Work Text:
Osomatsu has not changed at all since being in high school or even when he was just 10. When he was 10, Osomatsu acted as the leader because he was the oldest, also believing that as the oldest, he was entitled to more things. Osomatsu loves money and became addicted to gambling as a result.
Osomatsu would steal money from his brothers, ask for money from others, all to fuel his gambling addiction, even at age 18 in high school. He is lazy and only does stuff he wants to do without thinking of others. This behaviour was too childish for his brothers and the association of being ‘Osomatsu clones’ was an identity that the other brothers did not want. This left Osomatsu alone to his own devices.
Conclusion:
Osomatsu’s childish behaviour and refusal to change created a rift between brothers who were trying to find themselves. Osomatsu clung to his identity from childhood, but that identity meant that he was alone in his endeavours.
Osomatsu does not know who he is as a person without his brothers. He believes his loneliness and inability to function is the fault of his brothers but deep down, despite Osomatsu’s lack of self-awareness, he knows that he is an incomplete person because he based his whole identity around being the oldest brother. His childish and disgusting behaviour gives Osomatsu the appearance of a scummy person and his lack of self-awareness also means that he refuses to change himself easily.
The lie that Osomatsu believes: Osomatsu needs his brothers to function as a person and refuses to change out of fear for what he really is. If Osomatsu is comfortable living a lie, then why should he change.
During high school, Karamatsu was extremely shy and withdrawn. Despite the fact that he wanted his brothers to interact and felt extremely lonely, he was too timid to do anything about it. He instead, kept to himself and did not want to disturb his peers.
In the modern day, Karamatsu wants to do right by his brothers and wants praise and attention. He makes sure to wear eye-catching clothes and puts on a cool façade to appeal to his brothers. This only annoys them and makes them ignore him even more. His grand gestures are ignored unless they benefit the brothers.
Conclusion:
Karamatsu feels alienated from his brothers, not being able to fully connect with them since high school even though he does flashy or dramatic acts to be paid attention to. His timid nature means people walk all over him, but his cool façade means that his true thoughts about ongoing events are hidden from his brothers as he does not want to inconvenience anyone, even if it’s at his own expense.
When Karamatsu truly wants attention, he acts completely opposite to how he did when younger as he believes that this flashy behaviour he most likely learned from drama club would get the attention of his brothers. However, it only serves to create a further rift between him and his brothers because they do not like this false persona. His actions only make him appear narcissistic but Karamatsu is most likely trying to convince himself that he should be paid attention to or that he's different so people should like him more. He is not as nice as he wants to be but is not as brave as he wants to be either.
The lie that Karamatsu believes: He needs to be loud and flashy or dramatic to receive attention as in school he did not gain attention when quiet. To be confident despite his true nature being much softer.
Choromatsu had no friends in high school. He was lonely enough to create an imaginary friend to dull the loneliness. While he and his other brothers functioned as caretakers for Todomatsu, who was acting particularly childish, Choromatsu did not interact with his brothers otherwise.
Choromatsu always tried hard to appear as a productive student but was actually quite bad at his studies and would indulge in inappropriate magazines. Choromatsu had a stiff manner of walking and pitched his voice up when in high school, something that greatly embarrasses him in the present day.
Conclusion:
Choromatsu must have used inappropriate media to hide his loneliness but it got to a point where that was not enough of a tool for escapism. He would then create his imaginary friend as a way to ignore the fact that as a student and a person, he was ‘inadequate’, failing tests and having no friends. He tried hard to appeal to teachers as it was his way of pushing his feelings of inadequacy aside.
Choromatsu likes to create an image of himself as someone productive and whenever this illusion is shattered he cannot handle the pressure, hence his running away, crying during the move. Even in modern day, Choromatsu cannot handle this image being shattered. He is very aware of his not so productive nature and it hurts him as he has built this image of himself being responsible, despite the fact that he does not want to be responsible. He probably feels like he’s a burden but ignores these feelings to continue feeding himself the lie that he is a productive member of society, despite not fully knowing what this entails.
