Hiroshi Kamiya
Saiki Kusuo (voice)
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened
“Yare yare.”
2019
Ended • 1 Season • 6 Episodes
Director: Hiroaki Sakurai
Overview
Kusuo and his gaggle of self-proclaimed friends are back for more psychic mishaps. If he didn't have enough problems before, he's got even more now.
Seasons
- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Episodes
- 6 episodes
- First aired
- Dec 30, 2019
Cast
9 people
Reviews
5 min readSearching the web for context, cast notes, and critic quotes.
Psychic Exhaustion, Played for Laughs
What I keep thinking about with The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened is how calmly it refuses to behave like a “return.” Most revivals puff themselves up. They arrive like old rock bands in fresh jackets, eager to prove they still have the chops. This one just shrugs, sits down, and begins again as if no time has passed at all.
That’s the joke, of course, but it’s also the feeling. Saiki Kusuo’s gift — or curse, depending on the hour — is to be the only person in the room who can see exactly how absurd everyone else is, and the series has always treated that distance as both a comic engine and a small existential wound.
In context, Reawakened is less a bold new chapter than a compact continuation, a six-episode ONA follow-up to the earlier anime adaptation of Shūichi Asō’s manga. That matters, because the whole project is built on compression. There’s no room for sprawl, no interest in reinvention.
The series keeps its episodes short, its gags quick, and its emotional exits even quicker. I’ve always felt that this is one of the smarter things an anime comedy can do: it knows that repetition isn’t always a flaw. Sometimes repetition is the point.
Saiki’s world is a machine for producing the same irritation in slightly different outfits, and the pleasure comes from watching him remain implacably bored while everything around him tips into panic.
The director-creator credit is murky in the metadata, but the adaptation’s lineage is clear enough. This is a continuation of a franchise that already understood its own rhythm: deadpan setup, frantic escalation, psychic intervention, emotional denial. There’s no need to admire it for “growth” in the usual prestige-TV sense.
What’s interesting is how little the series asks for emotional growth at all. Saiki doesn’t learn to love humanity; he learns how to endure it with style. That’s a very different proposition, and honestly more honest.
A lot of fiction wants transformation. Saiki K. wants tolerance with a side of exasperation. Same difference, maybe. Or maybe not.
One thing I noticed on this revisit is how much the comedy depends on the body, even in animation that seems, at first glance, deliberately flat. Kusuo’s face barely moves, but everyone around him is in a state of physical overstatement. Shoulders knot.
Audience Opinions
Limited evidence
"A welcome continuation for the franchise that reunites director Hiroaki Sakurai with J.C. Staff and EGG FIRM to deliver more psychic high school comedy."
Announced as a Netflix original anime series, the production brought back director Hiroaki Sakurai alongside animation studios EGG FIRM and J.C. Staff to revisit the comedic exploits of Kusuo Saiki. Audiences and franchise followers tracked the project from its early trailer reveals through to its streaming debut, where [latestnetflix.com]( read is that the revival served as an anticipated treat geared around the hallmark pacing established by the original creative team.
What viewers praise
- Experienced Creative Team Director Hiroaki Sakurai returned to helm the production alongside animation studios EGG FIRM and J.C. Staff.
Common complaints
- Requires Prior Familiarity Positioned directly as a follow-up continuation, the release leans on viewers already having an attachment to the established characters and premise.
Recommended for
Fans of supernatural school comedies Followers of the original anime and manga adaptations Viewers seeking high-energy comedy directed by Hiroaki Sakurai
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsNetflix’s The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened—A Revival That Divided Fans
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened (2019) brought back the chaotic, psychic-powered antics of Kusuo Saiki, the high schooler who just wants a quiet life but is constantly dragged into absurd misadventures. Netflix’s revival of the beloved manga-turned-anime series was met with mixed reactions—some fans celebrated its return, while others called it a misfire. Behind the scenes, the project’s journey to streaming was anything but smooth, latestnetflix.com argues, with production choices and reception sparking debate.
A Long-Awaited Return—With a Twist
Originally a manga by Shūichi Asō, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. first aired as an anime in 2016, earning a cult following for its sharp humor and deadpan protagonist, voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya. The 2019 Reawakened series, however, wasn’t a direct continuation of the original anime. Instead, it adapted later manga arcs, effectively rebooting the story for new and returning viewers 
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owtxLGlgf60
The decision to skip earlier arcs left some fans frustrated. While the original series had a clear episodic structure, Reawakened’s pacing and narrative choices were criticized as disjointed. One YouTube reviewer called it "messy," arguing that the revival struggled to recapture the charm of the first run . Others, however, appreciated the fresh take, especially since the manga had concluded by then, giving Netflix a chance to wrap up the story properly.
Netflix’s Gamble: Was It Worth It?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbw7QB6nrTc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM_dR3B5UdQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtQm3OWOoiA
Netflix’s involvement in Reawakened was a double-edged sword. On one hand, the platform gave the series a global audience, something the original anime lacked. Trailers for the revival promised the same absurd humor and quirky characters, with Kamiya reprising his role as the long-suffering Saiki . On the other hand, the streaming giant’s handling of the project drew criticism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HnXXyqvjtU
Some fans accused Netflix of mishandling the release, pointing to the lack of a proper dub for non-Japanese audiences at launch. Others went further, calling Reawakened "Netflix’s biggest mistake," arguing that the revival failed to justify its existence compared to the original . The SensCritique rating for the original anime sat at a solid 7.4/10, while the 2017 live-action movie adaptation (unrelated to Reawakened) flopped with a 5.4/10 . The revival’s reception fell somewhere in between—appreciated by some, but far from a home run.
Behind the Scenes: What We Know (and Don’t)
Details about the production of Reawakened are scarce. Unlike the original anime, which was produced by J.C.Staff and EGG FIRM, the revival’s studio and director remain unconfirmed in the available evidence. What is clear is that the core voice cast returned, including Ai Kayano as Saiki’s love-struck classmate, Shun Kaido, and Daisuke Ono as the narcissistic Riki Nendou [TMDB].
Rumors swirled about creative differences behind the scenes, particularly regarding the decision to skip earlier arcs. Some fans speculated that Netflix pushed for a more accessible entry point, alienating long-time viewers. However, without official statements, these claims remain unconfirmed.
The Verdict: A Flawed but Fun Revival
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened wasn’t the triumphant return some fans hoped for, but it wasn’t a total disaster either. Its biggest sin might have been failing to live up to the original’s effortless charm. Still, for those who hadn’t read the manga, it offered a fun, if uneven, conclusion to Saiki’s story.
Whether Netflix will revisit the franchise remains to be seen. For now, Reawakened stands as a curious experiment—a revival that captured the spirit of the original but stumbled in execution.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.