Bobobo-bo bo-bobo 108

Halekulani has been stopped! Hallelujah Land has been defeated! Now with no more Heavenly Kings, the Maruhage Empire is finally safer and Bo-bobo can finally take a long-deserved res......um hold that thought: where's Heppokomaru?

Ougi 108: The Challenge from Cyber City

155.
Beauty: Hello there, everyone…the time has finally come…
Everyone: THE 2003 GREAT POPULARITY AWARD RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT------!!!!!
(Translator’s Note: What a difference a year makes! Compared to 2002, where the revelation of the most popular character of the series was merely just a single cover page with the biggest vote-getters, 2003 gets a full three page reveal, complete with a bunch of popular characters on the first page and a countdown of the top ten on the next two! Of course, Bo-bobo was one of the big guns of the magazines two years in so Sawai probably could get away with it by now. Now, on to the results…)

156.
Don Patch: HERE IS WHERE THE RESULTS OF #1~#10 ARE REVEALED AND ARE ANNOUNCED WITH THE PUBLISHING OF THEIR FAMOUS SCENE!! FIRST IS #10
#10: RICE: 139 VOTES
Beauty: WHAT’S THIS!!? THIS SCENE NEVER HAPPENED!!!
#9: HATENKO: 146 VOTES
Beauty: THIS DIDN’T HAPPEN EITHER!!!
#8: SERVICEMAN: 184 VOTES
Serviceman: SERVICE!!
Beauty: KYA—
Don Patch: Starting here, we’re making the revealing concise.
#7: SOFTON: 246 VOTES
Beauty: THAT’S TOO CONCISE!!!
(Translator’s Note: Beauty actually said “Tekitousugi”, which is “too reasonable”…but I think she’s screaming at Don Patch’s “concise” strategy so I made it “too concise”)
#6: BEAUTY: 406 VOTES
Beauty: WHY IS THERE BLOOD AROUND ME!!? (The image is horrible)
#5: HEPPOKOMARU: 553 VOTES
Heppokomaru: I DON’T WEAR A WEIRD OUTFI—T!!!
#4: BOBOBO-BO BO-BOBO: 564 VOTES
Caption: NEXT TIME: BOBOBO-BO BO-BOBO 2: SELECTION OF LOVE! IT’S BO-BOBO. WHAT I’LL SHOW YOU OF YOUR ERA!!
Beauty: THERE’S NO REASON AT ALL!!!
Don Patch: BEFORE I GET TO THE TOP THREE, I’LL REVEAL #11~#20--!!

157.
#11: KOPATCH: 130 VOTES
#12: TORPEDO GIRL: 117 VOTES
#13: KOUGA CIVILIZATION: 113 VOTES
#14: KING NOSEHAIR: 90 VOTES
#15: BOBOPATCH: 82 VOTES
#16: SUZU: 78 VOTES
#17: PICKLES: 69 VOTES
#18: GAME BOY PIG: 66 VOTES
#19: N&NS: 61 VOTES
#19: HAOU: 61 VOTES
Don Patch: WHY IS THERE A BANANA BACKGROUND!!?
Don Patch: AND NOW WE’LL FINALLY REVEAL THE TOP THREE--!!!
Don Patch: THIRD PLACE: TOKORO TENNOSUKE!!!
#3: TOKORO TENNOSUKE: 888 VOTES
Tennosuke: I’M NOT DEAD--!!!
Don Patch: AND SECOND PLACE IS DENGAKU MAN
#2: DENGAKU MAN: 1708 VOTES
Dengaku Man: No Ra~~!
Beauty: AMAZING POPULARITY---!!! (Unexpected)
Don Patch: AND SO, THE GLORIOUS FIRST PLACE IS…
#1: DON PATCH: 1893 VOTES
Don Patch: DON’T JOKE AROUND, GUYS--!!
Everyone: WE’LL KILL YOU!!!
SFX: BAM, WHAM, BAM
Beauty: The main story begins on page 159. Please look forward to it.
(Translator’s Note: Before we go any further into the main meat of the chapter, I’m just going to take a quick look at the comparison between the ’02 and ’03 polls for any particular trends. Probably the biggest trend is the falling of the main human characters in the poll: while Heppokomaru, Bo-bobo and Beauty were 2/3/4 last time, this time there is a slight shift with Heppokomaru plummeting to 6th, Beauty sliding to 5th and Bo-bobo going down to 4th…similar to the trend is Hatenko slightly edging down to 9th. On the other hand, Tennosuke flies up to 3rd from 5th on the previous poll and Dengaku Man, on his first poll mind you, flies all the way up to 2nd! Serviceman also makes the top ten for the first time, while Rice enters his first poll in the top ten. The Kopatch are still surprisingly high in 11th place, defeating Torpedo Girl in her first poll while Pickles collapses down towards 17th from 9th…see, I told you that once we meet more characters he would finally go down. Probably the surprise of this poll is Kouga Civilization…he really wasn’t my favorite even of the Civilization trio but he did make 12th….similarly surprising was Haou making the top 20 but the poll started around the time of his final battle with Bo-bobo’s group so I think that helped. Oh…and even more freakish: that thing inside that pig butt on Ruby’s floor…was 21st. Oh those gag characters! But enough talk: on with the chapter)

