Bubul of the Demon Village
| Bubul of the Majin Village[1] | |||
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 Bubul of the Demon Village title page from the 1997 No. 22-23 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump | |||
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| Author | Akira Toriyama | ||
| Publisher | Shueisha (JP) | ||
| Publication | Weekly Shōnen Jump | ||
| Demographic | Shōnen | ||
| Manga Series | |||
| Original Run |
Weekly Shōnen Jump 1997 No. 22-23 (28 April 1997) | ||
| Chapters | 1 | ||
Bubul of the Demon Village is a single-chapter ("one-shot") manga by Akira Toriyama spanning 46 pages (one color title page and 45 black-and-white content pages, with an advertisement on the back of the color title page) which ran in the 1997 No. 22-23 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, released 28 April 1997 in Japan, as the first entry in the magazine's "Jump Reader's Cup '97" series.
The one-shot served as a prototype for the subsequent full manga series COWA!, which began its release later that same year.
Synopsis
不思議の国からやってきたとってもおちゃめな魔人くん愛と勇気とカエルの翼に乗って今日も正義パワーが炸裂だ!![2]
Title
The title for this particular one-shot is written with a combination of kanji (with accompanying furigana) along with Latin lettering for the character's name of "Bubul" (itself with furigana indicating a Japanese pronunciation of ブブル buburu).
The "Demon" (魔人 majin) in the title and used in dialog throughout the one-shot is the same "Majin" used in Dragon Ball, and generically refers to all of the demons in the story.
In the ninth entry in the Dragon Ball Official Site's special "Dragon Ball-ism Toriyama Showcase" column in 2022, "Bubul of the Majin Village" is used as an English translation for the one-shot's title in the site's (largely machine-translated) English-language version[1] of the same respective article originally published in Japanese.[3]
Summary
TBD
Characters
Major Characters
- Bubul (ブブル Buburu): TBD
- TBD
Supporting Characters
- TBD
Miscellaneous
- TBD
Production
Shueisha hosted the "Jump Readers' Award" competitions for its authors and illustrators for 11 years between 1973 and 1983. Notable Toriyama contributions to these contests included Pola & Roid in 1981 (that year's winner) and Chobit in 1983 (which took third place). 1983 was the final year until the competition was (briefly) revived in 1997 as the "Jump Reader's Cup '97" (ジャンプ愛読者杯'97 Janpu ai Dokusha-hai '97).
Bubul of the Demon Village was one of 10 one-shots produced for "Jump Reader's Cup '97" which was published across the 1997 No. 22-23 to No. 32 issues of Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan, with notable Jump authors contributing each individual (and unrelated) short story:
| Release Order | Chapter Title | Author | Issue Date | Sale Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 魔人村のBUBUL Majin-mura no Buburu |
Akira Toriyama | 1997 No. 22-23 | 28 April 1997 |
| 2 | ときめきラブポーション Tokimeki Rabu Pōshon |
Tsunomaru (as つのま❤︎るみ) |
1997 No. 24 | 13 May 1997 |
| 3 | ユガミズム Yugamizumu |
Ryū Fujisaki | 1997 No. 25 | 20 May 1997 |
| 4 | ビィフィータ Byifiita |
Kyōsuke Usuta | 1997 No. 26 | 27 May 1997 |
| 5 | R.P.G. | Osamu Akimoto | 1997 No. 27 | 03 June 1997 |
| 6 | ICON | Hayato Umezawa | 1997 No. 28 | 10 June 1997 |
| 7 | ギャングエイジ Gyangu Eiji |
Masanori Morita | 1997 No. 29 | 17 June 1997 |
| 8 | 岸辺露伴は動かない Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai |
Hirohiko Araki (as "Rohan Kishibe") |
1997 No. 30 | 24 June 1997 |
| 9 | ROMANCERS | Yūko Asami | 1997 No. 31 | 01 July 1997 |
| 10 | メテオ·ストライク Meteo Sutoraiku |
Nobuhiro Watsuki | 1997 No. 32 | 08 July 1997 |
Bubul took 1st place in the subsequent poll with 174,835 votes.[3]
Releases
Bubul of the Demon Village has been reprinted a few times outside of its original Weekly Shōnen Jump 1997 No. 22-23 printing, though not as a part of an Akira Toriyama-specific collection.
- A reprint was included as part of the special compilation issue Jump Reader's Choice Cup ’97 Selections released 16 October 1997 in Japan.
- A reprint was included within the 2004 #10 issue of Monthly Shōnen Jump released 06 September 2004 in Japan.
