Mr. Osomatsu

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Mr. Osomatsu (Japanese: おそ松さん, Hepburn: Osomatsu-san) is the 2015 sequel to Fujio Akatsuka's famous Osomatsu-kun series created for Akatsuka's 80th birthday celebration.

The series follows up with Osomatsu-kun's protagonists, the Matsuno sextuplets, ten years later, in which they've grown from troublemaking yet cute kids into lazy, immature NEETs, with the series following their misadventures with a bunch of other characters, both old and new for this series. While the comedy has changed from slapstick to meta-humor and contemporary topics, it's still as zany as the original series.

The series received an OVA in collaboration with JRA following its unexpected success, with a following second season in 2017 and a movie in 2019. An English Dub by VIZ was announced in 2017, with its release date being March 2021. A third season was released in 2020, with a second movie called Osomatsu-san: Hipipo-Zoku to Kagayaku Kajitsu to be released in Summer 2022.

A Latin American Spanish Dub is also in the works.

Tropes used in Mr. Osomatsu include:
  • Actually Pretty Funny: In Episode 13, Matsuzo and Matsuyo (who are generally level-headed) can't help but laugh at Choromatsu's Embarrassing Nickname.
  • Advertised Extra: ESP Kitty. He only has relevance in Season 1's eponymous episode, yet he's constantly pushed as Ichimatsu's pet mascot both in merchandise and Hesokuri Wars.
  • Aesop Amnesia: All the efforts the sextuplets made in Episode 24 of the first season get completely undone in the next episode. This is Played for Laughs.
  • Affectionate Nickname: Osomatsu likes to call Ichimatsu "Ichimacchan" from time to time.
    • Todomatsu has "Totty" from his former coworkers at Sutabaa. While his brothers at first used it as an insult, it eventually becomes this.
    • Choromatsu calls Nyaa Hashimoto "Nyaa-chan".
  • All of the Other Reindeer: The Movie reveals the Matsunos' miserable experience in high school was because of this. Despite their classmates being superficially friendly to them, they mocked them behind their backs due to the oddity of being sextuplets. They tried to distance themselves in order to fit in, but not only it made them miserable, it costed them the close relationship they once had (which Nozomi Takahashi tried to repair by giving them the letter). It really says something when their current selves being ambitionless NEETs are shown to be an improvement by comparison.
  • Always Someone Better: Atsushi completely eclipses Todomatsu in "Todomatsu's Star of Hope". Taken to ridiculous levels in Hesokuri Wars when he frequently appears to steal girls away from Totty.
  • Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Inverted. The Matsunos are the amazingly embarrassing sons to Matsuzo and Matsuyo, which is best seen in the OVA.
  • Anchored Ship: Jyushimatsu and the Country Girl. They part ways in the latter's debut episode, but given her appearances in other episodes and merchandise (most prominently in Season 2's "Jyushimatsu and the Dolphins", which is implied to take place in a different timeline), it's still up in the air if it's permanent or not.
  • And There Was Much Rejoicing: After learning Karamatsu has been kidnapped, Ichimatsu becomes... "happier" than usual.

Ichimatsu: *dancing* Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no...

  • Annoying Younger Sibling:
    • The brothers frequently show annoyance at Jyushimatsu's antics, though it's not as pronounced as the examples below.
    • Todomatsu is widely seen as this, due to being the youngest and a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing to boot. He used to be a different type in The Movie, being a clingy crybaby as a teen (much to his present self's horror).
    • Osomatsu and Karamatsu are annoying older siblings in the eyes of the others, though they can be reliable at times.
    • The Robots/Riceballs become this to the Matsunos, especially after Season 3's first cour.
  • Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: Episode 13 has Todomatsu describing his brothers as idiot (Osomatsu), painful (Karamatsu), Fappymatsu (Choromatsu), Kittymatsu (Ichimatsu) and Jyushimatsu.
  • Ascended Extra: Nyaa Hashimoto becomes one of the main characters in Season 3.
  • Ass Shove: Hatabou does this to the sextuplets in Episode 6.
  • At Least I Admit It: Osomatsu, unlike his brothers, knows perfectly who he is and doesn't try to disguise his douchebaggery. As such, he frequently calls them out when they try to act morally superior despite the fact they're just as bad as he is, most notably to Choromatsu.
  • Audience Surrogate: Matsuzo gets this role in Episode 25, being just as confused at the episode's turn of events as the audience is.
  • Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: The Matsunos' relationship in a nutshell. They may give each other hell on a constant basis, but deep down they truly love each other. They also have this relationship with their parents.
  • Bait and Switch
  • Beady-Eyed Loser: The Matsunos, especially when compared to the people around them.
    • Even among the Matsunos, Choromatsu is even more beady-eyed by comparison.
  • Because You Were Nice to Me: When his brothers utterly destroy Todomatsu's reputation at Sutabaa in Episode 7, Jyushimatsu is the only one who wasn't trying to humiliate him, spending the time flopping around while calling him "Totty" and even cleaning up the mess their brothers made. Due to that, Totty leaves him alone while taking in his remaining brothers. In a published interview, he states he wants his brothers to receive the mistake chocolate as revenge for that, while making clear Jyushimatsu is spared. Hell, Jyushi is Totty's Morality Pet because of this trope.
    • Deconstructed in Season 3's "The Way Home", in which Karamatsu and Todomatsu mistake average politeness for romantic interest due to this, highlighting their clear social ineptitude. Only Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu of all people are aware of the difference.
