The Eccentric Family

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
Licensed by	^NA NIS America
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

Anime

Episode list

No.	Title	Original airdate
1	"Goddess of the Noryo-Yuka" "Noryo-Yuka no Megami" (納涼床の女神)	July 7, 2013
Yasaburō Shimogamo, a young tanuki living in Kyoto, is tasked by Professor Akadama, a tengu and his teacher, to deliver a love letter to his former lover, a young woman known as "Benten", a task that is not easy given how dangerous Benten can be, and the conflicting feelings that Yasaburō himself has for her.
2	"Mother and Raijin, God of Thunder" "Haha to Raijin-sama" (母と雷神様)	July 14, 2013
Yasaburō spends the day with the other members of his family as he reminisces about the tragic day when his father, Souichirō was killed and served in a hot-pot party for the "Friday Fellows", a secret and feared club who has Benten among their members.
3	"Yakushibo’s Inner Parlor" "Yakushibo no Oku-Zashiki" (薬師坊の奥座敷)	July 21, 2013
For an upcoming festival, Yasaburō is tasked by his mother to secure a special artifact for them to hold a family tradition from the days their father was alive, but upon learning that said item is in Benten's possession, he must ask for her to lend it to him, despite his efforts to avoid her.
4	"Daimonji Leisure Cruiser Battle" "Daimonji Nouryousen Gassen" (大文字納涼船合戦)	July 28, 2013
The festival begins, but the happiness of the Shimogamo family is cut short when the members of their rival family, the Ebisugawas, start a feud with them. Thanks to Benten, Yasaburō realizes that he is in possession of another of her treasures, which he uses to fight back.
5	"The Friday Fellows Club" "Kinyou-Kurabu" (金曜倶楽部)	August 4, 2013
Following the events at the festival, Yasaburō is on the run in fear of Benten's wrath after losing the treasures she had lent him, until he is finally captured by her. However, Benten decides to spare him after he agrees to help entertain the Friday Fellows in their next meeting.
6	"Autumn Leaf Viewing" "Momijigari" (紅葉狩り)	August 11, 2013
After the meeting, Benten takes Yasaburō away and spends some quality time with him. Later he meets his brother Yajirō and learns a side of Benten he never seen before.
7	"Bath House Rules" "Sentō no Okite" (銭湯の掟)	August 18, 2013
As the election for the next Tanuki leader, the Nise-emon is coming, dividing the tanukis of the city between supporters of Yasaburō's eldest brother Yaichirō and their uncle, Sōun Ebisugawa. While taking a bath with Professor Akadama, Yasaburō and Yaichirō learn a shocking secret regarding their brother Yajirō and the day their father died.
8	"The Day That Dad Left" "Chichi no Tatsu Hi" (父の発つ日)	August 25, 2013
Yaichirō confronts Yajirō regarding his involvement in Sōichirō's death and learns from him about what happened between them during the last time he saw him.
9	"Daughter of the Ebisugawas: Kaisei" "Ebisugawa no Musume ・Kaisei" (夷川の娘・海星)	September 1, 2013
As the tanuki make preparations for the next Nise-emon election, Yasaburō has a short meeting with Kaisei, his former fianceé and becomes intrigued when she apologizes to him for apparently no reason.
10	"Behind the Scenes of Ebisugawa Sōun" "Ebisugawa Sōun no An’yaku" (夷川早雲の暗躍)	September 8, 2013
The Nise-emon election is at hand, but so is the dreaded day when one tanuki will be hunt down by the Friday Fellows for their traditional hot-pot party. Yasaburō finally learns the reason of Kaisei's apology when she reveals that her father is the true cuplrit behind Sōichirō's demise. However, a greater danger arises when he finds out that Sōun now intends to dispose of the rest of the Shimogamo family.
11	"Try Again even harder" "kendo-cyourai" (捲土重来)	September 15, 2013
After Yasaburo gets a hand from Benten to escape Soun and his Elite Guard, the Ebisugawas manage to nab him anyway through a clever Kinkaku-Ginkaku plot. Meanwhile, Kaisei helps Yashiro escape the Electric Brandy factory and Yaichiro is handed over to the Friday Fellows as the primary ingredient for their year-end hot pot
12	"The fake Eizan Electric Car" "Nise Eizan-densya" (偽叡山電車)	September 22, 2013
Yashiro comes up with a plan to get Yajiro back in the game, leading to the trouncing of Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Yashiro stalls the Nise-emon decision meeting while Yasaburo saves Yaichiro, but their mom is still in danger of becoming Friday Fellow hot pot
13	"The Eccentric Family" "Ucyoutenn-Kazoku" (有頂天家族)	September 29, 2013
Tanuki and human worlds collide as both the Nise-emon ceremony and Friday Fellow year-end bash descend into chaos. The scale of the disturbance increases when Prof. Akadama starts brandishing the Fujin Raijin folding fan, but by New Year’s everything settles down and Yasaburo and co. are able to calmly consider their hopes for the future.

References

1. "P.A. Works' Uchōten Kazoku Anime Teaser Streamed". Anime News Network. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
2. "P.A. Works Animates Uchōten Kazoku by Tatami Galaxy's Morimi". Anime News Network. 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
3. 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
4. "P.A. Works' Uchōten Kazoku Anime Teaser Streamed". Anime News Network. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2013-03-26.

External links

• Official anime website (Japanese)
• The Eccentric Family (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia