Nonsensical NO.1

Cover to the Akita Shoten "Sunday Comics" volume.

**Nonsensical NO.1** (メチャクチャNO.1) is a gag manga series by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro.

It was the successor feature to Circus Jinta in *Adventure King* magazine, running considerably longer and having been memorable enough to be revived for a second run.

## Overview

This series revolves around a rather dumb young man named Bokeo, his super-smart cat Tora, and the situations that they get into. Fujio Pro describes Bokeo himself as being a predecessor to Bakabon, and that the series was the first work by Akatsuka to feature such a foolish protagonist (while it is said that the presence and popularity of Ichiro in *Otasuke-kun* paved the way to have a fool character as the spotlight).

Initially, the setting revolves around Bokeo and Tora's ridiculous adventures contrasting with the common society, to more outlandish plots involving Bokeo traveling to paranormal worlds, deserted islands, and even drifting through space-time to other eras. As the revival of the series ran in tandem with *The Genius Bakabon* after a while, it also took on a more randomized and unpredictable gag sense to the end.

Akatsuka's Star System is used in the work, with other series' characters being involved in the plots as guest stars. In addition, an alien from the Rubber Planet resembles a prototypical Scatan of *The Numbness of Scatan*, which would launch in 1965 during the last portion of the first run.

Much different prototypes of Bokeo and Tora appeared in the "Next Series Notice" seen in the December 1963 *Adventure King* issue, after the wrap-up of *Jinta*. Bokeo had not yet developed his foolish look and dressed in a ninja costume, while Tora had a much harsher, scruffier appearance and had no overbite.

## Characters

### Bokeo

An incoherent, but leisurely and good-natured young man who is unable to really hate. His mouth can often change to different fun sorts of shapes (eg: arrows, stars) to represent how he is currently feeling. He is a simple boy often going with the flow and wandering through the equally strange worlds he happens upon.

Early on, Bokeo is shown to wear pants beneath his kimono but his design evolves to where he doesn't use them (similar to how Bakabon would develop).

### Tora

The pet cat. After an injection of medicine, he suddenly became able to speak the human language and could communicate with Bokeo.

He is basically re-used as Pit/Chibira in the series Good Morning with Mi-tan, and vanishes from the 1967 relaunch due to this; Bokeo is shown searching for Tora in a chapter and wondering where could have disappeared off to. Amusingly, Bokeo also cameos in *Mi-tan* to react to Chibira going by in the street, but does not acknowledge the cat's identical appearance.

### Bokeo's Parents

Bokeo's mother is encouraging and supportive of her son, while his father is often frustrated by his ridiculous behavior. As a reversal of the usual expectations of Akatsuka parent designs, the mother is incredibly short while the father is the taller figure.

### Ichiro and Hatabō

Bokeo's two friends, who are just about as dense as he is. Ichiro originates from the series *Otasuke-kun*, while Hatabō is from *Osomatsu-kun*.

## Serialization

* Adventure King (Akita Shoten): January 1964 to December 1965. Also appeared in summer vacation issue for September 15, 1965. Second run serialized from January to September 1967, with New Years special for January 15 extra number.
* Separate Edition Adventure King: December 15, 1967

In all, there should be at least 36 chapters between runs.

## Reprints

* Tokyo Top Publishing: 3 volume kashihon (1965)
* Akita Shoten: "Sunday Comics", 1 volume (1968)
* Futabasha: 2 volumes (1976)
* Shogakukan: The Futabasha volumes are reprinted as part of the "Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works" DVD-ROM set released in 2002

There has yet to be a full individual reprint of the series in recent years, or an eBook release.

## External Links

* "Nonsensical NO.1" summary by Hiroshi Nawa, "Fujio Akatsuka as a Cultural Heritage" (Japanese)