Muno

Milo

Wep

Milo

Mino

Pelo

Mino

Milo’s

Pelo

Mina

Mino

Min

Pon

Mino

Mina

Minda

Barumba’s life in stages

Barumba is a character from the Baruuba’s adventures series by Yoshimasa Ikeda. 

Matthew Chikudate was born in Hawaii, to a fashion show seller and her Okinawan partner/roommate, but he lived there for only the first few months of his life. Then they arrived into what would become Uganda, the Pearl of East Africa, likely to look out for treasure, but got stranded in a mountainous jungle instead, so they’d build a stilt house there, when he was only a young baby boy. 

When he was in the stilt-hut, his parents, who were struggling to survive a flash flood, were dragged over by a cannibal apeman king, who would bludgeon and eat them later on, making them dead in his eyes. 

An old ApeWoman (of the snowman kind) found the baby boy crying and adopted him as if he was her grandson, while bringing him over to her village in the jungle. Most of the fellow apemen were both envious and distrustful of the baby, which meant that she had to raise him mostly in the trees. She took him into her wonderful den, which sat upon a rather tall tree while both a tent and a gorgeous tree boma were nearby. She named him Barumba, meaning ‘strong beauty’ in her people’s rudimentary language. 

As for Wemero, one of his friends, his own birth parents, a Japanese American mechanic and her Egyptologist husband, were kidnapped by a bunch of bad spirits and were semi-permanently trapped there when he was a young child. Thus, he had to live with the furry swamp hicks and travelled with them throughout a part of Uganda’s western region, only to leave them behind in adulthood. 

Minlo

Mina

Milo

Mina

Mind

Mard

Make

Baruuba Show

Baruuba’s brother - Baruuba’s older brother.

Baruuba’s sister - Baruuba’s older sister.

Balooba/Barooba (Baruuba) (バルーバ) - Baruuba is the son of a Lithuanian American mum and a Kiga dad in the jungles of Bwindi. He is a wild child (later a wild young man) raised by ape men and other animals after his middle aged parents died. He also has a long lost older brother, who lives in another part of Bwindi. He uses a (Rurara) sword to attack strangers and a (Omushyo) knife to cut down thickets of bush. 

Baruuba’s aunt - Of the would be competing jungle champs’ followers, Baruuba’s surviving aunt on his dad’s side is one member of the audience most likely linked to the epic man upping battles. She is a former fugitive who has the balls to liberate herself partly from the machinations of her awful husband and fellow schemers. 

Baruuba’s uncle - Baruuba has a really horrible uncle, a serial pervert who’s enslaved and pimped out teenaged and young adult girls for decades. He’s the main reason why his ballsy aunt has escaped permanently from his house and joins her paternal nephew on his adventures instead. 

Baruuba’s mum - Mina was the mother of Baruuba and his siblings. Being an outcast derided by her native society, she met her partner in a (Hiiga) hunt and lived with him near the jungle for over a decade before they died. 

Baruuba’s dad - Yonasani was the father of Baruuba and his brother. Being the son of outcasts, he met his foreign partner in crime, who bore him three children, two boys and a middle girl. 

Mili

Mina

Mina

Ima

Paung

Minlo

Mol

Spin

Mili

Mint

Gtge

Mini

Mink

Mint

BaRuuba’s Adventures: Phrases

Baruuba Phrases 

Baruumba (バールンーバ) 

Sentences related to Snowmen  

The Snowmen in the Mist. 

霧の中の雪人間！

They are the Snowmen in the Mist.

霧の中の雪人間です。

Sentences related to rainforests and jungles 

I've been living in the enchanted rainforest since babyhood.

私は幼い頃から魅惑的な熱帯雨林に住んでいます。

Come with me to the lake!

私と一緒に湖へ行きましょう！

Yukan: Characters

The characters of Yukan (Jukan) 

Vinson Barbosa: Fernandina’s husband and Yukan’s father. 

Fernandina Santo: Yukan’s mother, who descended from a regional Brazilian nobleman who was so horrible that he spawned dozens of children by plunging onto their slave mothers’ privates every year. 

Yukan (Jukan): Yukan is revealed as the only child of a male farmer and a blonde haired real estate agent. His dad and mum were great grandchildren of various ancestors, including a shaman and a Brazilian aristocrat so messed up that even other noblemen feared him. 

Moacir: Moacir was Yukan’s puma friend. 

Mani: Yukan’s wife, a dark haired maven in the making. 

Yukan’s Friends and Family 

Tatiana Kruszelnicki: Tatiana Kruszelnicki is a Jewish blonde from Mato Grosso Do Sul.

Cristina Weissmuller: Cristina is a redhead friend of Tatiana Kruszelnicki from the same state as her. 

Agatha Nilsson: Agatha is a Swedish wildlife artist who has holidayed in Mato Grosso. 

Daniel Kingsley: Daniel is a brown eyed, black haired Brit from London. 

Vivi Gilberto: Vivi is one of the few Afro Brazilian characters in the whole series. 

Marcella Kingsley: Daniel’s raven haired, blue eyed younger sister. 

Carla Rayleigh: A fellow blonde friend of Marcella Kingsley. 

Porasy Alves: Porasy is a pale skinned, dark haired, brown eyed friend of Jurema Da Silva. She likely has caboclo roots. 

Liliana Tsukahara: Liliana is a suburban friend of Jandira Baldocchi. 

Julia Nascimento: The shy braided Julia is both Mani’s friend and the bridesmaid for Yukan and Mani. 

Aunt Zoe: Yukan’s scatterbrained paternal aunt. 

Cousin Milia: Zoe’s daughter and a friend of Julia Nascimento. 

Tobias Da Silva: Tobias is a treasure hunter who lives in the suburbs near the jungles of what would be Mato Grosso’s Xingu National Park. 

Fausta Simões: Brown skinned Fausta is the mother of Yurema Da Silva. 

Jurema (Yurema) Da Silva: Fausta and Tobias’s cocky brown haired daughter.

Jandira (Yandira) Baldocchi: A green eyed big city woman named Jandira first met Yukan when he and his Aunt Zoe were fighting off really wicked humans. She is also a badass in her own right.  

Gau

Milk

Munt

Loko

Mina

Mint

Baruuba’s Adventures: Locations

The locations in Baruuba’s Adventures

In the Semuliki subregion 

Kijura Escarpment 

Semuliki Hills

Itwara Forest

Lamia Swamplands

Despite having a tempting name, the Lamia Swamplands are actually just northeast of the Lamia tributary in the Semuliki subregion. These swamplands are also in East Africa’s only slice of predominantly mid-lowland rainforest far west of the Swahili coast.  

Dido’s Shelter

Dido’s tent hut is the location that Barumba rents out in the swamp during spring break. For a thing built by a cryptid ape woman, it’s a rather elaborate tent hut. 

Rwenzori Mountains 

Burondo Plains

Rwebisengo Savanna 

In the Lake George subregion

Bigodi Swamplands 

Ishasha Plains 

Kalinzu and Maramagambo

This pair of ecologically significant midland rainforests is filled with baboons and other primates. The forests in turn are companions to both the Kyambura Gorge and Kashoya Kitomi. 

Kashoya Kitomi 

Kibale

A more seasonal forest in the Lake George corridor. 

Kyambura Gorge

A gorge filled galley forest valley filled with primates galore. 

Lake Kyasanduka 

Lake Nyamasingiri 

In the Kanungu subregion 

Kigezi Plateau 

Bwindi Heartlands 

Ishasha Gorge

Mubwindi Swamplands 

Ngoto Swamplands 

Omubiyana Swamplands

  

Jungle Lilies: characters

The characters of Jungle Lilies 

Bombo (ボンボ): 

Jona (ジョナ): 

Ilo

Minty

Baruuba’s Adventures: Mixups

The Elemental Creatures 

The Manimals (動物人) 

The Snowmen (雪人間) 

The Snowmen raised Barumba for much of his childhood and youth. They speak a rudimentary language which Barumba has understood for a long time. 

Ringa (リンガ) -

Pingo (ピンゴ) -

Mushalya (ムシャリヤ) - Mushalya is the adoptive father of Barumba. He is named after Africa’s tallest native tree.

ZiLili (ジリリ) - 

Those who mix all three 

Revised

Here’s The Key 

Yoshimasa Ikeda Baruuba Land Series

The Books after Baruuba’s Journey 

Baruuba Builds a Home 

Japanese (バルーバが家を建てる) 

Foreign, non-English versions: Croatian (Baruba Gradi Dom)

Baruuba in the Kingdom of Stone

Japanese (石の王国のバルーバ) 

Foreign, non-English versions: Croatian (Baruba u Kraljevstvu Kamena) 

Kaanga: Characters

The characters of Kaanga 

Hero and Heroine

Kaanga (ケアンガ): Aka Hugo Kane, Kaanga is a man living in the jungle with various other animals. He was a toddler when his parents were killed by poachers, on the process of becoming adopted and raised by a family of ogre-like ape men and women. Thereafter, he is a mighty yelling chest-pounder who leaves most animals alone and who swings through trees with each one of his hands. Unlike Ki-Gor, who’s raised by human bandits, he is a green eyed strawberry blonde raised by a beast family in the rainforest. Like Hella, he is skilled at surviving in it. 

