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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mitsudomoe.png]]
2
3Satoshi Yabe has become an elementary school teacher, assigned to class 6-3. The school nurse is cute and the job shouldn't be too much of a problem. Except that he got the class with the most troublesome sisters in the whole school - the Marui triplets. All of them are perverted, rambunctious and prone to causing trouble, and it's his job to teach them. Though the rest of the class is only slightly less insane...
4
5''Mitsudomoe''[[note]] ''Three-Way Struggle''[[/note]] is a manga by Creator/NorioSakurai that ran in ''[[Magazine/ShonenChampion Weekly Shonen Champion]]'' from 2006 to 2017.
6
7The manga was adapted into a [[TwelveEpisodeAnime 13-episode anime]] by director Creator/MasahikoOhta in 2010, with a [[BonusEpisode 14th episode]] only available on the Japanese DVD release. A second season, titled ''Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!''[[note]] ''Three-Way Struggle - Getting Bigger!''[[/note]] aired the following year, though low ratings and lackluster DVD sales resulted in the season [[CutShort getting slashed to eight episodes]].
8
9[[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff The show ended up being more popular in America than its native Japan]], thanks to Website/{{Crunchyroll}} carrying the series for a decade. However the rights lapsed in January 2021 and none of the other streaming services have picked it up, nor has it ever had a home video release, rendering it [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes legally unwatchable]].
10----
11!!This manga provides examples of:
12
13* AccidentalPervert: The series runs on this. If there's a male character, it's guaranteed there will be some convoluted nonsense that puts him into a compromising position ripe for public humiliation.
14** As Shinya and Chiba wait in the Marui triplets' room, they decide to start playing basketball in the Marui triplets' room...with ''Mitsuba's underwear''. Chiba tosses it so hard it goes right onto Shinya's face, just in time for Mitsuba to walk in and see him sweating with exertion. She's aghast and horrified at the seeming act of PervertedSniffing and ignores his protestations that it was an accident. The next day, after she thinks it over, she realizes it's out-of-character for him and goes to hear him out. However, to Shinya's dismay, Futaba has just brought him ''even more'' of Mitsuba's panties, under the delusion he really does want them. Naturally, Mitsuba walks in on them just in time to see Shinya trying to pull them away from Futaba.
15** When Yabe gets a fever, he is taken to the nurse's office. Matsuoka ropes Hitoha into performing an exorcism, which involves stripping Yabe naked and painting kanji all over his body. When he wakes up, he's horrified at what's been done to him. Hitoha tries to explain, right up until Matsuoka -- thinking Hitoha needs Yabe's boxers for an exorcism ritual -- slams them right down onto her head like an oversized hat. Hitoha promptly experiences ColorFailure. As Yabe yells at her to [[ThatCameOutWrong take the boxers off]], we cut to the nurse Kiriyama listening outside the door, weeping as she thinks, "Yabe-sensei is being a pervert again!"
16** In episode 3, an overweight, sweaty guy in a trucker's hat who looks like the very picture of a LowerClassLout staggers through the streets, clutching several pairs of little girls' panties, and huffing about how he needs to find an elementary school. Turns out he's the Marui triplets ''father'', and they forgot to pack fresh underwear for their swim class. When the police show up to arrest him, Mitsuba and Hitoha -- who couldn't care less about him -- pretend they don't know who he is, while DaddysGirl Futaba runs after him and jumps into the police car with him for fun.
17* ACupAngst: Mitsuba has a lot of hang-ups when it comes to her underwear.
18* AgeInsecurity: When a food vendor offers to give food away to the town's children, Miku Sugisaki's middle-aged mother declares that she's 17. When the vender questions her on it, she emphatically replies that she's ''17''. This doubles as an ActorAllusion; the character was voiced by Creator/KikukoInoue, who is legendary in Japanese voice acting for always referring to herself as "17 Years Old + XXXX Days".
19* AlertnessBlink: In general use, particularly when Yabe-sensei notices something [[HilarityEnsues hilarious]] happening.
20* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Since ''Mitsudomoe'' is a crass gag comedy, there's not much in the way of serious romantic development, and any attempts at romance will inevitably blow up spectacularly.
21** Elementary school teacher Yabe-sensei has a crush on the school nurse Kuriyama. But since he's very nebbish, she's a complete moron, and his students are fucking insane, it never works out well for him.
22** Shinya Satou, who is routinely described in-universe as a {{Bishonen}} -- despite being 12 -- has a trio of stalkers who relentlessly follow him just to breathe in the same air he breathed and touch the same things he touched. Yet they often conspire against each other whenever it seems like one is making progress with him, to preserve their delicate balance of power.
23** Rich brat Miku Sugisaki is a {{Tsundere}} towards her classmate Mitsuba Marui, with the implication she has a crush on her. There's also the fact that she keeps trying to snap upskirts of Mitsuba, which she ''insists'' are just part of their bizarre rivalry. However, Mitsuba is a spiteful, petulant narcissist who just uses Miku's behavior as a means to humiliate her in front of their class.
24** When Miku describes Mitsuba's abrasive personality to her middle-aged mother Marina, Marina -- a hardcore masochist -- [[ComedicLolicon becomes obsessed with being brutally berated by the bratty middle schooler]]. The first time they meet, Marina gets in Mitsuba's face and coos over her while Mitsuba freaks out and tries to get away, and she won't let Mitsuba leave until she blasts Marina with some of her dominatrix-like caustic condescension.