159.
Heppokomaru: MAY!!
(Translator’s Note: “Satsuki” = 5th Month on the lunar calendar…or as I translate it, the fifth month of the year, May. Remember: Heppokomaru’s “Onara Shinken” attacks are based on months)
SFX: FART
Hair Hunter: GYAA
Heppokomaru: That gets rid of all of them…
People: THANK YOU. WE’VE ALL BEEN FREED FROM HALEKULANI!
Voice: WELL DONE—YOU’VE DONE IT.
SFX: Clap clap
Heppokomaru: !!
Wan Ronga: ARE YOU HEPPOKOMARU?
R-252: There’s no mistaking it. He is printed on the list.
Heppokomaru: Why do they know my name? (out loud) WHAT ARE YOU--!?
R-252: Do you use Onara Shinken?
Heppokomaru: Do I?
R-252: Fufu…if you came to extort Halekulani, then this is a pickup he won’t know about…
Wan Ronga: COMMENCE THE “SHINKEN HUNT”. WE’LL KIDNAP THE BRAT FOR THE MOMENT.
R-252: OK

160.
Narrator: At that moment, Bo-bobo’s group, who have defeated Halekulani, are…
Narrator: Beginning to rebuild Hallelujah Land.
Beauty: WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING!!?
Tennosuke: So, our direction is we’re going to turn it into “Tokoroten Land”.
SFX: Move
Beauty: NO, THAT DIRECTION WILL NEVER WORK!!
Don Patch: WELL, I’LL PLANT A LOT OF CHIKUWA.
Beauty: WHAT!? I DON’T GET THIS AT ALL.
Bo-bobo: THOSE TWO SUGGESTIONS HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY ACCEPTED.
Sign: TOKOROTEN LAND
SFX: BA—N
Beauty: IT’S TOO LATE----!!!

161.
Bo-bobo: We’ll look and see it’s a great park.
Beauty: HEY! WAIT!!
Narrator: 30 minutes later.
Bo-bobo, Don Patch & Tennosuke: It didn’t work.
Beauty: Thought so.
Beauty: While we’re at it, where did He-kun go…I’m worried…
Bo-bobo: Don’t worry, Beauty.
Bo-bobo: See, he’s having a good time with those guys.
Beauty: Ah
Bo-bobo: He’s having fun.
Heppokomaru: LET ME OUT OF HERE!! LET ME OUT!!
SFX: GOOOOO
Beauty: HE’S BEING KIDNAPPED AWAY----!!!

