Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan

Aired during the Summer and Fall 2016 seasons, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan is (hopefully just for now) a hidden gem in comedy anime that I can't recommend enough to watch.

The protagonist in this story, Saiki, is a boy that was born with psychic powers in a normal world. He can read minds, he can teleport from one place to another, he can restore things (people included) to their previous state in the past… and these three are just a few examples of all that he can do. Saiki is so powerful that, if he wanted to, he could singlehandedly take control of the Earth in ... a few days, is that his intention? Hell no! He just wants to live a quiet life, and I can already tell you that he isn't even close to have one.

From his family, to his classmates, to seemingly anyone he meets, everyone is a weirdo, and they are all hilarious and awesome in their own way and won't let Saiki alone for a second. There is Shun, the chuunibyou that believes in the existence of Dark Reunion, an evil organization that only he can defeat (even if in reality he is a complete weakling), Nendou, a character that is so empty-headed that Saiki is not able to read his mind, Teruhashi, a girl that is considered perfect by everyone (especially herself), and so, so many other awesome characters that will grow up on you and make you laugh so much.

Saiki itself is a fantastic and unique character, he's a straight man (and the only sane person around) that doesn't fully act like one, instead of shouting like it's the usual, he stays silent for the other characters, and we can listen to him internally complaining in his normal tone, there is something so funny about seeing him wondering what the hell is wrong with everyone, all while keeping his trademark deadpan face, that rarely changes outside of when near his biggest weakness: coffee jello, he absolutely loves it and he will do anything for them.

The variety that having psychic powers provides to the story makes this anime so great, every episode feels very different to the others thanks to the multiple uses that they have. The humor itself is quite fast paced, and manages to be constantly funny, you will be laughing all the time while watching this anime. All the side characters get the right amount of screen time to become memorable, yet never feel like they are overused. The 4th wall breaks are fantastic, and I really have to mention the parodies, that are mostly from other popular games and series that everyone knows about, so one is not left with a “well, I don't get it” reaction everytime they happen.

The art style and animation of this anime is honestly pretty average, it doesn't look bad, but it's definitively not a high budget work at all, I personally don't give much value to that since the main objective in this type of stories is to make us laugh, and actually, if used properly, that can work pretty well in their favour, this can be especially be seen in scenes featuring Nendou, where the intention is to make him look as derp as possible and that helps making it even better.

In the sound department, as most of the time with comedies, the songs are quite forgettable and mostly there to simply go along with the events that happen, there is one big exception though, and it's the “JUDGEMENT KNIGHTS OF” song that follows some Shun scenes and makes them so much better. Both two opening and ending themes are pretty good, especially “Ψ desu I LIKE YOU”, the first ending theme (or the opening one if you watch the shorts), that is a very catchy song.

This next and final point is meaningless for the new watcher now that this anime finished, but I really need to still mention it, Saiki Kusuo aired as both a series of shorts (4 minutes episode per weekday, being 5 episodes in total each week) and one episode each Sunday, that was all of the shorts from that week together, this format was simply fantastic and I want it so much to become more popular in the future. In my timezone it meant that each weekday, when I woke up, I had one new episode available, there is simply no better way to start the day than with a good laugh, and I appreaciated it so much.

In conclussion, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan is a very original and hilarious comedy, full of lovable characters that will make you laugh from start to end. If you're a fan of comedy anime, make sure to watch this one, and if you aren't, I still heavily recommend you to give it a try, because it's probable that it will greatly surprise you!

REVIEW REUPLOAD
OLD REVIEW WAS DELETED SINCE IT WAS POSTED TO SOON

-SPOILER FREE-
Saiki Kusuo no Ψ nan is a comedy slice-of-life story about Saiki Kusuo who has special powers that allow him to do pretty much anything.

The Episodes are not very long with around 4-5 min per episode but the episodes are coming out almost daily right now.

Story: 8/10
There is no core story as there is always another core in each episode, but the main story (that is that Saiki Kusuo has special powers) still affects all episodes.
... There are some surprising moments that really catch you off guard and you never expected.

Art: 8/10
The art is very beautiful with good animation and good character design and all characters are very different!

Sound: 9/10
The voice acting is good and the intro song is very catchy, there is no outro song. The background music/sounds are fitting and enjoyable.

Edit:
There is an outro in the 20-minute version (I watch the 5-minute version so there isn't for me)

Character: 10/10
The Characters are all unique and well-written, and the characters show a clear relation to each other.

Someone else pointed out that every character follows a cliché, for example, the sports loving class rep, the stupid delinquent or the beautiful girl everyone gets nervous around.

Enjoyment: 10/10
The Series is very enjoyable with lots of funny jokes and interesting character development!


Overall: 10/10
I recommend this anime to everyone, it's funny, well written and definitely not a waste of your time! Give it a try!

Edit after watching 56 episodes:
The more you watch the most things Saiki does, one of the jokes is also the writer making stuff up on the spot and Saiki commenting on that breaking the 4th wall, relationships are also (in a sense) build trough the series

-Laurin

You're in a crowd of people and trying to hide from a really creepy dude that you know from school or work. Luckily, he hasn't noticed you yet.

You probably want to do the best you can to get out of his line of sight... right? So you've finally managed to make it behind him, but then, just as you think that you're safe, the creepy dude stays facing forward, but SWIFTLY does a horrifying 180-degree HEAD-ONLY turn. He then, with a derp face, looks SOLELY at you out of everybody in the crowd. In a shocking development, you've somehow been spotted! That "wtf moment" that ... you'd experience makes for comedy at its finest! You will find that type of comedy and much, much more in Saiki Kusuo no psi-nan.