Hella: Aka Halle Mason, she is Kaanga’s girlfriend and later wife, who was abandoned by a dying expedition when she was a youth. Being a tomboy, she also likes to parkour through the trees. 

Junior: Kaänga and Hella’s adopted son. 

Kaanga’s Found Family

Koko: Kaanga’s girly she-ape sister, who happens to be a spunky engineer. 

Baruuba’s Adventures: Spirits

The Spirits of Baruuba’s Adventures

Devils (悪魔たち) 

Shapeshifters in the form of many devil types are the main villainous shifting forms in many Baruuba books. However, in these stories they often possess reckless albeit fun loving villains. 

Angels (天使たち) 

Shapeshifters in the forms of many angel types, including biblically accurate angels, tend to be somewhat more horrifying than shapeshifters in the form of demons, and for good reason. 

Beast Shapeshifters (獣の変身者) 

Shapeshifters in the forms of ordinary looking beasts are likely more mundane than either angels or devils. 

Dilruba (ディルルバ) - Dilruba is one of Baruuba’s less trustworthy allies. She is a woman who was forcibly turned into a man sized eagle as a result of being cursed by a wizard. 

Selma (セルマ) - Selma is Dilruba’s little sister, who was forcibly turned into a man sized eagle by the wizard who turned Firdaus and Brûlée into a peacock and a gorilla respectively. 

Sajid (サジッド) - Dilruba’s recurring male ally, a man who was forcibly turned into a man sized eagle by the same jackass Wizard as her. 

Brûlée (ブリュレ) - An affable Bad Guy whom Barumba met when he was trekking through the swamplands. Is likely a lonesome overweight male trying to survive being temporarily turned into a huge gorilla by a wizard who is different from the one who turned Sajid and Dilruba into man sized eagles. 

Firdaus (フィルダウス) - A sickly man who was forcibly turned into a partly leucistic peacock by the same wizard who turned Brûlée into a gorilla. 

Kurami (倉見) - Kurami was the human turned Mountain Machairodus opponent of Baruuba during his stay in the swamplands.

Yoshimasa Ikeda Baruuba supplements

The Baruuba Supplements 

Companion Books 

Baruuba the Leaper

Japanese (飛び跳ねるバルーバ) 

Baruuba the Adventurer

Japanese (冒険者バルーバ) 

Baruuba the Wanderer

Japanese (放浪者バルーバ) 

Mitzi the Home Wrecker 

Japanese (家の解体屋ミッツィ)

Baruuba Swings Through 

Japanese (バルーバが振り抜く) 

Baruuba Leaps Through 

Japanese (バルーバが飛び越える)

Baruuba Surfs Through

Japanese (バルーバがサーフィンをする) 

Baruuba Brachiates Through 

Japanese (バルーバが腕を突き抜ける) 

Baruuba and his Family (バルーバとその家族) Introductory Books 

Baruuba and his Wife

Japanese (バルーバと彼の妻) 

Baruuba and his Foundling 

Japanese (バルーバとその捨て子) 

Baruuba and his Son

Japanese (バルーバと息子)

Baruuba and his Daughter

Japanese (バルーバと娘) 

Baruuba and his Baby 

Japanese (バルーバと赤ちゃん) 

Baruuba and his Dog

Japanese (バルーバと彼の犬) 

The Baruuba Location Books 

Baruuba in the Savanna: The Savanna and its kin are a family of iconic habitats united by the big five African beasts. 

Japanese (サバンナのバルーバ) 

Baruuba in the Cloud Forest: The Rwenzori cloudforest, between Lake Edward and the Semliki swamplands, is one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s highest tropical forests. 

Japanese (雲霧林のバルーバ)

Baruuba in the Swamp: The swamplands that surround the Rwenzori range have a mostly monsoonal climate.

Japanese (沼地のバルーバ) 

Baruuba in the Jungle: Baruuba sometimes dwells in a medley of mostly secondary forests near the savanna. 

Japanese (ジャングルのバルーバ)

Baruuba in the Primeval Midland Forest: 

Japanese (密林のバルーバ)

Baruuba in the Misted Rainforest: Guess what? Baruuba was adopted and raised by Apes in the Bwindi rainforest. 

Japanese (熱帯雨林のバルーバ) 

Pounder Books 

Baruuba Pounds his Chest 

Japanese (胸を張るバルーバ) 

Baruuba’s Son Pounds his Chest 

Japanese (胸を張るバルーバの息子) 

Books 

Baruuba’s Wilderness 

Japanese (バルーバの荒野) 

Baruuba to the Rescue 

Japanese (バルーバが助けに来る) 

Real Life Models for Yoshimasa Ikeda’s characters

Opinions of Baruuba, Buruuba and others 

Half-German actor Ureo Egawa was likely one of the first six physical models for the original Baruuba himself. Then there was Richard von Coudenhove Kalergi, an actual half-Japanese Austrian politician. Having a Flemish Belgian-Greek nobleman father was one of the minor reasons why the original Baruuba’s mother was also a noblewoman. The caveat is that said mother was a Japanese one whose parent was likely a posh samurai. He was likely the character’s model in the Poplar prints of the first four Baruuba books, which lasted from 1954 to 1959. 

The late Filipino cartoonist-writer Francisco V. Coching, who is increasingly acknowledged as a real life (unkempt) Mr. Fanservice himself, was one of the character’s unexpected models in the chapter book companions for Japanese primary school kids of the early 1950s. 

Even though the other two are maternally half-Japanese but tended to look a bit more European (their paternal grandmothers might have a stronger bodily role than we’d like to think), the original Baruuba had a more even bodily influence from both parents, which is clearly made canon not only by Yoshimasa Ikeda’s writing, but also by both Omizu Suzuki and Goichi Yanagawa’s artworks within varying degrees. 

But it’s Ryutaro Otomo who had the biggest and longest running influence on the classic character and his own Expy Buruuba, likely for obvious reasons. First, he was an actor playing both anti-heroes and straight ones. Second, although not a manly common beauty, he was fanboyed by almost everyone who has watched and still watches films featuring him. Third and last, not only was he one of the ballsiest actors who ever walked the whole Japanese nation, the characters he played were the main inspirations for the first Baruuba’s personality in the pre-PlayStation prints. He also was a model for Buruuba in the Shōnen Club picture stories. 

Iconic swimmer and sometime actor Yoshihiro Hamaguchi was the first major model for Baruuba’s (kind of) official expy, Buruuba. However, he wasn’t as pretty looking as his more experienced competitor, who subsequently took the helm from 1957 onwards. 

The sixth and longest running model for both characters might have been Rentaro Mikuni, who was the original character’s model not only in the 1957 Baruuba manga by the little known Jun Toyama, but also as Buruuba’s model in the 1960-61 Shōnen Buruuba manga by Kyuuta Ishikawa and the 1966-67 Ikkosha prints. 

Okinawa’s Kamen Rider sensation Shuya Sunagawa is likely the closest thing that the canonised Barumba character has to a real life model. 

As a plausible wholesale reboot, the more adult and violent Export Edition series, derived from not only the somewhat infamous Sanichi Shobo Shōnen Novel compilations, but also from the original 1948-51 prints of at least six out of seven books. The reason why there are six out of seven books is likely apparent, as the first three published books of the whole series are fairly identical in all but name, and the last one by Yoshimasa Ikeda could not be released until 1992. But since the other three are often more known than both the first two in publishing order, there are only four out of seven books in each subsequent print up until 1988 and 1992 for the end of Showa-early Heisei Sanichi Shobo compilations, which have six out of seven books. The main reason why is that the significant addition of a rather okay manuscript turned seventh book is known as one of the last Yoshimasa Ikeda books with majority-original content known to mankind. 

Although the somewhat expanded+slightly renamed 1954-59 Poplar Publishing reprints and the more minimalist 1966-67 Ikkosha reprints tend to have fewer books than the Showa to Heisei Sanichi Shobo compilations, they can still be included in the proposed making of the Export Edition due to being just as historically important as the original Tondo Shinsosha prints, which tend to have fewer surviving copies due to more wear and tear, and the aforementioned successors themselves, which are otherwise still good but tend to be riddled with somewhat questionable changes. 

The series will feature a newly canonised Baruuba who’ll be much different from both his older book print+Manga and film+Manga predecessors. He is Baruumba, the son of a southern Okinawan dad and a Sinti (Sintesa) mum named Jinhaku. He was born in Hawaii but arrived into the Bwindi rainforest as a baby for a study. 

The rest is history. They successfully built a stilt house, but were kidnapped out of their jungle home by murderous cryptid gangsters who would kill them later. It’s been clear that Jinhaku will become something like The Phantom.

Mermaid Melody: Characters P2

The Common North Pacific Sea Spirits 

Vix: A female water dragon spirit who is friends with Isobel. 

The Ruling North Pacific Sea Spirits 

Aqua Rex: Aqua Regina’s lover from the same spirit kind, who’s the male ruling spirit of the sea-folk. 

Aqua Regina: The female ruling spirit of the sea-folk. She is a sea smoker spirit who is likely thirty thousand years old like Aqua Rex. 

Aqua Marina: Aqua Marina is the potential successor to Aqua Rex and Aqua Regina, who would abdicate soon since they’re too tired of being below more messed up spirits. Because of this and other situations, the rivals’ warlike supporters can go berserk upon much of the habitats available to mess with. A sea smoker spirit herself. 

