Review of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Saiki Kusuo no ψ-nan is a short-segment comedy about an-all powerful psychic high school student trying to pass as average. As unique as Saiki is-his friends are just as colorful. Yet, as much of a hassle they are to Saiki, deep down he probably likes them. Well, he at least tolerates them. The humor is quick and the jokes come one after another-it doesn’t leave you much time to think. There’s not an overarching plot, but snapshots of Saiki’s life. His deadpan narration makes him the straight man to the world around him and with this I would say Saiki is a good comedy anime.What makes Saiki great is how much the show does with such little time. Through these short moments the characters shine and are so endearing. The show plays on the tropes and clichés it presents so well. Each character proves and subverts his/her labels continuously, proving you can’t judge at face value. In fact, the show literally called me out on this later on in the series.

As a side note I’ll say I watched this series in the standard 24-minute episode format, which I would recommend since the entire series is out now. I didn’t think the jokes dulled due to a longer format; I enjoyed binging on two or three episodes at a time. Also I’ve only seen a quarter of the show dubbed but I’d still like to share my thoughts. The dubbing did surprise me quality-wise and I enjoyed it. Definitely consider watching a little to see if it suits you. Since the comedy can be contextual I noticed slight differences that sometimes enhanced my watching experience.

The other aspects of the anime like music, art, and animation-are good. I’d just rather focus on the strong point of this show: its characters. Just like Saiki, the characters surprised me. Other times they were exactly how I thought and over time they grew on me. Essentially the characters definitely carry the heart and humor of this show.