No posts since April? Well, fill'er up!
This entry comprises of seven reviews made over an indistinct period of time, posted to Serializd, a site similar to Letterboxd that focuses exclusively on television. These seven reviews are about the first seven episodes of "Osomatsu-kun" (1988), and I thought it'd be worth showing here since the BD just came out a few weeks ago. These are my observations on rewatching these episodes, and, as such, the star ratings will not be included (they're all good ratings, anyways...)
"Sheeeh! Sextuplets-zansu!"
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| A "deluxe apartment in the sky"? |
"Pretty sure I've seen this before at some sort of town festival..."
How many times do I have to watch this one to prove a point here. This episode perfectly encapsulates what makes Osomatsu-kun work so well for me: otherwise normal things being infected with the increasingly bizarre. Here's a town. The town has people in it. One such family has sextuplet sons. Another person here has a really big mouth. Another walks around in only giant shorts. Iyami ain't any better than them.
Part of this, despite being a reintroduction to modern audiences of Osomatsu, feels like it's both creating something new and breathing fresh life into what once was stagnant and a relic of over 25 years ago that probably might not be funny to some people, but with right direction and timing, can make a classic into a masterpiece.
Iyami's back from wherever he was. He's moving here. I don't know what this is about considering that this is some "status quo is god" shit and the only time they really bring this up again is the finale so :shrug:. Iyami accustoms himself to the town by attempting to rob the Matsunos and ends up getting his teeth grown out by a drug Dekapan is developing. All's fine in the end though but seriously what a horrible welcome.
Pretty much all the characters are introduced in good ways: Iyami as this weird guy who just shows up one day, the Matsunos as a family that's lived here for quite a while and is used to the weird shit, Totoko as the neighborhood girl with a bitchy and self-centered attitude (it wasn't in the original manga but I like this interpretation, gives her more character), Dekapan as Resident Science Man, and Chibita as our headfirst tour guide into the weird. Chibita seems like he's just assimilated himself into the bizarre, and through his gentle nature, almost feels like an ambassador of the town. The gentle nature ain't gonna last though, this is Chibita we're talking about.
The structure is going to seem familiar to longtime fans: Iyami fails at something, succeeds in a bizarre turn of luck, usually involves himself in some shady things, and gets his comeuppance from the sextuplets or whoever he crossed. It's an age old tale but no matter the differences between stories, there's fun and charm to be had regardless. I like the back-and-forths Dekapan has with the old guy he's making the tooth medicine for, typical miscommunication humor but it's still funny.
Overall, it's not a bad first episode, but it's still the first episode. We've still room to improve and I really want to talk more in-depth about the production process but because I've rambled on too much about this episode, I'll consider it a side piece in the same episode reviews. I'll see what I can do.
"I've Had It With Fortune-Telling-zansu!"
"I taught my daughter to bite strange men who come up to her."
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| This whole journey reminds me of a Stevie Wonder song |
This is one of the few episodes I own a scenario draft script of, which was not used during the recording of the episode. In anime production, "scenario draft" is the term used for what we in the States would call a "screenplay". There's a handful of minor differences from the script to the final episode's recording script, most notably, the first "bad thing" that Iyami encounters was originally supposed to be local yakuza members, not the little biting girl. The episode title was different as well, named after the manga chapter it's based on, "Ushasha, I Can't Help This Prediction!"
Unrelated to the preproduction stuff, the sextuplets in this episode are ginormous! Really tall kids! In some supplementary Osomatsu material, they've been given the height of about 150-153 CM (5 feet equivalent for us 'Mericans). These kids are giant in canon! Having them be visually giant throws me off a bit (as do some of the other visually-interesting things of these early episodes), but one of the shots in this episode of the giantuplets and Chibita somehow became the ending card for Cosas de Locos (the Spanish adaptation of Osomatsu and the other two Pierrot Bakabons, made for Spain TV), replacing the frankly inspired visuals of "Osomatsu Ondo" (too Japanese, maybe?).
This one's also pretty visually interesting, characters being a little off-model aside. The sequence of Iyami being so unrealistically paranoid and anxious of what could happen to him in his imagination is worth mentioning, from the sextuplets beating him up, a bridge collapsing, cars and trucks hitting him if he turned a corner, to even more outrageous things like getting hit by a stray missle from a tank, Godzilla attacking the city (his roar included, thanks Toho!) or the moon crashing into earth a la Ganso Tensai Bakabon's opening. You get a good feel for Iyami's ramping-up nervousness, where he's fully starting to believe the predictions, even if he says they're a load of bunk.
Superstition in Osomatsu is something discussed on and off, like many other human foibles. Religion, racism, sexuality, gender roles, death, fame, orientalism, aging...these are all topics that many shows have been scared to tackle for one reason or another, especially animated ones. Osomatsu discusses all of these at least once during the show, with superstition being another added to that list. I've talked about "Iyami's Gibberish Japan-zansu" on my blog, with some visuals and added context for the satire in that episode having to deal with racism against Asians as seen from a passive Western perspective, alongside orientalism and Japan.
