Shintetsu Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo 48

Bo-bobo's side has already made quite a fuss with their invasion of the 23 Wards and defeat of IXEX Chinchiro-Hime. Of course, the biggest worry now for another IXEX: the threat that may just be right where he expects it least...

Shinsetsu 48: Super-Warrior of Babylon: Softon

97.
Caption 1: Kita Ward
(TN: Another of the 23 Special Wards located in the far-northern edge of the city, Kita Ward is the ward directly to the east of Itabashi, which was the ward Bo-bobo's forces were in last time)
Caption 2: Ninja Mansion: Black Hattori Castle
(TN: Hattori is obviously in reference to the famed ninja Hattori Hanzo)
Voice: STUPID...
Usui: CHINCHIRO-HIME'S BEEN DEFEATED!? WHAT PEOPLE DID THAT?
Usui: BOBOBO-BO BO-BOBO? ARE THEY THE PEOPLE SPOKEN ABOUT BY KING 3RD?
"Bo-bobo" Nyawan
Wanted Bounty: 50 Yen
(TN: Yeah, this sort of is a bit of a parody of One Piece with Bo-bobo's wanted poster...though weirdly enough, this was around the time in 2006/2007 where the Wanted Posters for the remainder of the crew came out and I believe this is a bit of a parody of the fact that "pet" Tony Tony Chopper...only got a 50 Beli Reward if he gets captured)
Usui: HE'S MAKING FUN OF THE BLACK GAMBLING CAVALRY! THE TRUE TERROR OF THE IXEX WILL BE TAUGHT TO HIM BY BRINGING DEATH!!!
Caption: IXEX Black Gambling Cavalry: USUI
Hair Hunter: Hiiii......Usui-sama.
Usui: ALRIGHT, ALL SOLDIERS HEAD TO THE FRONT!
Hair Hunters: !!!

98.
Hair Hunter: USUI-SAMA, BEHIND YOU, BEHIND YOU! IN THE CHAIR YOU WERE SITTING ON...YOUR CHAIR!!!
Usui: Ah, what's wrong?
Usui: UWAAAAAAAAA!!!! POOOP!!!!

99.
Hair Hunter 1: UWAAA...
Hair Hunter 2: USUI-SAMA TOOK A POOP.
Hair Hunter 3: Though he is a fine adult...
Usui: WRONG!! THAT ISN'T MINE!!
Usui: DON'T GO FLOATING AROUND STRANGE RUMORS, ALL OF YOU.
Hair Hunters: RIGHT.
SFX: Pi
Cell Phone: USUI-SAMA TOOK A POOP.
Usui: WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HEY---!!
Hair Hunter: GYAAAA, I'VE BEEN EXPOSED---!!
Usui: WHAT BEING ARE YOU!! ANSWER.
Softon's Head:
PREVENT HEMORRHOIDS
SOFTON
2580 Yen
Usui: LIAR!!!
Softon: I'VE BEEN HIDING IN THIS CHAIR FOR A WEEK...I TOO AM STILL QUITE UNSKILLED FOR BEING DISCOVERED ALREADY.
"Week Calendar"
Monday: Hair Hunter: Ah, poop.
Tuesday: Hair Hunter: Poop today too.
Wednesday: Hair Hunter: Still there...
Thursday: Hair Hunter: Really...it is well-revealed...
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Usui: HEY, YOU SHOULD HAVE NOTICED IT MUCH SOONER!!
Hair Hunter: Sorry...

100.
Usui: I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT I'LL SHAKE YOU OFF YOU S**T. YOU'LL BE VICTIMIZED BY MY DORORON NINJA SHINKEN!!!!
(TN: "Dororon Ninja" = "Muddied Ninja")
Softon: MY NAME IS SOFTON. UNDER THE DIVINE PROTECTION OF BABYLON SHINKEN, I WILL PLUCK THESE BAD BUDS.
(TN: "Babylon Shinken", as probably explained before, pretty much speaks for itself and is in reference to the early Babylonian civilization)
Hair Hunter 1: SILENCE AND LISTEN TO US, YOU BRAZEN POOP!!
Hair Hunter 2: THOUGH YOU SPEAK AS USUI-SAMA'S POOP, YOU ARE UNFORGIVABLE!!
Usui: THEREFORE, THAT ISN'T MY PO----OP!!
Hair Hunters: DIE---!!

