This is what school was NOT like, but if it had been, I’d sure have come out of there with stronger laughing muscles. ^^
Kidding aside; this is one of the funniest anime I’ve seen to date. One of the oddballs, but also one of the funniest.
“Sket Dance” is a high school comedy, focusing on club activities (and not on dancing--just saying ^^). It’s not quite your usual high school comedy though. There is a sense of slice-of-life throughout, there is drama, there may be a pinch of romance, and there definitely is the comedy, too, along with bits of action and some tragedy... however, first and foremost, “Sket Dance” consists of craziness. Complete, utter, belly-tickling craziness that makes it funnier than any number of simple jokes or running gags could.
There is no particular storyline, first of all. The plot in itself is crazily random. And I don’t usually tend to like random setups--they just produce eye-rolling with me. However, there’s instances where it works, or at least semi-works. “Sket Dance” is one of those. Where it may not have a consistent plotline, it at least has one hell of a smart background--after all, it is a parody, of both high school anime and high school life in itself. And when I say parody, I mean that it doesn’t take anything seriously. Not school, not other anime (there is, btw, a good amount of references to those, even to non-high-school-ones), not even itself, as many other anime out there tend to do. Everything that high school is and/or is supposed to be gets dissolved in “Sket Dance”--up to the entire idea of ‘clique’. Our lovely main characters have a bunch of friends from every single corner of society and school.
And those main characters and their friends sure do shine. The cast is quite numerous, and everyone introduced is one big, bad anime cliché, so much in fact that everyone’s rather dysfunctional. Where this may seem like a bad choice, “Sket Dance” makes it work--because everything in here is over-the-top; and because those characters, at second glance, actually have depth to them. The backgrounds introduced are very well thought-out, providing a great chance for drama and other things you wouldn’t expect at first glance. Where it tries--and it does try from time to time--“Sket Dance” can be everything from heartwarming over dramatic to tragic. It may be mainly humour, but it’s not only that; and those underlying themes are actually what makes it more entertaining.
For the comedy point, though (because after all, it’s the first and foremost point of this anime), it helps that every character is colourful, with an individual and quite distinguishing style. They may be dysfunctional clichés, but they’re so over-the-top they’re lovable again. That may not make sense on paper (or screen), but believe me, it will make sense once you watch the anime… ^^
The characters may be numerous; but after all, 77 episodes is enough to get a good overview, and it does help that the characters are brought out slowly. It gives the viewer a chance to get used to them, get a feel for them, and empathise--well, empathise as much as it’s possible in this kind of setting. After all, the drama is there, but not the first and foremost focus of this anime.
Given that, the character interaction is strong. There’s drama, there’s friendship, there’s pinches of romance even--and the dialogue conveys all that and adds a strong comedic flavour. The dialogical script may be quite simple and quite easy to follow, but it’s not stupid at all. It’s quick and witty instead, quite inventive, and not too random. The voice actors do a wonderful job as well.
On the downside, every character retains their basic personalities. That’s not a bad thing per se, but the reactions tend to get rather obvious after a while. However, the constantly new situations and the still wonderful dialogue delivery make for a nevertheless funny experience.
The animation is up-to-date and rather detailed. It can get pretty quirky as well--facial expressions, gestures, etc.--which doesn’t always look quite awesome, but which certainly fits the anime’s overall style.
“Sket Dance” is fresh, and original, nothing quite like any other anime out there. (It does get compared to “Gintama” quite often, but I personally find “Sket Dance” not to be quite as over-the-top as Gintama... and other than that, it’s hard to compare the two, since they have entirely different settings. All they’ve got in common is the humour/parody aspect, charas being pure gold, and the production studio. ... and that’s more than I thought already. Oh well, w/e.)
Where “Sket Dance” may not have a particular plot line, and its characters may not grow much throughout, it’s still insanely unique, and awesome for a laugh. Its humour is modern and crazy all the same, often lying in the complete dysfunctionality of both characters and situations--situations that you do somehow know from anime or real life, but that never would happen like they do here. Or perhaps they would? Whatever.
In other words, “Sket Dance” is chock-full of insanity. Complete, crazy insanity. And yet, there’s a balance of sensibility and craziness that’s simply done right. The underlying themes, the drama, the tragedy, the heartwarming moments--those are all there; they may not take the first seat, but they’re all in there somewhere, and yet they never feel out of place. If you care enough to look for them, there’s even a couple values in there (teamwork, treating others well, etc.), and where I don’t usually get hyped about values shoved in my face, they do fit this anime.
In short, “Sket Dance” is a new take on high school comedy, and it’s quite hilarious for that, too. Where the dialogical humour may wear off after a while, situations and acting are still sure to tickle the laughing muscles. And it’s not all comedy, either, which is actually done pretty well.
If you care about high school comedy, club activities, or the like; if you’re looking for something relaxing and funny all the same; if you’re having a bad day and want something to cheer you up; then “Sket Dance” might be just your thing. It might not be awesome in the sense of plot, but it is all the more hilarious for it.
Cheers, and have fun!~ (
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