Bakabon's Papa

**Bakabon's Papa** (バカボンのパパ), created by Fujio Akatsuka, is the protagonist of the series The Genius Bakabon and a recurring part of Akatsuka's Star System.

With being the father of the titular Bakabon, he was initially meant to simply play the part of the foolish father but soon eclipsed his son's intended role as the lead character.

## Overview

The character was modeled after Akatsuka's father, Toshichi Akatsuka (1908-1979), after he had become a "great fool" in personality after his detention in Siberia. However, over the years, Akatsuka himself would seem to identify with the character and even take photographs of himself cosplaying "Papa" with a mustache drawn on in marker.

As the series went along, Akatsuka would later admit "Papa was more interesting while I was drawing", which would lead to him being the breakout of the series.

## Physical Appearance

Papa is a short man, often dwarfed by his son or just about the same size as him. He is recognizable by the headband (hachimaki) and belly-band (haramaki) that he wears, along with his deep forehead wrinkles, thin mustache hairs (to where they can be mistaken for mere nose hair and it joked that it is a "nose hair mustache"), and only bearing two large teeth sticking out of his mouth. His basic outfit is a long-sleeved shirt, blue pants, and a pair of sandals.

When asked if his hachimaki is a basic one or a ribbon, Fujio Pro's Koredeiinoda questionnaire has Papa jokingly answer that it is a "ribbon hachimaki". While his pants are often deep blue in the animated adaptations, the first anime had them depicted as more of a lavender blue shade.

Papa's design is known for initially having a somewhat longer, more oblong head in the early period of the series, as well as the hairs of his mustache being much closer together and looking almost reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin. Papa also sometimes wore a jacket over his shirt. However, this changed as Akatsuka's art style and the series settings evolved.

## Personality

Papa is an astounding fool with a childish personality, often emphasizing the fun yet chaotic parts of a "bad child" in behavior due to his ways of causing mischief and mass trouble. Those except his own family members may often consider him to be unintentionally mean due to his stupidity and unpredictable ways. He is uncompromising in his stubbornness, and once he gets an idea he will stick to it and not be swayed.

Papa is lacking in the common sense and ethics that other adults his age may display, and it is not uncommon for him to want to make things more entertaining in a boring situation but causing others' lives to be ruined around him or death to even occur. Still, it can be those ridiculous ideas that can also provide an unconventional solution to others' problems, even if it may not end the best for them. There are times where he may seem to be merely paranoid and ridiculous in some beliefs, such as insisting a man in the neighborhood is an alien, only to be proven right from his persistence of the truth. Other times, it is just an undying stupidity that he will remain firm in (like being unable to accept fault for thinking it was April Fools, due to an out of date newspaper).

Although Mama describes him in the first anime adaptation as a man who doesn't lie, there are many times in both the source material and the adaptations when Papa will indeed lie and play tricks on others. This can also lead him to dislike dishonesty in others, however, such as not wanting Mama to lie to look good in front of her friends like Non. In the middle of all of his bizarre behavior, he can still be a dedicated and caring family man who wants the best for his wife and children.

His favorite food is stir-fried liver with leeks (*rebanira,* originally *nirareba* but Papa's way of saying it popularized the new name), translated in the Crunchyroll version of *Late Night!* as "grilled liver and chives". He also enjoys eating watermelon, as well as octopus legs, but really hates chikuwabu. As with other middle-aged fathers, he may also enjoy a good drink or smoke cigarettes.

By Akatsuka's intent, Papa is a character designed to always be unemployed and remain like a "wandering vagabond", even if this may be seen as illogical to some who would note that neither parent work in the household yet still manage to live there. Papa has applied for work at various jobs in stories, but this will always end terribly in some way (be it with him being fired, resigning, driving a company into bankruptcy or ruining a given establishment). Some of these jobs, among his numerous attempts, have included:

* A shoe salesman who only winds up eating the shoes (as seen in chapter 1)
* Salaryman at Kaisha Co.
* Portrait painter
* Soba shop owner
* Salesman for "Cat and Dog Cosmetics"
* Monk
* Night watchman
* Carpenter
* Dry cleaner
* Chili pepper taste-tester for "Vegetable Colored Hot Pepper Co."

So even if he is unemployed and against having a job, he has plenty of experience in his own unique way.

Papa is not very good at kanji, but loves running, playing "cat skating" by tying cats to his feet as shoes, as well as doing haiku. He is a big fan of skiing in the winter as well as swimming at the beach in the summer. Some of his special, unique skills include his ability to speak the language of octopi and kappa, and to play the violin so horrible that it will cause others to vomit.

### Speech

Papa has many common sayings that can be witnessed in the series, most of all "This is how things should be!" (*Kore de ii noda!*) which was not in his initial characterization but came along as the series developed further.