The lie that Choromatsu believes: He has to fit a certain standard created by society to be useful or likeable. He has to be productive because it’s what’s expected of him by society and himself.
Ichimatsu was the complete opposite during high school. He acted sociable, even having a nickname amongst his friends, Ichi. He would push himself to interact despite not fitting into his friend group. Despite Ichimatsu’s anxiety around others and his introverted nature, he made sure to hang out with his friends as much as possible.
Ichimatsu’s modern day behaviour is to ignore society entirely and interact with only his brothers (begrudgingly) and cats. He loathes the idea of interacting with others and instead hides away from social situations. He would rather poop himself than interact with those he’s unfamiliar with.
Conclusion:
Ichimatsu acts as a lost cause and that he cannot function properly in society so he should not even bother because it is not worth it and he is not worth it. Rather than hiding the truth from himself like how his brothers do, Ichimatsu drowns himself in his truth. This in turn leads to an even bigger lie that Ichimatsu believes.
Ichimatsu sees human interaction as a waste because his introverted nature gets in the way of interacting with other people. He prefers the company of cats because they cannot judge in the same way a human can. Humans can mock people or say horrible things but cats do not.
The lie that Ichimatsu believes: He’s not worth interaction and is therefore scum. He believes that his ‘unlovable’ nature means that he is a menace to society and should not participate in it.
Jyushimatsu was also the complete opposite when he was in high school. He tried to distance himself from his brothers by acting as a delinquent when in reality, he was not as angry as he appeared.
Jyushimatsu would scowl at everything and appear tough, almost as a way of warding others away. His angry mask was a way of appearing less childish and more serious, however this mask was easy to see through when looking closely. His actions to appear much more goofy and childish when compared to actual delinquents as he only mimicked what he believed a delinquent would do rather than actually doing things a delinquent would.
Conclusion:
Jyushimatsu is unsure of himself. In more modern days, he is much more confident in his identity as a person, although he still faulters, knowing his behaviour is outlandish as seen when he became embarrassed by Eitarou’s actions when talking with his mother.
Jyushimatsu also ponders his existence and wonders who he is but always comes to the conclusion of being a smiley person is what he wants for himself. Jyushimatsu knows when to be serious but usually resorts to this last as he is not inherently a serious person. However, underneath this cheery and goofy behaviour is something sinister. He can be incredibly violent when provoked and has unusual behaviours, all of which are usually behind a large smile.
The truth Jyushimatsu believes: His emotions are his own and he will express them as he sees fit. Seriousness is a last resort because Jyushimatsu knows that he is not serious and presents himself this way.
Todomatsu used to cling to his older brothers when younger, appearing as the cutest. Yet despite this, he was not completely childish. He was not afraid to cling to his older brothers and his cutesy behaviour was genuine. Near the end of the movie, Todomatsu shows that he was always good with words, albeit in an annoying fashion that made his older-self slap him out of annoyance.
Todomatsu continues this cutesy behaviour, but less childishly. He tries to be approachable as possible and outright rejects his brothers’ existence. As an adult, Todomatsu is more two-faced and has a secret violent side. He tries to play off all his behaviour or cover for his brothers’ behaviours if necessary to keep an image of popularity and trendiness.
Conclusion:
Todomatsu is only now trying to break free from his brothers when it was him who was clinging onto his brothers before. He loves his brothers but also loves the idea of being free from their shadow, because as the youngest, he is babied the most. He wants to be responsible like Choromatsu but in his own way. He is the most likely to carry out what he says he will do but hides things from his brothers because he does not want to have his opportunities ruined.
Todomatsu acts the most selfishly of his brothers, only because he wants to carve a path from himself. He believes that his brothers are holding him back from his true potential and as a result, tries to shun them from his life. But Todomatsu never wants to disappoint his brothers, only get them to see things from his views. But without validation of who he is, Todomatsu feels empty. Despite how much he wants to distance himself from his brothers, Todomatsu cannot stay away from them forever, as he knows that he is not more than his brothers, even if he wants to be.
The lie that Todomatsu believes: His brothers are keeping him from his true potential. If he tries enough, Todomatsu will be the cutest, trendiest, and most able to function in society.