From our other sites
The story
In the new anime adaptation of “Obocchama-kun,” it’s been revealed that protagonist Chama’s signature dirty gag, “Tomodachinko” (a pun blending “friend” with slang for penis), has been sealed away and replaced with “Friendrich,” where he now hands someone a one-yen coin instead — and the news set off a 5ch live-commentary thread. Posters piled on to mock how baffling the new gag is, with comments like “How does one yen make you ‘rich’?” and “The old-school Obocchama-kun would’ve slapped down a ten-thousand-yen bill,” and many linked it to the broader trend of self-censorship in recent anime, citing how Crayon Shin-chan’s “Butt Alien” bit got axed. At the same time, replies fondly recalled trivia about the masked band behind the theme song and the backstory on why the original manga’s dialogue is in Hakata dialect, so nostalgia for the show’s vulgarity mixed with more jaded takes.
What people said
I'm Chama, bai (Hakata dialect for "I am")
Love you, kuri-kuri
Hiikora hiikora ba hin ba hin (nonsense chant from the show)
I love that "hiikora hiikora ba hin ba hin" line
No way, seriously? So we can't even see Misae's Butt Alien bit anymore either…
There's nothing "rich" about one yen.
The old Obocchama-kun would've been slapping ten-thousand-yen bills on people.
Having to say "chinko" (dick) and all.
https://youtu.be/Whko8c5okm0?si=nrbhzzutQrkAlxHD
That was a high school band called Inguri Monguri.
They were popular enough to even have their own show on All Night Nippon.
Core members Maejima and Nagashima are both still active as solo artists today.
I genuinely can't tell what's supposed to be funny here.
Say what you want about "Tomodachinko," at least it had impact, good or bad — this one doesn't even stick in your memory.
I really wish they'd at least let Chama keep doing "Tomodachinko."
Seriously, what's even funny about this?
If anything it's rude, like saying "you're only worth one yen to me."
And isn't Obocchama-kun supposed to be such a rich kid he's never even seen a one-yen coin, let alone owned one?
Can't be helped — slapping on a ten-thousand-yen bill would basically look like a bribe.
In the manga, Chama's never seen small change before and has this running gag of buying 10-yen coins for a million yen each — so maybe the idea is that when you're rich enough, a one-yen coin becomes the rarer, more valuable thing?
Still doesn't really make sense though.
Wait, that was actually a thing?
I feel like I remember him suffering from doing it too much, though.
Lol
Damn, you remember that well.
Because the author is from Fukuoka.
It's been that way since his debut work, Todai Icchokusen.
Maybe they'll put him in a skin-colored full bodysuit for the back view or something.
Maybe just shirtless?
Actually, even that might not fly these days.
If anything, that's exactly the kind of thing they'll cut 😩
Obocchama-kun's whole thing is being rich, right?
What's the point of shoving a one-yen coin on someone and calling it "Friendrich"?
Looks to me like it's saying your friend is only worth one yen.
No way 😃
Nice attention to detail that it's properly shaped like a heart.
If you did this one with "Friendrich" it'd end up looking like a poop emoji.
Is digging up old content really all they've got?
Might as well call it grave-robbing.
Even Urusei Yatsura and Ranma flopped — is this gonna be fine?
Those two didn't actually flop, though.
It's a bigger name than Urusei Yatsura or Ranma anyway,
and both of those succeeded overseas too.
Ojou Samayo-chan.
Actually, quite a few girls Chama falls for show up in the manga, now that I think about it.
It's Kakino Shuhei, dude. (a boy's name — a sarcastic non-answer to the heroine question)
So "wiener" is a no-go, huh.
Wonder if "poop" still makes the cut.
Is there even a single episode that's actually "safe," then?
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
“Obocchama-kun” was a massively popular gag manga and anime from the 1990s by Yoshinori Kobayashi, parodying the world of elite prep schools like Gakushuin, known for its trademark vulgarity and crude humor. “Tomodachinko” was its signature gag, and this thread was sparked by news that the new anime adaptation swaps it out for “Friendrich,” in which the character hands over a one-yen coin instead. In recent years, sponsors and broadcast standards have grown stricter about sexual and crude content in children’s programming, and this is often discussed alongside how Crayon Shin-chan’s “Butt Alien” gag reportedly got different treatment in later reruns. Within the thread, confusion over the new gag itself (“why would one yen make you ‘rich’?”) appeared alongside nostalgic claims that “the vulgarity was the whole appeal,” so opinions were not unanimous. Note that details raised in replies — such as the band “Inguri Monguri” who sang the theme song, or the background on why the original is written in Hakata dialect — are secondhand information from commenters and have not been independently verified.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyō G) thread “New Obocchama-kun anime erases “Tomodachinko” lol.”
Leave a Reply