Masao Sato (マサオ) (5 years old), Max in the Vitello, Phuuz and Dutch dubs and shortened to Maso in the Funimation dub, is one of Shin-chan's friends and classmates from the sunflower class. Sometimes he is called 'Masao-kun'. He is a weak, sensitive boy and is scared of many things. He can be easily embarrassed, but believes his and Ai's love can conquer anything. He has been in love with Megumi Yamura.
His nickname is "Onigiri" due to his shaven head's resemblance to a rice ball and there are several moments where Shin-chan accidentally mistook Masao's gray colored head for a rice ball and even tried to eat it. His friends use the nickname as a term of endearment, while the people that bully him use it as a put-down. Shinchan and Nene often calls him 'Onigiri". Shin is one of his great friends, but his thoughtless words often put down Masao and makes him cry. Shinchan and Nene bully him sometimes (not in a bad way) for example when Masao showed his friends he had a four leaf clover that turns out to bring him luck multiple times, Shinchan and Nene fight for it and the leaves torn apart making Masao cry. Shinchan and Nene sometimes scold him and make him cry while Kazama and Bo calm him and comforted him. Masao is more like a crybaby. Whenever Nene is angry without her "happiness bunny" present to relieve anger, she seems to take it out on Masao. She also is angered when Ai treats Masao like a puppy. In one episode she trained Masao to grow immune to Ai's whistles, that lead him into 'puppy-mode'.
Masao likes to collect phone cards and insects and even gave some crickets to Shin. He also likes the manga of Usuto Yoshii and his hobby is to write manga. He is a good boy at home and likes to maintain cleanliness as shown when he "cleans the mess in Shin-chan's house".
He is known to be a scared cat and a bit of a cry baby. He is also a "clean freak" bordering on an obsessive–compulsive disorder.
Background[]
He is always crying on little things and when he is not crying he is always happy. Only rarely he will become angry and when does so he closes his eyes and shouts. He is the smallest member of the Kasukabe Defense Organization. He is a cry boy and also wears diapers.
Romances[]
First a schoolmate of the rose class (Migumi), then a new girl who is rich comes in a limo with a driver. Masao also fell in love with an adult girl in the original manga series who he watched while she was dressing.
Relations[]
Shin-chan[]
Shinnozuke and Masao are good friends. They frequently hang out together and are seen playing with each other. However, Masao doesn't like it when Shinnozuke acts in weird ways, getting mildly annoyed. He can sometimes feel very envious of Shinnozuke, due to Ai-chan having a massive crush on him.
Kazama[]
He endures Nene and her 'real house' antics. He always does his best to not make her mad. After Shin-chan, he is the closest best friend for Nene, they spend the most time together. When the gang splits up, they are usually seen together. Nene always gives Masao her weak husband's role and characters. Masao is scared of her too. Nene, along with Shin-chan, sometimes bully (but not in a bad way) and scold Masao which makes him cry. In the 2004 movie, they enter a movie and start a new life there, forgetting everything, Masao and Nene are husband and wife there.
Nene[]
Masao and Nene are good friends overall, even though she frequently tries to get him to play real house, much to his dismay. He's shown to be terrified of her many times through out the show, only accepting to play with her due to his fear of what she could do to him.
Bo[]
Not much has been seen of their interactions solo, although they're very good friends.
Ai[]
Masao absolutely adores Ai and would do anything for her. To Ai though, he is somewhat like a pet and is often treated like one. When Masao is feeling feeble, his friends sometimes remind him of Ai, which replenishes his courage in an almost out-of-character sense.
Voice actors[]
- Japanese: Teiyū Ichiryūsai
- English (Vitello): Russi Taylor
- English (Phuuz): Barbara Goodson
- English (Funimation): Colleen Clinkenbeard
- Dutch: Tony Neef
- French (LUK): Elsa Poisot
- Portuguese (European, Vitello/Phuuz): Sandra de Castro
- Portuguese (European, LUK): Sandra de Castro (2004 - 2006, 2009 - Present) → Bárbara Lourenço (2005, movie 10 only)
- Spanish (European): Pilar Ferrero
- Tamil(Indian dub):Sathya Dhanraj
Trivia[]
- In Japan names are pronounced with the last name first, making Masao's Japanese name Sato Masao.
Art evolution[]
Anime[]
Gallery[]
