Osomatsu-san is a funny little series because I'm still not sure whether it worked all that well comedically. I didn't drop it so I can say I found it entertaining, but I was never keeling over with laughter at any of its comedy. In fact, I found the shenanigans of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Hajime no Ippo- series that can have comedic undertones- to have much more hilaroty than Osomatsu-san.
So why did I watch until the end and why do I like the series so much, despite a lot of its comedy (the focal point) flying over my head? Honestly, it's because Osomatsu-san isn't so much funny as it is strange. Even as I'm writing this, I am still in awe of its strangeness because I've never seen an anime quite like it. It made me curious and was honestly a bit of a shock, but being out of my comfort zone was both a pro and a con. It felt fresh and stylistic to an extent, but at the same time it didn't feel like the "anime" I've grown to know and love...and this segways in to the elephant in the room.
The art.
It's not for everyone...the typical anime watcher, and those like myself who are not fond of Western animation might find it difficult to get used to it. It's stylistic to the point that it has barely any typically "anime" characteristics aside from the decidely more "modern" anime-esque Idol segments of the series. I'd describe it as a mish mesh between South Park, Powerpuff Girls, Family Guy and maybe Astro Boy. Original? Definitely. But originality doesn't always equal good in my books. Kudos for having the guts to make such a bold choice though, and a great way to pay tribute to the late creator of "Osomatsu-kun", which this anime is a re-imagining of.
Anyway, enough of the art.
The main characters themselves- the virginal 20-something NEETs that are the Matsuno sextuplets are what make this anime really shine. How many anime do you know that have six brothers with the same face as the protagonists? Exactly. It's great and these guys' personalities play off of each other so well. In fact, their individual personalities are so well pronounced, that it doesn't even matter that they all look the same, and that's quite an achievement. These guys are all pretty awful, conceited and lazy- but lovable jerks.
The same can't be said about the rest of the cast though, who come off as much more contrived and annoying with their clearly outdated catchphrases and skits.
I get that they're trying to pay homage to the original creation, "Osomatsu-kun" , but the age can be really felt with these mickey mouse-ish and gimmicky side characters. Iyami is one such character, who screams out "sheehhh!" everytime anything happens. And that's it. The extent of his comedy. Am I supposed to find that funny? I didn't. The main characters got an upgrade, but the side ones didn't and remain largely stuck in the Showa era of their predecessor.
See, the anime thrives when the Matsuno brothers interact with each other, or when they interact with the outside world...so when the anime steers away from that, it becomes stale and its gags don't translate well. However, most of the time the anime seems to understand that fact because what Osomatsu-san undoubtedly has is self-awareness; its fourth wall breaks are definitely entertaining...it also parodies everything which did make me laugh at times. Idol anime, Hana Yori Dango, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan and Kuroko no Basket to name a few. Nothing is safe. Not even Obama.
Sound-wise we have an all-star cast fronting the series (which is sure to draw in all the VA fanatics). Hiroshi Kamiya, Daisuke Ono, Yuuichi Nakamura, Jun Fukuyama and Takahiro Sakurai are VAs many are familiar with and they do a stellar job here. They even sing the ED songs, which are both adorable and damn catchy. The OPs are pretty standard though, being somewhat less memorable although I guess that's a matter of taste.
Overall though, I really enjoyed Osomatsu-san, even when taking into consideration its flaws. There's a charm about it that's almost infectious, and I would definitely enjoy a sequel. It's the sort of anime that - if the cards are played well- can only improve as time goes on, and if popular enough I could easily see it working well as a long-running series. The ending felt far too abrupt and I wanted more content, because the possibilities really are endless with this one.
