Piyoko
Coo
Rik
Ky
Minor characters

-Piyoko-

Full name: Pyocola Analogue III (Anaroogu Pyokora sansei)
(“Analogue” could be a reference to “analog,” which was a technology in use for more than 50 years to transmit conventional radio and TV signals. Dejiko mentions in the movie that she went to Akihabara (which is the electronical district of Japan) in order to learn more about technology in order to match Analogue’s technology, which implies that Analogue was more technologically advanced than Di Gi Charat, so this could be making reference to analog technology.)

Nicknames: Piyoko (often misspelled as “Pyoko”), Pyocola-sama, Panda girl (Panda musume)

Appearance: She is relatively short. She has short, blonde hair that usually curls up at the ends, and wide turquoise eyes. She wears a lot of layers (about four-five) and is dressed as a nurse. (Interestingly, her seiyuu, Megumi Hayashibara, is a certified nurse. However, this was most likely a coincidence since Piyoko first appeared in “From Gamers” (a comic series by Koge-Donbo) before appearing in the anime). She has panda ears and a tail (which are presumably fake, since she can remove them).

Position: Piyoko is the princess of Analogue, as well as the leader of the Black Gema Gema Gang.

Place of birth: Planet Analogue

Birthday: October 23

Height: 4’6”

Age: 8

Blood type: AB
Japanese people believe that type AB blood indicates a person who can do things efficiently and is good at building close relationships, but often take things other people say to heart too much, over-analyze things, and judge themselves harshly. Most of this is applicable to Piyoko.

Favorite foods: Créme filled cookies, butter sandwiches

Abilities: She cooks exceptionally well for her age (she is shown cooking kuromame (Japanese black beans) in the manga, and the rest of the group enjoys it very much, but pass out later on...).
Her special weapon is “mouth bazooka” (often translated as “upchuck bazooka”, but in Japanese, it is called kuchi kara bazuuka, which translates into “bazooka from the mouth”. Despite that, it is alluded to that her attack is powered by her vomit (Coo once began to say it but was promptly interrupted)). She often can’t use it because the gang has trouble getting food and she needs food to fuel it. In the Leave It To Piyoko anime, this is the attack she used to accidentally blow up a city.

Piyoko ends her sentences with “pyo”, like Dejiko’s “nyo”. It is uncertain why she makes this noise, since pandas obviously don’t make noises (Dejiko’s “nyo” is derived from “nya”, a Japanese cat noise). This may simply be a reference to her own name, which was submitted by a fan when she was first created.

Piyoko calls Dejiko “oneechan” (big sister), despite her being an enemy. In the manga, she explains that she had always wanted a big sister and she looks up to Dejiko like one. In the anime, Ky suggests that she call Dejiko that to catch Dejiko off guard.

Piyoko is very naïve. Though she tries to act “evil”, she is actually a very good girl. She treats the boys of her gang like family members, and even occasionally refers to them as such (Rik is “daddy”, Ky is “mommy” (even though he is, in fact, male), and Coo is her “brother”). Although this is true, she can also be a little bit selfish as well, but this is mostly just because of her age.

In the anime, the King and Queen of Analogue (her parents) left her with the Black Gema Gema Gang to keep her safe while they were fighting in the war (though they never admitted to her that they were at war, Rik tells her later on). She is supposed to return to her parents at age 13, but whether or not they are alive is unknown. Though the boys tell her that they were “hiding from the embarrassment of the failed war”, it is a possibility that they did not survive the war and the group doesn’t want to admit it to her. Whether or not this is true remains unrevealed.

Interestingly, it should be noted that, although Piyoko usually refers to people (in the Japanese version) as “kimi” (an average way of saying “you”), she also has a tendency to occasionally say “omae”, which is the most informal way of saying “you”. Coo is the only one who says “omae” on a regular basis, so it is a possibility she picked this habit up from him.

-Coo-

Full name: Coo Erhard (Eaharuto Kuu)

Nicknames: Major (Shousa)

Appearance: Like the other two of the PKO, Coo has a dog tail. He also wears a dog cap. He has short, dirty blonde hair, and reddish-brown eyes.

