Obatarian (Japanese: オバタリアン) is a yonkomamanga series by Katsuhiko Hotta. It was serialized in Manga Life, Manga Life Original, and Really Happened Pleasant Stories (all published by Takeshobo) from 1988 to 1998, with a total of 13 volumes released by the publisher (with some reprints after 2000).
The title Obatarian (a portmanteau of おばさん obasan "middle-aged woman" and Battalion from the 1985 zombie comedy film The Return of the Living Dead) became a popular Japanese buzzword in the late 1980s referring to pushy, shameless, or ill-mannered middle-aged women.
The term originates from the 1986 horror film The Return of the Living Dead (released in Japan as Battalion). It is a portmanteau of "おばさん" (obasan, middle-aged woman) and "バタリアン" (Batarian). "Battalion" implies a large group or swarm, hence the connotation of hordes of obasan.
The manga satirizes ordinary, shameless middle-aged women who behave rudely and impose on others without hesitation, sometimes engaging in behavior bordering on criminal.
Characters
The following characters appear in the anime adaptation:
The term spread rapidly after being used in reader letters complaining about middle-aged women's manners. It became a common word for pushy or shameless middle-aged women. Politician Takako Doi embraced the term, and it won the Gold Prize in the 1989 U-CAN New Word and Buzzword Award (with Doi and Hotta as joint recipients).
A Fuji TV special titled We Are the Cheerful Obatarians was broadcast, though unrelated to the manga beyond the title. It was a hidden-camera prank show.
In 1992, Japanese reggae artist Little Boogie Man released a song titled "Obatarian."
Manga
Volumes 1–9 were released without barcodes or ISBNs. Later volumes:
