Sket Dance

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

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Sket Dance is a very light and happy manga published by Shonen Jump, written by Shinohara Kenta. The manga follows the main character Bossun and campus support group, The Sket Dan, as they help out everybody in need and accept any sorts of missions. From chasing and capturing a monkey, to performing at school concerts, collect toys, try to win all-you-can-eat contests and solve crimes. There are also AU chapters where they go on adventures as ninjas and fly through space. The plot is basically non-existent except for a few more serious and dark story arcs that merely serve as backstory for the Sket trio. The entire manga is full of Shout Outs to any popular manga you can imagine with hilarious lampshades over each and every of them, a boke-tsukkomi routine and an occasional sledgehammer to the fourth wall.

  • Yusuke Fujisaki, known as Bossun, is the leader and founder of the Sket Dan. A fairly normal guy (perhaps too normal according to some), he's loyal to his friends and possesses a strong desire to help others.
  • Hime Onizuka, known as Himeko, is the muscle of the group. A former field hockey player turned Yankee Delinquent, she now serves as both an enforcer and Team Mom.
  • Kazuyoshi Usui, known as Switch is The Smart Guy. An Otaku, he has an unparalleled information network among his fellow nerds and the internet at large, making him the go-to guy for data on other students or various bits of culture or technology. Technically The Voiceless for his own reasons, he carries around a laptop and uses a text-to-speech synthesizer for communicating with others, though he tends to insert various terms and expressions that wouldn't be out of place on a messageboard lol \(^-^)/

Over all, it's random, fourth wall-breaking, random, funny, random and absolutely adorable. Got an anime adaptation in the Spring 2011 season.

Tropes used in Sket Dance include:
  • Absurdly Powerful Student Council: A force for good, though somewhat at odds with the Sket Dan's rather loose way of doing things, though the council members themselves aren't exactly normal people.
  • Abuse Is Okay When It Is Female On Male: Bossun is often on the wrong end of Himeko's Unstoppable Rage anytime he makes fun of her lack of certain skills or qualities, and especially during Accidental Pervert moments. Let's not forget WAVE AFTER WAVE OF MALE MOOKS THAT HIMEKO WOULD EASILY DISPOSE OF. BY HERSELF.
    • Bossun also takes the brunt of most of Koma-chan's attacks, even those aimed at other boys.
  • The Ace: Bossun
  • Action Girl: Himeko.
  • Actor Allusion: In the crossovers with Gintama.
    • In the first episode of the anime, Switch mentions that his favorite Visored is Muguruma Kensei, who Tomokazu Sugita also voices.
  • Alternate Universe: Multiple, including a ninja world, space opera, a kindergarten world, and a JRPG world.
  • And Now for Something Completely Different: Happens all the time.
  • Art Evolution: Just compare current Himeko to her design from the pilot. Pretty much everyone but Switch has gotten a more consistent, rounded design with larger eyes. Oddly enough, Teppei drastically changed along with Himeko, Bossun actually lampashades this by asking him if he got taller.
  • Art Shift: Used whenever Roman Saotome activates her "Otome Vision", mentally filtering the world to align with shojo manga. Love Bubbles and Bishie Sparkle abound.
    • In episode 8 when Momoka is talking about her upcoming audition for a Voice Acting part in an in universe anime series first Onihime and Bossun are drawn in a very simplified fashion until they understand why she needs their help, then when Switch agrees to help her learn about Anime he and Momoka change to a stereotypical simplified anime style with heavy outlines, which Bossun and Onihime (who don't change) actually notice.
    • After the second popularity contest, Bossun got himself turned into a stickman (for crying out loud) for a whole chapter. Cue Tsubaki questiong "What on Earth is this?!" during the rest of the chapter.
  • Author Avatar: Hinohara Enta. Bossun himself at the end of the Gintama Crossover chapter.
  • Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite being sworn rivals who just want to outdo each other at everything, Bossun and Tsubaki actually work well together when the need calls for it. We eventually find out why.
  • Backstory: The backstories of all three main characters have been presented at various points in the series. And all three of them are touchy and melodramatic, whether tear-jerking (Switch and Bossun) or heartwarming (Himeko).
