Danica Davidson
April 1, 2024 
At midnight on April 1, the X (Twitter) account for the Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo manga unveiled an April Fools’ prank: that there would be a Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo stage play. Everyone could get a good laugh at the idea, but later in the day there was a twist: Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo’s social media said this wasn’t an April Fools’ joke after all, but a real thing. Some Japanese news outlets have also backed up that the stage play is true.
The play is being written and directed by Keita Kawajiri, who has previously written stage adaptations of Mob Psycho 100, Fist of the North Star, and Cells at Work! Kawajiri also both wrote and directed the stage adaptation of Nanbaka.
The play will be called Chō Hajike Stage☆Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo (translated as Super Hajike Stage☆Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo), and will be performed at Tokyo’s Theatre1010. Right now it’s scheduled to debut this October.
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo started out as a manga series in 2001 by Yoshio Sawai, and VIZ Media has published parts of it in English. VIZ gave this description for the plot:
In the year 300X, a cruel dictator has 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 shnoz 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.
There was also a sequel manga series called Shinsetsu Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.
The franchise additionally received an anime that came out between 2003-2005. The anime played on Adult Swim from 2005 to 2007, giving it more exposure than most anime get in America, especially at the time.
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin. She is also the author of its upcoming sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
