#Showa Osomatsu kun

[notsobeautifuldisaester]

🏃💨💨

[showamagicalgirls]

I’m in Japan this week and I has my first sighting of a Showa magical girl in the wild.

Technically, I guess this is Totoko Yowai (弱井 トト子) from Osomatsu-kun (おそ松くん) instead of Atsuko Kagami (加賀美あつ子) from Akko-chan’s Got A Secret (ひみつのアッコちゃん). But, the two characters are identical and interchangeable in Fujio Akatsuka (赤塚 不二夫)’s “star system.”

[salty-puppy]

Happy birthday to these brats

[flowery-laser-blasts]

Showa style Kim Possible!

I've been listening to Kocchi no Kento's 『はいよろこんで』 for weeks and I'm nostalgic for Gegege no Kitaro (1968 version), Heidi, Osomatsu-kun etc. I also took some other inspirations from other shows here and there. Drakken and Ron were the easiest to design LOL.

[cappuccinoko]

may i know abt the show u always draw and post about? :3

like, both the plot, story, characters etc, but also whos ur fave? how long have you been into it? n all that!^^

also today's the protagonists' birthday? happy bday to them , if so^^

HELLO ANON!! I am hyperventilating at 2 am rn, never been this happy. I am teary-eyed, while on my bed, underneath my comfy covers, reading your message and??? crying???

Can I ramble?

This show is so good, like the plot - what plot? The only plot is how you slowly love these boys day by day and it's the best thing ever. So basically it's based on a very old comedy manga series from Showa Era called "Osomatsu-Kun" and in the newer anime, they are shown to be grown up so now it's called "Osomatsu-San/Mr. Osomatsu".

It doesn't have a solid plot, the episodes are only comedic skits that either make you laugh or make you cry. There's a lot to love about the characters too, they don't have jobs, they're single (according to them, it's very devastating), and they're not perfect - they're relatable. It's these flaws about them that make them so lovable, so human, and so true.

And the characters? Anon, I might be a little bit biased. Have you seen this blue muppet I draw every single day? That's him, That's my favorite. And his name is Karamatsu. I can't express in words how much I love him, the pandemic was really hard for me, but when I discovered this show again it got lighter and a little easier for me to live. I'm already at 57, and still counting, on my merchandise!!

Let me see... I joined back in again in January, so I guess It's been 4 months? Yep, that long. I'm never going to leave again, it'll be a for as long as I can keep up.

This anime might not be for everyone, but it holds a very special place in my heart. Because of it, I'm not afraid to show myself anymore, I could gush about them for days in a public space.

And yes Anon, it's these very special boys' birthdays, and today is a very special day.

[relatableanimethings]

I did a presentation for my Japanese class and I went for Osomatsu san bcs I’m a fucking WEEB and!!!

THE TEACHER!!

SAID SHE LIKES OSOMATSU TOO!!!

She watched the Osomatsu kun anime from the Showa era!!

I FEEL PROUD

[karinta-agogobell-unified]

Current anime to-watch list stands at the following:

.

Shirobako

That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime

Golden Kamuy

Kimi no Na wa (Your Name)

Ghost in the Shell (original)

GITS Stand Alone Complex

Brand New Animal

Great Pretender

Land of the Lustrous

A Silent Voice

The Girl who Leapt through Time

Wolf Children

Paprika

Horimiya

Ascendance of a Bookworm

LWA

Tada-kun Never Falls in Love

Keep Your Hands off Eizouken

Vivy Fluorite’s Eye Song

Odd Taxi

Mars Red

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Dororo (2019)

Vinland Saga

Zombieland Saga

Recovery of an MMO Junkie

O Maidens, in Your Savage Season

FMA:B

A Place Further than the Universe

Bofuri

JJBA

Beastars

Osomatsu-san

Konohana Kitan

Made in Abyss

Vision of Escaflowne

Anohana

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Madoka Magica

Spice & Wolf

Utawarerumono

Kill La Kill

Hibike! Euphonium

Erased

Sweetness & Lightning

Maquia

Fune wo Amu

Princess Principal

[b3crew]

