The Sextuplets

The Sextuplets
Japanese	六つ子
Romaji	Mutsugo
Date of Birth	May 24
Blood Type	A
Status
Members	Osomatsu  (Signature Color: Red) Karamatsu  (Signature Color: Blue) Choromatsu  (Signature Color: Green) Ichimatsu  (Signature Color: Purple) Jyushimatsu  (Signature Color: Yellow) Todomatsu  (Signature Color: Pink)
Relatives	Matsuyo Matsuno (mother) Matsuzō Matsuno (father) Unnamed paternal grandparents

The Sextuplets (六むつ子ご or 6つ子 Mutsugo) created by Fujio Akatsuka, are the initial leading characters and signature troublemakers of the Osomatsu-kun and Osomatsu-san franchises. They debuted in Weekly Shonen Sunday #16 (April 15, 1962).

They are the six young sons of Matsuzou and Matsuyo Matsuno, and known for being entirely identical in appearance. Even though they have differences in their personalities, they all share a love for mischief and all long for the attention of the same neighborhood girl named (Totoko Yowai). By the third run of the manga, they are established as living in Shimo-ochiai in Shinjuku, Tokyo. However, in the 1988 anime and -san, the place they live in is named Akatsuka, after their creator. It is referred to as Akatsuka District (dai) in the 1988 show and the guidebook Osomatsu-kun's Burst of Laughter World-zansu!, while -san refers to it as Akatsuka Ward (ku).

Their family name is Matsuno and their birthday is May 24th. However, this was initially not settled in the manga at all.

In the Osomatsu-kun (Manga), 1966 TV series, 1988 series, and other related projects, they are usually set as 10 years old and are in the 5th grade.

However, in the Osomatsu-san (2015) anime, they're in their 20s (specified as "not any older than 24 or 25", fitting in with how their parents have been "married 24 years" and their birth being soon after), unemployed, and still live together, showing that they haven't grown up at all mentally. Each of them are also given more diverse personalities, image colors, and are labeled off as different breeds of "idiot".

Conception and Development

In 1962, Weekly Shonen Sunday had given the order for Fujio Akatsuka to come up with a four-chapter gag manga serial. He initially considered a concept of twins, before his wife told him the idea was too expected. He then decided that it would be loosely based off the 1950 American film "Cheaper by the Dozen", with the protagonists being twelve children, as a large number of identical children would be much more interesting for a gag manga with the thought "Wouldn't it be funny if they had the same face?".

Soon finding that it would be difficult to draw and fit twelve main characters into panels, Akatsuka decided to instead cut the number in half, and then decided to make the leads into sextuplets. This lead to the themed naming of the six brothers and the decision of the title "Osomatsu-kun".

The popularity of the first four -kun chapters quickly lead to there being more written as a regular weekly feature, and the run in Shonen Sunday lasted seven years, proving to be popular and alleviating the uncertainty that the Shonen Sunday editors had over the concept.

In early installments of the manga, the surname of the family was Yamano (山野) but consistently became Matsuno (松野) and was set as such, and other small details from early on were seen to change. Most notably, as the manga developed more through the years, the sextuplets' protagonist roles were eventually taken up by Iyami and Chibita, while the brothers were relegated to either more of a supporting role or were absent entirely. This lead to the "New Osomatsu-kun" run of the manga in Weekly Shonen King from 1972-1973 focusing on Iyami as the main character, with the sextuplets only showing up in occasional cameos.

Though the final run of the manga in Comic BomBom and TV Magazine through 1987-1990 returned some protagonist focus to the sextuplets (though depicting them even more interchangeably than before), the 1988 anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot opted to treat them as supporting cast as Akatsuka and Fujio Pro previously had.

The Osomatsu-san franchise, devised as a media-mix project years after Akatsuka's death, retools the sextuplets to be main characters once more. Instead of being schoolchildren, they are now NEETs in their 20s and trying to remain relevant in both their society and the modern anime industry.

Outside of their own manga runs, the sextuplets had also popped up in other Akatsuka works either as themselves or cast in a different sort of role. They most notably appear in the original Ribon run of Akko-chan's Got a Secret!, in cameos in Extraordinary Ataro, and in the Nyarome's Fun Classroom educational book series.

Members

Osomatsu Matsuno

The "miraculous idiot."

Osomatsu (as decided by later materials) is the oldest of the sextuplets and their often self-proclaimed leader. He is also the best fighter out of them all.

As an adult in -san, he continues to act as the self-proclaimed leader and is bull-headed and immature, but played as the more "basic" of the brothers.

In the film, a backstory is given to explain that the sextuplets attempted to divide further off in personality and archetypes starting at age 16, but that Osomatsu has barely changed from those high school years to his adulthood in being crass, lazy, and a tad lecherous.

Karamatsu Matsuno

The "cool idiot."

The second oldest. As a child, he is somewhat air-headed and impulsive, but considered a happy-go-lucky boy.

As an adult in -san, he is the cool guy wannabe who desperately wants girls to like him and think he's cool, so he pays up airs around them all the time, only to fail miserably and end up being ignored. The settings of Osomatsu-san: The Movie show that the teenage Karamatsu from age 16 to 18 was a more timid and reserved young man who had no signs of the adult one's classical narcissism, but gradually opened up.

Choromatsu Matsuno

The "reasonable idiot."

The third oldest. He is clever but selfish, and the most agile and boastful of the six. He is most often seen tagging along with Osomatsu, especially in stories where there may only be two of the sextuplets needed.

In his adulthood in -san, he fancies himself the clever and logical one of the sextuplets, and therefore, considered the most mature by their standards. However, Choromatsu still has his moments when he proves to act just as stupid as his other brothers, and he is an idol otaku for Nyaa-chan. As shown in the film, this enforcing of his superiority started in his late teens when he aimed to differentiate himself as the teacher's pet and scholarly brother. In fact, he was still overacting to compensate for the truth that he was just as slacking and lusting after girls as his leader.

Ichimatsu Matsuno

The "pitch-black idiot."

Ichimatsu's name may seem as if it'd refer to the first son, because "Ichi-" means one, but he is actually the fourth son as decided by the later placements of the boys. His name is a dual pun on the number, as well as the "ichimatsu" check pattern (which is spelled with a different kanji). As a child, he is strong-willed and is the "#1 serious" out of the six.

By the time he's become an adult in the -san incarnation, he is depicted as a melancholy, unmotivated loner who has an affinity for cats. He has a lack of social skills and difficulty in expressing himself to others, and will act out in extreme ways when his emotions are pushed to the limit. In the film, the teenage Ichimatsu appeared to have taken a more confident and popular persona from age 16 to 18, but began developing a hidden distaste and strain over having to push himself so much to be different, which is implied to have lead to the adult one's nature (and in fact, the adult Ichimatsu considers the memory of his teenage self to be highly shameful).

Jyushimatsu Matsuno

The "of-another-dimension idiot."

The fifth, second-youngest son. He is a docile boy, or talkative and noisy in later Fujio Pro descriptors, but can be taken advantage of easily for his kindness and vulnerability. His name derives from the society finch, called "Jyushimatsu" in Japanese.

As an adult in -san, his head is always in the clouds, and he's nearly always seen with a smile on his face. He's generally considered the silliest one of the brothers, to where the logic behind whatever he does is simply "He's Jyushimatsu". As a teenager, this was very much the same, though he attempted to affect a brazen and tough delinquent image when around others, only to lapse back into mindless happiness when unnoticed.

Todomatsu Matsuno

The "good-at-letting-others-pamper-him idiot."

The sixth and youngest son. He is initially described as "easily-flustered" and is touchy, but later becomes described as "carefree" but Fujio Pro also questions and states that there is no concrete evidence as to what he even is.

His adult version in -san is known for being effeminate as well as two-faced, acting sweet and innocent around strangers and sporting a cute smile as his default expression, but being manipulative and willing to insult and betray his brothers to make himself look better. As shown in the film, -san Todomatsu in his late teens was a much more pitiful crybaby and openly more affectionate and clinging to his brothers, using his position as the youngest and his slowed growth to act more like a small child than an 18-year old.

Clarification of the Brothers' Order

It is to be noted that however, Fujio Akatsuka never did directly state the birth order of the brothers, although Osomatsu's leader role and the series being named after him leads to the implication of him being eldest. The 1988 anime adaptation and subsequent official works have solidified this role for him.

The earliest indication of the current accepted birth order outside any singular manga instance can be heard in the 1988 Pierrot anime adaptation's ending theme Osomatsu Ondo, other than Jyushimatsu falling last ("Even if Todomatsu drew eyebrows on Jyushimatsu's face...").

Around 2003, Koredeiinoda officially set Todomatsu's place as the youngest, adding the phrase "todo no tsumari" ("after all"/"to summarize") in descriptions of him, and this was also reflected in the DVD release of the 1988 show. Later profiles after Akatsuka's death would then clarify Osomatsu being eldest and Todomatsu being youngest. The Fujio Pro corporate website and the pachinko game CR Osomatsu-kun also ran with the current order of the brothers , even if the game profiles did not identify their exact placements.

To this date, the revised Koredeiinoda website only directly identifies Osomatsu and Todomatsu as the respective eldest and youngest, although the production of Osomatsu-san has solidified and put emphasis on a birth order for all six.

Prior to the order that would be ultimately popularized by -san, there were many alternatives:

"Osomatsu, Ichimatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Todomatsu, Jyushimatsu" (or ending in "Jyushimatsu, Todomatsu")
The overall common order of the brothers listed off by Matsuyo in the manga and 1988. It is also used in the 1995 Takeshobo reprints that depict these children in different colored uniforms on the covers.

Even so, there are some sources which will have Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu's places swapped to their more current positions; the older versions of the Koredeiinoda website would also use that tweaked version for their role-call, switching the placements so Todomatsu would fall last (and to better match with Ichimatsu and Karamatsu's placements in the first part of the role-call, thus having Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu fall 2nd and 3rd in the later trio).

The revised order (O-I-K-C-J-T) can also be seen in the Tatsumi Comics bilingual edition as well as later Takeshobo reprints of the manga, including the title of their "Completely Osomatsu-kun" anthology which uses the revised positions for the last two brothers.

It is to be noted that there were also points within the manga where Todomatsu was placed as the last brother in some activities involving the order, or the first if working backwards, leading to question if the original listing had an oversight to begin with (he is also seen at the end in the color illustration for "Osomatsu-kun after 30 Years"). Readers may also note that it makes more sense to have Jyushimatsu fall 5th and Todomatsu be last in order to match up to Ichimatsu and Karamatsu's placements, as they are often separated off into duos with the other two as Osomatsu and Choromatsu (1st and 4th) would be.

However, the first instance of named duos teaming up in the manga and some other instances like "Sextuplets vs. the Great Gang of Japan" will instead have Ichimatsu and Todomatsu split off, along with Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu.

The 3rd run of the manga (which uses the original order in its first chapter) has a setting in which Jyushimatsu is insecure about being a sextuplet "whose name is called last", but the same situation is also used to apply to Todomatsu in another story when Osomatsu lists him last but is unable to remember his name. It is to be said that regardless of who was intended as the "youngest", there was never really any treatment like that or general rank-pulling in the group besides Osomatsu being the leader.