Funny does not even begin to describe this anime! That's right, it's hilarious! It's one of the best, if not the best, comedy anime that I've ever seen. It's very original and has definitely become my new favorite comedy anime.

TL;DR at end

Story: 10/10
Saiki, the main protagonist, comically takes being overpowered to a whole new level. He's basically a god-level psychic that can do anything. He's smart, has x-ray vision, one punch man level strength (or maybe All Might?), time warping, can change the laws of the universe, has telepathy, teleportation, memory wiping, there's basically nothing this guy can't do. The story follows him in his everyday life as he, an extremely superior being, has to deal with ordinary folk. He's a pretty sarcastic guy and is always doing a hilarious internal commentary about the bothersome events that happen to him throughout the anime. There is no overarching goal of the plot (it's kind of just a linear succession of skits). The pacing is often very fast, but I think that its speediness actually benefits the series because the series continuously hits you with jokes like they're bullets from a machine gun (if some jokes miss, np there are like 20 more incoming). I truly cannot imagine how they could have improved the story in this series. This story's comedy is a 10/10 masterpiece.

Art: 6/10
The artwork was very plain and the animation was a bit choppy, but it didn't take away from the series in my opinion. The simple art may have actually enhanced the series in a way. Perhaps you would have missed the comedy if you were too focused on the art? Who knows, but there's really not much to talk about when it comes to the art.

Sound: 10/10
I loved the opening of the 4-minute shorts. The background music were mostly very unique, well-suited, and catchy (8.5/10 for music). I think it should be strongly noted that the sound effects were masterful in this series. Sound effects in anime often go unnoticed, but this anime’s sound effects really enhanced the comedy if you took notice of them. The voice acting was absolutely fantastic! The diverse characters and their personalities were well acted out by each of the voice actors/actresses. Normally music is what largely determines the score when it comes to sound, but I feel the other areas of the sound were so strong that this category actually does indeed deserve a 10/10.

Character: 10/10
A riveting cast set of mostly original characters. I mean, c'mon. This anime had a fucking “Nendou”. Once I discovered this “Nendou” creature, I just knew that the characters deserved a 10/10. Just kidding, but in all seriousness, this series had many really diverse characters including: a Nendou, dramatized narcissistic perfect girl who attracts everybody but Saiki, average girl, chuunibyou guy character, thug character, tsundere grandpa, workaholic, deliberately annoying kids, shitty magicians--- there’s too much substance here to list them all! All of the main characters get pretty well developed as well.

Enjoyment: 10/10
This series had me laughing very hard every day! The simple and fast humor was perfect for my tastes. Often other popular comedy anime, like Nichijou for example, take much too long to get the jokes across and consequently make the watchers feel bored. Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan usually hits you with the jokes so fast and repeatedly that you only have a few moments to let it sink in before it hits you with the next one. I’m so glad this anime had a bold, new type of episode design where it did 4-minute comedy sketches released once a day (most days). I was so excited to watch a fun new skit from this series every day. At the end of the weeks, the five 4-minute sketches were compiled into a single normal-length episode. I think this anime will be setting the precedent for future 4-minutes-a-day comedy anime. I look forward to season 2!

Overall: 10/10
TL;DR
This is one of the funniest comedy series I’ve ever seen! You WILL laugh if you watch this series. The story was non-complex and in the form of multiple short skits with no overarching unifying plot (It’s just following Saiki as he lives his god-like superior being life). The art was pretty basic, but it didn’t take away from the series much. The background noises and voice acting were all great, but the opening song and the “shit’s going down” BGM were the only memorable OSTs for me. The main characters were all very unique, diverse, added to the comedy, and well developed by the end of the series.


Should you watch this series?
If you’re looking for a comedy series, then hell yeah you should!
If you want to try a new type of series that you haven’t seen before, yeah watch it!
If you’re looking for a sci-fi, then ehh it’s not THAT sci-fi related but you can give it a shot.
If you’re looking for a serious, complex, and/or linear plot with an end-goal, then you’re definitely in the wrong place buddy.

This series was too great! You should definitely watch it!

If you thought this review helped you make your decision please let me know by clicking the “helpful” button~ If you thought it was wrong or inaccurate, let me know why so I can improve my reviews in the future ^^.

I personally think that this is the best physic anime your probably ever going to watch. It has great comedy and this serious attitude of the character just makes it more hilarious. Of coarse this is my opinion you don't have to agree with it. It also has a certain comedy that probably only a few like. I don't like the fact that it's only 5 mins last time the made a anime out of it they only had one episode I'm not sure if the other adaption was a OVA or not. But I definite recommend this show I just hope it does ... well in the future

With the abundance of short four minute episode anime becoming increasingly more common every anime season, Saiki-kun felt like a breath of fresh air from the same boring and tiring formula that has been used ever so frequently.

One thing that works in favour of the show above others of the same format is that Saiki-kun lasted for many more episodes while also airing a new episode everyday. My main problem with these types of shows is the weekly formula as they're airing; once the episode stops and the next one begins the following week its hard to keep track of what has happened and the ... show feels like it is going nowhere. Sure, this problem is eliminated after the show has finished airing but the lack of episodes also means a lack of characterisation and story progression which, fortunately, Saiki-kun does not lack.