25* AlphabetSong: Grade schooler Futaba has an ImageSong titled "ABC, Then DEF!" which is a parody of a grade school Alphabet Song. Since Futaba is a little pervert, it's about bust sizes. In episode 8 of the anime, it plays during her HardWorkMontage searching for a lost child's mother.
26* AlphaBitch: Miku Sugisaki, Mitsuba's UnknownRival with RegalRinglets in GirlishPigtails and a haughty disposition.
27* AmusingInjuries: Tends to be a RunningGag with Mitsuba.
28** And then some with her [[VitriolicBestBuds unfriendly friendly]], Miku.
29* AndYouWereThere: ''Gachiranger'' has a few interestingly shared roles. Gachi Red and Yabecchi, Gachi Pink and Miyashita, General Yamaarashi and Principal Noda, the teacher on the schoolbus and Kuriyama-sensei, the BigBad and Soujirou, the villainess and Kaieda-sensei, and the Gachirangers' monster friend and Yuudai.
30* AnimatedShockComedy: A rare anime example, full of gross-out humor and sexual innuendos, despite being centered around elementary school students.
31* AprilFoolsPlot: Hitoha gets a nasty case of paranoia one April Fools', worried she's going to get pranked.
32* ApronMatron: Hitoha shows some signs of this.
33* ArtEvolution: The art is rather sketchy at first (no pun intended), with twiggy limbs, weird heads, cluttered panel layouts, and a general lack of polish. Mitsuba also had a full set of bangs for the first nine chapters, before she cuts them evenly and sticks with that for the rest of the series. As the manga continues, though, the art becomes ''much'' more professional-looking and rounds out into the PuniPlush designs that would later be used for the anime. Mitsuba also has her cut bangs from the very start of the anime.
34* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Mitsuba is outwardly the most abrasive and caustic of the three Marui triplets, yet inwardly she's also the softest -- and not just because of her paunch. She keeps the pencil case Futaba made for her sisters, even though Futaba ruined her own and Hitoha tossed hers away; when Hitoha gets sick while she and Mitsuba are trapped in a storage shed, Mitsuba's bratty personality disappears and she desperately beats at the door for help. In fact, it's suggested that her bratty personality is the result of her being the only "normal" sister in a dysfunctional household and hence needing a way to stand out.
35* BatmanGambit: Hitoha and Yuudai's plan to win the relay race.
36* BatterUp: Soujirou uses ''[[RuleOfThree three]]'' of them at one point.
37* BeneathTheMask: Mitsuba desperately wants to be a sadistic bitch, but ultimately it is all bluster.
38** Hitoha can be cruel, scary and manipulative, but she shows love and compassion towards Nipples, her cat, her sisters (occasionally) and later Matsuoka and Yabe. But she is too shy to admit it.
39* BigBrotherInstinct: Or sister in this case but Mitsuba is often shown to be extremely protective of her sisters, at least when she's not calling them idiots or arguing with them.
40* BigEater: Mitsuba, with [[HollywoodPudgy dire consequences]].
41* BigOlEyebrows: Yuki, Yuudai and Soujirou
42** Yuki gets them from her dad.
43* BitchInSheepsClothing: Mitsuba accuses Futaba of being this in episode 2. But given the situation, Mitsuba was probably stressed so much that it was a justified outburst.
44** Played straight with Shiori Itou, who acts like a loyal friend to the Hopeless Squad when in actuality she's not above sabotaging Airi or using her and Mayumi as pawns to get Satou all to herself.
45* BlandNameProduct: The toys for Hitoha's favorite TV show, ''Gachiranger'', are made by a company called "Bonsai" - an obvious play on the real-world toy company Bandai.
46* BlankWhiteEyes: So much.
47* BlindWithoutEm: Kuriyama-sensei.
48* BlueWithShock: Especially Shinya.
49** Mitsuba's entire upper body goes blue in episode 14.
50* BookAndSwitch: Hitoha does this so she can get away with reading porn magazines in class.
51* BoyfriendBlockingDad: Soujirou loses his cool if there's even the slightest hint that a boy is getting close to one of the triplets (though he makes an exception for Shinya).
52* BrattyHalfPint:
53** Mitsuba is an obnoxious, spiteful, petulant, histrionic brat with an inflated ego who constantly berates everybody around her and demands they call her Mistuba-sama and agree to become her slaves the moment she has any leverage on them. She's also the show's resident ButtMonkey, and on the rare occasions she ''does'' show concern for her sisters it usually goes poorly. As in, "head slammed into the floor so hard blood bursts out of her face" poorly.
54** Ryuuta, Miku's little brother
55* BreakTheCutie: Yabe suffers from this after episode two of Zouryouchuu. After having the worst Christmas ever by getting rejected by Kuriyama, sitting alone in his apartment while wearing a Santa outfit with a mannequin with glasses wearing a female Santa outfit in front of him, having his beloved mannequin fall face first onto his Christmas cake and then catch on fire, becoming Santa for Futaba when Soujirou is running late, getting the crap beat out of him by Soujirou after a misunderstanding and finally walking home in the freezing snow in nothing but a Santa hat and his boxers, his personality changes in the next episodes, becoming easily irritated, resigned and unsurprised of the weird attitude of his classmates.
56* BreakingTheFourthWall:
57** In the "Yabecchi's Room" segment of episode 12, when questioned on her CharlesAtlasSuperpower and her dogi, Futaba's responses are "I don't know" and "ask the author".
