Sonny Boy

Sonny Boy

Sonny Boy anime series cover art
Sonny Boy

Series Overview

Sonny Boy (サニーボーイ) is a mystery anime. It has elements of drama too, but at the end of the day, it’s a pure, psychological, mystery series. And that’s exactly what makes Sonny Boy so good. I’m going to tell you upfront, this is one of the best anime of the year.

The premise is that 36 students and their entire school building are suddenly transported into another dimension. I know, this already sounds like the start of every other isekai anime you’ve seen. But I swear that’s not what this is (even though that technically makes it an isekai).

In this other dimension, some of the students have superhuman abilities. And some of these abilities are really odd, such as one that lets the user have anything she wants to be delivered to her by cats — even if it doesn’t exist in that dimension.

Some students want everyone to keep their powers in check. Other students want to use their powers to the fullest. And there are also some who just want nothing to do with everything that’s going on.

Then, and this is going to spoil the end of the first episode, one student leaps off the school building and into the abyss surrounding it. When she does so, the entire building and all the students are transported again to a new dimension.

Basically, each dimension has its own set of rules, the students have their abilities, and they need to work together to attempt to find a way home. But, of course, they won’t be able to get home until they unravel the mystery of what happened to them in the first place.

I should also point out that this series wraps up in 12 episodes. So you don’t have to worry about starting a series that may never get finished.

Main Characters

There are five characters whom I would consider important enough to label as “main” characters even if they aren’t truly main characters. These are Nagara, Nozomi, Mizuho, Asakaze, and Rajdhani.

Nagara is the protagonist of the series. He’s kind of a bland guy, all things considered. He doesn’t have a superpower and he doesn’t really want to get involved with anyone besides Nozomi, on who he has a crush. But, his blandness actually works really well to contrast with the rest of the series.

Nozomi is Nagara’s only friend at the start of the series. She’s a new transfer student who the other students don’t particularly like because she doesn’t follow the status quo. Early on, we learn her power is that she can see a “light” that she believes will lead everyone home.

Nozomi from the anime series Sonny Boy
Nozomi

Mizuho is another girl with whom the other students don’t get along. However, it’s not for the same reason that they don’t like Nozomi. Mizuho is very standoffish and doesn’t want to help everyone else despite having a power that would allow her to. She’s the cat girl I mentioned earlier.

Asakaze is a friend of Nagara and Nozomi. And by a friend, I mean that he eventually starts to get along with those two to an extent. However, he has a much different outlook on their situation, which leads him down a different, but not necessarily wrong, path from them.

And, Rajdhani is the scientist of the students. He’s clearly the smartest guy around and he uses his knowledge to perform all kinds of experiments in the various dimensions. He believes that he can gain insight into their predicament through science.

Really, most of the characters in this series are interesting in one way or another.

What Does it all Mean?

Now’s the part of the review in which I spoil everything in the series. You’ve been warned. But, if you’ve watched the series already and are coming here looking for answers, I’m unfortunately going to be of little help.

I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t understand a lot about this anime. Sonny Boy has so much weird stuff going on that a large portion of it went over my head. I think even if I rewatched it a few times I’d still be confused. But I love that about it.

From what I understood, the series is about life. That’s vague, but that’s really all I’ve got. I thought it was about death, with the students being transported into another dimension upon dying. But, we learned that wasn’t the case.

Nozomi and Nagara in the ocean from the anime series Sonny Boy
Nozomi and Nagara in the ocean

When they were able to see their old dimension at one point, they were still there and alive (except Nozomi). It’s at this point that I realized the series is actually about how you make meaning of your life.

These students learned that they’re merely copies of their old selves lost in a sea of dimensions. So with that knowledge, what do they do now? How do they cope with the truth of their reality?

For some, knowing the truth is good enough and they can now begin to live their new lives. Others, like Nagara and Nozomi, still believe they can make it back to their old dimension. And then there’s Rajdhani, who decides to go down the path of enlightenment.

Of everything in the series, Rajdhani’s character arc is the thing I’m most confused about. I guess I’m just not on his level. Everything he did throughout the second half of the series was a mystery to me. But maybe it was supposed to be.

Conclusion

Sonny Boy is a 9/10. There were some parts regarding the revelation of the truth that I wasn’t a huge fan of. At times, it almost felt like it was tossing the mystery aside. But, in the end, I still think it’s a fantastic anime.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤️ down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Leave a Comment