Mr. Osomatsu

Mr. Osomatsu (おそ松さん) is a Japanese comedy anime television for adult produced by Studio Pierrot, based on Fujio Akatsuka's 1962 manga series, Osomatsu-kun. Celebrating Akatsuka's eightieth birthday, the series follows the sextuplet Matsuno brothers from the original series as adults, and features more adult-oriented humor compared to the original series.

The first season aired in Japan between October 2015 and March 2016, with a special episode airing in December 2016. A second season aired between October 2017 and March 2018, followed by a third season from October 2020 to March 2021. The first two seasons have been licensed in the Americas by Viz Media. Production for a fourth season was announced on June 6, 2024, which aired from July to October 2025.

A manga adaptation by Masako Shitaro was serialized in Shueisha's You magazine from January 2016 to October 2018. It was then transferred to Shueisha's Cookie magazine, where it continued serialization from November 2018 to November 2020.

Three theatrical anime films based on the series premiered in March 2019, July 2022, and July 2023.

A spin-off anime series titled Matsu Inu premiered from October to December 2023.

Premise

The original Osomatsu-kun series followed the Matsuno brothers; Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Todomatsu, who are all identical sextuplets who cause mischief. Mr. Osomatsu depicts the brothers as being ten years older than their original counterparts (with the action taking place in a contemporary setting). All of the brothers have now grown up into lazy NEETs, with each brother having developed their own distinguishing personality. The series follows the brothers in their everyday (and occasionally made up) lives.

Viewing rate: 19 (teenagers not allowed to watch)

Characters

Production and release

Mr. Osomatsu, produced by Pierrot and animated by their studio Pierrot division, aired between October 6, 2015, and March 29, 2016. Outside of Japan, the series aired in simulcast on Crunchyroll; marking the first media in the Osomatsu franchise to receive an official English release.[7][8] The series' first episode, which featured multiple parodies, was removed from streaming sites on November 12, 2015, and is replaced by an original video animation in its home video release.[9][10] Additionally, the third episode, which features a crude parody of Anpanman, was edited for its BS Japan broadcast and is altered in its home video release.[9][11]

In September 2016, Kanchi Suzuki revealed on his Twitter account that he is interested in making a second season.[12] A special episode, produced in collaboration with the Japan Racing Association, aired on December 12, 2016.[13] A second season was announced in April 2017,[14] having previously been teased in a listing for the Blu-ray release of "Mr. Osomatsu JRA Special 2016" (おそ松さん おうまでこばなし),[15] and aired between October 3, 2017, and March 27, 2018.[16][17]

An anime theatrical film for the franchise was announced in August 2018, with the main staff and cast from the television series returning to reprise their roles. Titled Osomatsu-san the Movie (えいがのおそ松さん), the film was released on March 15, 2019.[18][19]

A new 7-episode short series was announced in February 2019, with the main staff and cast from the television series returning to reprise their roles. The shorts ran from March 1 to March 15, 2019.[20]

A third season was announced in July 2020, which aired from October 13, 2020, to March 30, 2021.[21][22]

Two new animated theatrical films were announced in June 2021.[23] The first film, titled Mr. Osomatsu: Hipipo-Zoku to Kagayaku Kajitsu, premiered on July 8, 2022. Yoshinori Odaka is directing the film, with the main staff and cast reprising their roles.[24] The second film, titled Mr. Osomatsu: The Soul's Takoyaki Party and the Legendary Sleepover Party, premiered on July 21, 2023.[23][25]

A spin-off anime series based on a line of dog character products, called Matsu Inu, based on the series was announced in August 2023. The series is animated by Point Pictures and directed by Tetsuya Endo, with Endo handling series scripts along with Hitomi Ogawa, Yūki Nagashima designing the characters based on FuRyu's original character designs, and Yukari Hashimoto returning to compose the music alongside Ruka Kawada, Tetsuya Shitara, and Yayoi Sekimukai.[26] It aired within TV Tokyo's Eeny Meeny Miney Moe program from October 7 to December 23, 2023.[27]

A fourth season was announced in June 2024. The second studio of Pierrot, responsible for said show rebranded to the Pierrot Films name, which was announced on July 5, 2024, a month later and would be handling animation production of that season.[28] The season is directed by Yoshinori Odaka and aired from July 8 to October 1, 2025, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates.[29][30]

Other media

A manga adaptation of Mr. Osomatsu, illustrated by Masako Shitara, began serialization in Shueisha's You magazine on January 15, 2016.[37] It transferred to Shueisha's Cookie magazine in November 2018 after You ended its publication in October of the same year.[38] The manga ended in Cookie on November 26, 2020.[39] A novelization of the anime, written by Yū Mitsuru and illustrated by Naoyuki Asano, was published on July 29, 2016.[40] A serialization focusing on the series' collaboration with the Ultraman franchise, Ultramatsu, is an ongoing manga published on LINE that takes place after the Season 1 finale.[41]

Bandai Namco Entertainment released a party game based on the series for the Nintendo 3DS on December 22, 2016.[42] An otome game developed by Idea Factory was released for the PlayStation Vita in 2017.[43]

A live action adaptation movie, titled Osomatsu San Movie, was announced in August 2021.[44] The film was the first official live-action iteration of the franchise. It is directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa and stars the nine member boy band Snow Man as the Matsuno sextuplets with members Ryōta Miyadate, Shōta Watanabe, and Ryōhei Abe as original characters Period, End, and Close respectively. The group also provided the film's theme song "Brother Beat."[45] The film premiered on March 25, 2022.

External links

• Anime official website