The Laughing Salesman / Characters

While Moguro and the Bartender are the only consistently-recurring characters in the show, Moguro works with many different clients with different stories.

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Main Cast

Fukuzou Moguro

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moguro.png

Voiced by: Tōru Ōhira (original), Tesshō Genda (NEW)

A constantly smiling salesman who's job is to help people out with any desire they want.

A Day in the Limelight: While he's still not their outright protagonist, the double-length SP episodes have more time to dip into how he gets around, scouts clients, and performs the actions needed to make their desires come true (a lot of it involves mundane negotiations or coercion rather than pointing his finger).
The Ace: He seems to be really good at everything. After all, if he wasn't, then how would he get the attention of his customers?
Acrofatic: Downplayed. He isn't super huge, nor will you see him jump around and perform parkour, but for a stout guy with short, little legs, he can run much faster and with much more ease than you would expect. NEW implies that he runs for exercise on a regular basis.
Adaptational Nice Guy: In NEW, he's a little bit less cruel.
Affably Evil: He's always cheerful and friendly, even when he's screwing his clients over.
Ambiguously Human: Just what is he? He looks like an ordinary, if odd, person, but he's able to do things and has abilities that no human should...
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: He's been involved in car theft, public urination, insider trading, food poisoning, prostitution, embezzlement, counterfeiting, and dine-and-dashing.
Bad Samaritan: He approaches people under the guise of helping them, but whoever accepts his help quickly regrets it.
Batman Gambit: For some of his less upstanding customers, Moguro just gives them exactly what they want and just waits for them to doom themselves through their own deplorable behaviour.
Berserk Button: While his face doesn't express how he truly feels, he really doesn't like it when his customers ignore his warnings or try to exploit his services. Also, while he works for free, he does so at his own discretion. Obviously, this means that his clients can't boss him around, but at the same time, they shouldn't have the gall to fire him either.
Big Eater: It's not played up as much as his impressive drinking abilities, but Moguro does have quite the appetite at times in NEW. Episode 10 has a blink and you miss it moment of his back to the viewer and a very large meal in front of him. Other moments include eating three ice creams in one sitting and eating two lunches meant for someone else.
Big Fun: As long as he's not screwing you over, Moguro is a fun guy to hang out with for drinks, meals, and conversation. In New, he's shown to have a soft spot for children and likes to entertain them with magic tricks and free toys.
Biting-the-Hand Humor: In one episode, he sarcastically praises his creators as artists comparable to Vincent van Gogh.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: invokedAssuming Moguro isn't just plain evil, albeit a very friendly form, he is most certainly operating by a different set of standards than most people.
Brainwashed and Crazy: Moguro seems to have the power to do this to his clients.
Cheshire Cat Grin: He is always smiling that unnatural smile that shows his full set of chompers.
The Corrupter: Most of the time he's willing to simply put all the pieces in place and let the chips fall, but occasionally (such as in episode 43) he'll actively influence people to screw themselves over.
Covert Pervert: He espouses the virtues of respecting women, but he can be especially naughty when ladies are involved with his schemes. For instance, to ruin a beach volleyball game, he used a boxcutter to sabotage the swimsuits of the girls so they'd fall off, whereas he merely sneaked laxatives into the food and drink of the men.
Demonic Possession: The seventh TV special shows that Moguro can do this through a special shadow technique. In the special, he controlled an alligator by becoming its shadow.
Did Not See That Coming: Claims that he didn't expect the kleptomaniac high school girl he was helping in "Pitfalls of Blackmail" to be an extortionist gang leader, though his tone as he says such has a tinge of sarcasm in it.
Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: Downplayed. He's more of a Humanoid Abomination than an Eldritch Abomination, but this trope is still in effect since he's genuinely friendly (despite his intentions) and he'll often treat clients to a meal or some drinks before offering them his services. Just don't make the mistake of treating him to drinks. Chances are, he'll drink you under the table and then leave you with the bill.
Disproportionate Retribution: Moguro's disapproval and disappointment when some of his clients breaks a promise, a deal, or just his trust is understandable, especially in cases where his help actually does make his client's life better. But when he strikes back, he usually goes overboard.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Moguro's skin is notably several shades lighter than most other characters.
Enemy Eats Your Lunch: Part of his trolling nature, he takes pleasure in eating his client's food.
Even Evil Has Standards:
- He seemed to be genuinely distressed when it almost looked like Deyashiro was contemplating suicide via drowning (he was actually just admiring the view). Moguro tried to grab hold of him to keep him from falling and was visibly relieved when he "saved" him. He also won't let potential clients get injured... at least not until he can set them up properly.
- When a famous client asks for the use of a fixer to cover up his fling with a married woman, Moguro's price is that he cherish the wife who remained loyally in love with him despite the client's numerous affairs, saying he won't see such a good woman denigrated. The client then falls so hard for a woman that he divorces his wife for her without hesitation when the lady asks him to. And he pays for it.
Everyone Has Standards: He might like drinking to schmooze with clients or to simply relax, but he'll go out of his way to punish alcoholics and addicts in general.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He finds humor in what most people would think is tragic.
Evil Laugh: They don't call him "The Laughing Salesman" for nothing.
Evil Sounds Deep: But only when voiced by Tōru Ōhira. By contrast, Tesshō Genda gives a more whimsical performance with a higher, but still masculine, pitch.
Exact Words: His clients do have the problems they come to him about solved. If it's not the way they expected or there are further consequences, that's their problem, particularly if they ignore his warnings.
Face Framed in Shadow: Distressingly, even when he isn't wearing his hat.
The Fair Folk: Capricous, mysterious, and offering services which bind people into agreements that have severe consequences for breaking them—or even following through with them.
Fan Disservice: It's only for a few seconds, but in NEW, you can see his pasty white ass when he gets out of a hot spring.
Fat Bastard: He's portly, plump and more than willing to casually laugh at the lives he has gleefully ruined.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Moguro occasionally does this. You do NOT want this to happen, since chances are that he is pissed at you.
A Glass of Chianti: After the first season, he forgoes whiskey and beer in favour of drinking red wine to visually stress his sinister image even more.
Humanoid Abomination: He's something. But it's most assuredly not human.
- The new anime series really highlights this in an up close shot of him laughing. The inside of his mouth is filled with even more tiny mouths!
- Another shot in NEW doesn't have the little mouths, but his mouth does appear far deeper and more cavernous than what should be physically possible...
The Hyena: Downplayed. He isn't Laughing Mad or a Giggling Villain, but he can and will laugh at any situation.
I Lied: If he's not bending the truth to further his goals, he's not saying it at all.
Implacable Man: He's capable of running up 47 floors of a tall building in seconds and once travelled back to mainland Japan from a distant tropical resort by rowing there.
Irony: The 8th episode begins with Moguro in a Catholic church praying for the well-being of all humans. Seeing how he treats humans...
It Amused Me: His driving motivation in whatever he does. He outright says this in the A story for episode 7A of NEW. He only picks his latest victim cause he was passing by, and was feeling playful.
I Warned You: Bad things will happen if you break a promise to him or do not heed his warnings... not that anyone actually listens...
Jackass Genie: He will give you what you want, but will still screw you over in the end, even if you refuse his help. Especially when you refuse his help.
Jack of All Trades: One episode described himself as one. Given everything he can do...
Jerkass Has a Point: Often some of his observations on life, society, and the problems his clients face are fairly nuanced. He might even offer some sound advice that would actually negate the need for his, ah... "services"...
Karma Houdini: He always gets away with screwing over his customers and never suffers any consequences.
Kick the Dog: He just loves doing this to all of his customers regardless of who they are.
The Kindnapper: He has a very nice treehouse in the forest, and if you're a slave to routine he may just drag you there. No, no, not for anything creepy. Just to get you back to nature. Though he may also get you bombed out on mushrooms.
Kubrick Stare: Depending on the position of his head, Moguro is prone to this trope at times.
Lighter and Softer: He himself is this in NEW. He has a lot more Pet the Dog moments compared to the original and seems to genuinely want to help people, though he still finds them screwing themselves over hilarious.
Literal Genie: He uses Exact Words a lot. For instance, one story in NEW is about a shopaholic woman whom he gives a credit card that she has to never pay; in exchange, all the things she buys becomes repossessed the next day. Then she uses it to get a spa day to make her look younger and fitter, and the next day she wakes up old and flabby.
Living Lie Detector: It is impossible to lie to him. He will either know what you are really thinking or want in life or if he's lied to, he will sometimes "accept" the answer he's given since his client has either already screwed themselves or broken their promise. Either way, it's evident he always knows the truth.
The Matchmaker: One of his services. However, unambiguously happy pairings like the one in "Divorce Club" are excruciatingly rare as there's a high chance that he made a coupling happen to make someone else miserable.
Meaningful Name: His name can be translated to "Black Mourning, Fortune and Misfortune".
Meet Cute: An actual chance meeting with Moguro is incredibly rare as he thoroughly researches his clients and manipulates events to evoke this trope.
Mistaken for Pedophile: In the second half of Episode 7B of NEW, he's in the park and he performs some magic tricks for the kids when one of the kids' ball rolls over toward him. Despite there being an adult watching him performing his magic tricks for the kids, one of the mothers was actually going to call the police on him for being near them. And Moguro's constant smiling doesn't exactly make him look innocent.
Mundane Solution: Moguro has vaguely defined supernatural abilities, but mostly uses down-to-earth methods to get what he wants. Perhaps best illustrated in The Executive and the Window where a mysterious elixir is highlighted while two office workers wish they could initiate a "Freaky Friday" Flip only for said potion to not be used as Moguro just uses the two men's uncanny resemblance of one another to disguise them both.
My Card: He will almost always without fail give his intended victim his business card, which reads, "Moguro Fukuzou. 'I will fill your empty soul'."
Never Gets Drunk: It would be an understatement to say that he's really good at holding his liquor. The amount of alcohol needed to make him a little tipsy is enough to give most people borderline alcohol poisoning.
Nightmare Fetishist: The mere fact that he finds humor in the atrocities that follow in his wake lands him in this territory. In the ending monologue of Episode 8A of NEW, he actually finds the concept of Yandere love romantic and hope he himself gets to experience that someday!
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: On the very rare occasions he tries to outright help his clients to the best of his ability, they either find a way to be ungrateful for his aid or manage to screw up regardless.
No-Sell: Zig-zagged. He has been hit by a metal golf club at least twice on two separate occasions and got up without a scratch. But accidentally kick a rock on his forehead and he'll bleed enough to require first aid. In NEW, a simple (accidental) punch gave him a swollen black eye, bloody nose, and a bleeding cut on his forehead. It seems that the more mundane and natural the strike, the more damaged he gets. However, he recovers very quickly, sometimes almost after the next scene or two.
No Sense of Personal Space: He tends to get very close to his clients' faces, which creeps them out. He also tends to break Male Restroom Etiquette by initiating conversation while at a urinal, which further shows his lack of respect for boundaries.
Nonstandard Character Design: Even within the cartoonish Fujiko art style, he still stands out among other characters, with his thin red lips, large head, pale skin, stout body, and his never-changing facial expression. This, of course, makes him even more unsettling.
Not So Above It All: He offers his services for free, but he can be rather stingy with his money if it's not being explicitly spent for a ploy. He'll treat a target to a lavish sushi platter in one episode and then fume at how one has left him with a minuscule bill in another.
Offscreen Teleportation: He seems to be capable of this. One notable occurrence of this happens in the second episode of original anime run. It just so happens that the victim had his eyes on Moguro the entire time when he suddenly appeared sitting next to him in the next shot.
Offscreen Villain Dark Matter: Just where does he get the resources to "help" his clients? Both the original anime and NEW does show him earning money through legitimate transactions on a freelance basis, but not nearly enough to cover all expenses. Then again, he's also able to simply do things that define rational explanations as well...
The Omniscient: He's this, at least in the sense that he knows everything that is worth knowing about his intended victim. He'll know your name even if you never introduced yourself. This is why trying to lie to him is fruitless. In NEW, when directly asked how he could know so much, he handwaves it as "Just a hunch".
Pay Evil unto Evil: At the end of Episode 33 of the original, Moguro says "Do unto others as they do unto you", which was referring to his client's ironic punishment for disobeying the rule in exchange for his help. Arguably, some of his victims just get what was coming to them eventually.
Pet the Dog: Believe it or not, Moguro is capable of this.
- In episode 23, he seems to allow leniency in one of his rules. When the client breaks the rule about not letting a woman into the apartment because she is begging for shelter from a stalker, nothing bad happens to him. It is when he lets her in again because she insists on making dinner for him as thanks that he is hit with consequences. His punishment is also fairly light, as there is the implication that he can reconcile with his family and make things better.
- In one episode had him helped a college student win back the money he lost that day at the horse races (in fact, he literally called it "Community service") and another one had him help an office worker by giving him a much-needed makeover. Both times were free with no strings attached. However, the college student screwed himself by begging him for additional help beyond his initial generosity and the other tried to fool around behind his new girlfriend's back. Sometimes his clients will earn their own misfortune even when he's being more than fair.
- In Episode 74, he browbeats/kidnaps a stuffy salaryman and takes him to the forest so the guy can learn to relax and enjoy life, with no requirement or anything—and when they guy asks to go back to his old life, Moguro basically shrugs and lets him.
- In Episode 75, after punishing his client for trying to scam him, Moguro gifts a passing boy on his way home from cram school with a rare manga so the boy could have something fun to read between studies. Said rare manga was valued at 3 million yen!
- In Episode 7B of NEW, when some kids are playing with a ball in park and the ball rolls towards him, he takes the ball and performs some magic tricks with it for the kids. He even made more balls appear so all the kids can have one.
- In Episode 8A of NEW, He takes Bandai to an old-fashioned bathhouse with his ideal landscape painting for seemingly no other reason than the two bonded over their mutual love of bathhouses and they had fun drinking together the night before. He asked nothing in return and simply said that it'll be best to avoid going back to the same bathhouse again. Of course, then Bandai begs to go one more time...
- In Episode 11B of NEW, when Ari ignores his warning and puts her daughter in danger in the middle of traffic, she gets on her hands and knees and begs him to save her. When an oncoming truck heads towards her daughter, Ari tries to save her but Moguro jumps in and saves them both by DONing them and the truck. And for Ari's punishment, he influences Ari to audition to become an idol to fulfill her dream after she learns her lesson, which, compared to the previous customers' punishments, isn't that bad.
Perpetual Smiler: He always has a big smile on his face, even when he's reprimanding customers for not following his warnings.
Really Gets Around: In one episode, a guy accidentally (?) gets hold of Meguro's electronic organizer (this was the early 90s), and it's apparently got pages full of contact info for ladies who are crazy DTF anytime as long the caller has the right (provided) password, as well as tips for what they're into. Assuming it wasn't some kind of setup/trap for the Victim of the Week, that is. No, it was definitely a trap. Right? Because Moguro doesn't...r-right?
Refuge in Audacity: There's a lot of things that he has done to screw over all of his customers that it's hard to choose which one is the worst. He broken up families, relationships, and friendships, he drove several people insane, he ruins everybody's life, and he just laughs at it.
- If we're going strictly by property damage, the cases involving Mr. Uranari and Udo Taizo, from the old and new animes respectively, are top contenders. The former got drunk when drinking with Moguro, then was encouraged to go on a drunken joyride with a stolen (by Moguro nonetheless) semi-truck, smashing into various walls, driving completely through a family's living room, and eventually crashing into what appears to be a love hotel. ^note The later went on a rampage in a studio when the mask he was wearing wouldn't come off, destroying the set, damaging costly equipment, forcing the crew to run outside to avoid getting hurt, and kicking the asses of his sleazy agent and the rude director.
Shadow Walker: He appears to be one of these. The one time we do see him teleport onscreen in Episode 7 of NEW, he just... appears out of thin air from a dark spot.
Sharp-Dressed Man: Trips to a bathhouse or the gym aside, he's always seen in his three-piece suit, tie, and hat.
Shmuck Bait: An alternate formula for an episode has Moguro just give his clients what they want with no conditions whatsoever. These storylines invariably wind up being more devious than his usual MO as while a customer could feasibly come out of a normal deal better than they had before, the ones stuck in these stories have no way out of whatever Moguro has in store for them.
Signature Laugh: Moguro often gives a soft "Oooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!" during an episode. At the end of every episode, however, he gives off a much louder "OOOOH-HOO-HOO-HOO-HA-HA-HA-HAAA!"
Silly Walk: Sometimes Moguro will waddle in a manner resembling a penguin, with his arms firmly by his side.
The Social Expert: He knows the right words to tempt his customers to do business with him.
Stalker without a Crush: Once he finds a customer, he'll stalk them to learn more about them, follow them until they acknowledge him, and/or catch them in the act of breaking their promise.
Stealth Hi/Bye: He's fond of suddenly appearing next to his victims when they least expect him to. NEW also has him equally disappearing just as suddenly as well.
Stealth Insult: Considering he knows exactly what's troubling his clients, he also knows exactly how to poke at their vulnerabilities without losing his polite facade.
Supporting Protagonist: Moguro is, of course, in every episode and will offer his services to start the plot. However, it's his clients that the story focuses on and their desires and actions drive the episode after they run into Moguro.
Sweet Tooth: He'll sometimes be seen eating desserts, usually ice cream.
Tanuki: It seems to be his Animal Motif, if he has one. He vaguely looks like a tanuki, one of the tools he lends a client happens to be one, and several episodes connect him and tanukis.
Tareme Eyes: Don't be fooled by the droopy look on his face. Underestimating him is a bad idea.
Tranquil Fury: Even if he's upset with a client, usually for betraying his trust, he never really raises his voice that much or look angry when he's dishing out his revenge. A lot of it comes from his facial expression never changing.
Traveling Salesman: He travels through Japan looking for potential customers he believes that need his "help".
Trespassing to Talk: Don't be surprised if you suddenly find him inside your home, just so he can speak to you. And no, locking the doors won't stop him.
Troll: If you're lucky, he will simply act playful, mischievous, and irreverent in front of you. Pray you don't get his attention afterwards.
Vague Age: His age is never mentioned. Most describe him as a "middle-aged man" by appearance, but if both animes are within the same continuity, he then he hasn't aged a single day in well over twenty years. ^note
Villain with Good Publicity: Downplayed. He isn't famous by any stretch of the imagination, but he does a lot of legitimate business with many people who respect him, especially in the old anime series. It's very likely they don't know about his true nature.
Villainous Rescue: Often, he will help out, sometimes literally save the life of, someone he's interested in. Of course, there's no guarantee he won't screw them over himself after that...
Villains Out Shopping: In the original, the episode would always end with Moguro walking off after doing his business with his clients. In NEW, they break the formula by having him do mundane activities at the end, such as eating lunch on a boat, relaxing at a hot spring, and working out at a gym. In general, in both the old series and NEW, he runs into most of his clients while taking a break, getting something to eat or drink, or generally just walking or traveling the train. He does actively look for clients but he's also likely to find them when minding his own business before interfering.
Villain Protagonist: He's the main character and essentially every episode has him kill people or ruin their lives.
Would Scam a Girl: While a majority of his clients are males, he has no qualms about targeting females.
Wouldn't Hurt a Child: So far, none of his victims are below the age of 20. Not that young children might not still suffer indirectly if they happen to be the children of one of his "clients".
- An exception occurred in the 7th TV special, having a young boy being a client. However, he never punishes the child since there was no need to, as all the boy wanted was a pet to love and take care of and the boy followed through on his end.
Your Size May Vary: His height is stylistically inconsistent. Sometimes, he's a dwarf that barely reaches his client's midsection. Other times, he's an obese behemoth whose hands can fully wrap around the waists of other characters.
Your Soul Is Mine!: Subverted. His opening monologue alludes to this, but it's chiefly metaphorical as he's more about ruining lives than stealing them.

