Live action TV
Description
Dokurobee, also known as Dokurobei, is a central antagonist in the Yatterman series. His role and characterization shift significantly across different installments, evolving from a comedic, unseen mastermind in the original 1977 series to a genuinely tyrannical and malevolent force in later sequels like Yatterman Night.
In the original Yatterman, Dokurobee is the enigmatic leader of the Dorombo gang, a trio of bumbling criminals consisting of Doronjo, Boyacky, and Tonzura. He presents himself as the self-proclaimed god of thieves who has hired the gang to search for the scattered fragments of the Dokuro Stone, or Skull Stone, which he claims is a family heirloom containing a map to a vast gold deposit. Throughout most of this series, his true appearance remains hidden, communicating with his subordinates only through various disguised robots and devices, often shaped like food or animals, which have a habit of exploding after delivering his instructions. He is a demanding and egotistical bad boss who frequently grows angry at signs of trouble or disobedience. When the Dorombo gang fails, he subjects them to a punishment he calls "worse than their mama," often signaled by the opening notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and frequently involving electric shocks. Dokurobee is known for his distinctive speech pattern, habitually adding the suffix "beh" to the end of his sentences, and he often scolds the trio with the nonsensical exclamation "Akapontan," which implies they are idiots or nitwits.
The character's mysterious background is eventually revealed. Dokurobee is not a human thief but an alien from Planet XYZ, originally called the Dokuro planet. He arrived on Earth when it was nothing more than a ball of primordial magma, and the extreme heat caused his body to shatter into four pieces, which became the Dokuro Stone fragments. Stranded for eons, he fabricated the story of the hidden treasure to manipulate the Dorombo gang into collecting the pieces of his own body. Upon being reassembled, he reveals his true form as the Dokuro Stone itself, abandons the gang with no reward for their efforts, and returns to his home planet. In the original series, his physical form is eventually revealed to be a short, portly man with glasses, a long handlebar mustache, and a small skull on his forehead, but this is later revealed to be yet another decoy robot.
In subsequent adaptations, Dokurobee's character and motivations are altered. In the 2008 remake, he recruits the Dorombo gang to collect Skull Rings instead of stone fragments, promising to grant their wishes, while secretly planning to harvest humanity's hopes and dreams as a source of power. This version of the character shows a rare moment of emotional vulnerability when he abandons his plan after being moved by the protagonists' memories, though he later returns. The most radical reimagining occurs in Yatterman Night, where Dokurobee is portrayed as a purely evil and tyrannical figure. After surviving his previous defeats, he conquers Earth, shatters the moon, and defeats the original Yatterman heroes. Adopting the title Lord Yatterman, he establishes a dystopian dictatorship known as the Yatter Kingdom. He enslaves the surviving human population, forcing them to work in hazardous factories to generate energy that sustains his immortality. He also brainwashes ordinary people into becoming his enforcers, the Yatter-Guardian Gods, and uses propaganda to blame the descendants of the Dorombo gang for the world's ruin. In this series, he abandons his comedic traits, appearing in a tall, humanoid form with a monocle and a long mustache, driven entirely by a petty grudge and a desire for revenge. His goal is not just conquest but to live forever by exhausting humanity to extinction.
Across all versions, consistent traits define Dokurobee: his deceitfulness, his egotism, his ruthless exploitation of the Dorombo gang, and the stark contrast between his imposing presence as a hidden mastermind and the often petty or self-serving nature of his true goals. While his actions escalate from comedic villainy to outright tyranny, he remains the primary force driving the conflict against the Yatterman heroes.
In the original Yatterman, Dokurobee is the enigmatic leader of the Dorombo gang, a trio of bumbling criminals consisting of Doronjo, Boyacky, and Tonzura. He presents himself as the self-proclaimed god of thieves who has hired the gang to search for the scattered fragments of the Dokuro Stone, or Skull Stone, which he claims is a family heirloom containing a map to a vast gold deposit. Throughout most of this series, his true appearance remains hidden, communicating with his subordinates only through various disguised robots and devices, often shaped like food or animals, which have a habit of exploding after delivering his instructions. He is a demanding and egotistical bad boss who frequently grows angry at signs of trouble or disobedience. When the Dorombo gang fails, he subjects them to a punishment he calls "worse than their mama," often signaled by the opening notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and frequently involving electric shocks. Dokurobee is known for his distinctive speech pattern, habitually adding the suffix "beh" to the end of his sentences, and he often scolds the trio with the nonsensical exclamation "Akapontan," which implies they are idiots or nitwits.
The character's mysterious background is eventually revealed. Dokurobee is not a human thief but an alien from Planet XYZ, originally called the Dokuro planet. He arrived on Earth when it was nothing more than a ball of primordial magma, and the extreme heat caused his body to shatter into four pieces, which became the Dokuro Stone fragments. Stranded for eons, he fabricated the story of the hidden treasure to manipulate the Dorombo gang into collecting the pieces of his own body. Upon being reassembled, he reveals his true form as the Dokuro Stone itself, abandons the gang with no reward for their efforts, and returns to his home planet. In the original series, his physical form is eventually revealed to be a short, portly man with glasses, a long handlebar mustache, and a small skull on his forehead, but this is later revealed to be yet another decoy robot.
In subsequent adaptations, Dokurobee's character and motivations are altered. In the 2008 remake, he recruits the Dorombo gang to collect Skull Rings instead of stone fragments, promising to grant their wishes, while secretly planning to harvest humanity's hopes and dreams as a source of power. This version of the character shows a rare moment of emotional vulnerability when he abandons his plan after being moved by the protagonists' memories, though he later returns. The most radical reimagining occurs in Yatterman Night, where Dokurobee is portrayed as a purely evil and tyrannical figure. After surviving his previous defeats, he conquers Earth, shatters the moon, and defeats the original Yatterman heroes. Adopting the title Lord Yatterman, he establishes a dystopian dictatorship known as the Yatter Kingdom. He enslaves the surviving human population, forcing them to work in hazardous factories to generate energy that sustains his immortality. He also brainwashes ordinary people into becoming his enforcers, the Yatter-Guardian Gods, and uses propaganda to blame the descendants of the Dorombo gang for the world's ruin. In this series, he abandons his comedic traits, appearing in a tall, humanoid form with a monocle and a long mustache, driven entirely by a petty grudge and a desire for revenge. His goal is not just conquest but to live forever by exhausting humanity to extinction.
Across all versions, consistent traits define Dokurobee: his deceitfulness, his egotism, his ruthless exploitation of the Dorombo gang, and the stark contrast between his imposing presence as a hidden mastermind and the often petty or self-serving nature of his true goals. While his actions escalate from comedic villainy to outright tyranny, he remains the primary force driving the conflict against the Yatterman heroes.