In Osomatsu-san: The Movie, this order becomes somewhat of the basis for the trios the sextuplets are divided off into during their second year of high school (Oso-Kara-Ichi, Choro-Jyushi-Todo). This was also at times used as the basis for dividing the boys off into trios in the 1988 show, in episodes 39 and 71.

"Osomatsu, Choromatsu, Karamatsu, Ichimatsu, Todomatsu, Jyushimatsu" (or "Jyushimatsu, Todomatsu")
A way of grouping off the boys seen at times in the early manga, bearing some close resemblance to the finalized order but some places still being different (such as Karamatsu falling third). Though the order usually ends in Jyushimatsu, there will be occasions where he and Todomatsu are swapped around.

"Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu, Choromatsu, Todomatsu"
The six are listed this way in the first opening of the 1966 anime, allegedly because this was believed to be easier for children to remember.

"Osomatsu, Todomatsu, Ichimatsu, Choromatsu, Karamatsu, Jyushimatsu"
The six are listed this way in the second opening of the 1966 anime.

"Osomatsu, Todomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu"
This order can be seen at rare early points in the manga, and in the boys' cameo in Akko-chan's Got a Secret!

A variation on this, with the last three sextuplets reversed (to be Jyushi-Ichi-Choro) is used in the first episode of the 1988 anime when Iyami attempts to rob the house.

"Osomatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Karamatsu, Todomatsu, Jyushimatsu"
The order of the boys given in the margins to various mid-1960s Weekly Shonen Sunday stories. Ichimatsu was also initially treated as the "third boy" to Osomatsu and Choromatsu in the 80s show, until Todomatsu became Megumi Hayashibara's sole sextuplet and he was the one more often written into scripts and used for her to voice.

"Osomatsu, Todomatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu"
The order of the boys given in their cameo in the Genius Bakabon chapter "It's the Chanchakachan". Though it is a quite different lineup in itself, it has its own pattern in which the last three boys are put in a reversed order to their usual combi partners: Choromatsu is the last of the line while Osomatsu is the very first, Todomatsu is the second in line while Karamatsu is second-last, and Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu both fall in the middle of the full lineup.

"Osomatsu, Choromatsu, Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu, Todomatsu, Karamatsu"
A lineup seen in the margins to the 1976 Shonen Jump revival one-shot of the series, which adds yet another possibility of an order for the brothers. Like some other orders, the boys are grouped off with their usual combi partners.

"Osomatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, Karamatsu, Todomatsu"
An order that tends to be seen in the 3rd run, most notably to the start of the TV Magazine serialization. The sextuplets are essentially put off into their combinations, one after the other, with Todomatsu falling last.

However, a Wild West story also does list the boys in this order going backwards (with Todomatsu first, to Osomatsu falling last)..

"Osomatsu, Choromatsu, Karamatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, Todomatsu"
The order of the brothers given in the 3rd run chapter "Osomatsu the Yakuza", although Osomatsu fails to remember Todomatsu's name.

"Osomatsu, Choromatsu, Todomatsu, Karamatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu"
This order is in "There are Two Extra People, and that's Just Right!?". This is a more common combi-based order that may be used at points in the 80s show as well.

A variation with Karamatsu and Todomatsu's places swapped also exists in the aforementioned anime in some instances. The prioritization of Todomatsu as third boy is also something that becomes a fixture of that version.

"Osomatsu, Jyushimatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Todomatsu, Karamatsu"
The order of the sextuplets in "Just Old Folk Tales"; Karamatsu is put last in order for him to be the punchline and shot (and nearly eaten) by Iyami.

Naming Schemes

Each brother's name ends in the 松 (matsu) kanji, meaning "pine tree, fir tree". Of the existing six brothers, two each have their names inspired by the same type of theme; likely playing into why Akatsuka often used them in couplets.

• Osomatsu and Choromatsu, the first two to receive names when devising the series, had their names seem to derive from their speed and competency; Osomatsu's name representing "poor" while Choromatsu representing a quick and rebellious child from the slang name "Choromatsu".
• Karamatsu and Todomatsu were named after trees, allegedly so kids would recognize the names in class. Karamatsu is the larch tree, while Todomatsu is the abies fir. They received their names after Akatsuka decided upon the two boys above.
• Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu's names are represented with kanji for numbers (for 1 and 14 respectively), as Akatsuka realized that many actual names derived from numbers (such as male names Ichiro, Saburo, and those in a similar fashion). They were the last two boys to have their names decided, completing the six protagonists' pattern.

In alternate settings where the brothers are living in the USA, such as Wild West-themed stories, the notation of their names is entirely in katakana to represent the names not being of Japanese origin. Each name thus ends in マツ (matsu), or マーツ with a chōonpu through it.

In merchandise more catered towards younger children, the brothers' names are entirely represented in hiragana to make them easier to read, so the "matsu" ending is put as まつ.

Their early surname Yamano is a common one meaning "wilderness", while Matsuno means "pine tree field". According to the backstory as decided by Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, their father named all six with a pine/matsu theme due to his lack of creativity about names.

Appearance

As children, their height, weight, and overall clothing styles are exactly the same. Due to this, it is virtually impossible to tell the six apart. They are best known for wearing their hair short with an initially side-swept fringe that is later depicted as more even and bowl-cut from the front. Two cowlicks (or ahoge, "idiot hair") stick up in the back. They are often seen wearing a three-buttoned uniform jacket with a white collar and gold buttons, lighter pants, and dark running shoes. In summer seasons, they tend to wear shorts and shorter-sleeved shirts. It is rare to see them in different fashion, as it is much easier for their mother to buy their clothing in bulk. The colors of these clothes may vary through manga illustrations, but it is common to see the jacket depicted blue and the pants as a lighter blue or grey. The summer uniforms are depicted with a paler blue shirt and darker shorts in the manga, but are the same color pattern as the winter uniform in the 1988 anime.

The sextuplets are initially depicted by Akatsuka with much different facial features in the first chapter; snub noses, smaller eyes, and longer mouths, as well as freckles in the early frontispieces to chapters. This design was quickly swapped out for them having cuter faces, and the boys' designs gradually evolved to the more iconic look.

Their designs were steadily re-interpreted over the run of the manga by Akatsuka and his assistants, the last and current artist to draw them being Takayoshi Minematsu (current alias: Katta Yoshi) in all later and posthumous Fujio Pro illustrations and content. An overall style evolution can also be seen in the Pierrot anime, with the designs similarly starting out closer to the manga but evolving to be more super-deformed and stylized, resulting in drastically shorter and chubbier children.

As adults in the 2015 Osomatsu-san adaptation, they will occasionally wear pastel blue jackets with two gold buttons, a white collared undershirt and black tie, as well as khakis and dress shoes. However, they are more often shown wearing hoodies sporting identical matsu pine symbols, and can also be seen in their own individual fashions on occasion. It's important to note that some of these hoodies may also bear their own differences, such as Jyushimatsu having floppy sleeves and Karamatsu rolling his sleeves up.

Their hair has also underwent some change in their adulthood, with Choromatsu no longer having any hairs sticking up in the back, Ichimatsu's hair being shaggier, and Jyushimatsu only bearing one hair sticking up in the back. The character designs also have the hair highlighted in each brother's respective theme color, and each have a different facial expression to help identify them and their personality.

Although the physical statistics for the -san versions of the sextuplets have been left unstated, the 1988 guide Burst of Laughter World-zansu by Kodansha gave these shared measurements for them as children:

• Blood type: A
• Height: 150 cm (4'11)
• Weight: 46 kg (101 lbs)
• Foot size: 22 cm (8.6 in)
• Foot length: 60 cm (23.6 in)
• Visual acuity: 2.0
• Cavities/Decayed teeth: 3 (for Osomatsu)

Image Colors

The sextuplets being color-coded is more commonly associated with Osomatsu-san due to the reliance on using the theme colors as part of the identification of each brother.

But prior to -san, the earliest instance can be seen in the original Weekly Shonen Sunday issue #27 for 1965, depicting the sextuplets in differently-colored uniform shirts (blue, teal, green, tan, and two different shades of purple) although none of them are identified.

More commonly, color-coding can be seen in late 1980s Kodansha reprints with Minematsu's art where the front covers may depict the the younger sextuplets this way, yet not necessarily specifying their identities each time. The back covers depict a line-up of colored squares with each boy's face (yellow, blue, red, green, purple, and orange), again with their identities not quite listed.

The 1995 Takeshobo reprint covers depict CGI models of the sextuplets, with only Osomatsu wearing the regular blue outfit and the five other brothers given colors to set them apart:

• Ichimatsu: Orange
• Karamatsu: Red (rendered as pink in the CGI)
• Choromatsu: Green
• Todomatsu: Yellow
• Jyushimatsu: Purple

As the -kun era sextuplets were not often set with any sort of theme colors after this, save for a 2010 Fujio Pro window illustration and the 2016 Osomatsu-san anime website's April Fools Joke (which had Todomatsu as orange, Ichimatsu as purple, Choromatsu as yellow, and Jyushimatsu as green), such an aspect is less important or consequential in aiding in their identification.

Personality

As a unit, they are mischievous and greedy young boys that can range from being in a more heroic role to more antagonistic depending on the story. They can use their identical looks to their advantage, though they often also become frustrated by being mistaken for one another and this can lead to other disadvantages of being indistinguishable.

There are some differences between each brother that are noted in Akatsuka's official settings in Shonen Sunday as well as in later Fujio Pro profiles, but they are not always the most consistent with each other or seen to be the most reflected. The most recent revision of the Fujio Pro profiles, circa 2023, now consider the sextuplets to not have any defining personalities at all throughout Osomatsu-kun; despite this being said, multiple actions and characteristics can still be observed to differentiate the six. Osomatsu has the most stable setting of the brothers, being depicted as a stingy hooligan and the leader of the group. The brothers can be more immediately differentiated by voice in the first two -kun anime adaptations, although not all of them are always name-dropped and there may be cases where some boys share an actress.

There are also occasion when the six also do not act as one unified group; in such instances, Osomatsu goes alone or against the others. Osomatsu and Choromatsu also tend to run off on their own the most, or are left behind by the other four.

The Osomatsu-san incarnations of the characters have undergone some changes in their personalities to separate them better as the main characters of the show, with their dynamic becoming more dysfunctional with their age and competing personalities and goals. Unless as a means to an end, they have no desire to work or move ahead, and those who try wind up dragged back down and back to the status quo in any circumstance.

The -san movie goes with the pretense that the sextuplets had continued to act as a unit up until age 16, when other classmates grew tired of their "weird gimmick" and began to mock and shun them for their identical appearances and behavior, which lead to the group attempting to fracture off and cultivate stronger individual identities that eventually lead to their adult selves. This lead to the start of an unstable relationship in that time, however, as some classmates remarked on how they didn't seem to get along and even the Iyami of that era points it out to the present Osomatsu and Karamatsu. Though as suggested by the climax, the adult versions' meeting with the teenage selves reinforces the ideas of progressing to such states, eg; Karamatsu reinforces the narcissistic path his 18-year old self will eventually take, and Ichimatsu encourages his younger self to cast aside his forced social persona but to also relax and laugh.