He will also enjoy singing "Tarirariran~" he goes along, or greet people with "Konyanachiwa" (instead of "konnichiwa"). The suffix of "na no da" will often be attached to the end of his speech as well.

## Relationships with Other Characters

### Mama

Mama is the more responsible, intelligent wife to Papa but can be frustrated and angered by his antics at times especially if a prank may endanger her or others. Still, it is her patience and understanding that has her trying to balance out Papa's ridiculous behavior.

She was popular in her youth, receiving many love letters from boys, but it was Papa's forward tactic with delivering her a bouquet of pampas grass and his foolishness that had her accept a date from him, if only to humor him. She wound up at the mercy of his stupid attitude from there, to the point where Papa believed a vagrant was an ex-lover of Mama and kicked her in punishment. However, this only spurred her on to propose to Papa, shouting out "You! Let's get married!".

### Papa's Mama

An old woman who is overjoyed to see Papa again when they reunite, but all Papa wants from her is the 3000 yen she borrowed from him 20 years ago. There is no familial bond to her as far as Papa is concerned, as he only wants his money no matter how she refuses.

## History

Described as having been born on Christmas night of the "first year of Showa" (1926), Papa was instantly seen to be a a baby with high potential at birth, already speaking and able to understand economic newspapers. He was also able to stand and walk on his own, and engineer several great inventions and tutor others at only two months of age.

However, one day while walking, Papa sneezed and the gear from his brain that represented such great intelligence flew out of his mouth, sealing his fate. Through his youth, he gained the nicknames of "Carroll" or "Norse", the latter being due to his brain always being absent. It is also later revealed in a setting that Papa had grown up in Kumamoto Prefecture, being raised in the city of Kikuchi and graduating from Shichijo Junior High School. He then moved to Tokyo to attend Bakada High, and move on to its college.

While studying at Bakada University, he met a girl from the nearby Kuroyuri Girls' School and fell in love, with her becoming his wife after a date went in a nonsensical direction. He graduated as the top of his class in the philosophy department, and was a well-loved student in the council.

## Appearances in other works

*See also: Akatsuka's Star System*

* *The Genius Bakabon's Old Man*
* *Extraordinary Ataro*
* *Osomatsu-kun*
* *Let's La Gon*
* *The Flower of Dekoppachi*
* *Gag + Gag*
* *Karappe of the Wind*
* *Bukkare\*Dan*
* *Oh! Great Jailbreak*
* *Nyarome's World Expo Surprise Surprise Surprise Guide*
* *Inspector Oni*
* *Bakumatsu Rare Dog Group*
* *Unkor Wat* (on cover to story)
* *Mad Dog Trotsky*
* *Cat's Eye News*
* *Wanpei and Mo-chan*
* *Nyarome*
* *Waru Waru World*
* *The Great Stupid Detective Kogoro Hakuchi*
* *King of Gags*
* *BC Adam*
* *Kensaku the Architect*
* *Noragaki*
* *Occhan*
* *Nyan Nyan Nyanda*
* *Gags with Fujio*
* *A Turning and Turning World*
* *Itaike-kun (1978 version)*
* *Wonderful Fool*
* *Gag Land*
* *Mr. T.B. (Bakabon's Papa)*
* *Fujio Akatsuka's Parody Guerrilla*
* *House Jack Nana-chan*
* *Monster at Address 13*
* *Run Away Run Away*
* *Nyarome's Fun Mathematics Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Fun Cosmology Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Fun Biology Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Fun Computer Exploration*
* *Nyarome's Fun Exploration of the Body's Mysteries*
* *Nyarome's Fun Sexual Education Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Big Blood Type Studies*
* *Sheeh! Comeback*
* *What Will Fujio Akatsuka Do!?*
* *Japan Laughter Story*
* *Fujio Akatsuka's Literary Walk*
* *Comedy is Coming Now*
* *Ramen Great Escape*
* *Greatest in Japan, Putaro's Family*
* *Gag Shop*
* *The Cat House Owner*
* *Hennako-chan* (Weekly Josei version)
* *Collapse of the Sheeh! Religion*

## Appearances in Animation

### Furious Ataro (1969)

Papa appears in a few voiceless cameos from the mid-point of the series, usually being seen among crowds. These instances can be seen at the start of episode 48, along with episodes 59 and 69.

A more notable role comes in episode 74, where Papa is depicted as an airline mechanic. He was voiced by Joji Yanami, providing a rare and interesting look at a Papa that would debut in something other than his own series, when at the time there was still no *Bakabon* adaptation (with the pilot film by Nippon Film Broadcasting having failed to net a series order).

