Title: Yatterman
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
Publisher: Tatsunoko Productions
Director: Hiroshi Sasagawa
Script: Jinzo Toriumi
Music: Masayuki Yamamoto
“[We] would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids and your stupid dog too!” the Dorombo Gang shouts as they peddle away on their bike, their plans to steal the elusive pieces of the Skull Stone foiled yet again.
Okay, okay, so no one actually yells that, but, after in watching these six episodes, the phrase does have a bit of truth to it. With promises of riches fueling them, the Dorombo Gang, a trio of “ambitious, amazing, and accomplished” “criminal masterminds,” are ordered by the mysterious Dokurobe to seek out the missing pieces of the Skull Stone. Regardless of the faulty information they often receive from their boss, their plans are always ruined by Yatterman, a heroic duo, and their robot dog, Yatterwan.
Each episode pretty much follows the same pattern of events. The Dorombo Gang, with their new iffy business venture, are given the location of a possible Skull Stone and set out in their mech of the week; Yatterman inevitably finds out and gives chase (catchy theme song included). The Dorombo Gang looks around said location for a bit before Yatterman arrives and Gan (voiced by Yoshiko Ota) and his girlfriend, Ai (Mari Okamoto), defeat the two male members of Dorombo, Tonzler and Boyacky; Tonzler and Boyacky jump back into their mech with Doronjo, at which point Yatterwan ends the fight by spewing out his miniature mecha animals of the week, and the Dorombo Gang peddle away on their bike and are punished for failing yet again to find a piece of the Skull Stone while Gan, Ai, Yatterwan, and the cube robot that often accompanies them shout their catchphrase and laugh. Though the formula can get a bit boring, I did enjoy it mainly because it delivers what I expected it to but in a way that is fun to watch.
The thing about Yatterman is that it feels like one of those Saturday morning cartoons you watch as a kid. It may not be particularly great, but you keep going back week after week because it’s silly fun and there’s nothing better to do on a Saturday morning. For that reason, it’s difficult to be too hard on Yatterman. The animation’s a bit dated, sure, but it evokes a kind of nostalgia–personally, I kept thinking back to really old Scooby Doo episodes. The characters are one dimensional, but entertaining to watch, especially the Dorombo Gang because they’re obviously not cut out for their evil villain profession. Not to mention the show has some pretty catchy theme songs that you can’t help but hum along to the more you hear them. Everything about Yatterman, so far, manages to worm its way into the heart and make the show fun.
Admittedly, the taste I got here leaves me wanting to know how the story ends. Who is Dokurobe? Is the Skull Stone just a big hoax? Do the other 102 episodes follow the same pattern as these first 6? Since the members of the Dorombo Gang were starting to realize the futility of what they were doing, I’d like to think that something else happens somewhere along the line. Though, considering the nature of the anime, I wouldn’t doubt, either, that it manages to run with the formula it has for the rest of it’s air time. It’s a kids show at heart, so why would kids care if all the fights are nearly the same?
These episodes are neither bad but neither great. They have a certain charm–catchy songs and a habit of misspelling the places the characters visit (New Yark, anyone?) and silliness but whether the rest of the anime can go beyond that is doubtful. It doesn’t really need to though. As I mentioned before, this chunk of episodes really does have the feel of an old Saturday morning cartoon like Scooby Doo. The episodes go by quickly and usually bring a smile to my face at one point or another. That Saturday morning feel, though, is a double edged sword because it’s also what makes the show compelling to watch. Because the nature of the show is so simple, it doesn’t make you continually pay attention during its lulls in certain scenes.
As much as it makes me smile, I can’t see myself watching any more of Yatterman beyond these six episodes. It’s not that I regret watching it or that I think it was bad, it’s just not something that I’d want to force myself to sit down and watch. Yatterman never really excited me or made me want to see what happens next. I don’t want to ruin the enjoyment I did get from what I’ve seen, and I think seeing more of the same would eat away at what made Yatterman fun. I’d recommend giving the first episode a shot though, because, even if the show may not have really been my cup of tea, it may hold more for you.
You can find it streaming for free on Anime Sols.
