Hero Ba-Ban
Encyclopedia
A creation of manga artist Makoto Raiku
, is a cheerful, but not too powerful superhero
that is an alter ego for the artist whom created him. His main mission in life is to protect children from any threats that may come to harm them. His special powers include Ba-ban Flash (which the bulb on top of his helmet lights up, it really doesn't do much) and Ba-ban Dynamite (which causes a huge explosion surrounding him similar to certain sentai
shows), neither of which are helpful against real threats. He lives in a secret headquarters and rides around on a motorcycle (except when he runs out of gas) and loves eating horse mackerel
for breakfast.
Ba-ban was actually first introduced in a cameo in Raiku's one-shot story , written in 1996 for the monthly anthology for Shogakukan
's Shōnen Sunday
. While he didn't appear in person, he was an inspiration for one of the main characters in the art of being a true hero. In 1997, Ba-ban finally got his own one-shot, a gag manga called . In this, the idiot hero tries to fight and save the day when a little girl he befriends gets captured by an immense demon. (who could be a prototype design for Demolto, a powerful villainous Mamono from his most famous series, Zatch Bell!
) Although he gets tossed around rather easily by the creature, he finally saves the day by emotionally appealing to it.
In more recent times, Ba-ban has found himself gaining some more cameo appearances, mostly in video games for Makoto Raiku's biggest series. In the Zatch Bell!
game for the Game Boy Advance
, Ba-ban poses in the celebration scene whenever the manga artist (who is a secret character) wins a match. In the sequel game, , Ba-ban appears in two backgrounds instead: once at Mochinoki Amusement Park and again at the secret Raiku Castle.
Makoto Raiku
is a manga artist whose works have appeared prominently in Shogakukan's publication Shōnen Sunday. Starting off an assistant for Kazuhiro Fujita on his manga Ushio & Tora, he started creating several one-shots for the shōnen manga anthology such as Bird Man , Hero Ba-Ban and Genmai Blade is a...
, is a cheerful, but not too powerful superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
that is an alter ego for the artist whom created him. His main mission in life is to protect children from any threats that may come to harm them. His special powers include Ba-ban Flash (which the bulb on top of his helmet lights up, it really doesn't do much) and Ba-ban Dynamite (which causes a huge explosion surrounding him similar to certain sentai
Sentai
in Japanese language is a word for a military unit and may be literally translated as "squadron", "task force", "group" or "wing". The terms "regiment" and "flotilla", while sometimes used as translations of Sentai, are also used to refer to larger formations....
shows), neither of which are helpful against real threats. He lives in a secret headquarters and rides around on a motorcycle (except when he runs out of gas) and loves eating horse mackerel
Horse mackerel
A horse mackerel is a large fish, such as the tuna, and the scad or saurel of the Pacific coast:*Australian bonito *various Jack mackerels*Pilot fish...
for breakfast.
Ba-ban was actually first introduced in a cameo in Raiku's one-shot story , written in 1996 for the monthly anthology for Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
's Shōnen Sunday
Shonen Sunday
, first published on March 17, 1959, is a weekly shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan. Contrary to its title, Weekly Shōnen Sunday issues are released on Wednesdays.- History :...
. While he didn't appear in person, he was an inspiration for one of the main characters in the art of being a true hero. In 1997, Ba-ban finally got his own one-shot, a gag manga called . In this, the idiot hero tries to fight and save the day when a little girl he befriends gets captured by an immense demon. (who could be a prototype design for Demolto, a powerful villainous Mamono from his most famous series, Zatch Bell!
Zatch Bell!
Zatch Bell!, known in Japan as is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. It was published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday...
) Although he gets tossed around rather easily by the creature, he finally saves the day by emotionally appealing to it.
In more recent times, Ba-ban has found himself gaining some more cameo appearances, mostly in video games for Makoto Raiku's biggest series. In the Zatch Bell!
Zatch Bell!
Zatch Bell!, known in Japan as is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. It was published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday...
game for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, Ba-ban poses in the celebration scene whenever the manga artist (who is a secret character) wins a match. In the sequel game, , Ba-ban appears in two backgrounds instead: once at Mochinoki Amusement Park and again at the secret Raiku Castle.