- Sket Dance
Infobox animanga/Header
name = Sket Dance
caption =
ja_name = スケット・ダンス
ja_name_trans = Suketto Dansu
genre = Comedy Drama School Life Shounen Infobox animanga/Manga
author = Kenta Shinohara
publisher = flagicon|JapanShueisha
demographic =Shōnen
magazine = flagicon|JapanWeekly Shōnen Jump
first = 2007
last = 4 volume ongoing
volume = 4 ongoingnihongo|"Sket Dance"|スケット・ダンス|Suketto Dansu is a
manga work by Kenta Shinohara. It started its serialization in issue 33 of "Weekly Shōnen Jump " in 2007 after it was showcased as a complete novel each in issue 39 of "Weekly Shōnen Jump" in 2006 and "Aka-Maru Jump" in the winter of 2006.Overview
The manga focuses on the misadventures of the "Campus Support Group" or "Sket-Dan", of Kaimei Gakuen, a club devoted to solving any and all problems brought to it by the staff or student body for the general improvement of campus life. Due to its general lack of meaningful assignments and unglamorous 'group of handymen' reputation [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 1, Page 10] the organization is treated with widespread contempt and it is composed of only three members.
The story is told through a series of short, self-contained stories focusing on cases undertaken by the Sket Dan, usually told in the space of one to two chapters. Cases to date focus on a variety of issues from more humorous cases like chasing monkeys around the school or helping a wanna-be samurai find out why he cannot win kendo tournaments to more serious cases that hint at Otohime's violent past or deal with near-terminal illness.
Characters from previous cases also often make cameos in later ones and recurring storylines, such as the Sket Dan's rivalry with the school's student council.
Main Characters
;nihongo|Bossun|ボッスン/nihongo|Yusuke Fujisaki|藤崎佑助|Fujisaki Yusuke
The team leader, an expert marksman [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 9, Page 15] and artist [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 7, Page 12] whose usually erratic personality is replaced with a brilliant deductive mindset by ceremonially donning his special goggles in a process called 'Connecting' [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 1, Page 32] - this allows him to make eerily accurate inferences by concentrating entirely on absolutely all the available evidence, even to the extent of accurately recalling almost inaudible background noise in a brief phone conversation [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 6, Page 11] . He enjoys the sense of adventure he receives from helping others for its own sake, but can become very emotionally involved with more serious Cases to the extent of verbally abusing those he sees to be betraying their friends or their best interests [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 9, Page 6] . Despite Bossun's deceptively sharp acumen, he is notably socially awkward and especially bad with attractive women. [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 8, Page 12] . He frequently breaks the
Fourth Wall between manga and reader, referring to other manga such as "Bleach" or arguing with perceived deviations from the manga's 'formula' - accusing Himeko of being ridiculous, he cries "Shaddup!!! You're supposed to be the straight man here!! The guest characters are the weird ones!" [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 6, Page 14] ; he also jealously, vocally guards his position as the main character and protagonist of the series whenever he feels he is being sidelined [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 3, Page 9] .;nihongo|Himeko|ヒメコ/nihongo|Hime Onizuka|鬼塚一愛|Onizuka Hime/nihongo|Onihime|鬼姫
The "Amazon", or "Yankee" (combat specialist) of the team - a volatile and highly dangerous close-range fighter who serves as the Sket Dan's muscle [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 1, Page 11] using her specialized field-hockey stick 'Cyclone' [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 5, Page 4] . Already a formidable antagonist, with this innocuous-seeming weapon in hand she is easily capable of defeating multiple opponents instantaneously [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 5, Page 1] or shredding a full-grown tree in moments [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 6, Page 14] . In the past, Himeko used these abilities as the "Legendary Yankee Onihime" [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 6, Page 15] to become a symbol of "power and fear" - more recently, memories of an unknown boy in a school uniform have prevented her fully enacting these violent impulses and she has largely given up her title [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 6, Page 16] . Obsessed with bizarre flavours of lollipop such as 'Mackerel-Miso' [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 6, Page 18] which almost kill anyone without a powerful "fighting spirit" who tries eating them [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 5, Page 9] , she almost constantly has one sticking out of her mouth, which is frequently mistaken for a habit of smoking from a distance [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 6, Page 15] .
;nihongo|Switch|スイッチ|Suicchi/nihongo|Kazuyoshi Usui|笛吹和義|Usui Kazuyoshi
The 'brains' of the team (in contrast to Bossun's intuition and Himeko's brawn) in charge of intelligence-gathering [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 1, Page 13] and, in contrast to the more excitable other Sket Dan members, largely concerned with "honest, data-substantiated fact" [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 3, Page 5] . Never speaking out loud, he instead uses his constantly present laptop computer to communicate using "Speech Synthesis Software" [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 1, Page 13] to convey his thoughts, in between constant bouts of forum trolling [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 1, Page 13] and dating-simulation playthroughs [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 8, Page 3] . Switch is the proprietor of a vast school-wide intelligence network comprised largely of perverts and outcasts [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 3, Pages 10-13] , and thus in possession of almost unlimited information on everyone in the vicinity of the school; the ensuing potential for blackmail makes him a bad person to cross [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 1, Page 13] . Surprisingly popular with the ladies [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 3, Page 12] , he expresses interest in very little outside of his Sket Dan duties - except, curiously, for frequent 'Science vs. the Supernatural' debates with the notorious occult fanatic Yuuki Reiko [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 3, Page 9] which seem to be sparked by an underyling mutual attraction. Beyond his computer skills, Switch has shown frequent and unexplained access to high-tech gear such as computerized training equipment [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 4, Page 11] and minute homing devices [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 2, Page 13] .
tudent Council
The rivals of the Sket-dan, who uphold school rules and handle administrative duties, like the creation and funding of clubs. Within the Sket Dance world, there is a manga series about them, running in Shōnen Jump [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 24, Page 19] , and a tie-in game on Vivage City, a cellular phone game company [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 25, Page 4] .
