is a famous children's

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

, and the first to feature the friendly monster

Booska is a famous children's sitcom, and the first to feature the friendly monster Booska. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the show aired on Nippon TV from November 9, 1966 to September 27, 1967, with a total of 47 episodes. There was a Booska reviva ...

. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the show aired on

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

from November 9, 1966 to September 27, 1967, with a total of 47 episodes. There was a Booska revival in Japan from 1998 to 2000, when a new season of Booska was released called "Booska! Booska!" (in English).

Character

Booska is the name of a cute, friendly, human-sized

kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

that looks like a cross between a bucktoothed

teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...

and a

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

. It was originally an

iguana ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his bo ...

until its owner and mega-genius, Daisuke Tonda, fed it experimental powder called "kuropara" meant to grow the creature into a giant dinosaur-like monster that Daisuke could control. Booska himself appeared wearing a "Boo Crown" which is made from the element Booskanium, appearing as three golden horns running from front to back down his head. This is the source of all his magical abilities, as well as his intelligence, so if he loses the crown he loses his abilities as well. By using his Boo Crown, Booska can fly, lift up to 100 tons, or even turn invisible, among a number of other powers including shooting lasers and an extendible/retractable tail. The crown itself is temperature-sensitive, so if it warms up his powers and intelligence strengthen, and if it is cooled they weaken. He can also change his size, appearing initially as about a foot tall in Episode 1, but switching between that size and the height of an adult human (1.8 m) weighing 120 kg. Booska needs to be wearing his Boo Crown for his superpowers to work, and his Boo Crown requires nourishment, especially ramen, in order to function properly. In addition, after a turtle bites his tail in the first episode, Booska becomes terrified of turtles, which his enemies use to their advantage. Booska has a brother, Chamergon, who Daisuke agrees to create after Booska reveals that he feels lonely. Daisuke plans on using the same kuropara powder that he used to create Booska on a squirrel, though this plan goes awry when a space alien crashes into the reaction. As a result, Chamergon is part squirrel, part space alien, and he can survive without oxygen. Chamergon has superpowers as well, including an ability to shoot lasers from his tail, super-speed, and the ability to shape-shift through use of a walnut. He is originally Booska's nemesis, but he learns to be better with time, eventually turning into a friend (though never quite losing his tricksy habits).

Production

''Kaiju Booska'' was originally planned to feature a monster resembling

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

Home media

On April 25, 2001 Bandai Visual released a box-set titled Kaiju Booska DVD Memorial BOX and on March 22, 2013 and released a box-set titled Kaiju Booska COMPLETE DVD-BOX.

References

External links

* 1960s Japanese television series Tsuburaya Productions 1966 Japanese television series debuts 1967 Japanese television series endings Japanese television shows featuring puppetry Tokusatsu television series Japanese television sitcoms Nippon TV original programming Ultra television series {{Japan-tv-prog-stub