The Hawaiian Beast Spirits 

*Do note that out of the villainous teams in the Kenya Boy/Jungle Hunt universe, this gang of tropical spirits is likely more sympathetic than any other, mainly because of much harsher events such as the largely complete destruction of some Hawaiian tropical forests. 

Lana: Lana is a shapeshifting butterfly spirit, who was initially loosely inspired by the Mainland Chinese orchestral pop band 12 Girls. Nowadays, she’ll be inspired more often by the Butterfly monsters of Kamen Rider fame.  

Makina: Makina is a shapeshifting fruit bat spirit, who was initially inspired by the internationally beloved TM Revolution (aka Takanori Nishikawa). Since TM Revolution is currently popular mainly with general Japanese pop culture fans, she’ll instead be inspired by the Bat monsters of Kamen Rider fame.

The Panthalassa

The Coral Spirits: As their group name suggests, these spirits are anthropomorphic ghosts of prehistoric corals. 

The Pangaea 

The Mud Spirits: These spirits protect the mangroves.

The Powers That Be 

The Shitstorm: The Shitstorm was the only known absolute ruler of the current powers that be, who has most likely created Arak and the foot soldiers millions of more years before Arak created Mir and Craw. He was a disaster who birthed tons of disposable spawn, which was why even Arak would rip them to death. 

Arak: Arak is a drunken mad scientist spirit who not only rules the Solar System dominion, he has long been a nut job whom even the Great One had run away from. Arak is sixty million years old and has twelve million more years to go. 

Leu: A flying female spirit created by the Shitstorm, she is Axon’s preceding guard who dislikes their oldest sibling mainly because of how neglectful he is. Leu is also savvier than both her siblings for a few more reasons. 

Axon: A younger flying male spirit created by the Shitstorm. Although the second of four major spirits, he’s also quite a goofy chomping jackass much of the time. Being a rather villainous gadfly, he still loves messing over his fellow spirits. 

Mir: Mir is likely a bisexual spirit who watches over the waves and the coral spirits. She looks great and does have flippers, even though she’s usually much randier than the latter. 

Vue: Another flying spirit created by Arak from unrelated sources. Despite their plain sounding seafood name, they are beautiful in their own right and still come equipped with six powerful wings, but are still a sad soul who’d been wandering through many kinds of habitats for a super long time. Vue is only about twelve million years old and has sixty million more years to go, even though they are still learning more.

The Thrashing Ash Night-marchers: The Shitstorm created these big hungry spirits before he created Arak from various sources. They are a diverse group of ghosts who began their first lives as prehistoric marine animals. 

Mermaid Melody: Characters

The characters of Mermaid Melody Chronicles 

The Mermaid Pretenders 

Lucia Natali: Gingery blonde haired, cyan eyed Lucia lived somewhere in Vancouver before moving to Tofino. 

Catrina ‘Trina’ Baldwin: Medium brown haired, green hazel eyed Trina is from Halifax.

Hannah van der Merwe: An immigrant Afrikaner who escaped the Apartheid with her fellow rebelling parents. She is a Chestnut haired, green eyed fella. 

Coco Paunovic: Dark blonde haired, yellow hazel eyed Coco has both Māori and Dalmatian (Chakavian) Croatian ancestry. 

Caren Fernández: Taupe haired, grey eyed Caren from Chile lived and walked the earth for years. 

Noelle Beauvoir: Light brown haired, blue eyed Noelle lived in the Canadian Arctic for a while. 

Sara Izri: Titian haired, brown hazel eyed Sara is a Rifian lady from Morocco. 

Shelly Ives: Auburn haired, light brown eyed Shelly has some Whadjuk ancestry and lives in Perth, Western Australia. 

The Hendersons 

Kaiali’i Henderson: Auburn haired, medium brown eyed Kaiali’i is a jungle dwelling Hapa boy who lives with his parents and paternal grandparents in one of the Hawaiian islands. 

Kaipo Henderson: Kaipo is the son of a native Hawaiian craftswoman and a military vet, who also happens to be Kaiali’i’s father. He is likely about 41-43 years old.

The Amagi Family

Gai Amagi: After their parents died in an avalanche, Gai Amagi lived with his older sister and little brother Ken when they were shipwrecked together into the Congo. 

Nobuyo Amagi: Ken Amagi’s nephew and Gai’s son, who was born on the April 8 1939 Hanamatsuri. 

Rikichi Amagi: Ken Amagi’s grandnephew and Gai’s grandson. 

The O’Riordans

Angus O’Riordan: Aka the Great One, Angus O’Riordan lived a deadly yet adventurous life around the world. He met friends and worthy opponents as diverse as Kate O’Connell and Joe Moriyama. 

Will O’Riordan: Angus’s youngest of three sons, Will is likely the father of Michaela and Gavin. 

Gavin O’Riordan: Gavin the punk is Angus’s grandson and the estranged older brother of Michaela. He is likely 21 years old and frequently dyes his hair grey. 

Michaela O’Riordan: Gavin’s little sister and Angus’ granddaughter. Their parents were quite screwed up people, but they did look after them for the first years of their lives. 

Gavin’s Friends 

Melvin: Melvin is Gavin’s idol. Except for their hair and heads, they are quite similar. 

Elnora: Melvin’s little sister, who happens to resemble Michaela pretty closely, except for showing a lighter shade of brown hair. 

The Tofino Food Restaurant 

Nicola Benedetto: Nicola is a restaurant owner in Tofino, a sleepy island town not too far from Vancouver. 

Rafa Benedetto: Rafa is Nicola’s daughter, who also happens to play a mermaid just like her younger fellows. 

The School Fellows

Ramona Flack: Prissy’s nice and comfy niece, a fellow student at the secondary school that Lucia once attended. 

Priscilla Flack: Prissy’s full name is a pun on that of British pop culture icon Priscilla Black. 

Marlon Sinclair: Marlon is a college aged guy who wears a beanie hat. 

Vicenza: Vicenza is a moody tomboy in a crime ridden burb. She is still in a friendly rivalry with Maria Chiriac and Yuri however. 

Pearly Shell: 

Miria: 

Lirio: 

Carlina: Vicenza’s nicer and more observant twin sister. 

The Surfing Club Allies

Casper Jones: Casper Jones is both an indie surfer and an idol of the local beach girls. 

Jonathan Cline: Casper’s younger companion. 

Isobel and Fellow Rivals 

Isobel Raymundo: Schemingly sensual Isobel works for someone more corrupt than her. She is likely thirty to thirty two years old.

Antonia: Meaner, though similar looking friend of Isobel Raymundo. She is about the same age as her.

Ryō Takamori: An estranged friend of Rikichi Amagi. 

Melania Prodan: Chestnut haired, light brown eyed Melania immigrated from Yugoslavian period Croatia.

Aisha ‘ALaLa’ Diba: Medium brown haired, dark brown eyed Alala is a Moroccan immigrant of Rifian Berber descent. 

Wade: Big Bad of the first two arcs. 

Maria Chiriac: A Romanian refugee/adoptee from the decadence of Ceausescu rule. 

Yuri Fiodarau: A gadfly of a Belarusian refugee who has survived escaping into Canada from a then upcoming Belarusian government, now under the decadence of Lukashenko rule. 

Mimosa ‘Mimi’ Corrales: Mimosa is a foster child working on Indie Rock project the BridgeBabes. 

Shandra ‘Shishi’ Houston: Shishi is Mimosa’s longtime Buddy. 

The Bikers 

Mika: A femme gay blonde person with steel blue eyes, whose only main friend is Jimmy. 

Luka: Dark haired Luka is allies with both Mika and Jimmy.

Jimmy Thurmond: Mika’s butch gay boyfriend. 

The Seattle and Vancouver Sea Folk 

Ray Clammer: A plain donk who happens to be a Pacific razor clam. 

Cristina: Cristina is a shiny, semi wild Vancouver crystal jelly. 

Joan: Another Vancouver local who happens to be a Pacific geoduck clam. 

Alabina: Alabina is a deadly gorgeous North Pacific Sea Angel. 

Momo: A motherly dolphin. 

Pipo: A cute boy dolphin. 

The Hawaiian Sea Folk 

Akala: She is a Cats Tongue Oyster whose name means ‘Pink’ in Hawaiian. 

Plopper and Princess

A spinoff series of Simpsons related short stories may focus on two animal characters who are an odd couple, a pig called Plopper and a brown pony named Princess. 

A major Simpsons character, a black cat called Snowball the second, whose relatives are Mrs Hoover’s pet cat Hemsworth, who is her mate, and Officer Wiggum’s pet cat Mittens, will sometimes appear. 

There’s Baz, a cute troublemaker owned by Ned Flanders whose only main friends are Milhouse Van Houten’s small pet dogs, Clara the Shih Tzu and Taquito the chihuahua. 

Newton, Database’s Japanese Chin-Papillon mix, seems to be friends with Devin, who is Lenny’s pet Boston Terrier.

Shamus the brown mongrel is friends with Smiley the bulldog. Lao Tzu is friends with Shaggy, who is Barney Gumble’s big grey pet dog. 

Jub Jub the iguana is an acquaintance of Pokey the Guinea pig and Nosey the rabbit. 

