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''UniMinipet'' () is a South Korean aeni produced by DongWoo Animation. It aired on SBS and seven local private broadcasting networks from June 15, 2001 to December 7, 2001.


Plot

Elementary school student Won Dong-woo has a strange feeling whenever he opens the closet door in his bedroom, although everyone does not believe him when he explains it. Only he can sense this feeling, because he is destined to open the door. His closet is actually a secret portal that connects to a
four-dimensional Four-dimensional space (4D) is the mathematical extension of the concept of three-dimensional space (3D). Three-dimensional space is the simplest possible abstraction of the observation that one needs only three numbers, called ''dimensions'' ...
realm called Uniland, a world where creatures known as the Unipets live. One day, Bugpets wanted for committing crimes in Uniland escape to the human world and hide inside the Robo Pets in Dong-woo's Robo Pet shop. Uniland dispatches two special agents, Goyang and Ham, to the human world to catch the Bugpets, and the two inevitably end up in Dong-woo's closet. However, they encounter a problem; only souls can pass through the door. Therefore the agents decide to hide inside the Robo Pets just like the Bugpets did. Since they lose their power while being transferred to another world, they search for the Unistones to recover them and, at the same time, upgrade themselves. As a result, they team up with Dong-woo and go on a mission to eradicate the Bugpets.


