Meet Japan’s Hottest New Character, Osomatsu-san

One of the many things Japan is known for is its love of characters, whether it be its own creation such as Hello Kitty, Totoro, or Pikachu, or those of another country such as Winnie the Pooh or Moomin (a popular character from Finland, which you have never heard of back in the states). Characters are seen everywhere, from snacks to sports drinks, kitchen goods, anime and games. There are even characters created purely to sell products. Japanese youth love characters, and it’s perfectly normal to have at least one character pinned to your pencil case or backpack, even if you’re an adult. I’d like to say I’m pretty savvy when it comes to popular characters in Japan.

But recently a new one has popped up that had me asking all sorts of questions about how he suddenly became so popular! His name is Osomatsu-san, and the very first time I saw a keychain of him attached to one of my student’s pencil cases I thought he was a redesigned version of Nobita from Doraemon.

But he's not! He's his own character. I knew at once I had to investigate this newfound craze when passing by a store advertisement using him to sell phones – he's everywhere! In fact, he's not just one. He's one of several! Osomatsu is in fact one of identical sextuplet brothers with a penchant for mischief, who wear different colored clothing and have distinct personalities so you can tell them apart. If they couldn’t get any more similar, all their names end in matsu: Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jushimatsu, and Todomatsu.

The six brothers Matsu.

The most surprising thing is: this new fad is actually nothing new at all! Osomatsu-san started off as a manga series way back in the ‘60s as Osomatsu-kun (kun being used for young boys, as they’re about ten years old in the original). It spawned two anime series which ran from 1966-7 and 1988-9 and a television film as well. The reason we're seeing him back again is because a brand new anime series in honor of the creator, Fujio Akatsuka’s, 80th birthday, ran last October through March 2016. This rekindled the fandom through the younger generation like wildfire. This series imagines the brothers 10 years later and is set in modern time, featuring more adult content (of course any fans way back from the original days are well into their middle ages by now). All six brothers have become successful NEETs (not in education, employment, or training), people who make a career out of living at their parents’ home doing nothing all day long.

They may be identical, but they all have their own distinct personalities!

The anime series got so popular you can already watch it subbed in English on Crunchyroll, or other sites in English subs. You can also watch on Netflix if you are living in Japan, although English subtitles have not been added yet. The anime starts off by pointing out how no one nowadays will be interested in a Showa-era (1926-1989) cartoon, and thus the need to reinvent themselves to attract new viewers, and the first episode alone is probably some of the most hilarious shows you’ve ever watched (you may, like me, have already seen it without knowing it as someone made a video clip of it).

You can check out all the Osomatsu goods on Amazon, as well as official goods on the Osomatsu-san website. For fans of Animate, you can grab some limited time Osomatsu-san themed drinks, food, and sweets while shopping for all your favorite Osomatsu-san goods!

The invasion has begun!

There are special items being sold for a limited time, too!

Café products are available through May 30th and can be found at the Akihabara location in Tokyo and the Osaka Nipponbashi location in the Kansai region, so hurry before they're gone! You can check out all the details here. You must make a reservation through a lottery system on the Animate café reservation website to enter (Japanese only), but it is possible to show up on the day and get an open seat.

And get ready to see more of Osomatsu-san! A new manga is currently underway in Shueisha’s You magazine, an otome game has been announced by Idea Factory, and a novel adaption is on the way later this summer. Plus I've already seen a TV special about the rising popularity of Osomatsu-san! It's clear this is one character here to stay (but they probably couldn't care much either way, being NEETs and all).