SKET Dance

I'm not gonna lie. My initial reaction to SKET Dance was that i hated it. I had watched it when the first episode was released way back when and i was like "Ehh, this isn't bad, but it's far far far from good, it's pretty boring, i can't see myself watching it" and then the next episode came out the following week. Since i had only to watch one episode per week and only had to spend 20 minutes of my time on top of that i decided to keep up with it. Weeks passed and i still wasn't impressed, it just struck me as a super average generic anime series. However, by around episode 7 that changed. At around episode 7 i started to actually like and enjoy the series. It was still far from a favorite but it was actually worth the watch every week now. As the episode count built up i started to enjoy the series more and more and by episode 26 i had utterly and completely fallen in love with the series. I think every person who tries to watch the show and say they don't like it should AT LEAST give it 26 episodes and if they still don't like it than drop it.


Characters: Now, on to the real review. The characters are solid, SKET Dance has one of the most vivid characters in an anime series, especially an comedy anime series. The characters grow on you no doubt and soon they become characters you really love and enjoy. A fair amount of the supporting cast always returns in some point or another so the show does a good job in introducing characters and not just forgetting about them like alot of shows tend to do.

Storyline: It's a comedy series so theirs no deep storyline. If a linear storyline is what you're looking for you shouldn't even be looking for a straight up comedy show to watch. The show does have many creative and fun one-shot stories however. When you throw the special "backstory" episodes in too the equation then you have real story! The backstories on the main characters are some of the most well written, realistic backstories that a character can have and it makes the characters just that more 3Dimensional. The stories that the show does do are solid and it has plenty of variety. Silly, Serious, Light-hearted, touching. You name it.

Music: The music really fits in with the scenes the series does. The music isn't really anything THAT memorable (unless you count the Opening and Ending music which is always a treat) but for what it's worth, the music always blends almost seemingly into the scenes in which they are portrayed. I've never seen an complaint about the music not fitting in where it was used.

Animation: Th animation is top notch and it fits perfectly into the series. The characters look practically exactly how they looked in their manga forms and the overall flow of the episodes move along so smoothly. I've got to hand it to Tatsunoko Pro. They animated this beautifully.

Overall i think if you're looking for a good laugh or just a find form of entertainment SKET Dance is definitely a step in the right direction. Give it a chance, and PLEASE don't judge it on it's first episode alone =D

This show is incredibly funny. On the outset, it looks as though it will be a humorous series that only has wacky comedy for content. However, even simply by the end of the first episode, it effortlessly deals with deep emotional issues and can become profound while still keeping the joyful atmosphere. By frequently bringing back characters encountered earlier in the series, one can easily see the progression and storyline in a random, "Odd-job" show. The animation is spot-on and hilarious in all the right places and the music is quite well put together. On a personal level, this anime continues to completely blindside me with some of it's jokes and has become one of my very favorite anime series ever.

Sket Dance was not something that even put a blip on my radar at first! Looking at the characters and setting at first glance I thought it was an anime about manga art design. HOWEVER!!!! Once I actually sat down and watched the anime around episode 10's release I was shockingly surprised to find this anime not only witty and extremely comical, but moving and fascinatingly deep. This anime is definitely a must see in my book and I would recommend this anime to any person both veteran anime viewer and noob alike! This is a 100% SOLID anime and series!

I'm a fan of this series and I think Sket Dance is awesome. It's funny and easygoing, certainly a great slice-of-life show to watch if that's your thing or if you need a break from the mainstream anime that everyone else typically watches.

I enjoy Sket Dance thoroughly but as a fan of the manga series as well, I can't help but lament over one thing.

The anime does this thing where it skips parts of the manga. I don't know if this is done purposefully to make the series just a comedy, but I dislike that. Sket Dance (the manga) is a series that combines both comedy and melodrama. It's fun when it needs to be but the melodrama helps flesh out all the character development that you need to see how Bossun, Onihime, and Sketch have turned out the way they are.

It was the only manga series that I have read and began, well, crying after reading the more touching parts of the story. And the anime completely skips all of it. They have already skipped Sketch's past. Which is a shame because it's very surprising to see how he used to be and very touching as well. And judging from the titles of episodes twenty to twenty-three, it won't be coming around for awhile if at all.