REVIEW | "Mr Osomatsu" - Season 1 (English Dub) | B3 - Boston Bastard Brigade

Gag anime can be very difficult to dub in English. Sometimes a joke in Japanese doesn’t make much sense in English, especially those that are pun-based or are attached to something related to its culture. When Funimation dubbed Nichijou, it painstakingly captured not just the humor in a way English speakers could understand, but also captured the spirit of Keiichi Arawi’s original manga in great ways. But VIZ Media has accepted a challenge much tougher than adapting Nichijou: dubbing Mr. Osomatsu.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Mr. Osomatsu is a follow-up to Fujio Akatsuka’s Showa era manga Osomatsu-kun. While the anime was modernized for this century (as well as aged the sextuplets to being 20-somethings), it still had the spirit & personality of an old-school gag manga. As such, a lot of its comedy — as well as why it’s funny — can be lost in translation. So with all these pitfalls in its way, could VIZ Media make an English dub that brings the funny in the same way the original does for Japanese viewers?

Let’s get the first part out of the way: the script. One of the big issues of the first half of Mr. Osomatsu’s first season was that it was funny only half of the time. Again, this is due to the differences between traditional Japanese humor and Western humor. Thankfully, scriptwriter Christopher Bevins have managed to punch up some of the jokes that originally fell flat for the English-speaking crowd. Gags about running an oden shop, rent-a-girlfriend services, and a calming detective hit a bit harder here, thanks in part to Bevins pushing the envelope a little more than its Japanese counterpart.

Regarding the second half, this is where Mr. Osomatsu started to focus on more universal humor rather than being Japan-specific. Gags about catching Choromatsu in his special private time, Ichimatsu and Karamatsu switching personalities, and the wackiest race since the Hanna-Barbera era give way to the biggest belly laughs around. While the Japanese dub is very funny to listen to, the English version adds enough spice to make the comedy slightly dirtier.

Click here to read the rest of the review!

[translationandbetrayals]

Why Osomatsu-san is an amazing tribute to Fujio Akatsuka

Before talking about Osomatsu-san, it is necessary to talk about Osomatsu-kun. It was a comedy manga series that started in 1962 by the mangaka Fujio Akatsuka and had an anime adaptation (black and white) in the years 1966-1967. Later, in 1989, it had a second adaptation, but this time in full color.

(The sextuplets have a photo of Fujio Akatsuka in their room)

The story of Osomatsu-kun follows the lives of the Matsuro sextuplets: Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu. They are kids that live the adventures and misadventures of being six, but they have their parents and many friends to accompany them.

The manga and anime series had a lot of success when it first aired in Japan, and the Matsuro brothers became popular and recognizable from the Showa Era.

Many years later, in 2015, Pierrot Studio adapted the manga to an anime to celebrate Akatsuka's eightieth birthday and named it Osomatsu-san. This new adaptation showed the Matsuno brothers as adults in their mid-twenties that are “NEET”, a concept referred to the people that are “Not in Education, Employment, or Training”, meaning that they just don’t do anything and live of the money from their parents. That kind of summaries the plot of the series, because they struggle to find jobs because they are too lazy or don’t care for doing anything than having a good time.

The interesting thing about this new series compared to the first two is that the sextuplets have very strong personality traits that difference themselves from the others (even to the point that every one of them has a color to identify with), when the first adaptations only focused on the six and did little to have individuality.

(From left: Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu y Todomatsu)

What is so great about the 2015’s adaptation is that it takes the essence of the first and second and brings it to the new century. The writers are aware of the respect they must have for the work of Fujio Akatsuka (who died in 2008) and they mantain the original aspects that made Osomatsu-kun so great and funny, and give it a fresh air of modernity. The sextuplets are everything to this show: Their fights, their funny moments, their internal conflict and friendships, their love interests and personal likes, everything is so very well calculated and thought to make a tribute to what they were, but leaving space for growth to the characters. They even make jokes breaking the 4th wall and laugh about themselves for being so old.

It’s no surprise that Osomatsu-san has 2 seasons and a movie. It was a real success in Japan, they even had stores dedicated to the sextuplets!

PS: A fun fact about Osomatsu is that the sextuplets are often compared to Nobita from the Doraemon series, there’s even people saying that they are a copy, but it’s on the contrary! Doraemon first manga was published in 1969, 7 years later than Osomatsu-kun, and it was heavily inspired by it.

Valentina Canales Fierro

[recentanimenews]

ESSAY: Mr. Osomatsu's Desperate Quest To Beat Time

  Osomatsu-kun was pretty big.

