The Laughing Salesman

is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko Fujio A. The manga "The Black Salesman" began as a one-shot manga in Shogakukan's Big Comic magazine on 1968, later serialized in Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha's Manga Sunday magazine from 1969 to 1971. The manga tells the story of a salesman named Moguro Fukuzou, whose job is to help people fill gaps in their soul. In reality, he often ruins the lives of his clients if they do not follow his strict instructions or if they betray his trust. An anime "The Laughing Salesman" adaptation was produced by Shin-Ei Animation, directed by Toshirō Kuni and written by Yasuo Tanami. It aired on TBS from October 10, 1989 to December 28, 1993 with a total of 127 episodes. The manga "The Laughing Salesman" was serialized in Chuokoron from 1990 to 1995. A second anime adaptation aired on Tokyo MX from April 3 to June 19, 2017. Plot Society is filled with people who struggle through their lives or never achieved their goals. The stories in the series focus on individuals who meet a shadowy and ominous salesman named . Moguro promises to "fill your empty soul" and give them a better life, if they follow his advice or agree to his conditions. However, once Moguro's clients begin to enjoy the fruits of their new life, they often breach their conditions, betray his trust, or deny that they received assistance at all. When this invariably happens due to their avarice, greed or selfishness, Moguro punishes his clients by using their reliance on his aid against them. With their lives ruined, he believes that they have been justly rewarded and he looks for more potential clients that he can help in a similar way. The names of Moguro's clients are often puns on their situation or predicament, or refer to aspects of Japanese culture or history. For example in Episode 18, the name of the client, Urashima Taichi, alludes to the legend of Urashima Tarō, a type of Japanese Rip Van Winkle.