Even with the above time paradox loop implications in mind, the director Yoichi Fujita debunked the viewers' assumption that it is absolutely concrete and prefers to think of the circumstances of the sextuplets' progression to their -san states as ambiguous, pointing out that he left enough unclear as to if the "world of memories" was just a dream or taking place outside reality (as it is not a traditional "time travel" plot) and whether or not the sextuplets could truly affect things there, although some implications in the ending may lend evidence to some events in their past being changed or clarified. But Fujita also had stated that no matter what happened, the sextuplets would've become their -san selves anyway in citing Akatsuka's catchphrase of Kore de ii noda ("That's how things should be").

Relationships

The sextuplets give their parents much trouble with their trickery, between them being hard to tell apart and the acts they commit. As early as the second chapter of the manga, the others get in trouble due to Osomatsu breaking a window and all have their heads shaved in an attempt to identify them and make them commit to doing their chores.

Although Osomatsu is at times shown with a friend from school, the sextuplets tend to travel in their pack and not have individual relationships outside of it. They are often at odds with Chibita, and are either the instigators in bullying and making his life miserable in any way they can, or are his targets in trouble-making either for fun or as revenge for something they had done to him. The rivalry was more mutual earlier in the series, but as Chibita became a character that Akatsuka took more interest in developing, the setting of the bullied boy down on his luck became more favorable.

The sextuplets are also the nemeses of Iyami, who often tries to con them and has Chibita working with him as his partner in many instances. They will gang up on Iyami and attack him as retaliation for his schemes, but will also take enjoyment in bullying him anyway. The side who starts the conflict will vary depending on the story, but it is very common to see the duo of Iyami and Chibita teamed up against the brothers.

All of the brothers have feelings for Totoko, but she becomes frustrated and angered by the antics that happen when they flirt with her, when they insult or upset her by cheating, when they imply she isn't that pretty, or they dare pay attention to another girl instead of her. This leads to Totoko using her "body blow" on them, with Osomatsu usually being the recipient. In the later 1980s manga, Totoko tends to join in on some unreasonable acts and bullying the brothers make against Iyami, and her and Osomatsu run a dating scam service to get money.

The extended family of the sextuplets is relatively unknown, other than occasional references being made to there being other relatives contacted or visited. Of relatives that are seen, the rich Kansai couple in "A 50,000 Yen Allowance" claim to be distant ones of one of the parents, and desire to take one of the boys as their own son (they are distinctly different characters to the apparently-unrelated Kansai parents mentioned below).

In -san, the sextuplets are framed as continued nuisances and burdens to those around them who are none the less indispensable, with rare exceptions to that rule. As much as they may try to manipulate their way to the top, as in the case of Todomatsu, the truly worthy adults in their age group are always ahead and will use them, cementing their places at the bottom along with the brothers' own faults that stand in their way of ever truly evolving.

In such rare occasions where these older sextuplets are helpful to another person or can be tolerated and liked, such characters exist as one-shots with little to no follow through save for them re-appearing if needed in gags (eg: Jyushimatsu's would've-been girlfriend appearing as an extra on the baseball team at the end of season 1, as a dolphin trainer in "Jyushimatsu and Dolphin" where they don't know each other at all, and her as a guest at the funeral in the season 2 finale with her face hidden to viewers).

Imposters, Lookalikes, and Extras

Through the manga itself and not counting any outside uses of the "star system", there are instances where the amount of children may temporarily increase due to assorted gag circumstances.

In Osomatsu-kun

• Ponta (7): A tanuki appearing in the fourth chapter, who takes on the appearance of Osomatsu. He and his father make trouble for the family in the fifth chapter as well, until they are driven away.
• Sextuplet Dolls (12): Six life-size dolls of the sextuplets created by a scientist. In the 1988 anime, the story is loosely adapted with Iyami instead creating six more drone-minded clones of the brothers to do his bidding.
• "Mechamatsu" (7): An unnamed robotic duplicate of Osomatsu, created by Iyami to cause trouble.
• Gonvader and Jinvader (8): Two aliens out of a group sent to spy on Earth. After Osomatsu and Choromatsu are kidnapped by their superiors, they are transformed into duplicates of the boys and attempt to infiltrate the family to study Earth culture. Their disguises are not entirely stable, and can be easily deformed by their alien habits of stretching.
• The Osomatsu and Choromatsu twins (8): A pair of boys that suddenly appear at the Matsuno house, claiming that they're Osomatsu and Choromatsu but speaking in Kansai dialect. They are later revealed to be the sons of a couple identical to Matsuyo and Matsuzo.
• "Usomatsu" (7): A fugitive that takes on the appearance of the sextuplets, due to a machine created by Dr. Dekapan. The Osomatsu from Kansai is also identified by this name as a joke in the frontispiece of the above story.
• Mutsumatsu: A giant child, created as a fusion of the sextuplets. He is super-strong and destructive, but reckless, which leads to him exploding and forcibly defusing after he accidentally steps on the synthesis machine.
• Minematsu, Basuomatsu, Uematsu, Chumonmatsu, Henjimatsu, and an unnamed brother (12): Six extra children created as an ending gag in the "Mutsumatsu" story, when the fusion of the original sextuplets is split apart after the destruction of the machine that created him. Basuomatsu's name is a pun on "Wait for the bus!" (バスを待つ basu o matsu), Chumonmatsu's name is a pun on "Wait for an order!" (注文待つ chumon matsu), and Henjimatsu's name is a pun on "Wait for an answer!" (返事待つ henji matsu). Minematsu is named after Takayoshi Minematsu, as he had been drawing the manga at this point.

In additional to these intentional examples, there are occasions in the early Weekly Shonen Sunday manga when Akatsuka and assistants would accidentally have seven brothers drawn and inked into a panel (comparable to instances of Disney's Donald Duck being drawn with four nephews in his comics). This sort of error also occurs a number of times in the 1966 anime adaptation by Children's Corner and Studio Zero, and even at times in the Studio Pierrot anime. See also: Illusion of a 7th Person.

It is possible that such a mistake may have been part of the inspiration behind the Kamimatsu Matsuno character in Osomatsu-san, mentioned below.

In Osomatsu-san

• Kamimatsu (7): A seventh brother, created from the cast-off goodness that fell off each time a Matsuno committed a bad act. Committing more bad acts only makes him stronger and able to power-up, becoming taller and more successful. In a sense, it can be said he is something of a "villain" because his presence rubs the sextuplets' inadequacies or failures in their faces, or tries to give them an easy way out to their own problems that they won't quite take. He is ultimately killed by Akumatsu, but is re-used for the baseball team in episode 25 (upon where he is killed again by the aliens). Both Kamimatsu's basic and powered forms are shown among a crowd of reject sextuplets in episode 13 of season 2. Kamimatsu is voiced by Kenji Nojima.
• Akumatsu (8): An eighth "brother" in a sense, who emerged as darkness from the unconscious bodies of the sextuplets after they fell into despair from seeing Kamimatsu go on a date with Totoko. He wipes out Kamimatsu in one great hit, and tells the sextuplets they may call on him when in need. However, this usage is retired after, and Akumatsu is only seen once more as a rejected sextuplet in the same crowd as the two types of Kamimatsu. He is only ever seen as a giant mass of shadow, or a much smaller mass in the second case. Though the Crunchyroll subs go with the more literal "Evil Matsu", his name is both a pun on "evil" (Aku) as well as "demon" (Akuma). Akumatsu is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita.
• Michaelmatsu/Mykomatsu: A temporary replacement for Todomatsu, taken in by the family when they decided to get rid of the youngest for allegedly not fitting the show's image. He is a large, muscular American baseball player who is super-strong and loud. In the end, he is called away to Florida due to a "message from God", and became sick of the Japanese food. He is later shown among the retired/banished characters in "Osomatsu-san in Hell", and helps fight demons to let the sextuplets escape.
• Bootleg Matsus: Various unusual not-quite sextuplets seen in episode 13 on a "Matsuno Family Secondary Team" training field. Many do not resemble them at all beyond having dark hair and hoodies, although some appear to be fusions between some of the brothers and then there are some downright odd mutations (a tiny, egg-shaped sextuplet being one).
• Sanematsu (7): The protagonist of "Sanematsu-san" gets his chance to be a septuplet when he is seemingly transported to their world, wearing a brown-and-white raglan hoodie (to go along with the others' raglan hoodies). However, the sextuplets realize that things aren't normal and that he doesn't belong there, and it's revealed to a be a fantasy of a fatally-injured Sanematsu, who experienced a car wreck. The sextuplets later meet up with Sanematsu in Hell, where he uses his car to plow down demons.
• Perfectmatsu: "Permatsu" for short, a fusion of the sextuplets created when they fused together in a fight for toilet paper on the island. He is a muscular yet deformed man with a large bowl-cut hairstyle, and clad only in a rainbow hoodie and underwear.
• Nanmaiders: A group of aliens who took on the appearances of the sextuplets in an attempt to slowly take over the world, they tricked the sextuplet's parents into thinking their sons finally got jobs. Their true forms can only be seen through a special pair of glasses whilst the "Nanmaider Wave" is in effect - their original appearances have curved triangular-shaped faces with two round ears protruding out the towards the top of their heads and no hair. A majority of them only have one tooth which can be found at either the center top or bottom of their mouth. They also come in a variety of different colors. They are adaptations of the invaders from the manga, and replace all the boys instead of just Osomatsu and Choromatsu.

Even -san is not free of extra brothers created by animation errors, as two more Matsunos can be erroneously seen hanging out in the background in "Pachinko Police" when Todomatsu is being interrogated by Ichimatsu and Choromatsu.

"The 18 Sextuplets" (Osomatsu-season 3)

The premiere of season 3 introduced a new, rather special case of "Extra sextuplet members" as Iyami and director Fujita underwent orders from the production committee (represented by speaking monoliths with sushi) to replace the brothers with new people in order to bring about a more appropriate, conventional anime that would fit in with the rest of its competitors and comply with standards for the Reiwa era. The brothers' voice actors (save for the conspicuously missing Miyu Irino) even got in on the act to see their characters off.

In the plot, there were three batches of new sextuplets collectively all referred to as "The 18 Sextuplets" (likely a jab on the name for the fan-popular high school versions from Osomatsu-san: The Movie) introduced to replace the Matsuno brothers, with the first one being the most prominent:

• "The New Sextuplets", consisting of New Osomatsu (Voiced by Natsuki Hanae), New Karamatsu (Voiced by Kaito Ishikawa), New Choromatsu (Voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki), New Ichimatsu (Voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka), New Jyushimatsu (Voiced by Yuma Uchida), and New Todomatsu (Voiced by Ayumu Murase). These six young men are drawn taller and more conventionally attractive in keeping to a modern, bishonen anime style yet are nowhere near as tall and stylized as F6 are. They retain their usual dark hair, eyes, and the "Matsu" hoodies though New Ichimatsu lacks his messy hair. They are all voiced by more modern popular anime actors, and have respectful, nice attitudes to their family and help out around the home. After their defeat by the Giant Poop however, the six are discovered to have been possessing cocaine and are arrested in an idol scandal, ending their career. Totoko is angered by this development, as she preferred these versions and doesn't like having to see the usual brothers again.
• "Global Matsu", a group of six men from around the world that all bear sextuplet-styled faces. They are brought in to address the concerns of anime needing a global balance, adding a more multicultural spin on the idea of men with identical faces. They are defeated by the Giant Poop, but their arrest and dismissal are not depicted on-screen. They do not have any individual lines, but the actor Kentaro Tone is credited for providing any voices heard from the group.
• "Gender Matsu", a group of identical sextuplet sisters that are brought in to bring more of a gender balance to the show with its lack of regular female characters (besides Matsuyo and Totoko). While they wear the usual Matsu emblem hoodies and have the same theme colors, each sister differentiates herself by hairstyle and the rest of her fashion. As with the Global Matsu group, their arrest and outcome is not depicted and their sparse vocals are provided by Yoko Hikasa.

As part of their appeal to the Giant Poop, the three groups offer the usual sextuplets the chance to all work together in harmony as "24 Sextuplets" but are swiftly rejected.

The New Sextuplets later make a surprise return in episode 24, where the gags that unfold result in the appearance of a New F6, a New New Osomatsu that is summoned to replace the failed New Osomatsu, the group called "The New Osomatsu 5" that both hailed from (consisting of three more copies besides them), and a New Osomatsu Boss that is a giant version of his subordinates. When the dust clears from the battle, Osomatsu refers to the glowing New Osomatsu standing aside him as "The Ultimate Osomatsu", providing yet another variant.

Usage in the Star System

As characters from one of Akatsuka's prominent titles, the sextuplets have made guest appearances in other works. They are either used as a group playing themselves or similar roles, or only Osomatsu is used as himself or a cameo to represent the series. There are also occasions where only a few brothers may make an appearance, to save on having to draw all six. They may either be depicted in a more harmless light, or as bullies and troublemakers as much as they are in their own series (and to the extent of being henchmen for enemy characters).

The basic "Matsuno" child design, itself an evolution of Akatsuka's generic boy protagonist design, can be seen in a few other protagonist characters whose titles were serialized through the early-mid 1960s; Chota in Leave it to Chota, and $-chan in $-chan and Chibita. The design of Matsuyo can also be seen in those protagonists' mothers, due to her being based from Akatsuka's own mother Riyo.

Please note, some of these cameos may possibly be considered even more bizarre or shocking than what you may seen in their own series, as Akatsuka was not opposed to using his Stars for multiple genres and demographics. While some guest appearances may be innocuous, others may sometimes give the idea of a "ruined image" for a character if they are shown doing or saying something unexpected. Descriptions may also be pushing the boundaries of FANDOM rules and what they consider good taste, so read with caution.

Manga

Akko-chan's Got a Secret!

(ひみつのアッコちゃん Himitsu no Akko-chan)

The Matsuno brothers are initially re-used in a sense for the young boy Boku, who shows up in the third chapter of the series. Boku has the facial features of the early sextuplets from the first two -kun chapters, and is a much younger, smaller trouble-making young boy who gives Akko a hard time when she has to babysit him.

Kankichi winds up serving as a recurring younger counterpart for the characters, appearing in the following chapter and being played off as a more vulnerable and put-upon child in comparison to them as the series goes on. His mother is drawn to resemble a chubbier, curlier-haired Matsuyo-type design, and the initial appearance of his father has him as a slimmer Matsuzo with a snubbed nose and Chaplin-like mustache.

The sextuplets themselves appear in the summer 1963 "Kankichi and Ghosts", bullying the child after he steps on a sunbathing Osomatsu and refuses to apologize. After they steal his inner tube, they order him to come to a run-down house to retrieve it. Kankichi forfeits the idea out of fear, while Akko uses her mirror to transform into him to travel there in his place and give the sextuplets payback (using her mirror to create more pranks to scare them). The next day, the sextuplets apologize to Kankichi and are in awe at how brave he was to come, but Kankichi only looks confused.

They next cameo in "The Salesman's Goddess", when Akko, Moko, and Kankichi stop at another house to see if Matsuyo is interested in the salesman's products. The group quickly depart when they see how many children she has, after an attempt to pose as the salesman's starving children only has Matsuyo mention that her own children are often hungry.

Songo-kun

(そんごくん)

The sextuplets appear in a somewhat fourth wall-breaking cameo, where they are seen among numerous henchmen in a strange room that the Old Man of the Pants (Dekapan) wanders into during an encounter with the current enemy.

They appear in a more prominent role in the two-part 1992 remake, depicted as enemies for Songo and San-chan to fight.

Ken-chan

(ケンちゃん)

Osomatsu appears in some later strips of the series, attempting to act as some trickster "older brother"-type figure to the title character but winding up foolish in some ventures. However, he does manage to pull a prank on Chikako in the final strip.

Gyahaha, the Three Musketeers!

(ギャハハ三銃士)

The brothers show up as a group of ninja thieves, who display the ability to create numerous shadow clones of themselves.

Great Car Race of the Century: Sanzan Iyami Strategy

(世紀の珍自動車大レース・さんざんイヤミ作戦)

Three of the sextuplets are shown to compete in a race, but their own car winds up malfunctioning after a while. This story was adapted into a 1966 anime skit, and their car appears in the show's opening sequence, but the story did not make it into tankobon reprints of the -kun series.

Extraordinary Ataro

(もーれつア太郎 Moretsu Ataro)

An early story involves Ataro and Batsugoro meeting the sextuplets, who help them foil a bank robbery. Though they are portrayed in a more heroic alignment in that instance, their cameos in the later crossover stories "Extraordinary Castle" and "The Time of Ishimatsu Mori" depict them in the bit roles of henchmen.

The Monkey's Foolish Guardman

(サルばかガードマン Sarubaka Gadoman)

At one point, the monkey Prince Saruman and his guards (A-suke, B-suke, and C-suke) stop outside the Matsuno home and see the kadomatsu decoration they have outside. Upon seeing Osomatsu, they guess "You must be Osomatsu (poor)", causing three other brothers to laugh and make fun of him.

The Genius Bakabon

(天才バカボン Tensai Bakabon)

Five of the sextuplets are briefly seen drawn in a parody of the Osomatsu-kun manga, titled "Usomatsu-kun". However, all six then appear with their parents in the chapter "It's the Chanchakachan".

Osomatsu himself later cameos during the 1980s revivals, due to having had his own series rebooted around the same time. His final appearance has him, another brother, Chibita, and Hatabo develop cavities from when they eat chocolate given to them by a chocolate-themed kaiju.

Let's La Gon

(レッツラゴン)

Only Osomatsu cameos early on in the title, as Gon's dead brother Osomatsu. He is depicted in a family photo as well as having his death recounted by Gon's father (who was responsible for locking him in a cage with a tiger). Although he is not a sextuplet, he still winds up being the eldest of six brothers.

Seven Matsuno brothers(!) are later depicted as illustrations in a letter by Akatsuka in a chapter.

Wanpei and Mo-chan

(ワンペイモウちゃん)

One chapter involves the two titular animal characters spying in on either Totoko or Akko interacting with five of the sextuplets at their home.

Unkor Wat

(ウンコールワット)

In this highly scatological Shonen Jump gag feature of 1974, the Unkor Wat versions of the Matsuno family are depicted in the "Kusomatsu-kun" story, as well as seen towards the end. The law in the city requires all its inhabitants to wear their feces upon their heads when going outside, and the sextuplets' mother orders them to defecate each morning to get ready.

In this setting, the boys are named Kusomatsu, Birimatsu, Funmatsu, Kusamatsu, Tarematsu, and Hirimatsu. Though identical, the six are shown to have different types of stool; Kusamatsu (Choromatsu)'s being the smelliest (kusai) enough to be mocked by his brothers over it, while Birimatsu (Ichimatsu) can only produce puddles of diarrhea unfit for wearing as a hat. This leads to him having to wear his dad's heavy, oversized piles of feces, and winding up dizzy and uncomfortable when walking about.

The boys bully a counterpart of Chibita known as Bichida (for his diarrhea habit), only to have their fecal hats destroyed by him and wind up in danger of punishment. They are assisted by the King Dekafun (Dekapan), who gives them golden feces to wear.

By the end of the story, Unkor Wat is destroyed by a volcanic explosion after warning signs of a foul gas (effectively diarrhea), wiping it and its inhabitants out.

Nyarome's Fun Classroom (Learning Book series)

The sextuplets appear in various gags throughout the series, with either all six of them present or just one or a few. However, they are absent from Mathematic Classroom and Cosmology Classroom.

Biology

(ニャロメのおもしろ生命科学教室)

Bakabon's Papa opts to test out the theory of divergent evolution on the brothers by tying their hands together and having them fight to eat a cake. The four strongest sextuplets manage to finish it, leaving the remaining two to be subjected to a plate of croquettes and a plate of cabbage, the final food saved for the weakest sextuplet who could not get to the first plate or the croquettes. In the end, the four sextuplets that kept eating cakes served to them are left with rotting teeth, the sextuplet that ate cabbage is mutating into a rabbit, and the sextuplet that ate croquettes has become obese and with acne. Which sextuplet winds up with which fate is never quite specified through name-dropping or captions.

Another column shows how identical siblings can grow up differently due to outside influences, with Osomatsu, Karamatsu, and Todomatsu being the subjects in question. Osomatsu hanging around delinquents causes him to become a hitman, Karamatsu growing up in an average way results in him becoming a salaryman, and Todomatsu having an effeminate gay male friend results in him becoming a cross-dresser (although the pejorative word used for such, ok*ma, can sometimes also be used for transgender women that identify that way as well).

The first lesson mentioned above about evolution was remade from the sixth chapter of the "Nyarome's Laboratory" series that ran in Cosmo Comic, and other content from the series also became re-purposed for both this book and the Cosmology-themed one. The lesson about influences on puberty was newly-created for the book.

Computer Exploration

(ニャロメのおもしろコンピュータ探検)

Only Osomatsu shows up in this book, although it technically could be suggested to be any of the sextuplets, as Iyami takes him for a ride in his car in a chapter and the two learn about computers.

Fun Exploration of the Body's Mysteries

(ニャロメのおもしろ体の不思議探検)

The sextuplets show up in some cameos through the book, particularly riding a horse in chapter 1 and then later on when Bakabon's Papa briefly covers the topic of human sexuality and childbirth. They appear to greet the audience and Papa, introducing themselves as the sextuplets, when it's mentioned how multiple children can come from a birth.

By the final chapter of the book, a most disturbing affliction affects the sextuplets when Dayon arrives to teach class at his school; Four boys are shown present in class, suffering from a hyper-aging disease that has caused them to become increasingly wrinkled and graying, and are on the verge of death. Though Osomatsu agonizes and pleads for a cure, not wanting to die, he and his brothers are not seen among the cast members with Nyarome that go out to outer space at the end and that have either been cured of their own diseases or that have evolved into something greater.

In the aforementioned sequence, though four are initially shown, Dayon only ever name-drops three of them to give the readers some sense of identity; aside from Osomatsu, Todomatsu and Jyushimatsu are present and accounted for.

Sexual Education

(ニャロメのおもしろ性教室)

The Matsunos gain much more recurring parts throughout this entire educational book when compared to previous screentime in the series, with Osomatsu getting somewhat of a small story and character arc through the lessons (in being the default boy of the group and title character of this own series).