  The gag manga helped to cement Fujio Akatsuka as a promising creator and its repeated jokes reverberated throughout Japanese culture. The "Sheeeh!" pose — usually performed by the self-centered Iyami — was so popular that when The Beatles toured Japan in the '60s, they managed to get John Lennon to perform it. In 1965's Invasion of the Astro Monster, Toho Studio's sixth Godzilla outing, one producer adored the silly stance to the extent that he had Godzilla do it in the film. And when it came time for the esteemed Criterion Collection to release the series of Showa era Godzilla films, that pose was front and center on the artwork.

    The manga would spawn two anime series, one in 1966 and the next in 1988, both titled Osomatsu-kun, and both centered on the relatively harmless exploits of the main cast of sextuplets and the peculiar people that lived near them. The manga series would last for 34 volumes and the two anime ran for 56 and 86 episodes respectively. If anything, their success is owed to the familiarity that they bred in readers and viewers. Gags are repeated, characters remain extremely consistent, the status quo is never challenged. They are funny bits of comfort food.

  And then there's Mr. Osomatsu, which takes the concept and warps it. Yes, those "six same faces" are cute when they're on children, but what about when they're in their late twenties and all living at home together? What if the people who live around them have only gotten more ridiculous? What if they were NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training)? Obviously, that last part has an extreme amount of modern relevance. News of a demographic (sometimes referred to as hikikomori) that refuses to engage in the standard rigors of society and "normal" culture, has only become more widespread. There's an increasing fascination about people who exist in this lifestyle, especially as the ramifications of Japan's "Lost Decade," an era that encountered a tragic, massive recession, become clearer. 

    But Mr. Osomatsu is fiction, and in fiction, characters typically have goals and driving narratives. They have an arc of some sort to complete that will leave them different than they were before. The Matsu brothers don't want this. They find it troubling that people expect them to change now that they're adults and in the third season of a self-aware show. The first two seasons play with our expectations regarding this — both penultimate episodes dealt with the brothers separating and moving on, getting jobs, and entering "adulthood" as society deems it so. They finally have to deal with the emotional strife of saying goodbye to your home and making a life that's your own. And then we're reminded that this is Mr. Osomatsu, and in the season finales, the brothers are playing baseball against aliens or fighting against the devil in order to come back to life solely because they abhor the fact that they died virgins.

  The brothers wish to live but they do not wish to change. They know they're fictional characters, but they do not wish to abide by the rules of fiction. It's horrifying when they're asked to. The latest season finds them with two curious robot companions, and at one point the androids ask the brothers why they've been making fun of their supposed "friend" Chibita for so long. The brothers are stunned by this accusation. That's just something they've always done. It's not supposed to be different because they've never considered that it could be different, nor have they wanted it to be. 

  Similarly, a scene in the most recent episode sees the boys trudging back home from a wedding. At first, the tone of their conversation is light, but then they begin to ruminate on the nature of a union like a wedding - How do people do that? What would it take to find someone and live with them and love them forever? Is that even possible? They talk about it as if the pairing of two people is a supernatural occurrence. And when the episode ends, no solution is found. They're just left wondering what's next for them. 

    One quote that's often attributed to Albert Einstein states "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." And you can apply it here to the ethos of Mr. Osomatsu and the brothers themselves. They are not selfish, confused, and angry solely because they're NEET stereotypes who refuse to change with the world, but because they don't want their own franchise to evolve. The world is challenging and asks things of you when you're an adult, unlike when you're a little kid in a '60s gag manga. And when your series has lasted over 50 years, it will also ask things of you — to look at what's relevant and adjust. But Mr. Osomatsu refuses to.

  When you watch the opening credits of Season 3, which feature the boys desperate fleeing their own iconography, it's hard not to think that what they're running from is the pressure of fiction and of the world they reside in. In the beginning, it was Fujio Akatsuka's decision to render them as fixed aspects, running through popular routines that audiences loved. But now, according to Mr. Osomatsu, it's the brothers' decision, and it's a far more interesting show for it. 

    Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

            By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[occasionallyfreshfanarts]

5/24 FUCK YESSSSSSS

LET’S CELEBRATE THESE 6 SHOWA NEET DEMONS AND THEIR BIRTHDAY LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW 

(under the cut, a really long, really cheesy dedication to these characters and their show)

Okay. Whew. 5/24/2018. Lemme just start with this, Osomatsu-san is my absolute, lifelong favorite anime. Of all times. I really don’t know how my life would be if this sorry excuse for a gag anime hadn’t entered it. 

