Ranked #320

SKET Dance (Manga)

This review is by me as of chapter 97, so its actually up to date...


The manga is essentially comedy based; its shounen after all. However, the characters themselves are what truly make the manga.


In the series you'll find several characters each with their own trials and tribulations they are trying to overcome. And in between the AMAZING comedy (I laugh out loud IRL like every chapter) which includes many inside jokes from the series itself, and gets more funny as it goes on, there is a level of drama that is unexpected at all for a series like this.


The way the characters and stories are panned out is really great. And there's a depth to this manga that no one would see coming and really gives it a powerful feel.



But I don't want to dwell on that too much; the main reason to read this IS the comedy and its quite amazing. The inside jokes of the manga just build up and get even more funny as chapters go on.

Also, the art style is greatly unique and the way some old stories and new stories mesh together is woven together masterfully.


The things I liked most were the fact the manga had so many types of humor in it, stuff that natives to Japan would get and stuff that even people living in America like I would get.

I also liked the characters. The main characters of this manga are all amazing and flawed to a perfect extent. And the way the characters play off each other makes it truly a unique, amazing experience when reading, and there is NO other manga I look forward to being released more than sket dance.

As far as things I disliked, I can't really think of any! Its that good!


With that said, I'm hoping to spread the word and get more people reading this :).
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( Sorry english isn't my first language (; 3 ;) )

With endless sequel of comedy, sket dance is one of the best gag manga I've ever seen. This manga is a great choice if you want to relax from your busy time or when you want to read together with your friends. This is the manga that can make you laught as hard as you can, bwahaha....

Story 8 :
Sket dance's story tells about an activity of highschool club that accept all the request of the other students. But, the request is not an average request. Every chapter have their own twist and amusement. Some chapter even show the unexpected serious story.

Art 9 :
Art is an important aspect of a manga. Before you read the story, you must see the art first. Well, from my eyesight the art is very good. The artist can draw almost all of type that can make you laught. For example the art when you see Bossun nervous face, bwahaha. Also the art of character face are good looking that I want to draw them with my pen...

Character 9 :
Maybe the main reason why Sket dance can keep the long running series is the development of the characters. The 3 protagonists Bossun, Himeko, and Switch are the core of this laughing machine manga.
Bossun the leader, is the main protagonist that has many talent, very idiot personality althought talented but sometimes can be very cool. Himeko the vice leader, is the only member that can really fight, she has extraordinary power but also has a motherlike attitude expecially to Bossun. She and Bossun have a complicated relationship. And Switch the secretary, is a silent otaku. He can't speak because of his dark past, so he used his laptop voice software to speak. Anything that come from his word, his face never chance.
The other supporting character such as the student council, roman, Chuu-san, dante, shinzou, etc... are very good too, none of them are normal.

Enjoyment 10 :
I only say this manga have an outstanding enjoyment. You can read it and laught anytime you want.

Overall 9 :
Well, it has shogakukan manga award, it has a good story, it has great art, character, and enjoyment. So I give 9 to Sket Dance. Good luck!

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Reviewing the Cases
by radiantfire

Context:
For this review, I will be analysing Sket Dance by Shinohara Kenta. I have read 18 chapters at the time of this writing.

Story:
Sket Dance revolves around 'Sket Dan' - a campus support group established to help students and staff with their problems. The chapters are generally episodic, in which they are simply referred to as a "Case." One-off cases are simply that. Some cases, however, span 2 to 3 chapters. These are often my favourite to read.

Art:
The art is decent. It's nothing special but it isn't bad either. I have no qualms about it. In fact, I'm quite impressed by the number of cells which only display the characters - that is, they're not displayed with scenery but with shades, lines or simply white as the background. What this creates is a strong focus on the expressive and emotional context of the characters. This, for me, makes it more enjoyable to read.

Character:
The best part of this series, in my opinion, are the characters. They're all fun and pleasant to follow, particularly the main characters. Through them, Sket Dance offers us moments of laughter and inspiration. Most importantly, they show us that helping others is quite a rewarding experience.

