The Laughing Salesman
Based on the horror manga created by duo Fujiko Fujio, The Laughing Salesman tells the story of a salesman named Moguro Fukuzo, whose job is to help people fill gaps in their soul. However, in reality, he ruins people's lives if his clients backstab him or never ask him for help.
Episodes
A Face You Can Depend On
A handsome man crumbles under the pressure of the expectations of those around him and eventually seeks comfort in the bosom of a Buddha-like woman.
Easy Driver
A salaryman takes driving lessons but is a terrible driver. Moguro gives him private lessons, letting him drive however he likes and enjoys the joke when the man causes a huge amount of damage.
The Friend Salesman
Moguro sets up an unpopular and lonely salaryman with a lady by correspondence. When they meet in a park at night frequented by perverts, she turns out to be a mannequin whom Moguro causes to scream for help. The salaryman is then beaten up by citizens and arrested.
The Man in Disguise
A married salaryman with a wife and child has a mundane life and wishes for some adventure. Moguro encourages him to wear a disguise and have nights out on the town, but then gives him a new life, in a small apartment with a wife and four children.
The View from the 47th Floor
Moguro encourages a student to observe life from the top of a building and he falls in love with a woman he sees in an apartment building. Moguro sets up a meeting between them, but also tells her husband, a gang boss, who arrives and beats up the student.
In Valor There is Waste
A cowardly illustrator dreams of being a hero so Moguro encourages him to be brave. The young cartoonist eventually summons enough courage to stop a robber, but is stabbed in his right arm, preventing him from ever drawing again.
Sloth
A slothful salesman is very unsuccessful so Moguro offers to help. Moguro sells many properties on his behalf, however he keeps the deposits, causing the salesman to have a breakdown and really behave like a sloth
The Separator
A young celebrity does not want to marry his girlfriend, so Moguro says he will convince her to stay away, but he must never see her again. However the celebrity misses her and sees her again so Moguro joins them together permanently.
Woman on the Platform
A dull young banker falls in love with a woman wearing a medical face mask he sees every day on the train. Moguro arranges a meeting, but demands that he does not love her only for her looks. The banker agrees, but then is horrified when she reveals her true disfigured face that is the result of failed plastic surgery.
The Sure Winner
A student bets away his allowance at the horse races. After helping him win once, Moguro offers to help him one more time, as long as he never bets again. Later, after bragging about his win, the student is forced to accept ten million yen from a gangster in a bar to bet at the races. However, before he meets Moguro on the next race day, he gambles all the money and loses.
Closet Man
Struggling manga writer Hikage Hisatoshi is having trouble creating and paying his rent. Moguro offers to move in to his apartment as long as Hikage stays in the closet. Hikage is so happy in the closet that he creates very popular and successful manga. Moguro then moves him to a purpose-built closet. Eventually, Hikage wants to leave and enjoy his success but finds that he can no longer live in the sunlight.
Daydream
Company man Nakajima Kenichi always eats last night's leftovers for lunch. Moguro treats him to and exotic lunch at the Daydream Club in the basement. Nakajima enjoys it so much he and a workmate spend all afternoon the next day drinking there, but they return to work after 5pm and are both fired.
Golf 101
Unconfident company man Maido Chiyorou feels left out at work, so he tries to learn golf after hours. He improves after lessons from Moguro where he learns to imagine the ball as someone he hates. Later, Maido joins in the work golf competition but under pressure he hits the co-worker he hates instead of the ball.
The Woman Who Wants to Marry
The ambitious woman office-worker, Tsumanari Taiko, is only interested in tall, educated, wealthy men to the exclusion of all others. Moguro sends her on an island trip for singles where she meets and falls for a man who fits her criteria, however he is a fake and Tsumanari is horrified when she finds out.
Cutting
Trainee hairdresser Demuno Fouta is too scared to hold a razor, so Moguro gives him a box of medicated cigarettes to increase his confidence. Demuno improves his shaving skills, but is distraught when the other hairdressers smoke them all during a mahjong night, not realizing that only the first cigarette was medicated. When called on to shave the boss, he makes a fatal slip.
Mr. Pervert
A grumpy old man is encouraged by Moguro to become a pervert.
Part-Time Confidential
College student Tsutsui Shinichi is offered high-paying part-time jobs by Moguro and takes one offered by an old man to go out and have a good time on his behalf, as long as the money is not spent on something pointless. Unfortunately Tsutsui loses a fortune to some thugs at a mahjong club and when he goes back to the old man's house with the thugs to get more money, they find that he's gone.