### The Genius Bakabon (1971)

In this first adaptation, pressure over Papa not having a job resulted in the staff assigning him one and deciding that he'd be a gardener. The logic behind this specific choice would be that Papa would still be able to wander from place to place, and the stories would stem from there.

However, this decision and others were made without the consultation and approval of Fujio Akatsuka, and he disliked the setting. Yet Akatsuka did enjoy the voicing of Papa by Masashi Amenomori, which was influential in him reprising the role for the next adaptation.

### The Original Genius Bakabon

Papa's characterization and circumstances are much closer to the manga in this instance, though his original story was changed some; rather than simply sneezing out the gear in his brain, he got into a car accident and a nearby horse swallowed his brain. At the same time, the horse's own brain was ejected and landed into his mouth, giving him the inferior intellect of the creature.

### Heisei Genius Bakabon

In this adaptation, some of Papa's antics are more modernized and some are softened while still retaining their chaotic nature. His origin is tweaked some to have it so that he lost the gear inside his head due to it being broken when a horse kicked him.

As Masashi Amenomori had passed away in 1984, the competition for a new Papa voice was somewhat challenging. According to a series writer Kazuhisa Sakaguchi, at least six veteran actors had auditioned for Papa, but only Kosei Tomita's naturally fast and active tone proved to have staying power and that he fit perfectly for the naughtier mischief of the character. It may have also helped that Tomita voiced Papa in the 1988 Sega game, and had also voiced Papa in a '71 "Genius Bakabon" sonosheet.

For Tomita, voicing Papa came with a challenge and some regrets during recording, as he had worked with Amenomori on some projects as a co-star and felt saddened over his death and wanted to try to live up to the role in the best way he could.

### Rerere's Genius Bakabon

Papa is modernized some more somewhat for this series, and bears occasional moments of some surprising common sense and knowledge, such as when he teaches Bakabon about how special effects heroes would work.

## Portrayals

### Voice Acting

* Furious Ataro (1969)- Joji Yanami
* The Genius Bakabon (1971), The Original Genius Bakabon, Nyarome's Fun Mathematics Classroom- Masashi Amenomori
* We are Manga-ka: The Tokiwa-so Story- Sanji Hase
* Asahi Sonorama sonosheet, Sega game commercial, Heisei Genius Bakabon, CR Genius Bakabon pachinko game, other commercials- Kosei Tomita
* Rerere's Genius Bakabon- Hisahiro Ogura
* That's How Things Should Be!! Fujio Akatsuka★The Movie- Tadanobu Asano
* The Genius Bakavon: ~Reviving the Dog of Flanders~- FROGMAN
* Big One Group commercial- Minoru Tanaka
* Late Night! Genius Bakabon- Arata Furuta. Hisahiro Ogura also voiced Papa for the first part of episode 1, while Jun Fukuyama also had lines when Papa tried to reinvent himself as a hot anime woman.

### Live Action

Shinya Ueda has portrayed Bakabon's Papa in three Nippon TV live-action specials to date, along with making guest appearances as Papa on programming.

## Trivia

* According to Akatsuka, Papa was his favorite character to draw as "No matter how drunk I am, I can still draw the face of Bakabon's Papa".
* As part of Papa's unique physiology, as seen in the series, his blood type is not A, B, AB, or O, but a special type known as "BAKA". It is a blood that will have a sweet taste to it after he's had alcohol.
* Papa's home was given as Kumamoto Prefecture due to Akatsuka wanting to find a place the entire opposite of Tokyo, and found that his assistant Yosuke Kondo had grown up there and went to Shichijo Junior High. Thus, those specific settings were chosen.

### Name

Another part of Akatsuka's intent for the character and a special case of ambiguity would be that Papa has no true given name at all, simply referring to himself by his true profession, **"Bakabon's Papa"** or simply "Papa".

While he once gives out the name of "Fuchio Tanakada" in the chapter "Everyone is Fuchio-san", this is clarified by the Koredeiinoda site as simply being a prank by the man to fool the Police Officer with Connected Eyes (whose name is given as "Fuchio Shiratsuka" in the story) and to play along with the events going on.

* In the first episode of the 1971 anime, he only gives the name of "Bakabon" when asked about it, and the nameplate at the house reads such. However, as by the intent of the manga and with animated adaptations, the Bakabon name being applied to the house is only so that Bakabon can find his way home easily.
* He is once referred to as "Bakada-san of the 3rd District" in an episode of *The Original Genius Bakabon*.
* In *Rerere's Genius Bakabon*, he simply answers the phone as "Bakabon's Papa" or writes his name as "Papa" on a form.
* In the *Bakavon* film, he claims his name is "Bakavon" but later admits that to be a lie.

In short, Papa is merely Papa, as much as Mama would be Mama.

## External Links

* Bakabon's Papa at Koredeiinoda (Japanese)