Sgt. Frog Season 1, Part 1 DVD Review

Reviews are always harder the second time around. I had written this very fantastic review about Sgt. Frog, and I hit submit, and then it disappeared.

Dammit.

So I wrote a whole paragraph about how when I first put in the Sgt. Frog DVD, I selected the English version, and how It was like taking a bath in ice water. I was thrown in the middle of a story, with a narrator yelling at me, all the characters were hyperkenetic, and the voice acting just seemed... overdone. Normally I go for the subtitled version, but Funimation seems to be making an effort to Americanize the series, so I thought I would check it out.

I had no idea what was going on.

So then I tried the subtitled version and It was a lot better. I am a firm believer that anime should be watched in its original context, with as little localization as possible. A lot of the jokes or references just don't translate well.

In Japanese, the show rocks. The subtitles are crisp and clear, all the text effects are subtitled as well, and you get a better feel of what they were working towards.

But what is this Sgt. Frog thing about anyway?

Sgt. Frog is the English adaption of the popular Japanese series Keroro Gunso created by Mine Yoshizaki. First a Manga, Keroro Gunso chronicles the failed invasion of earth (known as Pekopon) by small, nerdy frog like creatures. Instead, Keroro becomes a Gundam-loving otaku and the show falls into the realm of the absurd.

If you like shows like Excel Saga, then you will like this. The show clearly targets the Otaku demographic, specifically with numerous references to Gundam, Yamato, Macross, Evangelion and more. Sgt. Frog himself collects and builds Gundam models, and in one episode sets out on a mission to save his favorite hobby store.

In Japan, Keroro Gunso is huge. One only has to walk down the main drag in Akihabara to get a feel of how much Keroro Gunso stuff there is. Because Gundam is so ingrained into the otaku soul in Japan, fans have really latched on to this Gundam-flavored series.

Which makes me wonder if Sgt. Frog will find a foothold here in the states, where the general public does not have that attachment. The jokes may be lost on everyone but the hard-core otaku.

This set comprises the first part of series one, episodes 1-13 spread out over two discs. The episodes are available in English and Japanese. Special features include the Pekopon Invasion Recon Data, Textless Songs and Trailers. Both discs are in slim DVD cases housed in an attractive cardboard slipcase.

My recommendation is to skip the hokey English dub and skip right to the subtitled version.

Sgt. Frog Season 1 Part 1 is available September 22 at a MSRP of $39.99.

• Funimation Sgt. Frog Official Site

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