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AKA: Tea Dogs
Genre: Young children's animation
Length: Television series, 26 episodes, 3.5 minutes each
Distributor: Currently unlicensed In North America
Content Rating: G (absolutely nothing objectionable)
Related Series: N/A
Also Recommended: Hamtaro, Hello Kitty, Unico
Notes:
Rating:

Ocha-Ken

Synopsis

Cute tiny puppies in every hue, named after different tea blends (and coffee!) romp around doing nothing of any consequence. A lady narrator interprets and we all go "awww" and stare at the screen in an empty "brain drain" stare a la Joey from Blossom.


Review

Sega's latest merchandising scheme (and the most recent McDonald's Happy Meal toy) are adorable puppies with names like Chai, Earl, Coffee, Fruits ... you get the idea. In tiny 3-minute morsels, we get a cute, albeit utterly pointless story featuring one of the pups.

... and that's about it. It's really hard for me to come up with any material for this review, because I'm really lukewarm about the whole deal There's nothing to hate about the series, but I don't necessarily like it, either.

The animation itself isn't anything spectacular, though the artwork is very enjoyable and relaxing to view due to the absence of black line drawings and instead using layering colors and geometric shapes. It's reminiscent of those cute little felt cut-out toys we all had as toddlers.

Adventures range from drinking tea to a rainy day ruining playtime plans. Again, nothing terribly grabbing, and probably prime material for some kind of voice-over parody.

It makes me wonder why someone bothered subbing this series in the first place. Japanese practice for a student? It's not like this series is any large contribution to Japanese society or anything.

Unless you like cute fluffy things, don't bother with this series. It is pointless and an empty investment. But if you can enjoy it for what it is -- an animated merchandise tie-in -- you might get a tickle out of it.

Nothing great, but a far cry better than a large number of current anime titles out right now. Sad, really. Take away a star if you really would rather watch something lolicon, add a star if you're some kind of wacky Hello Kitty 'all things cute' fanatic. Melissa Sternenberg

Recommended Audience: These segments would fit in perfectly with any episode of Sesame Street. You have to stretch your imagination pretty far to come up with anything unsuitable.



Version(s) Viewed: digital source
Review Status: Full (26/26)
Ocha-Ken © 2003 SEGA Toys / HORIPRO
 
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