Sket Dance - Reviews

This is another one of those shows which you find out about through a random recommendation, and it ends up being one of the best things that has ever happened to you. Sket Dance may not be very popular, but it's definitely not one to miss.

The story revolves around the three main characters: Fujisaki "Bossun" Yuusuke, Onizuka "Himeko" Hime and Usui "Switch" Kazuyoshi, who are all members of the Sket Dan - a club dedicated to helping anyone in need and solving their problems. Unfortunately for them, their lack of requests usually leaves them lazing around their clubroom on most days, or at the very least, doing odd jobs around campus.

On the surface, this show seems like a typically 'optimistic' Shonen series, delivering a message about assisting others. However, watch one episode and you'll realise that it is NOT what it appears to be. The series is filled with humour, usually revolving around parodies of famous shows and personalities, or language-related gags. A word of advice - this series is best enjoyed by those who have already watched a lot of anime previously, and/or read a lot of manga. Most of the gags can be appreciated if you know anime and manga stereotypes or cliches, as this series deals with them constantly.

The animation and artwork is not special in any particular way, and yet it just seems to fit the mood of the story perfectly. The characters' expressions change constantly, and are consistent with the art of the manga. I would love to give examples here, but I won't for fear of spoiling the series for anyone who plans to watch it. All you need to know is that the animation is beautiful in its own way.

The opening and ending themes are good, although I personally prefer the ending theme. The opening is pretty misleading, though that's not necessarily a bad thing - it depends on you. The background music does not particularly stand out, but blends brilliantly with various scenes without seeming overdone. The voice acting, however, is AMAZING. The characters are all brought to life by their respective actors, and they do an incredible job.

Despite the art and humour being good, they would be nothing without a strong cast; which is exactly what makes this series stand out. The characters are easily the selling point of Sket Dance. The incredibly-popular otaku Switch, the intimidating Himeko and Bossun with his 'amazing power of concentration' make for a perfect star cast. The supporting cast includes a samurai, a creepy girl interested in the supernatural, and a Shoujo-manga artist wannabe who sees the world through an 'Otome Filter'. These are easily the most varied characters I have come across in a single series, and yet the bizarreness of it all makes it even more entertaining to watch.

Sket Dance may not be a series for those new to manga and/or anime, but for most 'veterans' it is a must-watch. Once you're hooked, you'll never want to let go.

Sket Dance- Well God, where do  I start?

Sket Dance is the biggest underrated gem in the world of anime.Dismissed by many as a School Life Gintama , I can't say if it is better than Gintama ( for I haven't seen it) BUT by no means is it less good than Gintama,or any anime out there.

Story

The story may first seem as a simple one- 3 students, set up a help club, who will do anything, often leading to comical situations.Having 77 episodes is pretty good - for I believe that most people (including me)  are not able to emotionally connect to any 12 ep animes, and having more than 100 episodes gives many watchers second thought about watching the whole anime.Unlike Lucky Star, it is not timepass- and it has a certain randomness (which Gintama watchers will be able to relate to ).The unique randomness of Sket Dance sends me rolling on the floor laughing everytime. Infact, it is the first anime which has had such an impact on me. But the story does not end there.The backstories of the characters are tear jerking. Infact, the Switch off arc left me depressed for a month.

Animation

The only factor where i had to give it a 9/10 was the animation. I believe that the character design is ...somewhat plain. But hey, you can't really expect KyoAni animation in a comedy anime.

Sound

The sound is Magic. PURE MAGIC.Every opening and ending clutches to your heart.Sketchbook band deserves fame, man. Colors, Sekai wa okujou de miwataseta..not only sound awesome, but also help to further emotionally connect with this masterpiece.The voice acting is top-notch.Especially Tomokazu Sugita is commendable as Switch.His voice modulations send me rolling into splits :'D Himeko , without her voice actor, could not be such a good tsukkomi .

Characters

Ah, the characters. Sample this : An otaku who speaks only through a computer and gives the wittiest comments one can imagine, a tsundere, a girl who believes her life to be a manga, a wannabe Samurai, a headstrong student council prez ( not Agata, of course xD) A girl who speaks in abbreviation ( D.O.S.) ,An occult believer ( frequently fighting with switch, leading to hilarious Otaku vs. occult situations), a lead vocalist who speaks only in Visual Kei , and a main character who accepts that he has no special talent all packed into one anime. This is Sket Dance. Also there are those random teachers : a science teacher who invents dangerous stuff ( a medicine that could misalign your emotions and reactions xD) , A teacher who always has these wacky games ( my personal favourite xD). Really , the randomness of this Anime has won my heart.

