Marukabi Boon is a reoccurring character in the Osamu Tezuka Star System, a bulky man who usually plays villains or politicians. His first appearance in a Tezuka work was in 1956, where he appeared in the Astro Boy chapter "Robot Bombs."
Appearance[]
Boon's design is very iconic, with his big eyes and noticeable bags underneath them. He most often has thick eyebrows and sideburns. He is a bulky, slightly chubby man of medium height.
Boon was also modelled after Franco-Italian actor Lino Ventura. While Acetylene Lamp's design was retroactively inspired by Ventura, Boon was entirely modelled after the actor. Boon's first appearance in Tezuka's mangas happened not long after Lino Ventura's film Touchez Pas au Grisbi was released in Japan.
Personality[]
Boon is a very common player in Tezuka's works. He almost always appears as a mobster, thug, or bureaucratic figure. Boon quite frequently plays antagonists, but in series like Black Jack, he has played stern but caring older figures. He is usually a secondary antagonist or a supporting character.
Boon first appeared in Astro Boy in 1956, and he had 14 separate appearances throughout the Black Jack manga. He is often seen alongside major Tezuka antagonists like Skunk, Lamp, or Hamegg; he usually works under them, and his criminal style is generally violent and less calculated.
One of Boon's more recent big roles is as President Boon in the 2001 film Metropolis.
2003 series[]
Boon appears as a benevolent character in the 2003 series, where he is a junker living among a village of performers and travelers. He appears exclusively in the episode "Lost in Outland."
Years before, Boon was an inventor who created the Boon Unit, a device said to be capable of automatically repairing any issue with a robot. To promote it, Boon traveled in a floating repair shop, and even gave out free installations. However, the device turned out to be faulty, and his repair shop crashed in the ocean. People began to believe Boon was a con artist, and he served jail time for fraud. Boon swore that his device had could truly work, claiming he had been the victim of corporate sabotage. He broke out of jail and escaped to the junk village.
Boon is an off-the-grid inventor and respected member of the junk village. When Boon finds a crashed Astro, he repairs him, and begins to look after the boy when he turns out to have amnesia. Boon is initially cold and very formal around Astro but begins to take pity on him for being alone and treats him like a parental figure. When Astro discovers an in-tact Boon Unit, Boon is inspired to research it again and see if there was really a fatal flaw.
Despite being a now caught wanted fugitive, Boon works with Professor Ochanomizu and the authorities to fix Astro and stop a crashing satellite. When the Boon Unit successfully stops the satellite, the group discovers that the Boon Units were never faulty after all.
Astro Boy: Omega Factor[]
In Astro Boy: Omega Factor, Boon appears as part of an excavation team on Fire Vase Island with Wato, he was fascinated by the findings there. After learning from Don Dracula that Sharaku's soul is there, Astro tried to get Boon to allow him to destroy it. Boon is skeptical about this, so Astro decides to call Ambassador Magma (whom he met on Cruciform Island who was searching for "the devil") to show him something that couldn't be explained. Seeing the rocket-man, Boon allowed Astro to do what he wants with the ruins. But suddenly, Sharaku jumped out of the ruins and teleported away. However, this turned to be a good thing as driving him off the island weakened him enough to allow Kennedy to tell Astro the location of Dr. Black Jack, who would cure Prime Rose ruining Sharaku's plans.
Although Boon is entered into the Omega factor once Fire Vase Island is visited, he is not colored until after Sharaku escapes. If Astro visits Fire Vase Island again, Boon is shown to still be upset about his ruined excavation. Astro simply tells him that he'll defeat Sharaku soon. Boon was last seen calling out to Astro as he flies into sun with a piece of Death Mask to stop a huge explosion, though he survived.