Back in 2015, my life was absolute hell. I had just started high school, was taken off the comfort zone that middle school represented to me, my parents were always fighting and on the edge of divorcing, my mother’s family and my father’s relationship was worse than ever. My self-esteem problems were off the charts. This may be a bit too much to share, but my recurring self-harm practices were getting worse. I didn’t even want to draw anymore, something that had always managed to cheer me up. All I wanted back then was to die, literally die. And I tried it once. Needless to say, I failed. Was taken to therapy once again, something I absolutely didn’t want to happen. Therapists are too damn expensive. My mother was struggling with money, something that my father was always trying to take off her. I just wanted to disappear.

This lasted over a year. I had lost my joy in living, I didn’t want to continue it anymore.

But I remember it well. 5/24/2016. I was browsing around tumblr. I used to spend hours on my dashboard. And some of the people I followed seemed to be really enthusiastic of some show, with 5 or 6 muppet-like guys who all looked the same. That day was no different, and their fan arts were literally everywhere. I had seen it before, but not as much as in that particular day. And I didn’t know the name of the series, either. But one of them caught my attention. There were two of them, one in blue clothes and the other one in pink. And right under it, a name: Osomatsu-san.

It was floating around in my dashboard for some time, so I thought, why not give it a try? Then I went looking for the episodes, and started watching it.

It was the best goddamn decision I have ever made in my entire goddamn life.

I went through the first 12 episodes in one sitting. It felt like a light had been lit inside of me. Their nonsensical, reality-detached sense of humor was like a shelter to the stuff I had been going through. It was so damn refreshing. So fun. And I kept going, and with every passing episode, my love for the series kept growing, unconditionally. I listened to the OSTs, opening and endings passionately. Their second opening, Zenryoku Batankyu, is without a doubt my most-heared music ever. I listened it on repeat, every day, for 3 whole months. Every note is like liquid euphoria being pumped from my heart to every single bit of my body. And I kept watching and watching it. I was devastated by the end of episode 24. Their conclusion on 25 left me completely speechless. And with that, the first season had wrapped up. And conquered my entire being.

After its end, I went looking for every single Ososan-related thing I could manage to find. I started reading the manga when it came out, I started reading -kun, I caught up with their games and strategies for the HesoWars sets (eventually getting to play it), I looked for tons of fics and amvs and spent hours reading and watching them, my life had been completely changed. 

I found the joy to live again, thanks to this anime. It may sound a bit dumb, but that’s the truth. And I started drawing again too, happier than ever before. My Matsu passion invaded everything I did. 

I was so happy when they announced a second cour. So happy I thought I’d die.

And the second season just reaffirmed my undying love for this god-forsaken anime and its god-forsaken sextuplets. 5 months ago I started this drawing, to pay a tribute to their new batch of  nonsense, inspired by the visuals of Maboroshi Wink. All their musics, all their episodes, everything this show has to offer. It literally pulled me out of a severely depressed state. And today, I finished it to celebrate their birthday, and also my 2-year anniversary on this hellish, exciting hype train that is the Matsu fandom. I don’t plan to ever leave it.

With this long-ass text, I salute the entire Matsu crew, and especially, the man that made all of this possible back in 1962, Akatsuka Fujio. I wonder if -san would please him. I like to think it would. 

And that’s all, I think. 

I’ll cherish this anime until the day I die. And I’ll do so cheerfully. It changed my entire approach and view of life. And for that I’ll be eternally grateful.

LONG LIVE THE MATSU LEGACY! LET’S ENJOY LIFE! <3

BORA FESTEJAR AE CARAIOOOOOO <3 <3 <3

[conflagrate]

Winter 2016 Anime Season

New season starts in 2 days - let’s get this done.

Wrap-Up

God tier: Haikyuu Great: Noragami, Ace of D, Osomatsu-san Good: Shingeki Kyojin Chugakkou, Rakudai, Sakurako-san, Valkyrie Drive, Kagewani, Owari no Seraph, Doushitemo Eto ni Hairitai Middling: Komori-san, Somera-chan, Miss Monochrome, Kowabon, Anitore, Monster Strike, Tantei Team KZ, Million Arthur Godawful shite: Subete ga F ni naru, JK Meshi, Hacka Doll, Hakone-chan, Ketsueki 3, So hideous that it’s an insult to faeces to be called shite: Ameiro Cocoa 2 Dropped: Garo 2, Utaware, One Punch Man, Young Black Jack

Total completed: 18 (+ 1 = Doushitemo Eto ni Hairitai when it finishes next week) Ongoing: 7 (+1 = GOD EATER)

Next up! Winter looks quite decent on paper. ‘Looks’.  

