#MechaMarch2022: Doamygar-D

After spending so much time with longer series for this entire month, I think it’s time for just once to dive into a pretty fun short anime. I was originally planning on a movie that I didn’t want to watch, so a short anime series like this one really fit the bill for the sense of variety. I mean, there is a reason why I wanted different types of mecha (or not mecha) shows for this month and there is some intrigue into watching this one too. For instance, seeing older anime and then what rifts from it years later is interesting. It shows how older shows are still relevant for one reason or another. Did I mention that this is the youngest show that I am discussing this month?

So what is Doamygar? Coming out in 2015, this is a thirteen episode tv short from that winter that I am pretty sure not a lot of people have watched. Including me by the way. I didn’t and mostly still don’t watch as much short anime as I could and that stills like quite a shame. Considering that each episode is only three minutes in length, it’s a very short yet pretty interesting series. A 39 minute singular super robot adventure focused on one singular character named Daijoro Kyougoku through his own small journey through Japanese baking and pastries. It sounds ridiculous, but anime is ridiculous. 

The scope of this anime is pretty simple. Set in Kyoto, Daijoro is the current successor of this specific confectionary shop. His grandfather passed away a while ago and his father is currently nowhere to be seen, so Daijoro most take up the master role in this shop until he’s ready.This is a show about him finding his place as the master of this shop and its traditions through various challenges he faces along the course of the story. Some episodes are just visitors of the shop turning into hungry mechacossuses and then are “defeated” from his piloting the Doamaygar to give them a snack. Others are a bit heavier like modern treats and Daijoro finds his way.

Created in what looks like Flash animation in 4:3, all of the art is a definitive flash back to the 1970’s. Even the muted color palette is a throw back considering to throw back even if it’s not as genuine of a feeling as it could be. Then again, I think the only way people can make a genuine retro experience is by having the series be retro in the first place. Still really dug it though. I love Daijoro’s character design of the 1970’s mecha protagonist in a bakery theme. Same with the cool mecha design of Doamygar and kaiju designs. The designs of these things including the different designs of these things but with a bakery theme is pretty cool. I would be able to distinguish these designs from any other series because of that specific look.

I don’t think that Doamygar-D is the greatest short mecha anime that ever existed, but it is a fun little throw back that was created with some obvious passion here. Something like Gekiganger 3 from Nadesico does a lot of the same thing this series does, but that has the benefit of being tied into the narrative of Martian Successor Nadesico in some interesting and complex ways. This show is simple and to the point with a lot of creativity from three minutes an episode, episodic story or not, to carry a pretty simple but good narrative for the whole experience here. I liked it because it is just fun. All that it needs to be. I do think that people who dip into 1970’s anime from time to time would get it more out of it, but it could be an intro maybe.