In his first appearance in chapter 2, Osomatsu is seen as a mischievous and somewhat crude friend of Bakabon who's getting more into girls and has a crush on Akko-chan, to the aggravation of Chibita who has tried to doggedly pursue Akko but keeps getting called "perverted" or angering her with his refusal to take a hint. However, in chapter 3, Osomatsu then comes to Nyarome in a panic about having woken up with a sudden problem with his crotch, as Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu are there to hear about some of the issue. Nyarome educates Osomatsu on how to resolve the "problem", in a most unorthodox way involving a tree in their yard. Akko is later shown dropping by to visit the sextuplets, only to become horrified by witnessing Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu pleasuring themselves (though this is not directly shown to readers, but seen by Akko through their window). Unagi-Inu then states to her that out of the six, Todomatsu does it "the most" but lets Akko know that girls even do it as well.

In chapter 5, Bakabon wants to come get Osomatsu and Todomatsu to ask and talk more about girls, but encounters the other five non-Osomatsu sextuplets in a fight over such a thing. Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu become aggravated about being mistaken for their brother, who then enters the fray to talk about the feelings he's been developing over women. Osomatsu and Bakabon learn more about the history of relationships, but the former finds he's still not able to fully contain the strange feelings that bother his body.

Through the next few chapters, Osomatsu is shown as a minor character continuing to learn more about love and sex, including the existence of gay relationships as well as BDSM and sexually transmitted diseases.

By chapter 9, the sextuplets' birth and the hardships Matsuyo and Matsuzo have had in raising them are detailed in a chapter about reproduction, where Matsuyo becomes angered at Matsuzo's suggestion that they should have aborted some of the embryos. It still cannot be denied that raising so many children can be a burden, so Nyarome informs Osomatsu, Bakabon, and Akko more about contraceptive devices and other ways to prevent having unwanted babies.

In the final chapter of the book, Osomatsu (as well as an unidentified brother shown briefly) continues to learn more about the future of human sexuality, even getting to awkwardly witness the existence of love dolls and sex robots. Ultimately, he and Akko appear to get together, figuring what they've learned has helped them out.

Nyarome's Big Blood Type Studies

(ニャロメの血液型大研究)

In this book published outside the original "Fun Classroom" line, Osomatsu and some of his brothers are lectured on how different blood types can affect one's personality. When at home after hearing the lesson on blood, the six realize that although they all share the A blood type, their personalities are different; Choromatsu is an energetic boy, while Jyushimatsu is modest.

The boys continue to appear through the book's chapters, although not usually name-dropped, leading readers to guess who may be who (it can be figured Osomatsu is usually the only one by default). As with the other Nyarome learning books, Akko is essentially treated as the same figure as Totoko for the boys and they are shown to have feelings for her.

Basho Matsuo

(松尾芭蕉)

Osomatsu is shown as one of a few children playing on a beach that Icha Kobayashi winds up on.

Japan Laughter Story

(にっぽん笑来ばなし)

Three of the brothers, along with their father, are shown to be part of a police force unit in a chapter.

Reading Dai-sensei

(「大先生」を読む)

Three of the sextuplets are shown in an Olympics scenario involving most of the -kun cast and some other Akatsuka characters (including Akko-chan).

Hana-chan Sleeps

(花ちゃん寝る)

In this adult series from the 80s, two of the Matsunos are shown as guests in the 7th chapter and depicted as young adult men in their 20s. They are never name-dropped throughout the story, leading to guesses and theories over who they might be (although they do identify themselves as being part of the sextuplets).

Unlike the -kun series, one brother notably refers to the other as an older one/"nii-san" moniker. In the plot, the brothers trade off at a love hotel after meeting Hana-chan at a bar, but one becomes nervous during his time with her and the other attempts to rush in to trade out. The Hana-chan sisters (themselves twins) realize that they hadn't bargained for something like sextuplets, as their own ruse revolves around one sister acting as the "Mama" at the bar who arranges for meetings and then the other sister takes over at the love hotel.

Where are these Famous Characters Now!?

(あの有名キャラクターはいま!?,)

After Chibita wonders what happened to the rest of the -kun cast, it is revealed that all the brothers (plus their parents) died on March 6, 1970, from eating poorly-made fugu.

MR. Masashi

(MR・マサシ)

Osomatsu briefly cameos in a crowd in the first chapter, looking concerned as a news broadcast states that the National Assembly has decided that adulthood starts at the age of 10.

The Cat House Owner

(ネコの大家さん)

Osomatsu is shown chasing after Bakabon at a gathering, seeming hungry for the ramen that the other boy is eating.

The Collapse of the Sheeh! Religion

(シェー教の崩壊)

The Matsunos become part of Iyami's Sheetian cult (a parody of the Satian offshoot of Aum Shinrikyo), and are made to collect ransom for their leader. However, the six wind up getting into a fight with Chibita and decide to take his oden as the payment. Their feud is interrupted by a middle-aged man named Yoshio (Kaoru-chan from The Genius Bakabon) who asks them what they know about a man's love. Choromatsu winds up being curious and going forth, and the two wind up making out with one another to the shock of all the rest.

Choromatsu then attempts to defect from the group to go off with Yoshio, but whether by intent or art error, the all boys are shown shortly thereafter beating up others who attempt to stop their mission.

In the end, Osomatsu is shown to give Iyami the choice between eating a white karinto or dark karinto, warning him that one is filled with "karin" poison and will kill him. Iyami, against Osomatsu's pleading, eats the white karinto without thought and belatedly realizes that it must be the poisoned one. The man performs one last "Sheeh!" and dies, marking the end of his religious cult.

New Years

(お正月ざんす)

A few of the sextuplets and the rest of the -kun cast show up in this newspaper comic, when Iyami attempts to send himself overseas.

Anime

Extraordinary Ataro (1969)

This adaptation depicts the brothers at least twice, with the six first appearing in an Edo-era flashback in episode 48. Masako Nozawa voiced the other five brothers as a unit, while Sachiko Chijimatsu voiced Osomatsu. They later show up as passengers on a hijacked flight to Hong Kong in episode 74, while their parents are shown to be waiting at the airport in concern for their safety.

Osomatsu himself makes a solo cameo in a dream sequence in episode 69 as well, depicted as a guest at Nyarome's wedding.

We are Manga-ka: The Tokiwa-so Story

The sextuplets show up in a brief cameo, playing battledore outside the Tokiwa manor. They are voiced as a group by Keiko Yamamoto and Kazuko Sugiyama, who played various other roles in the special.

Nyarome's Fun Mathematics Classroom

The sextuplets are among many Akatsuka characters that appear in this three-part special, along with being in the opening theme "I'm Not Afraid of Math". The special has not yet received rebroadcast or home video, however, and can only be viewed at the Yokohama Broadcasting Library.

Fujio Akatsuka Theater (short)

Osomatsu appears among other Akatsuka characters in this silent 2009 short done for a memorial exhibition. The animation was handled by Studio Pierrot, and had the characters depicted in a monochrome "pencil test" style.

Story Settings and Roles in Osomatsu-kun

Depending on the needs of a story, the boys may be depicted much differently in personality or overall setting down to the time period and world they inhabit. This also applies to some episodes of the anime adaptations.

Sometimes, the sextuplets may also be their usual selves but still wind up involved in playing certain roles for the events that unfold in a plot.

Edo Sextuplets

Appearing in (manga): The Morning Game of Dekapan Castle, Iyami Sazen Will Kill You, The Chushingura of Edo Castle, The Seat of Shigetaro Iyami, Iyami Alone in the Wind, Dekapan's Criminal Affairs Journey

Appearing in (1988): episodes 35, 39, 84, Iyami Alone in the Wind (OVA)

The sextuplets living in the Edo era. They may either have their usual hair styles, or may instead have their hair cut into the signature chonmage style of the period (shaved scalps with topknots).

Usually when it comes to their appearances in the -kun manga, their hair and overall appearances will stay recognizable, but one of the two Extraordinary Ataro crossovers related to the time period does depict them with chonmage cuts. All boys with the exception of Todomatsu are also shown to wear the style in episode 84 of the 1988 show, due to the Mito Komon parody and the roles that they played.

Gangster Sextuplets

Appearing in (manga):The Killer Omega Joe

Appearing in (1988): episodes 46, 59

Sextuplets belonging to organized crime. They tend to dress in fancy mob suits and hats, and may even bear scarred faces (in the case of the manga). They are usually low-level mooks belonging to Iyami and/or Dekapan, and can get taken out easily.

Wild West Sextuplets

Appearing in (manga): Osomatsu Western Oden Duel, When the Sun Sets in the Wild West, The Confrontation of Iyami vs. Dayōn in the Wild West, Sheriff Chibita Was a Brave Man, The Rookie Gunman

Appearing in (1988): episode 22

Another common alternate setting. These sextuplets are usually villains to Chibita, or even in their first appearance may be the protagonists but still wind up set in the bad guy role when it comes to Chibita triumphing over them. They tend to wear cowboy hats and clothes typical of a Western cowboy film.

Pirate Sextuplets

Appearing in (manga): Parody Version of Treasure Island (only Osomatsu appears), Captain Mom

Appearing in (1988): episode 37

Sextuplets that operate on a pirate ship. In the manga, Osomatsu is the only one featured in the first story, and he and his father are set as an ordinary father and son that decide to travel to find treasure. The second story has all the boys featured, though Osomatsu and Choromatsu have the main roles in the plot.

Soldier Sextuplets

Appearing in (manga): Attack! The Wild Cat Strategy, The Iyami Platoon Strikes

The sextuplets may either act in the roles of soldiers as convenience for a plot, such as in the first story, or they may be already set as soldiers in a war.

Ninja Sextuplets

Appearing in (manga): The Garden Guard Sextuplets, Gyahaha, the Three Musketeers! (Osomatsu-kun x Q-taro the Ghost x Black Group crossover), Our Rooms are Cool (one sextuplet acts as one)

Appearing in (1988): episode 30, Bakabon and Osomatsu: The 3000 Mile Quest for Curry

The sextuplets will either take up the role of ninjas as a form of costume play in a plot, or will naturally be set as ninja mooks (as in the crossover tale and the OVA).

Scientist Sextuplets

Appearing in (manga): Osomatsu-kun after 30 Years, 00183 Is the Number of Murder

Appearing in (1988): episode 75

Sextuplets working as scientists. In the first instance and the 1988 anime, they are portrayed as clear adults, while the second manga example has them still appearing as young boys.

Racing Sextuplets

Appearing in (manga): Sanzan Iyami Strategy (unreprinted), We are Grand Prix Racers!

Appearing in (1988): episode 43

Sextuplets that take part in a race, usually losing or winding up in a dysfunctional situation all the same.

Adult Sextuplets

Appearing in (manga): Osomatsu-kun after 30 Years, Osomatsu-kun after 20 Years (unreprinted), Osomatsu-kun after 40 Years, Osomatsu-kun Grows Up (beer ad)

Appearing in (1988): episode 75. It can also be argued that some other episodes may portray the sextuplets as young adults (eg: them being boxing newscasters in episode 70, and as gangsters)

Sextuplets (pre-Osomatsu-san adaptation) that are significantly older than their usual 10-year old setting. They usually bear clear differences in their appearances by this time, with some being bald, having glasses, or other design motifs to set them apart. However, two unnamed and identical brothers do appear in a chapter of the manga Hana-chan Sleeps; there is no way to distinguish them, other than one brother being more confident and the other more timid.