Master

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tls_bartender.png

The bartender of the bar the "Demon's Nest".

Apathetic Citizens: Moguro sometimes does his business with his clients in his bar. It's implied he may know what Moguro's true nature is but does not want to get involved and he doesn't even bother to warn the clients about making deals with Moguro.
The Bartender: He's this for the "Demon's Nest" and is the only one there.
Living Prop: He never speaks and characters rarely talk to him or even pay attention to him. But he does sometimes observe the business that goes on between Moguro and his clients.
No Name Given: His name was never revealed in the original or in NEW. Not even in the Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" sense. The official website revealed that his name is Master.
Obsessive-Compulsive Barkeeping: Whenever he appears, he's always shown cleaning glasses; in Episode 9 of NEW he's seen cleaning a glass while sleeping.
Promotion to Opening Titles: He's featured in the opening of NEW.
Secret-Keeper: He's seen enough of Moguro's antics that he could feasibly warn people about them, but he has a strict see/hear/say no evil policy.
The Stoic: He hardly shows any emotions and just keeps a straight face.
Tareme Eyes: Since his mouth is completely covered by his beard, it makes him look sad or sleepy.
The Voiceless: As mentioned above, if he's capable of speaking, we have yet to hear him talk out loud.

Moguro's Clients

In General

Acquired Situational Narcissism: A common malady that afflicts many of Moguro's clients, causing them to take their new boons for granted and the conditions associated with them.
All for Nothing: This will typically be the result of most of Moguro's customers' goals or dreams. Either Moguro will undo it or they'll undo it to themselves for not listening to him.
All Men Are Perverts: Some of Moguro's male clients can really be lecherous deep down and cheat on their spouse when given a chance.
An Aesop: The first manga chapter (and the only one that seems to have been scanlated as of January 2021) has an Aesop that applies to each person's situation. To paraphrase: "If you can't figure out how to solve your own problems, don't expect anyone else to be able to solve them for you. This world is hard. An offer from a guy you never knew before is something you really need to avoid".
Be Careful What You Wish For: Not that you have a chance to refuse, he will always screw you over.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: When a client doesn't necessarily do anything wrong or their character defects aren't too severe, Moguro's punishments can be more bizarre than cruel. Such as giving one fellow his perfect dream home (large, fully-furnished, close to the beach, etc.) albeit one that's built sideways on the drop of a very high cliff, a quirk that almost kills the man's family, but he's too maddened over his warped prize to notice.
Driven to Madness: This happens to many of Moguro's clients. Sometimes it's because they get too obsessed with whatever he gave them, sometimes it's the effect of him DONing them, and sometimes it's a mix of both.
Earn Your Happy Ending:
- It is possible for a client to come out of dealing with Moguro better than they started, but it's very tricky. In addition to following Moguro's rules and not betraying his trust, they must be ambitious, but not greedy; they have to be gentle, but not spineless; they must have a solid appreciation for what's good in their lives, but should have the will to improve. For example, a Henpecked Husband makes for a juicy target, but if his spouse is truly vile and he has the strength to leave her, then Moguro will help him find a new lover.
- There are also times when Moguro straight up doesn't punish a client, like in "Night Train" or "Waino's Cooking", even more-so in the latter where he himself broke the promise which helped the client. He also doesn't punish those that have their contracts broken by an outside force. For example, "Pet in a Can" has the client be given a tree to keep him company with the promise being to keep it well. When a neighbor destroys the tree, Moguro fixes it up and makes it sentient to take revenge on the neighbor, while being happy with the client.
The Gambling Addict: Several of Moguro's customers have this problem and he takes advantage of it.
Hard Truth Aesop: In a way, the punishments that Moguro's clients suffer are filled with this.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Most of the time, it's usually Moguro's customer's fault that they get punished by him. Sure, Moguro may have started the whole thing but he gave his customers a simple warning that's easy to follow, but his customers always tend to ignore it. And you know they screwed up badly if Moguro doesn't personally show up to punish them and the punishment they get happens on their own.
Moguro: You never know when the sparks that you helped create will cause a fire and blow back in your direction. If you're already facing the wind, it's too late.
Housewife: If one of his female clients isn't already employed at the start of the episode, they tend to be one of these. They also tend to ruin their marriages by the end of the episode, too.
Ironic Hell: Moguro's favored method of punishment. In particular, when the client's mistake is overusing what he gave them or returning to their old habits, they'll either end up with the same hole in their hearts as when they started, or be rendered madly obsessed with their new lifestyle.
Kick the Dog: Moguro just loves doing this to all of his customers regardless of who they are.
Magic Feather: An interesting case. Many clients only suffer from a lack of confidence or motivation. When they get an item from Moguro, they start developing these things and their lives improve in ways not connected to the effects of a said item but the change in themselves. Not that they ever realize this, but then again, the lesson isn't exactly for them, is it?
Meaningful Name: Many characters are named like this that goes with their personality.
Pyrrhic Victory: Even if the client achieves their goal, it comes at a price.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: They'll get this from Moguro when they break their promise with him or they try to blame him for their misfortune.
Salaryman: Most of Moguro's victims usually have this type of occupation.
The Protagonist: Moguro's clients are what the story focuses on, and their desires and actions drive the episode after they run into him; despite Moguro usually being the one who starts off the plot by offering his services.
Skewed Priorities: None of them are wary of Moguro's attire or appearance, but a great number of these would-be clients are viciously suspicious of his profession, believing that he's trying to con them out of cash.
Too Dumb to Live: Downplayed. Moguro gave his customers a simple warning that they always tend to ignore and he punishes them for ignoring him. Granted, they don't take his warnings too seriously because they don't know what he's truly capable of and they assume he'll never find out, unaware that he's always watching them. Then again, they should have noticed the red flags coming from him, such as him knowing a lot about them, him appearing out of nowhere, and his creepy appearance in general.
Toxic Friend Influence: If Moguro's clients aren't the ones that screw themselves over, it's usually their friends' fault for making them break their deals with Moguro.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: None of Moguro's clients find it odd that Moguro knows about their personal life, his unlimited resources, his Stealth Hi/Bye moments, or the fact that he constantly smiles 24/7. Some of them question him but they push it aside to focus on their main problem. It's subverted in Episode 7B of NEW when one of the mothers points out how creepy he looks with his smile and actually plans to call the police on him when they see him near their children.

Clients from the Original

The Company Man

An unnamed customer of the Demon's Nest who appears in Episode 0, "Prologue".

Early-Installment Weirdness: The way his story is structured differs greatly from those in the other episodes as Moguro's much more direct, speaks in a softer tone, and another one of the salesman's deal plays out and concludes right in front of them.
The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: After Moguro fails to make a deal with him, he decides to turn around to go for the next best thing. The viewer.
Love Epiphany: As he's about to follow the executive through the door to another world, he realizes that the nagging wife and annoying daughter he was complaining about a moment before were his perfectly normal and loving family who he resented as an outlet for his workplace frustrations.
No Name Given
Surprisingly Happy Ending: A retroactive example. Remembering how much he loves his family and how they love him in turn gives him the strength to turn down Moguro.

Tanomo

A boss from Episode 1, "A Face You Can Depend On".

Beneath the Mask: He projects the image of a cool, confident exterior, but underneath is a man in desperate need to be nurtured and supported before he has a breakdown.
Broken Ace: His problem is having a face that makes him look strong and dependable. Having to be the rock to every single person in his life since his youth is turning him into a nervous wreck.
Cannot Spit It Out: He can't even tell his own wife that he's about to fall apart.
Even the Guys Want Him: Even his male co-workers are in awe of his macho attitude and appearance.
Freak Out: He eventually has one.
Hunk: He's got chiseled features which get women all over the street staring at him, and when he talks it's brusque and distant which makes him look even cooler. He only talks that way because he's about to freak out and doesn't want to show it.
Manchild: After he snaps, Moguro brings him to a woman who holds him close while he suckles her breasts (Tanomo sees her in the form of a goddess) granting his wish of wanting be nurtured and supported, but also makes his wife shocked at what she sees.
Meaningful Name: His name means "dependable".
Never Gets Drunk: Subverted. He knocks 'em back at the bar like it's nothing. Then goes to puke it up, 'cause he's actually a lightweight but has to keep up his badass appearance.
The Stoic: In appearance and nature, his face might as well be carved out of stone. Because he's repressing his emotions.

Uranari

A salaryman from Episode 2, "Easy Driver". Returns in Episode 52, "Security Capsule".

The Bus Came Back: He returns fifty episodes after his first appearance in the episode, "Security Capsule."
Drives Like Crazy: Is a terrible driver due to his clumsiness and timidness. He's even worse after Moguro puts a few drinks into him.
The End of the World as We Know It: In his second episode he sleeps as a special capsule hotel Moguro shows him, but wakes up to find out civilization's been destroyed and he's the only person left in the world.
Meaningful Name: His name means "someone with pale and lifeless face, not energetic".
Sacrificial Lamb: His ruin is meant to display that not even meek and largely well-meaning people are beyond Moguro's attentions.
Slept Through the Apocalypse: In his second appearance Moguro takes him to a hotel where the guests can sleep in sensory deprivation tanks. Uranari sleeps so well by the time he comes out the world's been destroyed.

Aoi

A salaryman from Episode 3, "The Friend Salesman".

Be Careful What You Wish For: Technically, being mistaken for a serial peeping tom, beaten up by a crowd, arrested, and probably in the news has given him something to worry about besides how lonely he is...
Loving a Shadow: He falls in love with a girl via pictures Moguro provides and recorded messages. Without realizing how easy it would be to fake both of those things.
Meaningful Name: His name means "inexperienced person".

Kinichi Isobe

A 36-year-old salaryman from Episode 4, "The Man in Disguise".

Becoming the Mask: He apparently decides to do this after encountering his alter ego's family, though Moguro implies that he's going to get just as sick of this life and may go back to his old one eventually.

Uki Mamoru

A 20-year-old student from Episode 5, "The View from the 47th Floor".

Love at First Sight: Falls in love with a woman he happens to see as he's using the binoculars on an observation deck.
Wanting Is Better Than Having: Once he actually gets to meet the object of his affections, it turns out she's got a jealous Yakuza don for a boyfriend. As Moguro points out, he'd've been better off contenting himself with just being able to see her.

Isamu Kumai

A 24-year-old illustrator from Episode 6 "In Valor There is Waste".

Career-Ending Injury: In trying to become a hero by stopping a purse snatcher he gets stabbed in the arm, and he'll never able to draw again.
I Just Want to Be Special: He dreams of being a hero.
Meaningful Name: His first name means "courage".