Characters

* Won Dong-woo () (voiced by Lee Seong) is a pleasant, responsible and cheerful 10-year-old
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
student who lives with his mother Go Eun-bi, who runs a Robo Pet shop. Since his dad passed away in an accident three years ago, he has been helping his mother with household chores. However, since Eun-bi makes particularly frequent mistakes during chores and while running the shop, it can be said that Dong-woo is actually doing all the work. His school grades are always at the top because he finds school work much easier than housework. One day, he opens the closet door in his room, and the Bugpets who committed crimes in Uniland escape to the human world. Goyang and Ham, the Uniland agents chasing the Bugpets, also end up in the human world. The closet is a portal connecting Uniland and the human world, and Dong-woo is the only one who can open the door, getting a strange feeling when he does so. If someone other than the person who can open the door opens it, it appears to be a regular closet. After meeting Goyang and Ham, they actively cooperate in the Bugpet eradication operation. He wears the Gatekeeper's Pendant given to him by his father, which is processed and converted into a magnetic ring. In the webtoon, his personality has not changed much, but he seems to be suffering from an illness due to being in his
middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...
years. When he is mentally cornered, he fills a speech bubble with phrases that make his hands and feet tremble, and then he falters, but Goyang and Ham stop him. Dong-woo is named after the animation company that produced the series, DongWoo Animation. * Yu Mi-ran () (voiced by Cha Myung-hwa) is Ahn Woo-soo's cousin and the daughter of a rich family. She never gets along with Woo-soo, who is conceited and ignores his innocent friends. She has a crush on Dong-woo and always defends him and Park Sang-hyun when Woo-soo argues with the former, but he only sees Dong-woo as a close friend and is indifferent to romantic relationships. Mi-ran unconditionally participates and helps Dong-woo in anything he does, playing the role of a helpful mentor at the beginning of the series. However, as Seong Jin-ah and Sa Yu-ri appeared in the middle of the series, she was pushed into the background, and is shown often becoming jealous of them. * Park Sang-hyun () (voiced by Lim Eun-jeong) is a close friend of Dong-woo and the only one who knows about the Bug pet eradication operation. Although his mathematical studies are low, he has a strong sense of justice and trustworthiness, and is of great help to Dong-woo, and works with Dr. Isanghae, Jin-ah and Yu-ri to return the Bugpets that have crossed over from Uniland to the human world. * Goyang () (voiced by Kim Kwan-jin) is a female special agent and Dong-woo's partner. She says that in Uniland she was a beautiful woman with a voluptuous glamorous body and tall stature, a fact that has not been confirmed at all. She is quite dissatisfied with being turned into a
cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
Robo Pet. She seems to be having a hard time controlling Ham, who is unruly in everything. Goyang has a bratty, proud, selfish and spontaneous personality, is a nag, and often fights with Ham over trivial things. Although she has a strong ego and a temper, she also has a reasonable side. Even in her peaceful daily life, she watches the news and collects various information, so unlike Ham, she appears to be sincere in her work. In the webtoon, she goes on vacation and stays in the human world for a while with Ham, though their relationship does not seem to have changed much. It is said that when she was young, she had a complex because she had a large physique for a girl. * Ham () (voiced by Cha Myung-hwa) is a male special agent and Dong-woo's partner. He has a carefree and easy-going personality, and has arguments with Goyang. He has loved food since he was in Uniland, so he looks for food even in his
hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian ...
Robo Pet form. However, if he eats food, his Robo Pet breaks down, much to Goyang and Dr. Isanghae's annoyance. He likes
comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
,
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
,
animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
and
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
genres such as
idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...
singers. He may be a Uniland agent, but plays an active role in Bugpet cases. However, he is too careless and condescending. In the webtoon, he goes on vacation and stays in the human world for a while with Goyang, though their relationship does not seem to have changed much. It is said that Ham's human body in Uniland was judged unfit to be a special agent because it was small and weak. However, even though his physical abilities are inferior, he eventually became a special agent and is active, so it seems that his abilities are quite good, contrary to his appearance. * Go Eun-bi () (voiced by Lim Eun-jeong) is a 32-year-old widow and Won Dong-woo's mother. She claims to be 28 years old, contrary to her actual age. She looks so young and pretty that people who do not know her think that she is Dong-woo's older sister. She was originally a girl from a wealthy family, but they disowned her when she married Dong-woo's father, who was an orphan. However, due to her optimistic personality, she manages to live happily, running a Robo Pet shop. Since Eun-bi makes particularly frequent mistakes during household chores and when running the shop, it can be said that Dong-woo is actually doing all the work. In the webtoon, Goyang and Ham are briefly excited about the incomparable improvement in Eun-bi's cooking, but judging from Dong-woo's reaction, it seems that only the surface quality of her cooking has improved. Dong-woo seems to be having a hard time in one way or another, as his mother still has terrible housework skills. * Dr. Isanghae () (voiced by Oh In-seong) is an eccentric 60-year-old
scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
who lives next door to Dong-woo. He has a strong spirit of taking on new challenges, and although he is slightly hot-tempered, always gets excited when he sees something new and amazing, and sometimes causes accidents, he provides a lot of help to Goyang and Ham, such as making various inventions needed for the Bugpet eradication operation and upgrading the Unistones. Isanghae's last name in Korean means "strange" or "weird". * Magic () (voiced by Kim Kwan-jin) is a man in his mid-30s. He was originally a magician, but ended up in a car accident while trying to save his Robo Pet. During the accident, a Bugpet's soul enters, but he cannot fully settle in the human body, only doing so in half of it. Since his arrest by Goyang and Ham, he has been taking care of Dong-woo's house, and falls in love with Go Eun-bi at first sight, helping her with all kinds of chores. He loves women very much, and often makes mistakes at crucial moments as a result. The name "Magic" is said to be that of a Bugpet. In the final episode, when Go Eun-bi refers to Magic by name after the Bugpet's soul has left his body, he is reminded of the magic commonly used in daily life. * Ahn Woo-soo () (voiced by Kim Jeong-ju) is Dong-woo's classmate and a boy from a rich family. He tends to openly ignore Dong-woo just because he is rich, and he has two bald twin henchmen named Bang-gu and Bang-seok. He is always condescending and is shown bragging about how much money he has in every episode. However, he is always fussy and ends up breaking down. Dong-woo just ignores him, while his friends Yu Mi-ran and Park Sang-hyun get indignant. Woo-soo's mother has the same arrogant personality as her son. It is said that, like his mother, he gets away with his actions without being properly scolded. Compared to Sa Yu-ri's family, he is an insignificant little brat. Surprisingly, the Bugpets often cause his suffering throughout the series. * Seong Jin-ah () (voiced by Lee Seon-joo) is Dong-woo's new
tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...
girlfriend who appears from episode 13 onwards, replacing Yu Mi-ran, and the daughter of the police investigation team's leader. Her future dream is to become a
detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...
. She investigates the crimes committed by the Black Rose Society, led by the Horned Rat. Although she is young, she has quite sharp reasoning skills and a tough personality for an average girl. She plays a very active role in the series, such as saving Sa Yu-ri when she is attacked by Frog, being present in the final battle with Frog at the end, and working together with Dr. Isanghae, Sang-hyun and Yu-ri to send the Bugpets that crossed into the human world back to Uniland. She is mentioned a lot by Ahn Woo-soo, Yu Mi-ran and Sa Yu-ri, who each come from a wealthy family, so it is presumed that she lives quite well here as well due to her wealth. She lives in a two-story luxury townhouse. * Sa Yu-ri () (voiced by Son Jeong-ah) is a girl who goes to the same elementary school as Dong-woo. First appearing in episode 20, she is from a rich family, wears
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
-style clothing, and lives in a house bigger than Ahn Woo-soo's. Although she has a passive, delicate, and quiet personality, it is difficult for people around her to approach her because she is the daughter of a
chaebol A chaebol ( , ; , ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large South Kore ...
. Yu-ri is lonely and has few friends. She seems to secretly like Dong-woo, and her appearance is almost identical to that of Yu Mi-ran. Because of her cute appearance, she was somewhat popular when episode 20 aired. Unlike Ahn Woo-soo, who is rich but always shows off, in terms of personality, she never arbitrarily ignores others or shows off, and is a truly quiet girl from a wealthy family. Since her parents are busy working abroad on Robo Pets, she spends most of her day with her childhood Robo Pet
Frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
, whom she names "John". While Dong-woo is the one who can open the closet door connecting Uniland to the human world, Yu-ri is the exact opposite of that, being the one who closes the door. Just as Dong-woo received his Gatekeeper's Pendant from his father, Yu-ri received hers from her grandfather, a scientist who was researching Uniland when she was young. They buried the Unistone Crystal, said to be the strongest of the Unistones, in a forest near the National Space Research Institute. However, she is betrayed by Frog at the last minute and has the crystal taken away from her, only for him to be defeated by the resonance of the powers to close and open the door. The pendant and Unistone Crystal that she had are used to send the souls of the Unipets and Bugpets back to Uniland, and she takes the purified Frog back. Since then, she has become close enough to talk to Dong-woo's friends naturally and go to school with them instead of relying on her Robo Pet.