58** It happened earlier than that. In episode 2, after Futaba gave her a bloody lump on her head during a game of RockPaperScissors, Mitsuba cried out with "How many times are you going to try to kill me in this anime?!"
59* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Satou and Futaba, mostly in the manga.
60* BumblingDad: Soujirou Marui, while well-meaning, looks ''very'' [[FaceOfAThug suspicious]] to just about everybody.
61* ButtMonkey: Yabe and Mitsuba mainly, though just about every character in the series draws the short stick every now and then...
62* CameraFiend: Miku when it comes to Mitsuba.
63* CastHerd: The classroom is divided into certain cliques. Team Sugisaki (Miku, Yuki, Miyashita and Sakiko), Shinya and Yuudai (and Shinya's fangirls), the triplets and the rest. Though they overlap frequently.
64* CatGirl: After not finding the stray cat they wanted to bring home, Mitsuba gets the bright idea of having ''Futaba'' be a substitute cat. She gets really into the role...
65* CharacterizationMarchesOn: During the panty incident at the swimming pool, in the manga, Futaba hates her dad as much as her sisters, which doesn't fit with her being the only one who really loves him shown later on. The anime actually brings this scene in line with Futaba's later characterization, making her the only one not to be punished.
66* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: The only way to explain Futaba's powers is that she's almost super-human.
67* ChewToy: Yabe and Mitsuba, because the world hates them.
68* ChickMagnet: Shinya Satou, so much that perhaps half of the school was chasing him in order to get a date by being the first to show him their panties -- even the old janitor wanted to date him too.
69%%** Soujirou Marui used to be one, too, until he finally let himself go.
70* ChildrenAreInnocent
71* ClingyJealousGirl: The Hopeless Squad with Shinya. Also Hitoha with the hamster Nipples.
72* CloudCuckoolander: Futaba
73* ColorFailure: Happens quite often, with hilarious results. A good example is episode 13: after Hitoha discovers that the cat she and Futaba were caring for had supposedly left them (and after their father said that they could keep it and they bought cat food and toys for it too, no less), she loses all color and repeatedly fills the cat's food dish with kibble, empties the kibble back into the bag, and repeats it.
74* ComedicUnderwearExposure: A major source of comedy throughout the series.
75* CoolBigSis: As revealed in her character song Choujo Dashi, ne! Mitsuba tries to be this to Futaba and Hitoha, but her tsundereness doesn't help much.
76* CreepyChild: Hitoha, albeit unintentionally.
77* CuteBruiser: Futaba, only in elementary school, can shatter various pieces of furniture (doors, desks, chairs, podiums, ''you name it!'') with her bare hands and feet.
78* CuteClumsyGirl: Kuriyama-sensei.
79* DaddysGirl: Though she's not the only daughter, Futaba is the only one of the triplets who really loves her dad, faults and all.
80** Averted with the other two, most of the time.
81* DancingTheme: The OP, also synchronized to the triplets' voices. For both seasons.
82* DaydreamSurprise: Hitoha appears to brutally call out Mitsuba when she finds Miku's bra tight, but it was little more than a fantasy.
83* DemotedToExtra:
84** Yabe. He's introduced as if he's the main character and the Marui triplets are his foils, but his prominence is very quickly eclipsed by the triplets themselves, to the point where most chapters/episode segments don't feature him at all.
85** School nurse Kuriyama has it even worse, going from Yabe's romantic intetest to a gag character who only appears to either wrap somebody in bandages or call Yabe a pervert due to a comical misunderstanding.
86* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Here's one from season two: Mitsuba's caught horseriding on a slimming machine. Miku's quick to insult her [[HollywoodPudgy weight problems]], and Mitsuba [[BlatantLies claims she's actually horseriding like a kid]]. Reaction?
87--> '''Miyashita:''' That's even lamer.
88* DirtyKid: The Marui Triplets.
89* DisturbedDoves: A running gag in almost every episode.
90* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything
91-->'''Miyashita''' (To Yabe): "I must study your lower body parts."
92* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Both the main openings are performed by the Marui sisters' voice actresses.
93* DraggedIntoDrag: Poor Shinya...
94* DumbIsGood: Futaba's probably the nicest of the Marui siblings overall, and is ''definitely'' the dimmest of the three.
95* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: Mitsuba was originally rail-thin, like all the other characters in the manga. She would later get {{Weight Woe}}s when Sakurai plumped them up into PuniPlush.
96* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
97** The manga begins with an emphasis on Yabe as a new teacher and his crush on nurse Kuriyama. By the end of the first volume, he's effectively punted to the side so the Marui triplets can take center stage.
98** Chapter 6 is about Mitsuba harassing Yabe because she has a crush on him, to the point she sets up a cartoon rope snare for him in the hallway. Hitoha is also introduced shouting "Indeed!" when she normally never raises her voice. It's very weird and it's a far cry from Mitsuba's later characterization. The anime skipped right over it.
99** When Matsuoka was introduced, she was originally just a normal girl with a secret passion for ghpst stories. Later she would become the weirdo who is solely known for her ghost obsession, which is how the anime introduces her.
100* EmotionlessGirl: Hitoha
101* EverybodyKnewAlready: When Miku is trying to find Mitsuba's weakness, she goes straight for the GoofyPrintUnderwear. Which doesn't work, since the entire class knows about it already, to the surprise of Miku and Mitsuba.
102* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Most of Hitoha and Mitsuba's classmates call them The Youngest and The Oldest respectively.