The cast of Baruuba series

The cast of the Baruuba series 

Baruuba’s family 

Baruuba - 

Baruuba’s aunt - 

Baruuba’s uncle - 

Baruuba’s mum - 

Baruuba’s dad - 

The named animals in RuKiga

Enjoka - The RuKiga and RuTooro word for snake. Baruuba tends to leave most snakes alone because, although still quite dangerous and widely feared, they aren’t as venomous or even nightmarish as black tailed Jameson’s mambas. 

Semutundu - The RuKiga word for catfish. 

Empundu - The RuKiga word for baboon. 

Emporogoma - The RuKiga word for lion. 

Enzuguri - the RuKiga word for ripon barbel. 

Enkima - The RuKiga and RuNyankore word for monkey. 

Emamba - The RuKiga word for leopard lungfish.

Engwe - The RuKiga word for leopard. 

Kasurubana - The RuKiga word for elephant snout fish. 

Emale - The RuKiga and RuTooro word for catfish. 

Enjojo - The RuKiga and RuTooro word for elephant. When Baruuba was a child raised by beastly snowmen, he first met a crowd of bush elephants near the Mubwindi swamp.  

Embaka - The RuKiga word for jungle caracal.

Enkyima - The RuKiga word for squirrel.

Kasuku - The RuKiga and RuNyankore word for parrot.

Engaji - The RuKiga word for gorilla. 

Embeba - The RuKiga and RuTooro word for rat. 

Gonya - The RuKiga word for crocodile. 

Enturu - The RuKiga word for civet. 

Omuterere - The RuKiga word for genet. 

The named animals in RuTooro 

Entale - The RuTooro word for lion.

Empyo - The RuTooro word for crocodile. 

Isomba - The RuTooro word for genet. 

Entamujugu - The RuTooro word for civet.

Etuku - The RuTooro word for parrot.

Engo - The RuTooro word for leopard. 

Enkerebe - The RuTooro word for baboon. 

Ensisibirizi - The RuTooro word for squirrel.

The named animals in RuNyankore 

Akanyamwenyi - The RuNyankore word for small squirrel. 

Empimbi - The RuNyankore word for civet. 

Ekicuncu - The RuNyankore word for lion. 

Rujuguta - The RuNyankore word for genet. 

Enkobe - The RuNyankore word for baboon. 

Kaamugye - The RuNyankore word for big squirrel. 

More Tarzan Oddballs

The odd radionovela

The Adventures of Tarzan is an Argentinian radionovela that was a cash in combination of both the Dell Comics stories and the Lex Barker movies. It aired from 1950 up until 1954 and starred Cesar Llanos as a Tarzan in name only, Mabel Landó as Juana the Jane Parker expy, and the would be infamously active Peronist Oscar Rovito as Tarzanito, Tarzan’s adopted son who is clearly one of Jai’s two semi-official prototypes. 

The Tarzan mangas and manga illustrations of the Cold War 

1949: Illustrator Yoshizo Wada made a rather unofficial manga centring around the youth of Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan portrayal, which clearly suggests that such a portrayal was itself raised by Chimps and Gorillas amongst various animals, instead of just by Manganis like in the canonical ERB books. A succeeding story named the Jungle Club, which is likely set after Tarzan and the Huntress but before Tarzan and the Mermaids, has him ride a giant eagle friend of his, who’s likely inspired by Argus from the ERB books. 

1954: The famed illustrator Macoto Takahashi’s first ever manga was a really hard to find unofficial oddball for a good reason. It revolved around a shaggy long haired Tarzan in name only and his girlfriend, a High Priestess La+Jane Porter cross named Princess Jane. It was likely manufactured when he was starting his career while turning twenty. 

Tarzan, Jai and Cheeta’s foray into semi-official manga: Takeshi Furushiro, better known as a lamented manga adapter of historical events, made a semi-offical Tarzan manga centring around Ron Ely’s well done Tarzan portrayal, his ward Jai (sometimes called Boy due to his young age) and their furry friend Cheeta (who’s likely a young tomboy). 

By the time that many Tarzan films and a then new tv show would become a regular tv staple in many countries, Noboru Kawasaki made the goofy looking, Johnny Weissmuller Period inspired illustrations of a poppy vinyl single, which contained the two main songs from a currently long gone Japanese dub broadcasted by Tv NET, now known as Tv Asahi. 

The standout is that the Japanised versions of Ron Ely’s Tarzan and Manuel Padilla’s Jai (as with the Takeshi Furushiro manga, he’s sometimes called Boy) still wore the hip and brief loincloths that the 1960s show is still infamous for to this day, even though their hairstyles looked a bit too much like those of the two Johnnies, Weissmuller and Sheffield.

La Riviera: Characters

La Riviera: Characters 

Mariana Cardamone: When Mariana was about thirteen, her ageing father and mother died sick, while a devilish former friend of theirs took over their peddling estate somewhere near Arles. She worked hard throughout her life in order to gain tons of money, so that she can marry someone who can bear her a girl. 

Leonardo Cardamone: Mariana’s late peddler father. 

Irma Cardamone: Mariana’s late fortune teller mother. 

The Savino family 

Bruno Savino: The abused household patriarch whose erratic brothers and father Alberto have a lot of trouble with society. He is both Helena’s father and a surviving victim of abuse by a more domineering former childhood friend of his. 

Luigi Savino: Luigi is a beard looking for a better life. He had to be married off to Mariana so that he could leave his family behind. 

Pietro Savino: A virgin until his forced marriage to Esther. 

Isabelle Savino: Mariana and Luigi’s niece. 

Alberto Savino: Alberto was a chain smoking native of Rome who married a wealthy self made woman who bore him about three sons. His erratic behaviour was clearly what led to Mariana marrying off unlucky Luigi from the family. 

Helena Savino: A very antagonistic girl, Helena lived with her abuse victim father Bruno in Rome until the northern fascists came there. They fled the scene afterwards, but her uncle Pietro was forcibly married to a spartan Arles native named Esther, whose malicious former friend left her without much of a will. She was friends with Mariana ‘till things got worse in her life.   

Esther Givet: A minor character. 

The case for preferring Dragon Quest over YM’s works

Dragon Quest has both a diverse but unpredictable fanbase ecosystem and the balls to be preferred by many people inside Japan over Yoshimasa Ikeda’s works. 

Baruuba’s Adventures: Cryptids

The Cryptids of Baruuba’s Adventures

Ngargiya (ンガルギヤ/ガルギヤ) 

An endonym for the Chimp like men who live in the woods. Sometimes there’s a single loner fighting alone but more often, they’re in a gang of mooks led by a senior. 

Akako (赤子) - A friend of Barumba who lives in a shelter. 

Kabiniro (カビニロ) 

Likely an endonym for the Baboon like men who live in the savanna. They come in crowds, have the tendency to be rough as guts and are quite dangerous when not in a good mood. 

Dido (ダイド) - Dido is one of Barumba’s distrustful neighbours in the swamp. She is from the Kabiniro tribe who owns a shelter next door to his holiday one. 

Kibambangwe/Kibambangue (キバンバンウェ/キバンバンゲ/キバンバングェ/キバンバングエ) 

The Kibambangue is a dastardly, large lion-like hominid creature living in Southern Uganda near the volcanoes of Virunga. 

Ntarargo (ンタラルゴ) 

Singular Rutarargo (ルタラルゴ) 

Rutarargo is in fact a Rukonjo endonym for an uncommon, pseudo melanistic morph of a leopard. 

Kikomba (キコンバ) 

Kikomba as a term most likely refers to bipedal cryptid anthropoids who live in some parts of Uganda and Rwanda, plus much of northeastern DRC south of the main Iturian basin. Even though they also live in jungles, Kikombas are reserved savanna dwellers who just want be out of the spotlight. Torso and head wise, they surely are piggish in appearance, coupled with being dangerous omnivores who predominantly feed on plants for the most part. 

Kakundakari (カクンダカリ)

Kakundakari as a term refers to a tribe of skittish bipedal ape relicts who prowl in the woods. Being both human and squirrel like in appearance, complete with long hair and leaves, Kakundakaris tend to make pranks on everyone involved. 

Fifi (フィフィ) 

Kenya Boy: Locations

The Locations of Kenya Boy

India

Ahwa: Ahwa is the town where Joe was born. His Kukna mother met his Japanese father years before that. 

Bhenskatri: This town in the southeast of present day Gujarat is close to where the hero was born. It is one of the towns that would fund the Purna Wildlife Sanctuary decades later. 

Purna Wildlife Sanctuary: It is a tropical deciduous forest filled with a lot of wild animals, such as Asian elephants and Indian leopards. 

Ireland 

Ballybricken: Ballybricken is the town where Kate O’Connell and her siblings were born. Older sister Mara had to bottle feed her frequently as they departed for Nairobi in Kenya, when the former was a baby. 

Japan

Nagasaki: Joe Moriyama’s father Shotaro came from this city, which was nearly destroyed by atomic bombs at the end of WW2. 

Kenya

Aberdare National Park: North of Nairobi is Aberdare National Park, where the eponymous Aberdare fences protect a lot of bush elephants from being poached to death. 

Borana and Lewa Wildlife Conservancies: A pair of Wildlife Conservancies which would become known as such in more recent times. 

Cherangani Hills: Both Kapcherop and Tembu forests are within the Cherangani hills range. 

Enonkishu Conservancy: Enonkishu is where the crazy Nazis were from. 

Hells Gate and Mt Longonot National Parks: A pair of national parks north of Mt Suswa but south of Lake Naivasha and the Kingono Game Ranch. 

