Welcome to the second edition of FAnime Fridays here at Nanashi-Inc! I’m glad to report that this feature was well received and will become a permanent edition here. So fasten your seat belts and get ready for…

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo one of the most talked about anime manga series. If you view this series on just the surface it seems so highly comical and insane as to border on ludicrous, but that’s not giving it a fair chance.

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo is comedy series that makes use of various puns, non sequiturs, double-talk, gags, and satirical and pop-culture references. A lot of the humor is very specific to the Japanese and anime culture because of this. The show originally aired in Japan on TV Asahi from 2003 to 2005 and is currently airing on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block in the U.S.

One of the things that makes the humor very specific to the anime fanbase and Japanese pop-culture is the fact that the series is made up of parodies of popular shows that have become staples of Japanese pop-culture. Just some of the anime/manga series to have been parodied include Naruto, Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, Pokémon, Dragon Ball (who doesn’t parody this one eventually?), Inuyasha, and even Wolf’s Rain are among the many to have provided comical material for the series. Famous mangaka have also contributed to the series as well. Takahashi Kazuki, creator of Yuugioh, paid homage to the series by giving Tokoro Tenosuke, a character from Bo-Bo-Bo, a small appearance in his manga after Yami Yuugi made an appearance in Bobo-bo Bo-bobo with his Egyptian god card Osiris. On top of this the series enjoys poking fun at stereotypes in Japanese literature and American movies and drama.

Main Cast:

• Beauty: Slightly airheaded teen girl of the series who seems to be clueless as to what’s going on around the place
• Don Patch: Often accompanied by a little doll named ya-ya, he is the egotistical former leader of a group of Hajikelists whose ultimate power comes from his own insanity.
• Softon: A warrior with the power of the mysterious goddess Blabsalot, and a head that is made out of ice cream.
• Gasser: Teenage boy with the power of “Onara Shinken” (Fist of the Backwind). He spends a lot of time clueless as to what’s going on as well.
• Tokoro Tennosuke/Jelly Jiggler: A gelatinous being who is as powerful and seems to get beaten up by his friends a good deal.
• Hatenko: A warrior from Bo-bobo’s Hair Kingdom with the power of keys, and an obsession with Don Patch.

If you’re like me and can never seem to get the time to view Cartoon Network’s Toonami block you might be interested to know that volume two of the series has been released on DVD. The second volume contains episodes five through eight; To Be or Snot To Be, Pasta…the Perfect Food!, Queen Chicken Level and the Video Store of Dumb, and We All Scream for Ice Cream!. Fans will be pleased to hear that the hilarity of the first four episodes continues on and Bobobo never pulls his punches…er nose hairs…when it comes to the laughs.

In Pasta the Perfect Food the hairloss gag makes a return. A new villain named Gechappi makes an appearance. After many jokes and calling Don Patch his mom on TV Bobobo meet up with Gechappi who attempts to it Bobobo with his Hair Loss Beam, lucky for Bobobo he is knocked aside by Beauty who gets hit with the beam herself. Don Patch later saves Bobobo as well and despite his best attempts it unable to defeat Gechappi though Bobobo manages it with seemingly ease. Beauty remains bald however and so in Queen Chicken Level and the Video Store of Dumb the gang search for the antidote to restore her hair and while in a video store end up facing off against another new enemy, Softon, a guy with ice cream for a head. The fight with Softon continues on into We All Scream for Ice Cream! where Softon calls upon the powers of Goddess Blabs-A-Lot who sends them to Bobobo world. Softon loses his powers and the antidote for beauty is eventually retrieved. Of course the episode cannot end there, nono, that would goes against the cliffhanger gags and so a new baddie is introduced – Geha.

Despite the show’s heavy satire and parodies I can’t really say I’m a fan of this series. While I found it entertaining there were points where I thought enough was enough. Of course, my usual tastes run to the mecha and fighting type shows like the Gundam series, Naruto, BGC 2040, and Samurai 7 so I could be a bit prejudice here.

For show times and merchandise information please visit the Official Website for Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.

Past issues of FAnime Friday:

• Issue #1, June 1, 2007: Introducing FAnime Fridays!

Read the rest of the FAnime Friday issues on the FAnime Friday page! ^_^