HoiHoi-san, full title Ichigeki Sacchu!! HoiHoi-san, is a manga by Kunihiko Tanaka that spawned a PlayStation 2 game and a ten-minute OVA. In the year 20XX, insects have become immune to all pesticides. To combat the rising plague of cockroaches and other household pests, the tiny, doll-like extermination gynoids known as "Hoihoi-san" were created. They can hunt down insects and kill them with such miniaturized weapons as minuscule machine guns and tiny combat knives. They can also be treated as dolls, by dressing them up in costumes and buying accessories for them. The main robot of the anime wears a maiduniform and rabbit ears as accessories.
History
It started out as a manga title serialized in Japanese language monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh published by MediaWorks, and later branched out to PlayStation 2 as a game and then further into numerous other media channels. The setting is in year 20XX at a time when insects are immune to all insecticides, so Japanese pharmaceutical companies have had to come up with the next level in insect extermination: small but heavily armed robots. Hoihoi-san is the bug killing robot of the title, a 10.5 cm tall doll like robot that comes with a wide range of weapons. With this character a new level has been attained in the girls-with-guns genre: capable of an impressive rate of fire, handles a sword equally well, is dressed up very cutely, complete with bow ties and booties and an expressionless face. The Hoihoi-san series of products parodies the girls with gunsgenre, robot girls as companions and the otaku.
Characters
Not all characters in the manga appear in the OVA. The ones in the OVA are indicated by the presence of the respective voice actor in the list below. ;ID-3 Hoihoi-san ;Aburatsubo-kun ;Kimiko Dewa ;Mutsumi "Mu-chan" Fushikawa ;Manager ;Furuyashiki-san ;Yazaki-kun ;RRX-7.8 Combat-san ;PEST-X-san ;DG-001LN Usagear
Media
Game
The game, released 2003-11-27, is a third person shooter game where the main aim is to complete levels defeating hordes of various kinds of insects, all while avoiding collateral damage to furniture and other household items. Completing a level gives the player credits with which one can buy upgrades for the Hoihoi-san, ranging from the useful like missile packs, ammunition and weapons upgrade but also less useful items like new clothing and new voices. In the game the muzzle blast is about the size of the robot, which combined with an impressive rate of fire makes for a definite statement in the girls-with-guns genre. A modicum of style, finesse and Japanese tradition is retained by a katana in the weapons selection. The game allows the player to use both a katana and a machine gun at the same time. If the player acquires all Hoihoi-san accessories, the backdrop turns pink on returning home.
Manga
A series of single page manga by Kunihiko Tanaka were serialised in the seinen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh. The manga centered around the life of Aburatsubo-kun and his Hoihoi-san in Kyoto. The manga follows up in the bizarreness with lines such as
"The spare ammunition kit is sold out, huh? I suppose I'll just buy her a pair of gloves."
While a life sized Hoihoi-san is levelling Aburatsubo-kun's flat, on the telephone: "It's on a rampage? I know that already!!"
A spinoff manga titled Ichigeki Sacchu!! HoiHoi-san Legacy by Kunihiko Tanaka started serialization in the seinen manga magazine Dengeki Black Maoh on September 19, 2007.
Anime
The manga and the Original Video Animation were part of a special edition package. The anime itself is only about 10 minutes long, and maintains the unusual humor by combining massive gunplay with squeaky booties. Unlike the manga, the anime is centered around Kimiko Dewa, who abhors the nightly carnage by her insect killing robots. She would rather they were more like pets and made her own costumes.
Doll
An articulated doll was produced, in a limited edition, that in the spirit of the rest of the venture features numerous weapons and shields. Due to laws in Japan the doll does not fire live ammunition, neither from the machine gun, nor from the missile launcher, so the company regretted lack of insecticidal effect. The dress can still be customised.
Dress demo
To complete it all a demo was made in Adobe Flash that can be used to demonstrate numerous Hoihoi-san outfits.
Licensing
While the game was published officially in Japan only and neither OVA nor manga were officially translated, the owners have guarded this intellectual property with unusual intensity. An unlicensed scanlator received a C&D letter in behalf of MediaWorks, the Japanese publisher of the title. In 2007 Infinity Studios released an official English language version of the first manga.
Allusions
A number of background images were made and one of them shows Hoihoi-san falling backwards while firing guns, one in each hand, in a pose and rate of fire that is very similar to that of Trinity in The Matrix Reloaded shown in the trailer.
Combat-san's model number, RRX-7.8, is probably a parody of the original Mobile Suit Gundams RX-78.
The name "HoiHoi" is a reference to "Hoy Hoy Trap-A-Roach" product, a baited sticky trap for roaches. The name "Combat" is a reference to the roach-killing gel product by the same name.
