Bokeo (ボケ男 Bokeo) is a character created by Fujio Akatsuka, appearing in Mechakucha NO.1 but also making a guest appearance in Osomatsu-kun.
Overview[]
Bokeo, originating from an outside series, comes into play in the manga as an ally of Chibita with amazing strength.
Personality & Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
Bokeo is a taller, chubby young man with a shaved head, beady dot eyes, and "whiskers" on his cheeks. He wears a blue yukata with hatch mark designs, and a dark obi around his waist.
As a sight gag, his mouth tends to warp into different fun shapes to express his emotions; appearing as a question mark when he is confused, as a star, and so on. This makes for a more curious impression to his design.
Personality[]
He is a simplistic boy with a good-natured and leisurely impression. While he is not that intelligent, he is very resilient and can easily outwit and best the sextuplets in a fight. He is an animal lover, which leads to him fighting to defend Chibita's frog in his first guest appearance.
In other sightings, he is a rather energetic fool that tends to play a supporting part without much need to show off his skills.
Relationships[]
Bokeo lives with his father, mother, and his pet cat Tora ("tiger"). He can be usually seen to be friends with two other foolish children, Hatabō and Ichiro.
Chibita comes to rely on him as a friend and protector, with his absurd strength proving handy in retrieving his lost frog.
History[]
Osomatsu-kun (manga)[]
A month before their formal debut, Bokeo and Tora could be seen at Chibita's violin concert in a December 1963 chapter of Osomatsu-kun, as a sneak peek. They were shown getting frustrated with Chibita's concert turning out horribly and to be a scam.
By the tenth 1965 issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday (marked for February 28), Bokeo had since had his own series running in Adventure King and had become known as his own character. In the issue's story "Don't Tease a Frog", he would fight the sextuplets for stealing Chibita's knocked-out frog and give readers of the magazine an extended glimpse of his character.
He would next appear in a Wild West special as a foolhardy sheriff and apprentice to Chibita, and as an extra in "Mito Komon Iyami". Further cameos of Bokeo would show him among crowd scenes of Akatsuka characters; him as a poor child wanting Chibita's extra money, praying at a grave at the Treasure Island theme park, or as a pirate in the battle between Hatabō and Matsuyo's troops.
Trivia[]
- Between his physical traits and foolish personality, Bokeo is noted by Fujio Pro to be a sort of precursor to Bakabon.
- Bokeo's appearances in -kun, as well as Hatabō (and Ichiro of Otasuke-kun) being a recurring character in his title, would be just one of many examples of a "star system" coming into play. Other -kun characters like Iyami can be seen in Mechakucha NO.1 as well.