SKET Dance is a former Shōnen Jump manga, that was adapted into an anime in 2011. This comedic series follows the mysterious school club known as SKET Dan, which functions practically as a “Helper’s Club.” The organization consists of three main characters who work together to help people who come to them with requests. The main characters are Bossun, who is the club leader and a brilliant detective when he has his goggles on; Himeko, who is from Osaka and is an excellent close combat fighter when she has her street hockey stick (and she always does); and Switch, a strange boy in glasses who talks through his computer and is a powerful strategist. The club ends up drawing many different colorful characters with odd requests, and this eventually ends up putting the club at odds with the Student Council.
SKET stands for English words Support, Kindness, Encouragement, and Troubleshoot. These function as the primary guiding principles for the club.
In 2011 and 2012, SKET Dance was my favorite anime. This is really strange because I am not much of a fan of comedies. I really loved it because SKET Dance is built on layers of characters and their personal struggles. I believe the show was at it’s best when it dives into the difficulties in the characters’ lives. Each main character has a serious struggle that they have gone through or are fighting through, but the show doesn’t show them striving to overcome them on their own. Instead it shows a sense of family and community that help them overcome. They then try and do the same for others.
I highly recommend SKET Dance, especially for a younger audience. The show definitely falls into the genre of shōnen comedy, but it lacks a lot of the vulgarity of similar series. The show does deal with struggles that many middle school and high school students will be familiar with. I believe the show is also fitting for adults as well, because of the depth of character development and the fact that it is just funny. The one complaint I do voice about the show is episode 1. The first episode is meant to introduce the club, but the story is completely irrelevant to the series and it is a bit painful to get through. You can watch it, but you don’t need to.
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Haha that’s funny. I saw this thing get posted about 3-8 hours after i added sket dance to my queue on cruchyroll. I stopped it because the first episode seemed dumb… well you’ve convinced me I’m supposed to watch this show. 🙂