![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bookila-shonen-champion.jpeg\")
<\/a>Weekly Shonen Champion<\/em> Following on the heels of such features as Prime Rose<\/em> (1982-83) and Kibando<\/em> (1984) – which came to an end on November 16, 1984\u00a0in Akita Shoten’s popular Weekly Shonen Champion<\/a><\/em>, Osamu Tezuka decided to follow it with something a little different.<\/p>\n After those sci-fi and adventures series, Tezuka decided to return to a format he had earlier had some success with in Don Dracula<\/em>\u00a0(1979)<\/a> – a slapstick comedy.\u00a0 Say Hello to Bookila!<\/em>\u00a0(1985) began its weekly run on April 26 and ran through to July 26, 1985.<\/p>\n Over the course of its 13-week run, there were 5 stand-alone weekly chapters as well as 4 two-part stories, for a total of 9 chapters in all.<\/p>\n Say Hello to Bookila!<\/em> (1985) was collected – along with its predecessor, Kibando<\/em> (1984) – in two volumes of the the Osamu Tezuka Complete Manga Works<\/em><\/a> editions (MT-307<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0MT-308<\/a>). \u00a0No particular changes were made for that edition and the stories were presented in the chronological order that they originally appeared..<\/p>\n Toroko Neoki is possibly the most arrogant woman in Japan. The ditzy \u201cstar\u201d of Touzai Television Productions, Toroko is a bit of a mystery. She shows up late for work, is disinterested in following any kind of direction, doesn\u2019t read the script and more or less just does whatever she wants\u2026 and yet, despite the absolute chaos on set, she still features prominently in almost every production that Touzai TV produces. Despite calls by the writers and other production staff for her to be fired, the station manager,\u00a0Mr. Nikomi<\/a>, simply refuses \u2013 saying that there\u2019s a very important reason they keep Toroko on the air. But he refuses to divulge the secret.<\/p>\n This, of course, piques the interest of entertainment reporter\u00a0Rockurou \u201cRock\u201d Makube<\/a>, who decides to get to the bottom of the mystery. Despite his questioning,\u00a0Mr. Nikomi<\/a>, refuses to divulge any answers \u2013 and a one-on-one interview with the extremely dense and befuddling Toroko only deepens the mystery. However, he is left with one clue \u2013 seek out Bookila in Studio 13.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When Toroko goes off script and ends up promoting the product of a competitor, the station loses yet another sponsor to her incompetence, however the Director<\/a> of the station still declines to fire her for fear that the haunting of the station will get worse. Seeing this, Rock<\/a> decides to track down a former guest star, sumo wrestler Seki Nakanishiki. After interviewing the sumo, he hears about his hair raising experience at the Touzai TV studio and realizes that Toroko is “immune” to the strange happenings at Studio 13. When he confronts her, she says she’ll only tell him if she takes him for a ride in his car and drives fast.<\/p>\n Despite nearly dying on the highway, Rock<\/a> does as she requests and, in return, she finally introduces him to her “secret friend”, Bookila. However, Bookila seems jealous of Rock<\/a>‘s relationship with Toroko, and things… go badly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The board of directors of Touzai TV Productions has had enough. Since Toroko’s presence now seems to make the hauntings worse instead of better, she’s summarily fired from her acting job and told to leave the station. Upset with Bookila for causing the situation, she tells him she never wants to see him again. Finding Toroko crying alone on a park bench, Rock<\/a> takes the young girl home – only to discover Bookila doesn’t seem to be able to take “no” for an answer. Momentarily subduing Bookila with a hair dryer, Rock<\/a> takes a small tissue sample over to Tsukuba University for analysis. To his complete surprise, the researcher tells Rock<\/a> that Bookila is composed of slime mold.<\/p>\n Upset, Bookila runs rampant throughout the lab, but Rock<\/a> uses an industrial scale dryer to capture the demon. However things take a turn when the researcher decides he needs to keep Bookila as a specimen despite Rock<\/a>‘s protestations. In a twist thought, Toroko shows off her acting jobs, disguises herself as a cleaning lady, and rescues Bookila from the research lab.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Given her unemployed status, Toroko can no longer afford her apartment. However, when Rock<\/a> discovers she’s moving into a large house in the suburbs rent-free, he’s immediately suspicious and accompanies her to her new home. Upon arriving at the house, they find it fully furnished, including a beautiful grand piano – courtesy of a former occupant, a concert pianist who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Of course Rock<\/a>‘s reporter instincts get the better of him and after talking to the local postman<\/a>, he discovers the house has a history of being haunted.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Toroko and Bookila find out the hard way that the piano itself is haunted when it transforms into a demon and tries to devour her whole. Although the demon is stronger than Bookila, his quick thinking rescues Toroko. Still putting the pieces together, Rock<\/a> talks to the man who sold the piano<\/a> in the first place, and discovers that they specialize in embedding demons into instruments for musicians who wish to make “deals with the devil” to ensure their success. Hearing this, Rock<\/a> rushes back to the house and finds the piano transformed into a giant demon. Although everything looks lost, the demon suddenly collapses. That’s when the pair discover that, once again, Bookila has saved the day by cutting the demon’s piano wires.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
April 26, 1985<\/p><\/div>\nPublication Information and Chapter Summaries<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n