I wonder if Osomatsu-san may be pushing the envelope a little too far in its late-innings experimentation. I love it – I think that fearless disdain for formula is what makes this series stand out among modern anime comedies. But it may not be what the folks who made the first season a historical blockbuster (and the second a considerably smaller one) on disc want. I may be reading too much into this, but if it’s true, it raises the question of whether Fujita and Matsubara are trying to torpedo their own success a little. There’s a distinct hostility towards Osomatsu-san’s status as a social phenomenon in a lot of the show’s humor, especially this season.
That notion of popularity is prominent in the second half of this episode, but not so much the first. It starts off with another cold open at the Chinese izakaya, this time finding Todomatsu desperately trying to get his brothers to quit while they’re ahead (at 230 AM) before their evening degenerates into a morass of diminishing returns. This is a trifle (and only runs a few minutes) but I always enjoy the sketches were Totty’s instincts are trying to break him free of the anchor he knows his brothers provide, yet in the end always lets himself be dragged down with them.
The first main chapter is another in a recent line of thought pieces, this time featuring Dayon. Or rather, Dayon squared, as he meets his double (don’t call him doppelgänger) on the train home from the office. This is a fun one in a number of ways, not least because it’s always nice to see Dayon cast as a fairly normal dude, and because Tobita Nobuo (along with Suzumura Kenichi, who shines in the B-part) is a comic genius. There’s a lot of very quirky stuff here, like the double (Fujita Dayon) reading the Talmud on the train. It’s not zany comedy for the most part, just odd and random, and I loved the ending (and Dayon’s reaction to it).
Next up Iyami takes center stage, and as he almost always does, he runs with it. Suzumura is so good in this sketch it’s hard to put into words – but you know, there’s always been a complexity to Iyami that sets him apart from the other cast members. And that’s rather the point here, as Iyami is about to hang himself because he’s decided he doesn’t belong in the series any longer. The producer happens along and tries to talk him down, they runs off to get help in doing so – which comes in the form of Osomatsu and Chibita.
Context means a lot with this chapter. It’s notable that in fact, Iyami was the de facto star of the first series. He became (to the surprise of the creative staff, starting with the mangaka) its most popular character, and he did sing one of the EDs. But Iyami is convinced he’s “too Showa” – the buck teeth, the “-Zansu”, the France fetish, even the “Sheeh!”. This section is meta, to say the least – the reference to two remaining episodes, et al. But more than anything I think it’s a commentary on the strange popularity of the Matsuno sextuplets among a certain segment of anime fandon, and the weird and wild ride its taken Osomatsu-san’s creators on.
Finally, we get a bookend session with the Chinese izakaya after the credits. This time around the drunk Matsuno boys decide to go around the table deciding what jobs they should have (heh). We get the likes of glamour model, prime minister, company president, celebrity, gold medalist, and doctor – and though by the end of all this Osomatsu announces that the brothers have “basically won”, the truth is quite painful, and that makes this bit a rather sad one if you ask me. There are times when I think the lot of them will never actually escape their fate, and this is one of them.
sanzal
March 13, 2018 at 11:46 pmI think it’s kind of ironic that Iyami was complaining about not fitting into the show when he was the focus of “Iyami, Alone in the Wind,” arguably the best episode of the season, if not the series. Then again, that was an alternate Iyami and not the “real” Iyami, so it would make sense that none of the characters in this universe would know about it. I just find that irony brilliant. It also cracked me up when “Suzu-san” started going “off-script”.
Though, I do wonder what Season 2 would have been like if the show hadn’t have been as immensely popular as it was. Maybe the numbers it’s making now were the numbers it was always *meant* to make, but it just… got away from them, I don’t know. But it sure is fun to speculate.
Guardian Enzo
March 13, 2018 at 11:55 pmSee, I kind of think that was the “real” Iyami in that episode. At least in the sense that he always has that side to him, you can sense it in there even as well as he hides it. But as far as it being out of the normal timeline, yeah, absolutely.
Miyu Fan
March 14, 2018 at 7:04 amSuzumura breaking the 4th wall is just the funniest to me because he is technically Takahiro Sakurai’s president (as he is the owner of the agency that Takahiro joined after becoming freelance). And calling out Jyuushimatsu was because Daisuke Ono knows and happy that Jyuushimatsu is the most popular character in the show which annoyed Suzumura and the rest of Matsuno brothers since the first season. Sometimes I think I enjoy Osomatsu-san because of it’s one of the anime that shows that they really appreciate the voice actors by throwing references like this.
Well as meta as that Iyami skit is, it it kind of true that even though Iyami is an excellent character (in fact all of Osomatsu-san’s characters are excellent) outside of the show all the merchandise/collaborations/magazines are of the Matsuno siblings only. You would think Iyami and maybe Totoko sometimes will be featured, but it’s really only the sextuplets showing up everywhere. It’s like the anime staff are pondering too on why Iyami isn’t popular when he’s the iconic character of Osomatsu-kun before this. I guess it’s all just sheer luck like the producer said.
Guardian Enzo
March 14, 2018 at 8:09 amI don’t use the “Fu” word these days because I know some folks don’t care for it, but in broad terms, that’s the group that’s made Osomatsu-san into a commercial sensation. There’s just no ifs, ands or buts about it.
One of the things I really appreciate is that the folks behind this show are as mystified by its success as the rest of us, and not afraid to explore that on-screen.
Miyu Fan
March 15, 2018 at 7:12 amHaha yes, it’s kind of amusing how their effort to distinguish the sextuplets went too far that the show has the biggest support from the fujoshi group that anyone has ever seen. The unique personality + colour code + famous voice actors + great comedy were executed perfectly by the staff which resulted in the amazing success and the craze in Japan.
The last two episodes seems to be a two episodes finale like last season. I wonder what their plans with Osomatsu-san now, they must have planned their future plans already during the break. They still hadn’t hinted a third season yet for now.