Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto

Episode 5

This week, Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto tries its hand at slightly longer-form storytelling. Given its gag-heavy nature, it's not hard to see why this show works so well as a multi-segmented affair, but much wackier series (like Gintama) have fluctuated between half-hour stories and multiple segments without emerging any worse for wear. So it makes sense for HYH? I'm S (as the kids are calling it) to change things up on occasion. Although episode 5 technically contains three segments, the first is a cold open and the third is a brief end-cap, while the middle segment eats up the bulk of the runtime.

This week's guest character is Hayabusa, the cool-headed bishonen delinquent we briefly met in episode 3. After seeing how traumatized Sakamoto's hyper-vigilant sycophancy left Maruyama, the pony-tailed bad boy seeks to settle the score with Gakubun High's most popular freshman. However, Sakamoto's (feigned?) ignorance of Hayabusa's bad vibes prompts the latter's underlings to antagonize the titular hero in the hopes of instigating a fight. Little do these punks realize that no one is better at turning lemons into lemonade than Sakamoto. True to form, he uses each of their mean-spirited pranks to his full advantage. When Hayabusa's thugs unceremoniously give Kubota (who had been gleefully perusing new hairstyles) a buzz cut, Sakamoto agrees to engage their leader in a brawl-turned-sumo match.

Set against a tension-building downpour, the intense sumo match is the series' longest action sequence so far, although a number of animation shortcuts are utilized in its execution. I love how Hayabusa assumed Sakamoto came up with the sumo match idea on the spot in an effort to shake off a nosy policeman—in actuality, it seems like the bespectacled man-god had his heart set on a sumo match all along. Of course, in true Sakamoto fashion, he not only emerges victorious, but he also gains three new admirers. (Still, why do Acchan and friends ultimately conclude that Hayabusa is cooler than Sakamoto? Because he's a fellow delinquent? Is it possible for Sakamoto to lose his magic hold over people?)

Like previous installments, episode 5's simplistic setup is deftly overshadowed by an assortment of effective gags. As usual, there's no doubt that Sakamoto will effortlessly triumph over his latest adversaries, but the fun lies in seeing which ingenious tricks he has up his sleeve this time around. While the narrative beats remain predictable, the jokes that get us from Point A to Point B are anything but. At this point, Sakamoto himself can best be described as a predictably unpredictable character. Even though we know things won't end well for his aggressors, the unique ways in which his perfection comes out are consistently surprising.

Episode 5 also contains a number of fun callbacks to previous stories and features more continuity than any other installment to date. In many respects, it functions as a loose sequel to the first half of episode 3. Every supporting character introduced thus far makes an appearance. From Acchan and his cronies to Kakuta-sensei, all of Sakamoto's enemies-turned-friends pop in to say hi. While this show doesn't feature as strong a supporting cast as the concurrently-airing Tanaka-kun is Always Listless, these characters work reasonably well in small doses. Still, this is Sakamoto's show, and he carries it nicely.

Although this week's tale could probably have been covered in half the runtime—and the sumo match went on a little too long-—there isn't a single boring moment in the entire twenty-odd minutes. Sakamoto admiring his handiwork from outside Kubota's apartment (a safe distance from Kubota's mom) at the end of the main story is symbolic of the series on the whole. In his own bizarre way, Sakamoto enlightens his peers and facilitates their personal growth, providing the rest of us with plenty of laughs in the process.

Rating: A-

Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for over two decades.