Sakamoto desu ga?

Let’s just say it’s been a stressful day, so I wanted some comedy in my life. I’ve also been wanting to read something with a glasses wearing protagonist (I have no explanation >.>; ), so it seemed like the perfect time to read this xD

Sakamoto desu ga

(image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haven%27t_You_Heard%3F_I%27m_Sakamoto)

I don’t own this manga, so I’ll be reading fan translations online.

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

Review time!

2.5 stars

Plot: 0 stars. As far as I can tell, this manga doesn’t have a plot. Each chapter is very episodic and self contained. Each chapter has its own purpose, but it’s usually “<classmate> wants to mess with Sakamoto; Sakamoto turns it around”. So, even the mini-plots of the series fail. Since it does not develop a plot, nor do the mini plots pan out, I have to give this 0 stars.

Art: 1 star. I like the art in this manga. Each character looks unique; they have different facial structures and body types, as well. I can tell what’s going on in each panel, and expressions are always well done. I actually really love the shading in the hair and eyes; it’s very picturesque.

Story Progression: 1/2 star. Like I said before, each chapter is self contained and episodic. Since they don’t form a cohesive story, it’s actually harder for the manga to keep my attention. There’s nothing to draw me into the next chapter which isn’t a bad thing, but I didn’t get sucked into this story. I honestly got bored a lot >.<; I have to give this only half a star since it couldn’t keep my attention. A lot of people really enjoy episodic series, but I am not one of them >.>;

Genre: 1/2 star. This manga is listed as a comedy, but I didn’t laugh very much. In all honesty, I laughed the most at the end of chapter gags than I did in the actual story. This isn’t to say the manga is not funny. This sort of humor appeals to a lot of people -I’ve heard a lot of praise about this series which is why I decided to read it! Unfortunately, it’s just not my kind of humor. I can only give this half of a star since I did not find it funny despite it being a comedy. You could maybe also call this a school life, maybe slice of life, maybe even supernatural (since I’m half convinced that Sakamoto’s an alien).

Enjoyment: 1/2 star. This manga was alright. I got bored a lot, and I didn’t find it funny, but the shenanigans were interesting, and the art was nice. Despite always knowing that Sakamoto was going to succeed, I was never able to guess how he would do it. This manga surprised me in a lot of ways. It had some really touching scenes; it could be a bit disturbing in other times. The art made me feel a lot thanks to linework, line weight, shading, etc. It’s expressive. This isn’t a bad read, and if it was my kind of humor, I probably would have loved this series. Since I wasn’t miserable (but I also wasn’t elated), I’ll give this half a star.

Sorry if I seem harsh in this review. I really didn’t think this manga would score so low, but here we are <=/ I can’t put this on my recommended manga list, but I do think that you should check it out if it fits your type of humor or if you enjoy episodic series.

To read my review from the start, then please click <here>.

Sakamoto desu ga?, part 3

Part 1, part 2

Sakamoto desu ga

(image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haven%27t_You_Heard%3F_I%27m_Sakamoto)

I don’t own this manga, so I’ll be reading fan translations online. I am going to be doing shorthand as I read. These descriptions are really more of a reminder to myself about what all I have been able to read so far. Sorry if this bothers anyone! I will do a full description on the final review page of each series I read.

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

ch15: it’s sports day, and class 1-2 is excited to win with Sakamoto in their class, but Sera reminds them that they could impress girls if they take out Sakamoto. they delay him in stage 1 for snagging bread off of rope, but he wins and gives part of his bread to the other runners like the good guy he is. stage 2, the human pyramid, also fails; Sakamoto gets all the fangirls, even the old ladies. stage 3 is the relay, and Sera ties Sakamoto’s shoelaces together. Sakamoto runs like a cheetah instead and somehow gets in the lead anyway. when he passes the baton to the girl, though, she drops it because it was slippery (it was in his mouth). Sakamoto asks Sera (who finishes the race) to please protect her drive since she didn’t give up despite everyone hating on her. Sera takes the heat off her by stripping during his run. the school’s so disgusted they forget about the girl. during lunch, she says he looks handsome sometimes 😉