 Overall 

I'll just put it simply : I can go on a cliff and shout on the top of my voice that it was the best moment of my life when I decided to watch Sket Dance. A 10/10 is not enough.

This is one of the comedies where I actually laugh!!! It's suuuper funny! And the character development is amazing! I totally recommend this!!

SKet dance is an anime about high school .............OK screw the bull shit summary , gintoki him self sumed it up really well " OH so its  gintama in a school setting " , personaly i loved this anime , among one of my favorites so i may tend to be a little bias , even though i think the score is perfectly resonable 

STORY
 
to be perfectly blunt there isen't much story  this is a very charcter driven anime/manga series , there is a stand out part of this series and it shows a some times painfuly realistic look on life , every one suffers and every one takes suffering differently, i would have liked this anime to end at graduation as its a school life anime , but the anime did end on a high note (in my opnion) there are moments in this anime will make you laugh and make you cry but mostly laugh 


ANIMATION 

 The animation really stood out to me as great but not amazing although at times it was amazing just not consistant , around the 3rd quarter i noticed the quality droped but picked up again like 17 episodes before the end , there was a lot of clever use of cgi in this anime that i liked and disliked , like how close ups on peoples hands were cgi (mostley when switch was typeing on his keyboard ) 


SOUND  
 

Te sound track was great , it really fit the show and i loved all the openings and really did like the endings , and the music really set the mood well with the action , comedy , serious and emotional moments , the voice acting was great ( this is jappaense version as there is no english version at the time i am writing this ) the only one i had a problem with was rumi the girl who played her felt kinda stale at times but this is a minor gripe as she was only a reocurring charcter 


CHARCTERS  

THIS IS WHERE THE ANIME SHINES , switch , bossun and himiko i loved them all , their quarks and i especialy loved himiko and bossuns relationship ( no they arn't dateing ) the act like best friends as well as an old married couple and sometimes like there are first loves without actualy breaking the friend zone , and alot of who himiko is , is thanks to bossun ( his real name is yuuske, bossun is just easier to rember )  i honestly feel like these 2 charcters would get to the age of like 30 and then finaly realize that they are ment for each other and then be married , hahahahaha this is anime relationships dont happen especialy in shounen anime (exculding naruto ) or actualy this anime dose have at least one of your potential ships go cannon just no spoilers , but back to topic , switch is a really tragic character and his back story made me cry the most ,mostly because i related to him more than they other 2 and also its just plain depressing , hoe ever he came out of it broken but not beaten and thats what i liked about him , yes his suffering changed hm but he can still laugh and joke and thats why i loved this anime ,how painfuly realistic it was at times 

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND WATCHING THE ANIME AND READING THE MANGA!!!

I know it may seem bias but this is one of the anime I watched on television when I was young but now I'm streaming at legal sites (syke). I really love the plot, characters, the animation and I could never forget the Gintama crossover. I continue reading the manga since the anime wasn't finished. I was a little bummed out about the ending but all good things must come to an end. 

For a supposed teen-choice market, they really went all out for the in-depth story. Each development has a striking elegance (YES ELEGANCE) and their sadness/ emotions were acknowledged not just thrown aside and be overshadowed by some joyous occasion like falling inlove. 

IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE I LAST SAW IT TBH, BUT I ALWAYS REMEMBER ITS STORY. NOWADAYS I JUST RANDOMLY OPEN AN ANIME TO PASS TIME AND I FEEL BAD FOR IT, I CAN'T EVEN ENJOY MOST OF THEM SINCE THE STORY BECAME QUITE CLICHE. SO I REALLY VALUE A LOT OF THIS CHILDHOOD ANIME OF MINE. 

Bottomline is I hope you'll be able to enjoy and appreciate its story just like how much I loved this, I can't say since day 1. I think my mom and dad were still in the verge of mixing me.

HAVE A FUN READ/WATCH!!!