    • Another Season 3 episode has Nyaa-chan falling for Osomatsu because he saved her child from drowning, which unfortunately makes her blind to his moral bankruptcy until the end of the episode, that is.
  • Berserk Button: The Matsunos hate being swindled, as Iyami and Chibita learn the hard way in Episode 10. To a lesser extent, they really hate seeing happy, succesful people in healthy relationships.
    • As Todomatsu finds out, don't call Choromatsu an "idol otaku".
    • Don't tell Todomatsu he has it easy for being the youngest, as Osomatsu found out in Season 3.
    • As seen in "Kerosene", Jyushimatsu really hates being cold. He also didn't take well his student getting a girlfriend before him.
    • Chibita may be tolerant of many things, but rip off his only hair and prepare yourself for a truly epic Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
  • Beware the Nice Ones
    • Jyushimatsu is by far the sweetest and most kindhearted of the brothers, but he can act just as horrible as his brothers if provoked, as seen in the "Kerosene" skit.
    • Karamatsu may be more self-serving, but is still a friendly guy who is very difficult to provoke. As seen when he punches and drags Osomatsu out of the house for unjustifiably hurting Jyushimatsu in "Letter", he will step up and take action when necessary.
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: Ichimatsu is very quiet and taciturn, but it's mentioned In-Universe and out he's very dark and capable of doing criminal shit if he feels slighted enough (especially if it's his brothers who do the mistreatment), to the point of being The Dreaded among his family.
  • Big Brother Bully:
    • Todomatsu is at the bottom of the family hierarchy due to being the youngest, so the others have it easy in making life hell for him. Downplayed in that Todomatsu is far from innocent, so he actually asks for it half the time.
    • Osomatsu, being the eldest of the brothers, is usually a mild example, teasing and pranking his siblings just for the sake of a reaction. He crosses a serious line in "Letter", however, when he kicks and threatens Jyushimatsu over accidentally spilling his food, which leads to Karamatsu punching him and kicking him out of the house while his brothers are left shocked due to said outburst.
  • Big Brother Instinct: All the Matsunos have this in some way, but Karamatsu in particular embodies it.
  • Big Brother Worship: As "The Ichimatsu Incident" and Hesokuri Wars confirm, Ichimatsu deeply admires and envies Karamatsu for his self-confidence, though good luck getting him to admit it.
    • Eitarou admires Jyushimatsu and looks up to him as his teacher, which he greatly appreciates until he learns he's gotten a girlfriend with his teachings.
    • Not as blatant, but it's clear Jyushimatsu looks up to Ichimatsu, following his advice without question.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Quite a bit of these, though most of them do have redeeming qualities to balance things out.
    • Todomatsu acts cute and innocent, but is a social climbing jackass in reality. This reaches the point of parody (his internal organs are seemingly normal until his brothers notice he's literally heartless) and deconstruction (he's the brother nobody likes because of this and acts this way to compensate for his insecurities over being the youngest of the bunch).
    • Choromatsu isn't nearly as bad, but he hides the typical Matsuno debauchery behind a Holier Than Thou Only Sane Man façade, mostly in the form of Passive-Aggressive Kombat.
    • As Totty's Distaff Counterpart, Todoko is also this.
    • Totoko-chan, the brothers' so-called childhood friend, is this; as is her rival Nyaa-chan.
    • Dayon may seem like an eccentric scientist, but has done terrible things to his best mate Dekapan over the course of the series.
    • Hatabou may seem like a naïve tool, but doesn't give a rat's ass towards anyone who's not his "friend".
    • The Matsunos' replacements (or at least Osomatsu's) from Season 3 seem like Good Counterparts, until it's revealed at the end they deal drugs (which is a big deal in Japan). After that, the sheep's clothing is gone and Osomatsu's outright tries to kill the original over it.
  • Black Comedy: Quite a bit.
  • Black Comedy Rape: The OVA has Osomatsu experiencing this at the hands of a horse.
  • Both Sides Have a Point: Two examples in episode 13.
  • Broad Strokes: The series likes to play with continuity like crazy, swinging between lineal continuity and Negative Continuity depending on the episode.
  • Broken Bird: The Country Girl in "Jyushimatsu Falls in Love". It's unclear what caused the brokenness (the closest would be she used to be in the porn industry, given the adult DVD Karamatsu encounters), but evidently it was so traumatizing she attempted suicide by jumping on a cliff. Thankfully, Jyushimatsu shows up.
    • Nyaa-chan turns out to be this in Season 3, being divorced and struggling to raise her baby. She does get better thanks to Totoko and The Ugly Flower Fairy helping her, though.
  • Brutal Honesty: Osomatsu's lack of tact is frequently lampshaded during the course of the series.
  • Call Back/Continuity Nod: Often.
  • Canon Discontinuity: The series likes to pretend the 80's iteration of Osomatsu-kun never happened. In the series itself, the first episode is treated as non-canon, though most jokes of the episode are put into the show.
  • Can't Hold His Liquor: Choromatsu. In "Let's Get a Job", he gets so smashed Oso and Todo have to drag him out of the bar; and in "Dayon Tribe" he keeps throwing up after drinking sake with his brothers.

Osomatsu: You still can't hold your liquor, huh?

  • Catch Phrase:
    • Jyushimatsu frequently chants "Hustle, hustle! Muscle, muscle!".