  • Bare-Fisted Monk: Tsubaki of the Student Council prefers a hands-on approach to most problems. He isn't often pushed to use force, but practices amateur boxing, karate and judo for just such an occasion.
  • Big Damn Heroes: The Sket Trio have quite a few, actually. The Student Council as well.
  • Big Eater: Captain, good lord Captain. 7 kilos of ramen on top of a large box of chocolates and a plate of biscuits. As per the trope she does not show any ill effects or weight gain.
    • Just as long at it isn't eggs.
  • Bishonen - The reason Switch is so popular with the ladies despite being a somewhat unpleasant otaku who speaks with a computer.
    • Don't forget Shinba Michiru.
    • Enigman's alter ego, Daimon Akitoshi, also qualifies. At least when he's out of his mask.
  • Blind Without'Em: Tsubaki can only see silhouettes when he lost his contacts, in chapter 125 he walks into the Sket dan room instead of the student councils and has a meeting with them thinking they were councils members when they just imitated their voices.
  • Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: Bossun and Himeko are fond of this, and the two of them often end up acting as the Tsukkomi for their weirder visitors.
    • The series' main strength is in the ability of the main trio to, at any given time, have 2 boke and 1 tsukkomi. Which ones plays which roles varies: sometimes Himeko and Bossun do something stupid and the rational Switch tells them off (e.g. invisible Bossun); sometimes Switch and Himeko act like, well, shonen manga characters, and Bossun restores the balance by acting like a normal high schooler (e.g. the first Quiz Battle chapter); and usually Bossun and Switch go insane without the Closer to Earth Himeko.
    • There was actually a chapter where Himeko competed in a Boke and Tsukkomi contest.
    • There was also an episode where Himeko scolded people for not doing this.
  • Boy Meets Girl: Bossun and Himeko meeting each other arguably led to the early Sket Dan being formed.
  • Brats with Slingshots: Though most fights consist of Himeko doing the heavy lifting while the others stand in the background and pose, Bossun does have a slingshot that he can use to shoot pachinko balls with remarkable precision.
  • Brilliant but Lazy: The student council president, Agata Soujiro, is portrayed as this.
  • Call Back: The puppet show in episode 6 has parallels to Onihime meeting her imposter in episode 3.
  • Calvin Ball: Any time geography teacher Yamanobe Kunio shows up, he's bound to have some utterly nonsensical game in tow;
  • Can't Hold His Liquor: Shinba Michiru can get drunk just by smelling cooking sake.
  • Catch Phrase: Tsubaki could give Mr. T or Excalibur a run for their money saying "FOOL!" in almost every chapter he appears.
  • Censor Steam: Actually lampshaded by the narration.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Himeko. They don't call her the Onihime for nothing (that roughly translates to Ogre Princess, "Ogress" or Demon Princess).
  • Chekhov's Gun: Near the start of episode 10 Switch lists the things that the A/V club is responsible for doing in the school. One of those tasks (or more precisely the equipment that they use for it) which becomes important at the end of the episode when it come time to expose the Smug Snake villain.
  • Chuuma-sensei Is Useless: Chuuma-sensei has, on his way to inventing an effective hair restoration topical (which alone would net him billions), a freaking de-aging potion! It's only flaw? That it might be permanent! It's strictly Played for Laughs.
  • Corner of Woe: Bossun sometimes, particularly when he's being ignored.
  • Crossover: With Gintama and later Bakuman｡.
  • Cuteness Overload: Himeko reaction to the shrunken Bossun
  • Cuteness Proximity: Himeko tends to melt down at the sight of small and cute things, up until the point where aforementioned small thing acts like a complete jerk.
  • Death Glare: Tsubaki's default expression
    • Momoka can give a pretty scary one too.
    • Also Himeko too
  • Decoy Protagonist: The first episode is about Teppei first days at the school.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: A few of the culprits from the Sket Dan's cases eventually become their friends, and would even assist them on occasion.
  • The Ditz: Saotome Roman. She even lampshades it herself.
    • Misora Remi counts as well.
  • Dojikko: Remi-oneesan is this to unbelievable degrees.
