Sket Dance, a manga series brought to life by Shinohara Kenta, transitioned into an anime in 2011 under Tatsunoko Production, the studio known for classics like Kyatto Ninden Teyandee and the visually striking C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control. The anime adaptation ran for a substantial eighty episodes, captivating audiences for over a year until its conclusion in late 2012.
I was told that SKET Dance was akin to Gintama, but supposedly “done well.” This immediately piqued my interest. So, let’s delve into whether this comparison holds true and, more importantly, if SKET Dance warrants a spot on your watchlist.
Story: The SKET Dan and High School Hijinks
The narrative of SKET Dance revolves around an extraordinary student organization at Kaimei High School: the SKET Dan. This dedicated support club is committed to assisting any student or club facing challenges. The core of the SKET Dan is its trio of members: Himeko, Bossun, and Switch. The series unfolds as a chronicle of their various escapades and the eccentric individuals they encounter within the school.
SKET Dance adopts an episodic format, where each episode generally presents a self-contained story with minimal overarching plot progression. The consistent element is the central cast and their interactions. Therefore, a crucial aspect to examine is the effectiveness of its humor.
Comedy: A Mix of Hits and Misses
The comedic element in SKET Dance is, unfortunately, inconsistent. While there are moments that genuinely elicit laughter, others fall completely flat. The humor tends to falter when the series ventures into overly outlandish territory. These instances often rely on sheer randomness and characters resorting to shouting for comedic effect. Examples include the teacher’s bizarre science experiments, another teacher’s obsession with convoluted nonsense, and even the crossover episode with Gintama. These moments often feel tired and simply unfunny.
Conversely, the comedy rooted in exaggerated realism tends to be much more successful. This type of humor plays on relatable situations within a school setting, amplifying them just enough to be humorous without losing touch with reality.
It’s worth noting that series like Galaxy Angel can thrive on over-the-top absurdity. However, Galaxy Angel’s execution is generally stronger, and it fully commits to a world detached from reality (except for that one jarring serious episode). SKET Dance, however, attempts to balance everyday school life comedy with zany absurdity. It excels at the former, but its attempts to merge the two styles often feel disjointed and ineffective.
Romance: A Notable Weakness
Beyond the comedy, a significant flaw in SKET Dance is its handling of romance. Every attempt to introduce high school crushes or develop romantic chemistry between characters feels forced and poorly executed. These romantic subplots often come across as banal and cliché, as if lifted from generic romantic comedies without any genuine integration into the narrative or character development. It’s as if the writers felt obligated to include romance but lacked a natural way to weave it into the story.
Serious Scenes: Surprisingly Solid
Despite its comedic focus, SKET Dance deserves credit for its surprisingly well-executed serious scenes. There are numerous instances where the series shifts focus to character development, sidelining the weak romance angle, to explore themes of tragedy, drama, or heartwarming moments. These scenes are generally well-crafted and emotionally resonant. In fact, their effectiveness highlights the shortcomings of the absurdist comedy. The stark contrast between a ridiculous plot like Himeko and Bossun switching bodies and a genuinely touching story about Himeko’s past is jarring.
In this regard, SKET Dance shares a similarity with Gintama, but with a crucial difference. In Gintama, the dramatic moments often felt out of place against the backdrop of constant absurdity. In SKET Dance, however, the absurd moments are less frequent and feel more out of sync, while the dramatic moments tend to work well and feel more integrated.
Characters: Main Cast vs. Side Characters
The quality of characters in SKET Dance is also varied. The main characters are generally well-developed, possessing depth beyond simple comedic quirks. However, the secondary and side characters are often reduced to their comedic traits. While having two comedic quirks makes them slightly more nuanced than characters with a single joke, their repetitive nature can become tiresome over time.
Character dynamics also suffer, particularly in the realm of romance, as previously mentioned. Relationships intended to portray romantic chemistry often fall flat or are inconsistent. The romantic aspect feels forced, while the underlying friendship dynamics between characters can be more engaging and believable.
Art: Decent But Occasionally Chaotic
The artwork in SKET Dance is generally decent. However, during the more chaotic and absurd scenes, the visuals can become cluttered and difficult to follow. On the positive side, the series does incorporate some effective visual gags. Overall, the art style is adequate but not particularly outstanding.
Sound: Inconsistent but Competent Acting
The voice acting in SKET Dance is competent overall, but, mirroring other aspects of the series, it suffers from inconsistency. Voice actors like Yoshino Hiroyuki, Sugita Tomokazu, and Shiraishi Ryoko deliver strong performances, showcasing a commendable emotional range. However, many side characters are limited to one or two comedic roles, requiring less range. Despite this, most voice actors perform adequately, and the series even features Gackt in a voice acting role. However, there are instances of annoyingly exaggerated performances and moments where generally good actors lapse into over-the-top bombastic acting.
Ho-yay: Subtext and Ambiguity
Momoka’s dynamic with Himeko often suggests a crush from Momoka’s side. This is arguably the most natural and believable semi-romantic dynamic in the series, as it feels organic and unforced. However, it’s clear the series leans towards a disciple-master dynamic rather than a romantic one. There are other subtle homoerotic undertones sprinkled throughout the series, but they are not a central focus.
Final Thoughts: A Mixed Bag
The comparisons to Gintama are understandable, and not just because of the crossover episode. Both series attempt to blend absurd comedy with more grounded humor and drama. Both also feature large casts with many characters primarily serving as vehicles for recurring jokes. I would concede that SKET Dance handles this juggling act slightly better than Gintama.
However, I wouldn’t consider SKET Dance particularly successful in its execution. If the series had abandoned the more outlandish elements and the teenage romance attempts, it could have been significantly better. Ultimately, the highly absurd comedic moments are its biggest weakness – they are neither funny nor clever, and they feel out of place within the series’ overall tone.
In conclusion, my rating for SKET Dance is a 6/10. It’s an okay anime, but falls short of being truly good. Next week, I plan to review Toradora.