So I very much do recommend this anime but I wish they wouldn't have skipped anything. Hopefully they'll incorporate it at a later time, but until then, I gave it a three out of five for leaving out the better parts of the series.

If you're gonna watch this show, I also seriously recommend reading the manga.

And because of that very reason, I lowered my rating of storyline and characters. The anime missed out on some real good character development. A lot of people are complaining about how repetitive they find this anime to be, but I think it's because they removed all the melodrama that it ends up giving off that impression. The author does a great job at taking a step back to explain how Bossun came to create the Sket Dance. it explains why Himeko has such a great devotion for him. And while it hasn't shown exactly how Bossun reached out for Switch, it shows why Switch is how he is.

If only the anime would go by the book and actually just turn the chapters into episodes in that order, the anime would be much more interesting than it already is.

EDIT: It seems my reason for lowering the score is now obsolete since they have recently added Sketch's backstory. I still think they should have put it in when the manga did, but they didn't completely remove it so that's good.

SKET Dance is a rare comedy that is highly addictive. I must admit that compared to a series like Gintama, it isn't up to par with the comedy, but it has a certain charm about it that keeps me wanting more.

Storyline:
The storyline is pretty much a gem in the anime world. First, when I read the title, I actually thought that it was a series about dancing, but as I watched one episode, I found that to not be such a case. SKET Dance is pretty much a group that handles a bunch of odd jobs in order to help people around the school. Each episode is usually of them solving someone's request. Though this may sound boring, the jobs that SKET Dance handles varies and how they handle each hurdle is rather amazing. There is some action in the anime, and some fight scenes for all you shounen lovers out there. I find that SKET Dance handles a variety of genres, but the main genre that will keep you highly entertained would have to be its comedy.

Music:
I found the music to be rather average. The opening was okay, but it was something that I find you could easily skip. I found the animation that went with the opening to be cute and went with the music well. The ending was simply okay as well. I'm rather not a very good judge with music, but I found that both songs lacked impact. Besides the opening and ending, the background music matched the mood and themes well in every scene. The background music was able to emphasize the mood and presented itself to be highly effective in each scene.

Characters:
Now this is the highlight of the entire series! The reason why I am so addicted to this series would have to be the brilliance in the depth of every single character. There is a wide range of personality on this show, and every antics of the main characters keep me highly entertained.

Bossun is a well-made character. He fits the bill of being the perfect leader of the group, although he reminds me of many typical shounen male leads. The most anticipated part about him would be his "special ability". I find his level of concentration to be amazing! Every time he uses it, I can always feel excited as to what will happen next. Himeko is the female former-yankee on the team. She fits the bill of being a strong female character, but what's abnormal about her is her use of a field hockey stick as her weapon and her love of gross-tasting lollipops called Pellolipops! She's definitely a character that adds the comedy on the show and is great as SKET Dance's "lethal weapon". My personal favorite character would have to be Switch though. Switch is one of the most unique characters I've seen in the anime-world. Switch is a human database that has a vast knowledge and carries a computer around with him that is his voice. By that I mean, all he has to do is type what he wants to say, and the computer says it for him. You never hear him truly speak in the anime, but the mystery about him definitely makes him intriguing. He's one of the most comedic characters in the series and is one of the most interesting.

Besides the main characters, the supporting characters are bursting with personality. The supporting characters are mainly the ones that ask SKET Dance for help, but the episodes definitely bring out their personality. The characters range from a deluded manga artist, a samurai, a fat cheerleader, several yankees, a guy obsessed with visual-kei, otakus, a crazy scientist-teacher, and many more!

One of SKET Dance's rivals would have to be the Student Council. They have proven to be a worthy rival and full of an interesting bunch of characters. Their rivalry certainly makes the story interesting, and the constant battles between them are a must see. The Student Council is also proven to be quite a mysterious bunch, especially with their President, but I look forward in seeing more competition between the two groups as the sparks between them are proven to be one of the many highlights of the series.

Animation:
The animation doesn't WOW me, but it's quite good. The bright palate certainly suits the comedic and fun route SKET Dance follows. It is nice that the characters are clearly defined with their appearance, and there is not a moment where any of them look similar in any way.


Overall, this series is a MUST watch! It's highly entertaining, and it's so amazing that I'll probably be checking out the manga now. You won't be disappoint with this series, and if you need a few laughs out, I suggest that you check out this anime!