| Outline |
Tensai BakabonEver since his birth, Bakabon’s Papa, who lives in Ochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, had been renowned as a genius. Later, however, he had an accident that suddenly changed him into a child-like man lacking common sense and ethics, and because of that he is considered “stupid and mean” by people other than his family.Bakabon’s Papa lives with his wife and two children; he is unemployed for most of the time and goes around playing with his son Bakabon. The story develops around this family, with each episode standing alone and featuring interaction with various other characters.Basically, the plot of each episode is as follows: first, Bakabon’s Papa encounters an incident or problem, and then he is ridiculed by or plays pranks on certain related characters. As a result, the behavior of Bakabon’s Papa is depicted as outrageous and incomprehensible.The entire series is structured around “nonsense jokes” and “surreal jokes”, and many characters experience unfavorable outcomes, making the series a “gag story for younger children” featuring comedy with black humor and irony.So far five series have been created, along with a movie version and TV drama series.Due to social reasons, some media outlets could not accept that Bakabon’s Papa was unemployed. Therefore, the setting was changed so that he was a gardener.When Tensai Bakabon first appeared in the Weekly Shonen Magazine in 1967, the main character was Bakabon, but the increasing popularity of Bakabon’s Papa led to him to replace his son as the main character. |
