Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

(Viz, 2005)
™ and © 2001 Yoshio Sawai
Reads right to left, b&w.

In the future, the evil Maruhage Empire outlaws hair, leading to the rise of Bo-Bobo, master of the Fist of the Nose Hair. With an annoying teen-age girl sidekick named Beauty and pals Poppa Rocks (a mentally disturbed Sun), Jelly Jiggler (a Gingerbread Man made of gelatin), and Softon (whose head is excrement) Bo-Bobobo travels around kicking butt.

This Fist of the North Star spoof isn’t as disgusting as you’d expect from a series in which the hero uses complete control of his nose hair to fight evil, but it’s still crude and intentionally stupid, like a collision between South Park and SpongeBob SquarePants. And you have to believe some of its appeal in Japan comes from its grade-school readership knowing they can draw just as badly.

It speaks to Viz’s lack of confidence in this that it isn’t labeled “Volume One” (it starts after the beginning of the series) and there’s no indication that there’s going to be a Volume Two. It demonstrates that some things don’t need translating.

— S. A. Bennett

From the Publisher:

Yoshio Sawai pushes the boundaries of satire and the medium of manga itself with Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. Irreverent, silly and unprediictable—Bo-bobo is pure comic genius.

In the year 300X, a cruel dictator mandated the hunting of all hair in the Maruhage Empire. But a single man rises to the occasion and takes a stand against this violation of human hair rights. Bo-bobo, master of Fist of the Nose Hair, uses the prehensile hairs of his schnoz to most lethal ends. Follow the nonsensical adventures of Bo-bobo and his sentient sidekick snacks as they lead their hilarious rebellion against the Empire.

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#1

October, 2005
Cover Price: $7.99
1 copy available for $6.50

Yoshio Sawai