Sgt. Frog: Season 1, Part 1
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Actor: Brina Palencia, Cherami Leigh, Todd HaberkornBrand: Funimation
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Animated, Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 324 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-09-22
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Funimation Prod
DVD Reviews of Sgt. Frog: Season 1, Part 1
DVD Review: Hilarious, wild, crazy fun!
Summary: 5 Stars
Unique, fun and gut-bursting humor! "Sgt. Frog" is probably one of the most odd and crazy anime series you'll ever see. Hilarious in Japanese but the writing for the English dub definitely takes things up a notch!
Since 1999, the manga series "Keroro Gunso" (aka "Sgt. Frog") by Mine Yoshizaki ("Arcade Gamer Fubuki", "Chibi Kero" and "Seven of Seven") has been entertaining readers. Since 2004, the anime series has been entertaining viewers and both continue to be popular long-running series in Japan. Now the award winning series gets its first US anime DVD release with the first 13 episodes now arriving in the US.
The anime series is directed by Yusuke Yamamoto ("Welcome to the NHK, "Sakura Taisen", "Mobile Suit Victor Gundam" and Arjuna") and features character designs by Fumitoshi Oisaki ("Romeo x Juliet", "Ontama" and "Kaleido Star"). The series is known for its use of parodies of pop culture and in the Japanese case, you will see a plenty of pop culture references to anime and video games. While, the English dub features a slightly different script than the Japanese and utilizes American pop culture (which I will describe more in the video and audio segment of this review).
The series revolves around an alien race of frogs who have come to conquer the planet Earth. But somehow along the way, things didn't go as expected and the leader of the platoon, Sergeant Frog finds himself living with the Hinata family. Always up to mischief and trying to find a way to conquer Earth, he is befriended by the weak and paranormal/supernatural obsessed boy Fuyuki, beaten to a pulp by his strong sister Natsumi and given a place to live by their mother (and manga editor) Aki who uses him as a source of ideas for her new manga.
With his obsession for Mobile Suit Gundam models, television and snacks, Sgt. Frog gets too used to human life, that is until his fellow platoon finds out that he has been neglecting his duties.
"Sgt. Frog - Season One, Part 1' features a total of 13 episodes on two DVD's. Each episode consists of two mini-episodes, most often at times are related to each other. but sometimes you get two different stories per episode. Here is a spoiler-less summary:
DISC 1:
* EPISODE 1- Meet the Sergeant! - The introduction of Keroro and how he came to live with the Hinata family.
* EPISODE 2- Bag of Secrets! - We are introduced to Momoka Nishizawa who is in love with Fuyuki Hinata. We are also introduced to the alien frog, Tamama.
* EPISODE 3 - Amphibian On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - With Tamama getting all the things he wants, Keroro is bored by living at the Hinata home. Meanwhile, a mysterious thing has been spying on the Hinata's.
* EPISODE 4 - Blood Violence Death Kill! - We are introduced to Corporal Giroro and Giroro comes up with an idea to make Keroro more of a warrior.
* EPISODE 5 - The Day Gundam Cried! - Keroro wants a Gundam at a toy store and needs Fuyuki's help.
* EPISODE 6 - Ghost Kiss-Perer! - Momoka invites Fuyuki to a private island and next thing you know the Hinata family and frogs are all coming. Will Fuyuki and her butler Paul be able to make Fuyuki like him?
* EPISODE 7 - Apocalypse Later! - The Lord of Terror makes her appearance. Meanwhile, we learn that Tamama is jealous of her.
DISC 2:
* EPISODE 8 - Base: The Final Frontier! - Keroro builds a secret base inside the fridge.
* EPISODE 9 - Desperately Seeking Brains! - Mutsumi Saburo introduces a member of the Armpit Platoon... Kururu. Meanwhile, Kururu creates an age manipulation gun that can make anything many years younger and Aki Hinata volunteers.
* EPISODE 10 - Sgt. Frog versus the Cavitians of Cavity 9! - Keroro is suffering from a cavity (alien invaders have taken control of Keroro's cavity) and Kururu comes up with an idea to take them on.
* EPISODE 11 - Fake It `Til You Make It! - Celebrities from a galactic TV show want to do a show on Earth at the Hinata home.
* EPISODE 12 - Pop Startled! - A pop star (a third runner-up of "Galactic Idol") visits the Hinata home. And Giroro loses his weapon's sash.
* EPISODE 13 - Viper? I Hardly Knew Her! - The introduction of Dororo and Koyuki.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"Sgt. Frog" is presented in 4:3. For the most part, the entertaining part of "Sgt. Frog" are its characters but also the little Japanese pop culture references, especially Keroro's love for "Gundam" (which the model kits are featured in the anime series). The colors are vibrant and for a television show, the animation works great for this series. Keroro and his members of the Armpit Platoon are frogs with a cool and cute character design, that it's no surprise that this series has an extensive merchandise collection in Japan.
As for audio, the English dub is featured in Dolby Surround Sound and the Japanese is featured in stereo. For the most part, I have watched both in English and Japanese and the voice acting on both are great. As for audio quality, I preferred to watch the series with my receiver setting at stereo on all channels but for the most part, the English dialogue is front and center channel driven if watched via 5.1 Dolby Surround.
Now when it comes to audio and watching it on both languages, there is a difference between the English and Japanese version. For the most part, the English version has a rewritten script that utilizes the same storyline as the Japanese version but features American pop culture references and more dialogue. So, for example, when the Japanese dialogue is quiet, in the English dialogue, you may hear the narrator speaking.
Although I tend to prefer watching anime in Japanese, I have to admit that I found the English dub quite wild and crazy. For example, during one scene in which Hinata siblings and the aliens meet a fellow Galactic pop star, in the Japanese dialogue there is discussion of how popular she is. While in the English dub, they use "American Idol" references to showcase her popularity.
