Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.)

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Alternative Titles

English: The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Synonyms: Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan

Japanese: 斉木楠雄のΨ難

Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 120

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jul 4, 2016 to Dec 26, 2016

Premiered: Summer 2016

Broadcast: Not scheduled once per week

Producers: TV Tokyo, Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Pony Canyon, Nippon Columbia, KlockWorx, Asmik Ace, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Shueisha, Toy's Factory, Dear Stage inc.

Licensors: Funimation

Studios: J.C.Staff, Egg Firm

Source: Manga

Genres: Comedy, School, Shounen, Slice of Life, Supernatural

Duration: 5 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 8.46¹ (scored by 271,819 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #124²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #197

Members: 557,461

Favorites: 14,529

8.46

Ranked #124Popularity #197Members 557,461

Summer 2016TVJ.C.Staff, Egg Firm

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Episodes: /120

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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.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan aired weekly from Monday to Friday short 5 minute episodes in the morning block until November 4, 2016. A full episode every Sunday night followed the morning block short, but later became the main broadcast time.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan
Other:	Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan (ONA)
Sequel:	Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan 2

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Sakurai, Hiroaki

Director

Kanesugi, Hiroko

Script

Hanae, Natsuki

Theme Song Performance

Dempagumi.inc

Theme Song Performance

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Opening Theme

#1: "Seishun wa Zankoku ja nai (青春は残酷じゃない)" by Natsuki Hanae (eps 1-60)
#2: "Sai Ψ Sai Kouchou (最Ψ最好調！)" by Dempagumi.inc (eps 61-120)

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Ending Theme

#1: "Ψ desu I LIKE YOU" by Dempagumi.inc
#2: "Kokoro (こころ)" by Natsuki Hanae

More reviews

Reviews

Dec 25, 2016

120 of 120 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

MetaThPr4h (All reviews)

222 people found this review helpful

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!

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Jan 1, 2017

120 of 120 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

3xTripple (All reviews)

145 people found this review helpful

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 read more

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Oct 28, 2016

120 of 120 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

LIQfilms (All reviews)

76 people found this review helpful

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.

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Jun 12, 2020

120 of 120 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

2life (All reviews)

19 people found this review helpful

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).

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	Does Saiki talk? Izayoi1661 - Apr 18, 2020	8 replies	by KirinKatoki »» Jan 14, 4:29 AM
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