Di Gi Charat

Di Gi Charat (デ・ジ・キャラット, De Ji Kyaratto) is a Japanese manga and anime series created by Koge-Donbo. The series follows a catgirl named Di Gi Charat "Dejiko" who was adopted as the mascot of Broccoli's retail chain store, Gamers. The original anime series and its original video animations (OVAs) are set in a Gamers store. There are twenty Gamers stores across Japan.

Several specials, OVAs, and movies have been adapted as prequels, sequels and alternate stories; trading cards and video games are among the many forms of merchandise released for the series. The original series, movie, and Leave it to Piyoko! were licensed in North America by Synch-Point. The manga series is licensed by several companies. The original series, 4 specials and the Winter Gardenspecial are now licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

An animated Dejiko and her sidekick Gema first appeared on in a television advertisement for Gamers, set to the store's theme song, Welcome! by Hiroko Kato. The first anime premiered on the Tokyo Broadcasting System on November 29, 1999. Set in a Gamers store in Akihabara, the original series was sixteen episodes long, with each episode running for three minutes. Light-hearted and relatively cheaply animated, the series follows the story of Di Gi Charat (Dejiko), her new sidekick Petit Charat (Puchiko) and Gema, who arrive in Akihabara, Tokyo. Dejiko dreams of becoming an idol, only to realize that they have no money and nowhere to stay. The manager of a Gamers store takes pity on them, and the series follows their exploits as they work in the shop. The series introduces Dejiko's rival, Rabi-en-Rose, and minor characters Abarenbou, Takeshi, Yoshimi, Takurou and Takurou. All other citizens of Akihabara, including the manager, are drawn as anthropomorphic thumbs, the reason being that Akihabara is one of the largest shopping areas of Earth for video games, among other things, and thumbs are most commonly used by people to press buttons while playing video games. The creative team was given free rein over the content of Di Gi Charat, and it is outrageous at times. The anime is directed by Hiroaki Sakurai, animated by Madhouse and produced by Broccoli.

As 2008 was the 10th anniversary of the series Di Gi Charat, Broccoli Inc. decided to recast the actresses of the main characters of Di Gi Charat. The new actress for Dejiko, Puchiko, and Usada were Satomi Akesaka, Nao Minakami, and Rieka Yazawa respectively.

However, as of the 15th anniversary in 2013, Broccoli Inc. has since reverted to using their original voice actresses and retconned the 10th Anniversary in a comic.

For the series' 24th anniversary, a new mini anime series has been announced, with Hiroaki Sakurai directing the new series at Liden Films

Characters and Voice Cast

 * Di Gi Charat - Asami Sanada
 * Petit Charat - Megumi Han
 * Hikaru Usada/Rabi~en~Rose - Kyoko Hikami