Every year there are many good anime that many people miss out on. This may be because its synopsis seems uninteresting, or the key visuals seem bland, or maybe there were other anime from the same season that were more eye-catching. Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan suffers from the same problem as it basically went unnoticed. The key visuals don’t say much and it the episodes being short-length might’ve made people expect little from it. But Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan manages to be not only one of the most funniest anime of the year, but also simply one of the best anime of the year. ~{Story}~ The mainpremise of the series is about the protagonist, Saiki Kusuo, being a teenager with psychic powers who wants to live a normal life, but can’t because of his powers… and he always surrounded by idiots! And that’s basically what the shows about. The entire story is about how Saiki tries is best to avoid any nuisance that follows him and tries his best to have a peaceful life. There is no real structure as the entire series is episodic. However, many episodic series tend to have an overarching or backbone storyline, like Cowboy Bebop or Gintama. However, Saiki doesn’t really have a main story, it just runs on its simple premise and makes comedic situations out of it. However, its comedic situations are hilariously written and feels genuinely smart despite how silly the comedy is. Most of these episodic stories end up being just as long as a short episode (4 mins), however, some stories can go up to a couple of episodes long or 5-episodes long so it’ll fill up an entire compilation episode (20 mins).
Story: 7.5/10
~{Presentation}~
Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan feels just like how a short anime should feel. It’s fast-paced which makes the series more consistently humorous, something short comedy anime have an advantage over normal-length comedy anime. Its production values are in between the quality of an average short series and an average normal-length series, and personally, it works well with these production values. As mentioned before, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan is an episodic series that doesn’t really have a main story to it. But that’s also its greatest strength as it’s not restricted to follow anything other than its original premise and can do whatever it wants with its characters. Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan is a comedy series more than anything and it never takes any breaks with its humor. Every episode will have something to laugh to. There are a couple of heartwarming moments that compliments its humor and makes the series have a bit more depth too it.
Presentation: 10/10
~{Character}~
Most of the characters in Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan are absurd, idiotic, but a lot of fun. The protagonist Saiki Kusuo is a really enjoyable main character and he doesn’t take long in becoming interesting. He’s one of the very few characters in this series who’s not a total idiot, so his contrast with the other characters is always amusing. His commentary on comedic situation is always hilarious, and the fact that he never says a single dialogue himself (since he uses his telepathic powers to communicate), makes it even funnier. He is the straight man of the series, just like how Shinpachi is in Gintama. Every other character besides Saiki has some sort of mental issue to them that makes them total idiots, but that’s what makes all of them hilarious and enjoyable. Kaidou suffers from an extreme case of chuunibyou, Teruhashi is a narcissistic girl who simply can’t understand that Saiki has no interest in her, Nendou has the same amount of brain cells as a cockroach, yet he’s Saiki’s greatest opponent, and there’s many other characters in the series that have serious mental issues, but overall make Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan’s cast, a unique and hilarious one.
Character: 8.5/10
~{Art}~,
The art quality of the series is very good for a short anime, but below average when compared to normal-length anime. However, since Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan’s original structure was a short anime that aired every weekday, its art quality should be judged in comparison to other short anime. And in this case, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan looks very good. Though its art pales in comparison to other anime’s art (which is one of the primary reasons why Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan couldn’t end up becoming popular), but the art style really matches the series quite well. It’s quirky use of color and simplicity is put into good use for the comedic moments. Also, the character designs are really unique. Saiki’s design, with his pink hair and limiter, is something you’ll rarely seen and it’s really eye-catching. And then there’s Nendou’s design…
Art: 7/10
~{Animation}~
And for a short anime, the animation quality is surprisingly pretty good, and it can be considered average for a normal-length anime. The fluidity for character movements is fairly good, and they get the job done. I mean, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan isn’t really that demanding animations wise and despite it being an anime a about a psychic, it’s not an action anime so not much effort in the animations are needed. The backgrounds in the anime are a bit static and flat, but this is a common thing for short-length anime. But overall, the animation quality is very good for short anime standards, and feels much better than the poorly-animated ONA that was released three years ago (if you can call that ‘animated’ in the first place).
