Mr. Osomatsu

Episode 10

Following the surprisingly emotional latter half of episode 9, this week's Mr. Osomatsu returns the show to its comedic roots. Although it begins with an unrelated cold open, episode 10 marks the series' first attempt at an episode-length story since its no-longer-available premiere. (Even this week's epilogue ties into the main story.) After so many multi-segmented installments, I was beginning to wonder if this show was capable of sustaining longer-form narratives, and I'm pleased to report that my doubts were completely unfounded.

This week's cold open revolves around Karamatsu's efforts to tone down his "painful" personality. Per Osomatsu's advice, he ditches his leather jacket and trademark shades, but something still seems off about the Matsuno household's Meg Griffin. In the end, Osomatsu decides that there's no need for Karamatsu to tone things down, since everyone's grown accustomed to his off-putting nature. Seeing this smug wannabe badass show off his vulnerable side is always amusing, and it's interesting to learn that Karamatsu actually cares about what people think of him. Still, Choromatsu's unexpected pop-in right before the opening credits is the highlight of the bit, further cementing his role as Tsukkomi Supreme.

While bathing in a public fountain, Iyami inadvertently becomes aware of a "rental girlfriend" company, which appears to be a less sleazy variation of a traditional escort service. After discovering how much money the company's employees rake in, the poverty-stricken swindler decides to get in on the action and open a girlfriend rental service of his own. Unfortunately, no one is interested in paying for the pleasure of cross-dressed Iyami, Chibita, or Dayon's company. (Although Dayon is kind of cute in his goth-loli ensemble.) After learning of the group's plight, Professor Dekapan provides the motley crew with a bottle of his aptly-named Cute Girl Pills (FDA approval pending). Ingesting one of these pills will turn anyone into an attractive young woman for a period of one hour.

After reeling in the Matsuno siblings with the promise of a "sextuplets' discount," the newly-female Iyayo and Chibimi waste no time in capturing the hearts of their gullible marks. Not even the exorbitant fees they charge for things like eye contact and sharing the same air are able to elicit suspicion from the smitten sextuplets. Not surprisingly, Iyami and Chibita won't give the boys the time of day once they've exhausted their funds, prompting the Matsunos to get off their butts and start working. After earning a small fortune from a plethora of part-time jobs, the brothers decide to take their "girlfriends" out for an extravagant night on the town. However, now that their bodies have grown used to the pills, Iyami and Chibita can't maintain their transformations for very long, and their true identities are soon exposed. True to character, the sextuplets refuse to let this epic con go unpunished. To soothe their broken hearts, the scorned siblings lock the deceitful duo in a cage with a hungry tiger and demand an 8,000,000,000 yen "rental" fee for the key.

It's fitting that in Mr. Osomatsu, such a profound genetic breakthrough is used as a means to scam a group of horny young adults. (Couldn't Iyami have sold those pills for a lot more money?) I love how the sextuplets were able to earn untold riches in a single night after finally being motivated to work. As Iyami puts it, "Never underestimate virgins." (What exactly were they doing in the censored bit, anyway? Murder for hire?) It was also amusing to see every single brother fall in love with Iyayo or Chibimi to the point of being completely uninterested in Totoko. (Guys, there are six of you. You're never going to be able to share the same woman. One of you needs to take advantage of your brothers' lack of interest and snatch Totoko while there's no competition.) As usual, logic takes a backseat throughout the entire episode, but it's in service of a good cause: making the jokes even funnier.

Mr. Osomatsu is one of the most versatile anime I've seen in recent years. One episode will devote nearly the entire runtime to a single story, another will showcase two half-episode segments, and yet another will throw three or more madcap skits at the audience. Although the series is now (in)famous for its on-the-nose parodies, episodes that are devoid of spoofs and send-ups are just as riotous. Mr. Osomatsu entertains no matter what format it takes on, setting a lofty standard for all gag anime that come after it.

Rating: A

Mr. Osomatsu is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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