Mr. Osomatsu

Episode 20

This week's Mr. Osomatsu hits the sweet spot between wackiness for its own sake and effective character humor. While far from the season's zaniest installment, episode 20 manages to consistently amuse without presenting the audience with copious amounts of content. Not only does every one of the Matsunos get a chance to shine this week, nearly every supporting character is able to get a few laughs.

In this week's cold open, Hatabou's staff realizes that their boss doesn't actually do anything to keep his company afloat, so they quit. (I'm not sure why this would be a problem as long as he keeps signing off on their checks.) Hoping to reinvigorate his business, “Mr. Frag” opens a number of makeshift restaurants, each of which specializes in meat-based entrees. Kebabs, hamburgers, yakiniku, gyuudon and steak are among his signature dishes. However, each time one of the Matsunos inquires into what type of meat he uses, Hatabou freezes up and refuses to offer a response. (Wouldn't most people just assume it's beef?) Thanks to these ventures, Frag Corporation is back on top in no time, although its CEO is still tight-lipped regarding where his meat comes from.

Although he seldom takes center stage, Hatabou is one of my favorite supporting characters. Despite his seemingly innocent demeanor, it's clear that this Buster Keaton-inspired pipsqueak has a dark side. Nearly every time he appears, we're given a glimpse into his twisted psyche, and I shudder to think about where he got his meat. (Am I the only one who thinks Hatabou ground up his former employees/sycophants?)

Entitled “School-matsu,” episode 20's second segment re-imagines the Matsunos as high school delinquents. Nearly every yanki archetype is parodied throughout the course of this skit, and viewers who are familiar with delinquent-centric series like Sagikake!! Otokojuku and Shōnan Junai-gumi are sure to be amused. As far as Mr. Osomatsu's alternate universe segments go, this is one of the better ones. The jokes get more amusing as the bit wears on, and the segment isn't played out to the point of becoming stale. This skit is largely carried by sight gags, like Osomatsu and Karamatsu's epic tic-tac-toe battle and each boy's cartoonishly overblown appearance. Ichimatsu as a barely-coherent chrome-dome and Jyushimatsu as a towering behemoth who literally inhales his opponents are particularly hilarious. (Jyushimatsu, as usual, is good for the segment's “what on earth?” moment.)

This week's final story finds the Matsuno brothers attending a comedy school helmed by Iyami and Chibita. Immediately after showing up for their first class, the boys are viciously berated by their toothy teacher, who offers up detailed explanations as to why none of the Matsunos are particularly funny. Impressed by Iyami's knowledge of all things comedy-related, the brothers defer to him and take his lessons to heart. Iyami actually has some decent advice for fledgling comedians. He seems to realize his tooth-based puns and pained exclamations of “SHEEEH!” are old hat, but as he shares with the Matsunos, he's going for mass appeal, not high art. However, despite talking a big game, Iyami's debilitating stage fright ultimately prevents him from putting his money where his mouth is. After seeing their teacher bomb on stage, the boys decide to enroll in a seiyuu school, reasoning that voice acting is easier than comedy. Unfortunately, their new teacher is the yanki version of Totoko from the previous skit, and her approach to education is even more unorthodox than Iyami's. This was an amusing way to combine the two main stories, and I wouldn't mind seeing more attempts at this in future installments.

Even though it's built around comedy, this segment is somewhat lacking in laughs. Though informative, Iyami's lectures on comedy aren't very funny, and they eat up the bulk of the story. His individual criticisms of each of the Matsunos illustrate that the show is self-aware, but even with a show this zany, there's such a thing as too much self-awareness.

Although the show never bores, episodes like this prove that Mr. Osomatsu isn't always a laugh-a-second affair. Still, each of the featured segments gives the audience time to settle into the story and paves the way for an amusing ending. While far from the second cour's strongest offering, episode 20 is a solid entry in a funny—though uneven—season.

Rating: B

Mr. Osomatsu is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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