ch16: for the festival, the delinquents are making cotton candy, and someone who’s been gone returns. he wants to know who Sakamoto is, but <awesome guy> won’t say. he gets injured for withholding the information. Sakamoto’s class is making “unknown things” out of balloons, but motivation is low. 2 girls are still willing to try, though, so Sakamoto does help. 2 classmates still think it’s stupid and leave, and scary guy approaches them. the next morning, all the class’s hard work has been shredded, and Sakamoto’s been framed

ch17: scary guy says the wanted posters are a game for the festival, so people start chasing Sakamoto to get the reward. the 2 slackers come back with more balloons to help put the exhibit back together since Sakamoto’s not around to help (so Idk if they’re guilty for shredding it?). the delinquents cause a distraction so Sakamoto can evade capture and later explain about the bad guy, Fuuze. he’s a bored adult who likes to eliminate the popular kid from schools because he can; he manipulates people with a game that isolates the popular kid. when Sakamoto gets back to class, he gets isolated but realizes how to fix it. he leaves, and a girl called A-ko/Eiko confesses to popping the balloons. the 2 slackers get hyper sensitive to it and incriminate themselves, and Eiko turns out to be Sakamoto with helium. they just wanted to be included, and they feel bad now. everyone teams up, and with the delinquents, their class event turns into a success thanks to cotton candy. Fuuze vs Sakamoto doesn’t seem to be over yet

ch18: 3 girls recall when they met Sakamoto. 1, during exams; she dropped her eraser because her hands were cold. Sakamoto caught it and rubbed it against his desk to warm it before giving it back; her hands stopped being cold. 2, terrible storm on the way to school flipped her umbrella. Sakamoto’s umbrella was also broken, but he appreciated the rain; now she loves rain. 3, she dropped her new textbooks, and Sakamoto caught them. she’s kept her stuff orderly ever since. Kubota recalls meeting Sakamoto when his band-aid fell off and almost exposed the pimple on his ring finger. Sakamoto picked it up and put it back. all the girls are jealous xD

ch19: Kubota gets sick, and his mom takes his place at school in order to get close with Sakamoto again. she works very hard to seem like her son, and Sakamoto doesn’t even realize who she is until during gym class. I’m honestly impressed that she repressed her urges so well! all she’s wanted is to touch Sakamoto, but when she falls and he offers to help her up, she stands by herself because she realizes it’s wrong to trick Sakamoto with her son’s image. after gym, the boys are hyper fixated on boobs, and Sakamoto gets their attention off “Kubota”. she asks him to be her friend, and he agrees ❤ she’d broken a dish during gym (what chopsticks rest on; Idk why she brought it with her), and he’d fixed it for her ❤ also her son’s recovering xD

ch20: it’s Christmas, and Sakamoto gets invited to a group date by a couple college guys who need a 3rd. the guys talk smooth, so he’s convinced to join. the girls aren’t interested at first, but this is Sakamoto; he finds a way to steal the show, as always. he leaves after epic karaoke that overfills the room with fans, leaving the 2 guys alone

ch21: my fave delinquent (his name’s Hayabusa) has 3 younger siblings and no mother. his father met a woman and wants him to meet her at a fancy, French restaurant because he may marry her. Hayabusa begs Sakamoto to teach him etiquette, but there’s no time, so Sakamoto acts as his hands during the meal (baggy clothes, y’all). things go well; the dad and lady leave, and on the way home, Hayabusa and Sakamoto run into them getting mugged -except the woman set this up to steal from him! to save his father’s reputation, Hayabusa switches with Sakamoto and acts as his hands, defeating them all. dad passes out during the struggle, and Hayabusa carries him home, vowing to help cover his slack since he’s just doing his best for his family

ch22: Sakamoto’s never seen snow, so Atsushi (OG delinquent fanboy) decides to teach him about snow. between snow angels and snowmen, he feels inferior and Fuuze (called Fukase here? did I get it wrong before?) re-appears and tells him to challenge Sakamoto one-on-one and win or else he’ll never be Sakamoto’s equal. so they have a snowball fight, and Atsushi holds his own, but the cold’s getting to him. Sakamoto gives him a couple heating pads to help, but he still feels like a failure. Fuuze/Fukase tries to turn him against Sakamoto -“if only he wasn’t here” (so rude xP)