Granted, some people may not be familiar with the American pop culture references (especially since certain situations are taken from that time period, for example the Miley Cyrus and Asians comment) and may easily fly over the heads of those who are not familiar with American pop culture but for the most part, the rewritten screenplay by Jamie Marchi, Jared Hedges and Joel Bergen will easily make people laugh. For those familiar with what Joel Bergen did with "Crayon Shin Chan" will know what kind of humor to expect from the series albeit a more PG rating.
Subtitles are featured in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Sgt. Frog - Season One, Part 1' comes with the following special features:
* Pekopon Invasion Recon Data - Using your remote, you can cycle through various data such as the school uniforms, the vacuum cleaner, the watermelon, afro and more.
* Textless Opening Song - Ribbit March - (1:32) Textless opening theme
* Textless Closing Song - Afro Gunsou - (1:32) Textless closing theme
* Trailers - FUNimation Entertainment upcoming releases
JUDGMENT CALL:
Crazy, enjoyable and just all out fun! I have to admit that I was completely unfamiliar with the story of "Sgt. Frog" before watching this DVD. I knew about the character Keroro and the platoon members through the various merchandise seen at many Japanese and Chinese shops but I really didn't know anything about the series.
And what can I say, after watching "Sgt. Frog - Season One, Part 1', I've become a fan! I really don't think anyone can be disappointed with this DVD set as its absolutely fresh, wild and crazy. As people are wanting to find a series that is fun and unique, I think that anime fans that are into comedy-based series can find something to like about "Sgt. Frog".
Having watched the episodes in Japanese and English, the Japanese version was hilarious but being an American and familiar with the pop culture references in the dialogue and the Japanese pop culture references on the show, I had a great time watching it with the English dub. You can tell there was great care on the American side into utilizing the time of the series to create additional dialogue and of course, coming up with something new to make the characters much crazier for an American audience.
It's important to note that FUNimation Entertainment went with the original names for the dub, so for those who saw the test episode on YouTube and were not satisfied with the name changes, FUNimation Entertainment did fix that up with only Giroro's cat keeping the name "Mr. Furbottom" and the voice talent changed for the final cut.
As for the parents who are wondering if the show is safe for children, although the series is rated TV PG, there is no naughty talk or any profanity.
There is only one scene in episode 9 in which a young Aki Hinata (who looks like Fuyuki) is hugged by Momoka Nishizawa and in the process of that hug, Nishizawa who wraps her arm around Aki and her hands on the side of her chest, she wonders why Fuyuki has breasts. And of course, there is a lot of mayhem and some fight scenes but seriously, the series is quite tame and is even aired to children in Japan (as evident by its targeted merchandise towards children in Japan) and various parts of the world. And I also shared the series with my six-year-old son who absolutely loved the series.
Overall, this is an anime series that is worth purchasing! For those who enjoyed "Crayon Shin Chan" (US dialogue version) may enjoy this much tamer but hilarious anime series. But really, this series really can't be compared to anything. It's that fresh, wild and crazy. One can definitely expect "Sgt. Frog" to be a series that has cool and fun characters and outrageously written episodes, definitely make this anime series worth the purchase!
Highly recommended!
More Sgt. Frog: Season 1, Part 1 reviews:
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Description of Sgt. Frog: Season 1, Part 1
Little Frog. Big Mission.Keroro is Sgt. Frog ? the leader of a platoon of warriors sent to conquer planet Earth. But when the Amphibious invaders discovered how much humans enjoy dissecting their comrades, the troops were scattered, the mission was aborted, and Keroro was abandoned. Now, this once proud soldier spends more time wielding a vacuum than he does the weapons of war. It?s a far cry from the glory of battle, but hey, at least he?s got his own room. And though the invasion may have slowed to a hop, Sergeant Frog still occasionally yearns to overcome his karaoke addiction and reassemble his troops. Watch out world, the frogs are taking over.
Invade. Conquer. Karaoke.
The outré sci-fi comedy Sgt. Frog (2004) scored a big hit in Japan, running for almost 300 episodes and spawning five theatrical features. A force of alien frogs attempted to conquer Earth (or "Pekopon"), but withdrew, leaving a few of their less impressive warriors behind. Keroro a.k.a. Sgt. Frog takes refuge in the home of the offbeat Hinata family. Mom Aki is a manga editor who sees Keroro as a source of ideas; Fuyuki, the friendless president of his junior high paranormal club, welcomes the alien; Natsumi, Fuyuki's brilliant, athletic older sister, puts the amphibian to work cleaning house. Rounding out the cast are zillionaire-heiress Momoka, who nurtures a crush on Fuyuki; Angolmois, an alien who spoofs magical girls; upper classman Sabura, whom Natsumi adores, and four nutty frogs from the Sergeant's old platoon. The stories careen from parodies of other series (Sgt. Frog adores Gundam models), to self-reflexive gags to attempts to restart the failed conquest of Earth. Sgt. Frog often plays like sillier, less cynical version of Invader Zim. But bringing Sgt. Frog to another culture proved problematic. Like Shin-chan, the dialogue consists largely of puns, word- plays, and pop culture references, many of which are essentially untranslatable. The writers either have to present a literal rendering, which wouldn't be funny or even comprehensible, or try to come up with English equivalents of the jokes--which may have little to do with the original script. Funimation opted for latter, which has led some otaku to complain about the "bastardization" of the series, but it was probably the better choice. It's not like they've rewritten The Tale of Genji: flatulence jokes are flatulence jokes in any language. (Rated TV PG, suitable for ages 13 and older: cartoon violence, risqué and toilet humor, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
Stills from Sgt. Frog (Click for larger image)
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