Overall Thoughts: B- Sabagebu! is an extremely funny Shoujo comedy that accomplishes it's primary goal: to make you laugh and it doesn't try to do much else. There aren't any "deep" themes or complex messages that the crew of Sabagebu! are trying to make you consider. While it may not be doing anything outstanding enough to be remembered decades in the future, Sabagebu! is still an excellent experience for anyone who simply wants to relax and have a few laughs. It doesn't bombard the viewer with melodrama or degrade its characters through fanservice, but instead focuses on being as funny as possible. And that's good enoughfor me to give it a wholehearted two-thumbs up and recommendation.
Story: B-
The story is centered around transfer student, Momoka, being roped into joining one of the strangest school clubs of all-time, the Survival Game Club! A episodic Shoujo comedy, that follows Momoka’s various escapades with the other members of the survival game club.
So basically, it's your typical slice of life comedy anime, just with a lot more guns involved.
There’s never a dull moment in Sabagebu, and it’s this fast pace and over-the-top comedy that keeps the anime rolling along. The writer’s also do a great job of varying up all the different sketches that each of the 12 episodes are composed of, so the jokes don’t become stale and over-used. They do a good job with references and playing up certain things for comedic effect. There’s a Yakuza movie parody sketch that’s absolutely hilarious and they do a great job of shifting the focus on different characters and character dynamics with each different sketch so that you’re getting something new out of everyone.
It reminded me a lot of the other great anime comedies I’ve seen in the past like Gintama and Beelzebub, so if you enjoyed those shows, then you’ll more than likely enjoy this one as well.
Characters: B
The entire cast plays their roles extremely well, and they all provide a bundle of laughs. I’m not sure if it’s because I haven’t watched much Shoujo yet, but all of the characters seemed fun and several them had fairly distinct personalities I hadn’t very many times in anime.
Sonokawa, Momoka might be one of my favorite main characters to come out of 2014. Whereas the trend seems to be going towards protagonist who are built up to be perfect in every way, selfless and the Moral Compass of their respective series, righting every wrong and defeating every villain, Momoka goes in the completely other direction. She has a two-sided personality, She initially kept an appearance of a polite and kind schoolgirl but is actually sharp-tongued, merciless, and easily angered. She is prone to taking revenge, often disproportionately. She’s a vengeful, spiteful, jealous, petty, ruthless, and selfish person who has no problem betraying her fellow club members or allies, and has no qualms about pointing and shooting down anyone that gets her way. Cute little children, elderly people, cute animals, Cat-Aliens, her Mom, or even her own conscious! There’s no one she won’t turn her gun on in order to win or get what she wants, and this sort of ruthlessness is played upon to great comedic effect. It’s absolutely hilarious when someone’s tries to play upon her mercy or how cute and harmless they are, and then she puts a bullet right through their brain. It’s this sort of flawed character that makes her more relatable, and in the case of this comedy, the star of its humor. Her antics provide for tons of laughs.
Of course, she’s not necessarily that vicious, since they’re just paintballs, but she has no problem using others as a human shield, leaving people behind so she can get away, or any other dirty underhanded trick. She does have her tender moments though, that show she’s not so bad, but those usually come around to bite her in the ass at one point or another and at least once an episode she gets what’s coming to her for underhanded schemes and tricks. Seeing her get one upped by the other characters is always very funny to see and it sort of balances everything out for her rude behavior throughout the rest of the series. Well the other members of the cast are solid characters that provide for many, many hilarious moments, Momoka is definitely the high point in the character department and it's from playing off her brilliant characterization that the other characters are able to be so outlandish and funny.
Animation: C
The weakest aspect in the entire anime. There’s nothing animation or character design wise that really wows you at all, and well the fight scenes are well done every now and then, there’s nothing else that stands out at all. The art style is pretty standard, and doesn’t really make the characters pop at all. It’s pretty much average in this department, but that’s alright since this show isn’t about gorgeous animation or character designs and the way shots are presented and the use of quick cuts throughout the show are able to translate the humor from the pages of the script and through the screen well.