101.
Serviceman: SERVICE-RYUU DAIOUGI: HURRICANE SERVICE WHIRLWIND!!!
(TN: Just to clarify: "Ryuu" = "Style"; Daiougi" = "Big Secret")
Hair Hunters: GYAAAAAAAAA
Serviceman: IT'S ASSISTING SERVICE. LEAVE ME THE SMALL FRY.
Usui: AN ALLY!? FOLLOWING POOP IS PENIS? WHAT'S GOING ON WITH MY ENEMY!
(TN: This actually was way funnier in Japanese: Usui's real line is "unko no tsugi wa chinko"; note how close both words are in construction, with the only difference being the change from "u" to "chi")
Softon: BABYLON SHINKEN OUGI
Usui: !
Softon: This match will be ended at once. (attack caption): MOROCCO'S STREAM!!!
Softon: BABY
Softon: LON

102.
Softon: BABYLON SHINKEN HIOUGI: BABYLON SHANGRI-LA
(TN: First of all, "Babylon" is written strangely as "Babilon" here, which I changed. Secondly: the actual second word in Softon's attack is "Tougenkyou"; which is the Japanese word for the Chinese concept of "Tao Hua Yuan", a utopia place where people live happily and harmoniously. While this "place" actually has several representing names as it could be mentioned in English aside the Chinese concept, including Arcadia and Shambhala (as well as Xanadu but that was in reference to a real city called Shangdu), I am going with the well known concept of "Shangri-La", which actually was a similar place as found in James Hilton's novel "Lost Horizon", as well as the film version of the book by Frank Capra...that and "Shangri-La" just rhymes perfectly with Babylon.)
Usui: UOWAAAAA
Usui: WHAT IS THIS WORLD!!? IT'S A NUMBER OF POOP THAT ISN'T USUAL!!
Softon: THEY'RE NOT POOP...THOSE SEPARATE THINGS ARE BABYLON! THAT IS THE ANSWER.
Usui: I DON'T GET THE MEANING!!

103.
"Poop": BABY BABY BABY BABY
"Poop": LON LON LON LON
Usui: AREN'T THEY POOP NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT THEM? S**T.
Hair Hunter 1: Usui-Sama and Usui-sama's poop...
Hair Hunter 2: Whichever we cheer for, it will be fine.
Serviceman: THIS POOPING POOP CAN'T BE SEEN BY JUST THE LOWER MATERIALS OF THE WORLD!!
Usui: YOU'RE THE LOWEST OF MATERIALS!!!
"Poop 1": Foolish human-baby.
"Poop 2": Devote yourself to Babylon-lon.
Usui: WHO ARE YOU!?
"Poop": IF YOU DO, THEN THE PATH WILL OPEN.
Usui: WHAT ARE THOSE!? A KIND OF FAIRY!?
"Poop": Huh, master?
Usui: HIS PETS!!?
Softon: THESE NUMBERLESS BABYLON WILL LEAD ME TO AN EVEN FURTHER HEIGHT. BATHE ME IN THE POWER OF BABYLON AND LET ME AWAKEN...
Usui: !

104.
Softon: BABYLON SHINKEN KYUUKYOKU OUGI: GOLDEN SOFTON (out loud) THE SINFUL GOLDEN LEGEND
(TN: "Kyuukyoku" = "Ultimate" thus "Ultimate Ougi")

105.
Usui: HE BECAME GOLDEN POOP----!!!
Softon: BABYLON SHINKEN CHOUOUGI: SWEDEN'S PEERLESS FIGHT!!!
Usui: GAHAA!!!!
Usui: I'VE BEEN CUT BY A PLUNGER---!!? Stupid...that destructive power was in a plunger!?
Usui: WHAT EXACTLY IS HE?

106.
Softon: POOP----!!!!

107.
Softon: POOP
Softon: POOP POOP
Softon: POOP POOP POOP
Softon: POOPPOOPPOOPPOOPPOOPPOOP
Softon: POOP POOP POOP POOP POOP POOP
Softon: POOP!!!

