Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

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. 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 released the series with English subtitles and dubbing on DVD on April 10, 2012. 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 a SD Blu-ray Disc set with all the 76 episodes on January 28, 2020. 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 Jump's 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. Another stage play is set to run in Tokyo from June 12–21, 2026. ==Reception==

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