  • Dynamic Entry: In episode one when they realize that Jougasaki must be watching events from nearby Himeko figures out where he's hiding and smashes through a wall to get to him.
  • Education Through Pyrotechnics: For a chemistry teacher, Chuuma is quite skilled at blowing up experiments.
  • Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette/Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: Yuki
  • Engineered Public Confession: Used to trap a school criminal with the help of the PA system.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Switch Off. The original Switch died and his older brother now took his place.
  • Fan Service: Despite the cast's insistence to avoid it, there are plenty of it in the school trip chapters.
    • The second opening of the Anime series is set on a beach so all the female characters are wearing either bikini's or swimming costumes... including Yabai
    • The third ending is based on this. The girls in their underwear, bubbling, and even Himeko stripping off her nightgown. Unfortunately, it still includes Yabasawa.
  • Feminine Women Can Cook: Despite her appearance and her strange taste in candy, Himeko is a pretty good cook. She still can't match up to Michiru Shinba, apparently proof that Feminine Men Can Cook as well.
  • Force Feeding: Bossun has been forced to drink a bottle of Cola in one go twice.
  • Fountain of Youth: A result of one of Chuuma's experiments is a youth potion (originally conceived as a hair tonic...) that makes the drinker seem ten years younger. He's also got one that makes the drinker seem ten years older. Needless to say, Hilarity Ensues.
  • Fourth Wall Mail Slot: There was a whole chapter which dealt with the results of the character popularity poll. What makes this poll hilarious is the fact that not only the actual characters, but even the (in-universe) imaginary characters and character variants (e.g. the toddler Bossun after he drank the youth serum) were eligible.
  • Fourth Wall Observer: Bossun and Himeko.
  • Freaky Friday Flip
  • Freudian Trio: Bossun (ego), Himeko (id), and Switch (superego) of course.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Switch, to a degree.
  • Girls Are Really Scared of Horror Movies: Himeko
  • Goggles Do Nothing: Bossun's goggles help him concentrate, though how much of it is all in his head (no pun intended) remains to be seen.
    • Bossun actually can't see very well when he puts them on; because they're so old, the lenses have become cloudy. When he puts them on, he's using them to block out what is going on around him so he can focus.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Himeko, and how.
  • Happily Married: Ryosuke and Haru.
  • Heroes Want Redheads: Averted with Bossun, to a T. Just ask Saaya. In fact, if any of the Ship Tease in later chapters are to be taken to their logical conclusion, it's pretty clear that Bossun prefers blondes. He's just not fully aware of it. Yet.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Himeko and Switch's computer voice are pretty much Hayate and Gintoki. The fourth wall will not survive.
    • It did not—early in the Gintama crossover manga, Gin and Switch realize they sound the same and proceed to call each other "Sugita" for the remainder of the issue.
  • Hot Amazon: Himeko
  • Hot Mom: Bossun's mother. Both of them
  • Huge Schoolgirl: Koma-chan
  • I Owe You My Life: As we find out from the flashbacks, the pre-Sket-Dan days were miserable for Himeko and Switch.
  • I Was Just Passing Through
  • Important Haircut: Both Himeko and Switch in their respective Backstories, each for his/her own reasons. Tsubaki also makes such a decision when appearing as a minor character in Bossun's backstory.
  • Improbable Weapon User: Himeko usually lays the law with a field hockey stick.
  • Inelegant Blubbering: Bossun does this after the softball captain tells her story in episode 4.
    • Manly Tears: Meanwhile, Switch gets something like this.
  • Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja: The new student council member Kiri Katō
  • Interrupted Declaration of Love: In chapter 232 Himeko almost confessed her feelings to Bossun, but Switch interrupted
  • It's Always Autumn: Chapters 15 through 138 all take place in the autumn.

Narrator: And this long, long, really, really long autumn comes to an end...

  • Large Ham: Switch, Date and Roman in particular
  • Late for School: Lampshaded and parodied, as Roman is incapable of writing a manga without including this opening.
  • Like Brother and Sister: Bossun and Himeko usually see their relationship this way. However, this eventually changes.
  • Long-Lost Relative: As it turns out, Bossun has a twin brother.
