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Mr. Osomatsu
Episode 17

by Amy McNulty,

How would you rate episode 17 of
Mr. Osomatsu ?
Community score: 4.0

This week's Mr. Osomatsu revisits the manic sketch comedy format found in episode 3 and last cour's relentlessly dark Christmas special. Like the aforementioned special, all of episode 17's skits share a common theme: in this case, fan-favorite space-case Jyushimatsu. With such an abundant array of skits, it's only natural that some of them work better than others. Fortunately, this week's “Jyushimatsu Festival” has a higher hit-to-miss ratio than Mr. Osomatsu's past attempts at sketch comedy.

As has become the norm, the featured skits are split between alternate realities and comically inflated slice-of-life stories. Highlights on the alternate reality front include Jyushimatsu as Peter Pan (with Totoko as Wendy and Ichimatsu as Tinkerbell—er, “Tinkerichi”), Jyushimatsu as a bomb-disarmer, and Jyushimatsu as a mad scientist. Regardless of what role he takes on, the Matsuno household's resident goofball creates rampant chaos despite having noble intentions. In some respects, Jyushimatsu is a one-note character. He occasionally surprises us (“Jyushimatsu Falls in Love”), but for the most part, insanity and hyperactivity are his defining traits. Fortunately, the show's producers have consistently found ways to mine these qualities for fresh gags. While we generally know what to expect from Jyushimatsu, the exact form his zaniness will take is always unpredictable. (He's kind of like the anime equivalent of Family Guy's Mayor West.)

Like Mr. Osomatsu's other second cour installments, the skits set in actual continuity are episode 17's funniest offerings. Jyushimatsu trying in vain to keep Karamatsu's pachinko winnings a secret from his brothers, pondering his very existence, and hitting up Professor Dekapan for performance-enhancing steroids are among the show's funniest segments to date. Featuring sight gags, slapstick, and Williams Street-esque surrealism, these short stories will resonate with all kinds of comedic sensibilities.

Several skits even question the nature of Jyushimatsu's very existence. Who—or what—is this wiry little firecracker? Even Jyushimatsu himself wonders at that. As evidenced by the superhuman powers he occasionally displays, he's far from a normal human. Depending on the nature of the story, it's sometimes easy to dismiss Jyushimatsu's preternatural abilities, but in certain segments, these powers are the only beyond-belief element, causing them to stand out more. Despite not having any dark side to speak of, Jyushimatsu's fierce single-mindedness, hyperactive nature, and reality-bending powers scare the beejeezus out of his siblings.

When Jyushimatsu wonders what makes him uniquely “Jyushimatsu,” Ichimatsu points to the two identifiers that help me pick him out of a crowd (besides his zaniness): his perpetually-open mouth and his single stray hair. However, even when deprived of his aesthetic quirks, he's no less Jyushimatsu. He's still indescribable, still beyond definition, and always good for a laugh.

The frenzied pace at which episode 17 hops from one skit to the next is perfectly suited to the character it highlights. It makes perfect sense that Jyushimatsu is the first (and possibly only) brother be the focus of a full half-hour episode. Not only does he clean up in character polls, his screwball demeanor can be applied to a wide range of humorous situations.

Rating: A-

Mr. Osomatsu is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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


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