Tamiyo Sabo

A 37-year-old salesman from Episode 7 "Sloth".

It's Personal: Moguro seems to take particular issue with Sabo's extremely shoddy performance as a fellow salesman. That said, Sabo does get more or less what he wanted (to spend his time sleeping and letting other people take care of his needs) vs. Moguro's usual soul-crushing ironic fate. Moguro even donates the money he made selling Sabo's contracts to pay for his care.
Meaningful Name: His surname means "to be lazy".

Shinichi Bouda

Voiced by: Yuu Mizushima

A 21-year-old celebrity from Episode 8 "The Separator".

Junichi Naoki

Voiced by: Ryō Horikawa

A 23-year-old bank employee from Episode 9, "Woman on the Platform".

Loving a Shadow: He claims he's in love with a woman he always sees on his morning commute. Even though he's never talked to her or even seen her not wearing a flu mask. The Cruel Twist Ending that she actually has a Nightmare Face almost isn't a spoiler at all.
Meaningful Name: His first name means "pure" or "naive" and his surname means "honest" or "corrective".

Buichi Nakayama

A 20-year-old student from Episode 10 "The Sure Winner".

The Gambling Addict: To betting on horse races. Instead of just wanting to earn some of his losses back, learn his lesson and never do it again, his addiction gets the better of him and he brags in a bar about making a big score the next day with Moguro's help. Unfortunately Moguro "got held up" and didn't show up until Buichi had already pissed all his money away.
Trapped by Gambling Debts: At the start of the episode Buichi just has a bad habit of losing his money at the track. Thanks to loudly bragging about all the money he'll make with Moguro's help, by the end he's in deep to the mob for 13,000,000 he doesn't have a prayer of paying back.

Hisatoshi Hikage

A 21-year-old mangaka from Episode 11, "Closet Man".

Kenichi Nakajima

A 26-year-old salaryman from Episode 12, "Daydream".

Exact Words: When he tries to visit the "Daydream" club at night, he finds it's an entirely different place. Well, it's in the name, isn't it?
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Kenichi learns that a hostess club you could visit during lunch- or break-time isn't going to be free, or even cheap. It's also not good for one's job to to get sozzled and/or lose track of time, either.

Chiyorou Maido

A 25-year-old salaryman from Episode 13, "Golf 101".

Behavioral Conditioning: Imagining the golf ball as someone he hates does help his game, but when the hated co-worker consents to a game with Maido, he gets a golf club to the face.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Takes up golf to try and befriend his co-workers, who treat him badly because he doesn't know anything about the game.
You Were Trying Too Hard: Moguro explains to him that a golf ball is harder to hit than a baseball because its stationary—since the player isn't focusing on a ball that's coming at him, the only thing keeping him from hitting the ball is his own thoughts about how to hit it.

Taiko Tsumanari

A 25-year-old office lady from Episode 14, "The Woman Who Wants to Marry".

Fuuta Debuno

A 22-year-old barber from Episode 15, "Cutting".

Centipede's Dilemma: As much as he tries to practice, he keeps worrying about the angle at which to cut and ends up messing up.
It Was with You All Along Moguro's Magic Feather plan was intended to make him realize this. It might have worked, too, if Debuno's co-workers hadn't been looking around the place for cigarettes on mahjong night.
Knight of Cerebus: The first of Moguro's clients whose misfortune has very lethal consequences.
Magic Feather: Moguro claimed to have given him medical cigarettes which would calm his nerves, but only the first one was actually medicated. As he mentioned in the note he'd hoped they'd increase Debuno's confidence until he realized he didn't need them anymore.

Hanae Fuyuki

A 69-year-old unemployed old man from Episode 16, "Mr. Pervert".

Book Ends: Unlike many of Moguro's victims, Hanae doesn't really change in attitude or temperament after his fall. He just goes from being a finicky and fastidious prude to a finicky and fastidious pervert who treats voyeurism with all the seriousness and care of an elaborate tea ceremony.

Shinichi Tsutsui

A 20-year-old student from Episode 17, "Part-Time Confidential".

Trapped by Gambling Debts: Almost literally. The episode ends with him backed against a wall a gang of thugs after he lost all his money on a bad Mahjongg game.

Taichi Urashima

A 46-year-old salaryman from Episode 18, "After the Dream".

Meaningful Name: His surname is based on "The Legend of Urashima Tarō", a sort of Japanese version of Rip Van Winkle.

Takashi Ishino

A 30-year-old salaryman from Episode 19, "The Guardsman".

The Gambling Addict: Ishino is one. Later, so is his wife.
Laser-Guided Karma: Unlike his passive demolishing of Nakayama in "The Sure Winner," Moguro goes to great lengths to punish Ishino for failing to conquer his mahjong addiction by making his wife a mahjong addict who treats Takashi with the same selfish frivolity he did her all throughout the episode.

Yumemi Koino

A 36-year-old housewife from Episode 20, "Her First Love".

Gave Up Too Soon: She leaves the night of her daughter being brought home from the police and her husband coming home very drunk and blaming her for said daughter's actions. The next morning her daughter decided to straighten up and her husband reveals he was celebrating getting promoted to management.
Meaningful Name: Her first name means "dream" and her surname means "romance".
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: She leaves her dull but loving family to run off with her old flame, a temperamental potter who was only successful because of his now ex-wife's business sense. It doesn't turn out to be an improvement.

Karasumori Kiichi

A 28-year-old company man from episode 21, "The Path to Karate"

Small Name, Big Ego: A few karate lessons and an indirect compliment from the teacher lead the guy to take on a group of punks who'd troubled him earlier. What happens next doesn't need spoiling.
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The karate classes that Moguro schedules for him boosts his confidence and makes him feel better. Yet, just two classes of karate is not enough for him to defeat three guys, each twice his size.

Kariya Asako

Voiced by: Yumi Touma

A 30-year-old career woman from episode 22, "The Man-Hater"

Accidental Murder: After her boyfriend startles her, she accidentally shoves him in front of a subway train.
Career Versus Man: This is the condition that Moguro gives her. In exchange for making sure her boss "quit" for being caught chikan on a train, she must not fall for any man.
Does Not Like Men: It's in the title of the episode. That being said, as long as the men aren't perverts, she's fine with them such as Moguro, and later finds love with a male co-worker.
Meaningful Name: Her last name sounds like "career".

Kaeri Takunai

A 46-year-old salaryman from episode 23, "House Lights"

Armor-Piercing Question: "If your family is that important to you, why don't you straighten up?" Moguro asks, in response to Kaeri complaining about ruining his family life. He then goes on to point out that as the head of the household, it was Kaeri's responsibility to carve out his own place among his family instead of just avoiding them all the time.
Blatant Lies: Moguro gives him the key to a spacious apartment, telling him that it belonged to a friend of his who'd been sent out on a long-term overseas assignment. Actually, it was a stranger on a brief business trip.
I Just Want to Be Free: A variant. His home is a cramped place where his family is constantly sniping at him and he can't relax and do things he enjoys without bothering one of them, so he goes around finding places to kill time and avoid it. Moguro gives him an apartment to housesit and the guy is thrilled just to be able to cook whatever he wants for dinner and watch a baseball game on TV without getting in someone's way.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Although Moguro warns him not to invite any women into the apartment, a female neighbor asks him to shelter her from a stalker and he agrees. A few days later she shows up on his doorstep and insists on giving him dinner in gratitude and he lets her in. Unfortunately for him, one of his kids had decided to follow him to see where he was going and happened to see her, as well as taking pictures. Not welcome at home or the apartment, he ends up in the doghouse. Technically, the second time is framed as the one which violates the agreement.
Surprisingly Happy Ending: Apart from having to spend a night sleeping in the doghouse, he gets off pretty lightly. His family even comes to regret the way they treated him and it seems likely they'll reconcile.
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: He starts using the apartment to escape his home so often that naturally his family starts wondering where he keeps disappearing to. His son tails him, sees him with the above mentioned-female neighbor, and assumes the worst..

Ohkuri Yukumi

A 39-year-old company driver from episode 24, "The Man in the Back Seat"

Code of Honor: At first he refuses Moguro's suggestion to eavesdrop on his clients because he says it is against the etiquette of drivers.
Exact Words: Moguro states that, although Ohkuri broke his promise, he will still keep his word by allowing Ohkuri to know how it feels to sit in the back seat...of a police car.
Green-Eyed Monster: He's jealous of all the rich people who he drives around.
If I Were a Rich Man: Ohkuri dreams of being able to be the man giving the orders to the driver and getting to spend money on girls.
Inside Job: Moguro's plan is for Ohkuri to eavesdrop on investing information from his boss and feed it to him so he can invest on Ohkuri's behalf.
Stealing from the Till: When Ohkuri hears about the possible stock increase, he impersonates his boss so he can get a spare 3 million yens to invest.
Too Good to Be True: A pharmaceutical company is said to have made a new cancer drug, and that its stock would increase ten-fold or more. Ohkuri immediately (against Moguro's warning) buys stock by himself. Of course, the cancer drug turns out to be false and the company is on its way to bankruptcy.
White-Collar Crime: Moguro offers him a cut from whatever profits he makes from the tips Ohkuri eavesdrops, but warns him never to try trading for himself no matter how good the info is. One embezzlement and insider trade later, he finally gets to ride in the back of a car. A patrol car, that is.

Musai Toshio

A 34-year-old office worker from episode 25, "Lady Killer Warning"

Debara Nayami

A 29-year-old actor from episode 26, "Belly of the Tanuki"

Balloon Belly: After breaking his contract and eating daifuku, all the weight that the tanuki had taken and then some pops back onto his stomach—right in the middle of the stage performance that was going to make his career.
Big Beautiful Man: He's overweight, but it doesn't detract from his good looks. Unfortunately, he can't move up as an actor unless he loses his gut.
Butterface: Inverted, he has a very handsome face, but he's quite overweight.
Meaningful Name: His surname sounds like "protruding belly", and his given name sounds like "worry".
Stout Strength: He's clearly athletic and well-muscled, but thanks to his sweet tooth he has a big belly.
Tanuki: Moguro gives him a statue of one and tells him to pray to it whenever he feels like eating sweets. Each time he avoids sweets the tanuki gets fatter and he gets thinner.
Trademark Favorite Food: Sweets, particularly daifuku.

Higama Hoshiya

A 48-year-old company executive from episode 27, "The Executive and the Window"

Becoming the Mask: Himaga's punishment. For doing work while in Madobe's place, he went on a business trip to Kyushu, and in his absence, Madobe dies in his place, so now everybody thinks Himaga is dead and he must fill for Madobe permanently.
Grass is Greener: Harried executive Higami envies Madobe for his relaxed position, while Madobe wants to work but doesn't get anything to do as he's near retirement.
Identical Stranger: He requires minimal disguising to look exactly like Madobe.
Kicked Upstairs: Since Madobe's nearing retirement age and outside the management track, he barely gets anything to do and no one cares if he sleeps or reads in the office.
Meaningful Name: His full name sounds like "I want a break."
Mutual Envy: Himaga is jealous of a man at the next building who can sleep on the job while he has to kill himself working. When Moguro invites them to the bar, the man, named Madobe Ichirou, reveals he is jealous of Himaga, since he would like to work hard like anyone else, but no work comes his way since he is nearing retirement age.
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Moguro suggested that he and Madobe occasionally switch positions. When the much older Madobe has to sub for Higama for an extended amount of time, the stress gives him a fatal stroke.
- When he's seen again during a high school reunion in "Hot Spring Requiem", he's back as Himaga again with some dialogue about losing his executive station indicating that he faced severe penalties for what happened to Madobe. Presumably, he couldn't keep the act going indefinitely.
Workaholic: Although Moguro warns him not to do any work as Madobe, when a contract that could cripple Madobe's company happens to come across Madobe's desk he can't help but intervene. One thing leads to another and Higama ends up going on a business trip as Madobe to try and set things right. Madobe agrees to keep being him for the duration, but he has a stroke and dies during a meeting. Higama can't convince anyone that they've switched places.

Katsuta Rui

A 22-year-old company man from Episode 28, "The May Blues"

Ambiguously Gay: He certainly seems quite attached to Oniyama by the end of the episode.
Commonality Connection: After learning how to knit upon Moguro's advice, his Mean Boss Oniyama privately reveals that he knits as well, and the two of them strike up a friendship.
In Touch with His Feminine Side: He goes from lethargic and passive to this as he cultivates his knitting habit.
Mean Boss: Although he started out his job eagerly, his boss Oniyama has been so strict with him that he's become miserable. Once he reveals his knitting hobby, their friendship makes things easier for him at work.
Meaningful Name
- His full name, said fast, sounds like "lethargic".
- His boss name is Oniyama, which references the Oni, a japanese demon, referring to his bad temper.
My Beloved Smother: His Education Mama's also running every other aspect of his life and expects him to become a highly successful businessman—whether he likes it or not. Once she finds out about Katsuta's knitting hobby and that Oniyama's been encouraging him and helping him learn, she deliberately shows up at the company and reveals Oniyama's avocation at work to put him in a bad situation, forcing him to resign.
Pursue the Dream Job: By the end of the episode both he and Oniyama are working at a school teaching young women how to knit, and they both seem very much happier. Katsuta's mom is...not.
Real Men Wear Pink: Oniyama, the boss and a really manly-looking guy, takes knitting as a hobby.
Textile Work Is Feminine: Once his knitting hobby is discovered at work, Oniyama warns him that his career would be ruined if he doesn't stop doing it in the office.
Unmanly Secret: The boss states that if anyone should discover they knit as a hobby, they would both lose their jobs.

Ikuji Naiya

A 20-year-old salaryman from Episode 29, "Message Dialing"

Aroused by Their Voice: Moguro sets him up with a message service frequented by Akari, an equally lonely young lady who has a voice he falls in love with.
Basement-Dweller: Still lives with his parents as of the beginning of the episode, implicitly due to his shyness.
Chikan: At the start of his episode, he's falsely accused of being one, but due to being nervous around people he can't stop mumbling and speak up to defend himself. Moguro steps in to save him.
Compelling Voice It turns out that all along he was talking to a little girl with one of these...or something that looks like a little girl, anyway, what with the glowing eyes.
Meaningful Name: His full name sounds like "I have no guts."
Shrinking Violet: He has problems talking to people and even tried joining a message service to reach out to someone, but racked up a huge bill without being able to talk to anyone on it.
Wanting Is Better Than Having: Moguro warns him not to try and meet Akari in person, but of course, he persists...and ends up meeting a little girl who may not even be human.

Otokoya Moume

Voiced by: TBA

A 36-year-old company worker from episode 30, "The Single Life".

Ironic Hell: Otokoya, who was so proud and happy of his single lifestyle, ends living with his housemaid, her husband, her daughter, and his own kids (who returned to him after their mother left with another man), and their dog.
Meaningful Name: His full name sounds like "single male".
Men Can't Keep House: Otokoya seems to have not cleaned his house since his wife left.
Taking the Kids: Implied that when his wife ran away, she took the kids.
Trash of the Titans: Before getting a housemaid, all his floor was covered in trash.