Position: Coo is the Major of the gang, as well as a physicist. According to the anime, back on their home planet, he left home to study to become a doctor in order to provide a service to Piyoko. This implies that Analogue has very low standards for doctors (since he is only a child), and that he may have a crush on Piyoko. (though keep in mind that I'm also terribly biased on this subject. *snicker*)

Place of birth: Planet Analogue

Birthday: May 5 (it’s note worthy that Coo’s birthday takes place on “Kodomo no Hi”, or “Children’s Day”. Many other holidays take place on this date, such as "Cinco de Mayo" and "International Midwives Day" (LOL))

Height: 5’1” (only 7 inches taller than Piyoko, although for some reason, she is often depicted much shorter than that in the anime)

Weight: 110 lb.

Age: 13

Blood type: O
Japanese people believe that type O blood indicates a carefree, smart, well-liked person, but they are usually stubborn, jump into things too quickly, and often mess things up. This is very much like Coo.

Favorite foods: Mochi (rice cake), natto (fermented soy beans, many people dislike this food for its bitter taste), most anything else. He has a bottomless stomach.

Abilities: He’s a physician.

The youngest boy out of the three PKO boys, Coo's job is to check on Piyoko's every now and then and make sure she's healthy (though it's hard to keep her healthy with how poor they are). He can tend to be a little selfish and even bratty at times because he doesn't like being bossed around. He and Ky especially have a lot of friction because Ky is often jealous of how close Coo is to Piyoko (they are childhood friends). Ky also thinks Coo "irresponsible," which makes him angry.

He can be cynical, but he usually laughs at boyish things. The little panda doll he wears on his shoulder was given to him by Piyoko when he left to study to be a doctor (Leave It To Piyoko anime only). In both the anime and the manga, she played with the panda doll by his bedside when he was sick to make him feel better, so he treasures it. In episode six of the anime, Puchiko points out that he’s not wearing it (it is explained that this was actually an animation problem, and that is was difficult to draw him with his panda on, but they managed to tie it into the story), and Coo pretends not to mind very much. It turns out it was with the laundry all along and Dejiko teases him about being shy.

In the Japanese version, it’s note-worthy that he uses many shortened, informal phrases in his dialect. Such examples are him referring to others as “omae”, which is the most informal way of saying “you”. He also refers to himself as “ore”, an exalted way of saying “I/me”.

He refers to Piyoko as Piyoko, which often wears on the nerves of Ky and Rik who think she deserves to be called by her proper name, but Coo insists that “to me, Piyoko will always be Piyoko”.

-Rik-

Full name: Rik Heisenberg (Haizenberuku Riku)
(The name “Rick” means “powerful”, or “rich ruler”. There is likely no significance to this.)

Nicknames: General (Gensui)

Appearance: Besides the standard dog ears, tail, and collar, Rik also wears a tie with his uniform. He has light purple hair, and dark brown/red eyes. He has glasses. He is very tall with very long legs (he comments in the anime that it’s his “best feature”).

Position: Rik the the General of the Black Gema Gema Gang and second in command. He is also a vet.

Place of birth: Planet Analogue

Birthday: April 4 (this is also "International Day for Landmine Awareness and Assistance" (LOL), Lesotho's "Heroes' Day", and Taiwan & Hong Kong's "Children's Day".

Height: 6’5”

Weight: 187 lb.

Age: 26

Blood type: AB
Japanese people believe that type AB blood indicates a person who can do things efficiently and is good at building close relationships, but often take things other people say to heart too much, over-analyze things, and judge themselves harshly. Most of this is applicable to Rik.

Favorite foods: Sushi, yakisoba (fried noodles)

Abilities: Rik is a veterinarian.

Rik looks like the most serious of the group, but he is actually rather silly most of the time. He is extremely fond of animals and always seems to have some kind of animal on his shoulders.

In the Leave It To Piyoko anime episode with Amaenbo (a little pink alien boy who Rik finds in a box and takes home), Rik seems to be very fond of the child-like creature and acts a lot like a father. This seems to display that he is very good with children.