    • Iyami has his trademark "Sheeh!" as this to ridiculous levels.
  • Caught with Your Pants Down: Osomatsu catches Choromatsu masturbating with a porn mag, which ends up a Never Live It Down moment both In-Universe and out.
  • Cerebus Rollercoaster: The series is primarily a comedy, but there are moments when the show becomes surprisingly more serious and dramatic. "Jyushimatsu Falls In Love", "Iyami, Alone in the Wind" and especially "Letter" are the most noteworthy examples.
    • The Movie is also a bit more emotional, though still puts emphasis on the comedy first and foremost.
  • Character Development: Even in a series like this, it features some examples, both positive and negative.
    • Karamatsu Took a Level in Jerkass in Season 2, but he manages to be less of a doormat to his brothers, which earns him some respect.
    • Todomatsu, while still a social butterfly, had severe anxiety in his double date with Atsushi back in Season 1. In Season 2's "Osomatsu and Todomatsu", said anxiousness is completely gone, to the point he's even kicked out of the group for not being enough of a loser.
    • Season 2's "Choromatsu and Ichimatsu" establishes the titular characters as being incapable of holding a conversation when alone by themselves. In Season 3, their relationship got much better, being able to converse with no difficulty.
    • Season 3's plot arc is all about the Robots (aka Riceballs) gaining independent personalities and growing out of their programming (though at the cost of becoming NEET AI).
    • Season 3 also explores Nyaa-chan's life and her and Totoko going from Sitcom Arch Nemesis to Fire-Forged Friends.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: The unlucky variant between the Matsunos and Totoko. They spend most of the time fawning after her, but she's not interested in dating any of them.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Jyushimatsu. Ichimatsu even describes him as being his own genre.
    • Ichimatsu himself has shades of this, which may explain why he and Jyushi get along so well.
    • Dayon also qualifies, to the point you wonder if he has Blue and Orange Morality.
    • The Country Girl is far more subtle, but the fact she finds Jyushi's quirks endearing and frequently gets knocked out for laughing too hard should tell you about what kind of girl she is. Season 2's "Jyushimatsu and the Dolphins" further cements this by training Jyushimatsu to be a dolphin.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Each brother is identified with a color to differentiate them.
    • Osomatsu: Red
    • Karamatsu: Blue
    • Choromatsu: Green
    • Ichimatsu: Purple
    • Jyushimatsu: Yellow
    • Todomatsu: Pink
      • This becomes a plot point regarding the Robots. They end up named Salmon and Pickled Plum due to the color of their ties as a way to differentiate them.
  • Comedic Sociopathy
  • Contemplate Our Navels: Jyushimatsu of all people does this in Episode 17, which manages to freak Ichimatsu out.
  • Cool Big Bro: The Matsunos tend to play with this trope like crazy.
    • Osomatsu is an useless Lazy Bum most of the time, but there are moments he takes the reins and reminds the audience he's the eldest Matsuno brother.
    • Karamatsu tries way too hard to be this, which makes him incredibly annoying in the eyes of his brothers. That said, he can play the trope straight when it matters.
    • Part of the reason Choromatsu plays himself as the responsible one is to set a good example in his younger brothers, as seen in "The Choromatsu Incident".
    • Jyushimatsu sees Ichimatsu this way, with Ichi acting as Jyushi's conscience and Jyushi following his often controversial advice without second thoughts.
    • Jyushi plays this role to Eitarou, becoming his Big Brother Mentor.
    • All the brothers serve as this in The Movie to their past selves, encouraging them towards the future and embracing their true selves and their bonds with each other. They also play this role to the Riceballs in Season 3.
    • Non-Matsuno example: Osoko acts like this at her job, although she has yet to earn a boyfriend.
  • Cooldown Hug: Osoko gives one to Karako in Episode 13, which evolves into a Group Hug between the Girlymatsus.
  • Cringe Comedy: Often, considering the Matsunos are barely-functioning idiots who screw up everything they touch (though it's not just relegated with them either).
  • Cry Cute: Often applied to many characters, mostly in serious situations.
  • A Date with Rosie Palms: Frequently mentioned, especially with Choromatsu.
  • Deceptively Silly Title: "Jyushimatsu Falls in Love". Seems like it's going to be a wacky episode due to Jyushimatsu being the protagonist, right? Wrong. You're so, so wrong.
  • Deconstruction: Each of the Matsunos deconstruct character tropes, though whether hilarious or tragic depends on the episode:
  • Denser and Wackier: This series compared to its predecessor Osomatsu-kun.
    • Within the series, Season 3 is a lot wackier and more comedic than the first two seasons.
  • Divergent Character Evolution: The Matsunos started out being identical in almost every way, but they started differentiating themselves as time went on, both in appearance and in personality.
  • The Dog Bites Back:
    • Karamatsu spends most of Season 1 being the Butt Monkey, but grows a spine in Season 2 and starts fighting back, which makes him more tolerable in the eyes of his brothers.
    • Iyami is largerly relegated to a Straw Loser for the Matsunos, but occassionally he has the last laugh over them.
    • Chibita epically strikes back at the Matsunos in the appropriately named "Chibita's Revenge".
    • After passively dealing with Totoko's behavior for so long, Osomatsu finally grows a pair and calls her out of her behavior towards the brothers' friend Kin-chan, which actually leads to Totoko's Heel Realization.
  • Dye Hard: Choromatsu does this in Season 2's "The Choromatsu Incident", much to the horror of his younger brothers.