  • Magic Versus Science: Sort of Yuki (supernatural) vs Switch (technology).
  • Medium Awareness: Roman can tear through pages to travel through space and time, wield speech bubbles and tone as weapons, and manipulate narration boxes.
  • Meido: Himeko has one of these outfits, from when her class ran the obligatory Maid Cafe for the school festival. It turns up in a later chapter.
  • Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher: Part of the way through the manga, the Sket Dan gets Remi as their assistant homeroom teacher. She used to be the host of pre-schooler show, like Sesame Street or Barney apparently.
    • Moe Yabasawa is this in the Biscuit Dance AU chapter, as is Agata Sojiro.
  • Mood Whiplash: Along with Gintama, they run with it in Shonen Jump by mix-and-matching comedy and drama; a series that is mostly gag themed, suddenly is striken with a serious arc that will certainly invoke drama, and its effects will be permanent in contrast to some of slapstick that invokes the Status Quo Is God.
  • My Name Is Not Durwood: The Sket-dan are constantly getting Jougasaki's name wrong.
  • Name's the Same: There is a character named Chiaki Takahashi in this series. Except it's not Chiaking herself voicing her (and the background's different).
  • New Transfer Student: Sugihara Teppei.
  • Nice Hat: Bossun and Roman.
  • Nobody Poops: Averted so very hard.
  • Non-Action Guy: Switch.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: The Student Council President. He's really a Magnificent Bastard. And also kind of a dick.
  • One Steve Limit: Inverted in one chapter and taken to its logical conclusion.
  • Overly Narrow Superlative: Himeko calls Bossun "the number one in Japan when it comes in finding a way of breaking out of a warehouse with long arms" during the first part of Costume Break.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: The notorious afro costume. And of course: Deer Man and the Sket Squad Kyeunja. Cue Big Damn Heroes moment.
  • Punny Name: Onizuka Hime
    • The Anime club president is called Otakuru.
    • Episode 15 gives us J-son-sensei and Omi Aiko
    • Yuuki Reiko. The kanji is different, but Yuurei means ghost in Japanese. In fact, using differnt kanji, you can interpret Yuuki Reiko as something like "Dark willed, spirit child." Perfect for our resident occult-freak.
  • Replacement Goldfish: About a year before the start of the storyline, Switch turned himself into a Replacement Goldfish of his younger brother who originally had the nickname "Switch". The current "Switch" used to be a laid back, fairly normal, shaggy haired slacker who actually spoke. The whole thing was massive Tearjerker and gives you a good idea why Switch is so weird.
    • In the pre-serialization pilot chapter, it was Deconstructed and Invoked. Ichiro's girlfriend Nanako died in an accident. Her twin sister, Namiko invoked this trope in order to help him cope.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses: Switch often.
  • Sensei-chan: Yamanabe Kunio a male example also Remi.
  • Ship Tease: In episode 28 of the anime, there are some scenes with Agata and Shinba that contain this. Oddly enough, there wasn't such scenes in the manga.
  • Shipper on Deck: Chuuma-sensei's daughter ships him and Misora Remi.
  • Shout-Out: Has it's own page.
  • Show Within a Show: Quite a lot of them, and, more often than not, completely uncomprehensible.
  • Sliding Scale of Fourth Wall Hardness: Much like an eldritch horror, Roman has a tendency to unravel the conventions of reality when she shows up.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Averted by Switch, who swears that he regularly attends Momoka's live performances only because he wants to support her as both a friend and fan. Momoka suspects it as something more.
    • Played with in the worst way in Switch Off.
  • Stoic Spectacles: Switch, Daisy and Yagi
  • Stylistic Suck: Used pretty frequently, most often with Roman or Himeko.
    • Also used with Sainon and Magarfunkle of the Shonen Manga Club and their completely incoherent story, "Space Cosmos Universe" from the manga battle chapter. Much to Himeko's disdain.
  • Talking with Signs: Switch is forced to communicate thusly if his computer stops working.
    • In episode 4 whenever Roman does an Art Shift into Manga style panels her dialogue appears in speech bubbles, even though it can still be heard.