Hande Oshita

Voiced by: TBA

A 57-year-old company worker from episode 31, "Early Stopover".

Even Evil Has Standards: When Hande ended in the wrong bar and was given a very high bill, Moguro tells him to escape and that he will take care, then he berates the bartenders and reveals they actually drugged the man with a free sample, and put a bunch of empty beer jars to make it seem he drank all of it.
Meaningful Name: His full name means "like clockwork".

Osaki Makkura

Voiced by: TBA

A 20-year-old college student from episode 32, "Kissing Fortune".

Meaningful Name: His full names sounds like "dim future".

Ooi Takushi

Voiced by: Tarou Arakawa

A 33-year-old taxi driver from episode 33, "Refusal of Service".

Laser-Guided Karma: He disregared Moguro's warning to never refuse service by refusing to take a pregnant woman to a nearby hospital, he ended in an accident falling in a river and with a broken leg, and no taxi stops to pick him up.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds like someone calling a taxi.

Nomino Shinzou

Voiced by: TBA

A 25-year-old baseball player from episode 34, "Bullpen Ace".

Every Year They Fizzle Out: Everyone says he is a great pitcher when he practices at the bullpen, but in an actual game, he cannot focus, and cannot make strikes.
Going Cold Turkey: Moguro's condition. He told Nomino to abstain from drinking until he already got into the big leagues.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "being timid".

Kako Shinobu

Voiced by: TBA

A 48-year-old salaryman from episode 35, "Wife Photo".

Bait-and-Switch: When he shows the photo of his wife, people comment that she looks very young, which gives the impression of this being a May–December Romance story. The truth is that it is an old photo of his family that he carries around because he misses how his family relation was at that time.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "remembering the past".
Precious Photo: The photo he carries of his wife and kid.
Surprisingly Happy Ending: The episode ends with Kako enjoying his flashback to the days when he had a happy life with his family, with no implication of any bad consequences for him later on. He's even allowed to come and go from the old house when he likes as shown in "Hot Spring Requiem".

Kichide Maniya

Voiced by: TBA

A 32-year-old salaryman from episode 36, "Collector".

Benevolent Boss: In a scene, Kichide's boss is lecturing him on being late to work, yet he apparently knows about his obsession with commemorative stamps and says he doesn't mind that he buys them, but that he should call the office if he is coming late.
Cruel Twist Ending: Moguro helps Kichide to get rid of his addiction and gives him something to appease his collection fever, and he even does better at his job...then is revealed his mother made a bad investment and she lost her late husband's life savings (around the same amount as the stamp's price) so now Kichide has to sell the stamp, even knowing the warning that Moguro gave him when he finally managed to reach the collector that gave him an initial offer, he went through a construction site and a is hit by an excavator. And to push it, Moguro takes the stamp and reveals it was fake all along, saying he will return him his collection so he can pay part of the debt.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "Stamp fanatic".
Sunk Cost Fallacy: Kichide reasoning for continuing to collect stamps even after not enjoying it is that if he stopped all the effort he had put on his collection would become a waste.

Ubuna Yatsuda

Voiced by: TBA

A 21-year-old Freeter from episode 37, "Queen of the Night".

Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "inexperienced guy".

Koh Arao

Voiced by: Wataru Takagi

A 28-year-old animator from Episode 38, "Pet-in-a-Can".

Nice Guy: Just a kind-hearted guy who wants something to take care of.
Jerkass: Koh's neighbor, that seems to snitch on him only to be a jerk, and even destroyed his eucalyptus tree just because it gave him the creeps, and to hurt Koh.
Meaningful Name: His full name sounds like "koala"
Punny Name: His name sounds like "koala" said with a heavy Japanese accent, and his gift from Moguro is a eucalyptus tree.
Surprisingly Happy Ending: The episode where he appears stands out from the rest because of how it's so light compared to the others. He wants to keep some kind of pet but the building where he lives doesn't allow them, so after his bird's thrown away by his landlord who was tipped off by a Jerkass neighbor, Moguro gives Arao a eucalyptus tree for him to take care of instead. The tree flourishes, and Arao's career takes off with him pitching what becomes a popular anime about a koala inspired by his love for the tree. And it's never snatched away because Arao did everything Moguro told him to. The episode still needs to have a Jerkass suffer a righteous takedown, but it's the neighbor from before who wrecks Arao's tree for the hell of it, then gets pummeled by the tree when Moguro brings it back to life.
Write Who You Know: In-universe. He eventually makes a successful pitch for an anime about a koala and his tree friend, clearly based off his own experience with Yuka.

Mimizu Kunio

A 32-year-old photographer from Episode 39, "Owl Eyes"

Aesop Collateral Damage: For all of his faults his wife really does love him, but this latest career change may be a little too much for her.
Animal Motif: Owls. He even looks like one.
Animorphism: He ends up being transformed into an owl-man. Moguro notes that this may be the happiest he's ever been in his life.
Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Besides his name, his appearance also resembles an owl.
Married to the Job: His wife accuses him of loving owls more than her.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "mimizuku", the japanese name for the horned owl.
Money, Dear Boy: In-universe. He's forced to become a paparazzi to support his family.
Obsessive Hobby Episode: His obsession with owls is making himself and his family suffer, since he regularly leaves them for camping trips in order to take pictures of owls that don't even sell well.
Otaku: He's one for owls.
Paparazzi: Moguro's solution for Mimizu. He states that if he takes photos of "urban owls" (important people during the night) he will make so much money that his wife won't care about his trips to photograph real owls.

Wakasa Manjirou

A 50-year-old company manager from Episode 40, "Youthful Pride"

All Men Are Perverts: Like so many men in this series, one of the first things he does when his youth is restored is cat around with a younger woman while his wife's at home.
Expy: His story is somewhat reminiscent of The Picture of Dorian Gray, with his vitality being linked to a Valentino doll which keeps him young.
Feeling Their Age: He had a remarkable amount of stamina and energy until he hit a perfect storm of reminders of how old he really was and got bummed out.
Fountain of Youth: Moguro gives Wakasa a doll of Rudolph Valentino, an eternal symbol of male beauty, and tells him that by praying to it, he can turn back his clock, restoring and maintaining his youth. It works, but then he has to go and push it.
First Gray Hair: Actually, it's his thinning hair from behind which catches his attention and starts him worrying.
Heroic RRoD: Having gotten the attention of a younger lady, he tries to out-dance her and all the other young people on the floor, eventually straining his body so hard the Valentino doll shatters, and so does he.
Ma'am Shock: When his wife points out he slouches, Wakasa starts noticing all the aging signs around him, including a little girl refering to him as "oji-san" (a polite way of referring to an older man).
Meaningful Name: His surname sounds like "youth".
Medium Blending: When the Valentino idol shatters and his age catches up with him all at once, his face is represented by something like a rubber zombie mask.
Older Than They Look: At age fifty, he still mostly looks like he's in his mid-thirties.
Pride: As the episode title alludes, giving into his pride and pushing his body too far proves to be his downfall.

Kurume Hoshio

Voiced by: Ryō Horikawa

A 22-year-old salaryman from episode 41, "Gourmand in Waiting".

Meaningful Name: His names sounds like "I want gourmet (food)"
Picky Eater: Kurume becomes unable to eat anything that doesn't comes from the fine restaurant that Moguro suggested. His punishment is to only be allowed to eat the garbage that comes from that restaurant.
Self-Botched Catchphrase: Since Moguro was offering to show some restaurants to Kurume, he said he would fill the hole in his "stomach", before correcting himself and saying "in his heart".

Karao Keiichi

Voiced by: TBA

A 30-year-old salaryman from episode 42, "Karaoke Addict".

Meaningful Name: His names sounds like "I don't care about Karaoke".

Tanami Kazuhito

A 46-year-old company man from Episode 43, "Relocated Husband"

Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: Alone and friendless in his new city, he drifts into the arms of another woman.
All of the Other Reindeer: Having been relocated to distant branch office from Tokyo, his new co-workers in the sticks are distrustful of him and turn down his attempts at forming friendships.
Bathroom Stall of Overheard Insults: After he politely compliments the appearance of an office lady at his new location, he's washing up when he overhears her talking to her friends in the girls' room about how gross it was and that he might be making a play for her that she needs to watch out for.
Can't Get Away with Nuthin': The very morning after he gives into his loneliness and sleeps with Tsuyu, his wife shows up to check on him because he hadn't called and discovers her.
Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: His case is treated more sympathetically than other adulterers on the show, because of how lonely he and Tsuyu were. Not that his wife is likely to let him off.
Happily Married: He loves his wife and hates being separated from her.
Lonely Together: One of the things that draws him and Tsuyu together is their mutual loneliness.
Meaningful Name: His first name uses the characters for "lonely".
Nice Guy: He really is a very kind person, not that his jerk co-workers are willing to find out.
Second Love: Although he loves his wife, he also falls in love with Tsuyu.

Hanahata Komatta

Voiced by: TBA

A 49-year-old salaryman from episode 44, "Moonlit Orchid".

Abandoned Playground: Hanahata loiters late at night at a playground to avoid going home.
Meaningful Name: His name reads like "flower garden problems".
Unexplained Recovery: He's shown to be totally fine in "Hot Spring Requiem" despite having had an orchid grown out of his intestines.

Sutami Nashiya

Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi

A 29-year-old scriptwriter from episode 45, "Kefir".

Meaningful Name: His full names sounds like "I have no stamina".
Must Have Caffeine: He starts the episode with an addiction to energy drinks. He says that he can go for days without eating, but will lose his mind without energy drinks.

Shiratama Kyouichi

Voiced by: TBA

A 44-year-old salaryman from episode 46, "Golf Freak".

High Hopes, Zero Talent: He states he actually loves golf and likes to practice, but he still is a bad player despite having practiced for 2 years.
Meaningful Name: His surname literally translates to "white ball".

Uwame Kazuo

Voiced by: TBA

A 49-year-old salaryman from episode 47, "The Man who Looks Down".

"Flowers for Algernon" Syndrome: After a week living in a tall building, Uwame was able to show confidence to the point of getting a promotion directly from the president of the company, but it only took one person to actually show more backbone (his wife) for him to return to his spineless status.
Grew a Spine: He becomes a more assertive man after living in the tallest building in the city for a week, since now he always "looks down" on everyone else.
Meaningful Name: His surname sounds like "looking up".
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Uwame's boss refers to him with the "kun" honorific despite him having seniority, showing the boss doesn't have much respect for him. The second thing Uwame does after returning to the office is demanding his boss to stop it and refer to him with the "san" honorific.

Izumo Wakashi

A 73-year-old company president from episode 48, "Old Face, Young Body"

Acceptable Breaks from Reality: Technically, exercising and keeping an active lifestyle as he does would keep his body from slipping as badly as it appears to have, but then there wouldn't be a plot.
Butterface: As of the end of the episode, his body remains incredibly muscular, but his head has aged ridiculously, a reverse from his previous situation—assuming he's still alive.
Can't Have Sex, Ever: Meguro warns him that his newly muscular body goes against nature and that the act of having sex will drain his vitality. Wakashi assures him that he's in love with his new body more than any woman. Yeah, guess what?
Exact Words: Moguro warns him that falling for a younger woman and having sex will drain his vitality. Izumo either accidentally or deliberately, interpreted that to mean he could have sex as long as he wasn't in love.
Glory Days: Flashbacks show that he was an athletic star in his youth, and he still clings to those days, making prideful (and false) boasts about his health.
I Was Quite a Looker: Moguro's barbell helps him return his fitness level to the days of his youth and more, matching his youthful-looking face.
Meaningful Name: His full name sounds like "forever young".
Nightmare Face: After sleeping with a woman, his face ages to the point where he looks like a mummy with his teeth and hair falling out.
Older Than They Look: Played with. Although he has the face of a man twenty years younger, his stamina and body remain those of an old man no matter how much he works out.
Paper Tiger: Among his friends, he pretends to be much more energetic than he actually is, making bold statements about playing eighteen holes of golf, but collapsing in private after only nine. Even after his muscles come back, Moguro warns him to take it easy and not push himself too hard.
Pride Before a Fall: After the lady he's showing off to points out that one part of him is still 73 years old, he decides to throw caution to the wind and ignore Moguro's warning so he can prove to her that everything's still working. One marathon sex session later, his head looks like a shrunken apple doll thanks to his vitality being sapped.
Rapid Aging: After sleeping with a woman against Moguro's orders, his body remains healthy but his face ages 'til he looks older than any human could ever live to be.
Vain Sorcerer: Fearful of his own aging, he's using a (gifted) magical item to regain his youthful vitality and muscle.

Anraku Kazuhisa

Voiced by: TBA

A 38-year-old Printer from episode 49, "The Chair-Man".

Forced Transformation: At the end Moguro allows Anraku to have a nice night on a chair...by transforming him into a chair.
Meaningful Name: The characters on his name can be read as "anraku issu", which means "easy chair."

Mayoi Oushi

Voiced by: TBA

A 25-year-old salaryman from episode 50, "Decision Stick".

Cerebus Syndrome: People have been killed due to the deals with Moguro before, but this is the first episode where the customer himself becomes the victim.
The Ditherer: Mayoi's problem. He overthinks even the tiniest decision he has to make.
Meaningful Name: His names sounds like "frequently lost".
Umpteenth Customer: After using Moguro's decision stick, Mayoi immediately orders ramen without thinking. He is the 10,000th bowl served and wins free ramen for a year.

Kibara Shisao

Voiced by: TBA

A 46-year-old salaryman from episode 51, "Hot Spring Oddities".

Meaningful Name: Part of his name sounds like "Kibarashi", which means "diversion."

Ban Moriyasu

Voiced by: TBA

A 27-year-old artist from episode 53, "Pride in my Work".

Creator Career Self-Deprecation: During his ending monologue, Moguro says that the artist field is a ruthless one. And that even Fujiko Fujio is no exception.
Napoleon Delusion: Ban's goal is to be like van Gogh, but when he "sold his artist soul", Moguro punished him to be JUST like van Gogh, the next scene has him cutting his own ear and then painting various replicas of the famous self-portrait of 1889 (the one with the bandaged ear) with his own face on them.
Starving Artist: Ban explains he has not been accepted at any art exhibition, and has to draw sketches on the street.

Deri Keita

Voiced by: TBA

A 32-year-old salaryman from episode 54, "Home Vegetable Garden".

A Bloody Mess: When Moguro first encountered Deri, the guy pushed him and Moguro fell down, then blood started to pour and Moguro cried that he was dying...only to say he was joking and reveal he just fell over the tomatoes he bought.
Meaningful Name: His full name sounds like "delicate", in a picky or fussy sense.
Picky Eater: He believes that the pesticides and chemicals used in food are too dangerous, and avoid eating any food not prepared by himself as much as possible.

Yotte Sourou

A 31-year old Salary from Episode 55, "Mean Drunk"

The Cameo
- When Yotte is discussing with a bartender, there is a couple at each side of him, at his right is Fuuta and his coworker, from "Cutting"; and at his left is Junichi Naoki and the woman from "Woman on the Platform."
- During a drunken rage in the streets, Yotte scares off a young couple. They are Shinichi Bouda and his girlfriend from "The Separator".
Cathartic Scream: Moguro gives him the Temper Sack, a handy little bag in which he can scream loud invectives so no one else can hear them and gives him an outlet besides drunkenness to express his anger. It works out fine, until someone pulls out the string keeping the insults in. Then very loud things happen.
Catchphrase: "Oh My God!" in English.
Going Cold Turkey: His original plan, after seeing the recordings Moguro's made of him. Moguro points out that doing so without another way to express his negative feelings wouldn't work out.

