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is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshio Sawai. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from February 2001 to November 2005, with its chapters collected in 21 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 volumes. In North America, Viz Media published some volumes of the manga.

A 76-episode anime television series adaptation by Toei Animation was broadcast on TV Asahi from November 2003 to October 2005. The anime series aired in the United States on Cartoon Network from 2005 to 2007.

A spin-off, ''Fuwari! Don Patch'', was serialized from December 2011 to June 2014, with its chapters collected in three volumes, with a second part, ''Honnori! Don Patch'', being serialized from October 2014 to August 2015 and collected as a single volume.

By 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 translation of both the manga and anime). Its ruler, Emperor Tsuru Tsurulina IV (Czar Baldy Bald IV), has initiated the Hair Hunt, a crusade where his army, 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, but powerful rebel who fights the Hair Hunters with the Hanage Shinken (Super Fist of the Nose Hair), a martial art that gives him the power to control his nose hairs like whips. Bo-bobo's group consists of Beauty, a teenage girl he rescued; Heppokomaru (Gasser), a teenage boy who fights with the Onara Shinken (Super 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 ventures from locale to locale, fighting the forces of the Maruhage Empire and gaining more allies along the way.

Media

Manga

''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'', written and illustrated by Yoshio Sawai, was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from February 20, 2001, to November 14, 2005. Shueisha collected its 230 individual chapters into 21 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 volumes released from July 4, 2006, to January 1, 2008.

In North America, the manga has been licensed by Viz Media and was published in a one-shot graphic novel form on October 5, 2005, including content from the ninth and tenth 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 certain volumes were never published, Viz Media said it was for content reasons. Viz Media restarted the manga release in 2008. The first volume (eleventh 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.

A spin-off, titled , started in Shueisha's ''Saikyō Jump'' on December 3, 2011. Shueisha released three volumes from November 2, 2012, to June 4, 2014. A second part, titled , was published on ''Shōnen Jump+'' from October 3, 2014, to August 3, 2015. A single volume was released on August 4, 2015.

Anime

The anime adaptation of ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'' is directed by Hiroki Shibata, produced by Toei Animation and ran for 76 episodes from November 8, 2003, to October 29, 2005, on TV Asahi. 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. 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.

In North America, the anime was licensed by the Joy Tashjian Marketing Group, a licensing representative named by Toei Animation. A sneak peek was shown on Cartoon Network's "Summer 2005 Kick-Off Special" in May 2005, and then premiered on the network's Toonami programming block on September 30 of that same year. New episodes premiered on February 17, 2007. The series was also made available on Cartoon Network's broadband service Toonami Jetstream starting on November 5, 2007. In the United Kingdom, the series premiered on Jetix on April 16, 2007.

The series was originally licensed for home video release in North America by Illumitoon Entertainment in 2006, who released only two 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 the fourth disc, 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 announced that it had licensed the series, which 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. Four video games were launched for the Game Boy Advance, two video games for the PlayStation 2, and one for the GameCube. Characters from the series have appeared along with characters from other ''Weekly Shōnen Jumps series in the crossover fighting games ''Jump Super Stars'' and ''Jump Ultimate Stars'' for the Nintendo DS, and '' J-Stars Victory VS'' for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.

Stage play

A stage play adaptation was announced on April 1, 2024. It was initially announced as an April Fools' Day joke at midnight, but was later confirmed to be real. The stage play, titled , is directed and written by Keita Kawajiri and is set to run at Theatre1010 in Tokyo from October 23–31, 2024.

Reception

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

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{Toei Animation

Adventure anime and manga
Parody anime and manga
Shōnen manga
Shueisha franchises
Shueisha manga
Surreal comedy anime and manga
Toei Animation television
TV Asahi original programming
Viz Media manga