Read Sket Dance here
Hello to my loyal readers! (all 2 of you)
Your patience has been rewarded with a new update. This is the first of my manga reviews. From now on, expect updates weekly. The reason I'm choosing Sket Dance is because it's a very funny manga and I wanted an excuse to read it last night. Actually I was gonna wait until all my midterms are over, but after the mental beating I just took with the first 2 tests yesterday, I needed to laugh at something other than my own pitiful existence. You're actually doubly lucky, because I stayed up so late last night/this morning that I was gonna leave the blog post until tonight, but I downloaded the blogger app and am now typing this on my phone during a break in my midterm crash course tutorial. I gotta say -- as much as I love my shiny, high-tech smartphone (android ftw!) I wish I had a keypad. [Actually, by the time I get around to posting it, it will be tonight. But I started it earlier than I intended and it's the thought that counts, right?]
But enough about my misery -- let's started with the manga!
Summary:
Sket Dance chronicles the adventures of a high school club called the Sket Dan. Sket Dan (a sort of pun that basically means 'helper') has three members: Bossun the leader, Switch the genius megane* who only talks through a voice synthesizer, and Himeko, the former female yankee* with blond hair who carries a field hockey stick named Cyclone for intimidating punks. The club spends its time helping out students of the school with their problems, which usually means looking for lost items or cleaning up classrooms. They also have run-ins from time to time with the student council, a five-member team that is equally as quirky as the Sket Dan.
Characters:
Sket Dance does a good job of presenting a host of memorable, interesting characters.
Bossun wears a hat with pointed ears and old goggles -- we find out why later, so I'm not going give any spoilers away. As far as shonen* manga heroes go, Bossun doesn't quite fit the prototype. He is a sincere guy who somehow evokes sincere loyalty in Himeko and Switch, but charismatic and suave he is not. He is surprisingly good at drawing, which is one of his 2 "cool" points, the other being his "concentration mode". For some reason, when he wears those old goggles he's able to concentrate in a way that gives him sharp aim or helps him figure out tricky problems or riddles. Concentration mode would actually be cool, except that using his mind that way apparently tires him out so much that he ends up coughing and panting as if he's just run a marathon. He also acts pretty childishly more often than not.
Himeko is the only girl of the three, and I find it hard to comment on her. She is rough and rowdy, but also the only one who makes the tea and sweeps the club room. She also knows how to cook, so I guess she's a mix between 'tomboy' and 'lady'. She and Bossun have a good report that some fans might want to interpret as having romantic overtones, but the truth is they are really good friends. This being a shonen comedy manga, it would ruin the dynamic of the club if 2 of its members paired off. If that happens, I'll know the end of the serialization* is near.
Switch is an interesting guy, and he has his reasons for only speaking through a computer. As the glasses-wearer, he is obviously the one with brains. He has an information network that bears an eerie resemblance to Kyoya Ohtori (Ouran High School Host Club -- I might review that one too someday). I guess that's the fate of all megane though, to be the data collectors. He also invents pretty nifty gadgets from time to time, and in one episode they come in handy.
Overall, the characters are entertaining and believable. Since this is a school life story, they are easy to relate to and laugh at, but they don't exist solely to be the butt of the universe's jokes.
Story:
Sket Dance is told in story arcs, and although previous characters often re-appear, there isn't really an over-arching plot. It's just a story up the funny school days of a bunch of quirky kids. And yet, there are some really serious elements. The Sket Dan was created by Bossun when he entered high school for the purpose of 'helping people', and although they don't often do something monumental like saving lives, they make the school day better in their own small way. The loyalty of Switch and Himeko is slowly revealed through their past histories, as well as why Bossun chose to create this club in the first place. I'll say this: their pasts are NOT funny, but truly tragic. And yet somehow that makes the fact that they're able to laugh so much in the present that much better. The story manages to keep re-piquing my interest because of the sometimes serious elements mixed in with the plain comedy. Although this is just a slice-of-life manga, it doesn't feel like a pointless story written purely for laughs.
Overall:
I don't want rate the manga I review out of 10 because I would be assigning arbitrary values to something un-quantifiable. Life shouldn't be reduced to numerical analysis (I'm talking about you, Calculus 122!).
As a final word, let me say this: Sket Dance is about the characters and their interactions more than it is about the external circumstances. Watching them relate to one another and finding out about their pasts is what attracts me, as well as the funny events in their day-to-day lives. I read it when I want to laugh, not when I'm looking for serious mental stimulation. With that in mind, I strongly recommend you to read at least the first few chapters of every manga I review and comment on my posts.
That's all for now, talk to you soon!
*megane: literally "glasses", meaning someone who wears glasses. Usually a male would be "megane-kun" and a female would be "megane-chan". (I'll comment on honorifics in some other post)
*yankee (also spelled yanki): no, not the Americans, although I do sometimes wonder if this word originated from some Japanese stereotype about Americans. Yankee means a teenage delinquent, the kind who smoke behind the school, extort money from their classmates, and dye their hair brown or blond (Japan is very traditional, and most people's natural hair is black so having different colour hair or eyes really makes you stand out -- at least in manga)
*shonen (or shounen): this means "boy" and shonen manga describes manga written for boys (age 10+). Shonen manga attracts a lot of older readers as well as females, although I don't think many males are attracted to shoujo (ie. "girl") manga
*serialization: Japanese manga are usually not first published as books, but serialized in magazines that publish on chapter of several different manga every week, 2 weeks, month, 2 months, etc. Sket Dan is published in Shonen Jump, which is one of the biggest magazines in Japan (it's was actually being translated in English as well, although I don't know if it's still happening).
