Keroro Platoon

The nihongo|Keroro Platoon|ケロロ小隊|Keroro Shōtai is a fictional platoon from the anime and manga series "Sgt. Frog" led by Sergeant Keroro. While most platoons contain thirty or forty soldiers, the Keroro Platoon only has a meager five. Its full name is the nihongo|Gamma Planetary System, the 58th Planet, Space Invasion Army Special Tactics Platoon|ガマ星雲　第58番惑星　宇宙侵攻軍特殊先行工作部隊|Gama Seiun Dai Gojūhachiban Wakusei Uchū Shinkōgun Tokushu Senkō Kōsaku Butai.

Information

The initial operation of the Keroro Platoon was to stealthly survey Earth and relay information to the awaiting Keron Invasion Army. The five members were dispatched throughout Greater Tokyo and surrounding area to assess Earth's weakness and prepare for total military takeover. Having quickly infiltrated the Hinata house, Sergeant Keroro concealed himself in one of the bedrooms, but was accidentally discovered by the Hinata children, a pair of middle school siblings. Shocked by their ability to see him, he was overpowered, captured and temporarily stripped of his weapon, the Kero Ball. With Keroro coming into direct contact with the Earthlings, the invading army lost their element of surprise, deemed the campaign compromised and immediately started withdrawal procedures from Earth's orbit.

Abandoned by the army and without the support of his platoon, Keroro must unite his scattered soldiers, survive his prisoner of war manual labor, and outwit his captors. He is eventually united with his platoon and subsequently given revised orders to continue the invasion campaign, but by themselves. Now, they must fulfill their new mission, protect their human friends, their home base, and save the Earth from other alien invaders. And still have time for Keroro to make his Gunpla models.

The platoon's hierarchy in military rank is similar to the Army ranks of the Japanese Empire during World War II and have based certain weapons and terms after the Imperial Japanese Military, but remains faithful to the perception of the alien invader with higher technological achievements.

Members and allies

Members

;nihongo|Sergeant Keroro|ケロロ軍曹|Keroro-gunsō: The erstwhile leader and eternal antihero of the series, Keroro is usually pretty easygoing (to the point of laziness), but can be charismatic, resourceful, and even manipulative if he believes it will serve his interests. Although Keroro is clever and implied to have been a very good soldier in the past, he is typically ruled by his hobbies (especially Gundam models), easy to emotionally cow, and distracted by pretty much everything. He's typically the butt of the series' humor, usually after taking advantage of his Earthling hosts or his other squad members (though often enough through simple bad luck). If surrounded by enough humidity, Keroro becomes "Keroro From Back Then", where his physical and mental strength increase drastically, and he becomes dangerously aggressive. Of the entire Keroro Platoon, he has the most Pokopen Suits, possessing ten total. He often ends his sentences with "de arimasu"', a formal term for "it is" or "let it be so" - and particularly associated with those in the armed forces. His birthday is on December 9th, which is a mere week after Natsumi's birthday (see below about more of their rivalry). The name "Keroro" comes from "kerokero", the Japanese word for the sound a frog makes. He is the only platoon member whose resonance is not a simple repeat of the first two syllables of his name (Keroro's resonance sound is "gerogerogero..." as opposed to Tamama's "tamatamatama..." or Giroro's "girogirogiro..."). His emblem is a star. He is the traditional green of a frog.

