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 in 2010. A television anime adaptation aired from July 7, 2013 to September 29, 2013 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll. A sequel to the novel titled Uchōten Kazoku Nidaime No Kicho was published in 2015 and a second season of the anime based on it is in production and will premiere in April 2017.
In modern-day Kyoto, humans live in the city while tanuki roam the earth and tengu roam the sky. The story surrounds a family of tanuki, the Shimogamo family. They 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, Yasaburō, enjoys a bustling daily life. He often visits Professor Akadama, a tengu and his teacher. Through Akadama, Yasaburō is acquainted with Benten, a human 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's start. To complicate matters, Benten is a member of a social group called the Friday Fellows, people who enjoy a meal of tanuki hot pot at the end of the year. The Shimogamo family must balance between living carelessly, maintaining relationships among other tanuki families, and not getting put into a hot pot by the Friday Fellows.
Yasaburō Shimogamo (下鴨 矢三郎, Shimogamo Yasaburō)
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai
The main character and the third Shimogamo son. He is the most carefree among his siblings with a talent of putting himself in trouble.
Yaichirō Shimogamo (下鴨 矢一郎, Shimogamo Yaichirō)
Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe
The first Shimogamo son. He aims to be the leader of the tanuki society like his father once was.
Yajirō Shimogamo (下鴨 矢二郎, Shimogamo Yajirō)
Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino
The second Shimogamo son. He 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 others.
Yashirō Shimogamo (下鴨 矢四郎, Shimogamo Yashirō)
Voiced by: Mai Nakahara
The fourth Shimogamo son. He is shy in nature and his tail or ears often pop out when he is frightened. He works at the Electric Wine Factory with Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Tōsen Shimogamo (下鴨 桃仙, Shimogamo Tōsen)
Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue
The matriarch of the Shimogamo family. She 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 when not working. Whenever there is a lighting storm, she must be protected by her family due to severe astrapophobia.
Sōichirō 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 tanuki in Kyoto called the Nise-emon. He was eaten by the Friday Fellows years before the story's beginning after falling into a trap set by Benten.
Sōun Ebisugawa (夷川早雲, Ebisugawa Sōun)
Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita
Sōichirō's younger brother and uncle of the Shimogamo brothers. He broke up relations with the Shimogamo family following Sōichirō'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 fell in love with Yasaburō's mother before she married Sōichirō and lost the election for Nise-emon to him. These events led to him betraying Sōichirō by helping Benten capture Sōichirō, leading to Sōichirō's death.
Kurejirō "Kinkaku" Ebisugawa (夷川 呉二郎 (金閣), Ebisugawa Kurejirō (Kinkaku)) and Kuresaburō "Ginkaku" Ebisugawa (夷川 呉三郎 (銀閣), Ebisugawa Kuresaburō (Ginkaku))
Voiced by: Shūya Nishiji (Kinkaku), Kosuke Hatakeyama (Ginkaku)
Sōun's twin sons and cousins of the Shimogamo brothers. They like to bully Yashirō and look down on the 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 called off by Sōun after Sōichirō's death. Later it is revealed that Yajirō also had feelings for her. Kaisei has a hatred towards Benten for being involved in her father's plan to dispose of her uncle.
Kureichirō Ebisugawa (夷川 呉一郎, Ebisugawa Kureichirō)
Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura
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, the Friday Fellows. She was kidnapped as a child and kept as a ward by Professor Akadama and 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 motives. After reaching adulthood, she seemingly spurns Akadama and returns to the human world. Her behavior is driven solely by her own mysterious motivations, and she is used as a pawn as much as she manipulates others. She maintains a relationship with the rebellious younger Yasaburō, who both respects and fears her. Despite seeming to be heartless, she has a lonely and sad side that only a few are privy to, such as Yasaburō and his brother Yajirō.
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 and the teacher of the Shimogamo brothers. The brothers check up on him from time to time and take care of him, cleaning up his messy apartment and bringing him supplies and liquor. He injured his back in an accident, rendering walking difficult and flying impossible. He spends his days alone at his apartment in seclusion, rarely leaving. He kidnapped the Benten when she was younger and raised her, teaching her tengu magic and giving her his most valued treasures. After she grew to womanhood, she chose to leave Akadama's side to follow her own goals. Akadama seems to care for her in a romantic sense, although it's not clear what way Benten feels in return.
Junior (二代目, Nidaime)
Voiced by: Junji Majima
Gyokuran (南褝寺 玉瀾)
Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa
Tenmanya (天瀾屋)
Voiced by: Bin Shimada
Novel and manga
The first novel is written by Tomihiko Morimi and was published in 2010 by Gentosha. A sequel to the first novel titled Uchōten Kazoku Nidaime No Kicho was published in 2015. A manga adapation of the anime written by Tomihiko Morimi and illustrated by Yu Okada began serialization in the June 2013 issue of Comic Birz on April 30, 2013. The manga ended serialization on May 29, 2015 with a total of 25 chapters and four volumes published by Gentosha.
The first 13 episode season aired in Japan from July 7, 2013 to September 23, 2013 on Tokyo MX, KBS, SUN, BS11, Kids Station, and KNB. The director is Masayuki Yoshihara, the scriptwriter is Shōtarō Suga, the music is scored by Yoshiaki Fujisawa, and the animation is done by P.A. Works. The opening theme is titled "Ecstatic Life" (Uchōten Jinsei (有頂天人生)) by Milktub. The ending theme is titled "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" (Keserasera (ケセラセラ)) by Fhána. The anime was released in Japan across seven volumes from August 25, 2013 to March 26, 2017. In the United States, Crunchyroll streamed the series and NIS America published the series as a premium set including two Blu-ray disc sets on January 5, 2015.
A second season will air beginning on April 9, 2017 on Tokyo MX, KBS Kyoto, and Kitanihon Broadcasting and will be streamed on Docomo Anime Store in Japan. The opening theme is "Natsugamama, Sawagumama" by Milktub and the ending theme is "Moon River" by Fhána. The main staff and cast members will be returning for the second season.