Saiki-kun tells the story of a teenager who has physic powers but ends up living a life in which these powers are more of an annoyance then a gift. The show follows his life and how he uses these various powers for different situations; very basic stuff for a basic type of show. But the main strength of this show lies in its comedy and its characterisation. Each character has an interesting gimmick and quirky personality which all bounce off each other rather effectively throughout the show as they find themselves in various scenarios and situations. Most characters have more depth and personality traits to them then just what is on the surface which invokes a lingering sense of anticipation as each character will act in a different way based on the situation at hand keeping the comedy fresh and interesting.

There is also a variety in jokes keeping the comedy from becoming too stale or repetitive and the four minute formula only helps with this. There are also many references in the show to other manga and anime, which if you're like me, then you'll enjoy since I like referential comedy. What's good about this show is that it doesn't rely solely on references (which can become tiresome after a while) as most of the comedy is derivative of the interaction between the characters. In terms of an over-arching story there is really none aside from a few mini-arcs which sees one particular scenario play across a multitude of episodes. The animation and art style were not always the best and could at times look plain ugly and strange but it was nothing bad enough to take any pleasure away from the overall experience.

In conclusion, Saiki-kun was a refreshing four minute show that actually has substance with fun characters and great comedy. I would recommend it.

well it might get you to laugh once or twice but it will fail to keep up quickly because of the childish plot, it's very boring he never fail and the characters except for that monk boy are all trash females are annoying there is no sign of any character development, in fact, there won't be. even children show like gumball or something will amuse you more than this and more exciting things would happen there! for some reason, the main doesn't speak which lead to a poor and small dialogue. overall it's crap don't waste your time on this poorly written clairaudient experience.

This incredible show can redefine how you view anime. My initial reaction, mentally, was to fault it for the continuous expositional dialogue from the protagonist. In visual media and in general in creative works, it's often a crutch substituting a good character introduction and development, but in Saiki Kusuo the stream-of-consciousness style grows on you as innovative and postmodern and eventually it plays on essential role to the themes of the anime. It's a really interesting narrative style that adds a lot to the characters.

The art style stands out as distinct but at the same time seems very natural. Something that stood out to me ... is that minor or background characters have thought put into their designs and they're distinguishable, which is something that can't be said even for many good shows. It goes out of its way to explain why the main character looks so conspicuously like a protagonist and justifies the weirdness of the hair styles of the other characters and not only is it not presented in a way one would expect, but it's pretty funny.

The meta-ness is also unique. Certain elements of meta-humor have become cliche, and the anime in several instances subverts the expectation that it will follow a particular meta-trope by setting it up and them subverting it. That's honestly remarkable. That's not to say it's flawless in its approach, but when a joke about some trope itself has become a trope, you can expect some interesting deviation. One beautiful thing is that, in a way, Saiki personally takes on the role of the frame. He takes responsibility for making the world is different from our own in ways that many shows take for granted, while also justifying the omniscience as a first person point of view.

The characters are interesting and capture the youthful aggrandizement of the world that distinguishes those memories from their experiences. Not only can the viewer see how everything feels more important in the moment, but the dissonance felt as a result is clearly intentional. Also, there seem to be fairly few genuinely one-dimensional characters, and since the anime isn't over yet there is some benefit of the doubt since so far it has been quite effective in bringing back previously less-developed characters and building on them.

The characters themselves don't take the premise for granted, which is also a relieving departure. That's not to say a show needs the premise to be acknowledged by its characters, but it's so rare for the atypical to be recognized as such that it's a breath of fresh air. The explanation of extremely commonly occurring story-telling tropes usually taken for granted is great.

This is a great anime that stands out in a variety of ways and manages to do almost everything well. The best thing is that it gradually seems to add more and more to the world as it progresses, but in such a way that the premise doesn't get repetitive or exhausting, often when it's least expected. Everyone and everything is developed, and not just linearly. It isn't constant joke after joke, but the comedy lining the series is well set up. There is so much value in this anime and I'd encourage anyone to experience it for themselves and I cannot wait to see where it'll go next!

Saiki K is an hilarious low-energy gag comedy. It uses the power of 5 min attention span and high speed incantation dialogues to deliver a climax and a cliff hanger at once. Jare jare….

The cover art and the synopsis may be off putting, but believe me, this is worth your time. I binged this whole anime in just 2 days. What makes it so watchable is it non-cliché jokes and low-energy main character.

ÒꙍÓ ART ÒꙍÓ
The animation style of Saiki K is simple and pleasing. The emphasis lays on it’s dialogue rather than an impressive background or action showdown. The animation for Saiki’s powers are well ... done and not to lazy.

ÒꙍÓ SOUND ÒꙍÓ
As I said earlier, the dialogues sound like high speed incantations (on Netflix) and that was okayish I guess. It was sometimes annoying, because I had to read super-fast but it was doable for a veteran dub reader. Having a simple background with not to much going on made it easier.
The voice acting is what makes Saiki K so good. The character can convey their dumbness across the screen. Unbelievable. Its loveable, good and done just right. You can almost feel what the characters feel. As for Nendo, you gotta be smart to act so dumb.