Voice cast

* Lee Seong as Won Dong-woo and Lowbat * Kim Jeong-ju as Goyang, Ahn Woo-soo, Swanee and Ptera * Cha Myung-hwa as Ham, Yu Mi-ran and TV Reporter * Lim Eun-jeong as Go Eun-bi, Park Sang-hyun, Ahn Woo-soo's Mother, Mi-ran's Mother, Whirlwind Team Captain, Ji-soo, Jyuru, White Pearl, Mummy, Yamu and Koalaka * Lee Seon-joo as Seong Jin-ah, Frog, Deojidoo, Robin, Snake Ding-Dong, Peace, Saurus, Pipi, Batpet and Scorpion * Son Jeong-ah as Sa Yu-ri, Bitnari Team Captain, Hanbit, Kim Hyun-ah, Pori, Horned Rat, Nabangdeng, Earbat, Fairy, Styg, Lecter and Tyranno * Oh In-seong as Dr. Isanghae, Jello Jelly, Mushmash, Chicken Poop, Hound and Lucky Ball Commentator #1 * Kim Kwan-jin as Magic, Willitel, Dimethyl, Investigation Team Leader, Koppulso, Jibdoli, Dokkaedokkae, Dong-woo's Father, Mi-ran's Father, Yu-ri's Grandfather and Lucky Ball Commentator #2 * Choi Byung-sang as Dokkaedokkae


