Dhruv Sharma
Words cannot describe how hilarious ‘The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.” is and when it comes to entertainment, this one is truly a gem amongst all other typical comedy anime. It brings forth tons of characters who are all misfits of some kind and yet they’re all incredibly fascinating. It is no surprise that Netflix literally rained on us two seasons of this anime in just one year. ‘The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.’ was huge in Japan when it first came out so its sensational success in the US comes as no surprise. The hype is real people and in this case, it is indeed well deserved.
After being a great success, an original sequel of this has been confirmed and is expected soon. Season 2 ends with a tiny cliffhanger that gives out major revelation for the third season and that has us all hyped up. The rate at which this show has improved is phenomenal. No doubt the first season of the show was amazing but even when there was little scope for improvement, this anime shocked us with another perfect season.
A live action movie was also released in Japan that was based on this anime but that was more of a disappointment. Clearly, sometimes it is just a bad idea to bring life to anime characters, take death note for example. Animated characters sometimes can do things that no human actor can. Those who watched the film without ever watching the anime, we feel extremely sorry for them and those who have seen the anime will know how it sets the standard really high. The source material is always better and there is no doubt about that. Speaking of which, ‘The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.’ is an adaptation of a manga that currently has close to 279 chapters. With a manga that’s so long, we are sure that this anime is not ending anytime soon.
As of now ‘Saiki K’ seems more like a comedy series like ‘Gintama’ that will probably just keep going on and on. And now that it has proven to be such a massive hit, the anime and manga are not even close to getting over. We can’t even complain about it because it’s been a while since a comedy anime this good has come out. We’re dying to watch Season 3 and we are sure that so are you but till then maybe you can rewatch season 1 and 2 all over again. You can even read the manga which we guarantee is as entertaining as the anime — even better at times, it’s the source material after all.
Just one disclaimer before we delve into the plot and the review of this anime. If you are looking for a series that has something meaningful and deep to offer then this may not be the right one for you. But if you’re looking for something that’ll make you feel good and make you laugh out loud with its silliness then ‘The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.’ is just perfect. Keep reading if you belong to the latter category.
The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K. Season 2 Release Date:
‘The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.’ Season 2 premiered on January 17, 2018 and finished its runon June 27, 2018. Also known as ‘Saiki Kusuono Psi Nan 2’, this anime has a total of 24 episodes in the second season with each episode being 24 minutes long. As far as the next season is concerned, you can find the details about The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Season 3 right here.
The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K. Season 2 Plot:
The very gifted and talented psychic Kusuo Saiki wishes to live a life that’s ordinary but it turns out to be no less than a disaster most of the times. Saiki has the craziest supernatural abilities that range from being able to see in X-ray vision to telepathic communication, all of which would be considered to be a blessing by any normal human being. But for Saiki, his unique abilities are nothing but a curse and get him in trouble all the time. His life is nothing but a series of unfortunate events and extreme drama that keep him in the spotlight at all times no matter how hard he tries to avoid that. Soon he is forced to come to peace with the reality of things and accepts that living a life less ordinary is something that is destined for him.
In the second season of the anime, Saiki starts getting used to the presence of his strange troublesome friends which includes Shun Kaidou and Riki Nendou. But these are just minor hurdles to a peaceful life and there are other strange and eccentric people all around him who just keep adding more misery to his life. His goal of achieving a trouble-free life now seems like a very distant dream.
The plot seems too cliched and predictable, doesn’t it? Well, as we’ve mentioned earlier, this is a gag anime and apart from a minor baseline plot, it does not follow a deep overarching storyline. It’s just an episodic comedy series with a streak of action sequences here and there. So make sure you watch it with that in mind.
The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K. Season 2 Review:
First thing first. We would strongly advise you to watch the first season and only then move on to the second so that you’re more familiar with the characters by then. As expected, there is no significant plot or any significant character development either. Everything just loosely revolves around the silly adventures of the protagonist from one day to another. It portrays that Saiki could’ve really used his powers to gain popularity, women and even money but he chooses to keep all of it a secret for the sake of his sanity. He lives a secret life while he tries to deal with the shenanigans of his not-so-ordinary life.
The comedy is silly but so funny that you will tears of laughter in your eyes. And that’s the beauty of this show, it’s just silliness at its very best. The targeted demographic for this anime is shounen so the ones from seinen might find this a little puerile at times. But at the end of the day, this is the best option out there for anyone looking for some lighthearted mindless comedy.
The characters add so much color to the show and that’s one reason why this anime thrives. Oddball interesting characters are constantly introduced throughout the second season which includes Aiura Mikoto (a fortune teller), Satau Hiroshi (Saiki idolizes this guy), Akechi Touma (Saiki’s childhood friend who has somehow figured out that he is a psychic and just needs more evidence to prove it) and there are many more. One criticism that the show has received is how ‘The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.’ goes on introducing new characters all the time instead of just making jokes around the existing characters. Some might call this a lack of creativity on the writers part but we disagree. As long as the anime is making us laugh, how does it even matter if new characters are being introduced or not?
As for the protagonist Saiki, he does not utter a single word throughout the span of the story. He only uses his telepathy to talk to the ones around him and often his contradicting thoughts lead to hilarious results. What’s lame on the anime’s part is the fact that no one except for Saiki’s family ever notices this.
The animation isn’t of high quality like some other top-ranked anime series. But it is good enough for the vibe of the series and at times comedic moments are highlighted with special effects which make those moments even more hilarious.
The background scores and the OSTs are annoying a lot of times but I guess that’s a part of the “cringeworthy fun” this show offers. The voice actors do an impressive job with their characters, so much so that the mannerism of characters clearly reflects their true personalities. Especially in the case of Saiki who does not have any real dialogues, everything he says through his telepathic powers has been portrayed really well.
Overall one big reason why this anime is different from other similar shounen like ‘Gintama’ is that ‘Saiki K.’ ends every season or episode on a funny note instead of forcing its way out as a tearjerker. ‘Gintama’ too is an amazing comedy anime but it often tries to end with a sad note which often comes off as unnecessary. ‘Saiki K.’ stays true to its genre leaving no doubt that it is one of the best comedy anime series out there. This anime is also less vulgar compared to most others of this genre which proves that it relies on pure comedy and not cheap thrills to grab the attention of the targeted audience. We would still not recommend the Live-Action movie because some things are just better off animated but the manga of this series is a gift that you should cherish once you’re done with the anime. On a scale of 1 to 10, this one truly deserves a 9 for staying true to its genre and mastering what it has to offer.
The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K. Season 2 English Dub:
English Dubbed versions of ‘The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.’ are available on Netflix and on Funimation. The voice actor for the main character in the English Dub is Jerry Jewel who is also known for his work in other anime like ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’, ‘Fairy Tail‘ and ‘Case Closed’.
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