Keroro Gunso (or Sgt. Frog in the USA) is a manga and, later on, an anime series created by Mine Yoshizaki. The series revolves around Sergeant Keroro and his platoon who are sent from their home planet of Keron to invade Earth (Or  “Pekopon” to all of the Keronians).  However the plan is stopped in it’s tracks when two normal human children, Natsumi and Fuyuki Hinata, discover the small green alien hiding behind a clever disguise in Fuyuki’s room before school. Of course, Keroro is not really the most smartest of leaders, one might notice, as throughout the series he is often easily distracted by (and has been caught building) multiple Gunpla (Gundam figurines).

The series has been spread out to 20 manga volumes and 358 anime episodes.  The anime has been translated and adapted in 21 countries including The United States, India, Spain, and China. The manga has also witnessed great international success having been adapted to 14 countries worldwide.

Along with the success of the anime and manga, Sgt. Keroro and his platoon have also managed to make their way onto the big screen with 5 “Super Movies”, as they are promptly titled. Along with the movies there are the various “Chibi Kero” shorts. They center around the life of the toddler-sized Keroro Platoon and how they discovered the Kero Ball.

There are also many spin-off publications that deal solely with Sgt. Keroro which include Kerokero Ace, 4koma Big assembly, and the ever popular, Keroro Land.

The anime also makes many homages to Japanese popular culture most notably Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Space Battleship Yamato. Actually, Bandai, the makers of Gunpla and Gundam products, has offered to sponsor Mine Yoshizaki’s Sgt. Frog series. Since then, there have been various Gunpla depicting characters from the anime, most notably the Keroro Platoon.