ÒꙍÓ CHARACTERS ÒꙍÓ
The cast is what made this anime so enjoyable. Being a gag comedy, the plot is almost non-existent. It follows Saiki K in high school. That is kinda it. But how they experience their high school time is fantastic. The characters have their own distinct traits and are predictable, yet they don’t behave to much of a cliché. They all have something which makes them a bit unique and interesting. I would totally simp for the perfect girl Teruhashi.

Saiki, the star of the anime, is so damn funny. He isn’t to bother by the people he tries to escape and he has a heart. When problems arise he doesn’t act like a hero but he does what he must (to maintain his peace). He is quit flexible and that was something that surprised me a few times. It creates a very dynamic setting for new jokes and disasters. Luckily the use of his powers is done very creative and logical. He is very powerful but it has also some drawbacks. And this also adds a lot to the comedy factor. Look forward to see his reactions.

ÒꙍÓ ENJOYMENT ÒꙍÓ
I was surprised at how entertaining this was. It was easy to keep on watching and trying to discover new scenario’s with Saiki. I really ship him with Teruhashi as she is a perfect girl. I would only recommend this if you like gag anime with a touch of slice of life/ high shool. This is by far one of the best comedy anime I’ve seen so far (not so much but still).

An anime that is so easily dismissed and left out was easily my favorite anime of not only the season but also for the entire year. Last year I felt there was no shortage of good anime. From seasoned veterans like JoJo to new shows like Mob Psycho, there was no dearth of anime I enjoyed. But between good shows there was another one which for me was great and arguably the greatest of them all. As this is a review for Saiki Kusuo (too long a name to write in full), there would be no prize for guessing the best of the lot. 5 ... mins a day, for 5 days a week, this anime consistently delivered big on laughs. Containing with itself all sorts of humor from slapstick to deadpan, this 5 min. anime was a treasure chest filled with rich laughs.

The premise of the anime was simple, it follows the life of protagonist Saiki who was born with superpowers, as he navigates through various scenarios of school life interacting with various people. These powers that range from telekinesis to transformation are all not a convenient gift, they also cause minor inconveniences. Each of the episode time just above 4 min and have a different stories. Earliest episodes include Saiki dealing with his over enthusiastic but simple parents, as the series progressed we become introduced to other lively characters at his school. Again, the early episodes were used to introduce characters, set up their personalities and to showcase Saiki's relationship with them. As the show progressed the stories used these characters like paint, they were mixed and match together creating hilarious situation for Saiki as he dealt with not only the characters but with the mess they created. Another impressive thing about the anime was how it dealt with introducing characters. A lot of characters were introduced at early stages of the anime. Then the anime focused on their relationship with Saiki. When the same characters were used multiple times the show introduced new characters. Also, unlike anime like Sket Dance, all the new characters weren't introduced simultaneously; rather they were introduced over a period of time. Often not more than one character was introduced at a time. As soon as a character was introduced, the character's relation with Saiki and co. was displayed, and just when things were starting to go stale another character was introduced, launching more permutation and combination into the mix. This way throughout 120 or 24 depending on the version, the anime was able to retain its charm and freshness.

The show had a huge cast. The good thing about having a huge cast is to have a variety of personalities. This can be both good and bad, depending on the mangaka. Though Saiki uses this to its advantage in a big way, probably the anime's biggest strength. All, I mean every single character had something to contribute. Every character had a different personality and each personality brought with it, its own brand of humour. From Saiki's deadpan-sarcastic style to Kaido's delusions humor to Nendou's dumb humor to Teruhashi's obsessed girl, to name a few; like this every character brought something new to the show. Every character a different color in the beautiful painting. None of the character will feel repetitive or tedious. From the moment they enter to the moment they sign off, each character was an absolute delight to watch.

The art and sound had nothing much to complain about, not that the anime itself had many complaints. They were pretty standard. Though I personally would give a shout out to both openings. A good opening, I feel, helps set the tone of the show. In this anime both the openings were cheerful and joyous, and helped set a merry mood. They were absolutely catchy to me and despite not being a Japanese, I couldn't help but hum the tune occasionally.

At long last, I would say that this little anime is absolutely worth the watch and deserves way more applause than it receives. To be honest, I too skipped on this one, due to episode's duration; albeit the very thing that made me skip it made me watch it. The duration per episode, it was perfect to watch as a break in between exams. Though once I started it I watched almost 30 episodes of it at once. After that everyday watching the 5 mins of the show and anticipating the next episode for 23hrs and 55 mins became part of my schedule. Thus, as said earlier this anime is perfect for the watchers who are looking for something hilarious and fun to watch and stress off on.

As someone who has only seen 45 or so episodes, take this with a grain of 'salt'.

The art is quite nice, it's easy on the eyes, and everything is well defined. Nendou, and how Saiki reacts to him is by far the funniest part of Saiki K. Now we've got those two good things out of the way, le's talk about the rest.

Nearly every episode feels like you've gained nothing from it, characters don't develop, and they don't lead to any sort of overall arc. So it's basically all filler, does that mean it should automatically be bad just because it doesn't lead to anything? ... Hell no. The problem is that Saiki Kusuo just isn't funny enough to be only filler. This anime feels like Mob Pyscho, just, if you take away all the story, character development, and actual funny characters, you end up with Saiki K (even the humour isn't at Mob Pyscho's level tbh). It's not an awful anime, it's just pointless to watch unless you find the humour really funny, in which case, I did not.