; nihongo|Corporal Giroro|ギロロ伍長|Giroro-gochō: The platoon's combat specialist, the series' maniac, and often Kururu's guinea pig. Giroro is a grizzled veteran, and is often at odds with Keroro and Kururu for their unmilitary demeanor and lack of dedication to the invasion. Giroro has a scar across his left eye that is rumored to have been inflicted by Keroro in a fight long ago. He has a fierce temper that sometimes drives him into "combat mode", where he aggressively attacks the enemy, speaking in only simple words and ignoring all other orders. However, he has a soft spot for Natsumi Hinata that eventually develops into a full-blown crush. Giroro also has a rivalry with Kururu that borders between love and hate. His love for Natsumi sometimes gets in the way of invasion operations, almost as much as Keroro's lack of focus. Similarly, though, once the rest of the platoon becomes aware of his crush, they will often use it to manipulate Giroro to agreeing with their plans (usually by implying that, somehow, whatever they're planning will make Natsumi happy). Giroro also acquires a pet cat that is in love with him. Giroro lives in a tent, concealed from busybodies by Keronian technology, in the backyard of the Hinata household. He and Kururu tie for the least amount of unique Pokopen Suits, having only two each. His name derives from the Japanese word "girogiro", which is an adjective describing sharp-looking eyes. His emblem is a skull, which he only wears on his hat; in place of the emblem the other frogs have on their bellies, he has a belt that conceals a picture of Natsumi, which he considers a talisman. Without it, his performance on and off the battlefield is crippled. Giroro's speech trait is not as obvious as others (like Keroro's "de arimasu", Tamama's "desu~", Kururu's "da ze~", or Dororo's "de gozaru"), but he often ends his sentences with "da", another form of the normal "desu" ("it is") which is most often used by "manly" characters.

; nihongo|Private Second Class Tamama|タママ二等兵|Tamama-nitohei: Tamama is the youngest, least experienced member of the platoon, and the resident physical combatant (despite appearances). This is represented in two ways: his emblem is the mirror image of the Shoshinsha mark, a Japanese emblem for "New Driver", and he has a tadpole-like tail. Like a tadpole, Tamama is black. He refers to himself as the "cute and lovely" member of the Keroro platoon. Tamama is also inordinately fond of sweets, and Giroro seems to think living with the fabulously wealthy Momoka has spoiled him. He loves to eat junk food and read manga. Tamama is prone to mood swings; due to his split personality (like Nishizawa Momoka), the slightest provocation can cause him to go from cute and happy to a violent lunatic who can fire an energy blast (known as "Tamama Impact", "Neo Tamama Impact", or "Hyper Tamama Impact", depending on the strength) from his mouth as well as multi-targeting eye beams, and a dark sphere formed by condensing ambient jealousy (called the "Jealousy Shot" which derives from the Japanese word "shitto", which means "jealousy"). This usually gets him in more trouble than he already is, though. Tamama seems to believe in returning any and all favors to him or to the Sergeant. His devotion to the Sergeant is slightly obsessive to the point of wanting relations with him (in volume four of the manga while drunk he claims that his New Year's resolution is to have a romantic love affair with Keroro); he will sometimes attempt to discredit or destroy others in order to get closer to the Sergeant, although no-one else seems to notice his jealousy. He is particularly hateful of Angol Mois, whose affection for Keroro is much more pure. He has four different Pokopen Suits, granting him the second highest number of suits after Keroro. He often ends his sentences with "desu~", which roughly translates as "it is" (a less formal version of Keroro's "de arimasu" and perhaps the most common way modern Japanese says "it is" - but Tamama lengthens it in a way that would be considered "cute"). His name is derived from the Japanese word for "tadpole", "otamajakushi". In addition, the Japanese word "tamatama" means "unexpected" or "unpredictable", which describes his personality rather accurately.

