Ah, Totty…
Well, if you build an episode starring Todomatsu and Iyami, it’s pretty much money in the bank with me – these are the two best characters in Osomatsu-san as far as I’m concerned. And it didn’t disappoint, with two chapters that were as different as chalk and cheese except when it came to being abjectly hilarious and oh, so very wrong. I think Fujita and Matsubara are going to need to take a couple of seasons off just to have time to think up more ways to offend people.
I love Totty partly because he’s Totty as Totty is written, and partly because Totty is Miyu Irino. Obvious the main six in Osomatsu-san are all big-time seiyuu, but I really think Miyu operates on another level. Guys like Sakurai and Fukuyama can definitely act, and they can definitely be funny – but the difference is, Miyu-san can do both of those at the same time in a way the other guys in the cast can’t. That makes him perfect for Todomatsu, who really has the most pathos of any of the brothers. He’s right – he’s really the only one who has a chance to drag himself out of the social hell the brothers are in, and into purgatory at least. But he’s got five pairs of hands dragging him back down every time he tries.
This chapter poses an interesting question – just which of those brothers would you take to a mixer? My initial read was the same as Todomatsu – Jyuushimatsu – but his permanent boner made that impossible. They really are a nightmarish murderer’s row of bad choices, this bunch – in the end I might have taken Choromatsu, just because he’s the one brother with a sense of shame and he might have enough of it not to make a complete ass of himself. But Totty – after an intervention by the Goukon-kami (Ootsuka Houchou) – decides to play it safe by taking the “top tier” Atsushi (he has a car!) which pretty much consigns everyone else at the mixer to virgin status for one more round.
That takes us to the hilarious “Final Sheeh!” which finds Iyami and the Matsu boys at an izakaya. There, an elderly martial artist (“Cheeh!”) sees Iyami in his signature pose and decides he’s the master of the “Sheeh Fist” and thus, the perfect man to save his homeland of Akaatsuka (yet another loving homage to the original mangaka). How? The rule of the country is decided by a martial arts tournament every ten years, and corrupt bad guys are fixing to win it this time. Enter the Iyami…
I think everyone you need to know about where this skit is operating can be summed up in the fact that it concludes with Dayon being dropped into the stadium by a huge bird and removing a cover to reveal a giant pink turd on a platter. This is Osomatsu-san at its flat-out gleefully stupidest, a mixed bento of various parodies and general nonsense. That it should end with the complete destruction of the Earth only seems appropriate, somehow. I’ll just leave you with this as a memento of our planet.
elianthos
March 8, 2016 at 7:13 amTotty’s speech was rather moving. As well as rather true unfortunately , poor chap :,D. I agree Choro would have been the lesser evil. Jyushi could just patent his boner maybe?
Interestingly enough I don’t dislike Todo’s character but his GirlMatsu alter ego tends to rub me off the wrong way ( Todoko and her pseudo-passive-cutesy-disingenuous trap act! GWRARWRRRRR kill it fire and dump salt on the ashes AAAAHHH! ) . He’s written way more sensibly as a trap :,D. Oooh worms in a can! Shinyyyy.
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Btw… the horrified blank eyes a-la Garasu No Kamen are always a delightful touch :,DD. And that retro melodramatic Star Of Hope (am I sniffing some Kyojin no Hoshi here?) song >;; .
Oh Iyami you stylishly abject destroyer of worlds :,>
Taimis
March 8, 2016 at 3:22 pmAgain, Irino Miyu impresses here, but as to whether or not he’s a cut above the others is up for debate. He definitely shines here though; I particularly enjoyed Totty’s cluelessness. That aside, Karamatsu’s eyes just cracked me up; what was up with them? And his goukon audition! Ugh, I love Karamatsu. As for who to bring, Choromatsu seems like the sensible choice, but Ichimatsu would be a safe bet as well, I think. He’s broody and silent and some chicks dig that. And that song! My skin just crawled because it was so over the top.
The Karate Kid reference in the “Final Sheeeh” made me lol so hard.
elianthos
March 9, 2016 at 1:22 am@Taimis: his eyes – and eyebrows – just went full Showa AniManga Hero ;). Gotta love old school design.
Simone
March 9, 2016 at 4:02 am“He’s broody and silent and some chicks dig that.”
As long as he doesn’t randomly start to poop on the table.
Guardian Enzo
March 9, 2016 at 7:57 amTrust me, I’ve been to Comiket – Japan has a fetish sector for that, I’m sure of it.
Chrysostomus
March 9, 2016 at 6:08 amI find it fascinating that Totty seems to be the writer’s favorite (or something like that) while he consistently lands rock bottom in terms of fan popularity.
Guardian Enzo
March 9, 2016 at 7:56 amNot here he doesn’t. And I’ve seen polls with Osomatsu on the bottom (heh) too.
What makes you think Totty is the favorite, just OOC? I would have said Jyuushi or Karamatsu based on the amount of headline material they get.
Chrysostomus
March 9, 2016 at 8:18 amTrue, I’ve also seen Oso rank very low, but most of the time I mostly see Choro and Totty on the bottom two.
I dunno, I just think that Totty seems to get a lot of focus, mainly centering around his pysche and the issues he faces. Much more so than the rest of the Matsus. Ichi had his own episode but that’s it. Choro’s been getting some, especially in this second cour, but not nearly enough as Totty. Oso has practically never had a “serious moment” focused on him. Kara, as much as the fanbase loves him, is mainly a two-or-three-lines punchline character. Obviously another favorite of the writers is Juushi and I’m not ever disputing that, but to me it just seems as though there is a certain bias towards Totty.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I like Totty too, including Todoko and his F6 variant.
Gina
March 9, 2016 at 9:23 amI do think Miyu shines because he has the ability to exercise his vocals such that he draws out the in-between layers of emotion. In the hands of another seiyuu, Totty could risk becoming my least favourite since “cute” can cross over to annoying/plain hypocritical.
I don’t think that makes him a cut above the rest. Even if the other seiyuus do not have the range he does, they have the experience to draw out comedy in other ways (Ono Daisuke’s “ahhhh”, for one. I think no one can quite imitate that distinctive voice and flair).
For Iyami’s sketch, the SHEEHS got quite a lot of laughs from me too. The fact that the Matsu-kyoudai put in so much effort for 320yen was hilarious, and a Karamatsu’s photobook cover page will become my go-to icon for some time. I didn’t think Iyami would have been so motivated by a lady; also, Dayeon deserves an award for random turd jelly (was that really sheeh worthy though, I wonder).