After The Dream
Urashima Taichi, a middle-aged company man has a dream of to stay in a deluxe hotel at least once. Moguro convinces him to try it, and tricks him into going with a young woman who he thinks is his wife. When he finally leaves and goes home, he finds that a long time has passed, and someone else has been living in his house for the past 10 years. The story is based on the legend of Urishima Tarō.
The Guardsman
Company man Ishino Takashi calculates how much he has lost playing mahjong and decided to quit. Moguro offers to protect him from ever playing again, but Ishino relapses and Moguro finds him playing mahjong again. The next night when Ishino comes home, he finds Moguro has turned his wife into a mahjong addict.
Her First Love
Housewife Koino Yumemi regrets not marrying a potter in her youth and complains about her neglectful husband and disobedient daughter. Moguro reunites Koino with the potter and they run away to live together, however their new life together is not as idyllic as they imagined.
The Path to Karate
Moguro saves the young company man, Karasumori Kiichi, from being beaten by thugs and convinces him to learn karate every day with a tough master. Karasumori finds it difficult but perseveres for a few lessons. When he meets the same thugs in an alley, he tries to fight them, but is badly beaten up.
The Man-Hater
A career woman, Kariya Asako, is harassed by her boss and Moguro arranges for him to be fired for sexual harassment on a train. In return the Kariya must focus on her work and not become involved with a man, but she does. When Kariya's new boyfriend surprises her on a railway platform, she overreacts and accidentally pushes him in front of a train.
House Lights
Middle-aged company man, Kaeri Takunai, has an unhappy home life, so spends his evenings aimlessly killing time. Moguro offers him an apartment as long as invites no women there, however he lets a female neighbour in, and so breaks his promise. Kaeri's family finds out and he is thrown out, but then is also prevented from entering the new apartment. Eventually he is back home, in the doghouse.
The Man in the Back Seat
Moguro convinces a company driver, Ohkuri Yukumi, to give him stock tips so that he can buy shares and split the profits on the condition that the driver must not trade himself. However Ohkuri gets a hot tip, and uses company money to buy shares himself, but is then arrested for fraud and embezzlement.
Lady Killer Warning
Office worker Musai Toshio leads a dull life and women ignore him, so Moguro gives him a makeover but Moguro makes him promise to be prudent in his relationships with women. Musai finally dates a woman at work, but then takes another woman out to lunch. Moguro then calls Musai's girlfriend who turns up at the restaurant and makes a scene.
Belly of the Tanuki
The handsome actor, Debara Nayami, must lose his pot belly to appear in a play beside a beautiful co-star. Moguro gives Debara a tanuki ornament to pray to if he feels tempted by sweets. The technique works and Debara becomes trim again while the tanuki becomes fatter. However, on opening night Debara receives a box of his favourite daifuku and eats them, causing his fat belly to reappear while he is on stage.
The Executive and the Window
Overworked company executive, Higama Hoshiya, is envious of Madobe, a company man in the adjacent building who has no work to do because he is approaching retirement. Moguro arranges for them to exchange places, but warns Higama that he must not do any work. Unfortunately, Higama travels to Kyushu on a business and pleasure trip and when he returns he finds that Madobe has died while in his job. Higama is thus seen as an impostor and is condemned to spend the rest of his working life in Madobe's job.
The May Blues
Katsuta Rui, a young company man who still lives with his mother, has lost interest in his job because of his demanding boss named Oniyama. Moguro suggests that he practice knitting during lunch breaks and discovers that Oniyama also knits which makes his life easier, but Oniyama warns him to keep it a secret. However, Katsuta's mother finds out and exposes Oniyama who has to resign and he begins teaching knitting assisted by Katsuta, much to his mother's horror.
Message Dialing
Young company employee Ikuji Naiya is extremely shy and lonely, and spends his spare time and money using a phone message service. Moguro gives him the message phone number of a lonely young woman and they happily exchange messages. Moguro tells Naiya that he must never contact her in person, but Naiya succumbs and arranges to meet her, only to find that she's a little girl.
The Single Life
Otokoya Moume is a divorced company worker who lives alone and his apartment is a mess. Moguro offers him a free housekeeper, Shigeko, who has a young daughter, but he prefers living alone and sacks her. However, he then misses her housekeeping and her cooking. He asks Moguro to bring her back, but Otokoya must promise not become romantically involved with her. However, Otokoya proposes marriage, only to find that Shigeko has reconciled with her burly husband and Otokoya's ex-wife has left their small children at his doorstep. They all then move into his small apartment with him.
Early Stopover
Married company man Hande Oshita is enticed by a woman sitting above a bar he sees from the train each evening. One night, Moguro convinces Hande to leave the train and meet het. He enters the bar but he is drugged and then presented with a huge bill. Moguro bails him out, but when Hande catches a taxi home, he finds his house has gone, leaving him stranded.