Il Ngwesi Community Trust: 

Kakamega Forest National Reserve: Kakamega Forest National Reserve contains Kenya’s only predominantly lowland rainforest, which is filled with blue monkeys and many other animals. 

Katimok Provincial Forest: A forest reserve in the Mau Escarpment. 

Kapcherop and Tembu Forests: A pair of forest fragments in the Cherangani Hills range. 

Kerio Valley National Park: 

Kiangombe Forest Reserve:

Kingono Game Ranch: Kingono Game Ranch is near lake Naivasha. 

Lake Kisima: 

Lake Naivasha: Lake Naivasha is in the northwest of Nairobi but southeast of Lake Nakuru.  

Lake Nakuru National Park: Lake Nakuru National Park is in the northwest of Lake Naivasha. 

Lekurruki Conservation Trust: 

Leparua Community Conservancy: 

Loita Forest: This Tropical Forest is in the Mau Escarpment. 

Loita Hills: Loita hills is where the eponymous Loita Forest is. Its mystical inhabitants include cryptids like Dingoneks. 

Losiolo Escarpment: 

Lugari Forest: 

Maasai Mara National Reserve: Close to the Serengeti National Park is its equally famous Kenyan equivalent known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Rhinos, lions, crocodiles and countless other animals live in this place. 

Malava and Teresia Forests: A pair of tropical forest fragments where the blue guenons live. 

Mara North Conservancy: Being in the northeast of the Maasai Mara Triangle, this conservancy is full of large animals like rhinos and leopards. 

Mara Triangle: The famed Maasai Mara National Park is in the southwest of Kenya. It is also where Joe started his journey throughout the Kenyan hinterland (and some parts of two other East African nations). 

Mau Escarpment: The Mau Escarpment, with its gorgeous forested mountains, has long been inhabited by Ogiek warriors, ladies and children for hundreds of years.

Mugie Wildlife Conservancy: 

Mwea National Reserve: 

Mt Kenya National Park: Mt Kenya National Park contains Kenya’s namesake mountain, which means the ‘Mountain of Whiteness’ in Kikuyu. 

Mt Kipiri Forest Reserve:

Mt Suswa Conservancy: Mt Suswa is South 

Naboisho Conservancy: 

Nairobi National Park: What would become a National Park was a warriors’ hunting ground. 

Ngare Dare Forest: This Tropical Forest Fragment is both close to and a part of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. 

Ngong Hills Forest Reserve: Southwest of Nairobi National Park is the Ngong Hills where Maasai warriors and ladies live. 

Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary: Northwest of what would become Nairobi National Park is a sanctuary where the nasty rock ogres live. 

Ol Ari Nyiro Conservancy: 

Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park: Ol Donyo Sabuk is in the Kyanzavi Division south of Nairobi. As with many Kenyan National parks, lions and various other animals live in this place. Its name means ‘large mountain’ in the Maasai language. 

Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy: 

Ol Pejeta Conservancy: 

Rimpa Estates Wildlife Conservancy: Near the Ngong Hills is what would become the Rimpa Estates Wildlife Conservancy. 

Ruma National Park: Ruma National Park is near Lake Victoria. 

Rumuruti Forest: 

Sosian Reserve: 

South Nandi Forest: The South Nandi Forest is where the other cryptids live. 

Southwestern Mau National Reserve: 

Twilight Cave: 

Tanzania

Grumeti Game Reserve: 

Ikorongo Game Reserve: 

Maswa Game Reserve: 

Serengeti National Park: Next to Maswa Game Reserve is the Serengeti National Park. It has long been well known as a primary subject of many documentaries and fiction movies about rhinos and lions.  

Uganda

Bwindi National Park: Being full of fruit bats, parrots and mountain gorillas, Bwindi is where Joe finally meets his father again. The small but complex ecosystem hosts a variety of wildlife, with some being more widespread than others. 

Kitum Cave: It is a place where bush elephants mine the salts in its walls and where there’s a lot of bat guano in its deeper corners. 

Mt Elgon National Park: Mt Elgon is the place that contains Kitum Cave.

Yoshimasa Ikeda Baruuba Translations

Yoshimasa Ikeda Baruuba Translations 

Baruuba (Barooba) the Wild Jungle Snowboy 

In one language: Finnish (Baruuba Villi Viidakon Lumipoika), Estonian (Barumba Metsiku Džungli Lumepoiss), Swedish (Baruba den Vilda Djungelns Snöpojke), Danish (Barubar den Vilde Jungle Snedreng), Hungarian (Baruba a Vad Dzsungel Hófiúja) 

In multiple languages: Dutch dialects (Baroeba/Baroemba de Wilde Jungle Sneeuwjongen), German languages (Baruba/Barüba/Barümba/Barüba/Barubar/Barübar der Wilde Dschungel Schneejunge), Cantonese and Taiwanese Mandarin (巴倫巴野生叢林雪男孩) 

Baruuba (Barooba) the Wild Jungle Snowman 

In one language: Finnish (Baruuba Villi Viidakon Lumiukko), Afrikaans (Barumba die Wilde Oerwoud Sneeuman), Estonian (Barumba Metsiku Džungli Lumeinimemene), Luxembourgish (Baruba de Wëlle Dschungel Schnéimännchen), Swedish (Baruba den Vilda Djungelns Snögubben), Latvian (Baruba Savvaļas Džungļu Sniegavīrs), Lithuanian (Baruba Laukinių Džiunglių Sniego Senis), Danish (Barubar den Vilde Jungle Snemand), Hungarian (Baruba a Vad Dzsungel Hóember)

In multiple languages: Dutch dialects (Baroeba/Baroemba de Wilde Jungle Sneeuwman), German languages (Barubar/Baruba/Barüba/Barübar/Barumba/Barümba der Wilde Dschungel Schneemann), Cantonese and Taiwanese Mandarin (巴倫巴野生叢林雪人) 

Baruuba (Barooba) from the Chilly Wild Hills 

Swedish (Baruba från de Kyliga Vilda Kullarna), Norwegian (Baruba fra de Kjølige Ville Åsene), Latvian (Baruba no Vēsajiem Savvaļas Kalniem), Lithuanian (Baruba iš Vėsių Laukinių Kalvų), Danish (Barubar fra de Kølige Bilde Bakker), Hungarian (Baruba a Hideg Vad Dombokról), Korean (쌀쌀한 야생 언덕의 바룸바/바루바), Galician (Baruba dos Fríos Outeiros Salvaxes), Greek (Μπαρούμπα από τους Ψυχρός Αγριος Λόφοι), Maltese (Baruba mill Għoljiet Selvaġġi Kiesaħ), Irish (Barúba ó na Cnoic Fuar Fiáin)

In multiple languages: Cantonese and Taiwanese Mandarin (來自寒冷的野山的巴倫巴), Spanish dialects (Báruba/Bárubar de las Frías Colinas Salvajes), French dialects (Baroubar/Barouba des Collines Sauvages et Froides), Catalán dialects (Baruba dels Turons Freds i Salvatges), Italian dialects (Baruba/Barubar/Barúbar/Barúba/Barùbar/Barùba dalle Fredde Colline Selvagge), Portuguese dialects (Baruba/Barubar das Frias Colinas Selvagens), Romanian dialects (Baruba/Barubar de pe Dealurile Sălbatice Reci)

The Great Warrior Baruuba (Barooba)  

In one language: Czech (Velký Válečník Baruba), Slovak (Veľká Bojovníčka Baruba), Polish (Wielki Wojownik Baruba), Slovenian (Veliki Bojevnik Baruba), Croatian (Veliki Ratnik Baruba), Basque (Gerlari Handia Baruba), Irish (An Laoch Mór Barúba), Scots Gaelic (An Gaisgeach Mòr Baruba), Welsh (Y Rhyfelwr Mawr Baruba) 

Baruuba’s (Barooba’s) Adventures 

In one language: Japanese (バルーバの冒険), Czech (Barubina Dobrodružství), Slovak (Barubine Dobrodružstvá), Finnish (Baruuban Seikkailut), Estonian (Barumba Seiklus), Swedish (Barubas Äventyr), Norwegian (Barubas Eventyr), Latvian (Barubas Piedzīvojumi), Polish (Przygody Baruby), Lithuanian (Barubos Nuotykiai), Danish (Barubars Eventyr), Hungarian (Baruba Kalandjai), Korean (바루바/바룸바의모험), Slovenian (Barubine Dogodivščine), Croatian (Barubine Avanture), Basque (Barubaren Abenturak), Irish (Eachtraí Barúba) 

In multiple languages: Dutch dialects (Baroeba/Baroemba’s Avonturen), German languages (Barüba/Barübar/Baruba/Barubar/Barumba/Barümba’s Abenteuer), Cantonese and Taiwanese Mandarin (巴倫巴的冒險)

Both Baruuba (Barooba) series

Single-word title in one language: Japanese (バルーバ), Polish and Luxembourgish + Czech and Slovak (Baruba), Finnish (Baruuba), Afrikaans + Estonian (Barumba), Punjabi (ਬਰੂੰਬਾ), Swedish and Norwegian + Latvian and Lithuanian (Baruba), Danish (Barubar), Korean (바루바/바룸바), Gujarati (બરુમ્બા), Hindi (बारुम्बा/बरुम्बा), Greek (Μπαρούμπα)

Single word title in multiple languages: Dutch dialects (Baroeba/Baroemba), Croatian and German languages (Baruba/Barümba/Barumba/Barüba/Barübar/Barubar), Cantonese and Taiwanese Mandarin (巴倫巴), Spanish dialects (Báruba/Bárubar), French dialects (Baroubar/Barouba), Galician + Slovenian and Catalan dialects (Baruba), Hindi and Bhojpuri (बरुम्बा), Italian and Irish (Barùbar/Barùba/Barúbar/Barúba), Bengali dialects (বারুম্বা), Maltese and Portuguese dialects (Baruba/Barubar), Romanian and Polish dialects (Baruba/Barubar), Basque + Scots Gaelic and Welsh (Baruba), Marathi and Konkani (बारुंबा) 

Real Life Models for Sōji Yamakawa’s characters

Opinions on The Boy Champion 

When it comes to The Boy Champion, a young Ken Takakura would likely inspire the epic story’s titular hero Kensaku Imano (usually known as Shingo Makimura in the editions made during Sōji Yamakawa’s lifetime) from Spring 1946 onwards, at least for the postwar picture story. Something similar could be said for Kaoru Yachigusa, who was only fifteen when she inspired the hero’s ally Hiroko Kamachi (usually Suiko Yoshikawa in the older editions). 