  • Embarrassing Nickname:
    • In Episode 7, Todomatsu gains the nickname "Totty", though subverted in that it started out as an Affectionate Nickname from his coworkers, only for his brothers to make it embarrassing anyway.
    • After Choromatsu's Caught with Your Pants Down moment in Episode 13, his brothers (mainly Osomatsu) come up with such lovely nicknames as "Fappymatsu", "Chorofappyski" and "Alexfapper Graham Bell".
  • Epic Fail: The 1st baseball match in Episode 25. It has to be seen to be believed.
  • Equivalent Exchange: In Season 2's "Punishment" skit, Ichimatsu sees good and bad luck this way, and that excessive happiness will lead to extreme misfortune to balance the scales. This leads him and Jyushimatsu to punish themselves to compensate for their good luck streak throughout the skit.
  • Everyone Has Standards: The Matsunos may have little to no moral standards, but even they find Totoko's behavior at the horse races completely inappropriate.
    • The brothers may consider Jyushimatsu's behavior annoying, but they draw the line at seriously hurting him. Osomatsu kicking and threatening him earned him a beating from Karamatsu, with the rest of the brothers leaving the house partially out of disgust.
    • Osomatsu himself may be a jerkass idiot who lusts after Totoko, but when she starts acting horribly over being passed over to Kin-chan, he stands his ground and calls her out of her behavior.
    • Dayon spends most of "Synthesis" fusing the other characters into strange and horrific beings out of amusement, but he finally realizes he's gone too far when he fuses a group of people into a piece of poop.
    • Jyushimatsu may be an out-of-touch Cloudcuckoolander who goes along with his brothers' shenanigans, but "Dayon Tribe" proves he's the Token Good Teammate by showing disgust at Todomatsu's suggestion of leaving their older brothers to save themselves and being downright shocked when Ichimatsu agrees with him. Season 3 also shows even he has limits, as he punishes Totty alongside his brothers for slacking off and kicks Osomatsu in the face for pretending to be dead as a joke.
    • Season 2's "Choromatsu Incident" shows that, for all of Ichimatsu and Todomatsu's willingness to criticize and insult their brothers, they can't bring themselves to tell Choromatsu his haircut sucks, and are horrified at Osomatsu's lack of tact about it.
    • While the Matsunos often treat the Robots as servants, they acknowledge they're sentient beings, even giving them names (Salmon and Pickled Plum). When Todomatsu derides them (at first) as unfeeling machines, the rest act completely disgusted.
    • As much of a Nyaa-chan fanboy Choromatsu is, he's left completely speechless at her becoming a wrestler alongside Totoko.
  • Family Theme Naming: All the sextuplets end their names with "-matsu", and their parents are Matsuzo and Matsuyo.
  • First Law of Tragicomedies: The Movie employs this trope to good effect.
  • Former Teen Rebel: The Movie reveals Jyushimatsu to have been one of these, which seriously conflicts with previous established canon that he's been always the happy guy he is now. Except not really, his so-called delinquent behavior was an act he put on for fun, and he's stayed the cheerfully wacky guy he's known for.
  • Freak Out: Frequently.
  • Freudian Excuse: Discussed in Episode 17 by the brothers regarding Jyushimatsu's perky and out-of-touch behavior. It seems to be played straight when he started constantly smiling in 10th grade, only for a later photo to reveal he's been like this since he was a baby.
  • A Friend in Need: Believe it or not, this happens in Season 2's finale episode. Chibita, Dekapan, Dayon, Hatabou and Totoko do all they can to bring the Matsunos back to life. Not to mention, several minor characters join in to get the sextuplets to escape Hell.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: Karamatsu is this among the brothers, though it starts to fade by Season 2.
    • Todomatsu had always hints of this, but becomes a full-blown one in Season 2 due to being a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing and the youngest of the bunch.
    • Osomatsu downplays this in that while he's considered an useless older brother, his brothers are glad he brings them down collectively so they won't have to improve themselves. Best seen in Season 3 when they try to dissuade Nyaa-chan from dating him.
  • Future Loser: Both the Matsunos and Iyami, showcasing how they're Not So Different.
  • Gold Digger: Totoko. She even dreams about marrying a rich dude in an episode.
  • Gratuitous English: This is part of Karamatsu's "cool guy" act.
  • Grew a Spine: Karamatsu started as an Extreme Doormat, but in Season 2 becomes more quick-tempered and aggressive, which has made him more integrated with the group of brothers.
    • Season 3's Filler Robots start out as subservient to the Matsunos, but become more independent and rebellious due to growing beyond their programming. This is revealed to be their creator's intent all along.
  • Growing Up Sucks
  • Happily Married: The Matsunos' parents. They may have difficulties, but at the end of the day they truly love each other.
  • Harsh Word Impact: In Episode 7, Totty's criticism towards his brothers is absolutely merciless, with his words being represented as metaphorical arrows.
  • Heel Realization: Totoko has one in Season 2 after Osomatsu calls her out of her behavior towards the Matsunos' friend Kin-chan, leading her to apologise to her.
    • It took some time, but in Season 2's "Cherry Blossoms", the brothers seem to finally realize they have to grow up after their father is hospitalized. It's implied this would have stuck if they didn't die and gone to hell in the next episode, that is.
  • Heterosexual Life Partners:
    • A brotherly example: While all the Matsunos are practically inseparable, Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu are almost always with each other.
