bernard89 - 2016-12-27 15:29:40

An anime chopped full with comedy moments to the extreme that the studio in charge of the project got sued… well then, this is when it is simple to understand how this series could easily be considered a true gem of a series. This show is an episodic/skit-based anime that is fortunately so enjoyable that anyone could easily marathon the entire show in one night without even getting bored unlike most episodic series such as Cowboy Bebop and Mushishi. The lives of the Matsu brothers is just so insane that most people kept waiting each and every week for a new episode of a show that nobody ever expected was going to be so good that it was the largest selling anime of 2016, Osomatsu-san.

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~Comedy 9/10~
I know what you are all thinking right now… “but Magnitude, isn’t this category supposed to be about about the story and not comedy?”. Well, my immediate answer would be yes! This section is usually about the story, but due to the nature of this show being an skit-based episodic series; logically I decided to instead focus on the comedy aspect of this series since that is the main theme of the entire show.

Throughout the series this show has had countless amount of skits, some of which were really well made and enjoyable… others not so much. For the most part this show is filled with hits and misses, personally there were quite a lot of hits in my eyes. What I loved the most about the series is how each episode tended to focus on one particular character then always ended up turning into utter chaos.

Other times the series has made dozens of references to other series that in the long run ended up getting the studio sued and as a result had all of the first episode’s removed from all legal streaming websites. As for the references themselves, I found them all really funny especially when I got them. How about I just simply list them all off then hyperlink a screenshot of the particular parody.

Now then, let’s get this list started: Attack on Titan, Haikyuu, Kuroko no Basket, Yowamushi Pedal, Love Live, Kaiji, Cowboy Bebop, Karate Kid, Anpanman, Mad Max Fury Road, Ao Haru Ride, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Naruto, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, My Neighbor Totoro, Assassination Classroom, Mario Kart, and many many more!

If you are still wondering as to what type of comedy the show uses, it tends to have lots of quick witty jokes as well as long drawn out jokes on a parody of some sort of series, seeing the Matsu brothers try to one-up each other, having the boys become genderbent, and lots and lots of sex jokes.

~Characters 7/10~
Osomatsu-san is an odd series being how it’s main characters are the sextuplets Matsu brothers! Throughout the show there is a long running gag about these sextuplets and how they are all still living with their parents, don’t have a job, and how they are all still virgins! Yup, that’s right! I told you this series makes a boatload of sex jokes. Well sinces I am getting off task I thought it would be a great idea to mention how this series is chopped full of so many different comedy skits so logically it is only natural for a show like this to have a whole slew of characters. This being said I have decided to make each character introduction only two sentences long: one about their personality, and one about what I think of the character itself.

Osomatsu Matsuno is commonly seen wearing red, he is the oldest of the group and is the most normal of the group all while he tends to be the leader of the group of brothers. I personally really enjoy him and his relaxed yet assertive nature, meanwhile most people I know tend to view him as one of their least favorite Matsu brothers.

Karamatsu Matsuno is commonly seen wearing blue, he is the definition of the “rule of cool”. Karamatsu is always seen to be sporting those sick shades and always attempts to try at picking up girls yet usually he fails miserably. I personally find Karamatsu to be my #1 favorite Matsu brother of them all because of his cool attitude that he personifies.

Choromatsu Matsuno is commonly seen wearing green, poor poor Choro he is such a loner. Choromatsu loves to get to know girls and has a crush on one of the commonly occurring female character Nyaa-chan, but the sad thing that whenever he does get a girl it usually ends up not going very well. Personally I find him to by my third favorite Matsu brother due to his endearing determination to get the girl.

Ichimatsu Matsuno is commonly seen wearing purple, he is the one who is always bored one of the group and he really loves cats! Like mine!. He is sort of similar to Tanaka from Tanaka-kun is Always Listless. Personally I find him decent, I don’t love his character nor hate him either he’s just… there.

Jyushimatsu Matsuno is commonly seen wearing yellow, words can not describe how hyperactive this little goofball is. Jyushi is always smiling all the time and is full of joy yet sometimes I question if he has a working brain at times… anyways, I personally feel as if Jyushimatsu is a close second for my favorite Matsu brother of the bunch.

