Though it was pretty much no more than an advertisement for the store Gamers, Di Gi Charat has become so popular that it has reached a status far beyond that of "commercial". It's chaotic, hyper-cute nature has spawned so many spinoffs and sequels that it's practically mind-boggling. So, does it meet the hype? The short answer is yes, but the long answer is so much more interesting!

The only anime that comes anywhere close to the chaos that is Di Gi Charat would be Excel Saga, another anime that is well known for it's chaotic comedy style. But what happens when you mix that style of comedy with the cuteness of, say, Hello Kitty? Di Gi Charat is what you get; it's an insanity-filled trip with no shortage of overwhelming cuteness. In fact, Puchiko, one of the three aliens that comes to Earth, is probably the cutest anime character I've ever seen.

What really makes the comedy work, though, is the cast of characters that deliver it. From a large, upside-down floating yellow blob called Gema to a 14-year-old that dabbles in exorcising clam spirits to a girl that attaches the syllable "-nyo" to the end of every sentence, every character is just so unique in such a crazy way that it makes me wonder what the creators were taking to think up some of these things.

Unfortunately, there really isn't any plot at all in Di Gi Charat. On the other hand, it's amazing that so much stuff actually happens in the three-minute episodes. I don't really view the lack of plot as a major problem, though. The anime seems to work perfectly fine even without them. The other problem with Di Gi Charat is that the visuals aren't very well done. Often times, there isn't even a background in a particular scene, and the backgrounds that do exist are neither detailed nor really noticable at all. Also, with the exception of the upbeat opening theme, the music is generic and boring.

However, unless you really like your anime to be completely insane, I wouldn't really recommend Di Gi Charat. If you've seen Excel Saga and it wasn't really your kind of anime, then Di Gi Charat probably won't be for you. On the other hand, if you liked something like Azumanga Daioh, you'll probably enjoy Di Gi Charat as much as I did -nyo!