Derivative Roles of the Sextuplets in Osomatsu-san

As part of the more blatant skit-show treatment in -san, the sextuplets will often take up other roles besides their usual NEET selves. Though sometimes they may look more like themselves, art shifts or entire costume or bodily changes may take place as needed.

Although each may be described as a parallel world or situation to the skits of the usual sextuplets, they are to not be seen as literal alternate universes but that of the sextuplets acting out different types of skits and dressing up. However, this treatment is shaken up a bit when F6 are depicted as separate but "retired" characters in "Osomatsu-san in Hell".

This section also covers different mutations of the sextuplets that can be seen in-story, such as the wildly different versions of sextuplets in the season premieres (F6, "A Year and a Half Later", "Proper Matsus", and the "Poop-Matsus").

There may also be further roles of sextuplets in the show not described here, but that are limited to characters' solo outings and that only may involve side cast members (such as the "UMA Expedition Team" mini skit series, "President Dekapan", etc.). You may see the sextuplets' individual pages for more information about specific roles and variations.

F6

Appearing in: season 1 episode 1 (banned), 3.5, 11, 16, 18, season 2 episode 25, season 3 episode 10, 24

Six tall, modern anime-styled young men who are incredibly handsome and muscular. They are idealized versions of the sextuplets who are initially set as high schoolers, but later come to be used in more adult situations. The F6 versions all have color-coded hair to easily differentiate them.

Although the skits would seem to take place in a different "universe", the banned episode 1 shows them to be a fantasy and costume play acted out by the sextuplets and other characters while still in their -kun style. In episode 18, Choromatsu and Ichimatsu are shown to directly transform into F6 mode in an attempt to impress Totoko. But as mentioned before, the six are later shown as separate entities when in Hell, and help the regular-styled Matsus escape.

The F6 sextuplets unexpectedly make a comeback in "ZANSU" as competitors in the tournament who proceed to win it due to their amazing competence. They are then seen as outright separate characters again in the penultimate episode, where they are used by Osomatsu as a summon vs. a "New F6" (who look the same aside from their faces being patterned more after the New Sextuplets).

Virgin Heroes

Appearing in: season 1 episode 3.5 (formerly episode 5A)

A sentai team composed of Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Todomatsu. They exist to bother normal successful people out of their own jealousy and inability to advance from being Virgin NEETS. Ichimatsu is shown to have two further forms within the skit as well; Ichigeruge, a giant slug (with a zipper on the back of his suit) after his jealousy gets the better of him, and then the "Virgin God", a purple-skinned floating being who has become enlightened.

The next skit meant to chronologically fall afterwards, "It's a Birthday Party, da jo", shows the Virgin Hero suits being hung out to dry after the plot. Due to the re-arrangement of the skits, this is now merely a separate nod to its existence.

Detectives ("The Calming Detective Osomatsu")

Appearing in: season 1 episode 8, episode 17 (Todomatsu and Ichimatsu), season 3 episode 10 (The Calming Detective himself)

In this setting, the sextuplets are unrelated and play the different parts of an investigation team although there sometimes can be differences; Ichimatsu is a suspicious figure believed to be a killer in the first instance, while a detective in the second. Todomatsu's detective appearance is also re-used for him being an office boss in the "New Employee Totoko" skit in season 2.

Calming Detective Osomatsu, in the initial guise of a villager, appears in "Werewolf" and throws the entire werewolf investigation off track but brings much happiness and peace to the villagers and werewolves (which in turn sets up the humans to be eaten after he leaves). The skit itself is a rehashed version of the original "Calming Detective" scenario with some differences, although Karamatsu is still the dead victim whose murder winds up ignored. In this case, Ichimatsu is actually the killer but manages to evade suspicion.

Office Workers (1)

Appearing in: season 1 episode 15

Osomatsu and Choromatsu work as salarymen at a company for their boss Karamatsu and his secretary Todomatsu (who portrays a woman, in a blonde wig and blue contacts). They are all pointedly unrelated, and Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu star as "themselves" in the skit.

A boss and co-worker slightly resembling the Karamatsu and Todomatsu (yet bearing clear differences in their designs) later appear in the "Ryokan" skit in season 2, and are named Karahiko and Todomi.

Schoolmatsu

Appearing in: season 1 episode 20, season 2 episode 5 (Todomatsu)

The sextuplets play the parts of unrelated delinquent boys at a high school, but none can match up to the strength of the loud-voiced gang girl named Totoko.

Of these specific costumes and roles, only Todomatsu is shown re-used in "Osomatsu-san in the Summer".

Girlymatsu

Appearing in: season 1 episode 13, 15, 18, 19 (as old women), season 2 episode 5 (Jyushiko), season 2 episode 7 (all, as old women), season 2 episode 8 (all except Jyushiko, due to Jyushimatsu already playing himself), season 2 episode 10 (Jyushiko and Ichiko), season 3 episode 15 (Ichiko and Todoko)

Introduced in cour 2 of season 1, in a short series of skits written by Michiko Yokote. The stories revolve around a group of 20something working women who are friends, but dysfunctional and petty towards each other.  They are played by the Matsunos, but have vastly different appearances to each represent a different type of woman in Japanese society.

• Osomatsu plays Osoko, a no-nonsense office lady who acts as a "big sister".
• Karamatsu is Karako, a personal trainer and sporty woman who has the terrible hygiene and rowdy behavior of a man.
• Choromatsu is Choroko, a BL-obsessed fujoshi (lit: "rotten woman", a girl obsessed with reading BL and shipping male/male pairings) who even fantasizes of pairing together random men she sees.
• Ichimatsu is Ichiko, a spiritual-minded and health-conscious woman who nonetheless seems to neglect her own dental health.
• Jyushimatsu is Jyushiko, a loud and obnoxious ganguro type of woman who plays up her childishness. An early unused color scheme shown in artbooks showed that her skin was originally to remain pale, but she bears deeply tanned skin in the final product. This is important when noting how her design may be re-used without some features (ala BANANA).
• Todomatsu is Todoko, a cute but conniving woman who makes men do everything for her on outings.

It would appear that early plans for the Dramatsu drama CD series had the group scheduled to appear in the final CD in a "Snack Bar: Girlymatsu Returns!" theme. This was scrapped to instead have the seiyuu portray the usual Matsunos in a "Job a la Carte" scenario.

In season 2, with their own series having been previously completed, the Girlymatsu roles are instead integrated into other types of skit settings whenever there is need to depict a Matsuno playing a specific type of woman (while other Matsunos may have other previously-seen roles):

• Jyushiko is shown as the girlfriend of the "Schoolmatsu" Todomatsu in an "Osomatsu-san in the Summer" skit
• Jyushiko and Ichiko are office ladies in "New Employee Totoko"
• All except Jyushiko also appear as the "Dolphin Sisters" in "Jyushimatsu and the Dolphin". It is not known if they are set as actual sisters in the skit, or are simply friends as the usual Girlymatsus were. They wear somewhat palette-changed versions of the original Girlymatsu fashions, when seen out of their dive suits.

• The elderly versions of all six appear briefly to witness the Cavematsus' skeletons at the end of the "Cavematsu" skit series.

After these instances, other lady variations of the Matsunos get used in other skits, with "Ryokan" featuring Todomatsu as a Todomi, Osomatsu as a young girl named Osoma, and Choromatsu as an old woman Choroe. "BANANA" also notably features girls named Osomi, Jyushimi, Tottimi, and presumably others with that naming pattern (the names "Choromi" and "Karami" aren't ever stated in the skit, but could be inferred).

Although the anime staff make it a point to have the Girly versions considered as roles and not actual separate characters, this can sometimes be changed or ignored if a game like Hesokuri Wars wishes to incorporate the designs as separate people in an alternate universe (eg: the Mutsushika sisters' story route in the Romantic Mystery AU, featuring the Girlymatsu characters as close friends and foster sisters adopted by a Dayon woman), though the sextuplets still do not mingle with their counterparts. The granny versions are not exempt either, whenever it is tempting to use the designs of sextuplets as old women for a gacha set. These old ladies are also depicted as separate entities in the Mystery AU, being yet another set of people existing in the setting that don't interact with the men they are meant to be roles of, nor their younger versions; in fact, the elderly Osoko is even assigned to watch over the Mutsushika mansion.

As far as the stage show goes, there are no separate actresses used for Girlymatsu characters, but they are played in skit spots by the actors for the usual Matsunos when needed.

After some time without these characters getting utilized for season 3, Todomatsu and Ichimatsu take on their Girlymatsu roles for a skit of "Cosplaymatsu" and are the peeved customers of the bartender Karamatsu who only gives whatever drinks he personally likes.

"A Year and a Half Later"

Appearing in: season 2 episode 1

In the first part of this episode, a meta-skit unfolds showing that the fame and wealth that the sextuplets experienced from being popular anime characters only corrupted them further when it comes to not truly becoming "proper" and merely only having them be lazier and more complacent in NEEThood (yet it can be also seen that Karamatsu is a singer and that Choromatsu fancies himself a lecturer on animation). The states of their bodies and behaviors have become far more grotesque and exaggerated than the cute idol-like images displayed outside their home

These versions of the sextuplets are defeated by an angry Japanese PTA mob, who have become disgusted at them becoming famous and ruining modern anime. The next part of the episode revolves around the following skit set-up, as the Showa-styled -kun sextuplets try to form a "proper future".

The official name for these variations comes from the Tabimatsu game; some fans may instead refer to them as "Famousmatsu" or "Impropermatsu" (as a reverse on the "Proper" versions).