From July 1949 until July 1961, action star and voice actor Tsutomu Yamazaki replaced Ken, thereafter being the second and definitive early model for Kensaku Imano. 

Lasting for seventeen years from August 1949 up until August 1966, occasional actress Misa Uehara was likely the second and definitive physical model for her. Joining her in March 1959 was the semi retired Midori Seki, who would largely replace her in September 1966 for both the 1974 retelling and the 1977-78 reprint of the first and most popular postwar variant. Being the longest running, fourth and only current physical model, Hiroko Isayama has pretty much replaced her predecessor from October 1980 onwards, mainly for both the ‘Return of the Boy Champion’ analysis and the 1984 Kadokawa reprint of its partial prequel.  

At least four legendary icons might have inspired both Sanpei Shirato’s and Jirō Tsunoda’s versions of Ken Imano and Hiroko Kamachi in their shared manga adaptation of the story. As for Hiroko, the artworks of Jirō have her mostly be based on a mix of Midori Seki and Misa Uehara instead. The situation is otherwise different for Ken, because Sanpei’s artworks of the character are inspired more by Daisuke Ban, while Jirō Tsunoda’s artworks of him are modelled more on a mix of him and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Shoji Nakayama inspired Jin Kosugi in turn. 

The 1963 and 1974 picture story retellings/continuations have Ken being modelled partly upon both Daisuke Ban and Tsutomu Yamazaki to varying degrees, while Midori Seki partly inspired Yui in both retellings. Daisuke Ban’s final appearance, as Kensaku Imano’s most popular model, was in the 1977-78 Shueisha reprint. From October 1980 until July 1992, Yutaka Mizutani replaced both Jinpachi Nezu and Daisuke Ban as the hero’s longest running model up to that point. 

Since August 1992, Kentaro Shimizu is both the current and longest running model for Kensaku Imano. Although his fluctuating mental state and complicated personal life is often subjected to varying degrees of gossip, but as much as he is guilty for his ten crimes, he isn’t suitable for death row because there are human beings much scarier and more heinous than him. 

Despite all that, Shimizu is also the only one to stay as such, even after the deaths of both Sōji Yamakawa and Shotaro Ishinomori, as well as those of both Sanpei Shirato and his assistant brother Tetsuji Okamoto. 

For the future Light Novel+Picture Story+Manga versions of The Boy Champion, Kensaku Imano will always be modelled on the street smart but quite mentally unstable (and infamously fallible) pop star and straight to video actor Kentaro Shimizu. Hiroko will be modelled on action star Hiroko Kamachi. 

Models for the Kosugi family: Takiko Mizunoe for Bion Suzuka. Shin Tokudaiji for Jin Kosugi. Ken Uehara for Eisaku Kosugi. Izumi Ashikawa for Izumi Kosugi. Hiroki Matsukata for Yukiyoshi Kosugi. Kazuyo Sumida for Kazuyo Kosugi. 

Models for Hiroko’s and Michiko’s relatives: Den Obinata for Tatsuo Kamachi. Masao Komatsu for Masao Kamachi. Hiroko Isayama for Hiroko Kamachi. 

Models for Happei’s Entourage: Akiko Kazami for Yuki Tamura. 

Models for Eiji’s Entourage: Aiko Mimasu for Rumiko. Kojiro Hongō for Shotaro Makimura. Etsuko Shihomi for Yui Makimura. 

Models for the Tanaka family: Isamu Kosugi for Tomin Tanaka. Yoshie Kashiwa for Michiru Mitani. Tsutomu Yamazaki for Eiji Tanaka. Kyoko Enami for Hiromi Tanaka.

Models for the School Goers: Rikiya Iwaki for Kin Fubuki. Jun Fubuki for Yu Fubuki. Miyoko Asada for. Aki Mizusawa for Aki Yamamuro. Yutaka Mizutani for. Ran Ito for. Mari Amachi for Mari Tanaka. 

Models for the Komatsu family: Kyoji Sugi for Kyoji Komatsu. Hideyo Amamoto for Happei Komatsu. Chikako Miyagi for Chiemi. Yukihiko Sugi for Ryutaro Komatsu. Katsuko Wakasugi for Machiko. Ryu Kano for Ryuhei Komatsu.

Models for the Kutsuna family: Osamu Takizawa for Eizo Kutsuna. Kōji Takahashi for Souji Kutsuna. Meiko Kaji for Hanako Kutsuna. 

Models for the villains: Kazuo Hasegawa for Akio Kuromitsu. Rika Fujie for Sae Kuromitsu. 

Opinions on Tiger Boy

For the postwar story, its version of Jun Kodama was inspired by the late Kei Tomiyama. 

For the upcoming Light Novel+Picture Story+Manga revision, its version of Jun Kodama will be modelled on So Okuno. Eiji Moriyama for. Rikiya Imaizumi for. Satoshi Tsumabuki for. Sota Fukushi for. Kamio Fuju for Vayu. Amogh Ashdir for Manyu. Karan Kataria for Skanda. Khushali Vyas for Shachi. Radha Bhagavati for Matangi. Yasufumi Terawaki for Eizo Kodama. Minami Hamabe for Kana Moriyama.

Opinions on Jungle Hunt

For Joe Moriyama himself in the strip that started a franchise, he was inspired by Akira Kubo. As for his girlfriend Kate O’Connell, she was inspired by the late Joan O’Hara. 

Kyuuta Ishikawa’s manga adaptation of the strip has its versions of Joe Moriyama and Kate inspired by Akira Kubo’s brother the late Ken Yamauchi and, for the first time, Irish film icon Brenda Fricker.

Both of the 1968 and 1974 picture story retellings have Joe Moriyama being modelled on a varying mix of the late musician friends Ryūichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi, while Kate O’Connell is still modelled mostly on Brenda Fricker, but with other body parts from then newcomers Eilish O’Carroll and Alison Doody, rather than the first one, which awkwardly mimicked that of Joan O’Hara’s own in her youth. 

For Kenya Boy’s anime film adaptation, its version of Joe Moriyama is famously inspired by Yukihiro Takahashi again, whereas its version of Kate is, once again, inspired more often by Irish actress Alison Doody. The late Hiroki Matsukata inspired Daisuke Murakami, while Margaret Fenn was modelled on Joan O’Hara. 

For the upcoming Light Novel+Picture Story+Manga revisions of Jungle Hunt, Joe and Kate are going to be inspired mostly by soccer player Arata Izumi and recent major star Jordanne Jones. 

As for Joe, he’ll be inspired by Arata Izumi and Griffin Gluck on physical terms. Whereas for Kate, she’s going to be vocally inspired fully by Jordanne Jones, while still being bodily modelled partially on the retired actress Alice Fulks Khalsa, who also is, coincidentally, the most likely real life model for Naoyuki Konno’s internationally famed take on 009-1’s titular subject, Mylene Hoffmann. 

Recurring characters who are inspired by directors and actors; Hiroki Matsukata for. Hiroshi Arikawa for Wataru Shiina. Yukihiro Takahashi for Daisuke Murakami. Danielle Galligan will inspire Mara O’Connell. Alison Doody for. Noboru Kaneko for. Russian Jewish Icon Nina Brodskaya for Galina Yelchin. Eva Birthistle is going to physically inspire Anann, even though Sharon Horgan will be the model for. 

Minor characters who are inspired by actors; Sophie Simnett. Dylan Moran. Hazel Doupe. Lara McDonnell. Horst Buchholz. Richard Sammel. Shoji Nakayama. 

Kenya Boy Through the Years

Kenya Boy through the years 

Before the Square Enix phase 

1951 strip

Has quite a lot of different prints. 

Its version of Joe makes music with both an ivory trumpet and a flute.

Its version of Kate has golden strawberry blonde hair with short bangs, which do not really appear much in the succeeding reprints. 

1953 radio drama

Is pretty much lost media, except for its own theme song.

1954 Tokusatsu film 

The hair for its version of Kate is dark reddish brown but otherwise wavy due to budget constraints. 