;nihongo|Sōjirō Agata|安形 惣司郎|Agata Sōjirō: President of the Student Council and a Third year student. A very charismatic, laid-back individual, who seemingly does nothing as President. He entrusts most responsibilities to the Vice President, Sasuke Tsubaki [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 10, Page 4] . His
IQ is around 160 [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 35, Page 10] . His ability to read and understand people is used to manipulate them to do what he wants, such as motivating Bossun into competing with him seriously [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 35, Page 18] . This same ability is why he has the complete loyalty of Student Council members, Sasuke and Daisy [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 33, Page 16-17] . His performance in the Gachinko Vivage Battle's "Pixie Garden" match with Bossun shows that he is a good strategist, who learns quickly, and is adept at lying [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 33-35] . Despite his ruthlessness, and professions that he isn't a nice guy, he's against cheating to win [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 32, Page 19] . He has a tendency to forget things he's said, such as the bet he pretended to make with Bossun to get him fired up [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 35, Page 16] .;nihongo|Sasuke Tsubaki|椿 佐介|Tsubaki Sasuke: The Vice President of the Student Council, who takes his responsibilities very seriously, even overzealously, willing to punch a hole in a wall and injure himself to get his point across [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 10, Page 3] . He believes that the Sket-dan is useless and should be abolished, leading to conflicts with Bossun [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 10, Page 10] . The two consider each other rivals [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 26, Page 3] and his desire to defeat Bossun and the Sket-dan motivate him to do things he wouldn't otherwise do [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 25, Page 16] . He is a skilled fighter, and the boxing club at their school wanted him on their team [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 28, Page 8] . He also researches his opponents weaknesses and uses them to his advantage [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 29, Page 17] .
;nihongo|Mimori Unyū|丹生 美森|Unyū Mimori: The Treasurer of the Student Council. She's the wealthy granddaughter of the Unyuu Group's leader. She is competent enough to know how to allocate hidden funds for the Student Council [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 10, Page 4] , but this is countered by her desires to spend frivolously [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 10, Page 4] . She believes money is a means to all ends, from love confessions [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 32, Page 7-8] to winning competitions [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 25, Page 5] . Despite this, she considers herself an advocate of proper conduct, and even lectures Tsubaki for his uncivilized actions [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 10, Page 4] . Outside of her financial duties, she provides refreshments and first aid supplies to the other Student Council members [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 23, Page 18] . According to an omake after chapter 47, her Bust measures 89cm, and she is a G-cup (the Japanese equivalent of an American DDD/E) [Kenta Shinohara, "Resort Dance", Page 3]
;nihongo|Kikuno Asahina|浅雛 菊乃|Asahina Kikuno: The Secretary of the Student Council, nicknamed "Daisy-chan." She is a Second-year student, who will do whatever Sōjirō tells her to do, from participating in the Gachinko Vivage Battle Tournament [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 25, Page 5] to going undercover on a Student Council Operation to catch a ring of blackmailers [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 23] . She speaks harshly, and insults people on purpose, often saying things like "Drown in a gutter and die", or "Drown, die, revive, and die again." She has good aim, and relentlessly attacks without hesitation [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 30] . While she seems calm and composed on the outside, she is quick to judge others, and thus, underestimate them. [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 31, Page 9] She doesn't handle failure very well, and will console herself by cuddling stuffed animals [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 31, Page 11] .
;nihongo|Michiru Shinba|榛葉 道流|Shinba Michiru: A Student Council Member responsible for General Affairs, and a Third-year Student. He is a narcissist [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 27, Page 8] , who loves having his picture taken [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 27, Page 16] . He is popular with girls [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 32, Page 6] , and also has a very devoted fanclub called the "Shinbals" [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 27, Page 8] . He is an extremely good chef, considered "exceptional even among professionals. [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 27, Page 16] " Michiru often plays the straight man opposite the quirks of the other student council [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 32, Pages 4-8] , and is also one of the few people who understands that Sōjirō has a manipulative side [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 33, Pages 16-17] .
Other Characters
;nihongo|Mr. Chūma|中馬先生|Chūma Sensei
: The little-seen and inhumanly apathetic "Club Supervisor" of the Sket Dan [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 2, Page 6] spends most of his time in his lab instead of minding them, where his only gift seems to be for creating dangerous and unstable explosive devices [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 2, Page 7] . As his token support is prerequisite to Sket Dan's existence, he holds the threat of its withdrawal over the members' heads when he wishes to coerce them into some unreasonable 'favour'. [Kenta Shinohara, "Sket Dance", Chapter 2, Page 9]
References
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