Todomatsu Matsuno is commonly seen wearing pink, he is the youngest of all the Matsu brothers and tends to be a bit spoiled at times. Personally I just do not care for the guy at all so in my opinion he is my least favorite Matsu brother.

~Music 6/10~
In terms of a legitimate soundtrack, there really isn’t any song worth mentioning. But just like my most recent KonoSuba review, this show happens to have a different theme song per character. Out of all of these character songs, my favorite would have to be Karamatsu’s.

I feel as if both of the opening themes are wild and all over the place just like the show itself. Each of them have the most outlandish visuals but personally out of both of them I prefer the second op over the first. The songs themselves are both using the voice actors to create the theme which seems to be a common trend nowadays in the anime industry due to the extreme cost of making anime nowadays. Neither of the songs I would recommend downloading due to the fact that they are only enjoyable if you have the visuals to go along with it, this is also the case for the first opening theme to Assassination Classroom.

As for both of the ending themes, I love how they are entirely a live action stop motion animation. Personally I do not enjoy either of the songs for the endings but at least the visuals make up for it because seeing osomatsu is literal cheese form can be hilarious if you are drunk enough as well as having random photos of the Matsu brother’s heads with the same color sweater that they all tend to wear in the show.

~Art/Animation 10/10~
The art and animation for Osomatsu is one that I would consider to be extremely unique. The show looks like it is taken straight out of the 70’s and just added a fresh coat of paint over top of it. Unlike most anime who nowadays outline their characters in black, this series decided to outline all of it’s characters in blue which make the characters stand out more and look more cartoony instead of more realistic. The show barely has any character derps at all, the show looks amazing for the type of older cartoony look that they are trying to go for.

The the thing that I love the most is how this show has two completely different artstyle that it is known for. The first one is the cartoony style most people associate this series with, but it also has more of an idol type look to it as well. Every now and then there are the F6 skits that I personally enjoy the most out of all of the skits in the series.

I would also mention how I love that in the first minute or so in the first episode that the show starts out with the old 60’s black and white artstyle, just as a tip of the hat to the history of the series. One other thing, breaking the fourth wall is one of my favorite things that I love seeing in anime or movies. The last anime I watched that broke the fourth wall like this was about month or two ago with FLCL.

~Final Thoughts~
I can’t believe that I was about to sleep on this series. At first I thought it would be just another forgettable series like what we tend to get every season. Tho it came to my surprise that this series not only far exceeded my initial expectations, but catapulted so far ahead of it that it shot right up as my 2nd favorite anime of 2015 just being edged out by Ushio to Tora. The first episode just came by as such a surprised and I instantly knew that I was in for quite a ride. I also would like to mention how I love how you can jump right into the series without really any need to be caught up to speed since this show is entirely episodic. By judging this series based on one or two episodes is complete nonsensical and I feel so sorry for anyone who dropped it right off the bat because they missed a real hidden gem of a series and something that I recommend everyone go check out. Also if I had to say, what my favorite episode is, then my immediate response would have to be either episode 1 or episode 3.5. I would also like to mention as how I personally view the first episode of Osomatsu to be among the best first episodes that an anime could ever have. I also wanted to mention that due to the massive success of this show in Japan by selling over a combined 100,000 copies of the first volume of the DVD and BD releases that the show ended up getting: an smartphone game, three browser games, an otome game, an novel, and weirdest of all… a live-action gay porno parody… I don’t make this stuff up people.

Personally I was juggling between giving this show an eight or an nine and I finally decided to give it an overwhelming 8/10, and a recommendation that every anime fan go out and at least try the first episode.

~Similar Anime Recommendations~
Daily Lives of High School Boys, Gintama, Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, and The Eccentric Family

rau.telly - 2016-01-11 05:20:21

this anime is related to the old anime Osomatsu-kun and follows the wacky lives of sextuplets, one of which being "Osamatsu". All the other brothers have similar sounding names, but varying personalities. A few of the "matsu" brothers stand out, considerably, from the rest, but it is very easy to get the brothers mixed up until you get familiar with their names and/or their voice actors. Aside from the occasional confusion, this show is hilarious and worth a look if you're into gag anime. It also provides a nostalgic feel and art style akin to 90s gag anime, but is backed by new age animation to provide a sustainable edge in this era.