Essential: Boku dake ga Inai Machi, Ajin, Nijiiro Days, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, Teekyuu 7, Yami Shibai 3, Ketsuekigata-kun 4 Try-before-buy: Active Raid, Bubuki Buranki, Sekko Boys, Prince of Stride, Dimension W, Grimgar, Divine Gate, Maho Shojo nante mou ii desukara, Reikenzan, Norn9, Ojisan to Marshmallow, Tabi Machi Late Show, Sushi Police Not really enthusiastic but will try anyway: Dagashi Kashi, Luck & Logic, Musaigen no Phantom World, Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut, Haruchika, Ao no Kanata, Kokaku no Pandora, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o, Schwarzesmarken, Shojotachi wa Koya o Mezasu, PSO2, Oshiete Galko-chan, Mim Mam Mint Just, no: Komugi-chan, Gate 2, Kono Danshi Mahou ga Oshigoto desu, Fairy Tail Zero, AssClass 2, Oya-san wa Shishunki, Precure, Rilu Rilu Fairilu, Ganbare Lulu Lolo Truckin’ on: Haikyuu, Daiya no Ace S2, Osomatsu-san (yeah, j/k bout split cour), Shirayukihime S2, Drrr Ketsu (if I can force myself to…), Monster Strike, Jakusansei Million Arthur, Kochinpa!, Tantei Team KZ

Note: I was more hyped up about Dagashi Kashi before I realized it was Ponycan producing and they’re sticking their fingers into all its orifices as usual ie I do not like Taketatsu getting cast in all their shit when she’s not even fit for the role, bah.

[retsuyachan]

The Pokemon staff often referenced 60's, 70's, and 80's anime from when they were growing up, it's just that most of it is obscure to the western and modern audience, plus the tributes died down after OS with only rarities, up until SuMo went back into them in a big way because it's half-gag series.

(Cont) SO, yeah, Osomatsu-kun fits right in with their taste for oldies: Fist of the North Star, Devilman, (that one frog-shirt anime I think was also Showa era, but not suuure), Rose of Versailles, Aim for Ace. Ah, right, the other Showa one was Dokonji Gaeru/The Gutsy Frog!Yeah they tend to take early 90s stuff too like nintama, bakusou kyoudai etc, or even recent stuff like ping pong the animation. I don't mind it and I like searching up tidbits of nostalgia and tropes, but yeah it'll probably go over a lot of peoples' heads overseas.

[straightfacedstrangeness]

I’d assumed that this was just an Osomatsu-kun thing, but man...were these kinds of weird/cute buildings “shaped like the stuff they contain” just like A Thing in Showa(-style) series??

Too lazy to find caps right now, but I recall Osomatsu-kun having Dekapan and Iyami regularly living in houses that looked like their own faces, and there was a tutor or teacher in some 60s ep whose house was shaped like an apple...below are a school and a bakery in Machiko-sensei

[meowsaidmayaanime]

To Watch List

My personal list of anime to watch, I need to lower the number of simulcasts I watch each season because otherwise I get completely off track and end up never finishing series due to my wanting to prioritize others. A few of these are also some from Misty Chronexia’s 10 tens too So with that said, here’s a list (that’s more for myself than anyone else) of anime I want to watch in the future.

                   Orange Taboo Tattoo   New Game

Kuroshitsuji: Book of Murder

Kuroshitsuji II Specials

Kuroshitsuji Movie: Book of the Atlantic

No Game No Life Seraph of the End Selector Spread WIXOSS jyou no asuka show koyomimonogatari Yamada and the Seven Witches Usagi Drop Dantalian no shoka Bakemonogatari Monster Ergo-proxy Danganropa Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider himitsu revelation (police) paranoia agent (has police involvement) your under arrest on your mark (lighthearted police)

(comedy recommend by misty chronexia) tonari no seki-kun my bride is a mermaid cromartie high school osomatsu-san the world god only knows sket dance/gintama nichijou

(like kamisama kiss)

Kamichu! (cannot find online)

Gugure! Kokkuri-san Kamisama no memochou Inu x Boku SS nurarihon no mago       gingitsune: messenger fox of the gods onsen yousei hakone-chan