Episodes


Reception

When it first aired in 2001, ''UniMinipet'' received criticism for being an imitation of
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
series ''
Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...
'' and ''
Digimon Adventure 02 , originally released as ''Digimon: Digital Monsters Season 2'' in English-speaking territories, is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It is the sequel to ''Digimon Adventure (1999 TV series), Digimon Adventure'', ...
'', and viewers expected that its schedule would not be smooth. Based on a viewership rating survey in July 2001, it received around 10%, showing its potential and ranking third after ''Pokémon'' and ''Digimon Adventure 02''. The series surpassed the two shows with a viewership rating of 9.5% on its first run, but fell to 9th place due to a drop in ratings in the middle. Viewers noted that the early episodes, such as those related to the Lucky Ball Tournament, tended to be somewhat boring. However, as the series moved to episodes related to the Black Rose Society in its latter half, ratings gradually increased. The fast-paced story centered on the confrontation between the Bugpets and Won Dong-woo and his group was well-received. Because the patterns were fundamentally different from those of ''Pokémon'' and ''Digimon Adventure 02'', the controversy over imitation quickly subsided. It took second place after ''Digimon Adventure 02'' with a rating of 10.1%, with ''Pokémon'' at 9.8%. Due to the series' popularity, DongWoo Animation announced plans to produce a feature film and release it during the summer of 2002, but this fell through due to various issues such as lack of funds. ''UniMinipet'' continued to receive high ratings throughout the early 2000s. It was rebroadcast every Friday in a two-episode format from March 19, 2004 to June 25, 2004, and aired in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
with the name ''Taşın Sırrı'' ("The Secret of the Stone") in 2009-2011. It also aired in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
as ''迷你宠物星'' ("Mini Pet Stars"). 22 years after it ended, the series aired on Anione at 8:30 am every Tuesday and 1 pm every Monday, starting on August 8, 2023. The following day on August 9, 2023, it began airing on Anibox at 10 am every Wednesday.


Other media

A
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
based on the series, named ''UniMinipet'' (), was released for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
in August 2001, developed by Niz Entertainment and published by DongWoo Animation and P&J Ventures. It was also released in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
by eSotNet and MarkSoft on April 29, 2002. It is an
arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
similar to ''Hayan Ma-eum Baekgu'' (''White Heart Baekgu'') from 2000. Players can choose to control either Goyang or Ham through nine worlds, helping them reach the place where their friend is held captive. The Unipets can jump and attack the Bugpets with an infinite supply of ammunition of any objects, such as Unistones and Water Drops. The first eight worlds each have three levels, whereas the ninth has only one. ''Gamepressure'' gave the game a score of 4.4. In 2003, ''UniMinipet 2'' () was released, developed by Neonet and published by Fujitsu of Korea. In 2014, DongWoo opened a blog to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the series' broadcast, and released all the episodes on
Naver TV Naver TV (; formerly Naver TV Cast) is a South Korean Streaming service, online video streaming and Online video platform, video sharing service developed and operated by Naver. The service primarily distributes web dramas and entertainment sho ...
, along with a
webtoon Webtoons () are a type of episodic digital comics that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allo ...
that was a sequel to the original series. The webtoon follows Won Dong-woo, now a middle school student, as he reunites with Goyang and Ham. The webtoon was also uploaded to
Naver Naver (; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. The company's products include a search engine, email hosting, blogs, maps, and mobile payment. History Naver was the first Korean web provide ...
and
Daum Daum may refer to: People * Ahron Daum (1951–2018), Israeli-born Modern-Orthodox rabbi, educator, and author *Andreas Daum (active from 1995), German-American historian * Auguste Daum (1853–1909), French ceramist *Christoph Daum (1953–2024), ...
.


See also

* Aeni


References


External links


Official DongWoo Animation website

13th Anniversary Blog

Official Twitter page

''UniMinipet'' channel
at
Naver TV Naver TV (; formerly Naver TV Cast) is a South Korean Streaming service, online video streaming and Online video platform, video sharing service developed and operated by Naver. The service primarily distributes web dramas and entertainment sho ...
{{in lang, ko 2001 South Korean television series debuts 2001 South Korean television series endings South Korean children's animated adventure television series South Korean children's animated comedy television series South Korean children's animated fantasy television series Animated television series about robots