It's no secret that everyone, even those who think they're perfect, has at least one flaw, but to every rule (although it's not really a rule), there's always an exception. Who is that exception? Could it be a certain high school boy with glasses and a mole under his left eye? I've known of the manga that contains such a person for a while now, and when an anime adaptation was announced, I decided to check it out. All I've got to say is, "It was fun while it lasted."
Haven't you heard, ladies and gentlement, of Sakamoto? Good, because I'm reviewing "Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto", known in Japanese as "Sakamoto desu ga?"
Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto centers around Swagamoto - er, I mean, Sakamoto - a high school student who is basically the "perfect human". There's nothing he can't do, and he's got good looks, too. Needless to say, he instantly wins the hearts of girls and the jealousy of boys. Even in a tight situation, he emerges from said situation with elegance, grace, and, dare I say it, swag. Basically, this anime follows the (mis)adventures of Swagamoto - dang it, WHY CAN'T I SAY SAKAMOTO PROPERLY - and his classmates throughout his first year of high school.
The first thing about this anime I'd like to take note of is its animation. I've seen a decent amount of anime from Studio Deen, but this has to be some of the best animation I've seen from them, with some decent character designs to go with it. The voice acting is pretty solid, too, especially Hikaru Midorikawa as Sakamoto; his voice adds to Sakamoto's coolness. The ending theme, "Nakushita Hibi no Sayonara" by Suneohair, is a pretty beautiful song, but I personally loved the opening theme, "COOLEST" by Customi Z, even more. Pardon the incoming pun, but it's a really COOL song! ....Moving on.
The story of this anime is pretty episodic, and they always seem to end with Sakamoto staying on top of things. It can get a bit repetitive at times, but luckily, this anime does shake things up a bit and keep it fresh. There are more funny and amusing moments than there are not, and I would either find myself grinning or laughing at times. As for the characters, some are likable, while some are characters I didn't care much for. If there was a character I had to pick as my favorite, it's Acchan; the fact that he's voiced by one of my favorite seiyuus aside, he was given a good amount of development.
To tell you the truth, though, a major deciding factor of whether or not you can enjoy this anime is the likability of the main character, Sakamoto. The main point of this anime is that he has no flaws; a character with no flaws is considered a "Gary-Stu". If you can overlook that, Sakamoto actually turns out to be a very interesting character. He always kept others' best interests in mind, and he turned some cliches on its head; those two factors kept me interested in his character. Sakamoto is also quite an enigma; I couldn't help but ask questions about who he actually is, especially toward the end.
Haven't you heard? "Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto" is an enjoyable anime that I would recommend to anyone in the mood for a "cool" comedy. Anyone who watches this will know of the antics of Swagamoto!