Gratuitous English: He tends to say "Oh my God!" whenever he is upset.
In Vino Veritas: When he's drunk all the angry feelings he represses toward his co-workers and others come screaming to the fore and he does crazy violent things.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds almost like "drunken rage".
My God, What Have I Done?: Naturally his sober self is distraught by what his drunk self gets up to.
Nonchalant Dodge: Moguro easily dodges every punch and kick Yotte tried to land.
Stalker without a Crush: Moguro as expected, but he manages to take it up a notch by not only admitting it to his client, but revealing that he has been filming him as well.
The Thing That Would Not Leave: His co-workers have long stopped inviting him to drinking nights, but he still insists on tagging along.
What Did I Do Last Night?: He gets drunk, wigs out, and only has hazy memories the next day.

Yuami Yoshio

A 39-year-old waterworks agent from episode 56, "Paradise Bath"

Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Subtle, but he has three wavy hairs sticking from his head in the shape of a sign for bath houses.
Failed a Spot Check: You're not supposed to bring any modern devices into Paradise Bath, but he slipped and brought his pager in without thinking.
Fan of the Past: He's a big fan of old-fashioned bathhouses. It's strongly implied that he finds modern life in general rather stifling.
Fingertip Drug Analysis: He's good enough at his job to be able to tell where bathhouses draw their water from by tasting a drop on his finger. Uh, from a faucet, not a bath.
Ludd Was Right: Moguro brings Yuami to a bath house built like one from the ancient Edo era. And says he can have a free membership as long as he does not enter any modern object.
Meaningful Name: His full name almost sounds like "a good bath".
Otaku: For old-style bathhouses. He tested so many for his job that he fell in love with them, and upset at their decline in favor of saunas and "health centers".
Surprisingly Happy Ending: After breaking the "no-technology" rule, he acknowledges what he did wrong and throws himself at Moguro's feet, begging to be allowed into that wonderful bathhouse again. Moguro tells him that he'll let him in, but he can never leave. Weighing the prospect of a stifling modern life against the bathhouse Yuami agrees to go, and is possibly the only person happy to be DON-ed.
Unishment: When Yuami broke the rule of not entering modern stuff into the bath house, Moguro gives him a second chance, but the new rule is that he can never leave the bath house, which Yuami agrees. Unlike many other clients, Yuami actually ends happier at the end.

Tsunei Kazuto

A 25-year-old TV production staff member from Episode 57, "Rental Girlfriend"

Gaussian Girl: Eri is shot in this manner, and thus the pale pink dress she wears makes her seem to glow.
Head-Turning Beauty: Eri, the lady Moguro arranged to be Tsunei's "girlfriend" catches the attention of all of Tsunei's friends, much to the chagrin of their girlfriends. Tsunei himself finds that he can't get her out of his head.
It Only Works Once: Justified. Moguro's only willing to pay for one date with Eri.
Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: After Moguro needles him about not being able to get a date, he rents an adult video specifically geared toward single gentlemen.
Meaningful Name: His full name can be read as "always alone".
This Is Reality: Kazuto learns, too late, that while there are attractive women who come and escort you when you want, their services don't come free.

Kaikou Sumitarou

Voiced by: Minoru Yada

A 60-year-old salaryman from episode 58, "Memory Bar".

The Cameo: During Moguro's opening monologue we see Karao Keiichi during his sting at the karaoke bar.
Meaningful Name: Part of his name sounds like "living in nostalgia".
Nostalgia Filter: Moguro and Kaikou complain about how all modern bars are of the noisy karaoke type, and that it was better when bars had more class.

Wakatsuma Tsuyoshi

Voiced by: TBA

A 28-year-old salaryman from episode 59, "My Wife's Lunch".

Curiosity Killed the Cast: When Wakatsuma asks if someone actually eats his wife's lunches, Moguro tells him not to pry into that detail. He says he was just curious. But, of course, he then tries to get more information.
Enemy Eats Your Lunch: Moguro as usual. He decides to take Wakatsuma's lunch since he was going to throw it away. A special case in this episode since it actually backfires and Moguro chokes due to how nasty the taste is.
Lethal Chef: Wakatsuma's wife is a horrible cook. How horrible? Not even Moguro could stand her food.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "my wife is strong".
You Just Told Me: When Wakatsuma came home with a completely clean box, his wife assumed (correctly) that someone else ate it, trying to defuse the situation, he states that her prawns were delicious...only for her to say that she didn't add any prawns.

Bon Fukumizu

A 35-year-old hotel banquet host from episode 60, "Divorce Club"

Ambiguously Bi: Or maybe If It's You, It's Okay? Bon only sought out relationships with females before the Divorce Club cruise, but the fact that the soulmate he meets is a Wholesome Crossdresser, which Bon must have realized as soon as said soulmate opened his mouth, doesn't slow their relationship down in the slightest.
Arranged Marriage: Met his first wife after a number of failed marriage interviews.
Awful Wedded Life: He states he never had luck at marriage interviews until he met his current wife, but she is from an upper class family and they treat him more as a servant than a husband.
The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: Fukumizu's job is to prepare and give happy regards to newly weds, but he states that he hates his marriage.
Earn Your Happy Ending: He put off with his horrible family-in-law for too long and decided to divorce his wife on Moguro's advice. Then Moguro invites him to the "Divoce Club" and warns him not to judge anyone on looks or wealth. At the club he meets a girl and they marry. The ending reveals that the girl he met was actually a man crossdressing, but they seem genuinely happy together.
Exact Eavesdropping: Right after he turns down Moguro's suggestion to get divorced he returns home to hear his wife and mother-in-law bickering about how the former only married such a wimp because the latter kept complaining about wanting grandchildren and both mocking him behind his back about how he couldn't even do that. This is the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Happily Married: The second time around, at least, he finds someone who loves him for who he is.

Insecure Love Interest: After Moguro introduces him to the Divorce Club, Bon wonders aloud if anyone could love someone like him. Moguro tells him to buck up and guarantees it.
Irony: As he notes, the fact that his job involves emceeing weddings for happy couples is a cruel irony.
Love at First Sight: Bon and Masami are entranced with each other as soon as they meet.
Male Restroom Etiquette: Moguro presents himself while both he and his future client are urinating, he even shows his card while they are "doing it".

Meet Cute: He and his soulmate Masami meet after they bump hands reaching for the same glass of wine. Of course, since they were on a cruise ship full of divorcees looking for love this is a bit more plausible.
Rage Breaking Point: Fukumizu is mocked by his wife and mother-in-law, is treated like a servant, is put down for his meager wage, but he simply remains quietly bitter when he's at home. But when he eavesdrops on them talking about how the mother only wants a grandkid, and the wife states she outright despises having sex with him, he finally snaps at them and demands a divorce.
Second Love: Subverted. Technically, he was never in love with his wife to begin with, so the guy he ends up with after his divorce is really his first one.
Wholesome Crossdresser: The twist of the episode is that he falls happily in love with a crossdresser at the Divorce Club.

Ikko Tateo

Voiced by: TBA

A 41-year-old salaryman from episode 61, "My Dream Home".

Bizarrchitecture: The final home that Moguro offers is this. Turns out the house is the perfect home for the family, a lot of space, great view and a room for everybody...but is build on a cliff, as in vertically attached to the cliff.
House-Hunting Montage: Moguro takes Ikko house-hunting, first he shows a poorly build wood tower completely surrounded by concrete buildings, then one that is literally in the middle of a graveyard, and then a tiny one build at the highest point of a tower. And Moguro keeps focusing on the "positive" features of the houses.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "detached house".

Uwaki Shirou

A 33-year-old traveling salesman from Episode 62, "Love's Parting Gifts"

Accidental Adultery: He did this to Yoshiko, having a romantic affair with her without mentioning his family, even after spending the night with her.
Best Served Cold: Uwaki cheated on his wife with his client, but was so ashamed about the ordeal that he moved to a different town. Moguro reveals that he has been searching for Uwaki to punish him for disregarding his warning.
Child of Forbidden Love: Yoshiko ended up pregnant from their extramarital affair. And she shows up and is his new neighbor by the end.!
Happily Married: He clearly loves his wife. Unfortunately, she probably won't forgive him knocking up another woman...
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He has two beloveds, but he ultimately chooses his family over his lover.
Laser-Guided Karma: He cheated on his wife with a client, and later broke her heart by abandoning her and moving to another town. Said client then moves next door, and reveals that she just had a baby. His baby.
Love at First Sight: He was fascinated by his client Ubuna Yoshiko from the moment he met her.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "Let's experience cheating".
Metaphorically True: Moguro tells him that Yoshiko is the kind of lady who takes everything seriously and that he needs to be honest about his wife and child before things between them develop too much. Uwaki doesn't lie about his family, but he also doesn't mention them.
Never My Fault: He blames Moguro for egging him into a relationship with Yoshiko, even though his obsession with her was already interfering with his job and family. All Moguro did was give Uwaki the detailed profile on her which he'd consented to receiving—he's the one who chose to use the information to get an "in" with Yoshiko, and the one who let their relationship progress without telling her the truth. Breaking a promise Moguro had extracted from him, by the way.
Not Staying for Breakfast: After their night together, he decides to leave Yoshiko, still without telling her about his wife and child.
The Oathbreaker: Moguro gave him information about Yoshiko Ubune in exchange for a promise that he'd be honest with her about his wife and child before things went too far. He didn't. Like so many of Moguro's warnings, this wasn't for Moguro's sake.
Oh, Crap!: He walks outside and calls out to his daughter Yuka just as the new neighbor introduces Yuka to her baby sister.
Playing Cyrano: He was able to successfully court Yoshiko thanks to the profile Moguro gave him telling him about her interests.
Sadistic Choice: Run out on Yoshiko or lose his family? He chooses the former, but it wouldn't have come up if he'd been straightforward from the start.
Second Love: He loves his wife and child very much, but he also falls in love with Yoshiko.
Stalker with a Crush: After he became obsessed with Yoshiko he agreed to receive a detailed profile about her from Moguro for the purpose of winning her over. Stalking by proxy?
Whole Episode Flashback: Moguro meets Uwaki in a bus revealing that he is a former client of his. So most of the episode is a flashback to the time when Moguro first offered his services.

Yanai Samushi

A 41-year-old company worker from Episode 63 "The Ideal Family"

AB Negative: His exact blood type. Which is why the vampire mother and daughter find him so tasty.
Dysfunctional Family: As he explains it, his wife and son are basically roommates who treat him like crap. He may be stuck as a blood pack for two vampires in the end, but at least they love him for it.
Heel Realization: After they drive him out of the house, his wife and son realize just how badly they've been treating him. Too late.
Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "My household is cold".
Supernaturally Delicious and Nutritious: His blood type, AB-, is apparently a delicacy for vampires.

Kouda Kametarou

A computer programmer from Episode 64, "Love Across the Glass"

Animal Motif: Turtles.
Animorphism: His punishment for stealing Kamejirou is to be slowly turned into a turtle himself.
Freudian Excuse: His obsession with turtles comes from being viciously bullied as a child due to his physical resemblance to one, thus he's a prime example of someone with a hole in his soul.
The Hermit: After buying a house he divides his time between his work, diving in the ocean and hanging out with his turtles.
If I Can't Have You…: Moguro arranges for the aquarium to lend him Kamejirou, his favorite turtle, so he can interact with it directly. Unfortunately, that's not enough for him, as he steals the turtle. Even after Moguro flat-out tells him that Kamejirou will die in the tank Kouda provides him, he refuses to give him up.
Interspecies Friendship: He regards one turtle in particular, Kamejirou, as a brother. We don't really know what Kamejirou thinks.
Meaningful Name: His name contains both the characters for "shell" and "turtle".
This Is Reality: Love isn't going to help a turtle survive if you don't have the means to take care of it, and Kametarou doesn't have the means to take care of Kamejirou, as Moguro points out.
The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Moguro's recording, assuming it is an actual recording and not magic, knew that Kouda would take the turtle to his home, and that he would refuse to return it.
Unishment: Most people wouldn't be happy to be turned into a turtle, but for Kouda it's a dream come true.

Koshiba Shousuke

A 55-year-old novelist from Episode 65 "Barhopper"

The Alcoholic:
- Koshiba likes barhopping, and he states he visits at least 10 bars every night. But the really impressive thing is that even Moguro couldn't keep pace with him.
- Nomiko, the girl that Moguro presents to Koshiba, and who can beat him at drinking, she even went to a ramen stand for a sake cup, but actually used a ramen bowl to drink it.
Ambiguously Brown: Sakai Nomiko has dark skin and wavy hair, which could be from a tan and a perm or an indicator that she's at least partly foreign.
Ambiguously Human: Nomiko again, who despite her slim frame and apparent good health can out-drink a seasoned barhopper with no apparent intoxication whatsoever.
Be Careful What You Wish For: Koshiba wanted someone who could keep up with his barhopping. Moguro puts him in touch with an attractive young lady who doesn't just drink him under the table but into the grave.
Did You Just Out-Drink Cthulhu: He drags Moguro on a bar crawl and the Laughing Salesman hits his limit after four bars.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Breaks his promise to Moguro not to hit on Nomiko, who leaves him in disgust. So there's no one to help him when he's dying from alcohol poisoning.
In Vino Veritas: He tells Moguro that he's only interested in a drinking partner, but starts hitting on Nomiko once he gets drunk enough.
Meaningful Name
- Using Japanese phonetics, his name is an anagram for "hashigo shiyou" which means "let's go barhopping".
- Moguro presents Koshiba a girl to be his drinking partner. Her name is Sakai Nomiko, which sounds like "to drink alcohol".

Nagai Yasumi

Voiced by: TBA

A 42-year-old salaryman from episode 66, "Long-Term Break".

Meaningful Name: His name sounds like "long vacation".

Wagama Machiko

Voiced by: TBA

A 29-year-old fashion designer from episode 67, House Lady".

Meaningful Name: Part of her name sounds like "wagamama", which means "spoiled".
Men Can't Keep House: Inverted, Machiko is shown to be horrible at house keeping. It is stated this is because she is a career woman.
Trash of the Titans: After Moguro dons Machiko, her home ends even worse than before, with trash everywhere.