• Osomatsu is seen as an obese gamer, wearing a propeller hat to complete his childish image. He is dressed in his usual type of hoodie fashion, though the larger hoodie has even gotten to be too small on him and he (like others in pants) leaves the fly of his jeans open. He'll gladly shake hands with any adoring fans, but is also a messy drinker and snacker that'll belch foul clouds of his breath out. According to the character designer Naoyuki Asano, Osomatsu's man-child appearance was modeled off of Sloth from the film The Goonies.
• Karamatsu is a singer, but one who can't sing very well, and who has taken to lounging around in his bathrobe while smoking cigars and drinking wine. Like Osomatsu, he has also become rather obese, but unlike his brother he's now tanned and has grown out his hair along with bearing facial and body hair (due to inconsistency in shots and angles as well, it has been debated if he is balding or simply has his hair slicked back). This Karamatsu makes girls shake his feet due to having his hands too busy with his vices for any handshakes, and constantly has his sunglasses on. Asano used the basis of Alternate 1985 Biff Tannen from Back to the Future Part II for the initial idea of this Karamatsu, but decided to change the dressing gown to Karamatsu's usual bathrobe and gave him a tan, longer greasy hair, and other "physiologically repulsive and unhealthy"-looking details to give a similar but different image of a corrupt, lewd man.
• Choromatsu is still an idol otaku along with being an animation lecturer, and is much more blatant in his lewdness, flipping his fans' skirts instead of wanting to shake hands. He has several dolls and idol glowsticks at his disposal. As with Osomatsu and Karamatsu, he too is obese and has taken to wearing a full bowl-cut hairstyle, along with bearing suspenders over his khakis and plaid shirt.
• Ichimatsu, in a reversal compared to the others, is a deathly-scrawny figure that's deeply tanned and with his hair graying and grown out long, resembling something like a yuurei (traditional ghost) or outright corpse. He does not move around much either however, preferring to sit in a floating kotatsu and smack his fans away with a large claw. He seems more out of it, and laughs about playing with a lighter or claiming he's loving all the "good vibes". Though ESP Kitty appears with him in some concept sketches, he bears no cat friends at all. According to Asano, Ichimatsu must have "gotten sick" from fame or deliberately starved as a gag reversal of expectations, and so he was drawn as such to differentiate him from the rest of the sextuplets.
• Jyushimatsu is a superhumanly obese blob of a man with a tiny, scrunched-up head making his features near unrecognizable. He can be seen to have mushrooms growing out of his rear end, as well as birds living within his folds of fat. Though he'll wave to his fans and be just as friendly, his voracious appetite leads to him eating a sushi girl right along with the sushi on her body. He fancies himself to be a gourmet chef, and shows Iyami his cookbook.
• Todomatsu, as with most of the others, has also become fat yet is egg-shaped with skinny limbs, enabling him to still dance and pose "cute" for photos. He dresses as a prince, and bears either bleached hair or a wig upon his head (while his face is so fat that he has no visible ears). He is much more openly rude than he was before in vocally telling ugly girls to go away, and otherwise is lazy and apathetic when not putting on a show. His bizarre design came as an afterthought by Asano, who couldn't figure out what exactly to do with Totty but decided that he would have gotten fat but dressed up as a prince to still look cutesy and rich.

Due to the fact that these designs of the characters go against the cute and marketable image that games and other tie-ins for the show wish to put out, they have never been utilized in Hesokuri Wars except as kaiju transformations that reference each of their looks. Chibi versions did, however, make it into Tabimatsu.

Propermatsus

Appearing in: season 2 episode 1, season 2 episode 14 (all six in the style of Proper Osomatsu)

After trying to be good kids and live properly, the sextuplets appear in these forms as they attempt to retool their anime as something better. However, they all wind up becoming vastly different forms of media, but all have the ability to pilot a massive mecha. After this skit ends and the sextuplets declare it a "success", they're beaten up by an angry mob for having become too full of themselves and disregarding their true nature.

All six brothers later appear in a more unified style in the fake "next on" trailer for a Sanematsu episode, where they are depicted as doctors taking care of the mortally-injured Sanematsu.

Despite these motifs not showing up again after, their Proper mecha is used again twice more in the series for gags (with F6 using it in the final time).

• Osomatsu has become a tall salaryman, yet bearing a tiny face still in his usual style. He has an unnamed wife and two kids, but also seems to be adulterous on the side.
• Karamatsu initially appears in a similar style to Osomatsu, dressed in his leather jacket get-up, but reveals he's actually a transforming cyborg/robot type of character.
• Choromatsu and Totoko appear as a duo patterned after the Slayers and Saber Marionette styles of anime of the 1990s, and also give a shout-out to Your Name by explaining they switched bodies in their training to be proper. Thus, Choromatsu is actually Totoko, and Totoko is actually Choromatsu (to where it's technically Totoko piloting the Proper mecha with the guys, and Totoko and Nyaa-chan celebrating together in the end).
• Ichimatsu is a buff, tall, red-haired figure looking something out of the Western show He-Man.
• Jyushimatsu is a CGI version of his usual self.
• Todomatsu has achieved the strangest tier of all, in becoming live-action and represented by an actor in cosplay and wearing an unsettling character mask.

Compared to the previous fame-warped sextuplets, these versions have achieved some more notability in Hesokuri Wars gacha sets.

Cavematsu

Appearing in: season 2 episode 3, 4, and 7

A group of primitive men who are just as horny and stupid as our usual sextuplets, but wind up getting into unlucky situations or dying. Ultimately, their skit series closes with their skeletons being discovered inside another fossil of a mammoth, due to a situation where they all had launched themselves into the mammoth and got stuck inside her.

They communicate only in grunts, and the skits start out with them chanting in such a way.

Cicadas

Appearing in: season 2 episode 5

The sextuplets are not limited to playing the parts of humans, as they are depicted in the role of obnoxiously-buzzing cicada in one "Osomatsu-san in the Summer" skit who triumph at foiling a love confession between two students.

Three Kingdoms

Appearing in: season 2 episode 7

Six men in the era of the Three Kingdoms, who hail from the country of "Matsu". Osomatsu leads them as an emperor, while Karamatsu is a warlord, Choromatsu a mere civilian, Ichimatsu a monkey-ish barbarian king (that defecates onto the floor), Jyushimatsu a warrior, and Todomatsu a fat and lax "young talent" type. They go to the Battle of the Red Cliff, but it results in them brutalizing and killing each other.

"Dubbingmatsu"

Appearing in: season 2 episode 10

In this setting, the Matsunos are their own actors and voice actors who perform the show and who are held to special standards and procedures to ensure they keep their special status; having new vocal cords grown in case of voice damage, and being castrated so they can't sire any children. They all depart with their own girlfriends at the end of the skit, who are silently appreciative, tall, pretty women.

Roles in "Ryokan"

Appearing in: season 2 episode 17

In this skit, Karamatsu and Todomatsu are Karahiko and Todomi, a secret couple going off on an "adultery trip" to the mountains.

At the ryokan, they meet a small girl named Osoma, and her elderly mother Choroe. While Osoma claims that Choroe murdered her years ago and wants them to dig her bones out of the wall, Choroe simply claims the child is a bothersome zashiki-warashi. Whether a yokai or simply an ordinary ghost, Osoma only seems to appear to the couple and Choroe, and is shown to be invisible in certain scenes including the ending.

Chibita's Henchmen

Appearing in: season 2 episode 18

These sextuplets live in the 1960s in Starving Town and accompany Chibita wherever he goes. While they are depicted in monochrome like the rest of the cast, their shirts are subtly tinted with their theme colors to let you know who they are (aside from their identifying features).

Roles in "BANANA"

Appearing in: season 2 episode 21

Todomatsu stars as a woman named Tottimi, in a significantly different design to previous woman roles. When Tottimi decides to sign up for the BANANA recruiting service, she winds up at a strange cabaret club (a themed hostess bar) where her boss Ichimatsu wants her to do various strange and humiliating things. But she wants to get something else out of the service. Tottimi has regular dark hair in her normal design, but as an idol in the punchline she bears the lighter brown hair that Todomatsu has as both Todoko and the Ugly Stepsister in "Totoderella".

Ichimatsu is the only Matsuno to play a version of himself in the skit, being left as the manager for the club throughout the entire sequence.

The other four Matsuno brothers are seen playing different types of girls throughout Tokyo, who become recruited into the BANANA service. Only the names of Osomi and Jyushimi can be confirmed, and Jyushimi appears to be a re-use of Jyushiko's initial lighter-skinned design when she is shown as an idol. Otherwise, the other girls' designs are entirely different from any previous "Girlymatsu" looks or other roles as women.

Iyami, Chibita, Hatabo, Dekapan, and Dayon also play women that join in as backup dancers, though the older characters still bear their mustaches as part of their look.

Poop-Matsus

Appearing in: season 3 episode 1

As part of the plot of Strike-Out", the sextuplets are transformed into anthropomorphic piles of poop at the Character Reincarnation Factory in an attempt to further ban them from being part of their own anime. This leads to growing tensions and an outright fight between the six, until they decide to plead and confess to being shit so the production committee will appropriately restore them. They then defy their promise to the committee to not be the lead characters again and get revenge on the new cast, using their inherent "shitty nature" to transform into a Giant Poop monster and defeat them (along with the discovery that the replacement sextuplets had cocaine in their possession).

Each Poop-Matsu is colored in each sextuplet's theme color, with some bearing special characteristics such as Jyushimatsu having a longer poop tip (to represent his one straight ahoge) and Todomatsu having a lighter pink polka dot pattern all over. The Giant Poop, meanwhile, is a shiny gold color but has horrific breath and sharp teeth.

Roles in "Dr. T"

Appearing in: season 3 episode 2

The sextuplets are seen as subordinates of the fraudulent doctor Totoko, but can't and won't question her ways as she is just too cute for them.

Magical Lunatic Icchi

Appearing in: season 3 episode 3, episode 24

In a skit with a complete art shift change akin to F6, Ichimatsu stars as Ichimi Matsuno, nicknamed "Icchi". She is a timid high school girl who loves the popular horse-riding "Jyushi-senpai", but is outclassed by her rivals. She uses a wand given to her by a sea butterfly mascot (played by Totoko) to transform into a magical girl, but uses her powers as a way to murder her competition and go after the terrified Jyushi.

As with his F6 self, Jyushi has blond hair and blue eyes, but he is drawn in a somewhat off-model imitation of both 1980s and modern anime. Icchi in her untransformed state is a parody of Yuu Morisawa from Creamy Mami (and the fake OP also takes cues from the Creamy Mami one), down to having blue hair but still retaining purple eyes for a hint of which sextuplet she is played by.

The other schoolgirls played by Osomatsu, Karamatsu, and Choromatsu all have hair appropriately corresponding to each of their theme colors, while Todomatsu's role was given purple hair due to it not having been used for Ichimi.

Icchi herself is seen again as a summon or power-up of Ichimatsu in the penultimate episode, who attacks the New Sextuplets with her "Lunatic Magi Luna Hellfire". Other cameos alongside her include Karamatsu's Summer Kamen role, Mosquito Choromatsu, and Todomatsu as a kamaboko from a sight gag in the Sumo Stable skit.

Office Workers (2)

Appearing in: season 3 episode 6, 15

Osomatsu and Karamatsu are shown as salarymen of their boss Choromatsu, who are bored when traveling about but wind up scammed by Iyami into paying for his love hotel that ends in them being subjected to unwanted gay encounters with Iyami's clientele (Chibita, Hatabo, Dayon, and Dekapan).

Osomatsu's role as this specific type of salaryman resurfaces in "Cosplaymatsu", but now with Choromatsu as a fellow colleague as the two try to figure out what to order at the mysterious Jyushimatsu restaurant.

Hairdressers

Appearing in: season 3 episode 7

Todomatsu, Ichimatsu, and Jyushimatsu all work at a barber shop and the first has to deal with Chibita's brief but unusual request to give him a cut and bleach job.

Sky Pirates in "To the South"

Appearing in: season 3 episode 8

The sextuplets are seen as enemies of Dekapan and Dayon in this silent sequence, having taken a bunch of children hostage.

"Nothing I Can Do" Citizens

Appearing in: season 3 episode 15

In this skit of the Cosplaymatsu episode, Ichimatsu plays a reluctant police officer who figures there's nothing to do about a suicidal man (Atsushi) while Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu are seen as middle-aged townspeople who are similarly complacent in the matter.

After the man is revealed to have a girlfriend (Aida), Ichimatsu becomes motivated to shoot at both out of jealousy.