103* EveryoneHasStandards: Mitsuba might be a precocious sadist, but she greatly dislikes perversion as seen with how she constantly calls Futaba, Satou and Chiba perverts.
104** She thinks Satou is a pervert and doesn't hesitate to call him one every chance she gets, but even she's disgusted with how perverted the Hopeless Squad is and how much they stalk him.
105* ExpressiveHair: Futaba, on occasion.
106* EyesAlwaysShut: Yuudai and his mom.
107* FacelessMasses: In hypothetical scenarios, people are represented by CG pink girls and blue boys.
108* FaceOfAThug: Soujirou, again. He's a good dad, but his looks make people think otherwise. [[IWasQuiteALooker But wait till you see how he was 20 years ago.]]
109* FatherIWantToMarryMyBrother: Futaba said in a writing assignment that she wants to marry her dad when she grows up, even though she should be old enough to know better. Because of a mix-up, Mitsuba ends up reading it to the class and their dad, but that's another story.
110* FearlessFool: Futaba, by far.
111** [[SuperStrength Not that she really needs to fear anything, mind you.]]
112** This is subverted in her character song Ottona ni Natara, in which she confesses that her only fear is to grow up.
113* FestivalEpisode: In episode 2-4.
114* ForeheadOfDoom: That one female student whose forehead shines.
115* FreeRangeChildren: The Marui siblings seem to be this. They appear to go to the mall unsupervised in episode 5.
116* FriendToAllChildren: Yabe states in his character song Sensei wa Kodomo? Kodomo wa Sensei? that he doesn't care about his students disrespecting him because he still gets along with them all.
117* FromTheMouthsOfBabes
118* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In the first OP, Yuudai gets {{nosebleed}}s when Hitoha accidentally shows him her book during the dance routine.
119** Sometimes in the anime, (frozen) fights and arguments can be seen in the background.
120* GeniusDitz: Futaba, at least when boobs are involved.
121* GenkiGirl: Futaba, and HOW! In fact, the only times she ''isn't'' energetic are whenever she's sick, or during class as she often sleeps whenever a lesson is going on.
122* GirlishPigtails
123* GoingCommando: Hitoha, according to Shinya.
124** When convinced that Shinya likes panties more than anything (Thank you, Futaba...) Airi from the Hopeless Squad removes hers on the spot, kicks them into the stratosphere, and swears to never wear them again. She actually follows through with this as everyone in the classroom is aware that she doesn't wear underwear, but it doesn't stop Mayumi from trying to cover her modesty so nobody sees.
125* GoofyPrintUnderwear: A running gag is that Mitsuba tends to wear animal-print panties, despite being the oldest of the triplets. She has a collection of Zodiac animals, too!
126* GratuitousEnglish: Episode 3:
127-->'''Hitoha''': [[BigOMG OH MY GAHD.]]
128** At the end of Season 2's OP, the girls spell out the title as M-I-T-S-U-D-O-M-O-E instead of mi-tsu-do-mo-e.
129** It's all over Season 2's ED.
130* GreenEyedMonster: Yuudai hates the fact that Shinya is so popular with the women. Even more that [[CelibateHero he wants nothing to do with them]].
131* GroinAttack: Actually the focus of an ''entire story''. The triplets try this, under the logic that if Yabe got hurt, Kuriyama-sensei would have to look at his crotch, immediately fall in love, and then he'd get laid.
132* HartmanHips: For some reason, the girls in the anime are a unique combination of PuniPlush with pear-shaped bodies.
133* TheHecateSisters: The Marui triplets; Futaba is the maiden, Mitsuba the mother, Hitoha the crone.
134* HostileShowTakeover: In the first season's opening. Mitsuba briefly considers changing the name of the show to ''Mitsuba-sama'', but is pushed away by Hitoha before it goes further.
135* HugeSchoolgirl: Miyashita stands a head taller than her classmates, and she's also a basketball ace.
136* {{Hypocrite}}: Some of the kids, especially Mitsuba and Hitoha. For example, Hitoha states that she doesn't care about her height during a physical examination. [[DescriptionCut Cue a high hair bun a camera zoom-out later.]]
137%% * HypocriticalHumor: The result of things like that. Another staple.
138* IdeaBulb: Futaba gets a pair of these in episode 8 of the first season.
139** Hitoha's is [[LampshadeHanging brilliant enough to make her sisters recoil]].
140* IdiotCrows: Usually at the end of a segment.
141%%* IdiotHair: Futaba, fittingly.
142%%* IdiotsCannotCatchColds: Subverted, since Futaba caught one.
143* ImageSong: In order: The triplets, Sakiko, Miku, the Hopelessly in Love with Satou-kun Trio and... Nipples. The hamster has a character song. It's 4 minutes of Momoko Saito making squeaking sounds. Yabe has one as a B-side on the second season's opening, and the show's best album adds songs for Miyashita and a duet for Yuudai and Shinya. Yuki is the only major character ''without'' a song.
144* InformedAttractiveness: Shinya is portrayed as a ChickMagnet who half the school's female students are crushing hard on, but it terms of design he doesn't look much different from other male characters his age.
145* InformedAttribute: Mitsuba and her weight issues. Even though her fatness invisible to the audience, half the characters keep making allusions to her extra pounds (especially in Season 2).
146%%* InnocentInnuendo: Another staple of the show.
147%%** Also, Futaba to Shinya in the manga.
148* InnocentlyInsensitive: Yoshioka is one of the nicer students, but she tends to unintentionally make comments about Mitsuba's weight but without any meanness.