Muneri Kiyoshi

A 46-year-old subsection chief from Episode 68 "Sleep Pillow"

Blatant Lies: Moguro outright warns him that staying in a sleep state for too long could be addictive and not to overuse the pillow, but Muneri assures him he's fine. Meanwhile he's using it for things like ignoring speeches from his boss and complaints from his wife.
Flawed Prototype: Moguro gives him an electronic device in the shape of a tiny pillow which sends alpha waves into his brain, allowing it to be in a state of sleep while awake. However, as it's a prototype, he warns Muneri not to overuse it and to take it off when its alarm goes off. Muneri gets addicted to the sensation of it, and the ensuing explosion takes away his ability to sleep, probably permanently.
The Insomniac: In his bedroom his wife loudly grinds her teeth, on the couch his son plays video games all night, and the stress from his job and aforementioned kid's bad grades doesn't help. when he goes to bed early, he just ends up staying awake.
The Sleepless: His long-term abuse of the sleep pillow, coupled with its overload, mean that he gets the equivalent of half a year straight of pure sleep in only a few days. Now he can't sleep. Period. But that makes him a perfect night watchman.
Why Am I Ticking?: During a company meeting he ignores the pillow's alarm, and since he's in a state of sleep he can't properly process the people who notice his body smoking, or the electrical discharges, or how everyone seems to be running away and panicking, or—Ka-BOOM!.

Katte Ryouzou

A 74-year-old former film star(?) from Episode 69, "The Mystery Star"

Awful Truth: As Hoshi Shinzaburo movies become popular again, Moguro firmly suggests that Katte not publically identify himself as Shinzaburo and simply be contented with the knowledge that he's gained a new generation of admirers. Unfortunately, someone claiming to be Hoshi Shinzaburo turns up, and Katte can't help but confront him. On a TV show to see which was one was the real deal, the director of most of Hoshi Shinzaburo's movies points Katte out...as an impostor.
Fake Memories: It turns out that his belief that he was Hoshi Shinzaburo was a combination of being a big fan of his movies and an old man's muddled memory.
Foreshadowing: There are a number of clues pertaining to Katte's true identity. Mostly in Moguro's initial incredulity at his claims, admitting that he bears a bit of a resemblance to Tsukiboshi Hanpeita (even making him younger in his mind doesn't make him match), the impostor looks more like Hanpeita than he does, and he never expresses any particular reason why he would bother changing his name.
Meaningful Name: His surname is a homophone for "self-serving", and can also be read as "has been".
Take a Third Option: After learning that he wasn't Hoshi Shinzaburo after all, Katte is lost and confused, wondering who he really is and unable to shake the belief that he must somehow be Hoshi Shinzaburo. Moguro confronts him and eases his troubled soul by replacing his delusion with a new one—that he's actually Tsukiboshi Hanpeita, the samurai hero Shinzaburo played in Katte's favorite movies. So everyone's happy—unless he thinks you're a villain.
White-Dwarf Starlet: He's upset that people don't remember who he was, so Moguro offers to make his movies popular again. And soon enough they're the hottest new thing.

Seike Tsuzuki

Voiced by: TBA

A 29-year-old office lady from episode 70, "Germophobia".

Meaningful Name: Her full name sounds like "she likes cleanliness".
Neat Freak: Seike is always clean and refuses to touch almost anything with her bare hands.
Terrified of Germs: She really doesn’t like to touch anything with her bare hands and adheres very rigidly to her schedule. She doesn’t like germs to the point of never having kissed. However, after meeting a nice man, you can see her getting better and overcoming it to the point that she doesn’t care about touching surfaces with her bare hands. Of course, she rejected the kiss of her new boyfriend, against Moguro's advice, which makes her fear turn up to eleven. Where she goes to work with a special containment suit as she claims she can’t even breathe the same air as her coworkers.

Memo Matarou

Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka

A 36-year-old freelance writer from Episode 71, "Switched Organizers"

Accidental Theft: After a night out drinking, he loses his organizer, and Moguro gives him an identical one. Memo uses it when he gets home only to discover it's not his. After Memo uses the information within to get laid, Moguro turns up and the organizers are unswitched...but not before he copies the information onto his IC card.
All Men Are Perverts: The very first opportunity he gets to cheat on his wife, he takes it.
Easter Egg: The organizer’s Brand seems to be Fujico brand, based on the author’s name.
It's for a Book: His cutting-edge (for 1991) electronic organizer is full of random trivia he might need as a writer. Interestingly, Moguro's is full of random stuff, too.
Laser-Guided Karma: For his violation of dating—that is, data privacy, Memo has the data of his life altered, with his beautiful wife switched out for an unattractive stranger and a bratty kid.
Meaningful Name: His last name references his complete reliance on his organizer to remember anything.
The Pornomancer: Moguro's organizer is full of women who are ready and willing as soon as they get the password—Memo takes advantage of this.
Really Gets Around: He takes advantage of the information found within Moguro's organizer to sleep with women all over the city.
Running Gag: Moguro switches places with a Tanuki statue and confuses Matarou.
Stalker with a Crush: This kind of a borderline case. He stored information about his future wife in his organizer when he was dating her. Later this information disappears, along with the lady herself.

Kakei Kazuya

Voiced by: TBA

A 35-year-old photographer from episode 72, "Red or Black!?".

Descent into Addiction: Moguro showed Kakei a secret casino so he could have one last thrill. But the next day he discovered he had one chip remaining, which allowed him to return to the casino and lose more and more money.
Meaningful Name: His full name is derived from the phrase "kake ichi ka bachi ka", which means "bet all or nothing".
Million to One Chance: Moguro seem to have taken pity on Kakei and gave him a "lifeline" as he called it. To bet all on zero, 1-36 chance of success. Kakei goes but decides to bet on 9-red, since is his lucky number, of course, the roulette lands on zero.
Sharp-Dressed Man: Enforced. The secret casino that Moguro shows Kakei states that all members must dress formally.

Uchinaki Yousuke

Voiced by: Takeshi Aono

A 53-year-old salaryman from episode 73, "Sunday Club".

Hating on Monday: Uchinaki feels so depressed on Mondays that he doesn't care if he gets late to work, and states that he has been late all mondays for years.
Jaded Washout: Uchinaki says that he didn't use to hate Mondays, and Moguro outright states this is because then he had dreams to chase, but now, at the end of his dead-end career, he has nothing to work for, and warns him that if he doesn't fix it, he will end skipping work altogether.
Meaningful Name: His last name is a homophone for "no house".
The Punishment Is the Crime: Uchinaki broke his promise of not visiting the Sunday Club more than once per month, so Moguro makes him a permanent member, which basically means that he is now a senile man that doesn't have to care about anything.

Richigi Momoru

A 42-year old salaryman from Episode 74, "Life in the Woods"

I Am What I Am: Although the first week in the forest is a welcome respite, he soon finds himself missing his home and his job, coming to the conclusion that his true nature is that of a company worker.
Mushroom Samba: Moguro accidentally (?) mixes in "special" mushrooms with the food they gathered. Richigi decides he rather likes them.
Surprisingly Happy Ending: He learns to take life in the city a little easier, and whenever he misses being in the forest, he can just pop a hallucinogenic mushroom and trip himself back there. Yay!

Chuunen Takuji

A 39-year old salaryman and burgeoning manga collector from Episode 75, "Mangania"

Defictionalization: An actual manga with the title (and nothing else) "Last Utopia" did wind up being made in 2015 by Soto, who would go on to pen the manga adaptation of In Another World with My Smartphone.
Freudian Excuse: Admits that he wanted to be a mangaka himself but lacked the talent for it. So he lives vicariously through the comics he reads and collects.
Otaku: Of rare manga. His name also roughly translates to "middle-aged otaku".
Secret Test of Character: Subjected to one of the most famous ones in the series where he lies to Moguro about the value of the manga he asked him to appraise. The salesman reveals that he always knew what it was worth and would've let Takuji keep the book if he had told the truth. Instead, he punishes him by having his wife pulp his collection into something she sees as more practical: toilet paper.
Shout-Out: The manga this episode centers around is a supposedly rare graphic novel called "Last Utopia", a clear Expy of Utopia: The Last World War another creation of The Laughing Salesman's authors Fujiko Fujio (Fujimoto Hiroshi and Motoo Abiko).
Take That Us: Moguro and Chuunen both scoff at Ashizuka Mushio, the supposed writer of "Last Utopia", considering the name to in fact be a pseudonym by some rookie hoping to crib on Osamu Tezuka's style.

Ishii Hirowaka

A 38-year-old salaryman from Episode 80, "The Pinkie Ring"

The Alcoholic: Although to his credit, once his doctor explains how badly he's damaged his liver, he tries to quit for the sake of his wife and daughter. Alas, all it takes it a bit of peer pressure and he forgets his promise to them.
Behavioral Conditioning: By painfully squeezing his pinky finger whenever he exposes himself to alcohol, the ring Moguro gives him is intended to make him avoid drinking.
Loophole Abuse: Eventually he's pressured into helping wine and dine a client, so he decides to remove the ring beforehand against Moguro's orders. It works out perfectly and he's fine forever. HA HA HA—No. Actually, he puts it on again after drinking and finds it won't come off—and it's tightening. He tries to get water from a barrel to wash it off and make it expand, only to have it be a sake barrel. And after that, he doesn't need a ring to remind him anymore.
Magic A Is Magic A: The ring tightens when Ishii comes into contact with alcohol and loosens when exposed to water. Ishii finds that the ring will contract on his finger if he comes into contact with any alcohol, including cleaning products. Also, it likes to make up for lost time.

Awate Taizou

A 56-year-old CEO from episode 85 "Golf Domino"

Behavioral Conditioning: Using photo cutouts of people, Moguro manages to get him over his anxiety about potentially hitting spectators with his golf ball—but warns him not to use anything but the five-iron he was practicing with during the actual tournament. Messing with that parameter ends up ruining everything.
Disaster Dominoes: He ignores Moguro's warning not to use anything stronger than a five-iron in the tournament, slices the ball, hits a spectator, who falls over and hits a spectator who falls over and...on and on and on until everyone but him is on the ground in various states of injury.
You Were Trying Too Hard: Never having played golf in front of spectators before, he worries so much about hitting them with his ball that he tenses up and slices right into them when he swings. Moguro helps him relax.

Ukai Yorimichi

A 48-year-old salaryman from episode 89 "The Food Floor Man"

Be Careful What You Wish For: Gets precisely what he wants. That is, the freedom to eat any store bought food he desires without his wife heckling him. However, it seemingly comes at the cost of his marriage and the access to Ayuko's home cooked meals.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich: Ayuko has a tendency to just throw away food that Yorimichi doesn't eat rather than save it in the fridge.
Wanting Is Better Than Having: Yorimichi learns too late that his obsession with department store meals lay in the thrill of snacking in secret. When Moguro separates the two, Yorimichi winds up picking up unhealthy eating habits now that the premium food floor goods have lost their luster.

Kent Pincarton

A 32-year-old trading firm worker from Episode 90, "Blue Eyed Japanese"

Aesop Collateral Damage: His wife isn't exactly pleased when he suddenly starts spending all his time drinking, playing mahjong all night, and schmoozing it up with hostesses. Until she's brainwashed into becoming a Yamato Nadeshiko, that is.
Eagleland: Averted. He's a blond and blue-eyed American, but doesn't display any of the negative stereotypes as he's just merely having trouble adjusting to the Japanese cultural norms.
Fish out of Water: He's surprised to find how much he's expected to socialize with his co-workers outside of work. Moguro helps him adapt to Japanese social customs, maybe a little too well.
Foreign Culture Fetish: Downplayed at first. He started out fascinated by Japanese economics, learned the language, and moved, in order to participate in overseas business. However, Moguro sets out to make him even more Japanese than a native and succeeds to the point that even his Japanese co-workers appear disturbed upon finding out just how far he's gone.
Funny Foreigner: Highly downplayed as the only thing "funny" about Kent would be the voice actor giving him a high-pitch accent. After Moguro "dons" him, he plays this straight by taking the Japanese customs further than the natives.
Gratuitous English: He tends to pepper his words with English, which is justified as Japanese isn't his first language.
My Country Tis of Thee That I Sting: Moguro gets Kent to assimilate by showcasing the crude, contradictory, and even cruel nature of corporate Japan: Be servile to your superiors, badmouth your bosses with your peers, don't sing too well in karaoke lest you make others resentful, never walk away from a winning streak no matter what, fool around with loose women, and be sure to give your spouse the business if they give you lip about anything. Kent goes from an upstanding worker who adored his wife to the precise sort of loutish, vice-chasing salaryman jerk that Moguro usually preys upon.
Occidental Otaku: What he ends up being at the end. Ironically, this only makes him seen as being more of an outsider than ever.
Phenotype Stereotype: He's blond and blue-eyed and his wife is a blue-eyed redhead. Of course, not fitting in is the point behind his story.
Spell My Name With An S: It's probably supposed to be "Pinkerton", but, y'know...
Translation Convention: An interesting case: While he and his wife use a few bits of Gratuitous English, they apparently decided to give their seiyuu a break by letting them speak in Japanese for conversations between them—but they put English subtitles of their own on the screen to make it clear that's the language they're "actually" speaking. It makes more sense to see it in practice.

Komiya Tomoo

A 41-year old salaryman from episode 91, "Night Train", the Season 2 finale.

Age-Gap Romance: With the innkeeper, and unlike previous displays of such in the series, it's depicted as entirely wholesome.
Bittersweet Ending: Tomoo ultimately proves himself a decent man who cannot be truly corrupted, so much so that all of Moguro's typically duplicitous help arguably acts to his benefit, but his wife falls prey to illness and he has to end his sincere love affair with the innkeeper so he can return home to take care of his daughter.
Butt-Monkey: Has the unfortunate distinction of having been hit by Moguro's "don" twice, although to no outright negative effect.
Nice Guy: Outside of going on the lam without telling his family, Tomoo is a genuinely kind, polite, and hardworking man struggling with middle-age ennui. The moment he hears that his estranged wife is critically ill, threatening to leave their daughter all by her lonesome, he braves a snowstorm to try and get a train back to Tokyo.
No Antagonist: Tomoo's story is a tender, tragic romance between him and a kindly innkeeper. Moguro himself doesn't antagonize him or try to ruin him outside of starting the plot.

Warui Kanzou

A 49-year-old salaryman from episode 93, "Stamina Mushroom"

The Alcoholic: To his chagrin, he's got to switch to soda because of cirrhosis, compounded by overexertion and lack of sleep. It turns out he doesn't have cirrhosis.
All Men Are Perverts: Once his stamina's been boosted he cheats on his supportive and caring wife.
Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: They are if Moguro keeps drinking in front of you. He also has to wine and dine clients.
Forced Transformation: Eating strange mushrooms really is dangerous. You never know what might happen to you, although he seems to find his fate pretty funny. That is laughing, right?
Healing Herb: Moguro offers Warui the extract of a rare mushroom which will restore his health, although he has to make a bottle last a month, and going above the monthly allotment is dangerous. Of course, Warui ends up abusing it all well before the month is through.
Living Is More than Surviving: He misses the outgoing lifestyle (golfing, mahjong, barhopping) he's had to give up thanks to his alleged liver trouble.
Mistaken for Dying Or at least for gravely ill. Turns out there was a shadow in his x-rays that made the doctor misdiagnose him. Unfortunately for him, he never finds out.
Phlebotinum Muncher: Kanzou becomes heavily dependent upon the stamina-boosting extract, and when he can't get anymore, goes on a trip to try and find the mushrooms it's made of.
Power-Up Food: The mushroom extract he's given basically works like Popeye's spinach for his stamina.
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Dying near fungal spores can result in one's corpse becoming a garden for mushrooms, although not to the extent that it happens to Kanzou.
- Rather than receive some kind of horrible side effect for drinking the extract too quickly, Kanzou suffers no immediate pains and is simply warned from doing so again since it typically takes ingesting much more mushroom extract than he did for those to appear.
Unwanted Assistance: His wife tries to help him by insisting he go right to bed after dinner, but of course he's not happy about it.
Workaholic: He is overworked. Fortunately, now he's got a nice relaxed life as a giant mushroom.

