Sonchoh

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Sonchoh
Weekly Shōnen Jump Tankōbon Sonchoh title page
SONCHOH (そんちょう) Sonchoh
Author	Akira Toriyama
Publisher	Shueisha (JP)
Publication	Weekly Shōnen Jump
Demographic	Shōnen
Manga Series
Original Run	Weekly Shōnen Jump 1988 No. 5 (18 December 1987)
Chapters	1

Sonchoh ("Village Mayor") is a single-chapter ("one-shot") manga by Akira Toriyama spanning 18 pages (one color title page and 17 black-and-white content pages) which debuted in the 1988 No. 5 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, released 18 December 1987 in Japan; this same issue also contained chapter 155 of Dragon Ball.

Summary

"Green Runnynose" quickly drives by Tetsunoshin Kataiwa and the young girl.

Tetsunoshin Kataiwa and his Jimny catch up with "Green Runnynose".

Tetsunoshin Kataiwa, the mayor of Pon Pon Village, does not forgive those who disturb the peace and order of the village. Poking along in his Suzuki Jimny, Kataiwa notices a young girl riding along on a bicycle. He jumps out of his vehicle and stops her; though she greets him with a polite "good afternoon", Kataiwa exclaims that it is dangerous for her not to be wearing a helmet, and that a lady like her should not expose her legs. As the girl yells at him for getting fresh, the two notice a car quickly approaching them from a distance. A man drives by at an incredible speed, tossing an empty can out the window in front of Kataiwa and the girl. Kataiwa picks up the can and suddenly rushes forward, does a flip in the air, and lands back in his Jimny, taking off after the speedster.

Some distance away, "Green Runnynose" calls in and reports to "Red Bloodynose" that the bomb has been successfully set at the power plant; all "Green Runnynose" needs to do now is get a safe distance away, press the switch, and presto: the country will be destroyed. "Green Runnynose" inquires about his $20 million, and says they will meet in five hours.

Kataiwa suddenly drives in and cuts off "Green Runnynose," yelling for him to stop. The spy thinks the old man might be challenging him to a race, and so he takes off at even greater speeds. Kataiwa has no problem keeping up, however: his Jimny, "Pochi," has a rocket engine! "Green Runnynose" begins firing a machine gun from his own car, which knocks Kataiwa off the road; Kataiwa pushes Pochi back up, jumps back in, and resumes his chase. As Kataiwa fires back, "Green Runnynose" dispenses a smoke screen from his own car. Kataiwa literally lifts off with Pochi, however, and fires a massive rocket down at the spy.

Finally brought to a stop, "Green Runnynose" attempts to fire a gun at Kataiwa; the old man is nimble, however, and jumps in with a chop to incapacitate the spy. Kataiwa places the can from before on the spy's forehead, telling him that empty cans go in the trash.

"Green Runnynose" wonders aloud just who this man is: he is the mayor, and no-one knows that he just saved this land.

Kataiwa resumes his patrol, chastising someone for peeing somewhere they have already been told not to pee.

Characters

Major Characters

• Tetsunoshin Kataiwa (硬岩鉄之進 Kataiwa Tetsunoshin): The simultaneously lecherous and morally-upstanding mayor of Pon Pon Village. His name includes the kanji for "hard" and "rock" and "iron" while wrapping it all up in an old-fashioned-sounding name. Wears the kanji for "village" (村) on his back.
• "Green Runnynose" (青いハナ水 aoi hanamizu): Code-name for a spy who has set a bomb at a power plant, later apprehended by Tetsunoshin Kataiwa for tossing an empty can out of his car.
• Pochi (ポチ Pochi): Tetsunoshin Kataiwa's Suzuki Jimny with the Pon Pon Village-branded license plate number S871. Tetsunoshin Kataiwa's model sports a few upgrades over the real-life versions... Akira Toriyama considers the Jimny, rather than Tetsunoshin Kataiwa, the true protagonist of Sonchoh.

Supporting Characters

• "Red Bloodynose" (赤いハナ血 akai hanaji): Code-name for another nefarious individual speaking with "Green Runnynose" by phone.
• Unnamed Girl: A young girl riding a bicycle in Pon Pon Village who is sexually assaulted by the mayor and chastised for not wearing a helmet nor full pants. Looks suspiciously like Bulma...
• Unnamed Peeing Man: Kataiwa has apparently already told this man not to pee in the exact spot that he is peeing in before...

Miscellaneous

• Pon Pon Village (ポンポン村 ponpon mura): The village in which the story of Sonchoh takes place and Tetsunoshin Kataiwa is the mayor. A power plant is either within of nearby Pon Pon Village. The village may take its name from ポンポン, the onomatopoeic "bang-bang".
• Dollars (ドル doru): Currency noted by "Green Runnynose".

Production

Sonchoh's title — meaning "village mayor" in English — is written in the Latin alphabet, rather than with the respective kanji in Japanese (村長), with accompanying hiragana of そんちょう (sonchō) also present alongside the Latin alphabet title.

Sonchoh was first published in the 1988 No. 5 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, released 18 December 1987 in Japan; this same issue also contained chapter 155 of Dragon Ball. Each issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump includes a comment from that issue's respective authors. Toriyama's comment in the issue is as follows:

あと１週間くらい仕事をすれば待ちに待ったお休み。２週間も休めるなんて夢のようだなあ。＜明＞

---

After about one more week of work, it'll be my long-awaited break. Being able to rest for two weeks is like a dream. <Akira>
— Akira Toriyama

With the issue releasing ahead of Christmas, and with New Year's on the way, Toriyama would have a forthcoming two-week break from work due to Weekly Shōnen Jump's own end-of-year publishing break. Splash text on the chapter title page states:

• On the right, 村一番の爆走野郎だ!!! ("The biggest leadfoot in the village!!!")
• On the left, メリー·クリスマス! 大爆走読切 ("Merry Christmas Pedal-to-the-Metal One-shot!")

Text at the bottom of the original serialization title page states it is part of "The 1988 Tori-chan one-shot tournament, stage 1".

Initial potential names for Tetsunoshin Kataiwa during the production of Sonchoh included "Gen Yamada," "Tomejirō Yamada," "Tomekichi Izumiyama," “Hamabe Yamazato”, "Tomegorō Satoyama," and "Tomesaburō Yamada."

Releases

Cover of the 1988 No. 5 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump featuring Sonchoh

Sonchoh debuted in the 1988 No. 5 issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump (spanning pages 203-220), released 18 December 1987 in Japan. In addition to its original Weekly Shōnen Jump publication, Sonchoh has been republished several times in Japan:

• Greyscaled in the Akira Toriyama's _____piece Theatre, Vol. 2 compilation, released 10 March 1988
  • A digital version of Akira Toriyama's _____piece Theatre, Vol. 2 compilation was released 18 July 2014
• Greyscaled in the third Shueisha Jump Remix re-release of the Akira Toriyama's _____piece Theatre compilation, released 21 June 2004
• Greyscaled in the An Emperor's Feast of Akira Toriyama, Vol. 1 compilation, released 08 August 2008

Example of the paper and color type from Sonchoh's original printing in the 1988 No. 5 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump

Each manga chapter within any given Weekly Shōnen Jump is typically printed on paper of different color; Sonchoh's original serialization is printed on pink-ish/orange-ish paper.

Viz is slated to include an English translation of Sonchoh, translated by Greg Werner, as part of their Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater compilation release in Fall 2021.

The Toriyama's World team released an unofficial English "scanlation" of Sonchoh online in (TBD).

Legacy

The title page for Sonchoh mirrors that of chapter 155 of Dragon Ball in the same 1988 No. 5 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, with the main characters standing atop their respective vehicles.

• 
  Weekly Shōnen Jump title page for Sonchoh
• 
  Weekly Shōnen Jump title page for chapter 155 of Dragon Ball

Kataiwa's Pochi appears to have "Ton Ton" — instead of the later "Pon Pon" — written on its side early in the chapter.

In its first side-on appearance, Kataiwa's Pochi appears to have "Ton Ton" — instead of the later "Pon Pon" — written on its side. This single instance of "Ton Ton" is present in the original Weekly Shōnen Jump debut and all subsequent reprintings.

The phrase "throw empty cans in the trash" — used as a punchline at the end of Sonchoh when Tetsunoshin Kataiwa finally catches up with "Green Runnynose" — had previously been written on a can that the main character nudges (prompting her discovery) at the end of Toriyama's 1981 one-shot Escape.

Akira Toriyama's _____piece Theatre, Vol. 2's 2014 collected volume new obi and comment from Akira Toriyama

In the third Akira Toriyama's _____piece Theatre REMIX compilation, released 21 June 2004 in Japan, Toriyama reflected on Sonchoh:

これはSUZUKIの“ジムニー”っていう車が好きで、それが書きたいだけの作品（笑）。無骨なジープを可愛くしたクルマで、この頃は欲しくて描いていたんですね。ボク、わかりやすいんですよ、凝っているものを描きたがるから。主役はジムニー、村長はどーでもいい（笑）。でも、おじいさん描くのは好きでしたね。＜明＞

---

This one came about because I liked the Suzuki Jimny and really wanted to draw it. (Laughs) It’s a vehicle that takes the rough-and-tumble Jeep and makes it cute, and at the time, I really wanted one, so I drew it. I’m pretty easy to read, since I want to draw whatever I’m fixated on. The star is the Jimny; I don’t give a hoot about the old man. (Laughs) Although I did enjoy drawing him.
— Akira Toriyama

In April 2014, in celebration of the Jaco the Galactic Patrolman collected manga volume release, Shueisha began including new comments from Akira Toriyama on the obi (paper band surrounding the book, generally promotional in nature) of his seven other (non-Dr. Slump and non-Dragon Ball) manga volumes. While each comment was only a short few lines, they provide a quick bit of insight with the occasional nod or comparison to Dragon Ball. Toriyama also contributed a new illustration for each comment showcasing a representative character crossing their arms. These comments were also briefly archived on Shueisha's promotional Jaco the Galactic Patrolman website. For the second volume of his one-shot collection, Toriyama stated:

これまたひどい！『剣之介さま』と『SONCHOH』のバカバカしさだけが唯一の救いでしょうか。赤恥の歴史その２ですな。

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This is also awful! Probably its only saving grace is the silliness of Ken'nosuke-sama and SONCHOH. This is Part 2 of my shameful history.
— Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama draft material for Sonchoh

Akira Toriyama's original designs for Tetsunoshin Kataiwa and the Jimny were featured as the Dragon Ball Official Site's 5th entry in its The Nearly Complete Works of Akira Toriyama ongoing weekday column in January 2018.

Sonchoh was featured again as the series' 183rd entry later that year in October, with the column sharing the full color title page from its original publication.

External Links

• TBD