"Genius Iyami's Transformation Potion-zansu!"
"Doctor, you're an angel! You're God!"
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| His ass did NOT take the hippocratic oath!! |
Iyami and Chibita run a shitty doctor's clinic that has less to do with healing people and more to do with making money off of repeated customers' suffering. When Dekapan slides his fat butt into the physicians market with an actual intent of healing, Iyami takes it upon himself to make a potion that turns himself into Dekapan and cause mischief as if it were his rival. It's a classic Osomatsu setup of Iyami taking it upon himself to inevitably get his comeuppance, but there's a lot of really fun visuals here and there alongside some good dialogue; that top quote a good example of the kind of silly stuff the show's got other than funny animation and slapstick.
You could also see this as satire on the healthcare systen prioritizing profit, but the one about 80 episodes in does a much better job at that concept in a more industrialized setting.
"Sheeeh! I'm a Ballerina!"
"God? I'm a cop! Go back to the Tokushima Sea!"
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| El wiwi |
In all seriousness, this might be the first episode to mostly focus on the supernatural as a means of plot device aside from the fortune-telling in the second episode. Dekapan as God is somewhat of a recurring gag, as he'll show up later as some sort of universe-creating weirdy again.
Chibita has trained rigorously to become the prima donna of Iyami's ballet company, but is constantly being let down by Iyami's making flippy-floppy. When Osomatsu is chosen as the prima donna, Chibita decides to become the worst of the worst, crashing the recital and reflecting on his actions afterwards. Some cute Hatabou/Chibita interactions here, what I'd say is the first of the "gay lil dudes" dynamic that'll be seen for the rest of the show, on and off.
Dekapan as God is super funny, being accosted as a drunk and, at the end, deciding to close up his 24/7-365 shop to Chibita's pleas for the night. You'll see a lot more of that nonchalant "God gives up" type of humor in "God, Please Make My Wish Come True!" another 70 or so episodes in, which is one of the most chaotic episodes of the show imo. These early glimpses into what will become the emotional basis for Osomatsu, even 37 years on, is super neat.
"Chibita's Love Falls with the Flowers"
"'Bu-bu'? Like the sound of a car's horn? You like going for drives?"
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| Dos wiwis |
Dekapan, this time around playing the sextuplets' country uncle, brings along his daughter Hanako, revealed to be a pig trained to do many tasks. When Chibita inadvertently falls in love with her, thinking she's a little girl, he gets set up on a prank date by Osomatsu and Choromatsu, who eagerly await him to discover her secret.
The way this goes is a bit different from the manga chapter this is based on, with Hanako in the manga in on the joke, here she's remorseful for the way she was set up by Osomatsu and Choromatsu. She knows Chibita's a decent little dude, and can't stand to be mean to him when he means well. He treated her well! The kids are just dicks.
Hanako's a cutie! She's got fits! Her hat's cute and I want it! I just think that she needs to get better cousins because she's got a woman's intuition in a pig's skin. She knows a person who means well when she sees one.
Aside from this being a pretty pivotal Chibita episode, this might be the most of the sextuplets we've seen in the show so far aside from the first episode. They do kickstart the plot, so we do need them to be here, but for a show called Osomatsu-kun, we don't get a lot of the titular character and his brothers a lot. It's always a treat to see the sextuplets be some kind of focus in the story, and this is no exception.
Other than that, I think this is a good intro to Osomatsu's dramatic capabilities later down the line. "Chibita Becomes a Mama" is a bigger exploration of outright dramatic stuff, down to a tragic reasoning for all of this. That's going to be discussed when the time comes.
"Profiting from Death Prayers-zansu!"
"I don't have condolence money, but I do have this dirty magazine."
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| You might call this... Die-re straits... |
I like the "fake ghost" stuff, Iyami realizing that his scam's going really bad and just opting to run around town as if he were the ghost of his supposedly dead self is great. The above-quote of the cop giving Iyami his porno mag is really funny...he sees what could be a real ghost and doesn't give any money, but a porno mag. It's great stuff. I especially like how after Iyami just leaves, he's sad that he doesn't have it on him and he has to buy another one. It's great character stuff that, for people who are familiar with Bakabon, will know all too well as part of his awful personality.