Kissing Fortune
Osaki Makkura is a college preparatory student who wants to enter Tokyo University. Moguro takes him to a kissing fortune teller who predicts he will be successful if he studies hard, however he is not allowed to kiss anyone else before the exams. Unfortunately, his girlfriend kisses him and Moguro tells him that he will never go to Tokyo University and even his girlfriend rejects him.
Refusal of Service
Taxi driver Ooi Takushi does poorly because he seems to only pick up short fares and he is too meek to refuse the client. Moguro gives Ooi a paper tiger which he says will bring long fares, but he must never refuse to pick up a passenger. Ooi begins making more money, but on night he refuses to take a woman a short distance to hospital. Moguo causes him to have an accident, and then no taxis stop to pick up the injured Ooi.
Bullpen Ace
Baseball pitcher Nomino plays well at practice in the bullpen but plays badly in the real games. Moguro gives Nomino a cap to wear but he must also abstain from drinking alcohol until he is pitching in the major league. Nomino improves his pitching, but he cannot sleep on the night before a big game, and resorts to drinking sake. The next morning he is hung over and rushes to the game without his lucky cap and ruins his chance to play in the major league.
Wife Photo
Photo lab worker Kako Shinobu shows around a photo of his attractive young wife and son, but the photo is quite old and his home life is unhappy. Moguro lures him back to his old apartment where he meets his wife and son as they were 15 years ago and he is finally happy.
Collector
Company man Kichide Maniya is an addicted stamp collector and Moguro offers him an extremely rare Hawaiian 2 cents stamp in exchange for his entire collection. Kichide is happy to hand over his collection to overcome his addiction, but Moguro says he must never sell the stamp. Later, Kichide's mother reveals that she owes millions of Yen after playing the stock market, so he tries to sell the stamp but is killed by a front-end loader as he rushes across the road.
Queen of the Night
Freeter Ubuna Yatsuda has a crush on Megumi, a girl working in a flower shop, but he is too shy to speak to her. Moguro offers Ubuna a Queen of the Night flower to woo Megumi. She accepts, and As Ubuna and Megumi wait for the flower to bloom during the night, Megumi's boyfriend arrives home and pushes Ubuna over the balcony and into a pond.
Pet-in-a-Can
Young animator Koh Arao has a pet myna bird in his apartment against the building's rules. Tachiki from next door notifies the landlord and the bird is allowed to escape. As compensation, Moguro gives Arao a eucalyptus tree in a can and promises that if Arao talks to it, it will bring him happiness. Arao finds the tree fascinating and it prompts him to create a successful pitch for an animated series about a koala and a eucalyptus tree. However, Tachiki discovers the tree and cuts it to pieces. Moguro then regenerates the tree whose branches grow and deposit Tachiki on top of a telegraph pole.
Owl Eyes
Mimizu Kunio is a photographer obsessed with owls, but Moguro suggests that he photograph "night owls" in the city to support his family and fund his hobby. Mimizu becomes financially successful, but is still obsessed with owls so Moguro turns him into an owl.
Youthful Pride
The youthful looking and married company manager Wakasa Manjirou is concerned that he is beginning to look his age. Moguro give him a Rudolph Valentino doll and tells him to wish upon it for youth, and it proves successful. Later, Moguro warns Wakasa not to overdo it, however after meeting a beautiful woman, Wakasa overexerts himself and dies on the dance floor.
Gourmand in Waiting
Struggling company man Kurume Hoshio is saving for his wedding, but he yearns to eat at three star restaurants. Moguro treats him to dinner at a high-class restaurant, then offers him a membership card but warns that it should be used in moderation. However, Kurume becomes addicted to the point he becomes obsessed so Moguro condemns him to enjoy eating garbage.
Karaoke Addict
Karao Keiichi company man dislikes karaoke nights, but Moguro gives him a karaoke set to practice at home and he becomes a convert. At an important business dinner, he embarrasses the client by his good singing, then refuses to return to work and continues singing at home.
Relocated Husband
Company man Tanami Kazuhito is relocated to a remote branch office but he misses his wife and home back in Tokyo. Moguro takes him to a friendly bar with the charming young hostess Tsuyu and he begins to frequent the establishment. Moguro encourages Tanami's friendship with the lonely Tsuyu and end up spending a night together. However, the next morning Tanami wife visits his hotel and discovers his transgression.
Moonlit Orchid
Company man Hanahata Komatta always delays returning home because his unhappy home life. Moguro gives him a potted orchid to care for. However his wife becomes jealous and cuts off the blossoming flowers and serves them in tempura which devastates Hanahata. As compensation, Moguro makes an orchid flower bloom from Hanahata's mouth in the moonlight.
Top Cast
Tōru Ōhira
