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[series:3188#628] | ||||||
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(? episodes watched): This show has an amusing and original premise: take style and coolness to an absurd extreme, namely a guy who is 110% stylish and cool and somehow invulnerable to embarrassment or humiliation. It's as if he's constantly thinking two or three moves ahead of what anybody who doesn't like him is doing. Either that, or the Gods themselves are watching over him. Of course it's impossible in the real world, but that's why it's fun seeing somebody do it. Still, this show wasn't outrageously funny and I wondered if any sort of long-term plot would develop, because the humor alone might not be enough to justify watching. Could this basic joke be kept funny for twelve or so episodes? It is basically just a comedy, so there isn't all that much to comment on. For the most part, this show managed to remain fun to watch after five episodes or so. We know very little about Sakamoto; who is he? Where did he come from? Talking any more than is absolutely necessary isn't cool, apparently, so he remains largely a mystery. All we know (or need to know) is that he is ultra cool and by a mixture of quick thinking and fantastic luck can find his way out of any sort of bind. This upsets the status quo at school, and aggravates a lot of people. Actually, the fact that Sakamoto has befriended a not particularly handsome or cool classmate tells us something: he must be good at heart. Perhaps he had to do at least one significant good deed, because there's no guarantee that a cool person is also a good one. He never hurts anybody; that would be uncool, after all. So, we can like him even though we barely know him. And of course his opponents are largely assholes. Sakamoto is a sort of knight in shining armor which each of us probably wished for while enduring the oppressive social structure of the high school classroom. He makes fools of the fools who thought they were cool--or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they manage to make fools of themselves whenever they tangle with him. Sometimes I found myself laugh out louding as I watched this show--and I didn't exactly understand why. I guess the sheer ridiculousness of some of the situations had that effect on me. Sometimes I feel that I didn't completely 'get' a joke (because I'm not Japanese), yet it was so absurd that I couldn't help laughing anyhow. That's saying a lot, since many anime comedies can't get me to laugh no matter how hard they try. I neglected to complete this review at the time the series ended, and cannot remember whether I watched every episode; that is no doubt because there wasn't much of an ongoing plot and it was basically episodic. So, while on the one hand you don't absolutely have to see every episode in order to enjoy the series, you won't get much of a lesson from it either. It is what it is. Last updated Thursday, August 30 2018. Created Saturday, April 23 2016. | ||||||||