162.
Beauty: HE’S NOT HAVING FUN!! HURRY AND SAVE HIM!!
Bo-bobo: No, it’s hopeless. He’s in the sky.
Beauty: I’LL KICK YOU TO DEATH!!!
Bo-bobo: BEAUTY IS SCARY TODAY!! WE’LL SAVE YOU NOW, HEPPOKOMARU! HANAGE SHINKEN OUGI
Bo-bobo: HOPPING JUMP!!!
SFX: BOING BOING BOING
Beauty: BE SERIOUS IF IT’S MY REQUEST--!!!!
Beauty: AAH…THEY’RE GONE!
Beauty: THEY…THEY STOLE AWAY HE-KUN…
SFX: Collapse
Bo-bobo: Sorry…that was all we could do………
Beauty: DIDN’T YOU DO ONE THING!!!

163.
Bo-bobo: Well, Heppokomaru is alright.
Softon: No, this is bad.
Softon: I’ve seen that costume before. Those guys are from Cyber City. Cyber City is the most inhuman city of the Maruhage Empire…Those who go there don’t come back.
Bo-bobo: YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID THAT EARLIER----!!!
SFX: WHAM
Tennosuke: FUGO!!!
Beauty: WELL, CAN’T WE SAVE HE-KUN BEFORE HE ARRIVES THERE?
Softon: Cyber City is a massive city that floats in the sea. All we can do is get there before them.
Tennosuke: That’s it!! Poop!!
Beauty: WELL, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HE-KUN THERE?
Don Patch: Sometimes, people die.
Suzu: I can send you as far as the harbor with my teleport.
Bo-bobo: Please.

164.
Narrator: Cyber City
4th: EVEN HALEKULANI, IN THE END, WAS DEFEATED BY BO-BOBO. I WANT TO BORROW THE POWER THAT YOU…NO, ALL OF YOU HAVE.
“Voice”: ………Fu
Girl: Primitive
“Voice”: How dejecting. That money-grubber too…
4th: GIGA. THIS IS MY ORDER. IT IS URGENT THAT BO-BOBO’S TEAM…
SFX: SLAM
Giga: STOP YOUR ORDER, TSURULINA. AREN’T YOU AND I EQUALS?
4th: YOU………
Giga: I don’t take the conditions of the Maruhage Empire.

165.
Giga: Then again.
Giga: RECENTLY I’VE STARTED MY “SHINKEN HUNT”.
Giga: THOSE THAT ARE HUNTED ARE TRAPPED INTO BEING TURNED INTO “OBJET D’ART”.
(Translator’s Note: “Objet D’art”, a term we’ll be seeing a lot in this arc, is a French word regarding the presentation of a piece of art. The Japanese version of the word is “obuje”, which I will be presenting throughout this arc, particularly with Giga’s Shinken, as “objet”)
Caption: EMPEROR OF THE CYBER EMPIRE: GIGA
Girls: Snicker, Ahaha

166.
Narrator: Harbor
Suzu: TELEPORT
SFX: HYUN
Softon: We’re here
Bo-bobo: OK, WE’RE HERE!! LET’S BOARD A BOAT IMMEDIATELY!!
Beauty: THAT’S JUST A CAR!!
Bo-bobo: DEPART!!!
SFX: SPLA—SH
Beauty: A NEW SUICIDE!!?
Softon: THIS ISN’T THE SITUATION TO PLAY!! I’VE GOT A BOAT! WE SET OFF IMMEDIATELY!!
Beauty: SOFTON-SAN!
Softon: NOW BOARD!!!
SFX: Float float
Beauty: NOOOOO!!!!