Mizuno Shouhei

A 35-year-old celebrity from Episode 97, "The Fixer"

Aesop Collateral Damage: Poor Taeko truly loved him, but he eventually divorced her in an effort to hook up with a side piece. She gets his house and assets, claiming to be done with him for good after signing the papers, but it's clear from her voice that she's heartbroken over it. Not to mention what going to happen when her ex get his face plastered all over the news and her name comes up in connection with him.
All Men Are Perverts: He's cheated on his wife Taeko at least three times with three different women. Even one of his lovers killing herself after he moves on isn't enough to scare him straight.
Be Careful What You Wish For:
- He wonders aloud how Uma the fixer got so much influence. And gets to find out firsthand when the old man reveals he kept the pictures from Mizuno's numerous affairs, something he implicitly does with every client.
- He gives up his house, assets and loving wife in divorce so he can try to hook up with Keiko It turns out her older sister was Driven to Suicide after Mizuno cut off their affair, and she was seducing him specifically so she could ruin him, even contracting Uma for that purpose. Now he can say goodbye to his career, too.
Driven to Suicide: One of his past lovers developed mental problems and took a swan-dive off a building after he dumped her. She happened to have a younger sister named Keiko.
Ignored Epiphany: After Moguro asks him to stop philandering and cherish his wife in exchange for another cover-up, Mizuno seems to realize just how good Taeko is and how deeply he loves her. Then he goes to a bar and meets Keiko.
Love at First Sight: One look at Keiko and his penis leaps up and gouges out the part of his brain that plans to cherish Taeko.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Inverted in terms of appearance. He's handsome and his wife Taeko is plain. Now in terms of personality...
What Does She See in Him?: Even he doesn't know why is wife is so forgiving of his constant affairs.

Hineri Shisaku

A 60-year-old lyricist from Episode 101, "Drink Bar"

Addiction Displacement: Instead of alcohol, he becomes reliant on herb tonics to give him the energy to write.
The Alcoholic: He goes to bars and soaks up the atmosphere for inspiration in addition to drinking, but it's taking a toll on his body, especially considering his age.
Catapult Nightmare: His episode starts with him waking up from one where a barmaid morphs into his doctor, telling him to cut out the nightlife.
Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: One night the juice bar's closed, so Hineri goes back to his old haunt and gets snockered. On the way back he starts feeling ill and almost buys an herbal health drink from a vending machine, when he sees a vision of Moguro warning him off of it. But when he goes home, it turns out he got a year's supply of health drinks from the company which he allowed to use one of his songs, and Hineri just can't help himself...
Emergency Transformation: When Hineri drinks the non-Crindo health drinks, he starts writhing in agony and becoming unable to breathe, so Moguro does something that turns him into a Plant Person. It's not clear if Moguro was hastening an ongoing Transflormation to culmination or if transforming him was the only way to save him, but it does seem to save his life and stop his pain.
Forced Transformation: Moguro warns him that since his body has become used to the extracts from the juice bar, taking any other kinds of health drink would be ill-advised. But one day the juice bar's closed and he's desperate for energy and the health drink company who used his song in their commercial sent him a complimentary case of their product...On the upside doesn't need root extracts anymore—because he is an energy root now. Which he seems to be okay with, actually.
Healing Herb: Moguro introduces him to Crindo, a drink bar where they only serve herb extract tonics. After a few visits, Heneri's doctor is shocked to see that his flagging health is fully restored, and Heneri finds himself burning with energy and inspiration.
Repurposed Pop Song: His song "Date Drink Rock" gets used in a commercial for herbal health drinks.

Tamakoshi Norie

A 28-year old office worker from Episode 102, "Luck With Men".

Animal Motif: Giraffes. In a rather terrible way.
Darker and Edgier: She's the last fatality shown in the original series, and her fate is depicted in excruciating detail.
Killer Outfit: She trades Moguro's "Lucky Scarf" for a fancier diamond necklace. After the DON, the necklace gets clamped by an elevator's doors, turning a diamond necklace into a diamond noose.
Plague of Good Fortune: Norie goes from being desperately single to having three eligible bachelors who want her hand in marriage. She's so overwhelmed that she forgets to follow one simple condition.

Erito Tsutomu

A 28-year old elite company man from SP 1, "Pitfalls of Blackmail".

Asshole Victim: Notably, he never actually breaks any of Moguro's conditions and got exactly what he wanted from their deal. It's just Tsutomu wound up being such a rotten guy that Moguro went out of his way to thwart his attempts to blackmail a high schooler into having sex with him.
Bait-and-Switch: The special opens with it looking like Moguro's client for it will be a high school girl whose handkerchief he picked up, or at least someone affiliated with the high school since he was walking in its direction. Then after the credits play, Moguro walks his way through the snowy city to accost Tsutomu, a grown man working in a corporate office. She does wind up coming back into the picture later though.
Green-Eyed Monster: A deeply jealous man.
No Social Skills: Ill-equipped for the wheeling and dealing that comes with corporate life, a culture where "hard workers lose while players win".
Too Dumb to Live: Doles out his own blackmail payoff in one of his personal stationery envelopes, allowing his would-be victim and her gang to track him down easily.

Mushimi Ichirou & Chokou

A middle-aged couple, consisting of 41-year old company worker and a 36-year old housewife from SP 2, "Out of Bounds Spouses".

Crack is Cheaper: Ichirou squanders most of his savings on accumulating as many vintage golf clubs as he can. In the end, he's forced to sell it all away.
Excalibur in the Rust: Moguro gives Ichirou his Tommy Armor 945, an incredibly rare "classic club", to inspire him to take up golf. Even dirty and dinged up, an instructor is able to see how valuable it is, and its prestige awakens a hitherto gluttonous part of his personality.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Believing that his wife would be better off with Shinako and without him, and still broken from how his golf club obsession led him to attempted burglary, Ichirou writes Chokou a "Dear John" Letter and leaves home while she's out.
Laser-Guided Karma: Torn between Moguro's two seemingly contradictory conditions, Chokou chooses to honor her word according to the "gentleman's code", and goes on a golf date with her instructor rather than take care of a bedridden Ichirou. Her guilt (and perhaps some supernatural conditioning on Moguro's part) makes her unable to play properly, alienating her from Shinako who is so turned off by her performance that she cuts all ties with Chokou.
Mellow Fellow: Ichirou is so unmotivated that Moguro barging into his home uninvited doesn't elicit much of a reaction out of him. However, his newfound obsession with classic clubs turns him covetous and confrontational.
Otaku: Ichirou does find a hobby in golf. That is, collecting rare clubs.
What Beautiful Eyes!: Hiyodori Shinako, Chokou's golf instructor, has a very dazzling pair.

Mijime Kokeru

A 28-year old mangaka from SP 5, "Snow Mountain Devil Song".

Author Avatar: From what we see of his manga, he writes about a young man who's similarly hapless as he is but just a bit more competent and charming with the ladies.
Scenery Porn: His story takes place on the expansive and lovingly detailed slopes of a ski resort.
Too Dumb to Live: Devastated by Yuko and Atsuko's prank, Kokeru hikes through an active snowstorm - one that Moguro had warned him about - to return to the lodge. The severe cold and lack of visibility causes him to fall off a cliff.
Too Good to Be True: Moguro gives him the equipment and willpower to impress his fellow ski students, but he expresses skepticism that the beautiful Yuko would want to invite him to her cabin for a night of passion just for that display. Desperate for a girlfriend, Mijime ignores him. She was actually luring him there to take an embarrassing video of his heartbroken face.

Ochikubo Rei

A 46-year old salaryman from SP 6, "Hot Spring Requiem".

The Bus Came Back: Besides Yuko and Atsuko who return from the previous special episode, Hanae Fuyuki, Tanomo Yuusuke, Tanami Kazuhito, Kako Shinobu, Kaeri Takunai, Hanahata Komatta, Mushimi Ichirou, Tanami Kazuhito and Higama Hoshiya do so as well.
Decoy Protagonist: While SP 6 is technically his story, more than half of it is a Clip Show devoted to Moguro's former clients.
Everyone Went to School Together: Well, not everyone, but a lot of Moguro's clients (and supporting characters from others) from past episodes seemingly did.
Poor Communication Kills: While they allude to their individual encounters with Moguro (cutting out some of the more absurd details like organ orchids and burglary), none of Ochikubo's classmates actually mention the man they encountered by name, allowing the salesman to approach him with ease.
Properly Paranoid: Ochikubo's classmates do consider him a "failure" like he suspects. Moguro helps him to learn how not to care about that sentiment so much, and that just because they look down on him, that doesn't mean they can't be civil and have a good time together.
Throw the Dog a Bone: While they decide to prank him again after he falls unconscious during their drinking party, Yuko and Atsuko make sure to leave behind the embarrassing photo they took of him. He also had a lot of fun, which his classmates actually envy.
Unluckily Lucky: Unlike many of his classmates who encountered Moguro, Ochikubo comes out of his misadventure largely unscathed, with his sanity intact and a fun evening with two gorgeous young women to groggily remember. He arguably has an even better position than Komatta, another client who Moguro didn't actually punish, as he doesn't have to deal with a jealous wife or have to divorce one.
Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: The characters that make up his name can be read as "left behind".

Kakita Ageru

A 12-year old elementary schooler from SP 7, "Wanio's Bizarre Cuisine".

Children Are Innocent: Ageru is just a normal kid who wants a pet, and is willing to love and care for it when given the chance. Moguro can't bring himself to actually mess with him outside of puckishly causing him to trip with his hat, and when the boy accuses him of betraying his trust, the usually disputatious Moguro is at a loss for words.
Dirty Coward: Ageha, Ageru's father, is a loud and bossy sushi chef who is quick to cave under pressure whether it be from Moguro or the Gori family.
Humans Are the Real Monsters: Neither Wanio or Ageru's personal failings goaded by Moguro is the principle antagonistic force of the story. Rather, it's the depraved and domineering Gori clan.
Non-Malicious Monster: So long as he's fed and you don't attack him, Wanio is as gentle and sweet as any other pet.
People Puppets: Moguro uses a "Secret Shadow Projection Technique" to make Wanio increase in size and to control his movements so he can escape getting eaten.

Imani Miterou

A 12-year old elementary schooler from SP 9, "Imani Miterou's Secret Revenge Sheet".

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Looks to just be a quiet boy who has to deal with his father's gambling addiction, but he's actually an easily angered and vindictive youth.
Buried Alive: Tricks one of his bullies into a very deep hole in the ground before hiding the pit - and muffling Gamaguchi's cries for help - with an innocuous piece of flotsam.
Disproportionate Retribution: Man or animal can earn a black star from him just by looking at him wrong.
Evil Versus Evil: Miterou is not a customer of Moguro's and performs his fiendishness all on his own or through lightly manipulating others. Moguro even saves one of his targets from starving to death underground.
Frame-Up: Tries to get Moguro out of the way by attacking a woman while disguised as the salesman before "dropping" one of his business cards.
He Knows Too Much: When he thinks that Moguro might out him for his revenge schemes, he tries o have the man arrested on false charges. When that doesn't work, he tries to outright kill him with a harpoon gun.
Karmic Transformation: Though he's transfigured people for lesser offenses, Moguro trapping Miterou in a gyotaku print for trying to get rid of him multiple times stands out due to just how young the kid is.
Loners Are Freaks: Obsessed with gyotaku, fishing, and retribution. He only ever gets chatty when he monologues towards those who have wronged him and gone over the black star threshold.
This Is Unforgivable!: His "revenge sheet" operates by auditing the black and white stars that he secretly gives to people for offending (inconveniencing will do) or helping him. If someone gets ten black stars, then he makes an attempt on their life and adds their print to his gyotaku collection.
Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: A future serial killer in all but name.
You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good!: Moguro's closing lines have him chide an absent Miterou for using his intelligence solely for revenge rather than "something more worthwhile".

Clients from NEW

Kenichi Nakajima

Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi

A 29-year-old salaryman from Episode 1A, "Daydream".

Took a Level in Kindness: Nakajima's friend, Sakamaki. In the original, when he discovers that Nakajima is visiting a club during the day, he blackmails into paying for both of them. Here, he is the one to show Daydream to Nakajima , and he even advises him to go straight home after work instead of visiting Daydream again that night.

Mitsuko Takashima

Voiced by: Kana Asumi

A 31-year-old office lady from Episode 1B, "Make a Budget and Stick to It".

Loophole Abuse: Moguro gave her a credit card that allowed her to buy anything she want... with the condition that everything will be repossessed the next day. She tried to game the system by spending in mostly personal care treatments to feel younger. Sadly for her, Moguro was not fooled by this.
Money Dumb: Apparently no one ever gave her the titular advice.
Punished with Ugly: Moguro punishes her by repossessing her beauty treatments, turning her into a fat, ugly old woman.
Retail Therapy: Mitsuko spends most of her money on expensive items to deal with her bad work situation, to the point she has to buy less food and is behind her bills.

Shisao Kihara

Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki

A 46-year-old Salesman from Episode 2A, "Hot Spring Eccentricity".

Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: After his business trip, he decided to go to a hot spring in a strange town rather than his dull home for a bit of adventure and ends up sleeping with a geisha.
Beer Goggles: After a night of drinking with Moguro and a couple of geishas, he more than happy when the pretty one who liked him visits his room. It's the one who looks like his wife and she charges him out the wazoo in the morning.
Henpecked Husband: Back at home, his wife always gets onto him for his crappy pay and for wasting money.
Identical Stranger: Somehow, one of the Geishas serving him and Moguro looks very much like his wife.

Iyata Deyashiro

Voiced by: Soma Saito

A 24-year-old new employee from Episode 2B, "Fantasy Company".

Bad Boss: He became this the second time he's in the position of boss again by yelling at the workers, rushing them to move faster, and degrading them for messing up. When he realizes he's this, he realizes what he became runs away in shame but runs straight into Moguro where he punishes him.
Drunk with Power: The moment he's given the position of boss for one day and then goes back to being a worker, he feels that he can do better if he was the boss again and starts acting like his previous boss.
Ironic Hell: For ignoring his warning, Moguro makes him work at the company as a mean and crazy boss in a black company experience booth forever.
My God, What Have I Done?: When he starts degrading another employee who was nice to him from the beginning, he sees himself in the worker and realizes that he became like his previous boss.
You Are What You Hate: He previously had an abusive boss and he becomes exactly like said boss when given the most minuscule taste of authority over other people.

Masao Amae

Voiced by: Kōki Miyata

A 27-year-old salaryman from Episode 3A, "Bento Wars".

