Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
jellohh
100% worth watching in the present day still, the animation, music and story all hold up. Some of the best animation from shaft it has a unique art style that suits it well. The story is like if you were blindfolded on a rollercoaster, you don't know where its going next. Even in the first few minutes it does not pull its punches.
An anime that kept on giving episode after episode its only real weak point was its ending. The ending was very dissatisfying and felt very rushed and to be honest it leaves you with even more questions than you had throughout watching it. If you don't like raunchy or random = funny anime though then this probably isn't for you. Although if you like shafts other work don't be afraid to give this one a try you'll be happy you did.
Read at the sourceSgtSalamander
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai is a well-produced, pretty anime that has no real clue exactly what it is, and suffers for it. It gets off to an alright, albeit weird, start, but soon enough gets lost in its own story, as though its trying to chase down its own identity, or catch us somehow off guard with a bold tonal shift. Is it an ecchi comedy? SoL? Horror? Who knows? Certainly not Sasami-san@Ganbaranai. Beginning with the story, it's as I said- scattered, uncoordinated, messy, and nonsensical, with an (un)healthy helping of incest throughout. But, at the start, it seems intriguing despite the general strangeness. Sasami being a rather well-written hikkikomori, the show seems to be setting us up for a kind of Haruhi-style world-manipulation plot, which would have been cool if they continued down…
Read at the sourceWangan_King
Studio SHAFT is well known for delivering unique anime experiences that tend to break the mould of what we define anime as. Weird direction, overly-dramatic animation and sleek style is the signature of the studio and big names such as Monogatari, Madoka Magica and Nisekoi all benefited from this.
In this review though, we look at a less-known title of theirs, where they decided to crank the dial of crack in whatever they're smoking up to 11. Of course, the title I'm referring to is "Sasami-san@Ganbaranai".
The anime is about a girl named Sasami who we first meet as a shut-in NEET living a comfy life under the care of her slightly mad-with-passion brother. She doesn't feel like trying hard at life, but eventually weird things start to happen in the world around Sasami and it's up to her…
Read at the sourceephemerry
"Sasami-san@Ganbaranai" is something you don't see everyday. The manic, hybrid-fusion between Japanese mythology and niche, otaku neologisms. Despite the slathering-on of Studio Shaft's sensual sense of comedy, the light novel adaptation (originally written by the author, known as ※Akira) rivals NISIOISIN. Ameliorating common bishōjo tropes, to create a series full of twists, turns, and towering lore!
※Akira is famously known for the writing the series, Kyōran Kazoku Nikki. The aforementioned series received an anime adaptation in 2008!
⚠️ This review will be spoiler-free ⚠️
—Story/Characters
Usually Shaft Studios is hit-or-miss for me, but I feel that Mr. Shinbō's animation style suites it perfectly. I wasn't the biggest fan of how Nomad adapted Kyōran Kazoku Nikki, but the otaku-hum…
Read at the sourceMedeaMedea
This is my second time watching Sasami-san, I didn't remember ANYTHING about this anime, except one thing, the feeling that it was somewhat "special", and in short that's the best way of describing it that i can find.
This anime isn't good, isn't bad, and it ain't mediocre either, the story and characters are fun but lack any kind of real development. Everything it's as if I'm supposed to know previews events or entities that are presented. It has this monogatari series feel to it (hell it's even has the same animation studio), but having only one season so clustered with information and things that are never explained just makes this anime fall real deep into oblivion.
In short, Sasami-san has lots of potential that was and will sadly never be explored, it'll stay as this "special" ani…
Read at the sourcemouthpiece
THE STAFF
Once upon a time there was a studio called SHAFT, which hired a man named Simbo Akiyuki and created one very good school comedy called Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei (SZS). It sold so well, it kept making more similar comedies, and even though none of them were as good as the first, they kept making money out of the fame they got thanks to it. And this is why we get Sasami-san at Ganbaranai at present time
PROPER MINDSET
What made SZS so good was the simple fact it had a character for every possible situation. They could deal with any issue they could think of thanks to it, and half the time it would even be about social criticism. All the later comedies though had a far more narrowed space to move, and without ever trying to flesh out their characters past the first dimension, or at l…
Read at the sourceThe_Info_Broker
I was fooled by the synopsis...
Based on the synopsis I(and probably others as well) thought the anime would revolve around Sasami's(main character) struggles to fit in with society and her shut-in NEET life.
For the first few the episodes the anime did deliver this and i was really enjoying it until the mythological/supernatural element started to kick in which I REALLY WASNT expecting in such a context.
Usually the latter half of the episodes would be about supernatural/Japanese god stuff.
From what i have seen of Studio SHAFT , they really like to confuse their viewers by adding the most random stuff in their episodes or have a weirdly interesting sequence of frames that doesn't make much sense and isn't supposed to either and I thought the same thing was happening in this series as wel…
Read at the sourceearl_of_sandvich
What was billed was a story of a girl who cried a river and... er, sorry, who is a shut-in. What I didn't expect was a bizarre mix of sci-fi and Shinto.
Visually, this is some of Shaft's finest work. I loved the character designs, the mecha, and the backgrounds-- almost everything was very well polished, even the patented Shaft Neckbreaker Pose (TM). There was one filler frame (or animation hiccup) in broadcast, but in an understandable spot (at least they had the keyframe), and nothing that would actually break the illusion.
Episode 1 is basically the overture (to yet again abuse that opera reference). We are introduced to not only the world and characters, but also their dynamics (basically Onii-chan is everyone's whipping boy). In order to begin to get a grasp on the setting and premi…
Read at the sourceDjerabis
I almost dropped this on the first episode. Thought I was waching one kind of show and then it abruptly become something completly different without much explination. Thats no bad if you do it right, but this were not the case. The stupid characters (Only Sasami seems fine), the crazy random events and the incest jokes doesn't helped either. But I rarely judge by one episode, so I continued watching and soon found it somehow pretty enjoyable. The show manages to be always cleverly surprising and keeps improving on each episode. And even when there is not a propper plot underneath, there is a lot of mistery and touchy moments and I was always looking fordward to know what happens next. Characters don't get much better though. They just don't have enought screen-time to develop themself, eve…
Read at the sourceNSpectre7
Hey folks, this will be a review for Sasami-san@Ganbaranai. Unfortunately this wasn't very interesting to me. In fact it was very dull, not very Shafty, nor as wtf inducing as other reviewers would have you believe.
The story revolves around Sasami who holds the power of the the ultimate god which basically can control other gods. However this power backfires a lot(world turns to chocolate), also seems to be rather weak or non existent when in a pinch(other gods pick fights with her). Whether or not you take this show at face value like I am, or take it to be some wild illusion as the base synopsis hints at, your enjoyment and understanding of the show will be the same.
How they handle the story isn't terrible, in fact its really great for enjoying and understanding so I do give it prai…
Read at the sourceKyouko_Ayase
I recently had the pleasure of rewatching Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, and I think my view on this show is now more balanced than it used to be. I loved every episode save for the last three, and wanted to see if I would feel the same way again. Was Sasami-san@Ganbaranai as good as I thought it was? Read on to find out.
Now, I noticed this the first time I watched it, and it’s worth pointing out: the show isn’t deep. Though the story uses a lot of lore from Japanese mythos, it’s just a backdrop and reason for everything that happens in the show. Maybe it takes a few liberties with its source, and maybe it’ll annoy Japanese mythos junkies, but that would be missing the show’s true focus: a simple story about Sasami the shut-in as she’s watched by the three Yagami sisters—Tsurugi, Kagami, and Tam…
Read at the sourceSuratu
Following the massive successes of the Madoka and Monogatari franchises, Shaft found itself a sizable new fanbase, awaiting with bated breath, eager to bear witness to their next big hit. This eagerness was answered with the adaption of the light novel Sasami-san@Ganbaranai. Were these new fans sated by their new weekly dosage of still frames and headtilts? Let’s just say that these fans are still holding their breaths. Unfortunately for Shaft, the reception was quite the contrary. To call Sasami-san merely a disappointment would be an unforgivable understatement.
Perhaps the main problem of Sasami-san, much like Hataraku Maou-sama, is that it suffers from an enormous identity crisis. Is it an ecchi comedy? Is it an introspective commentary on hikkikomori shut-ins? Is it a dark, plot-cent…
Read at the sourceQuietDiscourse
In a dull season plagued by the predictable, describing this newest series as "different" would be a severe understatement. Enter Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, the front-runner for absurdity—playing the seductress, the shrew, the madwoman fueled by crack cocaine. Be forewarned. This is a genuine concoction of the bizarre, lacking any sense of direction, and indeed, having no concern for it. Sheer bewilderment becomes Sasami-san's very forte. Yet, this eccentricity is a double-edged sword, and considering the shallowness of Sasami-san's loony design, we're unfortunately left with a show that is plain disappointing.
Both a strength and a weakness, the plot is all over the place. In the first episode for example, Sasami spends her idle time stalking her brother from home via some unexplained form o…
Read at the sourceFireblazer51
Studio Shaft brings yet another unique artistic anime, that comes in the form of Sasami-san@Ganbaranai. Now, most people would shy away from even approaching this anime, due to its low average score below a 7. However, for a random anime I picked up due to the small hype that ran among my friends, going in expecting nothing comes out with something that is a hidden gem within the many piles of anime that are released every season.