ch23: the year’s almost over, and Yuu-chan’s sharing pics. Atsushi wants a couple of Sakamoto, but he won’t let himself speak up even though pics are free. he’s so tense he won’t even attend the meeting of delinquents. Fukase (I think I was wrong before, oops xD) is going to fail again, and now Hayabusa’ll be in his class next year. he warns the others that if they don’t hold something dear tight in their hearts then Fukase can corrupt them. poor Atsushi gets corrupted T~T during the graduation speech, he goes up to the stage with a baseball bat and tells Sakamoto to disappear T^T

ch24: Sakamoto uses Atsushi as part of his speech, and when Atsushi falls from the balcony, Sakamoto catches him, even when Atsushi hits him with the bat, he won’t let go. he goes so far as to get pants in order to save Atsushi from himself, and it’s beautiful. Atsushi doesn’t get in trouble because the teachers don’t realize it was a real attack. in the infirmary, Sakamoto talks to Fukase who says graduation is like a stormy sea; he’s not willing to face the future and he thinks himself strong for it. Hayabusa’s ready to go take Fukase down himself, but Sakamoto has an idea. when the graduates leave, Hayabusa and the rest of the delinquents bow to him then carry him like a wave out of the room. he doesn’t come back to the school, and some say they see him on the beach later with a surfboard.
the year is ending, and Sakamoto’s transfering to the US to join a space program like he’s always wanted. Sera vows to become a comedian, Ai will get a killer body, and Atsushi will study until he can travel overseas, too. Kubota will never forget all that Sakamoto has done for him; they’ll all be friends forever. the class as a whole tries to pie Sakamoto as he leaves, and they fail. he catches a pie and leaves with it. Hayabusa comments that Sakamoto’s not really going to the US, and Sakamoto simply says “who knows” T.T the gym teacher sees Sakamoto last but doesn’t recognize him because he has pie all over his face

and so ends “Sakamoto Desu Ga?”. I’ll have my final review up next time, so please click here to read it!

Sakamoto desu ga?, part 2

To read part 1, click here.

Sakamoto desu ga (image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haven%27t_You_Heard%3F_I%27m_Sakamoto)

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

ch7: there’s a teacher that dislikes how Sakamoto’s always almost-late. since other teachers seem to turn to him to discipline students, he decides to catch Sakamoto breaking a rule in order to lecture him about his near-tardiness. throughout the chapter, he’s unable to, until finally in his own class, Sakamoto eats rice, provoking the teacher and being sent to stand in the hall. The teacher goes to check to make sure Sakamoto’s actually reflecting on his misconduct, but Sakamoto got kicked out on purpose because there was a dying sparrow in the hall, and he’s feeding it some of his rice (which is sort of sweet, but as far as I know, rice is bad for birds -which is why many people stopped throwing rice at weddings; it harmed the birds in the area). the teacher decides to be more lenient on Sakamoto’s almost-tardiness but still dislikes how Sakamoto scrapes by every day.

ch8: we see Sakamoto excel in several classes. in cooking class, he saves a slug within the lettuce. in art class, he draws someone’s inner and outer selves in one picture (Aina is both an orangutan and an angel, apparently). and during an emergency drill, a student from his class gets left behind while everyone else escapes the fire in the science lab. this student was in the restroom when the fire broke out. Sakamoto runs inside, douses himself in water, wraps a handkerchief around his nose and goes after the student. Sakamoto lowers him in a makeshift pouch before jumping out the window with a makeshift parachute.
on a side note, I think I laugh more from the random scenes at the end of the chapters than I do during the chapter itself x’D

ch9: the delinquents from class decide to dig a pit fall trap to demonstrate how “bad” they are. Sakamoto disappears into it, and they spend most of the chapter asking around to figure out where he went. a 2nd kid falls into the trap, and the delinquents realize a 2nd hole was dug. it seems impossibly deep, so the leader believes it leads to Brazil (the other side of the world) and thinks Sakamoto must be there. he jumps down because he wants to reach Sakamoto, saying admiring Sakamoto means more than simply watching. turns out, the hole’s not deep. also turns out, Sakamoto’s been in town without his school uniform on because it was in the cleaners; no one recognized him without it. he finds the delinquents and says he saw them digging and decided to help in their endeavors to find a hot spring. the leader returns Sakamoto’s uniform button that he’d thrown down the hole.