Enjoyment:
Initially I didn't like this series because of the introductory cases. However, I pursued reading it and was finally hooked after experiencing chapters 8 & 9 - which feature a more dramatic aspect of the series. From this point onwards, I started to look forward to reading the next chapter. It is definitely a fun read.

Conclusion:
In all, I recommend it for those who are looking for something light to read and has its basis on mystery, school-life, and comedy genres. The comedy is funny and the dramatic sequences are executed very well. Sket Dance promotes, as one reader has stated, "a breath of fresh air in a cliche magazine such as Shonen Jump." read more

To be honest, when my brother told me about this manga i was a little skeptical on the grounds that it sounded a lot like another SJ title known as Gintama. That (to this day) is true. In fact the main cast is composed of three leads as well. But there's a reason as to why the two series's share similarities, Kenta Shinohara(the author) oppenly stated that used to work as an assistant under Hideaki Sorachi (the author of Gintama). So it's natural for the influence to be there and ,to be honest, aside from the plot (Three leads do all sorts of nonsensical jobs) Sket Dance is a manga that stands gloriously on it's own and is by no means a ripoff.

Moving onto the story, Sket Dance has no all consuming story with a beginning and an end, rather it's composed of episodes. Each chapter chronicles a new case for the Sket Dan and occasionally certain arcs (which can span up to 3-6 chapters) like the: "Sket Dan vs. The student council" arc. The cases are most of the time nonsensical and random: Like the chapters in where they have to deal with the Roman, the girl who sees everything in her 'otome filter' (in short Shojou manga vision). However they may equally be touching and at times sad and very deep. The most touching arcs in my opinions are the ones that explore the pasts of the three leads and how they came to join the Sket Dan. For spoiler reasons i wont explicit on the content of these chapters. Just know that you are guaranteed to at least get teary-eyed at one them.
The story mixes ridiculously funny humor with ,at the same time, drama and suspense worthy of a shojou manga.

Now the characters, the one thing i can say about the cast of Sket Dance is that it's unique and very colorful. The three leads are: Fujisake Yusuke otherwise known as "Bossun" (the protagonist), Kazuyoshi Usui or "Switch", And Onizuka Hime a.k.a "Himeko". Obviously these three characters receive the most development of the cast. Bossun acts rather childish and hot-blooded and in one chapter is even made out to be a "useless shonen hero" by an amateur manga artist. However it's thanks to his talents that the Sket Dan is able to solve many cases. In a way you could describe him as being a sort detective because he is able to analyze, and logically solve most dilemmas that come his way. Then we have Himeko the "straight-man", who ironically used to be a Yankee so feared that she was nicknamed "Onihime" a name which she she, nowadays, rejects. And finally Switch, the apparently good-looking otaku who uses a voice synthesizing software on his laptop to speak.He is stone faced but often willingly gets involved with the nonsensical situations of the show.
The supporting cast equally receives varied levels of development. The most notable being Tsubaki, the student council vice president and possibly Shinzo the phony Samurai.

Sket Dance's art is generally varied in terms of quality. It ranges from a little below average to holy-shit-that's-freaking-godly.To be fair, It was sometimes impossible for me to appreciate the art for the sole reason that the scans were messily cleaned up and they looked rather poor in quality. But the most notable instance of absolutely mind blowing art is arc which explained Bossun's past. I honestly dumbfounded at the level of detail and expression revealed during those chapters. It's clear that Shinohara can draw very well both with comedy and in drama.You really connect with the characters regardless of who they may be. Not to mention certain expressions can just make you laugh so hard.

Overall Sket Dance is an extremely good and cleverly written manga,definitely one of my favorites . I enjoy it very much, most notably ,of course, because of it's comedy but also because of the characters and it's ability to have "a different and truly unique approach to the same idea".
There are no overly negative aspects to the manga. However some may argue that the humor can get a little repetitive, i personally love it.
It's a shame that on the international circuit it doesn't have much a fan base because it truly is one of my favorite SJ titles alongside Gintama and One Piece.I'm confident that it will stay in publication and i sincerely hope it gets an anime adaptation. It is already slated to have a drama CD after all!

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