167.
Softon: WHAT’S WRONG? BOARD QUICKLY!!
Beauty: NO!! THERE ISN’T ANYONE WHO WILL TAKE THAT!!
Beauty: THERE IS------!!!
Tennosuke: YOU’RE REALLY SPOILED, MISS.
Beauty: !
Tennosuke: SO THEN, HOP ABOARD MY “NU” BOAT!!
Beauty: THAT SHIP'S UNDECENT----!!!
Beauty: Let's go, Softon-san.
Tennosuke: !! I LOST TO POOP!! (Shock)
Narrator: And so, Bo-bobo's team set off in poop.
Suzu: Good luck--

168.
Narrator: Inside the ship
Beauty: The ship's inside is surprisingly cramped.
Bo-bobo: No, it's barely wide enough.
Bo-bobo: FOR AN ATHLETIC MEET!!!
SFX: BAM BAM BAM
Beauty: LET'S NOT DO THAT!! (Softon too)
Bo-bobo: CONTEST #1: FLYING DENGAKU!!!
SFX: BAM BO--OM
Beauty: KYAAAAA
Bo-bobo: CONTEST #2: BASKET DON PATCH!!!
SFX: SMASH
Beauty: KYAAAAA

169.
Softon: THE RED TEAM WINS
Beauty: BUT HE DID NOTHING?
SFX: BO--OM
Beauty: WA!! WHAT'S THAT CRASH?
Voices: OUTSIDE!! AH! WHAT ARE THEY!?
Mohawk: AHEAD OF HERE IS CYBER CITY WATERS.
Dreads: TRESSPASSING BOATS WILL BE DESTROYED BY US.
Caption: CYBER CITY GUARD CORPS
Beauty: THIS FEELS SCARY. WHAT ARE THOSE TWO...?
Softon: This is bad...Those guys are Guard Corps.
Mohawk: WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU?
Don Patch: WE'RE THE "LIFETIME - FAST-DRINKERS CLUB"!!
Shirts: FAST DRINKERS CLUB
Beauty: NO WE'RE NOT!!! (What is that?)

170.
Bo-bobo: Here, a T-shirt for Beauty.
Beauty: I drink slowly---
Bo-bobo: !!
Mohawk: SINK!
SFX: KABO--OM
Voice: AAH!!
Everyone: WA---THE SHIP IS SINKING----!! SINKING SINKING----
SFX: GLUB GLUB
Tennosuke: THE POOP SUNK THE POOP THE POOP THE POOP THE POOP POOP POOP THE POOP AAA!!!
Beauty: SHUT UP!!
Bo-bobo: LEAVE THIS TO ME!! HANAGE SHINKEN OUGI: SKATING RINK!!!!
Bo-bobo: I---AT THE PARTY EARLIER, I SAID THERE WAS SOMEONE WHO RESEMBLED YOSUKE KUBOZUKA----
(Translator's Note: As explained prior, Yosuke Kubozuka is a famous Japanese actor known for such films as "Go!" & "Ping Pong" as well as various J-Dramas such as "Ikebukuro West Gate Park" & "Great Teacher Onizuka")

171.
SFX: SHINE
Beauty: HE FROZE THE SEA----!!! (It's actually cold but)
Bo-bobo: ALRIGHT!! THIS WAY, THE BOAT WON'T SINK!! NOW!! GO OVER THE ICETOP AND DEFEAT THOSE GUYS!!!
Don Patch & Tennosuke: OK!!
SFX: GO!!
SFX: FLY
SFX: CR--ASH
Don Patch & Tennosuke: GYAAAA
Don Patch: WE'LL FREEZE TO DEATH--!! WE'LL FREEZE TO DEATH--!!
Tennosuke: SAVE US NOW----!!
SFX: CLUNK
Beauty: GYAAAA, MURDER----!!!

172.
Bo-bobo: I FORGOT THE RING FLOAT!
Beauty: LIE!! DEFINITE LIE!!
Mohawk: Worthless technique.
Dreads: We'll lower our hand and won't worry about it. It's a good job.
Bo-bobo: SHUT UP!! WE'RE GOING TO GET BACK HEPPOKOMARU!! AND WE'LL DEFEAT ANYONE IN OUR WAY!!!
Mohawk: INTRUDERS ARE MANNED AT SITE SOUTH-306.
Bo-bobo: HANAGE SHINKEN OUGI
Bo-bobo: HONDARAPO--I 'S HOGEHOGE PO----!
(Translator's Note: I have no idea what they're saying so treat this as gibberish)
Beauty: WHAT'S THAT-----!!?