; nihongo|Sergeant Major Kururu|クルル曹長|Kururu-sōchō|a.k.a 9-6-6: The platoon's intelligence and strategic planning officer. He is yellow, with an orange cap and usually wearing headphones. Though technically superior in rank to Keroro, he defers to him on most issues (usually because Keroro is supplying the funding for his bizarre experiments). He is thoroughly unmilitary, and as such is on very poor terms with Giroro. Though, as of the third season, Kururu is shown to have a twisted affection for Giroro. Out of the five, he's considered the least popular because of his gloomy and inquisitive nature, which leads him to play elaborate pranks on those around him. He's also an inventor and unabashed pervert, as many of his devices are designed with what Keroro calls a "kinky role-play effect" in mind (such as the age-changing rays from manga chapters 23 and 24, and the "oni-girl" gun from chapter 31). Despite his unmotivated attitude and resistance to advice, he has a weakness in the form of Angol Mois, sometimes seeing her as a source of income, though uncomfortable at being stared at by her (according to the "Learn to Draw Kururu" (Keroro Platoon Authorized! Passionate Learn to Draw Song!!) song he sings during the end credits of Episodes 47 and 48, he is extremely discomforted by people with entirely pure hearts). As a reference to his being the "yellow" member of the Keroro Platoon, Kururu loves curry; in Episode 118 in the anime, he is even seen bathing in it. In , an extra feature involving the childhood of Keroro and his friends is included. In the feature, Kururu falls into a bowl of curry rice, causing his blue skin to turn yellow from soaking in curry too much. Many of the things that happen in the series revolve around the crazy inventions he comes up with. Of the entire Keroro Platoon, Kururu has the fewest suits, tied with Giroro; both only have two. His name derives from the Japanese word "kurukuru", which means "spinning" or "twisted". Also, Kururu is a hunchback, which is "kuru" in Japanese. He also has a codename (the numbers 9-6-6), because 9-6-6 is "ku-ru-ru" when pronounced separately. His name is frequently romanized as "Kululu" in the manga and anime, but the Tokyopop translation of the manga used "Kururu" until Volume 11, when Kadokawa requested a change to "Kululu" in all future volumes and reprints of prior volumes. His emblem is a swirl (resembling his thick glasses). Kururu punctuates things with a stand-out laugh, "Ku~ ku ku". He does this when he gets the upper hand on someone, when the tables are turned on him, when he's being mysterious, or when he's just being a jerk - and frequently in place of actual dialogue. He does have a speech trait ("da yo" "it is", or "da ze") although he uses it to a much lesser extent than Tamama, Keroro, and Dororo. He also makes frequent use of the word "pochito" when (literally) pressing buttons in the anime, which translates to "I press" and when his glasses shatter or get lost, he'll say "megane, megane" ("my glasses, my glasses").

; nihongo|Lance Corporal Dororo|ドロロ兵長|Dororo-heichō: The quiet one. He is blue with light blue eyes. Originally named Zeroro, he is always calm, and never loses his temper. He was trained to be the top assassin in the Keronian Army. Since coming to Earth, however, he has begun following the way of the ninja (along with his "owner", Koyuki), and become an avid nature lover. Thus, he always objects to plans that would damage Earth's eco-system. He also never kills a living thing; he always uses the back of his sword to strike his opponents, so as not to harm them. He first met Koyuki when he got caught in a kappa trap she made. Dororo's name change may be linked to the fact that the forest Koyuki found him in has the same name. He's known Keroro and Giroro since they were little, and though they were "friends", Keroro took advantage of Dororo more often than not. Perhaps appropriate for a ninja, Dororo lacks presence - and is therefore often forgotten or ignored by the rest of the squad. He is often reminded of Keroro's abuses of their "friendship" when they were young, which usually results in him breaking down crying from his "Trauma Switch" turning on. Dororo has three Pokopen Suits, putting him barely ahead of Kururu and Giroro. He often ends his sentences with "de gozaru" (an archaic form of the normal "desu", used by samurais and ninjas in Japanese TV series and movies describing the Sengoku era). His name derives from "doron", which is a Japanese onomatopoeia for disappearing like a ninja. In addition, the Japanese word "dorodoro" means syrupy, which can refer to his sentimental tendencies and the image of him crying in trauma. (It should be noted that there is an anime about ninja called Dororo.) His emblem is a shuriken. He does not wear the military hats of other Kerons; instead, he wears a skull cap with loose fabric hanging like a curtain around the back and sides of his head. Also, he wears a face mask that covers his mouth and where his nose would be - typical ninja garb - although he is seen wearing a gas mask in some scenes where he is still part of the Keronian Military, and he wears a surgical mask in flashbacks that take place during his childhood.He is easily forgotten or left behind.

