It’s called fan service! Oh, you’re talking about the trap…
Buckle in, ladies and gentlemen, because Sabagebu! might very well be the most American anime ever made. You’ve got everything you need: big voluptuous breasts and lots of guns! The only thing missing is the abundance of American flags.
Okay, I’ll be serious now. Sabagebu!, also known as Survival Game Club, is an adaptation of a manga series that’s been running for a few years now. The basic premise follows a first year high school transfer student, Momoka Sonokawa, and how she finds herself accidentally joining a club for survival games at her new school, which happens to be an all-girls school. The girls who are in the club proceed to use BB guns and battle each other. From what I can gather, that’s about the gist of the entire series.
Sabagebu! is advertised as a comedy, and with a premise like that, what else could it be? Most of the comedic parts come from the girls’ imagination and how they take BB guns so seriously. In one scene, all of the girls are playing a 2-3 match, and people are getting killed! Of course, it’s all make-believe, but the fact that the series is presented in this way does make it funny, but I can see that charm running its course very quickly.
Obligatory click-bait image
As first episodes go, this one is pretty good in its own right. It does a good job at introducing the main and supporting characters and giving us the most essential back story on the main character. With shows like this, it’s highly unlikely that we’re going to see any of these girls interacting with people outside of the club, so at least we don’t get any back story that would make us interested in any of these characters, or interested enough to want to hear why they are the way they are. Because there’s the probability that we’re not going to know anything about these characters other than the bare essentials, I’m already getting pretty disinterested in the show.
Artistically, this anime actually looks quite good. I’d say that it’s not really unique, but it’s better than the standard today. The character design has a nice touch to it, and it helps the series stand out from the ocean of generic looking shows that we get every season. Although the art is nice, the music isn’t very memorable. The opening and ending are also quite bland. These aspects shouldn’t be deal breakers though.
What can I even say to add to this?
Comedies like this can be completely hit-or-miss for most people, and I’m no exception. Although it’s a completely self-aware parody of action anime (self-aware comedies are my favorite, after all), I don’t know if I’m going to stay on board for much longer. Sure, it has its funny moments, but it doesn’t have anything else I’m looking for in an anime, and it looks like a show that will get old quickly. However, I’d have to say that if you’re on the fence about Sabagebu!, at least give the first episode a shot (lol puns). At least I laughed a few times during this episode. That’s more than I can say for some other shows in the summer lineup so far.
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Ben
20 year old university student studying economics by day, snooty anime blogger by night! I have high standards for anime, but I also keep an open mind when it comes to shows outside my comfort area, which usually includes dialogue-heavy drama. Always happy to have a discussion.
Latest posts by Ben (see all)
- Summer Anime 2014: Sabagebu! Impressions - July 8, 2014
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