ch10: we’re seeing a lot of recurring characters now =O Hayabusa (worked for the big boss from ch5) has gotten curious about Sakamoto. as the leader of the 2nd years, he doesn’t like this 1st year getting so much attention. he tries to ask the big boss about Sakamoto, but big boss is still too traumatized. elsewhere, Kubota is asking Sakamoto for advice about a new hairstyle. Hayabusa asks to borrow Sakamoto’s face, so Sakamoto uses clay to imprint his image and hands it off. the girls in class go nuts and attack Hayabusa for it. he destroys it and calls Sakamoto out for later. Sakamoto tells his friends he can’t go because he has cleaning duty. Hayabusa’s lackeys overhear and decide they need to give Sakamoto incentive. they steal his shoes, so Sakamoto draws shoes over his socks xD they steal his ruler, so he uses a teacher’s straight hairstyle to hang a poster. so they shave Kubota’s head, and now Sakamoto’s mad. he meets Hayabusa outside and takes off his own glasses. it’s serious time O.O;
side note: I love that Sakamoto has the sparrow with him now ❤ Sakamoto seems to have a real soft spot for animals

ch11: before the fight can start, a policeman(?) sees the teens and calls out to them. they say they’re just playing push-sumo (or something), and the policeman decides to be the ref -because he loves his game. (basically, two opponents push each other until 1 has to move their feet to stay standing. whoever moves their feet loses). so, of course, the game goes on forever; it starts raining. the lackeys decide to try tripping Sakamoto to help their boss, but their boss sees them and gets onto them, saying that he would rather die than win with their help (he’s taking this very seriously). Sakamoto raises his arms, and everyone thinks he’s trying to hail down lightning. the boss still wants to fight, but then Sakamoto pushes him back– into a cab. he was just calling a cab xD he said the rain would give them colds. the lackeys fess up to shaving Kubota’s hair, and the boss is mad at them. Sakamoto has them buy supper ingredients as an apology. they all arrive at Kubota’s house and give him wakame (which I think is believe to increase hair growth?), and they all apologize to Kubota. he invites them all to eat with him -Sakamoto’s vanished by the time they get to the house, btw. later, we see Sakamoto with the nurse, helping her with stuff. he’s gotten a cold, but instead of letting her treat him, he ties a negi onion around his neck like a tie (they’re a folk remedy for colds according to the translation notes)

ch12: some younger boys make a game of kicking a rock all the way home from school (if you lose it, you lose). Sakamoto’s doing the same ahead of them, but he’s way better and most of the kids are impressed. the leader’s mad because he’s impatient to grown up and do that, too. the next day, they’re going to walk the white line without falling. Sakamoto’s already doing it, and the leader decides they have to follow if they ever want to grow up. they follow until it’s dark out, and the line ends. Sakamoto offers a roll of toilet paper to the leader, but he slaps it away, thinking it’s an insult. instead, it unrolls and forms a new white line for them to follow. at the end, the kids see one of their moms and they bolt. but the leader goes back for Sakamoto’s autograph, tearing off part of the toilet paper to get it (this was a kind of sweet chapter; I felt the boy’s energy and determination)

ch13: the class president secretly takes pictures of Sakamoto, and in a picture, she spots a ghost. she wants to warn him about the haunting but doesn’t want to reveal that she’s been taking his picture. she asks Kubota what to do, and he says she might be similar to the ghost. she finally realizes this is true when she hides and takes pictures of him from the shadows, being separate from reality and in the shadows, like a ghost. during a “rapid capture” series, she realizes the ghost is trying to say something; it’s a love confession to Sakamoto. she feels so compelled to tell him of this ghost’s feelings that she prints the pictures and shows him how the ghost says it. he walks off to do her copying assignment that she neglected, and she feels like she’s become hated by him. but he photocopies his face saying “thank you” back. the ghost stops haunting him, and the class prez now feels confident in taking his picture openly

