is a Japanese

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Yoshio Sawai is a Japanese comedy, gag manga artist, best known for his series ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'' and sequel ''Shinsetsu Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'', both serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''. ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'' was adapted into a 76 episodes anime series by t ...

. It was serialized in

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...

'' from February 2001 to November 2005, with its chapters collected in twenty-one ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes. It was followed by a sequel titled ''Shinsetsu Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'', serialized from December 2005 to July 2007, with its chapters collected in seven ''tankōbon'' volumes. A seventy-six episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation by

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...

was broadcast on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

from November 2003 to October 2005. In North America,

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

published some volumes of the manga. The anime series aired in the United States on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

from 2005 to 2007. As of January 2021, the ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'' manga had over 7 million copies in circulation.

Plot

In the year 300X, the entire world is under the tyrannical rule of a regime called the Maruhage Empire (Chrome Dome Empire in the English dub). Its ruler, Emperor Tsuru Tsurulina IV (Czar Baldy Bald IV), has initiated the Hair Hunt, a crusade where his soldiers, the Hair Hunters, invade settlements, shave bald every person they see, and leave said settlements in ruins. Standing against the Hair Hunt is Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, a bizarre rebel who fights the Hair Hunters with the Hanage Shinken (Fist of the Nose Hair), a martial art that gives him the power to control his nose hairs like whips. Bo-bobo's team consists of Beauty, a normal teenage girl he rescued; Heppokomaru (Gasser), a teenage boy who fights with the Onara Shinken (Fist of the Back Wind), allowing him to weaponize his own flatulence; and Don Patch (Poppa Rocks), an eccentric creature who leads the Hajike Gang (Wiggin Gang), a group that fights by confusing their enemies into submission. Bo-bobo is on an exciting, gag-filled quest in which he uses his hair as a weapon in many locales to fight the forces of the Maruhage Empire as he gains other allies along the way.

Media

Manga

''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'', written and illustrated by

, was serialized in

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

'' from February 20, 2001, to November 14, 2005. Shueisha collected its 230 individual chapters into twenty-one ''

'' volumes, released from July 4, 2001, to May 2, 2006. A sequel manga titled was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 19, 2005, to July 2, 2007. Shueisha compiled the sequel's 73 individual chapters into seven ''tankōbon'' volumes released from July 4, 2006, to January 1, 2008. In North America, the manga has been licensed by

and was published in a one-shot graphic novel form on October 5, 2005, including content from the 9th and 10th volumes of the Japanese release. It was later published monthly in ''Shonen Jump'' from July 2007 to June 2009. At Anime Expo 2008, when asked about why the previous volumes were never published, Viz said it was due to the "content". Viz restarted the manga release in 2008. The first volume (11th volume of the Japanese release) was published on August 5, 2008. A total of five volumes of ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'' were published until October 5, 2010, before Viz Media ceased the series' publication.

Anime

The anime adaptation of ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'' is directed by Hiroki Shibata, produced by

and ran for 76 episodes from November 8, 2003, to October 29, 2005, on

. The first opening theme for episodes 1 to 32 is "Wild Challenger" by Jindou and the second opening theme for episode 33 onwards is by

Ulfuls is a Japanese rock band from Osaka. The band name Ulfuls is derived from a misreading of the word "soulful," found on the cover of one of the band members' favorite records. They were signed by Toshiba-EMI in 1992, but after 15 years they transfe ...

. The first ending theme for episodes 1 to 19 is by Mani Laba, the second ending theme for episodes 20 to 32 is by FREENOTE and the third ending theme for episode 33 onwards is "H.P.S.J." by

mihimaru GT Mihimaru GT were an urban and pop music group signed to Universal Music Japan and managed by Tearbridge Productions, a subsidiary of Stardust Promotion and Avex. History Mihimaru GT was a Japanese duet made up of composer, lyricist and vocalis ...

. In North America, the anime was licensed by the Joy Tashjian Marketing Group, a licensing representative named by Toei Animation. The series first aired as a sneak peek on

's "Summer 2005 Kick-Off Special" in May 2005, and then premiered on September 30 and aired on Cartoon Network's

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...

programming block Saturdays at 10/9c, starting on October 1. New episodes premiered on February 17, 2007. The series was seen on Cartoon Network's broadband service

Toonami Jetstream Toonami Jetstream was an ad-supported online broadband streaming service and a remake of Toonami's previous video streaming service Toonami Reactor provided by Cartoon Network and Viz Media. It hosted various Toonami hits and had music videos, ...

from November 5, 2007, until its closure in January 2009. In the United Kingdom, the series premiered on

Jetix Jetix (stylized as JETIX) was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action/adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated from the S ...

on April 16, 2007. The series was originally licensed for home video release in North America by

Illumitoon Entertainment Illumitoon Entertainment was a production company based in Fort Worth, Texas that specialized in anime. It was founded in January 2006 by former Funimation executives Stephanie Giotes, Richard Ray, and Barry Watson. Illumitoon's goal was to hav ...

in 2006, who released only 2 volumes on bilingual DVD in 2007, before their distribution deal with Westlake Entertainment fell through, and all further volumes were canceled. S'more Entertainment later announced on January 16, 2012, that they would release the series with English subtitles and dubbing on DVD on April 10 of the same year. This release, however, lacked an English subtitle track, despite a fully translated script being present on a PDF file on disc 4 and indication on the box and pre-release information that there would be a subtitle track on the release. S'more Entertainment released a statement claiming the packaging was wrong, and there never was an intention to subtitle the release, due to costs. In August 2018,

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...

announced the licensee of the series and was released on January 28, 2020, as a SD Blu-ray Disc set with all the 76 episodes.

Video games

There are seven Japan-exclusive video games based on ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'' developed by

Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo ...

. Four video games were launched for the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

, two video games for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

and one for the

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

. Characters from the series have appeared along with characters from other ''

s series in the crossover

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

s ''

Jump Superstars ''Jump Super Stars'' is a 2D crossover fighting game for the Nintendo DS, based on ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' characters. It was developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo. The game was released on August 8, 2005, in Japan and accompanie ...

'' and ''

Jump Ultimate Stars Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...

'' for the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

, and ''

J-Stars Victory VS is a crossover fighting video game that combines the universes of several ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' manga series, including former series and some that have been transferred to other magazines. It was released in Japan by Bandai Namco Entertain ...

'' for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

and

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...

Reception

As of January 2021, the ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'' manga had over 7 million copies in circulation.

References

External links

* {{Toonami Cartoon Network Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo 2001 manga 2003 anime television series debuts 2005 manga Adventure anime and manga Discotek Media Parody anime and manga Shōnen manga Shueisha franchises Shueisha manga Surreal comedy anime and manga Toei Animation television Toonami TV Asahi original programming Viz Media manga