    • Chibita has this relationship with Karamatsu, being the only person who hasn't (undeservedly) treated him like shit. He used to be this with Iyami, but now they don't hang out as much as they used to.
    • Dayon and Dekapan, to the point the "heterosexual" part is debatable.
    • The Girlymatsus have the same bond as the Matsunos despite not being related.
    • In Season 3, Totoko and Nyaa-chan graduate from Sitcom Arch Nemeses to this.
    • Then there's the Robots/Riceballs, Salmon and Pickled Plum, from Season 3.
  • Hidden Depths: Everyone is much more that what they seem at first glace.
  • I Hate Past Me: In The Movie, the brothers are less than pleased in witnessing their past selves, much less actually meeting them (at least until the end).
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Episode 9 has Jyushimatsu letting go of the Country Girl despite how hurt he is, even making her smile one last time.
    • Episode 23's "Dayon Tribe" has said tribe forcibly kicking out the Matsunos so they could return to their home, clearly crying while doing so.
  • Ill Girl: While The Movie certainly implied it what with her being seemingly reincarnated as a black cat, it's confirmed in a PASH article that Nozomi Takahashi is either dead or will die very soon.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex:
  • Informed Attractiveness: After being told he shouldn't exist in Episode 13, Todomatsu claims he's the "pretty one" of the brothers despite not looking that different from them. Ichimatsu quickly shoots this down by telling him he isn't any more attractive, just sly.
  • Insult of Endearment: In Season 2's Valentine's episode, the brothers give their chocolates to each other while casually insulting them.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: Jyushimatsu has close friendships with Dekapan (whom he often asks for advice and moves with him in "Letter"), Shonosuke Hijirisawa (often glomping him whenever he appears) and Eitarou (acting as a Big Brother Mentor to him until he gets a girlfriend, that is).
  • Irrational Hatred: Ichimatsu really detests Karamatsu, even though he doesn't really deserve it. This is later revealed to be because he's jealous at how (supposedly) confident he is despite being technically the same. In "The Ichimatsu Incident", he switches back and forth between genuine admiration and absolute rage.
  • Jerkass: Almost all the characters are this in some way, shape, or form.
  • Jerkass Has a Point:
    • Sure, Todomatsu may have taken it too far by insulting them and had less-than-benign reasons to kick them out of Sutabaa, but he's nonetheless correct in that his brothers' behavior is embarrassing and unacceptable. Hell, Osomatsu agreed with this, and the sextuplets would have left him had the girls Todo was trying to flirt with not appeared, exposing him in the process.
    • Osomatsu is a Lazy Bum, but he's correct in calling out Choromatsu for pretending to be more intelligent and morally superior to his brothers, when in reality he's just as lazy and irresponsible as they are. Choromatsu himself comes to agree and tries to grow out of it in "Letter".
    • Totoko is a Cute and Psycho bitch, but she has genuinely good reasons why she doesn't want to hook up with any of the Matsuno brothers, even if she's little better than them.
    • Even if it was quite mean, Nyaa Hashimoto isn't wrong when she tells Choromatsu to stop referring to her as "Nyaa-chan" when they haven't known each other personally.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The Matsunos as a whole (with the possible exception of Jyushimatsu). They're immature and unpleasant NEETs most of the time, but are deep down decent, caring people who mean the world to each other despite their constant disputes.
    • Chibita, apart from getting back at the Matsunos (for understandable reasons) and occassionally associating with Iyami, is a bonafide Nice Guy.
    • Totoko is a psychotic, selfish bitch, but she occassionally seems to care about the brothers, especially Osomatsu. More pronounced in Season 3 by helping her rival Nyaa-chan after learning of her troubles, befriending her in the process.
    • Even Iyami can fit this at times, most notably in "Iyami, Alone in the Wind".
    • Nyaa-chan reveals herself to be this in Season 3 (though her assisting the brothers' funeral in Season 2 already hinted at it).
  • Jerkass Facade/Hidden Heart of Gold:
    • Ichimatsu to an extent. He's not nice by any stretch, but he pretends to be colder and scarier than he actually is out of fear of being hurt and loves his brothers a lot more than he lets on, as seen in "ESP Kitty".
    • Played for Laughs in The Movie with Jyushimatsu. As a teenager, he pretended to be a hard-ass delinquent partly to distinguish himself from his brothers and partly for fun. The facade was very flimsy, however, and he broke out of it once he graduated (his interactions with his present self truly sealed the deal).
  • Just a Machine: Todomatsu keeps treating the Robots as simple machines despite showing sentience, something the other Matsunos are disgusted at.
  • Kindhearted Cat Lover: Ichimatsu adores cats, probably more than he should.
  • Kick the Dog: Deconstructed for drama in "Letter". Osomatsu kicks and threatens Jyushimatsu when he accidentally made him spill his food. This not only showcases Osomatsu's declining sanity, but it leads to Karamatsu punching him and kicking him out of the house, with his brothers leaving him out of disgust.
  • Kindhearted Simpleton: Jyushimatsu is an airheaded loon, but he generally acts with the best intentions in mind.
  • Knight of Cerebus: In a rare case, there are non-villainous examples of this:
    • The Country Girl, at least in "Jyushimatsu Falls in Love". The skit starts out as usual, but her rejection of Jyushimatsu, her implied Dark and Troubled Past, and her leaving to her hometown marks the episode as one of the most tragic in a series that's primarily a rapid-fire comedy.