(like Shirobako) seiyuu’s life animation runner kuromi bakuman mangirl genshiken

(like sweetness and lighting) kofuku graffiti aishiteru baby honey and clover

(like 12 kingdoms) seirei no moribito saiunkoku monogatari  

(japanese history) otoki zoshi (heian) hyouge mono (sengoku) house of five leaves (edo) otome youkai zakuro (taisho) showa monogatari (showa) penguindrum (heisei)

(sports) Ace of the Diamond

(live action) hana kimi

Extra: To Read List * = manga different form the anime

*Blood Battlefront Blockade – full manga not avail online *Tokyo Ghoul FMA Haikyuu Big Windup Natsume Yuujincho *Black Butler Red Data Girl? Durarara (light novel)

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Showa Genroku 5 – 13, 15 | Classicaloid 14 | Masamune-kun’s Revenge 2 | Osomatsu-san 16

(ep 5)

You can hear the sarcasm in his (Sukeroku’s) voice, even with only subs. Actually, both Kiku and Sukeroku have their sarcastic moments.

How does the charcoal not burn the cushion?

You can clearly tell she’s got him wrapped around her little finger. Pretty ambitious, in those times.

Apparently injured legs can feel when rain is coming…that sort of thing.

In an age without phones, there’s more need for socialisation.

Basically, this is the equivalent to a high school or uni play. Low budget as ever.

Tanuki…well, they’re pranksters. Of course.

It seems pretty sexist in this day and age, but back then…welp. Let’s not complain about comparisons between some so-called “good ol’ days” and the present.

(ep 6)

“I don’t need lectures from a bum like you.” – Especially a drunk bum…

Even if it’s selfish to take something because of the thrill…I do kinda miss my days of scanlation. It’s hard to get a thrill like the one I got when I did that. Heh heh. Well, 2017’s going to be another intense year filled with Japanese, because even though I’ve shifted my education once more, I stuck Japanese in there again.

The texture on the smoking pot is quite something. Huh.

That’s a biiiiiiig cicada…

Hey, a Yotaro. Is that Daiku Shirabe Yakumo 7th’s doing?

Miyokichi says “gokigenyou”. I have enough lip reading skills to detect that, at least.

Who wrote the signs at the rakugo stage? I wonder…

(ep 7)

There always seem to be more women during Kiku’s performances.

The humour in this is a bit slapstick, but that’s why Charlie Chaplin is a household name now, right?

How many Es are in Tennessee, anyway? I never kept count…4? Okay then.

The ear picker is a sign of romance and intimacy. In Japan, anyway.

Extra “that” in the subs.

“Master Bonsai” sounds like such a cliché.

The “slice of eye” technique is just so effective. I’m lucky I’m not a film school student, or else I wouldn’t be eloquent enough.

A two futatsume show wouldn’t sell. Didn’t you say that a few episodes ago, Sukeroku?

(ep 8)

The master’s (Bonsai’s) fanning himself so much, it must be summer.

You need to win favours for a shinuchi promo…hmph. Better note that on the wiki.

Come to think of it, this was the age of letters, wasn’t it? Sukeroku’s right.

The Sukeroku and Miyokichi scene is so powerful, you can’t look away from it.

Drinks solve everything for these guys…sheesh.

Sometimes antagonising Kiku ain’t the answer, Sukeroku.

Without Sukeroku, kiku just kept clinging on to his part…huh. This part suddenly made a lot more sense, now that ep 14’s clarified Yotaro’s purpose.

The thing about this show is that it’s quite the acquired taste – you come for the humour, stay for the drama…or something along those lines. I spotted Sukeroku’s name on the very right, by the way.

(ep 9)

The dressing room is the “comfort room” in Japanese.

Of course Kiku wouldn’t be Sukeroku’s partner in crime for something like pissing the masters off…

I think it was “Edo flair”, subbers, but it was kinda hard to notice…

With those tired eyes, Kiku looks like Jean Otus (of ACCA).

These foreboding shots of light on water…hmph.

Note Amano’s got a fan that says “Japan one” literally, but whether it implies he’s number one in Japan or something else is number one in Japan is entirely up to debate.

There was a typo in the subs, but since the erroneous part was “While her husband it out…”, unless the actual word is “is”...I dunno what the correct word is.

The angles in this show are part of the personality. However, as Hand Shakers tells us, too much of a good thing can spoil it. Good thing this toes the line properly.

