Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto vol. 1

I almost want to call this, “I’m Sorry, I Can’t Hear You Over the Sound of How Awesome I Am:  The Series.”  That’s basically the deal with the title character, everything he does is effortlessly stylish while he also manages to maintain an air of aloof indifference/humility that keeps him from becoming entirely insufferable.  Essentially a parody of the kind of tropes you find in school manga, Sakamoto the character upends them all with style and grace.  Whether it’s something as simple as grabbing an eraser wedged in a door before it can fall on his head, or as complex as whipping up an ersatz hotel room out of school gym supplies, there is nothing that he can’t handle.  If this sounds amusing to you, then go out and get the first volume now.

Me, I’m still kind of on the fence about it -- and I DID buy the thing!  I like the fact that Sakamoto never resorts to violence to solve these issues.  While not exactly MacGyver-ian, the on-the-spot ingenuity he displays in his actions is also cool.  It’s also nice to see a protagonist succeed in a plot-dictated way that’s usually only enjoyed by antagonists… but it gets kind of old towards the end of this volume.  “Sakamoto” is a one-trick pony at this point, minus the boundless creativity demonstrated in a title that sticks to it’s own formula, “My Neighbor Seki.”  (Speaking of which, vol. 3 is just as fantastic as the first two -- it really is surprising how “Seki” has turned out so far.)  There is a hint that Sakamoto’s abilities may be otherworldly in nature.  Or I could just be reading too deeply into a throwaway line at the end of chapter 4.  This volume of “Sakamoto” is amusingly different.  I’m just not sure if it has anything more to offer than what we see here.

jason@glickscomicpicks.com