- A reprint was included within the Shueisha Jump Remix: Legendary Jump Reader's Cup book released 28 April 2011 in Japan.
An English "scanlation" of Bubul was released by "ASPIRINGMANGAREADER" in 2024 with the use of machine translation.
Legacy
Bubul of the Demon Village served as a prototype and spiritual predecessor work leading into the creation of COWA!, which ran for 12 chapters from the 1997 #48 to 1998 #15 issues Weekly Shōnen Jump.
The 1997 #47 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump contains a multi-page promotional splash for the new television reboot of Dr. Slump along with background on Bubul and the Jump Reader's Cup, all leading up to the impending premiere of COWA set for the following issue.
In the Jump Reader's Choice Cup '97 Selections special compilation issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (which contains all 10 entries from that year's Jump Reader's Cup), Toriyama holds a mock interview with the character Bubul, describing the creation process of his work, and promoting the upcoming launch of COWA! in Weekly Shōnen Jump that year.
Akira Toriyama Commentary
Each issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump includes a comment from that issue's respective authors. Toriyama's comment in the 1997 No. 22/23 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump with the original publication of Bubul is as follows:
愛読者杯（リーダーズカップ）第一回に執筆できて、とても光栄です…と言いたいところですが、メチャキツのスケジュールでした。休んでるはずなのに…なぜ!?感想きかせてね〈明〉
It's a great honor to be able to draw something for the first Jump Reader's Choice Cup… is what I'd like to say, but I had a really tight schedule. I should have been resting... why?! Let me know what you think. <Akira>
In the special issue Jump Reader's Choice Cup '97 Selections released later that year on 16 October 1997 (which compiled all of that year's Jump Reader's Choice entries), Toriyama commented:
前から進めていたテーマだったので、それで賞がとれて幸せです。このブブルをもとに新連載を始めるので期待していてください!!
This had a theme I'd been pursuing for a while, so I'm happy I was able to win an award with it. I'm starting a new serial based on this Bubul, so look forward to it!!
In the 1997 No. 47 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump released 21 October 1997, a special foldout poster in the front of the issue contains a comment from Toriyama noting the evolution from Bubul to Cowa! alongside promotion for the Dr. Slump television series reboot:
新連載は、シンプルで戦いのない話です。愛読者杯で1位をもらった『BUBUL』みたいな。でも、人気あったからってそのままやるのはシャクなんで(笑)全然違う世界設定でやりますよ。スランプのアニメのほうは、マンガと違ってどんな展開になるのかボクも楽しみつす
This new series is a simple story without any fighting, very similar to Bubul, which got first place at the Reader's Cup. But it's precisely because it was popular that using it as-is would be annoying (laughs). This one is set in a completely different world. The new Slump animated series is also going to deviate from the manga, so even I'm pretty excited to know what they’re going to come up with.
In the 2004 #10 issue of Monthly Shōnen Jump which included a Bubul reprint, Toriyama commented:
たしか仕上げにコンピュータを使い始めた２作目の漫画です。今見るとお恥ずかしい。〈明〉
If I remember correctly, this was my second comic where I did the finishing touches using a computer. Looking at it now, I'm embarrassed. <Akira>
In the Shueisha Jump Remix: Legendary Jump Reader's Cup compilation book from 2011, Toriyama commented:
ボクにはアシスタントがいません。この作品はベタやトーンなどの仕上げをパソコンでやれば楽になるのでは？と試し始めた頃のもので、結局まだまだ不慣れなのと、うまく使えないのとで、手作業でやってた方が早いじゃん！などと勉強不足を呪った思い出があります。
I don't have an assistant. This work is from a time when I had started experimenting with doing finishing touches like the blacking, tone and such on the PC, figuring it might be easier that way; but ultimately, between my unfamiliarity with it and my not being able to use it very well, I remember cursing my lack of study: "It would've been faster to do it by hand!"
External Links
- TBD
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Dragon Ball-ism Toriyama Showcase #9: Majin Mura no BUBUL" (06 January 2022). Dragon Ball Official Site. Retrieved: 06 January 2022.
- ↑ Toriyama, Akira. Bubul of the Demon Village. Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1997 #22/23. Japan: Shueisha, 28 April 1997 (pp. 119-165).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "感じるＤＢイズム～鳥山明作品紹介～第9回は『魔人村のBUBUL』！" (06 January 2022). Dragon Ball Official Site. Retrieved: 24 February 2026.
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