nyo,” so I think it’s good to develop it for the masses in the long run, considering that it is still going on. “There are almost no works that lasted for 5 to 10 years with Toanime alone. Is it about “Tom and Jerry”? Many people remember it in “Di Gi Charat Nyo,” so I think it’s good to develop it for the masses in the long run, considering that it is still going on. “
Director “I have a lot of things I want to make.”
In 2007, Mr. Kitani left Broccoli to establish Bushiroad. Broccoli withdrew from retail businesses such as Gamers in 2011, but Broccoli has held the character’s copyright for the 15th and 20th anniversary. Taking the opportunity of the 20th-anniversary event mentioned above, “It was a work that broke with a short animation 20 years ago, so I want to make a short animation again. I think that the news of animation itself is a trigger for the fans to restart.” It seems that the production is progressing with the momentum of (Mr. Kitani). The same cast as the first animation will appear, and Hiroaki Sakurai, who will be the director, will also supervise the work as a director in “Reiwa’s Di Gi Charat.” The content of the new animation that fans are interested in is “Director Sakurai has always wanted to make Di Gi Charat, and this time the production was decided and” I have a lot of things I want to make, “so the idea I think it’s already in the director’s head.” In addition to the familiar three characters, Dejiko, Puchiko, and Usada, “Bushiroad-chan,” the guardian deity of Bushiroad, will appear as a new character. “The new short animation was announced in the distribution (YouTube) where Mr. Sanada, Mr. Sawashiro, and Mr. Hikami appeared, but the way the net gets excited is different compared to the announcement of new goods development so far. However, the point is that it is a new animation, and I think that everyone has been attached to it for many years, “says Mr. Kitani, who accepts the reaction of the neighborhood. “I want old fans to enjoy the new work that can be released now. How about young people … The times are different, so I hope the viewers will be interested in it freely. “Di Gi Charat has greatly influenced modern character culture and has been around for a long time. Illustrations and manga still retain the atmosphere of the dawn of Moe culture, which is probably why there are enthusiastic fans. That’s why Internet users got excited when “Reiwa’s Di Gi Charat” was announced, and the production staff is trying to live up to that expectation.
