This Cult Classic Shonen Jump Series Has Anime's Weirdest Hero

Goku from Dragon Ball has both a childish side that loves to devour food, make new friends and fight strong opponents, while being pure of heart; and a side that’s insanely powerful. These contrasting sides pair well with his sense of right, creating well-rounded, strong yet hilarious character arcs. Saitama from One Punch Man has trained enough to defeat foes with a single punch, he also has his own quirks. Instead of being ecstatic that he’s possibly the most capable superhero in the world, he’s actually dejected at the fact that he’s limited the potential of exciting challenges as a hero.

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In Gintama, Gintoki Sakata, although claiming to be the last samurai in a post-shogunate Japan, creates his own comedic antics with his lazy personality in opposition to fighting aliens while working odd jobs. But whether it’s Goku’s boisterous brawls, Saitama’s comical superpowered ennui, or even the hijinks of Gintoki, there’s another comedic superhero who stands above the rest in both strength and slapstick. That hero’s name is Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, star of 2001’s eponymous Shonen Jump hit which, while underexposed in the United States during its anime run, has sold an impressive 7 million manga copies, living on as a cult classic.

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Is a Shonen to Really Wig Out to

In the year 300X, the world has been taken over and is ruled by the Chrome Dome Empire. The tyrannical rulers’ henchmen, the Hair Hunt Troop, mercilessly hunt the hair of all, leaving heads bald and cities in ruin. But there is one hero willing to stand up to the bald bad guys: Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. Using his special follicle fighting style, Fist of the Nose Hair, Bo-bobo rebels against their depilated despotism and fights for hair justice. Along the way, he’s joined by friends Beauty, Gasser (Heppokomaru), and Don Patch.

For Bo-bobo and Don Patch, their preferred fighting style doesn’t exactly consist of any real particular martial art or intense training regimen. Instead, they “wig out” (hajike) — “the art and philosophy of doing bizarre or unexpected things in order to confuse, fight, out-do others, or as a regular way of life”, “creating attacks that either parody what they are up against or have nothing to do with”. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo is based largely on manzai humor, a traditional Japanese comedy style like that of a comedic duo. The humor in the series predominantly consists of misunderstandings, puns, double-talk, breaking of the fourth wall, cross-dressing, satirical and pop-culture references, non-sequiturs, and gags.

If You Can’t Handle These Humorous Heroes, Then it’s Snot-For-You

As a child, Bo-bobo realized he could hear the voices of hair and began training under Master Juice (a juice can) in the art of Hanage Shinken, or Fist of the Nose Hair (a parody of the series Fist of the North Star) and, because of his Hair Kingdom heritage, was awarded the title of a true master of the Fist of the Nose Hair. But when the Hair Kingdom fell, Bo-bobo was given up by his father TUYOSI, a hairball with a human face, when the Hair Hunters came to their house to take him hostage. In his endeavor to retaliate against Czar Baldy Bald IV and the Hair Hunt Troop, Bo-bobo has picked up quite a few residents living in his afro and nose and learned many transformations and attacks, like Snot Fo-You. If you’ve kept up this far, you can tell that this Shonen Jump series was a funny yet deeply weird series, even as it graced Shueisha’s pages before the anime’s debut.

Although Beauty decides to tag along after Bo-bobo rescues her from the Hair Hunters, Don Patch and Gasser each have their own abilities and reasons for joining Bo-bobo’s ranks. Gasser joined to get revenge against Captain Battleship, the leader of the Hair Hunt, who destroyed his hometown, PuuPuu City. Gasser has a special fighting technique dubbed Fist of the Backwind. Don Patch, being an odd orange spiky ball, is actually a reference to the Don Pach Pop Rocks-like candy that features a similar character on the packaging. Being the self-proclaimed “Don” of the group, he left his last team, the Hajike Gang, to wig out with Bo-bobo.

The world of heroes in anime is vast, and heroes who can create laughter are especially cherished gems and even show their legacy in other series. But while there may be many humorous heroes in the anime universe, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, adapted from the manga created by Yoshio Sawai, definitely stands above the rest in terms of eccentricity and fighting flair. While the series is currently unavailable for viewers in the United States, Crunchyroll still has Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo on demand in Europe and the Middle East.

What protagonist do you think has the best follicles and fighting style? Let us know in the comments what hero you think endures the hairiest situations!