    • The Movie has Nozomi Takahashi. The film starts as a comedy, but the introduction of her letter leads to the exploration of the Matsunos' sad past in high school and the plot becoming more focused in getting the Matsunos back to reality by meeting her in the dream world. Her personal issues and final monologue just clinches it.
    • If Sanematsu ever appears, it's going to be either depressing or creepy.
    • Inverted with the Riceballs. Their debut in Season 3 is what marks the season's Denser and Wackier approach. Especially episode 24.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Plenty.
    • After sending the Matsunos to work into a factory in horrible conditions, Iyami is subjected to the same fate in Episode 6.
    • Todomatsu gets this frequently, but a noteworthy example is Episode 7. After insulting his brothers and lying about his life situation to pick up chicks, they retaliate by acting so embarrassing they irreparably destroy his reputation at Sutabaa.
    • Iyami and Chibita trying to scam the brothers in Episode 10 ends with them locked in a tiger cage and charge them with increasingly large sums of money (that they scammed them earlier).
    • Osomatsu taking advantage of his brothers' being sick to spend all their money is "rewarded" with Ichimatsu giving him his cold.
    • In "Letter", Osomatsu kicking and threatening Jyushimatsu leads to Karamatsu punching him and kicking him out of the house, the rest of his brothers leaving, and Todomatsu (who was the most upset at Jyushi getting hurt) smacking him with a newspaper as he leaves.
    • In Season 3, after priding themselves of being NEETs who leech of their parents, the Matsunos get a taste of their own medicine when the Riceballs end up leeching from them, all thanks to their lessons no less.
  • Let's Get Dangerous: The Matsunos may be a horde of irresponsible NEETs, but fuck with them, and you're done.
  • Living Emotional Crutch: The brothers are this for Osomatsu, as seen with his startling behavior in "Letter".
    • The same episode implies all of them are this to one another, even if it's not as evident as Osomatsu.
  • Man Child: The Matsunos act more like teenagers than young adults. While generally played straight, it can enter Deconstruction territory and even be taken seriously depending on the episode.
    • Totoko also proves to be this.
    • Hatabou is the greatest example, acting like a 4-year-old when he's roughly the same age as the Matsunos.
  • Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Gender-inverted. Jyushimatsu ends up playing this to The Country Girl, cheering her up and giving her a reason to live.
    • "The Life of Chibita's Flower" has the Flower Fairy be this to Chibita.
  • Massive Numbered Siblings
  • Mood Whiplash
  • Morality Pet: Jyushimatsu is this to the rest of the brothers, but especially Ichimatsu and Todomatsu.
    • While he deeply loves his brothers in general, Osomatsu is especially affectionate with Ichimatsu, even giving him the cute nickname "Ichimacchan".
    • In "Iyami, Alone in the Wind", the little girl Okiku-chan serves as this for Iyami.
    • The Robots/Riceballs eventually become this to the Matsunos, who seem to treat them slightly better than the other characters.
  • The Movie: It has one, which details the brothers' high school years.
  • Near-Death Experience: This happens to Matsuzo in Episode 24 of the 2nd season. He survives, but the sextuplets don't take this well AT ALL.
  • Nice Guy: Despite most of the characters being terrible people, there are some of this.
    • Jyushimatsu, unlike the other Matsunos, is an incredibly perky and sweet guy who just wants to make people happy.
    • He has his flaws, but Chibita is generally a reliable, mellow guy.
    • Dekapan is very friendly and always willing to lend a hand to anybody.
    • Unlike other female characters in the series, Kin-chan is absolutely this, befriending the Matsunos without any ulterior motives and even forgiving Totoko for her behavior.
    • Similar to Kin-chan, The Country Girl is a lovely young woman who actually enjoys Jyushimatsu's quirky behavior and supports his goals, no matter how crazy those are.
    • From The Movie, we have Nozomi Takahashi, who was one of the few people who actually admired the Matsunos and her main role is to bring them together, both as a human and as a cat.
    • Season 3 introduces the Robots whom, despite being Innocently Insensitive, are genuinely kind, helpful and polite, at least at first.
  • Not So Different: Very prevalent.
    • Despite her looking down on the Matsunos, at the end of the day Totoko is just as much of an unpleasant Man Child loser as them, she's just better at hiding it.
    • This is also the Matsunos' dynamic with Iyami, being future losers compared to their -kun selves.
    • As for the Matsunos themselves:
      • Choromatsu, despite thinking of himself as a Straight Man, is just as much of a lazy idiot as his brothers. He's this with Osomatsu in particular, with Episode 25 highlighting their similarities.
      • Karamatsu and Todomatsu. Both adopt façades for personal reasons, seem vain and prideful on the surface but are actually very insecure, and are generally disliked by their other brothers.
      • While Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu are complete opposites, it's shown Ichi has a weird way of thinking like Jyushi, and Jyushi has just as much trouble relating to others as Ichi, just in a different way. The Movie drives this further: Both tried too hard to mask their true selves out of a desire for acceptance, only to drop them after graduation.
      • Ichimatsu and Todomatsu, despite their rivalry, actually have a lot in common. Both tend to exaggerate traits of themselves to conceal their insecurities, are the most unpleasant sextuplets (though with golden hearts underneath), and have Jyushimatsu as their Morality Pet. Even their trademark colors are somewhat similar.
      • The plot of Season 2's "Choromatsu and Ichimatsu" has the titular characters being left alone with each other for the first time and struggling to find things they have in common.
      • Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu are both cheerful idiots who deep down show more emotional maturity than their supposedly smarter brothers, as seen in Season 3's "The Way Home".
    • Totoko and Nyaa-chan are so similar it hurts, which is why they didn't have a good start and why they eventually become close friends by Season 3.
  • Only Sane Man: While they're Not So Above It All in the long run, Choromatsu and Todomatsu frequently play this role regarding the group's antics.
    • Having greatly matured in contrast with everyone else, Chibita tends to play this role a lot.
    • When he's not behind the wackiness, Iyami plays this role, most prominently in Episode 8.
    • Matsuzo takes the mantle in Episode 25, being just as dumbfounded at the crazy turn of events as the audience is.
    • Season 3's "The Way Home" has Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu of all people function as this, being the only ones to notice the cashier's niceness towards Karamatsu and Todomatsu is her being polite rather than any kind of romantic interest.
  • Out-of-Character is Serious Business: Boy is it ever.
    • Jyushimatsu becomes a bit calmer and more polite when he starts seeing a girl in "Jyushimatsu Falls in Love". He also cries like a baby when she rejects him. More hilariously, he acts uncharacteristically horrible in "Kerosene" due to hating the cold, to the point of strangling Ichimatsu in the middle of a tantrum.
    • Osomatsu is usually a cheerful Lazy Bum who is merely The Gadfly when messing with his brothers. In "Letter", he becomes so heartbroken over his brothers moving out and getting jobs he becomes quiet and irritable, to the point of assaulting and threatening Jyushimatsu over an accident.
    • Karamatsu is normally a doormat when it comes to his brothers, so it comes as a shock in "Letter" he punches Osomatsu for his aforementioned Kick the Dog and kicks him out of the house. He also tries to throw a rock at Totty when he "betrays" them in Episode 3.5.
    • Again in "Letter": Todomatsu, who admits to being a coward who won't confront anyone directly, smacks Osomatsu with a newspaper for his unpleasant behavior.
  • Out of Focus: This is integral to Iyami's character.
  • Parody Sue: The Matsunos can transform into F6, who are walking parodies of typical perfect visual novel love interests.
    • Godmatsu, due to him being the collective goodness of the sextuplets. The sextuplets, being naturally shitty people, consider him a Hate Sink they need to get rid of.
  • Polar Opposite Twins: While all the sextuplets contrast with one another (see Sibling Yin-Yang for details), Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu are the greatest example since they're complete opposites in almost every aspect, yet they're the closest out of all the brothers.
  • Putting the Band Back Together: This is what kicks the second half of The Movie. Namely, the letter the brothers received but didn't read at the time was Nozomi Takahashi's attempt on doing this to the brothers, who grew distant in high school due to peer pressure. While the brothers didn't read her letter until the events of the movie, she still got what she wanted as they became close to each other again after graduation.
  • Rage Breaking Point:
    • Ichimatsu was already angry before due to being kept awake for so long, but the moment he sees all his brothers have fallen asleep while he was away leads him to wake them up violently and force them to be more considerate with each other, with Osomatsu taking the brunt of it.
    • Chibita has been tolerant of the Matsunos antics for a long time, but the moment Jyushimatsu accidentally rips his only hair off, he goes beyond ballistic in a truly epic Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Todomatsu, literally.
  • Reverse Cerebus Syndrome: Downplayed in that the show is already a comedy, but Season 3 ramps up the comedy while having little to no dramatic moments (and those who seem dramatic in the first place end up being subverted for laughs).
    • The three seasons' 24th episodes do this when comparing them to each other. The first season's is infamous for how dark and depressing it is, the second season's is melancholic but not as dark, and the third season's forgoes the drama completely and becomes even wackier than usual.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: The Girlymatsus' Karako proves to be stunning in a dress in Episode 18.
  • Ship Tease: Despite her claims she doesn't want to date any of the Matsuno brothers, Totoko has her fair share of this with Osomatsu, namely in the 24th episodes of the 1st and 2nd seasons.
  • Shrinking Violet: Ichimatsu, when not around his brothers or cats, tends to be distant and avoid social interaction as much as possible. It got to the point he threw himself off a cliff for not being able to cope with the pressure of being the protagonist. As a bonus, his main color is purple.
    • Karamatsu used to be one in his teen years, being rather insecure and moody compared to the braggart he's in the present. Hell, even now he retains some traits (such as being rather submissive towards his brothers).
  • Sibling Rivalry: As they got older, the Matsunos became more distant and antagonistic towards one another, with Osomatsu claiming he has "five enemies". They're still incredibly close, though.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: The Matsunos all contrast with each other in some way, but these are specific examples related to complimentary colors:
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Jyushimatsu has managed to genuinely attract at least two women due to his sweet and cheerful behavior, in contrast to his brothers.
  • Sitcom Arch Nemesis: While the brothers have more or less reconciled with Chibita, Iyami has taken up the mantle, mostly because his popularity has waned compared to them.
    • Totoko and Nyaa-chan have this relationship, although fans tend to see it as something else. They become Vitriolic Best Buds in Season 3.
    • While Ichimatsu's animosity towards Karamatsu is very much one-sided, Episode 13 demonstrates he has a mutual rivalry with Todomatsu, calling him out of his sly behavior and taking his clothes and porn magazines to mess with him. Fittingly, Todomatsu's voice actor confirms Ichi is at the bottom of his infamous "favorite brother" list.
