Matsuno sextuplet combo & pairing nicknames in Japanese fandom
Part of the fun of the Osomatsusan series are the six main brother protagonists, who all have different personalities which clash in different ways! Though a lot of segments feature all six together, more contained skits will often put the brothers together two at a time and let their personalities drive the plot and humor of the skit. And because there are six of them, there are total of 15 different ways to mix them up. As a result, fans (as well as official sources) have come up with various nicknames for these sextuplet combos.
Fans of BLmatsu will often refer to their ships with these nicknames on Twitter and in Pixiv tags. However, these combo names are used in non-shipping contexts as well, so even though there is also some misconception among Japanese fans, the names don’t necessarily imply a romantic pairing (ships in particular use name portmanteaus ordered in certain ways; skip to the end of this post for a few more notes of explanation about Japanese ship-naming conventions.)
Osomatsu & Karamatsu (OsoKara, KaraOso)
長兄松 (Chokeimatsu)
“Eldest-Brother Matsu”
Straight-forward enough. Osomatsu and Karamatsu are the two eldest brothers (first and second, respectively).
This combo nickname was used by Namco Najatown for their “Osomatsusan in Nanjatown” collaboration promotion. Thus, it is considered to be an official nickname.
Osomatsu & Choromatsu (OsoChoro, ChoroOso)
速度松 (Sokudomatsu)
“Speedmatsu”
In reference to a wordplay on Osomatsu and Choromatsu’s names, contrasting Oso (遅い, osoi/slow, late) and Choro (チョロチョロ, chorochoro/darting about, moving rapidly).
Osomatsu & Ichimatsu (OsoIchi, IchiOso)
パーカー松 (Parkamatsu)
“Parkamatsu”
In reference to the fact that Osomatsu and Ichimatsu are the two brothers who have fewer alternate outfits than the others and are the ones most likely to be wearing their signature color-coded sweatshirts.
Osomatsu & Jyushimatsu (OsoJyu, JyuOso)
馬鹿松、いちご松 (Bakamatsu, Ichigomatsu)
“Idiotmatsu”/“Strawberrymatsu”
Oso & Jyushi are arguably the two stupidest brothers of the group according to their official character profiles, which describes Osomatsu as an idiot having the mental maturity of a 6th grader and Jyushimatsu as “exceptionally cheerful, exceptionally stupid”. An alternate nickname for them is Ichigomatsu, meaning strawberry, but also a pun on their birth order (ichi/one, go/five).
Osomatsu & Todomatsu (OsoTodo, TodoOso)
紅松 (Benimatsu)
“Redmatsu”
Refers to Oso and Todo’s similar image colors of red and pink, respectively.
Karamatsu & Choromatsu (KaraChoro, ChoroKara)
水陸松 (Suirikumatsu)
“Water-and-Land Matsu”
Refers to Choro and Kara’s image colors of green and blue, reminiscent of land and sea.
Karamatsu & Ichimatsu (KaraIchi, IchiKara)
色松 (Iromatsu)
“Colormatsu”
A pun on the pairing name KaraIchi (カラ一) which looks identical to the Japanese katakana rendering of the English word, “color” (カラー, karaa). Iro is the Japanese word for color.
Karamatsu & Jyushimatsu (KaraJyushi, JyuKara)
筋肉松 (Kinnikumatsu)
“Musclematsu”
Karamatsu is arguably the most conventionally masculine of the bunch, as well a “nikushokukei” (肉食系, lit. a carnivore, meaning a “man’s man” who aggressively pursues women). Jyushimatsu on the other hand is the most physically active and athletically gifted brother. Thus, they are the “power-kei” matsus. This nickname is also reinforced by Jyushimatsu’s “Muscle, muscle! Hustle, hustle!” catchphrase.
Karamatsu & Todomatsu (KaraTodo, TodoKara)
材木松 (Zaimokumatsu)
“Timbermatsu”
Karamatsu and Todomatsu are the two brothers whose names are a wordplay on species of trees (唐松/karamatsu is a Japanese Larch and 椴松/todomatsu is a Sakhalin fir).
Choromatsu & Ichimatsu (ChoroIchi, IchiChoro)
年中松 (Nenchumatsu)
“Middlematsu”
A reference to Choromatsu and Ichimatsu being the two middle brothers (third and fourth, respectively.)
This nickname has been used officially in online promotion for the “Osomatsusan in Nanjatown” collaboration at Namco Najatown.
Choromatsu & Jyushimatsu (ChoroJyu, JyuChoro)
若葉松 (Wakabamatsu)
“Young-Leaf Matsu”
In reference to their color combination of green and yellow. In Japan, newly-minted drivers will attach yellow and green arrow feather-shaped stickers to their cars called wakaba-marks.
[Also, on a purely personal note, coming from Attack On Titan fandom, I’m a huge fan of the Eruri ship, which incidentally are also the characters voiced by Kamiya Hiroshi and Ono Daisuke in that series. The fact that those characters are represented by similar color schemes and feather motifs, the wakaba has another level of symbolism that I enjoy a lot, LOL.]
Choromatsu & Todomatsu (ChoroTodo, TodoChoro)
サイバー松 (Cybermatsu)/ツッコミ松 (Tsukkomimatsu)
The nickname Cybermatsu derives from the fact that Choromatsu and Todomatsu are the two brothers who were initially shown with electrical gadgets in promotional art (laptops, smartphones). They are alternately referred to as Tsukkomimatsu, since they are the ones most likely to be playing the Straight Man in contrast to their other brothers’ funny antics.
Ichimatsu & Jyushimatsu (IchiJyushi, JyushiIchi)
数字松 (Suujimatsu)/電池松 (Denchimatsu)
“Numbermatsu”/“Batterymatsu”
The Suujimatsu nickname refers to the fact that Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu are the two brothers whose names are a wordplay on numbers (rendered in kanji as 一 ichi/one and 十四 jyuushi/fourteen, respectively. It’s also notable that they are the only two whose names are written entirely in kanji!) Their alternate nickname comes from the 十 and 一 in their names resembling plus and minus symbols, suggestive of their polar-opposite personalities, yet close bond.
Ichimatsu & Todomatsu (IchiTodo, TodoIchi)
110松 (Ichitomatsu)
“110Matsu”
Another wordplay on numbers, this time with 一 (ichi/one) and ト (“to”, an alternate pronunciation of ten.)
Jyushimatsu & Todomatsu (JyuTodo, TodoJyu)
末松 (Suematsu)
“Endmatsu” or perhaps “Youngmatsu”
In reference to Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu being the two youngest brothers (fifth and sixth, respectively.) Todomatsu is the family 末っ子 (suekko, “youngest child”), which is an alternate reading of the 末/matsu kanji (which means “end [of a series of numbers, etc]”.)
This nickname was used officially along with Chokeimatsu (OsoKara) and Nenchumatsu (ChoroIchi) for Namco Nanjatown’s promotion for the “Osomatsusan in Nanjatown” collaboration.
A few notes about shipping names and terms (BLmatsu warning)
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