I watched the first season (24 full-length episodes) of Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan. Here are my thoughts:

This is a comedy show, the main shtick of which is that the main character has psychic powers. Sometimes the humour is unique and creative. Mindreading and psychic powers are used to put a unique and entertaining spin on absurdist and situational humour. The show consists of short (~5 min.) skits. These skits are hit and miss in terms of my enjoyment of the comedy. I watched the ~25-minute episodes which consist of 5 skits. Longer stories are presented as multiple sequential skits; the longer stories never exceed the ... length of a single episode.

Decent voice acting that enhances the humour — especially Nendou, whose voice is hilarious. Everyone in the show speaks very quickly. I'm not sure if they literally sped up the voices post-recording, but in any case it made the show more digestible. The fast dialogue combined with short skits makes it easy to burn through episodes. In terms of music, some of the OP and ED songs are pretty good. However, the OST has a seemingly small number of tracks, given the length of the season. Some tracks are repeated very frequently. Sometimes the music does enhance the humour. In fact the familiarity of songs that are played exclusively during humorous moments can help increase my anticipation of a punch line, or something of that nature. For example, the unforgettable "Judgement Knights of Thunder" song which plays when the chuuni character is doing chuuni things. I'm even chuckling to myself now thinking about that song because it was always used during comedic scenes. It's like a Pavlovian effect.

Although not a huge issue for me, the visuals in this are poor. The art style is very lackluster and the animation appears low budget. Furthermore, there are barely any lighting effects at all. The character designs are also very simplistic. All this said, exceptional visuals would probably just be a distraction from the show's true appeal, which is its comedy. My most significant critique in this regard is that I would have liked to have seen more detail in facial expressions.

The show is shounen target demographic, which was cause for my apprehension going in. The show is okay, but a lot of the humour does revolve around typical highschool anime scenarios. Many of the jokes are the same tired school-setting comedic scenarios that are recycled but with a psychic spin, instead of something truly unique. The writing is clearly targeted towards a young teenage male audience. I think I would have enjoyed the anime more if it were not in a typical school setting. It felt like the creativity was nerfed somewhat by the need to appeal (and be relatable) to the teenage audience. Additionally, a lot of the humour revolves around parody of typical shounen tropes, which is funny the first dozen times but eventually becomes tiresome. Despite my criticisms here, the psychic powers schtick is often applied in refreshing and creative ways that I have never seen before in comedy media. However, I don't think the true strength of this humour mechanism was ever fully realized, mainly due to the limitations associated with the target audience. Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan doesn't feel like an authentic expression of someone's artistic vision; it feels like it was shrewdly engineered to sell manga to teenage boys. Maybe it's silly of me to want more than this from a shounen anime.

Seinen anime are hit and miss with me, but I think the premise of this anime would be great for seinen. The psychic mechanism would be a terrific way of exploring more mature themes and complex characters, while still generating creative humour. Instead, we are subjected to the artistically bankrupt highschool setting, and its accompanying tired schoolyard humour, likely because the author is looking to maximize sales.

The entire cast consists of very simplistic characters, but this is kind of a necessity for the style of humour and length of the skits, so I'm just stating this as a neutral observation. It would be unfair of me to expect otherwise. However, I don't particularly like the personality of the main character. His internal dialogue is used to narrate the show, but it means he's simply apathetic to everything. I get why the writer would want a blank template to work with in this regard, but it would have been nice to see him exhibit some more emotion occasionally. He's also condescending and frequently treats all the other characters poorly, which becomes very tiresome after a while. I'd like to see a spinoff show with an entirely new main psychic character (and a different setting).

After watching the first half of season 1, my enjoyment of this anime began to significantly decline. In addition to the aspects outlined above that I disliked, the show became somewhat repetitive. This is partly due to the simplistic characters and highschool setting, but probably also due to every joke involving psychic powers in similar ways. Although I enjoyed the beginning of season 1, I'm no longer enjoying this anime enough to justify watching another 24-episode season. Particularly because the next season involves the exact same characters in the exact same setting. I would be far more interested in watching another season if an entirely new cast of characters were used.


My personal rating for season 1 of Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan: 5/10

A young teenager would probably enjoy this show more than I did. I think that for a comedy fan, this show is worth sampling, but be warned that it is somewhat repetitive. During the first quarter of this season, the show was a solid 7/10 for me and I was enjoying it. Unfortunately, that initial enjoyment was diluted by the many other episodes. Maybe I will give the next season a try in a few years when my recollection of the past comedic material has faded.

Nendou and Kaidou are the funniest characters (although equally as simplistic and repetitive as everyone else). The rest of the cast is comparatively less funny, in my opinion.

Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan is one of those comedies that is actually funny and not Japanese-funny. One of its strong points is that it uses a short chapter format with fast paced comedy, so there is rarely a dull filler moment. Most characters, while interesting, are "stereotypes with a twist", which might make some punchlines predictable. The humor of many chapters comes from the not-informed-by-the-narration fact that, although the main character appears serious and presents himself as a sort of voice of reason, he's actually kind of an idiot and does unexpected and ridiculous things with his powers. Has some nice world building that ... makes everything that happens kind of make sense in the context of the series. It includes some subtle social critique in some skits, which I personally like.
Animation is nothing special, adequate for a comedy anime. Has very few off-model moments.

