Anime Hajime Review: Sabagebu

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Sabagebu. Reader discretion is advised.*** 

Series Synopsis

Momoka Sonokawa’s (voiced by Ayaka Ohashi) family is always on the move. She has the transfer student routine down pat. She knows what she needs to say to make friends and make friends fast. Even though, she couldn’t care less. She’s been to too many schools too many times and has become rather jaded.

Things like clubs and activities hold little interest for Momoka. A stern no is usually enough to get people to back off. That is until she meets Miou Ootori (voiced by Yumi Uchiyama). The President of the Survival Game Club.

The President doesn’t take no for an answer. Especially after she sees Momoka possesses a natural talent for the sport. One way or another, the President will have her newest member.

Despite her heavy reluctance, Momoka fits in immediately. Her nice girl façade gets shattered. Her true, selfish nature comes out. 

Property damage and police warning are a daily occurrence. But this will not stop the Survival Game Club. At any moment, they are ready to fight.

Series Positives

I came out of this getting more than expected. I believed this would be serviceable, but still a throwaway comedy. It would do what it needed to do. There might be a few good chuckles. There would even be a solid hit if I were lucky. Then that would be the end of it. Over, done with, on to the next.

Momoka

Sabagebu turned out to be a real gem. I was always having fun with this series. It was strange, silly, and a blast. This is the kind of surprise I like coming across.

The President

The premise alone was what caught my attention. Having now finished it, I’m a little astonished there aren’t more like it. The survival game angel is a bit of an untapped resource. One Sabagebu took advantage of.

Thought it could’ve gone further, where it did go was a great start.

The Fights

If these weren’t frequent, there wouldn’t have been any point. I’m glad Sabagebu agreed. The gunfights were always front and center.

At the start, this series indicated there would be standard battles. If not a little over imaginative. They would be, at least by comedic standards, “legitimate”. Then faster than you can blink, that got thrown right out the window.

These fights were outstanding. Sabagebu did a wonderful job balancing these. They were intense enough to remain competitive. Yet they were never gut-wrenching or serious. I was going to say, “not over dramatic”. Except in some cases, they were. And they were hilarious.

Matches were ridiculous. Don’t be expecting realism. Actually, no. Expect realism. It makes it all the more entertaining.

Plus, a brawl could break out anywhere at any time for any reason. A shootout was never far away. And they only got bigger and more insane. It got to the point where skirmishes turned into full blown warzones. And the “casualty” count began rocketing off the charts. The finale was the pinnacle and was quite the spectacle.

Also, the movie homages, while not surprising, were a nice touch. Sabagebu threw in a Predator reference. You wouldn't believe how happy I was to see that.

The Characters

Everyone was the worst kind of person. And it was fantastic.

There were no friendly characters. There wasn’t anyone who was nice. They were all jerks. They were all mean spirited. They were all rude, vindictive, and prone to violence. When given a choice between helping or hurting, they’d find ways to degrade ever more.

Momoka was the vilest of the bunch. The degree to which her mean-spiritedness went knew no limit. She was self-centered and cared little for the well-being of others. To do anything requiring the smallest amount of effort was a pain. Though if you paid her, there was almost nothing she wouldn’t do.

During survival games, Momoka played to win. The method didn’t matter. If it meant coming out on top, she would do it. Shoot first and ask questions never. Unarmed or disadvantage players were fair game. She could’ve been fighting the old and feeble. Something which happened and she wasn’t even fazed.

Now Momoka may have been the most aggressive, the President was the flashiest. She spoke in grand speeches. She carried herself in a stoic fashion. When it came to survival games, the challenge was everything. Too bad that was all she thought about.

Everything the President did she did for her own self-interest. But she always made herself sound like she spoke for the greater good. For instance, she came to Momoka’s defense when Momoka was dealing with a group of bullies. However, the President didn’t hesitate to slip Momoka sleeping pills. All for the purpose of having Momoka hand in her club application form “in person”.

I could continue with the rest. Urara’s (voiced by Rumi Okubo) and her bouts of jealousy mixing with her deep-rooted masochism. Kayo’s (voiced by Nao Toyama) with her cold and biting logic. And Maya’s (voiced Lynn) childish gullibility. How is any of this a good thing? Much less fantastic?

Because it was all directed towards each other. It was all self-contained. Every trick. Every tease. Every bit of nastiness was warranted. As well as deserved. And no one ever got away with any of it.

Whenever Momoka was at her meanest, it got returned tenfold. The President was predictable and was actually easy to beat. Everyone clawed at each other’s throat. Yet at the end of the day, they would come back together. Only to do it all again. And again. And again.

The club and these characters made this show so much fun.

Series Negatives

As I was saying earlier, Sabagebu ran with its material. Yet there was still so much more that could’ve been done.

There were a few segments which had little to do with survival games. They did help us get to know the characters. They weren’t pointless. And they were fine. I’m glad they were around. Except they did highlight a lot of the repetition.

How a fight would go was unpredictable. But the outcome would be the same. Momoka would come out on top more often than not. Since she had to do some rather underhanded and dirty tactics to do that, it was never obnoxious.

Except she didn’t win all the time. Those were the more enjoyable games. It would have been nice to see the victory spread out a bit. Showcase a few more characters. Give them the time to shine for a bit.

Along with that, there could’ve been more challengers. Off hand, I can only think of four times where the survival club fought other teams. There could’ve been more variety.

While we’re at it, this show could’ve gone crazy with its locations and its scenarios. Despite how ridiculous Sabagebu was, I can’t help but feel there was some reservation.

None of this was a huge problem. None of this was an big issue. The series did more than enough. This wasn’t something holding the show back.

No, there was something else that did that.

The Narration

What was this?

My heart died a little when I realized this was going to be a thing. Sabagebu didn’t need this. It was distracting from how unnecessary it was.

Just shut up.

I don’t want everything explained to me. I don’t need everything explained to me. This was not a hard show to follow. My knowledge of survival games is casual at best. And still, I knew what was happening.

I don’t even want to hear that it was all a joke. The series even commented on how people didn’t want to listen to the ceaseless narration. Multiple times it did this. I couldn’t agree more.

I don’t need to be told of the player’s imagination. I don’t need to be told every technical term. I don’t need to be told Momoka’s a horrible person. Even if it was an attempt at meta-humor. It was a joke that wasn’t funny.

It was never funny.

Have anyone of you ever seen the original animated George of the Jungle. That’s a perfect example of how a narrator can be part of the cast. So, I know it can be done. Yet for some reason, I haven't seen it work in an anime.

This is a glaring annoyance to an otherwise highly entertaining show.

Final Thoughts

I don’t like the narration. It was a self-imposed obstacle this show needed to overcome. But overcome Sabagebu did.

Despite this series' one stupid feature, it was a lot of fun.

The action was over the top and entertaining. This show knew how to have a good time. The character were horrible people. But they were what made everything worth it. They were what made something which could’ve been forgettable, great.

Sabagebu was a treat. It was a surprise. And it’s worth taking a look at.

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