Bon Namihira (並平 凡 Namihira Bon), alternatively as Eukles (エウクレス Eukuresu) in the renewed history, is the main protagonist of the Time Patrol Bon franchise. He along with Ream Stream and Yumiko Yasukawa made cameo appearances in Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan 2016 and Little Mystic Super-express.[1]
Etymology[]
Ream expediently naming Bon as Eukles in ancient Greece.
Bon's name, being composed of several Japanese words including 並 and 平凡, represents "mediocre", "ordinary", and "average". This is somewhat contrasting to Nobita Nobi's name which represents "potential for growth".
Ream Stream expediently named Bon as "Eukles" when he was forced to replace Philippides, and Bon became the new sire of marathon and has secretly became a worldwide famous figure in the consequence, so as the case of Sun Wukong (Monkey King) and Zhu Bajie (by Ream).
Bon's family name Namihira is reused from Fujiko's 1978 manga A Day of Namihira Family (並平家の一日 Namihirake no Ichinichi) in which protagonists are also "mediocre" figures like Bon.
Appearance[]
In the manga, he was initially subtly shorter than Ream, however they became about the same height in the later chapters of the part 1 of the manga.
As the 1989 anime was co-produced along with Kiteretsu Encyclopedia by Gallop, this incarnation of Bon bears Kiteretsu Encyclopedia (and the 1979 anime of Doraemon) - esque design in general. He wears a differently designed formal Time Patrol uniform, which was loosely based on that in the part 3 of the manga. Bon was also voiced by Yuji Mitsuya who also played Tongari from Kiteretsu Encyclopedia.
Bon in the 2016 Doraemon film wears a formal Time Patrol uniform of the Doraemon franchise.
Personality[]
In general, Bon Namihira is somewhat reminiscent of Nobita Nobi in Doraemon Long Stories although there are notable differences in characteristics between them.
As he acknowledges himself, along with what his name represents, Bon is generally "mediocre" in many ways. He is neither lonely nor sociable, but doesn't have any interests to devote. However, he can be rich in curiosity.[2]
He is also quite clumsy and loose and cocky at times even after becoming an official Time Patrol agent, resulting in rather pathetic mistakes and self-caused injuries, and made several Time Paradoxes. He is also somewhat lazy, however he is somewhat more diligent than Nobita Nobi and occasionally dedicates in decent efforts.
He is also depicted to be notably brave especially in emergencies since the beginning, the execution attempt of him by Time Patrol and the rescue of Ream from a Futabasaurus. He can also occasionally come up with important ideas to solve ongoing situations. However, this bravery may also result in reckless and careless actions, and he died at least twice for this; being killed by Minotaur and "artificially" died from a cardiac arrest to replace Philippides and became Eukles, the new sire of marathon.
Due to his morale and sense of justice, he repeatedly made mistakes to trigger changes in the history and had also suffered on multiple occasions due to the regulations of Time Patrol to not to freely interfere fates of people and animals.
In the 1989 anime, he was depicted to be more simple and straightforward, and more overreacting than in the manga and the 2024 anime.
In the 2024 anime, he doesn't participate in any school club while he in the manga belongs to a baseball team managed by Tetsuo Shiraishi. He is also unfazed by Yumiko's good looking unlike Tetsuo and Yanagisawa.
He dislikes injections. While the gadget to change body pigments to disguise was noted to be painless in the 1989 anime, it was depicted to be tingling in the 2024 anime.
Unlike Nobita Nobi who has been noted to be lewd at times especially towards Shizuka Minamoto, Bon in contrast has not showed such aspects.
Skills and Abilities[]
Bon performing his gun controlling skills.
Bon is a talented gunman like Nobita Nobi.
Being somewhat reminiscent of Nobita Nobi, Bon in general is, as his name suggests, not particularly excellent but "mediocre" in academic and physical capabilities, and he admits both of this and what his name represents, on the contrary to Ream and Yumiko. His usual stamina may be inferior to that of Ream although this might be partially due to his insufficient sleep before their mission in ancient Greece.
However, also akin to Nobita, Bon has an unusual talent for shooting. In the 1989 anime, he saved Louis Stream's fate by preventing him from committing a murder with his gun. His adaptability is also notably high despite being "medicore".[2]
His academic physical capabilities are generally well above Nobita Nobi (except for him in Doraemon Long Stories). Especially in emergencies, Bon can be surprisingly brave and has performed notable agility and stamina in such situations where he has repeatedly managed to survive (midnight) ambushes and surprise attacks from a group of samurai and other threats, and he completed a full marathon instead of Philippides from Marathon to Athens within the same condition and time period with by Pheidippides, and this was after he, who had an insufficient sleep, and Ream kept running for kilometers, and he still had to "artificially" die from a cardiac arrest with a special medicine to refill the history. On the contrary to Ream (in the manga and the 1989 anime), he is a capable swimmer to save Ream from a Futabasaurus and survives its (her in the 1989 anime) attacks with carrying Ream. In the manga, he is neither a leading player nor a burden of Tetsuo's baseball team unlike Nobita Nobi.
In the 1989 anime, Bon went through a recruit screening to become a Time Patrol officer. While his academic and physical capabilities were not excellent, he was eventually hired because of his domestic circumstance; his parents are absent during daytimes as a two‐income family, and this was considered to be suitable for an agent.
