Mr. Osomatsu

Episode 24

In its penultimate episode, Mr. Osomatsu delivers one of its strongest installments to date. Given the show's immense popularity and stellar BD/DVD sales, I'm not sure we'll be bidding the Matsunos a permanent adieu, but if next week's offering is indeed the end, episode 24 has set the stage for a satisfying conclusion. Whether you tune in purely for the laughs or are a fan of the show's seldom-explored emotional side, this week's Mr. Osomatsu is sure to leave you wanting more.

Entitled “Totoko's Huge Panic,” this week's first segment finds the Matsunos' shared crush experiencing a quarter-life crisis. Not only is her idol career going nowhere, all of her showbiz acquaintances and high school girlfriends are getting married and starting families. Intent on catching up to her peers, Totoko sets out to find a husband. However, not just any man will do—this opportunistic young woman won't settle for anything less than an oil baron. Upon catching wind of this, Osomatsu mobilizes his siblings, and the boys head to the desert to strike oil. Unaware of the Matsunos' efforts, Totoko manages to catch the eye of a Middle Eastern oil magnate at a speed dating event. Unfortunately, growing up in a seafood shop has imbued her with a fishy stink that makes her new beau hurl. After violently throwing the would-be Mr. Yowai out a window, Totoko decides to get a fresh start by moving to Singapore. As she gleefully contemplates her life abroad, the Matsunos' skeletons bake in the hot desert sun. (Despite their grisly demise, the boys are alive and well in the next segment, where we learn that things didn't work out for Totoko in Singapore. I love how certain elements carry over to other episodes, while others—like character deaths—are conveniently ignored.)

Totoko—apparently a fan of 1980s Japanese rock (thanks to Jacob Hope Chapman for explaining the “Complex” joke)—is not to be outdone by the Matsuno brothers' selfishness. As we've seen in the past, she's fully aware of her self-centeredness and narcissistic tendencies, but she simply doesn't care. The fact that she inexplicably lands a foreign oil magnate at a Japanese singles events is hilarious by itself; the reason the relationship doesn't work out is the icing on the cake. As far as Totoko-centric stories go, this was probably the strongest. Other segments built around her found the Matsunos playing a significant supporting role, but this time around, Totoko herself is the undeniable star of the show. If this proves to be Totoko's swan song, it was a great segment to go out on.

Things get pretty heavy (at least by Mr. Osomatsu standards) in the second half. After finding gainful employment, Choromatsu decides to leave the nest and live in a company dorm. At his going-away party, the entire family is in high spirits with the exception of Osomatsu. Clearly upset by the prospect of saying goodbye to one of his brothers, the eldest Matsuno fluctuates between sulking and lashing out at his family. Soon after Choromatsu moves out, the rest of the boys—with the exception of Osomatsu—follow suit one by one. Todomatsu relocates to a haunted boarding house (complete with a ghost Dayon), Karamatsu moves in with Chibita, Ichimatsu becomes a wandering vagrant, and Jyushimatsu rents a room from Professor Dekapan after getting a part-time job at a factory where Hatabo is either engaged in corporate espionage or taking part in an Undercover Boss-esque experiment. Unable to cope with the changes happening all around him, a depressed Osomatsu solemnly mopes around the house.

If Mr. Osomatsu were anything else but a zany comedy, it would be perfectly natural for the characters to learn lessons and display noticeable growth. However, given the show's continuity-lite, anything-goes nature, seeing most of the brothers move out and enter the workforce is surprising. Never in a million years did I think the Matsunos would actually evolve as characters, and even though things will probably return to normal by the end of the finale, “Letter” does an effective job of presenting these callous goofballs as actual people. Osomatsu's sullen attitude is reflective of how the last child to leave the nest might react to seeing all his siblings go their separate ways—and it serves as a fantastic lead-in for a potentially gripping finale.

This week's Mr. Osomatsu ends on a bitingly bittersweet note, eliciting feelings of genuine sadness—just like the (hopefully temporary) series finale is liable to do next week. The boys are growing up and making solid efforts to develop individual identities, which is not something I thought I'd actually want to see in this ruefully mean-spirited comedy. Somehow, in spite of all the crap they pull, the series has made us care enough about these little jerks to want to see them happy.

Rating: A

Mr. Osomatsu is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for two decades.