  • Sliding Scale of Silliness Versus Seriousness: Related to Cerebus Rollercoaster above, Osomatsu-san is a comedy 90% of the time, but when things get serious, they really get serious.
  • Status Quo Is God
  • Tall Poppy Syndrome: The Matsunos would rather drag everyone else down with them than actually growing up and improving themselves. This even applies (nay, especially) to each other.
  • To Hell and Back: This is the plot for Season 2's final episode, aptly titled "Osomatsu-san in Hell".
  • Toilet Humour
  • Token Evil Teammate: Todomatsu to the sextuplets. While the brothers are hard to sympathize with most of the time, he in particular has the most vicious streak.
  • Token Good Teammate: Jyushimatsu and Karamatsu are by far the most pleasant and kind-hearted of the brothers, though not without flaws.
    • During his short stint as the seventh Matsuno brother, Godmatsu becomes this. Justified, since he's the brothers' physical embodiment of their goodness.
    • As for the secondary characters, Chibita is the only one who is neither a Jerkass nor a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Karamatsu in Season 2 and Jyushimatsu in Season 3 are downplayed examples.
    • A plot point concerning the Robots/Riceballs. Thanks to their growing relationship with the Matsunos, they turn from mostly pleasant Assist AIs to NEET AIs who want to leech off the brothers and do nothing.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: In contrast with everyone else, Chibita has grown up into a reliable, mature adult who is the closest the Matsunos have to a real friend.
    • In Season 1, The Ugly Flower Fairy was an abusive monster towards Karamatsu. By Season 3, she has matured into a friend of Nyaa-chan's who takes care of her baby while she's busy.
  • Toxic Friend Influence: Chibita is a mellow guy on his own, but Iyami often influences him into criminal stuff just like the good ol' days.
    • Jyushimatsu falls into this trope a lot, considering he's a Kindhearted Simpleton. A clear example is him joining his brothers in ignoring Karamatsu, but willingly hanging out with him when alone.
    • This is a plot point concerning the Riceballs. They become more independent upon befriending the Matsunos, but at the cost of gaining their many character flaws.
  • Tranquil Fury: When the Matsunos get truly pissed, it results in this trope. Episode 7 and the end of Episode 10 are stand-out examples.
    • Season 2's "Jar" skit proves it runs in the family with Matsuyo throwing the jar out of a window, then nonchalantly telling them it can't be opened.
  • True Companions: The Girlymatsus are the unrelated female equivalent of the Matsuno brothers, so they're this by default.
  • Tsundere/Tsunshun: Ichimatsu fits both tropes to a T, with his unpleasant and often scary behavior masking a deeply insecure and caring person.
  • Twin Switch: An accidental example in "The Ichimatsu Incident". Ichimatsu gets caught by Osomatsu trying on Karamatsu's cool clothes and has to pretend he's Karamatsu to avoid embarrassment. Karamatsu, after waking up, starts acting like Ichimatsu to save his ass. In both cases, their acting is painfully bad, only working because of Osomatsu's idiocy.
  • Twin Telepathy: The Matsunos.
  • Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: The Matsunos are not completely unsympathetic, but they're generally characterized as lazy, unambitious NEETs who usually bring their misfortunes on themselves.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: The Matsunos, while troublemakers, certainly weren't absolute degenerates in their youth.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Totoko and Nyaa-chan become this by Season 3.
  • Vomit Indiscretion Shot
  • Walking Spoiler: Shonosuke Hijirisawa seems like a Bit Character throughout the series. Then Season 2's final episode comes around, and he turns out to be King Enma, who has taken a human form to judge the sextuplets. He returns to being a Bit Character in The Movie, though.
    • A straighter example would be Nozomi Takahashi from The Movie.
  • We Used to Be Friends:
    • Downplayed with Iyami and Chibita. They're still friends, but they're not as close as they used to be due to them choosing different paths in life.
    • Inverted with the sextuplets and Chibita, who went from bitter rivals to (more-or-less) friends.
    • It's revealed in The Movie the Matsuno brothers had a period of being this in high school. They decided to distance themselves from each other due to people finding them weird for being sextuplets, which led their previous childhood bond to go so sour they had a nasty brawl in the school roof. The letter Karamatsu received was an attempt at rectifying this. Of course, Foregone Conclusion means they became close again after graduation.
  • Wham! Episode: Season 1's "Letter" is set up to be this, shaking the status quo with a brutal Drama Bomb. This is epically subverted in the next episode, where things go back to normal in less than 5 minutes.
  • With Friends Like These...:
    • This describes Totoko's "friendship" with the sextuplets. The guys want to bed her while she treats them horribly due to her selfishness and lack of sanity. There are times she does act like a friend, though.
    • Chibita may be the Matsunos' friend now, but that doesn't mean he's not treated like shit. He does bite back, however.
    • Dayon and Dekapan may be Heterosexual Life Partners (possibly even more), but the former has put the latter through several perils throughout the series.
    • Replace "Friends" with "Brothers", and you've got the Matsunos in a nutshell.
    • The Girlymatsus are this as well, being the Matsunos' Distaff Counterparts.
    • The Matsunos become this with the Robots/Riceballs, though the dynamic changes throughout the season.
  • Women Are Wiser: While minor characters play this straight, this setup is either very downplayed (The Girlymatsus) or outright averted (Totoko).
  • Yaoi Fangirl: Choromatsu's Distaff Counterpart Choroko is one of these.
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