Yare Yare – it’s a Saiki Kusuo review!

Just in case you thought I’d forgot (and I don’t blame you. It’s fitting for someone whos favourite anime and manga is HxH to go on hiatus this often, no?) I am still taking part in my 50 anime before the end of the year challenge. Whilst I need to backtrack a lot (and I haven’t stuck to the actual list…heh), we’re cranking them back out. Starting with…

SAIKI KUSUO NO Ψ-NAN (THE DISASTROUS LIFE OF SAIKI K)

 

Synopsis: To the average person, psychic abilities might seem a blessing; for Kusuo Saiki, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Gifted with a wide assortment of supernatural abilities ranging from telepathy to x-ray vision, he finds this so-called blessing to be nothing but a curse. As all the inconveniences his powers cause constantly pile up, all Kusuo aims for is an ordinary, hassle-free life—a life where ignorance is bliss.

Unfortunately, the life of a psychic is far from quiet. Though Kusuo tries to stay out of the spotlight by keeping his powers a secret from his classmates, he ends up inadvertently attracting the attention of many odd characters, such as the empty-headed Riki Nendou and the delusional Shun Kaidou. Forced to deal with the craziness of the people around him, Kusuo comes to learn that the ordinary life he has been striving for is a lot more difficult to achieve than expected. (from MyAnimeList).

Yare Yare, where do I start with Saiki? Where do you even think about starting? Just reading that synopsis shows you that Saiki is anything but your average anime. After all, despite Saiki’s best intentions, he just can’t manage a normal life – or a normal anime.

Believe it or not, Saiki is probably the most level-headed person in the anime. When you’re constantly accompanied by a complete buffoon, a chuunibyou and a spirit medium, as well as stalked by the most beautiful girl in Japan…it’s difficult, but Saiki keeps his cool, which is one of the things I found the funniest in Saiki. Whilst I am not usually one to say subs > dubs (what other people watch doesn’t bother me), this is one of the cases where I plead to watch the sub. Saiki’s deadpan response to just about everything around him makes everything about 40x funnier.

I also like that whilst Saiki really plays up the ‘weird anime’ characteristics that we know and love, due to the context and Saiki’s psychic powers, we’re actually given a totally normalised and rational explanation for these things. Pink haired anime character? Saiki actually just put the entire world under mind control to let them think that having bright colour is actually completely normal. Anime logic.

The entire cast of Saiki are wonderful. Whilst Saiki himself had me in stitches with his personality being a complete contrast to everyone and everything around him, I have to shout out to Nendou. There wasn’t a single scene where he made an appearance that didn’t have me stifling laughter. It’s not like the big, stupid with a heart of gold trope hasn’t been done 100 times before, but it’s rarely pulled off as well as it is with Nendou. Although…the heart of gold could be taken with a pinch of salt.

120 episodes may seem like a lot to digest – but at 5 minutes per episode, there’s no excuse to miss out on Saiki. There is something for everyone, and you’d have to be Saiki himself not to crack a smile. Or possibly a member of the Dark Reunion….?

My rating – 9/10

What did you guys think of Saiki Kusuo? Are there any more shorts, or comedies I should check out? Let me know!

Until next time!