Is Mr. Osomatsu Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read
Quick Answer
If you already like the anime's six brothers, yes — this gives you more of them in an original story the show never told. If you've never seen the franchise, start with the anime first.
Quick Verdict
“Niche extra for people who already love these six idiots, not a starting point for anyone new to them.”
Best for: Fans of the Mr. Osomatsu anime who want more material built around the same six brothers.
Not for: Readers who want a self-contained story that doesn't assume you already know the cast and their running jokes.
- Type
- Manga
- Genres
- Slice of Life, Comedy
- Status
- Completed
- This review
- Minor Spoilers
- Author
- Masako Shitara
- Publisher
- Shueisha
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Format | Manga (josei) |
| Run | completed |
Overview
Mr. Osomatsu the anime turned six grown, unemployed sextuplets into a modern comedy phenomenon by taking the original 1960s Osomatsu-kun and aging the cast up into useless adults who still live with their parents. This manga is a separate thing from that show: an original story written by Masako Shitara, running in Shueisha's You and then Cookie magazines from 2016 to 2020, that never adapts a single anime episode. If you know the brothers from the show, this gives you new jokes built around the same six personalities instead of rehashing ones you've already seen.
What it does well
The character work holds up. Osomatsu's laziness, Karamatsu's painfully unaware self-seriousness, Choromatsu's constant embarrassment at being associated with his brothers, Ichimatsu's gloom, Jyushimatsu's manic energy, and Todomatsu's two-faced niceness all come through clearly on the page, which isn't a given when you strip away the anime's voice performances. The comedy is built on quick, escalating gags rather than a single ongoing plot, and that structure suits print fine — you can dip in for a chapter and get a complete comedic beat without needing to track a larger story.
What's genuinely impressive is that Shitara wrote four years of original material for characters this well-established without the book feeling like filler. The jokes still land because they come from the same character foundations the anime built, just applied to situations the show never got to.
Where it falls short
This is not a place to start with these characters. The humor depends entirely on already knowing the six brothers and why each one is funny — there's minimal reintroduction for anyone picking this up cold. And because the franchise itself is already a reboot of a reboot (a 1960s manga turned into a 2015 anime turned into this), the in-jokes stack up in a way that rewards long-time fans more than casual readers.
The bigger practical issue is availability: there's no official English release. If you don't read Japanese, this one stays out of reach for now, and that limits who this review is actually useful for.
Verdict
Treat this as a bonus for people who already love these six brothers, not a way to meet them for the first time.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- It's not a retread of the anime — Masako Shitara wrote a genuinely original story for the six brothers rather than adapting episodes, so even people who've seen every season of the show get new material.
- The six distinct personalities that make the anime work (the lazy one, the obnoxiously self-serious one, the normal one who's embarrassed by his brothers, and so on) translate well to the page, and the character dynamics stay sharp.
- The gag-comedy rhythm lands well in print — short, punchy scenes work fine without the anime's voice acting and sound effects to carry them.
Weaknesses
- It leans hard on you already knowing who these six brothers are and why their dynamic is funny — there's very little setup for newcomers.
- Being a spinoff of a spinoff (the brothers originally come from a 1960s manga, then got rebooted into this anime franchise, then got this manga) means the humor is built on several layers of in-joke that take a while to appreciate.
- There's no official English release, so you're reading this one in Japanese or not at all for now.
Similar Titles
Shares the same loose, gag-driven energy and willingness to go for an absurd joke over a coherent plot.
Another series built on short, escalating comedy sketches rather than a continuous story.
Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan
A similarly deadpan ensemble comedy about characters stuck being exactly who they are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the same story as the Mr. Osomatsu anime?
No. It's an original story written specifically for the manga, not an adaptation of anime episodes, so it doesn't retread material you'd already have seen.
Do I need to read the original 1960s Osomatsu-kun manga first?
No, but it helps to have watched the Mr. Osomatsu anime reboot first, since this manga assumes you already know the six brothers and their personalities.
Is there an English translation?
Not currently. There's no official English release of this manga, so for now it's Japanese-only. We'll update this review if that changes.