Sasami-san begins with, most simply defined, an unclear plot. The first two episodes are, simply said, extremely random. However, as a plot eventually develops, one discovers that the plot, although with some focus about sasami's growing into society, is more random than the first two episodes. But it is extremely difficult to explain without revealing too much.…
Read at the sourceraritydash
Anime auteur Akiyuki Shinbo has with Studio Shaft directed a number of highly interesting, willfully off-kilter and generally amusing series. His work is always bold, with visual flair beyond the norm and he usually chooses to direct works with morbid or bizarre sensibilities and humor. Sasami-san@Gabaranai does not break the Shaft mold in the slightest, but it does reaffirm how well it can work. It's a very strange but thoroughly fun ride.
Shaft's knack for good visuals keeps the series looking strong. Perhaps some of the tricks used are there to keep the costs down; it doesn't matter, the anime looks distinctive and often beautiful. The characters are attractive, the action fluid. The actors also play their parts well and the music is kept fittingly quirky. The opening theme is energeti…
Read at the sourceKaiserLos24
May contain spoilers.
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai/Sasami-san@unmotivated is about Sasami Tsukuyomi, a 16-year old shut-in who relies heavily on her brother, Kamiomi Tsukuyomi who has an intense love for her, exceeding that of sibling love. The story revolves around them, and the three Yagami sisters: Tsurugi, Kagami and Tama.
Now, when I watched the first two episodes, I was like "What the f*ck is happening?" I mean, everything turning into chocolate? A 30-year old woman in a kid's body wielding a sword? A cyborg? A hot 9-year old that can jump real high and stuff? It'll really put you in a situation where you don't know what is going on. Now some of you might drop it after the first episode. But don't.It gets better, and eventually everything makes sense.
Apparently, Sasami holds the power…
Read at the sourceGibgezr
If you like SHAFT at their best, you should be very happy with Sasami-san@Ganbaranai. The first two-three episodes have Excel Saga levels of weirdness, but after that the bizarro factor tapers off rapidly and the story jells into coherence. By about halfway through the series you find yourself wrapped up in a coherent story that is simply a modern interpretation of Japanese mythology, with only slight sojourns into the unconventional (but all in the name of presenting the "fantastic" i.e. a story of gods).
In other words, this anime is much more straightforward than FLCL, which it gets compared to a lot; just watch more than the first few episodes and it will all fall into place. You only need to watch Sasami-san@Ganbaranai once through to understand what it is about; peeling back one la…
Read at the sourceGrowler
An excellent lesson of Japanese mythology presented in the form of a lazy girls attempt at a normal life. The story follows Tsukuyomi Sasami which I'm sure you thought was a normal girl at first glance but it turns out she has quite the story in her past which she is trying to bury inside her. I was impressed by the nonchalance which some characters in the series treat problems.
I enjoyed it very much due to the fact that I am a fan of history and Japan's history is a subject of great interest to me as well as its mythology which I knew nothing until I've watched this series and found out a lot of fascinating things by doing some research.
I will say this, its a very complex series for those of you with a slim attention span. It has comedy scenes, fighting scenes as well as interesting f…
Read at the sourceLuvrei
I decided to give this series a 6 overall, initially it was a 5 after finishing the last episode. The show should have ended after the Mom arc, it had great progression and the anime could have ended off on a better note.
Instead they decided to continue and introduced a new character. Hardly anything is explained and a lot of the characters are not fleshed out very well. The last episode was a mess, do to a rushed end and troll subs (which were annoying btw). Not to mention more random characters and unanswered questions in the last episode. Even if the series was going for weird and eccentric it could have done it far better, with actual story progression.
The art was good for the most part, I enjoyed the scenery, and while the soundtrack didn't stand out to me at all it wasn't horri…
Read at the sourceflowerscissors
Though not by any means amazing, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai certainly is an enjoyable, but quite strange series. While I find it difficult to categorize it into any particular genre, it could probably be best described as a comedic thriller.
The first episode is a bit of a trip through madness, showing the main character, Sasami Tsukuyomi, spying on her pervert brother from home before the world inexplicably turns to chocolate, with three strange girls, the Yagami sisters, bringing things back to normal in a very over the top way. However, the first episode doesn't quite capture the true essence of this series, which reveals important details with each episode that explain what the viewer has seen previously.
The underlying theme is Sasami's desire to escape from supernatural obligation and…
Read at the source