Relationships[]
Ream Stream[]
Bon and Ream were clearly highlighted as potential love interests in the 1989 anime, which was presumably produced under Fujiko F. Fujio before his death in 1996.
- Main article: Bon Namihira and Ream Stream
The relationship and the eventual fate of Bon and Ream are rather complex and ambiguous due to repeated hiatuses and the cancellation of the original manga. While their relationship might have been originally intended to be romantic, their actual fates were never specified.
Yumiko Yasukawa[]
In the manga, Yumiko was originally a complete stranger to Bon until he engaged in a mission to save her life. After Yumiko participated in Time Patrol, they formed a duo initially as a senior agent and a trainee, later as a formal duo due to the regulation for Time Patrol officers to work in pairs for safety and efficiency, however this contradicts with the earlier separation of Bon and Ream (see below).
In the 1989 anime, as Yumiko and Yoko Shiraki were completely mingled, she became a close classmate of Bon since the beginning.
The 2024 anime follows both the manga and the 1989 anime regards Yumiko's role in the plot for some extents albeit with some changes especially her background as a student from another class in the same junior high school as Bon and others. She is also depicted to be more modest than previous incarnations.
Yoko Shiraki[]
Bon and Yoko in the early parts of the manga.
In the manga, Yoko was originally filling the role of a close neighbor friend of Bon, however as Yumiko became a notable figure in the plot, Yoko was replaced with Yumiko. Yoko also called Bon as "Bon-chan" on occasions due to their close friendship.
Unlike the 1989 anime, Yoko appears in the 2024 anime and regained her role albeit with some minor changes such as to introduce Yumiko to the boys.
Buyoyon[]
Buyoyon can be sarcastic towards Bon at times.
In the manga, Ream and Buyoyon dissolved a partnership with Bon at the end of the part 1 due to Bon's promotion from a trainee, and they didn't appear for the rest of the manga. This was presumably caused by both the suspension of Monthly Shōnen World and Fujiko F. Fujio's declining health.
Tetsuo Shiraishi[]
Tetsuo is one of Bon's best friends. However, he often can be sarcastic towards Bon and (unintentionally or not) mocks him. In the 1989 anime in which Yumiko completely replaced Yoko, Yumiko occasionally scolds Tetsuo for needlessly mocking Bon.
Yanagisawa[]
Yanagisawa is one of Bon's best friends, and Bon sometimes asks Yanagisawa regards historic events, concerning potential time paradoxes he might have caused, after his missions.
Louis Stream[]
Louis accidentally met Bon and Ream in the Cretaceous period where Louis was protecting dinosaurs from time tripping poachers, and Bon and Ream were sent there during the attempt to erase Bon. As Ream made a plea to save Bon from an execution, Louis was cooperative to her sister, and the sibling decided to advocate Bon as an agent trainee to the Time Patrol headquarter for the sake of Bon. Louis and Buyoyon also saved Ream and Bon from criminal time trippers in Egypt.
When Time Patrol headquarter decided to arrest Louis after the event of Leviathan, Ream and Bon and Yumiko Yasukawa instead made pleas to Gayler to release Louis, and Louis was eventually acquitted partially because he was prevented from committing a murder by Bon and Yumiko.
Trivia[]
Bon accidentally saving the humanity by kicking THE stone in the 2024 anime.
One of Bon's cameo appearances.
- The attempted execution of Bon by Time Patrol represents ironical, irregular contradictions of the organization's regulations; Time Patrol are not allowed to save historically important people and animals, however Bon was not executed because he is an important figure, and while the Time Patrol headquarter absolutely prioritizes thoughtful researches on rescue targets, they were about to make an irreparable mistake.
- Bon's birthyear and the time settings differ throughout the franchise; born in 1965 (1st episode in 1979) in the manga, born in 1974 (1st episode in 1988) in the 1989 anime, and unverified in the 2024 anime.
- Ream and Bon and Yumiko's names in Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan 2016 were not clarified until when the film was aired on TV in Japan.
- Bon and Ream and Yumiko and Tetsuo Shiraishi are among few characters in the entire Fujiko works that have went through both actual deaths and resurrections respectively. All of their (actual) deaths except for Tetsuo's case were to replace rescue targets, and they have also been fatally wounded instead of other animals or people.
- In comparison, Nobita Nobi and Shizuka Minamoto went through rather ambiguous deaths and resurrections in Nobita and the Fantastic Three Musketeers.
- Bon and Ream's accidental time trip to Kamakura period in the first episode was noted to be 700 years ago in the manga and the 1989 anime and 800 years ago in the 2024 anime.
- In the 1989 anime, Bon gained his Time Boat when he was promoted for an official agent.
- His uncle works at a tokusatsu studio, and lets Bon to borrow suits of kaiju and kaijin on occasions. This helped Bon and Ream to survive the mission regarding Priest Xuanzang, and also resulted in the creation of the legends of Sun Wukong (Monkey King) and Zhu Bajie (Monk Pig).
- Both Bon and Nobita Nobi became the basis for the legend of Sun Wukong (Monkey King) due to their interventions on the journey of Priest Xuanzang.
- The miniature model of Futabasaurus in Bon's room in the 2024 anime is a reference to Piisuke while Bon and Ream were also attacked by a Futabasaurus.[2]
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ Shogakukan, July 17, 2024, Fライフ増刊 T・P本, pp.104-105, ASIN: B0D4SXKF47
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Netflixシリーズ「T・Pぼん」安藤真裕監督インタビュー【前編】