“Storyteller” is the appropriate equivalent for rakugoka, but “storyteller” doesn’t seem to do a story about rakugo justice. You need the jargon to make the world come alive, I feel.

You can tell Haruko Kumota used to be a BL author before from the way Sukeroku and Kiku act and react in that end scene of the ep.

(ep 10)

The cat…and the box-in technique from Erased. Letting go…is a theme in this show. Didn’t I say that already?

The kanji for “7th generation” was pretty nasty in regards to stroke count. No wonder they simplified it.

Shinigami. Of course he’d unleash that on the audience. Watching again has allowed me to really study Kiku as a person.

I wonder, are there full texts for these rakugo stories somewhere (like those books the apprentices memorise from)? I’d like to read them all someday, even if it’s just a testament to how much Japanese I’ve learnt.

In a world full of filial piety, the man really shouldn’t piss off his ancestors.

With that hat, Kiku looks like something out of Joker Game. Plus, even though the old person says “these days they have their televisions”, nowadays it’s “these days they have their phones and their internet” (in a spot of irony for me, LOL). In the end, technology will be too good for rakugo…and that’s what makes this show all the more interesting for me. Me, who wants to understand the past but still advance to the future.

For bad pun central, stop right here. The English “equivalents” to some of these Japanese puns really are kinda corny, and that’s saying something…since I’ve been looking at joke books since I was a kid.

How old is “old”, old man? If Konatsu’s calling you old, the internet is old.

(ep 11)

On the wall near Kiku are the signs “beer” and “tsukimi soba” (moon viewing soba). There’s another one past the one with a woman on it, but I can’t really make it out.

Oh, it’s the sign! Unfortunately I don’t know the second kanji, so I can’t tell you what it says.

This scene with the bag always makes me laugh. Every time, I tell you.

Konatsu’s got dango in her mouth. How do I explain dango…they’re sticky. Kinda like mochi. Never had them myself though.

I think ep 11 really shows how far Kiku’s come as a rakugoka.

(ep 12)

The word used for “inn” is ryokan. People tend to translate that as “(traditional) Japanese inn” in order to contrast with “hotel” and such.

The “chopsticks over the edge of the balcony” scene…now that I think of it, that is some heavy foreshadowing.

Is there a man who doesn’t like women? Probably.

Is it possible to make art using the spirit (behind it) alone?

Shibahama. Of course. Also, I’d never heard the term “a total lush” until this episode, I don’t think.

If only Sukeroku were like Kuma…haha. (sad tone)

I never thought about it until TV Tropes brought it up, but Miyokichi really is yandere.

When a grown man is driven to tears…you know stuff’s gone down.

Hey, there was no OP or ED on the ep now, was there?

(ep 13) [Trigger warnings: death, hell, political commentary etc..]

What is “inter[ring] the ashes”?

The world has had some horrors to get globalised like it is today…unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it.

You put an end to oral traditions by not having anyone to pass them on…that’s the scary part of this show. Also, all the boxing in looks like Yakumo’s going to hang himself, and that’s the point. Which is even scarier.

I think this show’s only gone off model once.

Enma being the king of hell.

In English, Konatsu’s words are even more deceiving in regards to her “drink”.

Yotaro does the “bwong” bit more fast and lively than Yakumo.

Such a rebellious spirit (Konatsu) wouldn’t be right, tied down by marriage.

Oh yeah…I forgot they announced the “Rakugo Association President” thing in this ep.

“Lately all we hear about is deaths…” – Basically 2016 for the wider entertainment world. (Then came Trump. Aye carumba, what is the world coming to?)

Wait, do you want to shake Yotaro or the man who impregnated Konatsu?

I wonder how the reality of the Sukeroku scene played out…maybe it demonstrates his senility, interpreted one way.

Lilies, chrysanthemums and daisies…white is the symbol of death in Japan. (The chrysanthemums are yellow but the theme is the same.)

(ep 15)

Fresh new ep…well, I’ve been keeping this one since it first rolled out to the public, so it’s not entirely fresh. However, this is as fresh as it’ll get in regards to how the simulcast commentary goes.

Urk, why must CR be so insistent with turning “Descending Stories” into the title? It’s hardly convenient.

Imawa no Shinigami…I saw the video on ANN. It’s a nice song, but hard to put on repeat because the visuals are so good.

Whoa, even I can tell how fast Yota’s motormouthing, and I’m not even listening to it!