149* IWasQuiteALooker: Soujirou was pretty good looking back in the day, to the point that a photo of him is mistaken for class heartthrob Shinya.
150* {{Jerkass}}: Almost ''everyone'' in the series have at least one moment, but really the entirety of Class 6-3 count given that they're all perverted, disrespectful and disobedient brats who give their teacher a hard time and immediately jump to conclusions without giving someone a chance to explain themselves and quickly label them as an offender of some sorts while the true offender is made the victim. However, the most offending jerks tend to be Mitsuba, Hitoha, Chiba and the Hopeless Squad.
151** Mitsuba in general treats just about everyone, including her own family, as if they're below her despite having no real talent herself. And when Sugisaki, Miyashita and Yoshioka sacrifice their dignity to help her, she throws them under the bus just to spare herself the embarrassment.
152** Hitoha usually isn't as bad as Mitsuba but she's got a pretty cold disposition and a vindictive streak that goes too far sometimes as she's not above screwing people over whenever they provoke her. Although she can be crueler than Mitsuba when properly provoked.
153** Chiba is a sexual deviant in training who goes out of his way to embarrass girls, but hypocritically calls Satou a pervert and gives him a hard time whenever he's made out a pervert by his peers.
154** Matsuoka isn't intentionally callous, but she's incredibly invasive and makes just about everyone she interacts with uncomfortable and often destroys their belongings without any consideration for how it makes them feel because of her distorted ideas of those items being 'possessed' by spirits. In fact, it's heavily implied that her attitude is the reason why she's often alone because they make sure to avoid her.
155** Miyashita has her moments, and despite her own faults she doesn't hesitate to laugh at others whenever they embarrass themselves.
156** The Hopeless Squad are relentless stalkers who constantly harass Satou despite how clearly uncomfortable it makes him and aren't above going harassing any other female who even dares to speak to Satou, especially Airi who is the most obsessive of Satou, however Shiori stands out as the true {{Jerkass}} of the group as she has no problem using her friends as pawns to try and get Satou all to herself.
157* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mitsuba has a dismissive attitude towards everybody, but she also slips up and reveals her kindness often such as when Futaba made replacement pencil cases for her sisters, Mitsuba kept hers long after her sisters had stopped. And then despite being mean to them on occasion, Mitsuba doesn't hesitate to come to the defense of her sisters when they appear to be in actual danger.
158* KillItWithFire: Sakiko's method in dealing with photos that have ghosts (or Hitoha) in them.
159* KindheartedCatLover: Hitoha
160* SugarAndIcePersonality: Hitoha
161* LethalChef: Subverted by Futaba. It is likely that, due to her ridiculous strength, she tends to make food that comes out looking like it was crushed thoroughly (or in the case of the Valentine's chocolate she made, looked misleadingly like dog poo). Anyone who takes a first glance at her cooking may think "Is that even food?"; however, it actually tastes delicious, according to those who have tried it.
162* LimitedWardrobe: While most characters avert this, Futaba is always seen wearing either a dogi or, after she cuts that up to make pencil cases, the blue top seen in the page image.
163* LockedInARoom: Mitsuba and Hitoha get trapped in the gym storage shed when a game of cops and robbers goes astray.
164** And then later on in ''Zouryouchuu'' episode six, they wind up being in their home's bathroom after Mitsuba crash lands on their side's doorknob while their dad's out cold from drinking too much.
165* LovableSexManiac: "69" cap wearer and [[{{Nosebleed}} serial blood donor]] Yuudai.
166%%* LoveFreak: Yuki. Considering the fact that her parents are HappilyMarried SickeninglySweethearts...
167* ManipulativeBitch:
168** Hitoha could, for instance...
169*** Use her NightmareFace and threaten Yabe with implied student mistreatment in Mitsudomoe's variant of musical chairs.
170*** Utterly beat Futaba flat in a squabble for Nipples with pornography magazines.
171*** Trick Yabe into saying certain words that she can use against him to have what she wants, like forcing him to take care of Nipples.
172** Oh, and while you're at it: [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Mitsuba]] and [[AlphaBitch Miku]].
173* MinorInjuryOverreaction: Aiko tends to mummify people with simple injuries such as a nosebleed.
174* MissedHimByThatMuch: In the final episode, an old lady reminisces about the time she met the Marui triplets and their father—just as the older versions of them walk right past her.
175* MissingMom: Nothing is ever said of where the triplets' mother is.
176* MistakenForCheating: Nipples learning to backflip thanks to Futaba, coupled with some vague language, makes Yabe think there's a sexy love triangle going on.
177* MistakenForGay: Shinya and Yuudai on more than one occasion.
178** Miku's obsession with knocking Mitsuba down a peg often results in looking like a ''[[StalkerWithACrush different kind of obsession]]'' from a third (or even Mitsuba's) perspective. And later, Miku eating the cookie crumbs off Sakiko.
179* MistakenForPedophile: Happens to Soujirou often, due to him looking creepy and being seen hanging around young girls (his daughters and their friends).
180* MomentKiller: Played straight:
181-->'''Soujirou''': "Look at you three still, fighting over your old dad. C'mere so I can give you all a big hug."
182-->'''Hitoha''': "I don't particularly care about you."
183--><insert ColorFailure>
184* MundaneMadeAwesome:
185** The opening scene of musical chairs is a battle on par with most war movies, set to Verdi's ''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Dies Irae]]''.
186** Kuriyama's bandage wrapping people [[BlindWithoutEm without her glasses]] just by seeing the color red on them.
