The Eccentric Family
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| The Eccentric Family | |
 The cover page of the novel published by Gentosha | |
| 有頂天家族 (Uchōten Kazoku) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama, comedy |
| Novel | |
| Written by | Tomihiko Morimi |
| Published by | Gentosha |
| Published | September 25, 2007 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Masayuki Yoshihara |
| Produced by | Jun Takei Kenji Horikawa Kousaku Sakamoto Masuhiro Kinoshita Shigeru Saitō Shuichi Kitada Tsuyoshi Oda |
| Written by | Shōtarō Suga |
| Music by | Yoshiaki Fujisawa |
| Studio | P.A.Works |
| Original network | Tokyo MX, KBS, SUN, BS11, Kids Station, KNB |
| Original run | July 7, 2013 – September 29, 2013 |
| Episodes | 13 |
The Eccentric Family (Japanese: 有頂天家族, Hepburn: Uchōten Kazoku) is a Japanese comedy-drama novel written by Tomihiko Morimi, originally published by Gentosha. A television anime adaptation aired from July 7, 2013 to September 29, 2013 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll.[1][2][3][4]
Plot
In modern-day Kyoto, humans live in the city, while Tanuki roam the earth and Tengu, the sky. The story surrounds a family of Japanese tanuki, the Shimogamo family. These tanuki have the ability to transform into anything they wish. They can change into normal members of human society or any animate/inanimate object. The third son, Yasaburo, enjoys a bustling daily life. He often visits Akadama-sensei, a tengu. Through him, Yasaburo is acquainted with Benten (Satomi Suzuki), a woman whom Akadama taught to fly like a tengu. As the story unfolds, the members of the Shimogamo family are still dealing with the foggy past that surrounds their father's untimely death prior to the series start. What more is that Benten is a member of a social group called "the Friday Fellows" who enjoy a meal of tanuki hot pot at the end of the year. So they must balance between living carelessly, maintaining relationships among other tanuki families, and not getting put into a hot pot by the Friday Fellows.
Characters
Shimogamo Family
- Yasaburō Shimogamo (下鴨 矢三郎, Shimogamo Yasaburō)
- Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai
- The main character and the third son of the Shimogamo. He is the most carefree among his siblings with a talent to put himself in trouble.
- Yaichirō Shimogamo (下鴨 矢一郎, Shimogamo Yaichirō)
- Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe
- The eldest of the Shimogamo brothers who aims to be the leader of tanuki society like his father once was.
- Yajirō Shimogamo (下鴨 矢二郎, Shimogamo Yajirō)
- Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino
- The second son who transformed himself into a frog for too long that he forgot how to turn back. He now lives in a pond inside a well where he provides advice to the others.
- Yashirō Shimogamo (下鴨 矢四郎, Shimogamo Yashirō)
- Voiced by: Mai Nakahara
- The youngest son of the Shimogamo, he is shy in nature and his tail or ears often pop out when he's frightened. He works at the Electric Wine Factory with Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
- Mother Shimogamo (下鴨母, Shimogamo Haha)
- Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue
- The matriarch of the Shimogamo family who is very protective of her children and does her best to cover for the absence of their father, to the point of usually dressing as a male prince when not working. However, whenever there is a lighting storm she must be protected by her family due to severe astrapophobia.
- Souichirō Shimogamo (下鴨 総一郎, Shimogamo Sōichirō)
- Voiced by: Bon Ishihara
- The late father of the Shimogamo brothers and the former leader of all of tanukis in Kyoto, the Nise-emon. He was eaten by the Friday Fellows years before.
Ebisugawa Family
- Sōun Ebisugawa (夷川早雲, Ebisugawa Sōun)
- Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita
- Sōichirō's youngest brother and uncle of the Shimogamo brothers, he broke up relations with the Shimogamos following his brother's death and aims to replace him as the Nise-emon. Later it is revealed that Sōun was always envious of his brother, as he also fell in love with Yasaburō's mother before she married Sōichirō and lost the election for Nise-emon to him. Thus he betrayed Sōichirō by helping Benten to capture him, leading to his death.
- Kinkaku (金閣) and Ginkaku Ebisugawa (夷川銀閣, Ebisugawa Ginkaku)
- Voiced by: Shūya Nishiji (Kinkaku) and Kosuke Hatakeyama (Ginkaku)
- Sōun's twin sons and cousins of the Shimogamo brothers who like to bully on Yashirō and look down at the whole Shimogamo family.
- Kaisei Ebisugawa (夷川海星, Ebisugawa Kaisei)
- Voiced by: Ayane Sakura
- Sōun's daughter, she is Yasaburō's cousin who was initially promised to marry him by their fathers, but their marriage agreement was broken by Sōun after Sōichirō's death. Later it is revealed that Yajirō also had feelings for her. Kaisei has a hatred towards Benten for her involvement in her father's plan to dispose of her uncle.
Other characters
- Benten (Satomi Suzuki) (弁天（鈴木聡美）, Suzuki Satomi)
- Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
- A young, beautiful, capricious human woman aligned with the dangerous group of humans at the "Friday Fellows" gentleman's club. Kidnapped as a child and kept as a ward by Professor Akadama - who seems to be infatuated with Benten, the specifics of which are ambiguous – Benten occupies a unique role in the story as a link between the three worlds of human, tanuki and tengu. Akadama raised her as tengu and taught her tengu magic, giving her powerful magical artifacts that she uses for her own ends. After reaching adulthood, she seemingly spurns Akadama and returns to the human world. In the story, her behavior is driven solely by her own mysterious motivations, and she is used as a pawn as much as she manipulates others. Benten apparently maintains a relationship with the rebellious younger Yasaburō, who respects and fears her (and later finds himself attracted to her). Benten often brings him along when engaging in mischief. Despite seeming to be heartless, Benten has a lonely & sad side that only few are privy to, such as Yasaburō and his brother Yajirō. Yasaburō says that he does not hold his father's death against her.
- Professor Akadama (Yakushibō Nyoigatake) (赤玉先生 (如意ヶ嶽薬師坊), Akadama-sensei (Nyoigatake Yakushibou))
- Voiced by: Hideyuki Umezu
- An old tengu who was a longtime teacher of the Shimogamo brothers; in return, the brothers check up on him from time to time and take care of him like family, cleaning up his messy apartment and bringing him supplies and liquor. Akadama injured his back in an accident, rendering walking difficult and flying impossible. When he is introduced, we find that he has been spending his days alone at his apartment in seclusion, only leaving rarely. Akadama kidnapped the human female Benten when she was younger and took her under his wing, teaching her tengu magic like flying and giving her his most valued treasures. After she grew to womanhood, she chose to leave Akadama's side to follow her own goals, going away for many years. Akadama seems to still care for her in a romantic sense, although it's not clear if and in what way Benten feels in return.
Media
Novel
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Anime
Episode list
| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|
References
- ^ "P.A. Works' Uchōten Kazoku Anime Teaser Streamed". Anime News Network. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ^ "P.A. Works Animates Uchōten Kazoku by Tatami Galaxy's Morimi". Anime News Network. 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ^ http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/07/06/crunchyroll-adds-silver-spoon-the-world-god-only-knows-goddesses-and-watamote-anime-to-streaming-lineup
- ^ "P.A. Works' Uchōten Kazoku Anime Teaser Streamed". Anime News Network. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
External links
- Official anime website Template:Ja icon
- The Eccentric Family (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
