Dekapan (デカパン) is a recurring character in the series Osomatsu-kun.
He was one of the supporting characters created and added to the manga by Akatsuka's assistant Kenichiro Takai, when Akatsuka requested him to come up with more new cast members. His name was decided by a Shonen Sunday reader column, and means "large pants".
A counterpart also exists in the spinoff of Osomatsu-san.
Overview[]
Dekapan is often a milder, friendly old "uncle"-type, to contrast Iyami's gaudier and louder nature. But as with other characters, he can be used in many types of roles through the series, not just in a heroic sense but occasionally in a more villainous context (especially if Iyami is depicted the hero).
Personality & Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
Little if anything (aside from some crow's feet wrinkles, and the pattern/coloring of his pants) significantly changes between Dekapan's designs in -kun and -san.
He is a short, heavyset middle-aged man who always goes about in his large, striped boxers and nothing else. He is bald, with only sparse hairs at the base of his head, and has a thick black mustache and a single bucktooth sticking out of his mouth.
His boxers are able to store many different kinds of objects for whatever may be necessary, even live animals such as cats. According to Fujio Pro, his boxers are not super-dimensional, they just happen to be very wide and able to accommodate any sort of item.
In some appearances, especially early examples, he will wear regular clothing when the role calls for it. However, he is mostly seen just in the boxers.
Personality[]
Most commonly, he is a big-hearted, easy-going man who can be anything from a doctor,a millionaire, a policeman, and so on. He may strive to help out others, although he is also quite eccentric, in one example wanting the sextuplets to study and give him Chibita as a replacement for his dog that ran away.
He loves animals, and can be seen with a dog or a cat that he refers to by "Boya" ("boy"). But in some cases, he may treat his own pet better than an adoptive son, or equate the two.
When cast in darker roles such a mafia boss, he can be much colder and wicked, but still a comical character.
Speech[]
Dekapan often laughs or inserts "hoe hoe" as a general verbal tic, and tends to end his speech with "-dasu".
Relationships[]
Dekapan is often a side character with a supporting affiliation to others in a story, whether aligned in a more altruistic or villainous sense.
He is usually without a family other than his pets, and the 1988 Kodansha "Osomatsu-kun's Burst of Laughter World-zansu" claims he is entirely alone. But this is also subject to alteration for a story plot, with him occasionally serving as the father to Chibita, Hatabō, or Totoko, or being an actual uncle. However, he is once briefly shown with a young son in a Cat's Eye News story, with the son resembling a smaller version of him, save for a more pointed nose and curled hairs. There is also another child seen in The Great Stupid Detective Kogoro Hakuchi on another one-time basis.
In the 1988 Pierrot anime, he is shown with a wife on two separate occasions, with the couple once taking the place of the rich Kansai relatives in an adaptation of the original "A 50,000 Yen Allowance" story. He is also twice shown with a toddler son named Taro, who resembles him but with pink-and-white striped boxers. At other times, as with the manga, he can serve as a father or uncle-type to existing characters.
History[]
Foreign Names[]
Dekapan appears with these names in dubbing and translations of the franchise outside of Japan.
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Castilian Spanish | Gallumbos | "Underwear" |
| Korean | Mr. Big (미스터 빅) | For his large pants. |
The Korean example only applies to the dub of -kun aired in 2012, and is not applicable to the dub of -san.
Portrayals[]
Voice Acting[]
The first two sonosheets had Dekapan involved in the plots, though his voice actor (Kazuo Kumakura) would be much different than who would voice him in the 1966 series. Takuzo Kamiyama would initially provide the voice, however, 26 episodes in he was replaced by Setsuo Wakui with the overhaul of the series.
While Toru Ohira consistantly provided Dekapan's voice in the 1988 show and related media, his death in 2016 meant that the role would be assumed by a new actor (Takashi Nagasako) for Daiichi's new release of Pachislot Osomatsu-kun in the following year.
The -san counterpart is voiced by Yoji Ueda, who provides other bit parts in the show in addition to this character.
Gallery[]
Episode Appearances[]
Dekapan/Episode Appearances
Trivia[]
- The Akatsuka character known only as "Keko-tan of Hokkairo" (Hokkairo no Kekotan) is noted to have a similar bald scalp to Dekapan to the point where a reader asked in the Fujio Pro FAQ if the two were related, receiving a joking answer from "Bakabon's Papa" that the matter would have to be investigated. While Dekapan usually does not have his own children in settings, there may be an occasional family member witnessed as mentioned previously.
References[]
- ↑ Ray Chase, Twitter, Retrieved March 11, 2021.