Allies (Human)

; nihongo|Fuyuki Hinata|日向 冬樹|Hinata Fuyuki|Codename: "Winter": Fuyuki is a 13-year-old boy who captures Keroro and keeps him in his house. Fuyuki is a fan of the paranormal, including aliens and UFOs, so naturally he's delighted to have a real alien living in his home. He is average in academics and sports, somewhat naive and absent-minded, and doesn't know how to swim, but Fuyuki is considered a genius (the move he used in this batin the field of paranormal studies (and scary stories). He is also quite the detective and can be very cunning when he's trying to crack a case. Despite Keroro's repeated attempts to conquer the Earth, Fuyuki develops something resembling a friendship with Keroro as the series progresses. If the sergeant goes too far in an invasion scheme, Fuyuki will get so mad that in the manga his face will not be shown when he gets this way. This anger is more than enough to make Keroro change his mind on invasion, Natsumi mentions that even she can't stop him once he's like this. Although Momoka shows her love for him in obvious and various ways, he has absolutely no clue that she likes him, although he might have some feelings for her. The name "Fuyuki" means "winter tree", and nihongo|"winter"|冬|fuyu is written on his room's door.

; nihongo|Natsumi Hinata|日向 夏美|Hinata Natsumi|a.k.a. "723"/Codename: "Summer"/"Devil Summer": Natsumi is Fuyuki Hinata's 14-year-old big sister. She is smart and athletic, but also emotional, and somewhat overprotective of her brother; in grade school, Natsumi's fierce temper earned her the nickname "Devil Summer", known to use her strength in purely protection of her brother, while it is actually questionable. Natsumi is frequently suspicious of the aliens, and pushes Keroro around whenever she can. She also has a huge one-sided crush on Mutsumi Saburo and she listens to his radio show any time she can (Although she doesn't know that it is his show because he uses the code name 623). Her three measurements (in cm) are 80-56-80, her birthday is December 2nd, and she has a deep fear of slugs. Although she refers to Keroro as "boke-gaeru" ("stupid frog"), she generally gets along with the rest of the Keroro Platoon, and even develops feelings for Giroro as time passes. Although Natsumi is super-strong, there is one sport that she couldn't defeat Keroro in, and that is swimming (after all, he is a "frog"-type alien). She later on is given a neck brace made by Kururu that gives her the armor and abilities of a Gundam Robot and she helps the gang in battle whenever they most need her. The name "Natsumi" means "summer beauty", and "summer" is written on her bedroom door in English. Her code-number, 723, is derived from her name; "na" from "nana" "7", "tsu" from the Japanese pronunciation of "2", and "mi" "3".

; nihongo|Aki Hinata|日向 秋|Hinata Aki: Fuyuki and Natsumi's stunningly beautiful (and incredibly buxom) single mother. Aki is a manga editor who decided to base the main character of her latest manga on Keroro. She is also a black belt aikido master, and the strongest member of the Hinata family. She's surprised (and a bit disappointed) by how "normal" Keroro's lifestyle on Earth is. Her three measurements (in cm) are 92-60-86, and she has a strange attraction to things that are sticky and moist. Her name, "Aki", means "autumn" in Japanese.
Humorously, she was mentally pictured by Natsumi and Fuyuki as Eva Unit One going Beserk (a reference to what Eva Unit One actually is) when she was first mentioned in the manga.

; nihongo|Momoka Nishizawa|西澤 桃華|Nishizawa Momoka|Codename: "Peach": A 13-year old bipolar multi-billionaire (she is the only child of the head of the Nishizawa zaibatsu) who has a huge crush on Fuyuki. She is the "owner" of Tamama, and like him she appears very cute and innocent, but has a manipulative and violent side. One time, she and her violent side's hearts were so unconnected that they split up into two Momokas, but were reunited into one body with the help of Keroro and some synchronized swimming. Sometimes, the calm Momoka can communicate with her violent side, but in mind, so when Momoka is talking to the other one, to other people, it looks like she's talking to herself (and she is). She puts much of her vast fortune into her romantic pursuit of Fuyuki, with only limited success. Even when she's trying to admit her love for Fuyuki personally, she always gets interrupted by an alien or another human. Her name derives from "momo", the Japanese word for "peach"; the "ka" derives from a different reading of "hana", the Japanese word for "flower".

