Character Spotlight: Osomatsu

6 same faces. 6 same layabouts. 6 monstrous boys. Identical sextuplets is unheard of in the world. The Matsuno brothers are the reason why it should stay that way. Each one started as a little hellion and only got worse with age, like rotten food, they seem to get worse as time goes on. These six awful brothers would go on to become huge hits in Japan, how does this happen? Let’s find out!

Matsuzo and Matsuyo Matsuno were a loving couple who would end up with six sons all in one go thanks to the power of sextuplets. Suddenly, their lives were a hectic mess, dominated by the trouble their boys would get into. While they were children and teens, they were indistinguishable from one another thanks to wearing the same outfits but they still had some distinct quirks for themselves, it was when they entered their twenties that they truly became their own unique individuals with traits that may have been cute while they were younger but many now found to be unacceptable as adults.

Osomatsu is the eldest brother, he’s the laziest, loudest, and drunkest of the brothers. He’s often wearing some form of red and scratching his nose. His other brothers see him as a burden since they often end up taking care of him and he’ll only use his eldest status to pull rank if he wants something. As a kid he was the best fighter of the bunch.

Karamatsu is the self-proclaimed coolest and most romantic in the bunch but he isn’t really either of those so much as compiling all the cliches you could gather that were dated when they started. He’s often seen wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket to help complete the look of his cool guy image along with the color blue being a defining accent for him. He was the cleanest of the boys when they were kids.

Choromatsu is somehow able to be the most perverted of a group of perverts but he’s also the one who thinks he’s the most level-headed, what’s worse, he may be correct. He often obsesses over idols and ends up being the straight man to his brothers’ eccentricities. Seen wearing green and often with a crooked little frown. When he was younger, he was often the most mischievous of the six little troublemakers.

Ichimatsu likely deals with depression. Even if he didn’t, his obsession with death and darkness seems to only be outdone by his love of cats. He’s got his own pet cat that developed the ability to communicate for a time. Ichimatsu was the honest to a fault growing up. He’s often seen looking grim while garbed in purple and probably a cat toy on hand, just in case he meets a cat friend along the way.

Jyuishimatsu… it could be debated if the brothers were originally quintuplets until some otherworldly being saw five babies and decided it wanted in on that life. The happiest of the brothers, he’s seen with a manic open-mouthed smile at almost all times, even while sleeping. His love of baseball is strong, much like he is in muscles. He tends to wear yellow, especially yellow hoodies with overlong sleeves. He’s also kinda got a girlfriend who is way too good for him but I guess if you had to pick which brother was the “good one” Jyuishimatsu could technically win? If that’s at all possible.

Todomatsu is the youngest brother and tends to use that to his advantage. Probably the most capable brother due to his ability to actually hold down a job and have a friend circle outside of his brothers and the friends they’ve had since they were children. Though, he tends to befriend women with what seems the intent to just get with them he is also able to lie about not knowing who the strange five men are who look just like him are. People fall for this. Often seen wearing pink and plenty of cute hats he’s the most stylish brother and could probably survive the easiest on his own if not for the yolk of his brothers.

The six young men tend to gamble, drink, and roughhouse their way through life, doing their best to remain as unemployed as possible while freeloading off their parents and friends. They love to bother their hard-working friend, Chibita and his oden stand where the boys drink and eat with never paying their tab. They lust after their only female friend, the wealthy daughter of fish mongers who dreams of being the world’s most beloved idol, Totoko and she tends to see the brothers just as much a nuisance as they are an ego boost.

The misadventures these brothers go through can be basic scheming, which was common when they were young but become surreal, bizarre experiences as they became adults. They technically have had other brothers, a Devilmatsu and Godmatsu who represent their best and worst aspects, and sometimes purgatory is being the seventh Matsuno brother. The brothers have all died and come back several times but nothing seems to ever stick.

There you have it! Osomatsu as a series has been around since the 1960’s and been incredibly popular. There’d be ebbs and flows of their popularity but they seem to always be able to return to be a big hit. You can see them all over Japan and the shows have had catchphrases that were so popular celebrities the world over have mimicked them at one time or another. What lies next for these awful men? Who knows but it likely wont be good for them or anyone else they get involved with. See you next time!