187** The human curling game.
188%%* NatureAbhorsAVirgin: Poor Yabe.
189* NightmareFace: Take Hitoha's book away from her, and you get one of these. Or try to stop her from doing something she wants to do (such as play with Nipples). Or Futaba when she catches a cold. You know what? ''Everyone'' gets a chance at it.
190* NiceGirl: Despite their quirks, Yoshioka and Futaba are probably the nicest students in Class 6-3.
191** Despite the fact that she stalks Satou along with her friends, Mayumi is the only remotely pleasant member of the Hopeless squad who actually values Satou and her friendship with Airi and Shiori equally.
192%%* NightmareFetishist: Sakiko
193* NoDialogueEpisode: The next-to-last segment of episode nine has no dialogue aside from some {{Angrish}} by Mitsuba.
194* NoGuyWantsToBeChased: Shinya has three fangirls after him, and he doesn't want that. [[StalkerWithACrush Given their behavior, though,]] [[{{Yandere}} you can see why...]]
195** Soujirou Marui claims that he used to have the same problem back in his [[ChickMagnet hunk]] days.
196* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Soujirou gives Yabe one of these after mistaking him for being a pedo.
197** And again in Season 2 when he ends up in the Marui residence [[ItMakesSenseInContext wearing only his boxers]].
198* NoNameGiven: Miyashita is the only major student in the class who's never given anything beyond a last name. A handful of background characters get the same treatment (like Amikawa, that girl with the really shiny forehead).
199* NonstandardCharacterDesign: Soujirou Marui is drawn in a much rougher art style with thicker lines compared to everyone else on the show.
200** Also Yuki's dad is drawn in the same fashion.
201** Also there's that kid whose face looks like a dog and his mother.
202* NotAllowedToGrowUp: There are several stories that feature the same yearly holiday (usually Valentine's Day and Christmas), yet the kids are always in sixth grade.
203* NotWhatItLooksLike: Futaba spent an afternoon being used as a bowling ball for ice-bowling, where Shin kicked her quite hard (to her enjoyment, as she went flying off a ramp as a result). The next day, she excitedly declares "Shin-chan, you gotta nail me in the butt again sometime!"
204* ObviousStuntDouble:
205** In TheTag to chapter 55, Hitoha chalks up the fact that Gachi Pink's boobs shrink dramatically while transformed to her stowing them so they don't get in the way, rather than it being a stunt performer.
206** In the anime, one episode is almost entirely A ShowWithinAShow Franchise/PowerRangers parody, complete with its own stunt driver (though surprisingly only during scenes with no actual stunts).
207* TheOjou: Miku's family is extremely rich.
208* OminousLatinChanting: Hitoha walking up the steps to see Nipples is a call for the angelic choir and slow motion. She can be pretty scary when she's mad.
209* OnceAnEpisode: Poor Dad, so many times [[AccidentalPervert mistakenly questioned]] by the police.
210* OneDialogueTwoConversations: All over the place. It's one of Sakurai's favorite techniques.
211** When Hitoha and Matsuoka first become acquainted with each other, Matsuoka says she studies videos she watches in the middle of the night. She's referring to ghost haunting videos, but Hitoha thinks she's talking about porno. Takes on a ''very'' different meaning when Matsuoka offers to teach Hitoha about ''all sorts of things.''
212** When a breeze lifts up Hitoha's skirt, she asks Yabe if he saw. She's talking about her panties, but he think she means the latest Gachi Rangers episode. He says it was awesome; cue MistakenForPedophile.
213* OnlySaneMan -- Miyashita believes herself to be the only normal one in the class, but her attempts at doing so make everyone think she's the weird one. Satou Shinya is probably the closest to the role and is often the one to react normally whenever one of his more insane classmates (especially Futaba) does something weird.
214** Though as of Zouryouchuu Miyashita can be officially be considered as this. Unless she's trying to befriend Hitoha.
215** Mayumi Katou is a member of the Hopeless Squad consisting of Satou's fangirls/stalkers but she's considered the 'normal one' of the Squad whose crush on Satou is not nearly as extreme or obsessive as Airi or Shiori's as she frequently questions Airi's weirder ideas and is sometimes reluctant to go through with them.
216%%* PantyThief: Yuudai willingly, Shinya by accident. Futaba to ''her own sisters''. (Zero-Context: Entry is just names)
217%%** Futaba literally stole them off of Miku once.
218* PapaWolf: For as much as Soujirou is a bumbling dad, if he thinks anyone is messing with his daughters, he gets serious and scary. Suddenly it's clear from who Hitoha inherited her NightmareFace, Futaba her [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower Super Strength]], and Mitsuba [[BigBrotherInstinct her protectiveness]].
219* PaperThinDisguise: Miyashita let her hair down and no one recognized her, but when she put hair pins in...
220** Immediately subverted when she tries to invoke it, as all of them recognize her, [[FridgeLogic despite asking who she was just a moment ago,]] because that time she had her hair-clip in. She is understandably confused by this.
221* PetTheDog:
222** Hitoha is manipulative, scary and cruel to almost everybody. But she does care for Nipples (and later, the cat), so there's ''some'' compassion in her.
223** Despite being cruel and manipulative to Yabe, deep down, Hitoha cares for him. Unfortunately, everytime she shows compassion to him, he thinks the wrong idea from her.