However, the hair for its version of Zega is somewhat more accurate to the strip, although it’s still just a pair of silvery dyed curtains due to budget constraints. 

1961 manga 

In terms of appearance, its versions of actual Kenyan characters are very bastardised. 

The hair for its version of Kate is still wavy and short fringed, but coloured in a very light ginger/golden strawberry blonde hue like in the Classic Sankei print. 

Its version of Joe makes music with an ivory trumpet like in the strip. 

1961 Tokusatsu show 

Is set in the early 1960s, or at least 1961-62, when Great Britain’s colonial occupation of Kenya was dearly showing its age.

Stars at least four major former teen idols, with the best known one ironically being Hayato Tani. 

The hair for its version of Zega is somewhat more inspired by actual Kenyan hairstyles, but it’s still not accurate to the strip. 

The hair for its version of Kate is coloured in a dark blonde/dark ginger/light auburn hue, even though it is less wavy than in the strip. 

There’s not much R rated killing in the show due to broadcasting constraints of the time.

Its version of Dana is only a rather very large rock python instead of a spirit in the form of a huge snake. 

Also due to budget constraints, its version of Dana doesn’t appear frequently. 

Its version of Joe makes music with a flute as with both the text comic and succeeding anime film, but sometimes wears a leopard skin loincloth. 

1968 strip rewrite 

Is the most likely inspiration for the 1984 anime film.  

Its version of Joe has civilian clothes, which are the bases for those worn by his anime film counterpart.  

1974 strip rewrite 

Is a really short lived distributive co-venture of Suntory and the now defunct Nippon Reader’s Digest. 

Is practically forgotten media, with the sole major exception being an odd mention in a rather good Soji Yamakawa biography. 

1984 anime film 

Its version of Joe makes music with a flute like in the strip and Tokusatsu show. 

Its version of Kate doesn’t have full on bangs like in the Tokusatsu show, but her hair is still coloured in a light golden blonde hue like in the Sankei Junior Books print. 

The Taito/Square Enix phase

Unfortunately, this will be the only chance for the actual story to end not only in its own terms but also being exported for the light novel market, since light novels are still more popular than Emonogatari stories as a cultural force. 

Kenya Boy Ishinomori Productions phase

Is there an upcoming Ishinomori Productions/Naoyuki Konno/Taito/Square Enix phase? 

Descriptions for the prequel in all three formats

Shotaro met a North Indian spinster of Kukna heritage. 

Descriptions for the main story in all three formats 

Shotaro behaved in such a questionable way that he abandoned Joe in Kenya, resulting in the latter having adventures with Zega and Kate. 

Joe is a half-North Indian Adivasi with black hair and chocolate eyes.

Kate has pretty green eyes and lengthy, light blonde hair with short bangs. 

Kate was pretty much a broken bird, thanks to witnessing too many bad things in her early life for years. Being raised by a dysfunction junction of fellow characters would still affect her into adulthood.

Joe clearly killed off a crapload of wild animals, especially when he’s in an aggressive defence mode. 

Even though a plurality of Kenyan regions has most of them, there are other places filled with cryptids (typically Kenyan ones), albeit in bits of eastern Uganda and northern Tanzania. 

As with villages of other groups, there are Maasai villages which compete with each other on a frequently regular and sometimes horrid basis. 

Baruuba’s Adventures: Creatures

The creatures of Baruuba’s Adventures 

The Main Creatures

The Lions (獅子ライオン)

Lions are some of Baruuba’s most worthy opponents. Many individuals in captivity had been seen in circuses, but they’re not suitable for them anyway. Lions often have messy prides, where their sigmas topple each other every time they’ll enter them. 

Joni (ジョニ) - Joni is a newfound lioness ally of Barumba in his adventures. She is the estranged daughter of Kassim. 

Kassim (カシム) - The half blind golden lion whom Barumba finally has befriended after years of being left off by his father Bwonga, who himself was a disaster to fellow lions. 

Bwonga (ブウォンガ) - Kassim’s somewhat overweight, late grey brown dad, who was a piece of shit even to his fellow lions. His real name, however, is Wanga (ワンガ).

Aren (アレン) - Kassim’s grandfather and Shaba’s rather traumatised red brown father. 

Shaba (シャバ) - Shaba was the cream coloured daughter of Aren, who stayed with fellow members of her pride by becoming a mother to Kassim. She died with dignity.

The Chimpanzees (チンパンジー)

Amongst the animals, Chimpanzees are the hardest to befriend. 

Shula (シュラ) - A chimp named Shula babysat Barumba when he was a toddler and found another child whose parents were kidnapped away into a false kingdom’s temple. She lost her own friend, who was a frail youngster, to the machinations of his own gangster grandpa, who in turn kicked off his middle aged mother. In turn, Michi was already on the verge of her own menopause anyway. 

Michi (ミチ) - Michi is the daughter of a gangster, who also happens to be a dead chimp’s menopausal mother. 

Scully (スカリー) - Scully was a tomboyish chimpanzee, who grew old, lost her own favourite mate, and then had to sacrifice herself to stop more cruelty. 

The Forest Elephants (マルミミゾウ) 

Forest elephants are seen in Semuliki and other national parks. 

The Leopards (ヒョウ) 

Leopards have seldom tried to eat human babies in times of hunger. 

Prua (プルア) - Prua is the somewhat frail but speedy daughter of two relatively distant cousins, who is a pale grey leopard.

The Olive Baboons (オリーブヒヒバブーン) 

Olive Baboons have wrecked the house where Baruuba’s parents were kidnapped from. Given translation conventions, they are imagined as if they’re speaking in regional Sydneysider accents. 

The Bush Elephants (ブッシュゾウ) 

A herd of Bush Elephants led by a big old cow are some of Barumba’s closest allies. 

The Mountain Gorillas (山ゴリラ)

Like the Kikombas, Mountain Gorillas just want to be left alone. 

The Minor Creatures

The Speckle Throated Otters (スペックルノドカワウソ) 

The Black and White Casqued Hornbills (黒と白のカスクサイチョウ) 

The Dartmouth’s Thicket Rats (ダートマスのフレイネズミ)

The Uganda Pied Hornbills (ウガンダサイチョウ) 

The Semuliki Red Tailed Guenons (セムリキアカオグエノン)

The Little Congo Collared Fruit Bats (小さなコンゴ首輪コウモリ) 

The Black Casqued Hornbills (クロカスクサイチョウ) 

The Red Necked Spur Fowl Quails (アカクビスイレン)

The Congo Pottos (コンゴポット) 

The Palm Nut Vultures (ヤシノキハゲワシ) 

The Striped Weasels (縞模様のイタチ) 

The Ripon Barbels (リポンバーベル)

Ripon Barbels tend to live in big lakes surrounding the savanna. 

The Crowned Hornbills (カンムリサイチョウ) 

The Hammerkops (シュモクドリ) 

The Charming Thicket Rats (奇麗ヤブネズミ) 

The Semutundu Catfishes (セムトゥンドゥナマズ)

The Gambian Sun Squirrels (ガンビアマレーリス)

The Striped Polecats (シマケナガイタチ) 

The Great Lakes Elephant Fishes (五大湖ゾウの魚)

Also known as Great Lakes Bottlenose Elephant Fishes (五大湖ハンドウズゾウの魚), these hangry fishes live in the African Great Lakes. 

The Common Rousette Bats (一般ルーセットコウモリ) 

The Bush Pigs (ブッシュピッグ) (ブッシュブタ) 

Bush Pigs, also known as Bush Boars (ブッシュイノシシ), live in both the savanna and cloud forest. An old female was the creature who first found Barumba in the wild. 

Barun Barun (バルンバルン) - A senile female bush pig who first found Barumba in the cloudforest. It was she who warned the fellow jungle animals about the poor baby being orphaned by a mafia of murderous cryptids. 

The Emin’s Pouched Rats (エミンの袋に入ったネズミ)

The Fungo Civets (ファンゴジャコウネコ) 

The White Thighed Hornbills (白いサイチョウ) 

The Fire Footed Rope Squirrels (火足ロープリス) 

The Lake Bunyonyi Thicket Rats (ブニョニ湖のヤブネズミ)

The Carruther’s Rope Squirrels (カラザーロープリス)

The Handsome Brown Spur Fowl Quail (かなり茶色のスイレンウズラ)

These spur fowl quail with pretty faces live in the mountains. 

The Trumpeter Hornbills (トランペッターサイチョウ) 

The Dent’s Vlei Rats (デントのフレイネズミ) 

The Black Billed Turacos (クロハシエドリ)

The Lake Bunyonyi Emale Catfishes (ブニョニ湖エマレナマズ) 

The Lake Victoria Booby Mice (ビクトリア湖カツオドリネズミ) 

The Scaly Spur Fowl Quail (鱗状のヤドリギウズラ) 

The Red Tailed Grey Parrots (赤い尾のヨウム)

Red Tailed Grey Parrots roam through the various jungles that Baruuba has visited. 

The Water Chevrotains (水シボロテイン) 

The Rwenzori Thicket Rats (ルウェンゾリヤブネズミ) 

The Kivu Sun Squirrels (キブマオリス) 

The Piping Hornbills (配管サイチョウ) 

The Redhead Lovebirds (赤毛のコザクラインコ)

Redhead Lovebirds are also in the same jungles as Red Tailed Grey Parrots. 