“Fussing to the shamisen”? What’s that?

She (Konatsu) clearly mouthed “papa”, and I think that word goes across multiple languages.

Huh. There’s no identifying name on this story, and it seems so crucial. That’s why I asked for a full guide of them (like the books that you sometimes see Kiku practising out of).

You can tell what books I’ve studied and the random things I’ve picked up from the quotes I can spout at a moment’s notice. For example: “…full of sound and fury, signifying nothing…”

Amaken’s eyes are funny while he gripes about the shinuchi’s role.

Who is this glasses guy? I can’t read the kanji…

Kappore. It’s something like this, anyway.

Was that a non-language-barrier pun? (About how the story suddenly switched to being about women in Yoshiwara.)

He’s (Yotaro’s) motormouthing again…

Higuchi really is a spanner in the works for Yakumo, eh? Especially because it turns out he’s the one who begged Yakumo for work the day 7th Yakumo collapsed. Karma’s such a pain in the butt, isn’t it?

Oh no! I-If Kiku dies next ep…where will the story be? Surely, we have Yotaro/Sukeroku and the Yakumo legacy, Konatsu and Higuchi, but I’ve learnt from the SGRS discord that Kikuhiko really is the glue of this work and this fandom. Don’t let him die or else we’ll all have a real funeral service for him…(well, maybe not that extreme, but people will be in real mourning due to a fictional character…and that’s bad.)

(Classicaloid 14)

I’ve seen from all the “best of 2016 anime” posts that Classicaloid’s gotten on to a lot of critical reviewers’ lists, but looking at my top 10, it didn’t make it. (If you’re wondering, it’s currently in spot 12 and since it’s a 2016 list, it won’t move up from there.) As for 2017, it’s currently in 4th place, but it’s likely to get debunked by later anime (Inuyashiki for one, since I’ve heard about it…if I hear about its source material while it’s still a manga, then its anime has a lot of promise!).

Beethes? On love? That’s new.

A capriccio is “following one’s fancy” according to Google-sensei, while I already knew poco a poco to be “little by little”.

Not all those foods Kanae listed are Russian, right? Pirozhki I know is Russian via YoI, but stroganoff clearly is not. To confirm my suspicions, I asked Google-sensei about gazpacho and that’s Spanish.

Gorbacho…? I might need to check that one over, but Sensei has nothing on it.

Those gyoza buddies have already appeared twice in this ep (excluding the OP) and both were in Kanae’s vicinity.

The foods listed are just local specialties of the area. Okonomiyaki is quite known as an Osakan one, that’s why.

They teach kids how to make vodka in this show…that’s slightly horrifying…Please don’t try making vodka at home, kids.

The birds…are so adorable! Ahh!

“Madol” appears to be a squashing together of “mad idol”.

This is actually very enlightening. At least from Bada’s perspective.

It’s not even the usual credits. It looks like karaoke…and that’s the entire point. There’s even lyrics!

(Masamune-kun 2)

The problem with Kirito-face (Masamune) is that he keeps going over his problems day by day, as if he can’t live without focussing on his revenge. Unfortunately, that’s the point of the show. I know it can do better than that! Plus, Heike Monogatari.

BL sandwich?

Okay, I’m definitely out of here. Ew. Fanservice without any particular reasoning is the worst.

(…but why did I leave the video long enough to find out that Makabe doesn’t even look adorable when stuttering? Yet another reason to leave.)

(Osomatsu-san ep 16)

The one episode I really liked (aside from the feels-getters), aka The Mad Max Parody…I think.

Manekineko behind the interview.

Apparently, Matsuno Matsunan can be read as “Matsuno Makkusu”, but the subs never explained that now, did they?

LOL, Iyami’s too visual kei in this.

Matsu in that case meaning “end”, but…you know…Matsu of the century…

The innuendo…it’s slghtly grating the second time ‘round, but it made me laugh the first time.

Welp, from that one segment, you basically learn how to make a successful non-Gintama…well, success…in Japan.

Highly relatable, but painful due to it being relatable.

Why is the Karamatsu!Ichimatsu not a meme like the Todomatsu face?

Matsu-cest…squick. Why do people ship that?

Technically, only fans of Karamatsu are Karamatsu girls…or boys.

Why is this second face not as memeful as the first?

With a series like this, you really have to be careful that it’s funny every time…because it’s only one third as funny the second time around, at least for this episode.