; Paul Moriyama: Momoka's butler and sometime-bodyguard. He is fiercely protective of his mistress, and willing to do anything for Momoka, from helping with her efforts to win over Fuyuki to risking his life for hers. As a war veteran, he has a rather strong feeling of camaraderie with the Keronian invaders (especially Giroro), whom he sees as fellow soldiers. Paul was defeated by Momoka's father, Nishizawa Baio, many years ago in a battle ("Pōru-Reppa" was a parody of Ken Masters' "Shōryū Reppa" from the Street Fighter video game), becoming one of the most favored Nishizawa butlers. He is sometimes accompanied by other soldiers, minor recurring characters who are seen protecting Momoka or tracking things in their headquarters.

; nihongo|Mutsumi Saburo|ムツミ・サブロー|Mutsumi Saburō|a.k.a. "623-326": Classmate of Natsumi, known as Mutsumi Hojo in the manga. A poet/artist/philosopher who skips class a lot. He has his own radio show which Natsumi listens to. His partner is Sergeant Major Kururu ("Kururu-sōchō"), who gave him a pen that allows him to draw anything and make it appear. In the manga, Mutsumi first met the Sergeant Major when the Keronian tried to strike off on his own and turn the students of Saburo's school into his servants. The reason that the two get along so well is because they share the same wavelength. Saburo is a genius, who got a perfect score of 300 out of 300 on an IQ test, and is excellent at sports as well. He has a hard time fitting in with his classmates (especially the male ones) because of this. Although Mutsumi is extremely clever and observant, he seems unaware of Natsumi's crush on him. Every time he comes near Natsumi, he is pushed aside by a jealous Giroro. Mutsumi also makes a few appearances in the anime series "Seven of Seven". His nickname comes from a form of Japanese number wordplay.

; nihongo|Koyuki Azumaya|東谷 小雪|Azumaya Koyuki|Codename: Snow: A 14-year-old kunoichi who is the partner of Dororo and the one who introduced him to the ways of the ninja. She has cheerful and peppy personality, and is never seen to be as angry as Natsumi would be with Keroro if he causes chaos. Koyuki is an incredibly talented fighter (she beat Momoka Nishizawa, who was wearing the latest in Nishizawa group battle suit technology in addition to her impressive berserker skills, in a fight over a ticket to a hot spring trip) who came from her hidden ninja village in the country with Dororo to help him find the rest of his squad. Since she lived away from the city for her whole childhood, she continues to go along with the ways of the ninja, even when a lot of people are looking (such as "walking" a mall wall from the outside), and is unfamiliar with Japanese culture (such as giving chocolate to the person a girl likes on Valentine's Day, the Japanese way of New Year's, and Hinamatsuri). She attends the same school as Fuyuki, Natsumi, and Momoka (although she continues to wear her old school uniform). The "Azumaya" part of Koyuki's name means "Eastern Valley" ("azuma" means "east"; "ya" is another way to pronounce "tani", which means "valley"), the "ko" of "Koyuki" means "small", and the "yuki" means "snow".

Allies (Alien)