Roles of "No-Chance Trial"

Appearing in: season 3 episode 15

The Matsunos in this skit can be seen in their usual roles as Osomatsu's brothers in recollections of how his farting terrorizes their lives, but also playing different roles in his trial; Choromatsu and Karamatsu are lawyers, Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu remain represented as his usual brothers, and Todomatsu is the judge that sentences Osomatsu to the death penalty (which involves rubbing his ass in Osomatsu's face).

Neighborhood Kids

Appearing in: season 3 episode 15

Five of the sextuplets are seen in these roles in the "Mister" skit of the Cosplaymatsu episode: Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Todomatsu are all young boys in a run-down neighborhood who go to seek out the advice of their middle-aged friend Osomatsu, who is a downtrodden divorced man who tries to entertain them with a picture story that soon gets too personal.

All five of the boys bear their adult-styled -san noses and their usual distinguishing faces, but have much different hairstyles in some cases (like with Ichimatsu and Todomatsu) and appear to all have aspects of characters from Fujiko F Fujio's Doraemon series:

• Karamatsu has "cheek beard" whisker markings similar to Doraemon's whiskers, along with his theme color being blue, while his hairstyle is more like that of Gian.
• Choromatsu is Nobita, between his glasses, bowl-cut, and style of clothing.
• Ichimatsu resembles a skinnier Haruo, but with his hair a chestnut brown.
• Jyushimatsu is Yasuo, but with his baseball cap worn backwards.
• Todomatsu is Suneo, but with longer hair.

Sumo Stable

These versions of the Matsunos are unrelated to Todomatsu in this skit's setting, and don't necessarily even appear to be related to one another. They are five sumo wrestlers, all very fat and very tall, who he aspires to be as strong as but won't put in the effort to make that so since he refuses to gain weight or take part in their strength training. Despite the five appearing to be strong, however, they are noted to have never been able to win a single sumo match.

• Osomatsu is named Osonohana (おそ乃花), named after sumo wrestler Koji Takanohana.
• Karamatsu is Karaseiryu (カラ青龍)
• Choromatsu is Choronofuji (チョロの富士)
• Ichimatsu is Nekodamashi (ねこだまし) and noticeably hairy compared to the others
• Jyushimatsu keeps his name, but is the fattest of the five

Hospital Patients

Appearing in: season 3 episode 20

Karamatsu, Ichimatsu, and Jyushimatsu appear as old men angered at Dr. Iyami in "Persimmons".

Roles in "Totoderella"

Appearing in: season 3 episode 21

All of the sextuplets are utilized to some degree as side characters in this Cinderella parody, revolving around the brutally honest and simple Totoderella (Totoko).

• Osomatsu is the wicked stepmother, dressed in red and with her gray hair worn high.
• Choromatsu and Todomatsu play the roles of the stepsisters, with the latter having brown hair as he does when playing Todoko. Both have wrinkled (and in Choromatsu's case, pock marks) faces and the thick makeup they apply does nothing to hide their hideous looks. As with the Disney Ugly Stepsisters wearing green and pink, the two have those specific theme colors that correspond to their own.
• Karamatsu and Ichimatsu are two mice, which are transformed into a coach driver and horse that Totoderella rebuffs.
• Jyushimatsu is the "Fairy Godmatsu", who wastes up his magic and life-force trying to please Totoderella with magical enhancements that don't impress her.

Wannabe Detectives

Appearing in: season 3 episode 22

All of the sextuplets are utilized to some extent in this skit, though Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu are in the starring roles and refer to each other as simply "Oso" and "Jyushi" as they bumble about and show up late to the action. Choromatsu can be seen as the middle-aged chief, while Todomatsu, Karamatsu, and Ichimatsu are actual hard-working detectives in the office. Ichimatsu is silent through the skit, opting to only communicate with the words on his paper fan.

The skit is a parody of the 1986-1987 show "Dangerous Detectives" (あぶない刑事) which starred Hiroshi Tachi and Kyohei Shibata.

Portrayals

Voice Acting

See also the Replacements article

The first sonosheet for the -kun series would have Osomatsu portrayed by the actress Minori Matsushima. The other five sextuplets were split among the actresses Keiko Yamamoto, Tomoko Sayama, and Tomono Mitamura, with no individual credits stated for each of them.

Matsushima carried over to the second album, but the rest of the sextuplets were recast and split among Makiko Ito, Hiromi Yamagishi, and Kazuko Yoshikawa. None of those actresses would be cast for the resulting anime series, although Yamamoto wound up making it back into the cast.

The 1966 show only had Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu played by singular actresses, Midori Kato and Mie Azuma respectively, while Keiko Yamamoto (Choromatsu, Karamatsu) and Haruko Kitahama (Todomatsu, Ichimatsu) voiced two boys each. There were occasions, however, where Fuyumi Shiraishi (Totoko) would double for Karamatsu, or where Yamamoto would voice the other two boys that were usually doubled. The guest actress Mari Kitagawa would also later be utilized on rare occasion.

By 1988, a new -kun adaptation was produced by Pierrot, requiring a new cast of actresses. Osomatsu was portrayed by Yo Inoue, Karamatsu by Mari Mashiba, Choromatsu by Rica Matsumoto, Jyushimatsu by Naoko Matsui, and the roles of Todomatsu and Ichimatsu initially doubled by Megumi Hayashibara.

However, this came to be a complication as Hayashibara could not always voice two boys at once (and in the same voice), with Ichimatsu winding up doubled by one of the other non-Osomatsu actresses in early episodes as well; it was common to also hear Mashiba and Matsumoto as him. Episode 30 had Mari Yokoo (Matsuyo) cast as Ichimatsu and she would sporadically be used for him afterwards, but he would still be covered by one of the usual sextuplet actresses if she was unavailable and he was required to speak. There were also occasions where Karamatsu or Jyushimatsu would be covered by other sextuplet actresses besides their usual ones, and even an occasion or two where Choromatsu was voiced by Hayashibara (as Matsumoto was already busy as Ichimatsu in the scene).

Since Inoue's death in 2003, any Osomatsu-kun media has required a new actress for Osomatsu (Chihiro Kusaka in the 2005 game, Yui Shoji in the 2012 pachinko, and an unspecified actress in the 2017 pachislot). The other sextuplet actresses have either not returned (Yui Shoji covering for all brothers in the 2012 pachinko game), or some have returned while others were recast as in the case of the 2017 pachislot.

With the different direction of -san, it can be said that it is the first time all six brothers would have consistent voice actors, along with them all being voiced by men and depicted as adults.

Projects Outside Adaptations of "Osomatsu-kun"

In the 1969 Ataro adaptation by Toei, the sextuplets would all be voiced by Masako Nozawa, who had already played various bit parts in the show (including those of Chibita and Hatabo as well).

These brothers would then be split off between Keiko Yamamoto and Kazuko Sugiyama for their brief voiced cameo in Toei's 1981 special We Are Manga-ka: The Tokiwa-so Story.

Live Action

The Monday Dramaland live-action special in 1985 was the first and only time that -kun would be adapted to such a format. The following actors played the sextuplets:

• Osomatsu- Yōsuke Nakajima
• Karamatsu- Hideyuki Nakayama
• Todomatsu- Daisuke Matsuno
• Choromatsu- Hiroshi Isono
• Ichimatsu- Takeo Watanabe
• Jyushimatsu- Masami Yamaguchi

The six were depicted as teenage boys, although only Osomatsu, Karamatsu, and Todomatsu have any significant lines and screentime anywhere in the special; Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, and Jyushimatsu are discovered having fallen out of the house into the street at the beginning of act 2, and are promptly hospitalized due to their injuries.

As far as -san goes, the SIX MEN'S SHOWTIME stage shows have provided their own form of live-action entertainment and adaptation. The sextuplets are double-cast, with one set of actors playing their standard selves while another set plays the "F6" variants. However, the standard actors can also be seen to act as the Girlymatsu roles and any others that may be needed.

• Osomatsu- Shota Takasaki (standard), Yuki Izawa(F6)
• Karamatsu- Yusuke Kashiwagi (standard), Masanari Wada (F6)
• Choromatsu- Keisuke Ueda (standard), Kento Ono (F6)
• Ichimatsu- Ryo Kitamura (standard), Yuya Asato (F6)
• Jyushimatsu- Ren Ozawa (standard), Shingo Wago (F6)
• Todomatsu- Ryotaro Akazawa (standard), Yuki Nakayama (F6)

The actor Denden would also portray the -kun versions of the brothers, in a re-enactment of the first manga chapter in the manga-centric TV show "This Manga is Great!".

Foreign Names

Note: The order of names given in these dubs is based from the original "Osomatsu, Ichimatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Todomatsu, Jyushimatsu" setting, as it is Matsuyo's role-call in the 1988 show.

Thus, "Jisong" in the case of the "Sai Gwa-pau" dub would be referring to Ichimatsu and not Karamatsu.

Language	Name	Origin
Cantonese (Hong Kong)	SiuCung, HungCung, HingCung, JatCung, SapSeiCung, DyunCung	Literal translation from Japanese.
Mandarin (Taiwan)	Xiaosong, others' names unknown	"Small Pine".
Mandarin (PRC)	Dasong, Jisong, Sansong, Sisong, Wusong, Liusong	"Big Pine", "Second Pine", "Third Pine", "Fourth Pine", "Fifth Pine", "Sixth Pine".
Korean	Gidung, Sundung, Cheondung, Heodung, Makdung, Bindung	"Pillar", "Gentle", "Thunder", "Hurdle", "Page", "Hollow".

Gallery

The Sextuplets/Gallery

Trivia

• To save on having to draw all of the brothers, Akatsuka attempted to employ a "copy and paste" method of having him and his staff drawing and clipping out facial expressions for them, which he would photocopy and paste onto their bodies on the manuscript paper. But as even this method became too time-consuming and troubling, it was discontinued with after a while. However, it was brought back for a time in the 80s run of the manga, with entire poses of the boys even being copy-pasted to save on drawing them.
• Though often set as 10-year olds, there are occasions where the early period of the manga will have the boys instead described as 12 (which would place them instead in 6th grade, or just entering their first year of junior high). This can be figured to be another early anomaly like the Yamano surname.
• In an amusing coincidence pointed out by fans, the aforementioned 2010 Fujio Pro window painting of the sextuplets in Ome depicts the sextuplets wearing colors identical to what would wind up being chosen for their adult selves in -san.
• In the manga and anime series, the sextuplets are shown wearing mae gum shoes (前ゴムシューズ) "rubber instep shoes", which, at the time, was a particularly popular and notably cheap kind of children's shoes.
• Prior to Yoichi Fujita's involvement with -san, an anime-original episode he directed for Gintama as he was settling into the series (106) contained a parody of Osomatsu-kun, with the 11-brother "Matsuno Family" soccer team. All eleven brothers were voiced by the actress Asami Shimoda
• Though the concept of entirely-identical sextuplets is so far only rooted in fiction, with there being no recorded births of an identical set of six (the highest so far only going up to quintuplets) but there being cases of fraternal births, there are fans that theorize upon the exact way the egg could have split to make such a group of boys. Of course, in leaving aside that this is fiction and some Akatsuka series aren't 100% bound to logic, there are many possible patterns of division for the eggs.