Anime, as a medium, does not leave me all that satisfied when it comes to the comedy genre. I can count around 4-5 comedy series that managed to get some enjoyment out of me. Two examples would be Cromartie High School and Nichijou. The former, except of being a top-notch comedy series with many bizarre happenings and wacky moments, is also an excellent parody of immeasurable things, including capitalism, gangs, the toll that technology takes on us people, and many many more. The latter is more of an incredible comedy with its fair share of wacky moments on the one hand, exquisite art on the ... other, also working as a successful parody of moe (K-on, Lucky Star, etc. You do know the deal, I bet).

Checking last season's line-up, quite the amount of series spiked my interest. I stumbled across this entry called "Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan" (I am fortunate because I am Greek, otherwise I would have to use "Psi"). What I got out of a first taste of the thingy was:
>Comedy
>5 minutes per episode
I backed away immediately when I read the two factors above. A short, and a comedy at that? All I got was an intuition that it would definitely fail. However, my prejudice got proved wrong. After pushes from several people, I decided to give its first episode a try. What I found out is that I could not stop pressing the "next episode" button. That's the moment when I said to myself that yup, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan might have been able to measure up to the several anime comedies that I loved. It truly did, I presume. It even managed to refer to my given examples pricelessly.

The series is about your dude named Saiki Kusuo, who has a lot of psychic powers on his hands, ranging from telekinisis to reading minds to changing sceneries and perceptions of other people. This might sound awesome to some, but our man does not agree. He thinks that harboring all those powers is a hassle most of the times. Letting alone that he does not care about almost anyone, he just wants to lead a calm life, not get into the center of attention that would have been possible hadn't he been who he was, and not get involved with many kinds of people in a more personal manner. Unfortunately for him, that ain't gonna be the case, because he makes many encounters on the way.

There is not a specific plot we could speak about, because the series is strictly episodic, except in some cases where few-episode arcs are evident. The pacing is very fast, as expected from a short and wacky comedy at that, but not in a way that it might feel unnatural in a way. The series itself is quite random of course, but it manages to be satisfying when it comes to pacing and transitions. Especially the transitions, which fit incredibly well with the main point of the series, its all-around pleasing spontaneousness. In contrast with that, it usually takes place at Saiki's home and/or the school he attends.

In addition, Saiki-Kusuo no Ψ-nan manages to bring about a great sense of how cliches should be handled. The dude who wants to lead a peaceful life, the narcissistic girl, the eighth year syndrome pupil, the hyped and hyperkinetic youth, the perverted pal who also has psychic powers, the lad who can not think, moms and dads that fight a lot yet love each other. The whole run is plagued with anime cliches, something that usually does not work well. With Saiki Kusuo though, it was more than triumphant.

Consequently, we strive towards the character section. The whole cast is, for the lack of a better term, hilarious. Not as much the cliches they represent, but the interactions in between, and the situations they are orchestrated to follow. Whether it be slapstick, or wackiness, or long monologues that our main character tends to have, the show relies heavily on its characters. One or two jokes might be able to slip out of my line of perception, but other than that, the humor hits home. That is one thing that this series should not be missed for.

Even if it was not one of its main intentions to develop characters of course, some change between the starting and ending episodes can be detected in the long run. Still managing to representing cliches in a really pleasing way, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan manages to make our tremendously fun cast to evolve, especially the main character. This change, as I would name it, is mostly evident towards the series' end. Along with this partial development come the emotional scenes, which work surprisingly well.

The art and animation are digestible for a short. There is this short episode which explains as of why all the characters have weird hair styles and harbor strange accessories and clothes in many of the circumstances, and how Saiki changed those things. (And then you might think about why he has those strange game machine-like thingies on his head.) Just thinking about that makes me laugh further more. The backgrounds are nice, though not something I would bother talking a lot about. Character designs, in general, are a joy to bestow, because of the factors mentioned above.

Soundtrack-wise, the opening is full of wack and a nice way to prepare for the short heaven that one single four minute episode might be. The tracks included are not all that memorable to me, to be completely honest, because I was way too busy noticing other things. There is no ending to speak of.

Enjoyment: 9/10

No doubts about it, I managed to enjoy Saiki-Kusuo no Ψ-nan to the fullest. Revealing one more counterpart of Saiki's life per second episode was really fun. The hilarious interactions were quite the sight. The humor, as in overall, smelled success, and some of the supernatural elements were interesting to say the least. I am more than glad to have watched this anime, especially when it did not take all that much of my time in the first place.

Overall: 7/10

In conclusion, I am going to thank J.C.Staff for brightening my days with this piece. Following it for one season made it seem like it was something that was important for the anime industry. A really funny short that can bring many kinds of inventions to the table. Definitely one of the best series of 2016, along with JoJo, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Mob Psycho 100 etc.

Thanks for reading this review, feedback shall always be appreciated. I am bound to upload more!

*** no spoilers ***

Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan has short episodes, approximately four to five minutes, but this doesn't stop it from being a great comedy anime.

Story, 9 out of 10:

Since the episodes are about five minutes long, there isn't really any plot, except for main events, like a new character, new setting, etcetera. At several points in every episode, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan always kept me laughing with it's sarcastic humor.

Art, 9 out of 10: The art in Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan is animated very well, it suits the genres of the show, making Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan even better.

Sound, 10 out of 10: ...

The voice actors in Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan go with the characters very well, suiting their personalities. Although there isn't an ending song, the opening is quite pleasant.

Character, 10 out of 10:

The characters are a main part of why Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan is so enjoyable to watch. The characters vary from sports-loving characters, the nice "pretty girl", the somewhat retarded delinquent, the weird parents, and even more.