The Servaline Genets (セルバリン ジェネット)

The Thomas’ Chibi Mice (トーマスのちびネズミ) 

The Semuliki Blue Guenons (セムリキブルーゲノン) 

The Nile Breathing Mud Catfishes (ナイル呼吸泥ナマズ)

The Red Billed Dwarf Hornbills (アカハシサイチョウ)

The Red Legged Sun Squirrels (アカアシマサリス) 

The Leopard Lungfishes (ヒョウ肺魚)

The Congo Swamp Otters (コンゴ湿地カワウソ) 

The Shining Thicket Rats (輝くヤブネズミ) 

The Dusky Galagos (薄暗いガラゴ) 

The Panther Genets (パンサージェネット) 

The Red Necked Spur Fowl Quail (アカクビスイレンウズラ) 

The Toad Mice (ヒキガエルネズミ) 

Toad Mice are tiny rodents which live in the cloudforest.

The Straw Coloured Fruit Bats (麦わら色のオオコウモリ)

The most common of African fruit bats, Straw Coloured Fruit Bats are seen flying in the thousands.

The Jungle Caracals (ジャングルカラカル) 

Also known as African Golden Cats.

The Nile Sharp Toothed Catfishes (ナイルの鋭い歯のナマズ) 

The Grey Bellied Chibi Mice (灰色のお腹のチビネズミ) 

The Harlequin Quails (道化師ウズラ) 

The Gosling’s Pool Rats (ゴズリングのプールネズミ) 

As their colloquial species name suggests, the small Gosling’s Pool Rats live on river pools, even though they’re actually semi aquatic mice. 

The Nandini Palm Civets (ナンディニハクビシン) 

The Long Tailed Pangolins (尾長センザンコウ)

The Otter Shrews (カワウソトガリネズミ)

Even though Otter Shrews are seldom seen, they do make cameos in many Baruuba stories. The most commonly seen ones are giant otter shrews. 

The Woodland Thicket Rats (森の藪ネズミ) 

There are two species of woodland thicket rats, even though both of which are very vulnerable to plasmodium induced diseases, thus they have to share their eponymous paragraph for convenience.

The White Throated Samango Guenons (白いノドのサマンゴゲノン)

White Throated Samango Guenons are adaptable old world monkeys.

The Kivu Pouched Rats (キブ袋入りネズミ)

Kivu Pouched Rats are sometimes seen.

The Helmeted Guinea Fowl (ホロホロチョウ)

Helmeted Guinea Fowl live in the savanna. 

The Lake George Vlei Rats (デントのフレイネズミ) 

The Tree Hyraxes (木ハイラックス) - Like the Otter Shrews, the Tree Hyraxes are nocturnal.

The Sitatungas (シタトゥンガ) 

The Rameron Pigeons (ラメロンハト) 

The Spur Winged Geese (拍車翼のあるガチョウ) 

The Greater Cane Rats (オオ杖ネズミ) 

The Congo Booby Mice (コンゴカツオドリネズミ)

Also known as Guinea Multimammate Mice due to their multiple mammary glands. 

The Red Beaked Fin Feet (アカクチバシヒレフット)

Red Beaked Fin Feet are seen mainly in the swamps.

The Golden Wolves (黄金の狼)

Also known as African Golden Wolves. 

The Woodland Chibi Mice (森のちびネズミ) 

The MacMillan’s Thicket Rats (マクミランヤブネズミ) 

The Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bats (フランケの肩章付きコウモリ) 

The Sharpe’s Drongoes (シャープのオウゴンゴ) 

The Derby’s Scaly Tailed Squirrels (ダービーのウロコリス) 

Derby’s Scaily Tails live in the many woodlands surrounding the cloudforest where Baruuba lives. 

The Temminck’s Mice (テミンクネズミ) 

The Maroon Bellied Pygmy Geese (栗色の腹のピグミーガン)

Maroon Bellies are frequently seen in swamplands.

The Tree Pangolins (木センザンコウ) 

The Marsh Mongooses (沼地マングース) 

The Schoutenden’s Genets (シュートデンのジュネット) 

The African Tiger Frogs (アフリカトラガエル) 

Yoshimasa Ikeda Baruuba Family Series

Baruuba’s Wife Books 

Baruuba’s Wife 

Japanese (バルーバの妻) 

Baruuba’s Wife’s Holler

Japanese (バルーバの妻の叫び声) 

Baruuba’s Foundling Books 

Baruuba’s Foundling 

Japanese (バルーバの捨て子) 

Baruuba’s Son Books 

Baruuba’s Son 

Japanese (バルーバの息子) 

Baruuba’s Son’s Howl

Japanese (バルーバの息子の遠吠え)

Baruuba’s Daughter Books 

Baruuba’s Daughter 

Japanese (バルーバの娘) 

Baruuba’s Daughter’s Scream

Japanese (バルーバの娘の掛声)

Baruuba’s Adoptive Son 

Japanese (バルーバの養子) 

Baruuba’s Adoptive Daughter 

Japanese (バルーバの養女) 

Baruuba’s Baby Books 

Baruuba’s Baby 

Japanese (バルーバの赤ちゃん) 

Baruuba’s Dog Books 

Baruuba’s Dog 

Japanese (バルーバの犬) 

Walther Kabel’s fascinating pulp career

The late Walther Kabel’s Malmotta is a fairly internationally obscure novel which has been public domain in pretty much the whole world since 2006. Since English and German are closely related, translating the novel into and revising it in the former isn’t too hard of a task. 

Sōji Yamakawa’s Sankei period

Sōji Yamakawa’s two major outings on the infamous Sankei Shimbun newspaper are worthy enough to be celebrated outside of Japan, mainly because he had the balls to churn out hundreds of strips for both Kenya Boy and his own fifties reboot of Tiger Boy. 

The strip edition of Kenya Boy has tons of 4 and 8 picture strips, which is quite staggering for a Sōji Yamakawa work which only lasted for nearly four years from the 7th of October 1951 to the 4th of October 1955. In a sad twist of fate thanks to newspaper decay, not many strips have survived even in 2023. Fortunately, most of them have been published and remade into thirteen, ten and twenty volumes of gorgeous books from at least four out of eight primary and secondary school editions. They have also been adapted into a soft manga remake drawn by the late wildlife artist Kyuuta Ishikawa, which only has eight original volumes and two huge collector’s edition volumes in total. Most Japanese Collectors prefer the Classic Sankei and Sankei Junior Books editions, primarily because of how widespread they are in Japan even today and how good they also look. To be fair, the Kadokawa edition isn't as heavily Theakstonised as the comics of Warren's Creepy Magazine and has about twenty decent volumes in total, not bad for something quite lacklustre in most Japanese collectors' eyes. There’s also a Fujimi Comics manga tie in of Toei’s Kenya Boy anime film released in 1984. 

These four variants are some of the bases for the proposed uncut forty two story twenty one volume edition, as if it's going to be written and drawn by one of the world's biggest Shotaro Ishinomori fans, my honorary idol Naoyuki Konno. The fifty six volumes will represent the main story of an actually complete light novel saga, envisioned and animated in a way that Souji Yamakawa himself would fart with joy!

The strip edition of Tiger Boy, which lasted for 43 months and 6 days from the 24th of October 1955 to the 29th of May 1959, has relatively less strips than the strip edition of Kenya Boy. Many of the surviving strips are found primarily in the private collections of a few hardcore Souji Yamakawa fans, but as for online images, only a 4-picture half of an 8-picture strip has been found (on the infamous Twitter of all things), and it was photographed years ago by a senior fan of Mr Sōji Yamakawa’s works near a restaurant. The Classic Sankei edition has only eleven volumes in total as well, even though they're all easier to find than the strips. 

Along with the five volumes of Jun: Shotaro's Fantasy World, both variants are two of the bases for the proposed uncut fifty two volume edition, which will have books and chapters that weren't there in either the strip edition or the Classic Sankei edition at all. 

Baboon Boy: Characters

The characters of Baboon Boy 

 Shotaro Kokonoe (九重祥太郎): 

Shonen Barbarian: an underrated masterpiece that deserves completion

Shōnen Barbarian is a a short lived, somewhat incomplete story by Soji Yamakawa which has two versions, one for Bokura, Kodansha’s fabled Monthly Shōnen Magazine predecessor (albeit for media savvy preteens) and the other, more famous variant for one of its creator’s short lived companies, Tiger Shobo. 

I wonder if the future will be more forgiving for this story even in Japan? It’s plausible but really unlikely since huge Japanese companies have inappropriately touched pretty much all aspects of Japanese pop culture for a long time. It’s startling when its creator is posthumously famous in France and Italy only for having wrote Noboru Kawasaki’s Kōya no Shōnen Isamu, the much better known manga completion of his own (pretty weak, I must admit) story, Kōya no Shōnen. 

Shonen Barbarian can be completed as a fan-made English Language doujinshi when I can buy all seventeen Wild issues in the future, but with a few things changed instead. It can also be partly copied in both the commonwealth and the USA, even with the late creator’s mostly dormant estate’s (otherwise strict) permission. Anyways, I do not think it’s going to become a global bestseller up until New Year’s Day 2063 for obvious reasons such as service issues. 

Barbarian Boy: Characters

The Characters of Barbarian Boy

Jo Muramatsu (村松ジャウ): 

Lyn Johnson (リン・ジョンソン): 

Kana (かな):