; Angol Mois:Angol Mois is the "King of Terror", who is ditzy and insecure as a result of her impact from space. She was sent to planet Earth to arrive in July 1999 for Earth's destruction, as predicted by Nostradamus, under orders from her father. She states during her first appearance that she told Nostradamus to deliver a message to the humans warning them of her arrival. In the anime, she arrives 500 years too early and takes a nap in orbit, until she wakes up in 2004, 5 years too late. In the manga, she lands near Fuyuki, while in the anime, she lands on Giroro's tent. In both, she is taken into the Hinatas' home, where she is nursed back to health by Natsumi. When she wakes up, she reveals her true form and starts to destroy the Earth, until Keroro, who arrives later, is persuaded by Fuyuki to stop Mois. The Angols use seemingly magical weapons to destroy planets. Her weapon is the "Lucifer Spear", which, when not in use, looks and functions like a cellphone. When she is using her attack, "Hellmageddon", the Lucifer Spear becomes a golden staff with a crescent moon on one end and a meteor on the other end. She uses the meteor end to initiate Hellmageddon. She is close friends with Keroro, who she calls "oji-sama", which means, roughly, "uncle". Whenever she sees anyone hitting Keroro is any way, she transforms and uses a watered down version of Hellmageddon, which usually catches others, including Keroro, in the blast. Tamama often competes with her for Keroro's attention (and affection). Her transformation sequences, stylized costume, and related accessories may make her a parody of the magical girl genre. As an added note, Mois' Pekopon form wears a hair clip explicitly in the shape of the Science Patrol's Ryuusei-mark in the anime (while the girl whose form/soul she "borrowed" has an Ultra Garrison-mark hair clip). Her name is frequently used in puns on the Japanese phrase "moe-moe", which usually refers to a cute girl who appeals to older members of the audience.

:To blend in with the Earth people, Mois also transforms into a tanned, bleached-blonde teenage kogal who is always seen in a school uniform and loose socks. Her true form is a pale gray-haired girl who wears a purple-and-white magical girl costume. Although the King of Terror, she is anything but terrifying. She's sweet, clumsy, and peppy but can be scary when she's in Angol form, and uses her Lucifer Spear to split the Earth. She got her Earth-look from when she first arrived in 1999 (2004 in the anime), before she met the Hinatas. In the anime she saw a teenage girl (named Masami) who was beating up some thugs in order to protect her friends. Amazed by her courage, she decided to be like that girl and chose her appearance as her Earth-form. In the manga she saw a girl shake off her friend/underling and decided to become like her, following her father's advice to think only of herself while on her mission.

; Alisa Southerncross: Protector of Fuyuki (at times) and ally of the Keroro Platoon. Originally an enemy of the Keroro Platoon, she is a toy doll who is trying to become human with the help of her adoptive father Nevula, who forms her kitty-ears bow on her head. Alisa, although late in the series to appear, has made frequent appearances in Seasons 3 and 4. Often angers Momoka Nishizawa by simply referring to Hinata Fuyuki as "Fuyuki" with no title/honorific.

; Sumomo: A pink Keronian-like alien, Sumomo was a character in a one-shot side story in the manga, but in the anime she's a highly popular idol singer who makes the occasional recurring appearance. Members of her species, the Axolotl (a play on the amphibian group that includes newts and salamanders), are able to change shape from a Keronian-like form to a human-like form via rapid thyroxine secretion.

; Karara: A green Keronian Tadpole that always appears with either her childhood friend Taruru, or her twin sister Chiroro. She met and was trained by Tamama and became the Private Third Class of the Keroro Platoon. In her later appearances, she comes to Earth to hide from her father, Dobaba, who was attempting to kill her as punishment for the trouble she caused the Keroro Platoon and her father in her first appearance. In these situations, she always gets saved by, and falls in love with, a different member of the Keroro Platoon.

; Kogoro:(556) A human-like alien and space detective who is a childhood friend of Keroro. He isn't very good at his job, and instead lives in a cheap apartment on a shoestring budget. Kogoro seems to grin and laugh all the time, regardless of his actual feelings. His hobbies include collecting colored boxes. His appearance and mannerisms are a parody of Kenji Ooba, the star of the tokusatsu series "Space Sheriff Gavan".

; Lavie: Kogoro's younger sister, a shy and sweet girl with rabbit ears who helps support her brother by taking part-time jobs. She is the only one who can tell how Kogoro is really feeling.

Allies (other)

;Neko : Giroro's beloved cat that lives with him and the Hinata family. She was first found as a stray who Giroro found in the rain during episode 12. Neko began to befriend Giroro and lives with him in his tent. Neko continuously appears throughout the series and in some episodes turns into a human using a special gun made by Kururu. In episode 32 Neko is jealous of Natsumi.

ee also

Garuru Platoon