Product Description

With the invention of the automatic vacuum robot and the time-set video recording devices, what is the next breakthrough in home appliances? Why that would be cute female mini-robots that kill bugs of course! In Ichigeki Sacchu!! HoiHoi-san, a corporation in this alternate universe has created such a pest control agent and it's the hottest selling item ever. Journey along with one enthusiast of these robots called HoiHoi-san's and experience the joys & suffering of being a dutiful owner of these new adorable, bug killing, wallet busting machines.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #650977 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781596970144
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

A light-hearted, single-volume comic
In the near future, insects are immune to pesticides, resulting in the need for household bug-killing robots. A popular robot model series called "Hoihoi-san" is taking Japan by storm. It's a cute, doll-like combat robot with swappable costumes, weapons and accessories.

The comic chronicles the Hoihoi-san phenomenon through the eyes of a hopeless fan, a retailer, the fandom itself during a fan convention as well as the inner turmoil of the company that designs and produces the household appliance.

It's a distinctly Japanese comic that lightly parodies their culture of rabid consumerism. The comic highlights how the fanboy protagonist often blows his living wages on the latest Hoihoi-san doo-dad, or pays for costly repairs and replacements as he damages his toy and bricks its firmware.

The comic also parodies consumerism from an industry perspective as Hoihoi-san execs pitch concepts for accessories and competes with their competitor, "Combat-san"-- in one scene, the fanboy buys a Combat-san dreaming of a bug-killing tag team, only to later discover that his Hoihoi-san trashed it overnight.

The comic also follows the characters as they attend a Hoihoi-san convention, where they buy and sell unofficial home-made accessories and costumes. Anyway it's a cute and rather odd comic series that simultaneously parodies and celebrates "otaku" consumer culture. The artwork is high quality and full of personality, and the English-translated book itself includes several full-color illustrations.

The Hoihoi-san series continues in Japan as a PS2 game, a very short anime OAV, and a new spin-off comic, "Hoihoi-san Legacy".

The best manga I ever bought, but that isn't saying much
Overall, this is the best manga I've ever bought in that the quality of the book itself is amazing. Unlike mangas that I've bought in the past, the pages are glossy and smooth, not like traditional books with ink printed pages. Other than that, the story itself is hilarious, but it left me wanting for more because of its relative shortness. As an added bonus, the final pages of the book are scans of illustrations from HoiHoi-san's other media. I recommend a buy if you're into comedies about robots, without any of the lewd humor.