Review of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Reviewing an anime that's straight comedy isn't going to be an easy task for me, however the fans of Saiki K. say there's more to it than just comedy (to be fair, I agree that this anime has substance beyond the jokes it makes, but it's difficult to review nonetheless). The reason I think any anime fan should watch Saiki K. is because of how it handles its humor. Gintama is the only anime I could liken it to, but even between those two series, the humor you'll find is entirely different. It's just that both Saiki K. and Gintama have managed to utilize comedyin ways that are unique to anime--at least, in my opinion. I ended up loving Saiki K. because of how quick-witted it was. This is a face-paced anime, and I was constantly impressed with how the dialogue was able to keep up with the events happening in the episode and how those two elements kept up with Saiki himself.

Any gripes I have with the anime are centered around the slight lack of variety from episode to episode. Yes, strange and ridiculous stuff you could never think up on your own is happening in every episode, but because the series is so consistent within that framing, it gets repetitive quickly. I don't actually think the entertainment value dropped too much despite that, but nonetheless, switching it up with a few non-episodic episodes or dabbling in slightly more serious material (like heartwarming material, not drama--that's not what this series is about) every once in a while would have given this season more to work with. Still, though, Saiki K. is worth watching simply because the characters and the zaniness are able to constantly keep the viewer entertained. I look forward to seeing how this world expands and becomes even more ridiculous next season.