Dokonjo Gaeru

Dokonjō Gaeru (ど根性ガエル lit. Gutsy Frog) is a Shonen manga and anime from The Seventies, created by Yasumi Yoshizawa. The manga was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1970 to 1976, then had two TV series (in 1972-1974 and 1981-1982). It has reached cult status in Latin America and especially in Chile.

This is the story of a middle school boy named Hiroshi and Pyonkichi, a rather special talking frog. One day, Pyonkichi is jumping around and minding his own business, and then Hiroshi crashes on him. Somehow, Pyonkichi survives... as his soul sorta becomes an imprint on Hiroshi's shirt. Since Hiroshi is very poor and that's his only good shirt, he's forced to keep it as well as Pyonkichi, who becomes a sort-of member of his family and his best friend...

Yep, this is one really weird show.


 * Animal Motifs: Aside of frogs, we have gorillas... for the local bully.
 * The said bully's sidekick is named Mogura, which is Japanese for "mole". As his name implies, he can dig underground.
 * Birds of a Feather: Both Pyonkichi and Hiroshi are Hot-Blooded Big Eaters who won't give up ever.
 * A Boy and His X: A boy and his talking shirt! ... Sorta.
 * Chef of Iron: Sankakubei is a somewhat odd Supreme Chef... and a rather badass martial artist.
 * Cool Shades: Hiroshi is never seen without a pair of shades on his head.
 * Disappeared Dad: Hiroshi's father is explicitely mentioned to be deceased, so he lives with his Housewife mother.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gorilla-Imo frequently bullies Hiroshi, but he does have a soft-side, such as his love of cats.
 * Names to Know in Anime: Masako Nozawa plays Hiroshi, Noriko Ohara voices his mother. In the second series Hideyuki Tanaka plays Minami-sensei, Keiko Toda is Yoshiko-sensei and Kei Tomiyama is Sankakubei.
 * No Name Given: The sushi parlor owner/Sankakubei's boss, Hiroshi's mother.
 * Older Than They Look: Goro looks like a grade schooler.
 * One-Hit Wonder: This was Yasumi Yoshizawa's first manga and the only one that was successful. Since then he created dozens of other titles, but they all failed to gain interest.
 * The Ojou: Kyouko Yoshizawa is middle to high class.
 * Plucky Girl: Kyouko is this, too.
 * Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: Yoshiko-sensei is pursued by Minami (hinted to be from a rich family) and Sakakubei (Hiroshi's Big Brother Mentor who works as a sushi chef). She barely seems to notice their interest in her.
 * Perpetual Poverty: Almost everyone in the series, starting with Hiroshi.
 * Supreme Chef: Sakakubei, justified as he works as a chef in the local sushi bar.
 * Slice of Life
 * Tokyo Movie Shinsha: Both TV shows were produced by TMS, one of their more well-known (in Japan) properties.
 * Tsundere: Kyouko is a Type B.
 * Also Yoshiko Yamanaka.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: Hiroshi's mother.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: Hiroshi's mother.