224** Zig-Zagged with Hitoha's relationship to Sachiko. She is surprisingly mild toward Sakiko, who she seems to have taken a bit of a liking to, but she actually hates her ([[spoiler:Especially when Sakiko spoils her Gachiranger moment in ep 7 and burns her Gachi Red photograph in Zouryouchuu ep 2.]]) but does not show it out of courtesy. This is subverted [[spoiler: in Chapter 221 of the manga in which it seems that she has come to care about her, such as when Hitoha called her "Sacchan" when Matsuoka was blank and later becomes embarrassed for doing it so.]]
225* {{Phobia}}: Hitoha has a great fear of heights. You get to see it in [[VertigoEffect a very fitting perspective]], too.
226%%* PoppingButtons
227* PornStash: Yabe has one out in the open, but then it is his apartment. He just wasn't expecting Hitoha to make a duplicate key and break in...and that's not even saying anything about Hitoha's massive stash. Yabe's stash turns out to be Futaba's undoing in the cockroach-smashing episode.
228* PottyEmergency:
229** Episode 2-6, when the girls eat bad oranges and Mitsuba refuses to let them in.
230** Futaba has one in Episode 7 of ''Zouryouchuu!'', but can't make her point clear enough due to having lost her voice; in that same season, Mitsuba has a brief one in Episode 5.
231* PrecisionFStrike: Hitoha towards Mitsuba, sometimes calling her a *** pig.
232* PrefersGoingBarefoot: Futaba is ALWAYS barefoot, including in the snow.
233* PsychoStrings: Whenever Mr. PapaWolf, Soujirou Marui, is about to go medieval.
234* PuniPlush: Which is much more evident in the anime adaptation.
235* RockMeAmadeus: Miyashita's ImageSong "Uzai Ka" is a remix of several Russian songs, including "Korobeiniki" and "Katyasha", which play under her rant about how nobody can remember her name.
236* RunningGag: Tons of them.
237** Three girls are shown to have an obvious crush on Shinya.
238** The class hamster's name (Nipples)
239** Futaba's breast obsession.
240** Yabecchi constantly getting the wrong idea from Soujiro.
241** Soujiro always getting arrested.
242** Hitoha's ''Gachiranger'' fangirliness.
243** Mitsuba wanting to be called "Mitsuba-sama" as a reward for anything.
244** Hitoha [[StealthHiBye always manages to hide underneath Yabe's desks and tables.]]
245*** And in episode 3 of ''Zouryouchuu'' it backfired.
246*** As of episode 7 of ''Zouryouchuu'' Yabe is finally used to it, moving his legs so she can get into her spot.
247* SameSexTriplets: The Marui sisters are triplets, though unlike most examples they don't seem to be identical.
248* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud:
249** Futaba sometimes goes 'tate-chitte tate-chitte' when she's in a brisk walk.
250** Whenever Mitsuba is stuffing her face with food, rather than mimic eating sounds, her voice actress rapidly recites "mushikora" over and over again, like a mantra.
251* SchoolNurse: Aiko Kuriyama
252* SeasonalRot: InUniverse, the one episode of ''Honki Sentai Gachiranger'' that we actually see is apparently suffering from this, if Hitoha's reactions are anything to go by.
253* SelectiveObliviousness -- Yabe is surprisingly clueless when Kuriyama calls the whole class perverted.
254* SenseiChan: Sensei-''cchi'', more like. Futaba seems to address every member of the faculty this way. Yes, even the ''male'' ones. And they are fine with it, somehow.
255* ShoutOut:
256** Chapter 9 is entitled "[[VideoGame/ClockTower Scissorman in Puberty]]" and the title page has Mitsuba posing with a huge pair of scissors.
257** In chapter 26, Chiba is reading a copy of ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya''.
258** The ending of episode 9 is a clear shout-out to the space station docking scene in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.
259** The scene in episode 13 where Soujiro breaks a hole through the girls' bedroom door and peeps through it might be a reference to ''Film/TheShining''.
260* ShowWithinAShow: ''[[{{Sentai}} Honki Sentai Gachiranger]]''.
261** And the short "Yabecchi's Room" sequences.
262* ShrinkingViolet: Sometimes the reason for Hitoha's NightmareFace.
263* SignatureShot: In the first episode, the camera races through the halls of the elementary school in full 3D, mimicking a Steadicam. Many of the director's other works feature a similar shot in the first episode.
264* SoundEffectBleep: When Hitoha calls Mitsuba a "*** pig," the asteriked word is represented as pig noises.
265* SpecialEditionTitle: Episode four of ''Zouryouchuu!'' ends with a version of "Nearer My God to Thee" sung by the Marui triplets, played over stained glass windows depicting the events of the last sketch. Hitoha breaks the screen at the end, [[NightmareFace furious]].
266-->'''Hitoha''': Don't make endings where I die.
267** In episode 1-7 (and ''only'' episode 1-7 for some reason), the opening has sound effects added for events such as Futaba breaking things, people popping up from the sides of the screen, and Yuudai getting a NoseBleed.
268** Episode 1-9 with Futaba ice-sliding to Blue Danube.
269* StalkerWithACrush: Shinya's fangirls a.k.a The Hopeless Squad, consisting of Airi Ogata, Mayumi Katou and Shiori Itou, however Airi stands out as the most obsessive stalker who goes above and beyond in taking Satou's belongings, following him around and doing especially disturbing things such as imitating his movements and breathing his air. Ironically, she has no idea that she's a textbook stalker, Mayumi and Shiori appear more aware although.
270** Exaggerated since they know his scent, handwriting, and [[{{Squick}} urine]].
