‘Domo’ Arigato, Mr. Usaji

November 22, 2009 Patrick Hickey Jr. DVD & Blu-Ray 0

domoOver the past two months, 7-Eleven stores nationwide have featured “Domo,” the television mascot for Japan’s NHK station, on Slurpee cups, producing somewhat of a mass hysteria surrounding the lovable yet eccentric character. Adorable and irresistibly charismatic, the weird-looking, rice-eating and guitar-playing dude was also the focus of a series on Nickelodeon, which featured him and his friends and their zany adventures. Good-natured and warm fun, the shorts are also done in stop-motion animation, similar to shows like “Gumby” and “Wallace & Gromit,” adding even more zest to an already zestfully clean character.

Now compiled onto DVD, “Domo: Vol. One” is an excellent introduction to the character and his world. As far as the characters and series go, “Domo” is a departure from everything out now and is a complete blast from the past. There are no foul-mouthed children or talking milkshakes in the shorts, and the ideas and concepts developed there are anything but controversial. The shorts themselves aren’t all that funny, but they do take you back to a time when simplicity meant more than outright hilarity. There’s a wholesomeness and feel to them that both children and adults alike can enjoy.

That is possibly Domo’s biggest strength.

That, and his charm.

Regardless of what it is he is doing, Domo has an uncanny ability to make you smile. It doesn’t matter if he’s upset about losing his balloon or plugging his headphones into the ground, he’s utterly irresistible. The same thing goes for his trusty friend, Mr. Usaji, who serves as a father figure, and his energetic and equally adorable pals, Tashanna, Bear Boy and Hungry Bear, always find a way to join in on the fun.

Add in solid animation that fans of films such as “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “The Corpse Bride” will fall in love with, and you have more than enough levity to quench any animation fan’s appetite.

Fifteen bucks may be a bit much to shell out for a 50-minute DVD, but the feeling you get when all is said and done is one that doesn’t come along often. Not only do you want to see more of Domo and his pals, but you don’t mind going on the same adventures with them all over again.

Because of that, “Domo: Vol. One” is a sleeper hit and is a DVD that is sure to satisfy.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13868 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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