Sabagebu!

Adapted from the “さばげぶっ!” manga by Matsumoto Hidekichi, “Sabagebu!” is a comedy series about a group of girls, member of their school’s survival games or airsoft club, similar to “Stella Jougakuin Koutouka C3-bu” and not unlike “Upotte!”.

From the first episode on, the show pleasantly surprised me, not only by determinedly opting for the comedy genre, but all main characters are either total oddballs or have plenty of reproachable characteristics, which is quite refreshing.

Where Yura from “Stella Jougakuin Koutouka C3-bu” was a meek, timid girl who suffered trying to grow and find herself, and Funco from “Upotte!” was an energetic and honest girl, Momoka from “Sabagebu!” is more than meets the eye.

At first Momoka may seem to be the typical good girl protagonist struggling to keep up with the quirky characters from the airsoft club, she is soon revealed to be just as much of an oddball like the others. In fact, she’s likely the most ruthless one of the bunch.

Alas, animation by studio Pierrot+ is rather mediocre, while some scenes do show sufficient care, most episodes contain plenty of scenes with rather basic animation which can feel a bit off considering one of the show’s selling points is showcasing the girls in elaborate combat scenes.
“Stella Jougakuin Koutouka C3-bu” had better animation overall and its delusional battle scenes were superior in comparison to those seen in “Sabagebu!”.

A shame really, as in terms of how it delivers its story about girls dabbling in survival game/airsoft, to me personally “Sabagebu!” is a more enjoyable series already since it wholly chooses the comedy genre instead of trying to cram in a dramatic personal growth plot into the story as well.

In “Stella Jougakuin Koutouka C3-bu” that caused a rather jarring juxtaposition between the airsoft comedy moments and the drama scenes, which ultimately made the show feel like its main story was composed of two different genres that never really came together.

Momoka is voiced by Ohashi Ayaka who also voiced Maccha in “Go! Go! 575”, Uzume in “Fantasista doll” and Fleur Blanc in “Eureka Seven AO”.
Uchiyama Yumi voices Miou, she previously voiced Youko in “Kiniro Mosaic”, Nagi in “A Channel”, Ruri in “Nisekoi” and Erika in “Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei”.

Cosplay aficionado Kayo is voiced by Touyama Nao who also voiced Chitoge in “Nisekoi”, Karen in “Kiniro Mosaic”, Yune in “Ikoku Meiro no Croisée” and Yuna in this season’s “Glasslip”.
Ookubo Rumi voices Urura, she’s tackled roles like Chinatsu in “Yuru Yuri”, Kazuki in “Galilei Donna”, Touko in “Servant x Service” and Yuzuko in “Yuyushiki”.
Maya is voiced by Lynn who doesn’t seem to have any other major roles attributed to her.

Will keep on watching “Sabagebu!” and do recommend the show to those of you who enjoyed “Stella Jougakuin Koutouka C3-bu” or “Upotte!”.