Japan Laughter Story (にっぽん笑来ばなし), later re-titled in reprints as 21st Century Gag (ギャグ21世紀), is a gag anthology manga by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro that was serialized in 2001 magazine.
Overview[]
This manga takes a look at the possibilities of Japan in the 21st Century, however dysfunctional and outlandish they may get.
Characters[]
While many characters original to the stories show up in each plot, there is also the presence of Akatsuka's Star System throughout the series.
Representing "The Genius Bakabon":[]
- The Police Officer with the Connected Eyes
- Bakabon's Papa
- Bakabon's Mama
- Unagi-Inu
- Rerere
- Bakabon
Representing "Extraordinary Ataro":[]
- Boss Kokoro
- Ataro
- Dekoppachi
- Butamatsu
- Batsugoro (as a live man and not a ghost)
- Kopun A and B
Representing "Osomatsu-kun":[]
- Three of the Sextuplets
- The Sextuplets' Father
- Dekapan
- Chibita
- Iyami
- Hatabou
Other series:[]
- Tamakin (Gag Guerrilla)
- Taro (Mom NO.1): His mother is also seen as a background character in a later chapter
- Beramatcha (Let's La Gon)
- Ichiro (Otasuke-kun)
- Moko and Akko (Akko-chan's Got a Secret!)
- Yamamoto 80 (Kusobaba!!)
A young freckled man known both as "Tanaka-san" and "Yamada-san" in two consecutive stories would also seem to be the same star, and is utilized in later stories as well (though losing his bucktooth).
Serialization[]
- 2001: November 1983-November 1985
Reprints[]
- Shoshenga: 24 of 26 chapters were reprinted as "21st Century Gag"
- Shogakukan: The Shoshenga volume was digitized for the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set, and a print-on-demand version was later put out through ComicPark
- eBookJapan: 1 volume, as "21st Century Gag"