271* StalkingIsLove: Averted with Yoshioka, who despite loving all forms of love, is against stalking, although when she thinks Hitoha is stalking Yabe she nonetheless tries (albeit uncomfortably) to be supportive. Also, Satou is absolutely creeped out by the Hopeless Squad's relentless stalking and goes to great lengths to avoid them and to make sure that they don't steal his things.
272* StandardSnippet: Rather than "Yume-iro no Koi", episode nine ends with Futaba whirling across the frozen pool to the Blue Danube Waltz.
273** And episode 7 of Zouryouchuu ends with replays of the curling game to the farandole from Bizet's ''L'Arlesienne''.
274* StealthHiBye: Hitoha, a soft-spoken CreepyChild, often hides away under Yabe's desk, unnoticed, until she starts speaking and startles him. Since she's right at his crotch level, it frequently leads to MistakenForPedophile if anybody besides the weirdoes in Class 6-3 spot it.
275* StoneWall: Mitsuba in the curling game.
276* SuperDrowningSkills: Hitoha does not know how to swim and almost drowns not just once but twice because of this.
277* SuperWindowJump: Futaba leaps out a fourth story window to retrieve her dad's picture, much to the surprise of Shinya's fangirls.
278* TalkingWithSigns: Futaba, temporarily after losing her voice in episode 7 of ''Zouryouchuu!''
279* TeacherStudentRomance: Hitoha wanting to apologize to Yabe about insulting his love of ''Gachiranger'' leads to Yuki assuming that Hitoha's a StalkerWithACrush. Yet it's Yuki herself who makes Yabe actually think that when he walks in at the wrong moment.
280** Hitoha and Yabe's being (or accidentally getting) unusually close is also reiterated throughout the show, even though there is no apparent sign of romantic attraction. The main example is Hitoha spending her entire time in the school under Yabe's desk, both in the classroom and in the teachers' room. Other examples include [[spoiler: Hitoha helping Matsuoka undress Yabe, Hitoha seemingly allowing Yabe to feel her "breast tumor", Hitoha having Yabe's home phone number and calling him over, and the continuation of the misunderstanding about Gachiranger (climaxing with Hitoha clenching Yabe's hand to tell him she loves them)]].
281** This only happens in the anime, since their relationship is slightly distant in the manga.
282* ThemeTwinNaming: The sisters' names go [number]-[kanji for leaf], starting from three and working down to one.
283* TwelveEpisodeAnime The first season has 13. ''Zouryouchuu!'' takes it even further, consisting of only eight episodes.
284* ThrowTheDogABone: Episode 13 is the first time Mitsuba does something selfless that doesn't come back to bite her in the butt.
285* ToiletHumour: And how! Episode 2 goes about as far as ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark !''
286* TomeOfEldritchLore: Hitoha's book is treated as such. [[PowerGlows The inside of the book even glows pink]] with "forbidden knowledge".
287* {{Tsundere}}: Mitsuba and Miku
288* TwinkleInTheSky: The [[SpecialEditionTitle Episode 9]] ending.
289* UnfortunateNames: The class hamster, named Nipples. Which leads to a scene long InnocentInnuendo where Kuriyama-sensei gets some very wrong ideas.
290* UnusualEyebrows: Mitsuba's eyebrows are giant dots.
291* VerbalTic: Futaba usually ends her sentences with "-su".
292** The Gachirangers tend to add Gachi a lot.
293* VitriolicBestBuds: Mitsuba & Miku
294** Also debatably Hitoha & Sakiko
295* WackyHomeroom: Big understatement.
296** Not that their parents are any different.
297* WeUsedToBeFriends: Apparently Mitsuba and Satou used to be close when they were younger, but when Mitsuba changed her attitude they became distant and in present time they both find each other annoying and/or perverted and Satou seems closer to Futaba. However, they are still capable of getting along at times.
298* WeightWoe: Mitsuba, although [[BigEater she doesn't put much effort into dieting.]]
299* WoundedGazelleGambit: In gym, the Marui triplets play Cops & Robbers with their class. When Mitsuba and Hitoha (robbers) are discovered by Futaba (cop), Mitsuba shoves Hitoha into their sister's path while screaming "Baka!"[[note]] ''lit. "stupid"''[[/note]] at them. She hides in a storage shed until class is over, whereupon she's discovered by an incensed Hitoha. However, both of them are apparently locked inside the shed by a teacher, and no matter how hard Hitoha tries to open the door it won't budge. Mitsuba is annoyed, but she soon notices Hitoha clutching her stomach and groaning. Becoming increasingly distressed by her ailing sister, Mitsuba grabs a bat and bangs on the door while yelling with an increasingly frantic voice for somebody to open up. When they're finally discovered by a teacher, a teary-eyed Mitsuba runs to her sister and tells her they're saved.
300--> '''Hitoha''': "'''''BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKA!'''''"
301:: Hitoha gets up and walks off into the sunset while a dazed Mitsuba [[FaceFault hits the floor face-first]].
302* {{Yandere}}: Shinya's fangirls the Hopeless Squad, but especially Shiori.
303** Miku's mom seems to border on this at the thought of being abused.
304* YankTheDogsChain: Mitsuba finally gets some genuine fans when she twists the definition of "nympho" to suit her own ends, but has to distance herself when she learns that might have consequences.
305* YuriFan: Yuki Yoshioka, an all-around LoveFreak, seems very keen on the idea of her friends Miku and Miyashita pairing up with Mitsuba and Hitoha, respectively.

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