He is often the one to formulate their “evil plans” to capture Dejiko, but they are usually very silly and fail.

Rik is extremely loyal to the King and Queen of Analogue, and is therefore very dedicated to his job of taking care of Piyoko and being an “evil” member of the Black Gema Gema Gang.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Rik. Not much of his backstory is ever developed, although in one of the official Di Gi Charat anthologies, it is alluded to that he was commonly teased and ignored in his younger years, as he has a flashback of peers calling him “dull”. This visibly offends him, though he doesn’t fight back, only saying “Feh...” in reply. This might imply that he had trouble making friends as a child and could be the reason he grew to love animals so much.

Also, in the manga “Piyo Piyo Piyoko-chan”, it is shown that he used to work as a janitor at Piyoko’s “Evil Prep School”, a job he never mentions elsewhere.

He speaks very formally, unlike Coo. He always calls Piyoko “Pyocola-sama” (-sama is a Japanese suffix that usually refers to people of high importance).

It’s note-worthy that in the Leave It To Piyoko anime’s flashback episode, he has long hard with bangs and a reddish-pink suit. This design was mostly a joke between the anime staff and Koge-Donbo. If there was any deeper intention to depicting him this way, it is unknown.

-Ky-

Full name: Ky Schweitzer (Shubaitsa Kai)

Nicknames: Lieutenant General (Chujou)

Appearance: Besides the standard dog ears, tail, and collar, Ky also wears a toothbrush and a cup on his uniform. In addition, he wears morning glories in his hair. He wears glasses. His hair is a purplish-blue and his eyes are a purplish-red.

Position: Ky is the Lieutenant General of the Black Gema Gema Gang as well as Piyoko’s dentist.

Place of birth: Planet Analogue

Birthday: March 3 (it is noteworthy that Ky's birthday takes place on Hinamatsuri, or "Girl's Day". LOL.)

Height: 5’7”

Weight: 123 lb.

Age: 17

Blood type: A (which could be a reference to his “type A” personality)
Japanese people believe that type A blood indicates a calm person who can be trusted, but is a little bit slow in the head and finds it difficult to trust others. Most of this is applicable to Ky.

Favorite foods: Mild curry rice

Abilities: Ky is a dentist.

Ky is the motherly one of he group, and it is often joked about in the fan community that he is a teensy bit girly because he is so sentimental and acts like a mother. He is extremely fond of Piyoko, to the point where it may even be considered obsessive. He grants most of her whims (even going as far as letting Piyoko ride him like a horse, complete with horse suit), but at the same time nags her (as well as the rest of the gang) quite a bit. Koge-Donbo even points out that he is very much like a mom.

Though generally tame and peaceful, he has aggressive tendencies towards Coo (this is due to his jealousy towards said boy over Piyoko), and will even physically injure him (slap, kick, even bounce like a basketball). Rik often ends up as the mediator for these two.

He’s also the most expressive of the PKO, and tends to change in mood very rapidly.

Unfortunately, even less about Ky’s past is known than Rik’s.

Interestingly, in the Leave It To Piyoko anime episode with Amaenbo (a little pink alien boy who Rik finds in a box and takes home), when Amaenbo starts crying, Ky panics and says that he’s “only a dentist” and doesn’t “know how to act in situations like this”, despite the fact that he’s the most maternal of the bunch.

In the Japanese version, Ky speaks even more formally than Rik. And, of course, he always refers to Piyoko as “Pyocola-sama”.

-Minor members-

There are many of Gebas, small, noisy creatures who all look the same. The hardly ever do anything and they almost never get any major role (Piyoko even refers to them as “those useless other members” sometimes, which makes them very mad), but they still hang around. They all end their sentences with “Geba”. Interestingly, there’s a river in west Africa called the Geba River. It’s unknown if their kind is actually called a “Geba”, however, because in their profiles, they’re often simply labeled as “Black Gema Gema Gang members.”

Nazo Gema (“nazo” means “mysterious”) is, as her name implies, mysterious. She seems to be the same species as whatever Gema is, except that she is black and has big eyes and lips. She is rather creepy, but doesn’t talk.