Cultural Notes
Obocchama-kun
Retro Pop Culture
Obocchama-kun is a Shonen Sunday manga series by Yoshinori Kobayashi. It dealt with a spoiled rich kid and his adventures in the bubble economy of the late 1980s and early 1990s Japan.
Relevance to Ranma 1/2
Obocchama-kun appeared in Shonen Sunday at the same time as Ranma 1/2. The volume 42 issue from 1990 featured female Ranma holding Obocchama, and was drawn by both Takahashi and Kobayashi.
Ranma 1/2 fans were very upset by the cover, in part due to the fact that Obocchama-kun's anime was airing against Ranma 1/2, and was partially responsible for it's initial cancellation. One Ranma 1/2 fan sent Kobayashi a razor blade in the mail as a threat because of the cover. Kobayashi went on to be a vocal conservative pundit in the Japanese media.
You can view the full cover in our Gallery section.