The purple sextuplet appears to be the most popular,and it’s not wonder. He by far has the “edgiest” personality of the brothers,at least on the outside,and he resembles the lone wolf character of an anime. However, many fans seem to butcher his personality, like all the sextuplets(and even a real person) he is much more complex than he appears to be.
First off, one of the most important things to take not of is his difficulty in social situations. Although I did not watch much of Osomatsu-kun myself, what I do know is that Ichimatsu always had a bit of an awkward, scaredy-cat personality. Although his external shell has diverged from his kun self, he maintains this trait in both.
He is also insecure with himself,which is a bit more clear throughout the show. Although many fans see him as being the Garfield-esque sloth, his bigger flaw(besides self-loathing) is his jealousy. This can be seen clearly in episode 3.5,where Ichimatsu and his brothers are jealous of some picnickers; however, Ichimatsu goes as far to turn into a gerude,symblolic for his envy.
The episode more fans are probably familiar with though is The Ichimatsu Incident,an episode where Ichimatsu clearly shows his envy for his brother Karamatsu. What is interesting about the two is how they foil each other in a way. Ichimatsu lacks confidence in himself,but is overall treated better than Karamatsu. Another interesting thing to not about the episode is that when Ichimatsu has much more enthusiasm internally than externally,which is clear for just about the entire episode. Because of this,the viewer gets to take a look into how Ichimatsu thinks, adding a new level of understanding to his character. When he notices something admirable about Karamatsu specifically, he tends to add “just die” at the end,further showing his jealous and conflicting nature.
Ichimatsu is also easily the most heavily introverted of the brothers,which also gives him charm to the fandom. However, in ESP kitty, Ichimatsu is revealed to desire friends. The direct contradicting of thought and mind show that Ichimatsu struggles in self-expression, tearing at his self-esteem.
One might think that he has given up on making friends, that he’s accepted that he cannot and therefore tells himself that he does not need friends. However, upon re-watching the Christmas special, Ichimatsu attempts to make friends of his own. While many people saw the segment as little more than a gag, it is important to remember that Ichimatsu, the character portrayed as a loner, was trying to make friends. The viewer has to remember that Ichimatsu does not have developed social skills,and he was trying to reach out in his own way. Although he came off creepy to both the viewer and the couple, he made an attempt to connect and reach out. Just like Jyushimatsu,Ichimatsu does not always act socially appropriate,even under good intentions.
Another example of him not acting socially appropriate is his tendency to take off his pants while trying to poop on tables. This was also probably put in as a gag,but it always occurs when Ichimatsu gets incredibly nervous. What is interesting about when he was on the date simulation with Todomatsu, is that this didn’t occur suddenly. Much sooner, he was already nervously sweating. What both that and his experience at Subataa had in common though, was that Ichimatsu was trying to divert attention. In the former, he desperately wanted the date to end,and his awkward silence was not a big enough clue for his brothers, while in the latter, Ichimatsu was trying to make a scene with the other Matsuno. Ichimatsu is known for his poor skills in expression;perhaps this is how he subtly expresses himself. With 5 other brothers that he probably feels inferior too,this is his cry for help; he gets attention,even if not in a positive way.
Another quirk of Ichimatsu is cat form. This varies in appearance;while he sometimes just spawns some ears, there are other times where he goes full-on cat mode. Ichimatsu often uses his cat form when he would need to be alert and nimble,which are not things he is especially known for(he looked exhausted just chasing after Jyushimatsu in the final episode). One possible explanation for his cat form is that he sees himself as a cat,and as a result has times where he acts like a cat,to the bewilderment of his brothers. Ichimatsu lacks friends,besides the company of his fellow cats, who are the only forms of life that he can relate to. One could argue that because Ichimatsu feels so excluded from human society, he feels like he is cat,at least partially,since his community of cat comrades are the only he can connect to.
Possibly the only human Ichimatsu even is remotely able to connect to is his brother Jyushimatsu. Both of them quickly stood out as the outcasts of the family in the sense that they both have major quirks to their attitude. Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu were clearly meant to be contrasting characters,though they actually have quite a bit in common. Their main distinction isn’t what their woes are,but rather how they tackle then. Because of that,they are not only able to help each other,but understand each other in a way the other brothers do not(Either I or mod dedJuice will probably get into our theories on Jyushimatsu).
All in all, Ichimatsu is a very conflicting character, with a two-faced personality,like his other brothers. While he pretends he has given up in life, Ichimatsu desperately claws his way through life. Only time will tell if his cries for help are heard.