Enjoyment, 10 out of 10:

Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan was very funny, and I got many laughs out of this anime, due to the story, characters, and the sarcastic humor.


Overall, 10 out of 10:

I highly recommend this anime, it's a great way to pass time, and it's sure to make you smile, so check out Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan!!

"Here's a another gag anime about an all powerful character, I think we had Sakomoto last season already ?" - if you are having these same thoughts then... well you are missing out on a lot of fun and laughter that so many animes fail to achieve these days.

Sakomoto wasn't bad, but I didn't find it much appealing either. But this show achieves what Sakomoto probably failed at ..... I m still laughing at the jokes and sarcasm thrown at me even after 30 episodes and (obviously) not yet bored by the mc.

Man, I haven't had a good laugh watching anime in a long ... time. It's not only this intriguing mc but also the characters surrounding him which amuses me. Yea, they are a kind-of cliched characters we have all been seeing in animes for an eternity but still...they are different...they are funnier!

After watching the first 30 episodes I could conclude that the voice actors are well chosen and it is probably them that gives this show another light and distinguishes itself 100s of wannabe gag-animes. Paticularly the mc's voice actor, our very own, Kamiya hiroshi fits in too well with the mc as if he is Saiki himself. The pauses and the emphasis of his sarcasm on the absurdities he faces in his not-so-average life are remarkably well executed by Hiroshi. Yeah, I have come to the point where I can't imagine Saiki to be voiced by anyone but Hiroshi.

And unlike Sakomoto, the fact that every other character (be it male or female) doesn't fall for the mc due to his "coolness" gives me at least one more reason to watch the show.

The fact that it's not a single continuous 23 mins long ep each week but a 5 mins ep each day fits in perfectly with the comedic environment of the show. Now, I have strangely got addicted to this show that I find it as my daily source of fun and laughter, be it only for 5 mins.

Though I can't call it a masterpiece just yet, but unlike other animes this season, it is probably the only anime that has still kept me hooked!

I remember on a forum thread somewhere, someone posted about how they wanted to see a anime based around someone being born with pink hair and tries to go through life day after day, narrowly avoiding being the main character in whatever anime cliche is thrown at them (ignore the person falling from the sky! ignore the popular girl/boy talking to you! im never late for school, my alarm always goes off in time!), and Saiki is as close to that anime dream as we will ever get.


Saiki is born with ridiculously powerful psychic abilities, to the point that he has to restrain them ... in order to live an every day life. This is as much plot as you get, because a plot would ruin the feel of this anime, which is essentially a slice of life if you were an All Powerful Psychic Highschooler. Except he doesnt want any friends and will go out of his way to avoid anything that sounds like it would be a nuisance, unless it will benefit him in some way.

Each episode is 5 minutes, until a little later on when they are 20. 5 minutes seems short, but it really fits in with the format of the show well. Plus most episodes are outright hilarious. I laughed outright on the first and second eps and that was enough to get me hooked.

All the characters that Saiki interact with are great. They are all the anime cliches (the idiot, the PUMPED UP SPORTS GUY, the beautiful popular girl, etc, etc) but they are played around with so well. The anime really doesn't take itself seriously at all, so later on the 4th wall breaking jokes feel pretty natural instead of being way out of place. Sometimes 4th wall breaking can kill off a joke, but here its done pretty well.


The animation is nice, the art is good and the enjoyment is easily a solid 10 just for the Teruhashi episodes alone! I'm just gutted that I've now finished them all!

-- This is my first review so please bear with me --

I have been thirsting for a comedy anime that's actually funny ever since the winter season of this year ended and Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan fits the bill. I'm really upset that it isn't getting much attention cause this anime is gold.

Story: 8
This anime doesn't really have a defined plot as it's just instances where Saiki's psychic powers make his life hard or where Saiki gets attention that he doesn't want. However, each episode in itself has its own (hilarious) mini plot (some of these plots span for multiple episodes) and it's not entirely ... episodic as the characters somewhat develop based on what happens in the previous episodes.

Art: 7
The art style isn't ugly but it's not the most beautiful thing ever. It's about average, almost generic looking. The colors, however, are very vibrant and add on to the wackiness of this anime. It was a smart move to make Saiki the brightest character since he doesn't want to stand out in any way.

Sound: 7
The opening isn't really special; it's a catchy, 10 second song. Most of the BGM doesn't really stand out, but it still adds to the scene. However, the short song that plays when the chuunibyou, Kaidou, does anything weird easily makes up for the lack of BGM or opening as it's so cool it's ridiculous and makes the situation ten times more funny.
The voice acting in this anime is pretty well done. Hiroshi Kamiya does a good job at making Saiki sound very unfazed and cynical and the rest of the voice actors add on to each character's personality and makes the anime come together.

Characters: 10
The characters are what make this anime hilarious. Saiki is a cynical boy with god-like psychic powers and just wants to be left alone while every supporting character acts like an annoyance to his life. For example, there's Nendou, Saiki's "friend" that is basically empty headed, Kaidou, the chuunibyou, and Saiki's own parents that take advantage of his psychic powers. Watching how Saiki interacts with each character (aka. trying to push them away) makes up most of the enjoyment that the anime has to offer. Saiki's also the most chill tsukkomi I've ever seen and that just makes his character even more great.

