Osomatsu-san – 25 (End) and Series Review

Osomatsu-san - 25 -27 Osomatsu-san - 25 -51 Osomatsu-san - 25 -54

Well, that was certainly one direction they could have gone…

Osomatsu-san - 25 -3So much for any semblance of the serious ending I was admittedly sort of hoping we’d get.  I understand the thinking behind this episode, a kind of “to thine own self be true” approach.  After all, a comedy getting serious in the end is a kind of anime cliche in itself, and Osomatsu-san is all about busting anime cliches.  The only reasons I’m a bit disappointed are first that this series has been so resolutely irreverent for two cours that a slightly serious finale would have been a real twist, and second that on the rare occasions it has gone serious, Osomatsu-san has done so really well.

Osomatsu-san - 25 -4C’est la vie.  Last week’s episode being a troll was always a strong possibility, and probably the one most in-character for this show.  And if you’re going to go comic for the finale, better that it be over the top – and this certainly was, though that’s a pretty high bar to shoot for after those first 24 eps.  The die was cast after the first two minutes of the episode, with the whole conceit of the letter blown up and everyone summoned back home for “The Invitational” – which poor Matsuzou never did get an explanation for.

This was one of those Osomatsu eps that was, alas, pretty much pointless to try and blog in any systematic way.  It was just an endless parade of increasingly silly gags surrounding what I guess was a kind of Koushien trope parody, culminating in perhaps the most gloriously stupid school song I’ve heard this year.  A few comic highlights were:

Osomatsu-san - 25 -5I think special mention also has to go to the ED sequence, which was a sensationally clever mash-up of the first and second EDs, and managed to work pretty much every seiyuu that was involved in the series into a prominent role.  I’ve never seen that done in quite that way before, and it marked a fittingly ludicrous and clever end to a ludicrously clever series.  If anyone told you this was the show they were expecting when Osomatsu-san premiered six months ago, they’re almost certainly a liar.

Osomatsu-san - 25 -4That brings us to the question, of course, of what’s next for Osomatsu-san.  This series is on-track to become one of the half-dozen or so best-selling TV anime of all-time on a per-volume basis.  There’s no source material to run out of.  So it seems pretty far-fetched to imagine that it could possibly end after one season – anime economics just doesn’t work that way.  We didn’t get a S2 announcement at the end of this episode, only a “See you sometime”.  But I have to think it’s really only a matter of when that sometime is.  I could see where a show like this, as relentlessly inventive as it is, could be really difficult to write.  And that same lack of source material to run out of also means the staff has to create every episode from scratch.  These guys might some time to decompress and build up a reserve of ideas, but it seems certain they’ll be back.

Osomatsu-san - 25 -5I, for one, hope they are, and soon too.  Osomatsu-san was a sleeper pick for me in Fall 2015, though I certainly didn’t expect either the edgy lunacy or phenomenal popularity we’ve gotten.  Not only is Osomatsu-san one of the best and unlikeliest success stories anime has ever seen, it’s also a damn fine show.  It honors the comedy Hippocratic Oath of “First, be funny” with religious fervor, delivering a sheer volume of big laughs in two cours that would be hard to top.  It never lost its nerve, and even managed to be thought-provoking and emotionally impactful when it tried to be.  The greatest and most powerful comedic formula, in my view, is the combination of very smart and very dumb humor, of highbrow and lowbrow – and Osomatsu-san is a master of that formula.  It’s been a great ride, and I can’t wait to go around again.

ED Sequence:

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8 comments

  1. Hooray! A finale post full of unsullied goodwill, not quenched by the gloom and doom of the more cynical fan! Applause for the great Osomatsu-san!

  2. n

    Good show. I’m glad it got a strong backing financially by fans, so that it could be this creative.
    I’m looking forward to season 2

  3. G

    BELLYBUTTON WRINKLES!!
    I liked that it paid homage to all the previous episodes and provided a summary of the show with a recurring cast – characters big and small. And talk about hitting all the censor-worthy buttons – we even had a seppuku and a public stripping. My only gripe was there was too little Iyami but we’ll probably see these guys again.
    Till then, SHEEHHH

  4. C

    Wow, this was probably my least liked Osomatsu-san episode. I really hated it. 24 was fantastic and a great build-up to what could have been a very bittersweet finale… but no, instead we got “LOL SO RANDOM XD” the episode.

    I still love Osomatsu-san and it’s still my AOTY 2015, but this ending really sucked. But not to worry, we’ll be getting more Matsuno brothers so I can cleanse my palette of this taste.

  5. m

    I’ve never felt so trolled in my life.

    Bravo, Osomatsu-san, bravo.

  6. T

    I was somewhat disappointed too. I wanted to see where a “serious” Osomatsu-san would go with the previous week’s episode. But I should have known better than that! This episode feels more true to form of Osomatsu-san and I can roll happily with that. Highlights for me were what invitational?!; the clueless dad; Karamatsu being himself; seeing Kamimatsu again; that glorious, awkward “bat” scene with the brothers combining their powers (I’m slightly surprised the ikemen were a no show); etc. etc.

    I’m looking forward to the next season!

  7. e

    Well, talk about going up with a bang, although perhaps not the kind the brothers were hoping for…

    They went for a baseball theme. OF COURSE.
    – I think the coach was a mashup nod. Personally his overall appereance reminded me of s1 Captain Tsubasa’s MC’s Brazilian mentor first :p
    Teheh, it was a fun episode. Felt like they went kitchen sink with genres and tropes and at least for me it worked. If this it the last we get for the moment I am satisfied. We even got a Dayooon Village Girl reappereance! :,> And overall it was a very refreshing ride on the visual side of things too.
    P.S.: Karamatsu rabuuuuuu <3

  8. A

    The coach parody had to have been a Kashiwaba Eijiro parody from Touch. That suit and those shades are identical ! 😛

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