Sound: B-
The voice acting in this is absolutely phenomenal. All of the voice actors do a great job of showcasing the character’s spectrum of emotions and can change the tone of their voice at the drop of a hat and showcase they’re range in spectacular fashion. Everyone fits they’re character’s personalities perfectly as well. A special shout-out has to go out to Urara’s VA, who can go from high-pitched cutesy voice to dangerously low and ominous voice extremely quickly.
Both the opening and ending are extremely catchy and fit the mood of the show perfectly. It probably helps that both are performed by the voice actors of the characters in the show, and it really gets you ready and excited for each episode when you hear them.
The only problem in the sound of the anime was the fairly limited and repetitive tracks that played in the show. There didn’t seem to be a large selection to pick from, and while everything fit what was happening in the show, none of it was great and made you want to go listen to it on your own.
Personal Enjoyment: B+ grade.
I had a blast watching this show and every episode kept me in good-spirits and laughing throughout the entire 20 minutes. I never left an episode without a smile on my face, and the show did its primary job of keeping me entertained and giving me a fun half-hour every time I turned it on. By far one of the best comedies I watched in 2014, and it’s made me more interested in the Shoujo genre as a whole.
FlFlawfinder
September 22, 2014
Mixed Feelings
I never had any expectations for Sabagebu. It was never given any attention when I made that "season previews are worthless" post sometime before the summer season aired. I just saw that it was one of those "girls using weaponry" anime, remembered how I didn't give C3-bu much of a chance when it aired a year ago, noticed that it was the first thing to air in the season (even though it was due to being a pre-air), and gave it a shot. Was kind of surprised at how fast-paced and violent the premiere was, so I watched the second episode. And then the third.And now I've finished the entire series.
- Watch out Witchcraft Works, because I think you've got competition for the best "hidden gem" of the year. And considering how fucking insane you turned out to be, that's saying more than America's word that West Africa will be ebola-free within the next five years.
What the advertisements for this show failed to get across to me is that Sabagebu is a black comedy, a genre that's kind of rare in anime and even rarer in shoujo. Sure you have plenty of 90s-era John Hughes slapstick knockoffs getting produced every season, but in terms of comedies where the humor deliberately comes from the characters being assholes (on purpose) in the vein of "the only good sitcom airing right now" It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia? With no attempts at being heartfelt, and whenever it does, it pulls the rug from under you? I don't think even Milky Holmes at its peak was this cruel.
And whilst the other characters contribute their fair share to the proceedings, the main reason this show works is because of the main character: Momoka. Why? Because she's just so impossible a character to sympathize with to the point that she becomes extremely interesting. While not exactly on the level of great British assholes like Blackadder or Bernard from Black Books, I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that Momoka is quite frankly the biggest asshole you'll ever see in any other anime this year, and quite possibly the last few. Nothing about her is kind. She's not someone you'd ever want to be with in reality. If this was a romantic drama, she'd be that character that single-handedly ruins the series with forced conflict and a deal with the devil.
- Thankfully, Sabagebu is a skit-based comedic series that actually has a "reset button" license. Oh, one of the girls caused a helicopter to crash and killed two pilots in the process, sending them to meet the devil? Eh, nobody cares about those extras, so let's not turn her over to the police and just publicly humiliate her for the fact that she couldn't flush a toilet.
Once Momoka's behavior grounded me into the series, all the writers had to do was create short scenarios that exploited her, as well as the rest of the cast, for comedy and creativity. There's quite a few gags that don't really work (the fat stuff, the stalkers on the mountain, the school president thing that went on twice as long as it should have), but each episode always had one that was really great and it's paced quick enough so that you don't stare at a skit for too long trying to extract a laugh from your dirty ugly mouth.
- The punchlines get a little predictable as time goes on because it's pretty obvious before too long that someone's going to suffer by the time a skit ends. But it's done cleverly enough, again similar to Sunny, that it never really grows stale.
- And even if the jokes don't satisfy you, at least you can't deny that Sabagebu has great action chops. I haven't actually seen Aldnoah Zero's fight choreography despite the praise for it, but I'd be surprised to hear that it was of much higher quality than this show's "old people riding jeeps whilst shooting at youngsters" action.