108.
Softon: BABYLON!!!
Usui: GYAAAAAAAAA
Usui: GAHAA, THAT...BY POOP...
Softon: THAT ISN'T POOP, IT'S BABYLON. BABYLON SHINKEN CHOUOUGI: JUDGMENT OF BABYLON THAT BECOMES BLANK

109.
Hair Hunters: WE'VE RETURNED TO THE ORIGINAL WORLD!!
Usui: TH...THIS USUI-SAMA...SHOULDN'T LOSE...
Usui: TO THIS POOP GUY---
Usui: DORORON NINJA SHINKEN CHOUOUGI: THREE-FOLD EXTREME CLONES: MOONLIGHT MADNESS SLICE!!!!

110.
Bo-bobo, Don Patch & Tennosuke: SHINSETSU HANAGE SHINKEN CHOUOUGI: WATERBOYS 3!!!!
(TN: "Waterboys" is in reference to a 2001 Japanese comedy film directed by Shinobu Yaguchi about five boys who come together to form a synchronized swim team. It had a sequel and two TV series...but the "three" never came about...except this probably has to do with these three showing up now)
Usui: BU!!!
Softon: BO-BOBO!! THEN BEAUTY'S WITH TOO...
Don Patch: NO---O, POOPIE IS A LECH! BEAUTY WAS TAKING A BATH!
Softon: !!

111.
Beauty: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!
Hanpen: MU, SOFTON-DONO
Pokomi: EHE, INFILTRATION SUCCESSFUL!
Bo-bobo: YO.
Softon: SAME AS EVER.
Usui: THEY...THE GUYS WHO DID IN CHINCHIRO-HIME...IS HE THEIR ALLY?
Bo-bobo: REMEMBER THIS! WE ARE THE STRONGEST TEAM BO-BOBO. WE'RE GOING TO SMASH THE AMBITIONS OF THE NEO-MARUHAGE!!
Usui: !!

TN: In response to the whole discussion I made this time, I offer you three doors to go down in search of "paradise" (or just a soundtrack for this set of notes):
-If you want to head to Shangri-La, then your path will lead you to a classic 60s girl group through this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy8_38U3xLU (it was that or get a song from that Hal David/Burt Bacharat Soundtrack from the "Lost Horizon" remake in the 70s...and there's no way I'm going to look for that)
-If you want to head to Shambahla, follow this link to a classic 70s pop classic by Three Dog Night written by Daniel Moore, who also wrote "My Maria": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvkFjgRMbNI
-And for those in search of Xanadu, nothing beats a bit of 80s pop from a vastly underrated movie...well I thought so. (besides, you can't go wrong with ELO [well Jeff Lynne wrote the song] and Olivia Newton-John): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m1UWSD-FaA

This chapter...well let me just say this: it just felt like something from the early days of Bo-bobo. For some reason, the interactions regarding Softon, Usui and the idiot Hair Hunters who allowed for Softon to sit there forever undercover just felt like something from the early volumes as opposed to some of the stupid stuff that we've been getting as of late that I sort of went into last time with Bo-bobo World. (I think I did, I can't really remember) Though talk of scatological humor aside, the key as to why I felt like an early chapter was merely just how surreal everything felt pretty much from the moment they went to a Shangri-La filled with poop...and we started getting that insane Poop chant near the end. Though...at least one thing was made certain once and for all with this: apparently the whole center of "Babylon Shinken" (the "babylon" mind you) is essentially the poop itself, not just some weird metaphysical concept...then again it probably is a weird metaphysical concept, but it is personified with poop...I think. Sure the whole matter of what Babylon is changes by your perspective and where you stand, but that is all up to interpretation. Though as I said before, I think the weird surrealness of Softon and his encounter with Usui, not to mention Usui's freak-outs and even the Hair Hunters just gave it an early Bo-bobo vibe that made me like it a lot...a real lot.

(A final tip: if you ever catch Ataru listening to "I'm Alive", don't bother him. He's daydreaming in his own world with his own beautiful muses)