ch14: the delinquents want Sakamoto to rent them some 18+ videos because they can’t get past the curtain. they hold a dvd he wants hostage, so he agrees. he gets a massive collection for them, and they guide him to the register, dodging 3 of their classmates. but when Kubota’s mom’s in 1 of the sections, Sakamoto detours and gets caught by Aina! he smoothly changes the subject from his dvds and even hides them on a shelf so they go unnoticed. at the register, he’s greeted by a manager who believes he’s not 18 yet. the manager tries to shake Sakamoto up by questioning his age, but Sakamoto powers through, saying the dvds will be returned THAT NIGHT and even looks at his watch (a hand-drawn rolex) and says that time is money, can we hurry this up? the manager is so mind blown that he allows the transaction (btw, Sakamoto used a rental card from 1 of the delinquents -which belonged to an older brother). when Sakamoto hands off the dvds to the group, they invite him to watch with them, but he says “oh look at the time” to his fake watch and leaves x’DDD they believe Sakamoto’s not mentally ready to see these sorts of dvds, and if he’s not ready, then how could they be ready? they return all the dvds immediately

and that’s it for this time! To keep reading with me, then please click here.

Sakamoto desu ga?, part 1

Sakamoto desu ga (image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haven%27t_You_Heard%3F_I%27m_Sakamoto)

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

Ch1) some bullies in class try to embarrass Sakamoto, but after all 3 attempts fail (eraser from door, throw water into bathroom stall, and throw desk out window), they decide to get serious. They make a classmate trick him into visiting the science lab after school. They intend to strip him and send naked pics of him to every girl in class (don’t do this, guys), but somehow, all their cigarettes catch fire. And the door’s locked, so they’re trapped inside. Sakamoto starts jumping around back and forth, and the others think he’s trying to make a draft to put out the fire, so they do it, too. The teachers below hear the ruckus, and the fire gets put out. Sakamoto takes the blame for the fire, and the 1 bad guy debates using the 1^st pic he took of Sakamoto -still clothed- as his phone background

Ch2) a magazine model in their class wants to be center of attention, but every time he tries to put down Sakamoto, it fails. Finally, during a class, a giant hornet enters the room. The girls run out, and the teacher tells the remaining boys to take off their black uniforms because the color’s attracting the hornet. Model boy (Sera) tries to refuse, but he gets scared and obeys. Sakamoto’s still doing their assignment. The bee charges him, but Sera tries to swat it. It aims for Sera now, and Sakamoto duels it before finally catching and releasing it. He also finished the assignment. Sera decides to go into comedy, but Sakamoto refuses to be his partner.

Ch3) Sakamoto apparently regularly visits a bird? He also sees a classmate being shaken down for money. To help, he makes the classmate work with him at McDonald’s. The classmate just wants free money and plans to quit, but then the manager praises him. He works hard for his pay check and is proud of it. When his assailants find him at work, they try to shake him down, but he refuses to give them HIS money. Sakamoto assists with defending him, and the classmate realized he really need to defend his pride. In his own way, Sakamoto encourages him.

Ch4) A girl in class likes Sakamoto, so she tries to win him over, but all her techniques fail. A couple other girls dislike her because she can be ruthless in her pursuits. Her final attempt involved basically a Ouija board. When her rivals offered to play, too, Sakamoto bowed out just to watch. When they accidentally push the coin from the board, Sakamoto becomes possessed! The god demands a 6ft torii to release Sakamoto -by the end of the day!! The rivals decide to use desks, but Aina (main girl for this) has never lifted anything heavier than a chair. The rivals continue without her, dismissing her feelings for Sakamoto. When a desk starts to fall, though, Aina steps up and joins in. They finish the torii, and Sakamoto is released. The girls all go home together, and Sakamoto is impressed that Aina’s book was right about how to bring people together. He was faking!
Also, on a side note, he can look through people to read the board O_O

Ch5) Sakamoto becomes a 2^nd year’s gopher. He does everything so well that his boss gets lazier and lazier until even giving orders seems like too much work. He promotes Sakamoto by ordering him to serve the boss by his own whims. Man, that was a mistake xD Sakamoto goes overboard, and by the end of the chapter, he’s dismissed. The boss is now buying his own bread.

Ch6) Sakamoto helps a classmate study, and his mom falls in love with Sakamoto. To the point that the classmate now has to hide Sakamoto when he comes over. After forgetting his science book at school, though, Sakamoto’s left at his house. And his mom starts to look for him. He finally has to convince her that he’s actually from tv and not of her world. It breaks her heart. Her son takes care of her after that. It’s sweet, sad, and a bit creepy.

And that’s it for this time! This manga’s a lot different than I expected O.o But thanks for reading with me, and if you’d like to read more, then please click here.