AKA: 斉木楠雄のΨ難 Ψ始動編 ; The Disastrous Life of Saiki K Starting Arc

Genre: Comedy/Fantasy

Length: Web release, 6 episodes, 22 minutes each

Distributor: Currently available streaming on Netflix.

Content Rating: TV-14 (Mature themes, violence.)

Related Series: Seasons One, Two, and "Three" (see Notes); a game; a live-action film.

Also Recommended: SKET Dance.

Notes: Based on manga by Shuichi Aso, published by Shueisha in Weekly Shonen Jump. Seasons One and Two are already reviewed on THEM, while "Season 3" (by the Netflix reckoning) only comprises two 23-minute episodes; by that Netflix reckoning, the show being reviewed here is Season 4

Rating:

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K: Reawakened

Synopsis

Saiki Kusuo's high-speed stream-of-consciousness continues, as he copes with perpetual annoyance by those who consider themselves his "friends".

Review

I think this show's tendency to do everything at warp speed may be even worse in this short (6 episodes) continuation; in particular, at one point Saiki is displaying some oddball "useless" powers, and the thing was going so fast that I was simply unable to appreciate the sight gags here at all. Granted, others might feel differently; Grampa's mental processing speed is at a relatively Commodore 64 level these days, after all.

But this "season" of the show had several other scenarios that really weren't working for me. These included some business with a lost dog that started it off, as well as Nendou and Kaido's contest in a Yu-Gi-Oh! style card game. (Though it's possible that my opinion of the latter was colored by the fact that I kind of like Kaidou (or at least sympathize with his haplessness), and was thus not that happy with how this went.) This time the show also "mellows out" Teruhashi, and that's just WRONG; what makes Teruhashi interesting (NOT charming, oh no, never THAT) is her egocentrism.

Of course this abbreviated season is not without its rewards. As Saiki's meta-awareness explicitly acknowledges, it was time for the show to introduce some freshness via a new transfer student, and of course, as he ALSO notes, it couldn't be a "normal" student. Her name is Hii Suzumiya (NO relation to Haruhi), and the poor girl has the worst luck of any human being on Earth. As expected, the show does its best to set her up for disaster. (Hii: "The chemistry teacher asked me to bring some chemicals. I have to bring sulfuric acid, potassium cyanide, and nitroglycerin.") Despite her tendency to misfortune, Hii gets two potential suitors, but Saiki feels the need to put his supernatural thumb on the scales in favor of just one of them.

Mikoto Aiura is back; we find that she's working as a professional psychic in an establishment that...well, looks like a very DIFFERENT sort of business entirely. I liked Mikoto a little more this time- it turns out that she's generous with her psychic gifts, which Saiki gives her a hard time over because he thinks her generosity might eventually cause HIM problems. (While he's feigned indifference to ordinary humans before, HERE he sometimes comes across as a nearly pure misanthrope.)

SPEAKING of Saiki's lack of generosity, it does lead to a nifty sight gag when childhood acquaintance (and royal pain) Akechi turns up again. I'm with Saiki here- I can't stand this guy either- but at least they keep his appearance brief, and focused, this time. (If the event they're watching is occurring in real time rather than just a recording- and since Saiki is able to interact with the "participants", I would assume this is the case- then I can't understand why Saiki's precognition wouldn't work here.)

A bit too short, and some of this, as I said, wasn't working for me- and Saiki himself comes off as somewhat more unpleasant than he's been in the other seasons. There are still some great moments, but the only sustained engrossing storyline here is Hii's tale of woe. The chemistry teacher's philosophy about student safety seems strikingly similar to that of the chem teacher in SKET Dance, by the way. — Allen Moody

Recommended Audience: No nudity per se, but vulgarity, mature themes, and some violence, as per usual with this series. Netflix rates TV-14.