The Ultimate Art of Deception
- Episodes : 48
- Genre : Comedy, Martial Arts, School, Shounen
- Airing Date : January 5, 1998 – March 31, 1998
- Producers : Magic Bus
Contains Spoilers
Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo! Masaru-san (Sexy Commando Side Story: Amazing! Masaru) Introduction
Since the 2000s when MMA took off in America thanks to Forrest Griffin Vs. Stephan Bonnar in the finale of the first Ultimate Fighter series, people now have a better idea of what martial art works best. But before that, we had to anime to reference and that ultimate martial arts happens to be the Sexy Commando! So, how does it work? There are no rules in a street fight and the Sexy Commando takes that to a different kind of extremity by being the ultimate form of deception. At Wakame High School (literally meaning Seaweed High School), Masaru Hananakajima, who was already a master martial artist, spent time off school to master it. So, what does he do in his first fight? He takes off his pants!! With his opponents off guard, he can initiate his attack and gain the victory! After that, he starts a Sexy Commando club at his school to prove it’s the best around (and nothing’s ever going to keep it down)!
What We Liked About Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo! Masaru-san (Sexy Commando Side Story: Amazing! Masaru)
Sexy Commando Gaiden is an anime that is straight to the point for what it is. If you love weird random humor that relates to pop culture (as seen in the likes of lets say Family Guy, The Critic, or The Naked Gun movies), this series is pretty much an anime equivalent to such properties. Other than the humor, if you enjoy action, you’ll get a kick out of this (though we won’t say its to the level of Dragon Ball Z or JoJo, but it’s still distinctly creative)!
1. It’s short
Don’t be fooled by its 48-episode length. It was aired as part of this variety show in Japan upon its broadcasting as a short (think of it as how The Simpsons debuted as an animated short for the Tracey Ullman Show if you’re old enough to know what that is). Each episode averages between five to ten minutes, but gets the job done. If you enjoy something quick and to the point, then check this series out! If you’re someone who takes the train or bus in your respective community, if you got a smartphone or tablet, this is the perfect anime to kill time and have a great laugh!
2. It’s funny
There is humor in just about everything whether it would be in slapstick, gag, the action, Japanese style puns, and cultural. You’re going to laugh every moment of the way. Every time Masaru fights, he’ll do something different. His personality is non-stop over the top! The execution of everything else in regards to the humor is just hard to put into words. You just have to see it for yourself!
3. Yuji Ueda
You may know him as the voice of Dick Charlie in Banana Fish, Sora in Bleach, Akito in Nadesico, and/or Kentaro from Love Hina, but he also provides the voice of Masaru! He knows how to capture both his youth and his undefined eccentricities. He’s loud and proud with his enthusiasm and just who he is as a character. He brings a unique sense of charisma and you can’t help but like him. Plus, he shows he’s a very funny singer in this series with his personal rendition of the Sexy Commando Club theme song. Without his performance, Masaru just wouldn’t feel alive.
1. It’s hard to relate to some of the humor
If you’re looking for something rather serious and hate comedy, then skip this anime (and shame on you!). This is an anime strictly for comedy fans but there are some concepts of the comedy that’ll be difficult to understand if you have no understanding of the Japanese language or culture (whether traditional or pop culture). There are a lot of puns that require contextual knowledge of the Japanese language and for those that don’t understand it, that aspect of the humor can be very difficult to find funny. It also makes a lot of pop culture jokes in reference to 1970s anime and if you’re not familiar with anime from that time period, it’ll also make the humor there much more difficult to relate to.
Final Thoughts
Sexy Commando Gaiden doesn’t try to pretend to be anymore than it is, and that’s ok. It gets its own job done by making you laugh. As we shared, not every joke is going to transition to all viewers, but everything else is going to make you laugh, most especially Masaru’s never ending passion and the way he executes his fighting style. By the time you’re done with this anime or see the first few episodes, you might be tempted to try the Sexy Commando the next time you see yourself in some kind of physical confrontation. If you’ve seen this anime and have been in any fights, how was your execution of the style worked? Share your experiences in the comments!
Author: Justin "ParaParaJMo" Moriarty