- This ain't like the shitty "punch one spot multiple times and use stills for dramatic effect" stuff that Akame ga Kill seems to think qualifies for action. It isn't unstylized powerpoint like Tokyo ESP. It's not the utterly incompetent "couldn't hit the broadside of a barn" crap that Jormungand indulged in. No, this is hands-down expert gun stuff that isn't quite as good as Black Lagoon, but is worthy enough to stand in its shadow. And that's better than most gun action we get in Hollywood these days (fuck you shaky cam!).
There's not really much more I can say about Sabagebu considering it's a plotless comedy that never takes itself seriously. I do urge people to give it a shot if what I said appeals to you, because I don't think it deserved the low amount of attention it received whilst airing. Just be aware that the first episode is a little rocky and the second is when it starts to find its footing. If you're not hooked by the third - you monster - then the rest probably won't appeal to you. I definitely don't consider it the best anime of the year (Space Dandy, Tiger and Bunny: The Rising, maybe Terror in Resonance but I need to see how it ends first). Has a few too many "mehs" for me to really rank it too high, let alone consider it my favorite "cute girl" anime.
- That said, barring some explosion of quality next season, it's definitely going into my top ten anime for this year.
SkSkyNoHoshi
September 21, 2014
Recommended
'I know what the title says, but don't go expecting real survival games!' Do you enjoy an anime where girls battle out with guns? Well, there have been a lot of anime that fit that category such as C3 and Strike Witches. I know I've seen a few, and this anime is one. There's nothing much to say about Sabagebu honestly. It revolves a hig-school club called the 'Survival Games Club' and we look into the crazy shenanigans these high-schoolers are put up into. Momoka, the character focus of the group, transferred to this high school and is forced into the club by its president, Miou. Fromthere, she leads her own not-so-ordinary life.
Now, what's good about this anime is the hilarious comedy. It never failed to make me laugh every episode. From the characters to the main story, it just brightens your day. The anime takes in many forms of comedy, whether dramatic or just plain stupid. Sometimes it just became Nichijou, but with a bit more understanding.
'This is all in the girls' imaginations. You can't die in a real survival game, so don't worry!'
I must really give props to the narrator. You probably never seen a lot of narrators in anime, so this kind is not wasted. He is definitely an awesome person whom I will never stop laughing at.
The characters are sweet and have nice personalities which has some similar tropes for a typical comedy anime. Momoka has a two-sided personality, Miou is rich and loved, Maya is a beauty who always die first out of the rest, Urara being a masochist always wanting to be near Momoka, and Kayo is a cosplay fanatic who doesn't talk much.
But I feel that there is some character development in Momoka, as she has a liking into the club and make many memories with it.
There are other supporting characters whom I find are always very funny in their own ways. Some of them reappear in different episodes and they love to create chaos or just fun to the club, or Momoka.
In the end, the characters are a funny bunch in their own aspects.
I'm not quite fond with the art in this anime. The character designs are quite stale, with weird hairstyles and body shapes, despite some of the characters have weird body shapes for the sake of comedy. The scenery is a bit bland and nothing interesting to see. The gun battles can be fun and exciting to look at, but the damage done seems a bit boring.
But still, facial expressions are amusing. I quite like the designs of the guns the characters have. The opening and ending visuals are nice with a taste of action and comedy.
The opening song, sung by Momoka's VA, Ayaka, has a great energy feel along with the beautiful vocals. The ending song, sung by the cast, has taken a more funny approach with the lyrics, along with nice dancing music. Honestly, I can't stop grooving at the ending song.
The background music varies a lot. Sometimes, in special occasions, they may play an interesting theme that matches. Otherwise, it has nice relaxing music that sounds like it come out from a typical slice of life anime. Nothing wrong, really, but it is good to listen. The voice acting is great, with a lot giving emphasis to their thoughts and feelings for comedy sake. There are some recognisable voice actresses in the anime.
No one should take Sabagebu seriously. It is definitely worth the laughs from the viewers like me. I enjoyed this anime very much and it brightens my day a lot.
Certainly, I would never see girls running around a battlefield wielding guns ever again, unless a season two arrives.