  • Team Mom: Himeko cooks, cleans and fawns over small adorable things. Also doubles as the Team Momma Bear
  • Team Pet: Housuke the Scops owl.
  • Terrible Artist: Himeko is a terrible artist. Roman is somehow even worse, and as an aspiring manga artist she creates nigh-incomprehensible works that read like a combination of shojo and JoJo. Shojojo.
  • The Thing That Goes Doink
  • Tomato Surprise: The last chapter of "Switch Off", when we realise that "An-chan" is the current Switch. "One Guy's Quiet Day Off" makes it seem that the guy is a hatless Bossun up until The Reveal.
  • Took a Level In Badass: Roman and Yuuki turn from a Damsel in Distress and a ghost, respectively, into highly trained ninjas less than a page in the ninja Alternate Universe.
  • Trademark Favorite Food/Extreme Omnivore: Himeko loves Pelolipop candy and it has weird flavors such as: Sea Cucumber, Soft-Roe and Liver. Anyone else who eats them usually vomits.
  • Tsundere: Parodied and exemplified by Saaya.
    • Himeko can be this sometimes with Bossun, especially during their awkward moments.
  • Twin Switch: In order to defeat the the fortune teller in chapter 103, Bossun and Tsubaki (with freshly trimmed eyelashes) switch places. When she tries to tell Bossun's future, it's proved that the fortune teller uses intel on the subject she's reading to make a fortune seem more legitimate.
  • Two Guys and a Girl: Not so much with the Sket Trio as it is with Ryosuke, Haru, and Akane.
  • Undying Loyalty: Himeko and Switch have unwavering faith in Bossun.
  • Unresolved Sexual Tension: Bossun and Himeko, in spades, especially after the "Ogress" arc, with quite a few Ship Tease moments sprinkled every few chapters or so. In-universe nods to these make the pairing canon.
  • Victorious Childhood Friend: Ryosuke and Haru. Then drama happened.
  • The Voiceless: Switch, who communicates via text-to-speech with a laptop.
  • Weapon of Choice: Himeko is basically a street brawler (although a retired and reformed one), so she uses a field hockey stick as a weapon. Bossun and Switch are non-combative types, but Bossun, as a bratty type, can be very skillful with a slingshot if necessary
    • Switch's laptop may count as a Gadgeteer Genius. During a mock duel, even though he's a horrible shot, his laptop and calm demeanor allows him to get the upper hand on Daisy.
    • Meanwhile, Shinzo swings a bamboo practice sword and Tsubaki uses boxing gloves when prompted.
  • Weirdness Magnet: While not supernatural, the Sket Dan members have noticed that it's usually the people with the most colorful personalities who tend to show up at their door.
  • Wham! Episode:
    • Ogress
    • Happy Birthday / Happy Rebirthday
    • Switch Off
  • What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: "Concentration Mode" is usually heralded by dramatic techno music and swirly space imagery, since a minute-long shot of Bossun sitting very still while wearing goggles would admittedly be boring.
  • What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Bossun has "the power... of incredible concentration" (admittedly pretty useful in a school environment) in addition to being a talented artist and impressionist, and a savant at riddles. But as others have pointed out, none of these are particularly heroic skills.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Te-chan in episode 7 is only a supporting character but Bossun's rant at him is nearer this than a "The Reason You Suck" Speech. Though considering his dedication to the girl he loves Te-chan could be seen as the Hero of Another Story.
  • Who Would Want to Watch Us?: Kenta Shinohara's Author Avatar shows up at the school looking for inspiration for a new manga series. Bossun thinks that it would be perfect to make the Sket Dan incredibly popular. Unfortunately, "Enta Hinohara" decides that Bossun is too boring to be a shonen lead character and makes a manga about the Student Council instead.
  • The Wiki Rule: Found here
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Kendo club captain Shinzo Takemitsu dresses and acts like a samurai from a period piece (for the most part), while Roman Saotome loves old-school shojo to the point where she can mentally filter the world to match the tropes.
  • X Must Not Win: Telling the Student Council or the Sket Dan that the other group is involved in something is a perfect way get to them to join in. This is especially pronounced with Tsubaki and Bossun, due to Sibling Rivalry.
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