Animation: 7/10
~{Voice Acting}~
The voice acting cast in Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan is filled with well-known seiyuu, which isn’t very common for short anime. Legendary status seiyuu Kamiya Hiroshi voiced Saiki and he’s perfect at it. He does his character’s pessimistic and negative personality well, and considering the fact that most of the series is just listening to Saiki’s commentary on these comedic situations, I’m glad that someone as talented as Kamiya voiced Saiki. Shimazaki Nobunaga voices Kaidou and he did a really good job as the chunnibyou character. Though I might have preferred Eguchi Takuya from the ONA, Shimazaki is still really good. Ono Daisuke does Nendou’s voice and he’s perfect. OnoD is literally the best voice for deep-voiced characters, but he’s also a perfect match for characters who lack brain cells, just like Juushimatsu from Osomatsu-san. And there’s countless of other well-known seiyuuu that are part of this series; some major characters and not-so major. Seiyuu, such as Hosoya Yoshimasa, Hino Satoshi, Kayano Ai, Tamura Yukari, Hanae Natsuki, Maeno Tomoaki, Tanaka Rie, and even Matsuoka Yoshitsugu… as a cat. Overall, the cast of well-known cast does a great job with their characters and nail their comic timing.
Voice Acting: 9.5/10
~{Music}~
Just like most two-cour anime, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan features two OPs and two EDs. The first OP used in the compilation episodes, “Seishun wa Zankoku ja nai” is a really good OP with great vocals… that doesn’t match its visuals too much, nor does it match the series as a whole. But it does represent the peace Saiki’s trying to achieve. The first ED used in the compilation episodes, “Ψ desu I LIKE YOU”, is the same as the OP used in the shorter episodes. It’s really good and it matches the wackiness of the series. The second OP, “Sai Ψ Sai Kouchou” is done by the same idol group that did the second ED and this one is, well… weird to say the least. It does match the absurdity of the series, but the second half of the OP just drastically changes and sounds weird. But it’s pretty catchy. The second ED, “Kokoro”, is sung by Hanae Natsuki (who also did the first OP) and it’s pretty soothing, (and it kind of has a feminine-style to its vocals). The background music in the series is lackluster. Nothing ever stands out, nor are they used to add a greater effect to the comedic situations, which is a shame since there’s countless of comedy anime that used their OST to add to the comic timing.
Music: 7.5/10
~{Enjoyment}~
Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan was a blast to watch from beginning to end. This series gave me more enjoyment than I originally expected from this series. It’s one of the funniest anime I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying a lot since comedy is my favorite genre for any medium. The characters are ridiculous and hilarious and Saiki with his commentary is absolutely entertaining. And the fact that HiroC voice acted him made things a lot better. As a matter of a fact, because of the great cast of seiyuu, this series manages to be a lot more hilarious. And the fact that it has no real story makes the series have a lot more freedom and not feel restrained by its own premise.
Enjoyment: 9.5/10
In the end, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan is one of those unfortunate anime that got overshadowed by other anime of the same season, despite the fact that it’s a lot better than most of the stuff that did get popular this year. This anime is a treat for anyone who loves comedy anime as it is genuinely hilarious. Its characters are idiotic, but fun, including a protagonist that contrasts well with his surroundings. Supported by amazing voice acting and its episodic structure, the series manages to effectively create great comedic situations with great comic timing. If you haven’t seen Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan, then you should because it deserves a try. It may not be for everyone, but for those who had this series click with them, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan ended up being a blast. Now, I can’t wait to see what this series has to offer in its second season!
+ Well-written comedic situations that are consistently humorous.
+ Absurd and ridiculously hilarious characters and Saiki’s commentary on the comedic situations are great
+ Lack of a main story makes the series feel less restricted by its own premise and go all out with its comedy.
+ Amazing voice acting, especially Kamiya’s voice acting for Saiki.
- The background music isn’t used to add a greater effect to its comedic moments.
- Production values are lacking when compared to the average normal-length anime.
Overall: 8.4/10