Disappeared Dad: His father is never mentioned or seen in any of the family photos, implying that he's either divorce or died before Amae started kindergarten.
The Ditherer: The fatal flaw of Amae. Moguro outright told him the solution he gave him was a temporary one, and that he must solve the main problem himself, but he bothced it and due to not get the resolve to make a choice on time.
Hypocritical Humor: On their second encounter, Moguro tells Amae that he is being greedy for not choosing, and that he must choose one of the lunches, either his mother's or his girlfriend's. This while he is happily eating both of those lunches by himself.
Mama's Boy: His girlfriend suggests they break it off since he can't even stand up to his own mother for her sake.
Manchild: He's 27 and he still lives with him mother who still makes his lunch. When he's taking a bath, he's playing with rubber ducks and shooting them with a water pistol. Because of his childish nature, he doesn't try to fix the problem between his mother and his girlfriend.
My Beloved Smother: His mother stakes her identity on babying him, including making him bento boxes every morning. His problem is that he much prefers the ones his girlfriend Kimiko makes, but doesn't dare break her heart by admitting that.
Puppy Eyes: Amae uses them twice. First with Moguro so he would give him a solution instead of having to make a choice himself. And again with Kimiko when trying to convince her to try her mother's lunch again.
Serious Business: How Moguro talks about the lunches Amae gets from his mother and girlfriend. Moguro talks about how they prepare them with love and that making others eat them is the same as betraying the person who prepared them.

Tetsuya Kamera

Voiced by: Hideyuki Kanaya

A 49-year-old salesman from Episode 3B, "Ah, My Beloved 583-Model".

Broken Ace: According to one worker, Kamera was an amazing salaryman 20 years ago, and he even once trained the current chief. However, his newfound obsession with trains after riding the 583-Model causes him to skew his work priorities, thus leading to him being a Jaded Washout who gets little respect from his younger co-workers and a Broken Pedestal to the chief by the time of the episode.
Broken Pedestal: For the current chief he works under since he was the one who trained him in the first place.
Companion Cube: Kamera is really fond of the 583-model, even telling it that it is the only one that understands him.
Otaku: For trains, one in particular.
Skewed Priorities: He obsesses himself with trains so much that he neglects the quality of his work to the point of being dangerously fired from his job.

Junichi Naoki

Voiced by: Wataru Hatano

A 26-year-old banker from Episode 4A, "The Woman on the Platform".

Loving a Shadow: Moguro warns Naoki about this. He tells him that he must love the woman for who she is, and not for the idea that she might be beautiful. Because she very much isn't.

Kakeru Michihara

Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki

A 32-year-old salaryman from Episode 4B, "Runners' Paradise".

Love Makes You Dumb: After Moguro gives him the Runners' Paradise badge, he meets a cute woman who's interested in him during their run. When she's unable to catch up with him due to obstacles getting in her way, he makes a copy of the badge for her, ignoring Moguro's warning about keeping the badge a secret, and they are able to run together without any interference. Unfortunately, the woman decided to share the badge with everyone online and pretty soon everyone starts wearing the badge, making his badge useless.

Yousuke Uchinaki

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba

A 58-year-old salaryman from Episode 5A, "Sunday Club".

Pragmatic Adaptation: Moguro warns him that he can only visit the Sunday Club once a month. In the original anime, all it took was remembering his wife for Uchinaki to decide to revisit the club before the threshold. Here we actually see him through various days of suffering stress, from his boss yelling to him, to his wife and son insulting him, to even being beaten by some guy for accidentally stepping on him before he breaks and returns to the club.

Tomie Monomochi

Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu

A 38-year-old housewife from Episode 5B, "The Woman Who Throws Away".

Hypocrite: The woman who advised Tomie to get rid of all the “Unnecessary stuff” in her house so it would look better. Turns out she only keeps her place as minimalistic because she has a deal to show her apartment to potential buyers in exchange of lower rent. She actually dislikes it, and keeps all her stuff on a little closet.

Taizou Udo

Voiced by: Kenta Miyake

A 29-year-old actor from Episode 6A, "I'll Lease This Monster".

Bear Hug: He almost crushes his wife when doing this to her.
Becoming the Mask: Moguro places a mask on him in order for him to be scary and to attract potential customers. When he betrays Moguro, Moguro causes the mask to be stuck to his face, essentially turning him into the scary monster the mask portrayed.
Gentle Giant: Despite his huge appearance, he's a really nice and sensitive guy. But he's no longer this when he puts on his monster mask.
Happily Married: He has a small wife who loves him very much and is supportive of his career. He's also willing to give up on his acting career to find a real job to support his family is his acting career doesn't work out.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: He's this with his wife who's twice the size of her.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: His wife looks cute while he has a cartoonish looking face.

Tomoyoshi Doraki

Voiced by: Koutarou Nishiyama

A 22-year-old college student from Episode 6B, "Tonight's Another Awesome Night".

Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: When Doraki and his friends visit a Karaoke bar, he sings the ending theme.
Gave Up Too Soon: After he goes out for a night of fun with his co-workers, his girlfriend arrives at his home to tell him something but she decided to tell him later. After he convinced Moguro permanently makes him a day person, his girlfriend arrives to his home at night to reveal that she quit her day job to work a night job so they can date all the time.
Hourglass Plot: His problem at the beginning was that he couldn't spend quality time with his girlfriend because she worked during daytime, and he preferred nighttime, so he asked Moguro for help. At the end, Moguro makes sure he becomes a morning person, but before that his girlfriend had decided to quit her job to get one during nighttime so they can spend more time together.
Not a Morning Person: He prefers the nighttime and all the activities during that time, but has trouble staying awake during the day which puts a strain on his relationship with his girlfriend. He tries going to sleep early but he's unable to.
"Shaggy Dog" Story: When he believes that his girlfriend is going to dump him, he convinces Moguro to permanently make him a day person. Unfortunately, his girlfriend got a new job at night so they're pretty much back to the way they were with their relationship.

Kinichi Isobe

Voiced by: Tokuyoshi Kawashima

A 36-year-old salaryman from Episode 7A, "The Man Who Transformed".

Adaptational Nice Guy: In the original, rather than being horrified and dismayed at seeing his new family, he apparently decides to embrace the situation (and his new wife, wink wink), leaving his family behind, though Moguro notes that he might come back when he's sick of that life.
Aesop Collateral Damage: Yes, the price you pay for being unsatisfied with your wife and child is to be forced to live with a family you don't know! And as for your real family? They can go on the Tear Jerker page!
Living a Double Life: This is the deal that Moguro offers Isobe, if he disguises himself, he will be able to have fun that he wouldn't allow himself as Isobe. He then takes it to the next level by giving him a new family to take care of.

Nozomi Shizuoka

Voiced by: Minami Tanaka

A 35-year-old housewife part-timer from Episode 7B, "The Rule of Mommy Friends".

Gone Horribly Right: She asked Moguro to make sure that the leader of their mom club was always happy so they don't have to deal with her bad mood, Moguro warned that he will make sure all her complaints will be followed. Turns out one of her complaints is that Nozomi's son is always running around the building, and that maybe they will be better at another place.

Ashi Yumemi

Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama

A 49-year-old scriptwriter from Episode 8A, "A Man Chased by His Dreams".

Sugiru Yowagoshi

Voiced by: Akira Ishida

A 26-year-old taxi driver from Episode 8B, "Mustache Taxi".

Mamoru Bandai

A 30-year-old currently unemployed man from Episode 9A, "The Nostalgic Bathhouse Tour".

Composite Character: This episode has some similarities with episode 56 from the original anime. Both clients are obsessed with bath houses and both prefer the old-style ones over the new saunas. Bandai even looks like a younger version of the Mr. Yuemi client. However, the second half of the episode instead mirrors that of episode 58.
The Slacker: Unlike all of the other clients who were either currently employed, retired, or a housewife, Bandai is simply unemployed, spending most of his free time at bathhouses.

Manabu Towani

A 40-year-old part-time researcher from Episode 9B, "The Researcher's Melancholy".

Cheaters Never Prosper: When he has trouble trying to come up with some results for his project, he overhears his staff talking about another staff member coming up with a better solution than him. He steals his work and claims it as his own. Moguro found out about this and DONs him. As a result, reporters started questioning him when something goes wrong with his work and the staff he stole his work from left him, he's immediately ruined once word gets out about his lie and he loses his research facility.
You Are What You Hate: He had his work stolen by an ex-girlfriend. He winds up doing exactly the same to his loyal subordinate. Only Mogoru is there to make sure he pays for it.

Naiichi Tayori

A 34-year-old foreman from Episode 10A, "The Person in the Acquired Film".

Abhorrent Admirer: Although he's attracted to Michiko, her pushy and considerably less-attractive friend Nobue falls in love with him instead, and he's forced to date her in order to try and get closer to Michiko.
Henpecked Husband: Nobue was pushy while they were dating, but married life with her completely breaks him.
Love at First Sight: He falls for the lady in the photos (Michiko) as soon as he sees her.
A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Although Moguro warns him to break it off with Nobue if he has no feelings for her, one drunk and lonely night he hits her up for a booty call. DON! And now they're married.

Kazuhito Oite

A 65-year-old retired man from Episode 10B, "Fake Grandchild".

Intergenerational Friendship: He gets a job as a doorman and is paired with a young man probably in his 20s. They get along to the point of drinking together, and the man even asks Oite about his "grandson".
Paid-for Family: Moguro gives him a service where a family with a small child will contact him and tell him about the child as if he were his own grandchild, but Moguro warns him to never meet them in person.
The Punishment Is the Crime: Moguro allowed Oite to talk with this fake family, as long as he doesn't meet them in person, which he eventually does. His punishment is that the child actually recognizes him as his grandfather...along with the many other old guys that had the service and likely broke their promise.

Matsuo Ochiiri

A 39-year-old salaryman from Episode 11A, "Destructive Tendencies".

The Ace: Everyone considers him the best at what he does, both as a great worker, and as a family man. Deconstructed, as it seems it takes a toll on his mind, to the point of trying to sabotage himself to not be seen as so great.
Aesop Collateral Damage: So now his poor wife has to either go through the hellish ordeal of rehabilitating the man she loves, if possible, or leaving him? Thanks, Moguro.
Be Careful What You Wish For: After he comes back to the dive bar seeking the same experience again, Moguro decides that if Matsuo wants to feel the thrill of sinking low, he'll get to hit rock bottom.
Scare 'Em Straight: Moguro uses this method to stop him from doing destructive behavior by taking him to a bar in the seedy part of town. It works but only temporarily as he wanted to feel the thrill of losing everything again.
Thrill Seeker: The reason why he goes back to the bar that Moguro warns him to never go back. He's shown to be taking low-key dangerous risks even before meeting Moguro, such as walking along a river bridge holding a sheaf of important work documents over the water.

Ari Mamano

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue

A 37-year-old stage mom from Episode 11B, "I'm an Idol".

Early-Bird Cameo: The idol group the girl is part of is the same one Towani went to see in episode 9B.
Stage Mom: She makes her daughter an idol so she can live out her dream through her.
Surprisingly Happy Ending: Her episode is one of the lightest in the show's history, probably because she's one of the only clients who admits she did something wrong and throws herself on Moguro's mercy for the sake of somebody else. Moguro saves Ari's daughter like she begs him, and his only "punishment" is she has to perform at her daughter's latest audition herself instead of trying to vicariously achieve stardom through her child anymore. The daughter Ari spent the whole episode trying to control is even in the stands cheering for her, and Moguro notes that if she tries hard enough, she might just able to make a career out of it.

Tsuyoshi Amikumo

A 25-year-old freelancer from Episode 12A, "The King of the Chat Room".

Drunk with Power: Gets obsessed with using the software Moguro uses him to embarrass and troll other chat room users.
Only Known by Their Nickname: His name is only shown in the introduction, but during the episode he is always refereed to by his username, MatchaDrill, even by Moguro. Defied at the end as his punishment. Every time he enters a new chatroom, his real life information is displayed for everyone to see it.
Troll: LightKnight, a user that seems to only enter chatrooms to anger people so they start attacking him and then being banned from the chat. Amikumo becomes this after Moguro gave him a software that allows him to check other people's chats to attack them, even though Moguro told him to only use it when he is losing to someone doing it first.
You Are What You Hate: At the start of the episode, he gets trolled by a user who intentionally types things to make him mad but doing so very politely. Moguro helps Amikumo even the score with some spyware. However, despite being told to only use it very sparingly and only if he's losing to someone, he overdoes it, trolling anyone and everyone just for the fun of it.

Chikako Shimai

A 36-year-old office lady from Episode 12B, "Japan Overseas Trip".

Con Man: The charming gentleman Moguro arranges for her to meet at the French restaurant turns out to be one of these, taking her money.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: The first client we see who deliberately tries to harm Moguro when things go wrong. Subverted in that it doesn't actually hurt him, but still.
Fake Relationship: During her Motive Rant she mentions that even if she can't get a boyfriend on her worldwide trip, she'd be more than happy to fake it using a bunch of a pictures with a guy just to shove it in her co-workers' faces.
Foreign Fanservice: The real reason why she wanted to travel across the world is to find a boyfriend and she wants to exploit her foreign background to get their attention.
It Was with You All Along: After she get the trip, her previously mocking co-workers note that she seems to he carrying herself with a lot more dignity and confidence. Too bad she doesn't notice herself.
You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: She doesn't take finding out that the "worldwide" trip she got passports and vaccines for was actually restricted entirely to foreign amusements and restaurants in Tokyo well at all.

Characters / The Laughing Salesman

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Main Cast

Moguro's Clients

The Company Man

Tanomo

Uranari

Aoi

Kinichi Isobe

Uki Mamoru

Isamu Kumai

Tamiyo Sabo

Shinichi Bouda

Junichi Naoki

Buichi Nakayama

Hisatoshi Hikage

Kenichi Nakajima

Chiyorou Maido

Taiko Tsumanari

Fuuta Debuno

Hanae Fuyuki

Shinichi Tsutsui

Taichi Urashima

Takashi Ishino

Yumemi Koino

Karasumori Kiichi

Kariya Asako

Kaeri Takunai

Ohkuri Yukumi

Musai Toshio

Debara Nayami

Higama Hoshiya

Katsuta Rui

Ikuji Naiya

Otokoya Moume

Hande Oshita

Osaki Makkura

Ooi Takushi

Nomino Shinzou

Kako Shinobu

Kichide Maniya

Ubuna Yatsuda

Koh Arao

Mimizu Kunio

Wakasa Manjirou

Kurume Hoshio

Karao Keiichi

Tanami Kazuhito

Hanahata Komatta

Sutami Nashiya

Shiratama Kyouichi

Uwame Kazuo

Izumo Wakashi

Anraku Kazuhisa

Mayoi Oushi

Kibara Shisao

Ban Moriyasu

Deri Keita

Yotte Sourou

Yuami Yoshio

Tsunei Kazuto

Kaikou Sumitarou

Wakatsuma Tsuyoshi

Bon Fukumizu

Ikko Tateo

Uwaki Shirou

Yanai Samushi

Kouda Kametarou

Koshiba Shousuke

Nagai Yasumi

Wagama Machiko

Muneri Kiyoshi

Katte Ryouzou

Seike Tsuzuki

Memo Matarou

Kakei Kazuya

Uchinaki Yousuke

Richigi Momoru

Chuunen Takuji

Ishii Hirowaka