Chibita has some fun moments in this one too, being second-banana to this huge elaborate funeral scheme, spreading the word, and being the sole mourner at the event. He's the one keeping an eye on the situation: monitoring who comes and who goes, what's given as condolence, the preparation of the ceremonial setup...he's putting in way too much effort in this fucked-up equation, pretty much for Iyami to pay off his tab at the ramen joint. Their comraderie is something worth exploring in the rest of the show, so even when you have these flippy-floppy relationships (with them at odds, them working together, or one supporting the other through intentionally stand-offish means), you come to realize that it's as human as you can get, even if they're just for comedic/dramatic effect in the episode. Iyami can be opportunistic and a real scumbag, but he's also a pretty genuine guy when he can be so. Chibita's usually well-meaning and trying his best, but gets roped into these horrible and borderline criminal things with Iyami at the helm. They rely on each other for these plotlines and various schemes, only for it to blow up in their faces at the end (or, in the event of the ballet episode, just Chibita's).
The episode after is maybe the best example, in the show to that point, of Iyami's kinder side. It's no "Iyami Alone in the Wind", but it's a good start for the "jerk with a heart of gold" characterization of Iyami you'll see in several episodes going forward. What makes these characters compelling, in my opinion, despite them being used mostly for comedy, is that by seeing them in many different morally-variable scenarios, you learn more about them as both static characters but also ones that have a huge range of logos, ethos, and pathos to their decisions and actions.
It should be noted that in the manga chapter this is based on, the story opens with Chibita announcing that Iyami has died, with no elaboration on the scheme prior to its beginning. To explain that Iyami is a constant dine-and-dasher who skips out on his bills and is in need of some quick cash to pay it off is a good start to why exactly he's pulling an awful plan like this. Of course, in the magazine format, reverse dramatic irony always calls the shots: "how could Iyami have died?", and then into the rest of the scam without any media in-res. Having it be another one of Iyami's schemes is wild, but the prefacing of the exact reasoning for what leads to it is as compelling as the scheme itself. That's what Osomatsu-kun is all about, Charlie Brown.
"Chibita Becomes a Mama!"
"Me accidentally left something here-zansu!"
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| Tres wiwis |
Explained by Chibita, who narrates the preview, he'd lived without a mother or father for most of his life, and for what he can remember, he survived all by himself without any parents to raise him. This explanation is harrowing, and even though it's not touched on in this episode, later down the line there will be another Chibita-focused episode surrounding his parental situation and his relationship with motherhood. Chibita is a character described by Akatsuka as, paraphrased, "an ambassador of fragile children". Him taking up the responsibility of an abandoned baby's care is worthily motivated, simply because he doesn't want the baby to suffer alone like he did.
Iyami is also understanding, as Chibita is (unfortunately) one of the only people who looks up to him as some sort of father/uncle figure in his life. Him bringing Chibita all of the babystuff to help him out is a rare move of generosity on Iyami's end, who, for the last 6 episodes, has been a conceited and opportunistic dick acting on his twisted moral whims. To have him come to the conclusion that Chibita's in some dire straits and in need of assistance, not for his own health, but that of a baby's, is the biggest turn we've had so far in the show, character portrayal-wise. Of course, the knowledge of Iyami having a secret heart of gold isn't...secret, with one of the most famous stories being "Iyami Alone in the Wind", a take on the classic Chaplin film City Lights, with Iyami in the role of the Little Tramp. The Tramp comparisons are not apt, with him and Chibita's relationship purported to be based off the Tramp's dynamic with foundling John in The Kid, part of which, this episode has influences from. The Kid will also be the basis for the aforementioned Chibita's mother episode, with much more influence from the film's plot.
According to some Akatsuka-oriented sources, the mother and baby were intentionally designed to resemble Mama and Hajime from Bakabon, from the mother's haircut to the baby's cheek-swirls. Of course, the baby here is just a normal baby, not a genius baby who is getting international university letters of recommendation and desire to accept. The mother also claims that she was in poverty, and left the baby without thinking, which is very un-Mamalike as Hajime had her in labor for several days, with him speaking not too long after that. A wonder, that little dudey is.
The last few scenes are pretty wrenching: the mother and Chibita have an Air Bud dog custody battle for the baby, with the baby taking the mother's side when she breaks down. Chibita, misunderstanding the situation, runs away. Later that night, Iyami and the sextuplets bring over a whole oden vendor's cart they bought out to cheer him up, in a subtle way to say that he made the right choice. After the delivery, Iyami ducks out, leaving Chibita and the Matsunos to enjoy their evening treat. He doesn't want to be seen as charitable, as he's got an appearance to keep up as an "awful man". Once he breaks that mold, it's game over. Chibita's amazed by this gesture, to bring over a king's ransom of his favorite food to share with those who he stole from (who later come to realize that there was an important reason to all of it), and it's a good, yet bittersweet bookend to this story.
Groovy Gecko did a really good Chibita character analysis video, exploring his youth up to the events of Osomatsu-san. You can watch it here.
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An actual new post will be coming soon, but hopefully you've enjoyed my takes on this silly cartoon show. Up on the docket is something I've held back on for a bit, so stay tuned for that. Check out "Osomatsu-kun", too! It's on streaming in various places, and it's out on SD-BD through Discotek Media. Was a long wait for it, but it's worth it!