173.
SFX: GOOOOOOOO
SFX: Smirk
Torpedo Girl: I CAN'T FORGIVE YOUR FOOLISHNESS-------!!!
Mohawk: GUO!!?
Torpedo Girl: THAT'S BECAUSE I'M A TORPEDO!!!
Beauty: THE STRONGEST ONE HAS COME----!!!
Bo-bobo, Don Patch & Tennosuke: SHE'S FINALLY COME----!!! FROM THE SEA----
Dengaku Man: Eh---I hate her.

Translator's Note: And thus...just like that and all so sudden...she's back. The character who just barely made #12 on her first poll has finally returned to the story! The reason why...will be made evident when we get to a couple chapters from now, but just be grateful...for one thing, this is the only time Torpedo Girl does that "I'm a Torpedo" bit this arc. Aside from the return of everyone's favorite Idiot Killer, there is a bit to go over this time around...and it all starts with everyone's favorite US manga company. Let me ask this straight up before I mention anything more: what the heck was Viz thinking in releasing Cyber City in the US without either this or the following chapter? On one hand it sort of makes sense: they want to follow the volumes so they just start from the beginning of volume 11...which is in the midst of a fight. But on the other hand it makes even less sense than starting from Hallelujah Land! While it was bad enough that they still haven't done the beginning of the series and it could make sense to start at the beginning of a new volume...they end up shooting themselves in the foot by NOT translating what is essentially the set-up for the entire Cyber City arc! You just dive right into the story and have no setup, thinking people have probably seen the anime already or will read whatever summary the volume comes with! OK, Bo-bobo is simple enough on its own that you don't really need too much to set up an arc compared to many other series but come on: what if the first two chapters of your favorite manga arc were thrown away just because the company distributing wanted to just do the full volume as is? Look, I'm all for keeping volumes as is but this was a special case: it was bad enough they sort of mushed the end of 9 and most of 10 for the "Hallelujah Land" volume, but at least give us the beginning of Cyber City, Viz. That's all the fans are asking. Of course...that's not going to stop me from translating it but hopefully I"m filling in important blanks for those who are reading this so that makes me happy. My other real interesting thought about this arc is pretty much about the introduction of the main villain this time around: Giga. For one thing, he's a freak. You'll see how freaky later but even from his first appearance we see how weird of an artist he is. The second interesting matter: he's a pimp. Giga has two of the hottest girls in the entire series...and they're just his giggling buffoons who watch him and cling all over him the entire time! Why can't we have girls clinging to us all the time!? And the last matter, which I sort of forget about every time I get up to this part...is that he's pretty much his own empire. Usually when I get here, I originally thought "Giga is just pretty much Tsurulina's jailer and works with the Maruhage"...but I finally understand the truth: Giga is an emperor of his own and Cyber City is pretty much a dark, twisted empire unconnected to the Maruhage in all fashions. We see how easily Giga just ignores what Tsurulina the 4th says and goes on with his Shinken hunt regardless! Of course, there is one more important key regarding the boss this time around: it's here that the power structure in Bo-bobo begins to start rapidly rising. Whereas the main bosses were just subordinates of Tsurulina before, it is at this point we get someone more powerful than the Heavenly Kings, not to mention an equal to Tsurulina the 4th in at least prestige! (but I doubt power since the 4th really isn't a fighter) And as we will see with this arcs and the arcs to come: as the boss gets more powerful in a shonen, so do their subordinates..but I'll get to that in a while. For now, let's just dream of a better world where we have cute subordinates clinging all over us and Bo-bobo was a complete run in the US...