Hello to my loyal readers! (all 2 of you)
Your patience has been rewarded with a new update. This is the first of my manga reviews. From now on, expect updates weekly. The reason I'm choosing Sket Dance is because it's a very funny manga and I wanted an excuse to read it last night. Actually I was gonna wait until all my midterms are over, but after the mental beating I just took with the first 2 tests yesterday, I needed to laugh at something other than my own pitiful existence. You're actually doubly lucky, because I stayed up so late last night/this morning that I was gonna leave the blog post until tonight, but I downloaded the blogger app and am now typing this on my phone during a break in my midterm crash course tutorial. I gotta say -- as much as I love my shiny, high-tech smartphone (android ftw!) I wish I had a keypad. [Actually, by the time I get around to posting it, it will be tonight. But I started it earlier than I intended and it's the thought that counts, right?]
But enough about my misery -- let's started with the manga!
Summary:
Sket Dance chronicles the adventures of a high school club called the Sket Dan. Sket Dan (a sort of pun that basically means 'helper') has three members: Bossun the leader, Switch the genius megane* who only talks through a voice synthesizer, and Himeko, the former female yankee* with blond hair who carries a field hockey stick named Cyclone for intimidating punks. The club spends its time helping out students of the school with their problems, which usually means looking for lost items or cleaning up classrooms. They also have run-ins from time to time with the student council, a five-member team that is equally as quirky as the Sket Dan.
Characters:
Sket Dance does a good job of presenting a host of memorable, interesting characters.
Bossun wears a hat with pointed ears and old goggles -- we find out why later, so I'm not going give any spoilers away. As far as shonen* manga heroes go, Bossun doesn't quite fit the prototype. He is a sincere guy who somehow evokes sincere loyalty in Himeko and Switch, but charismatic and suave he is not. He is surprisingly good at drawing, which is one of his 2 "cool" points, the other being his "concentration mode". For some reason, when he wears those old goggles he's able to concentrate in a way that gives him sharp aim or helps him figure out tricky problems or riddles. Concentration mode would actually be cool, except that using his mind that way apparently tires him out so much that he ends up coughing and panting as if he's just run a marathon. He also acts pretty childishly more often than not.
Himeko is the only girl of the three, and I find it hard to comment on her. She is rough and rowdy, but also the only one who makes the tea and sweeps the club room. She also knows how to cook, so I guess she's a mix between 'tomboy' and 'lady'. She and Bossun have a good report that some fans might want to interpret as having romantic overtones, but the truth is they are really good friends. This being a shonen comedy manga, it would ruin the dynamic of the club if 2 of its members paired off. If that happens, I'll know the end of the serialization* is near.
Switch is an interesting guy, and he has his reasons for only speaking through a computer. As the glasses-wearer, he is obviously the one with brains. He has an information network that bears an eerie resemblance to Kyoya Ohtori (Ouran High School Host Club -- I might review that one too someday). I guess that's the fate of all megane though, to be the data collectors. He also invents pretty nifty gadgets from time to time, and in one episode they come in handy.
Overall, the characters are entertaining and believable. Since this is a school life story, they are easy to relate to and laugh at, but they don't exist solely to be the butt of the universe's jokes.
Story:
Sket Dance is told in story arcs, and although previous characters often re-appear, there isn't really an over-arching plot. It's just a story up the funny school days of a bunch of quirky kids. And yet, there are some really serious elements. The Sket Dan was created by Bossun when he entered high school for the purpose of 'helping people', and although they don't often do something monumental like saving lives, they make the school day better in their own small way. The loyalty of Switch and Himeko is slowly revealed through their past histories, as well as why Bossun chose to create this club in the first place. I'll say this: their pasts are NOT funny, but truly tragic. And yet somehow that makes the fact that they're able to laugh so much in the present that much better. The story manages to keep re-piquing my interest because of the sometimes serious elements mixed in with the plain comedy. Although this is just a slice-of-life manga, it doesn't feel like a pointless story written purely for laughs.
Overall:
I don't want rate the manga I review out of 10 because I would be assigning arbitrary values to something un-quantifiable. Life shouldn't be reduced to numerical analysis (I'm talking about you, Calculus 122!).
As a final word, let me say this: Sket Dance is about the characters and their interactions more than it is about the external circumstances. Watching them relate to one another and finding out about their pasts is what attracts me, as well as the funny events in their day-to-day lives. I read it when I want to laugh, not when I'm looking for serious mental stimulation. With that in mind, I strongly recommend you to read at least the first few chapters of every manga I review and comment on my posts.
That's all for now, talk to you soon!
*megane: literally "glasses", meaning someone who wears glasses. Usually a male would be "megane-kun" and a female would be "megane-chan". (I'll comment on honorifics in some other post)
*yankee (also spelled yanki): no, not the Americans, although I do sometimes wonder if this word originated from some Japanese stereotype about Americans. Yankee means a teenage delinquent, the kind who smoke behind the school, extort money from their classmates, and dye their hair brown or blond (Japan is very traditional, and most people's natural hair is black so having different colour hair or eyes really makes you stand out -- at least in manga)
*shonen (or shounen): this means "boy" and shonen manga describes manga written for boys (age 10+). Shonen manga attracts a lot of older readers as well as females, although I don't think many males are attracted to shoujo (ie. "girl") manga
*serialization: Japanese manga are usually not first published as books, but serialized in magazines that publish on chapter of several different manga every week, 2 weeks, month, 2 months, etc. Sket Dan is published in Shonen Jump, which is one of the biggest magazines in Japan (it's was actually being translated in English as well, although I don't know if it's still happening).
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