Enjoyment: 10
I consider this anime to be the funniest and most underrated anime of the season. A lot of the episodes are pretty relatable to someone like me (introverted and kind of antisocial) and make the anime that much better. Most people seem to be disappointed because the anime is only four minutes long, but I feel like it adds to the enjoyment of the anime since it's impressive to see how much they can fit in one episode without making the anime feel rushed in any way. There's also supposedly going to be 85 episodes so there is enough content to keep you entertained.

Overall: 9
I'm a sucker for comedy anime and I could easily put this in my list of the Top Seven(?) Funniest Anime. I can easily recommend this anime to anyone that wants a good laugh and doesn't mind short anime.

MUST WATCH ANIME

Hilarious! My #1 pick for this season.

At first you may be wondering when you watch this "really?" "What the..."
But this is comedy guys and just let yourself take the ride
AND best part. Have your questions. Wonder, "how the heck did he...?"
And be amazed. Because all of your questions, and I mean ALL of your questions will be answered.
And start to wonder.... is SAIKI REALLY PSYCHIC!? IS HE WATCHING US WATCH HIM!?

... haha... but seriously guys, don't be too serious and enjoy the show!

Lots of laughs to come.

Art is fitting for this anime.

Not too much of a storyline, other than basically slice of saiki's life. And how everything kind of revolves around him. But its a comedy and its great.

Sound....? all I can say is... "Oh..." That's all you need. ;]

Characters. Nendou is personally my favorite. Love the types of archetypes the creator brings in.

Enjoyment. Extreme. I'm almost always laughing every episode. Occasionally some are not quite as funny, but those are usually the ones that are more sweet or trying to show saiki's good side

Overall: Must watch.

*No spoilers, TLDR at bottom*

When I first learned about Saiki K, I was hesitant to give it a shot, but after getting it recommended to me time after time, I decided to try an episode out at the very least, and I'm so glad I did. It's quite difficult to write an objective review on this show because comedy is subjective, and I can't say that this show will be enjoyable for everybody to watch because not everybody likes the same type of humor. But, if you enjoy deadpan and gag humor, this show will definitely appease you.

The best thing about this show is the ... 5 minute episodes - you never feel bored (if you like the jokes), and Saiki K never drags its feet to getting to the punchline. The fast paced and high energy episodes ensure that each episode is never dull, and there is a different scenario going on every episode. The jokes keep hitting you every 10 seconds as you watch this show, which I think is beneficial for Saiki. Too many comedy shows take an entire episode to lead up to one big punchline, which is still good, but Saiki K's rapid-fire episodes that are filled to the brim with humor is a refreshing change.

Aside from the episode structure and the humor itself, the cast of characters in Saiki K is surprisingly large and diverse. There's probably more than 20 recurring characters, and unlike some shows, they are all very clearly distinct in terms of how they are drawn and their character traits. You have the vain yet beautiful Teruhashi, the dumb and ugly beyond logic Nendou, the weird chuunibyou Kaidou, the former delinquent turned regular student Kuboyasu, the overly enthusiastic and athletic class rep Hairo, and the pervy psychic and esper Toritsuka. And that's not including Saiki's family and the many many other distinct characters. Each episode is a blast because of these unique characters.

Overall, I loved this hilarious show, but would I recommend it? I would recommend anyone who even remotely likes comedy to watch at least one 5 minute episode before passing judgement. And if you do like deadpan humor filled with exaggerated characters in extremely fast paced episodes, this show is perfect for you.

TLDR; If you like comedy a little bit, watch at least one episode.

This is easily the best shorts of all time for me. Whether you like serious anime or not, i would recommend you this comedy anime. It's a comedy/parody anime with a cynical and normal main character who spends his everyday life hanging out with extremely odd people.

The story doesn't really have any purpose, heck i would even say that there isn't one. Instead this anime showcases the extremely weird everyday life of the main character and how he spends it which is what makes it so nice to watch.

A very good thing is that the episodes do not end (almost always) randomly and ... the next episode they suddenly go into a random place and time. There is an obvious timeline and you will not have to worry about what is going on or where they are. This is a common problem other shorter anime tend to have.

Another thing that might seem minor but actually increased the score for me is the world building. In some anime you only see the school and you kind of feel kind of shut in because of the lack of information outside of their school. In this anime they go to a lot of places and it feels like you understand how their city (including some other places) looks and it feels closer to you.

The art is above the usual because of how unique it is. The animation is pretty good and the designs are different. The songs and background music aren't anything special. However, the voice acting is perfectly done because everyone fits their respective roles and really expresses themselves perfectly. This is really important because this is the main reason why the comedy works very well. It would be pretty boring if they were emotionless.

The characters are all unique and have stupid traits which makes them likeable however extremely funny as well. There's multiple characters that fit every necessary comedic role to make every scene build up into the peak of your comedy explosion bar (the moment you'll start bursting out into laugh).
Another reason the characters (and the anime as well) is so likeable is because it's kind of long and you get to know the characters pretty well.

I guess it's time to talk about my laugh counter. Well, if you have seen and liked Gintama you should know that beating that anime is pretty hard. While it didn't do that it did certainly beat the average laughs per second compared to Gintama. This anime killed me inside a lot of times because of how genius it is with the comedy. It really understands what the anime industry needs and can feel the viewers.

Personally, i would recommend that you should try out this anime as soon as you feel like it. The episodes are short so you can easily drop it if you don't like the type of comedy it offers. However if you do enjoy it you'll probably end up binging it. The great voice actors and unique characters are what makes this anime work as well as it did.