Sakamoto, no first name given, is an odd high schooler and his classmates aren’t sure what to make of him. He’s unflappable no matter what life throws at him but his solutions are often rather strange. It’s really hard to tell just what goes through Sakamoto’s mind; is he retaliating against bullies intentionally using the weirdest methods he can, or is this what Sakamoto’s mind sees as the most logical approach?
Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto is a little similar to My Neighbor Seki-kun given the amount of sheer absurdity that happens in the classroom, but Sakamoto feels a bit more distant and a little more mean-spirited. Seki-kun had the narrator Yokoi to help the reader connect with the story and, despite the teasing she received, her presence kept the pranks from feeling too nasty. Sakamoto isn’t supposed to be especially likable here and all of the side characters are mixtures of unpleasant human traits. Frankly you don’t really mind when they get their comeuppance (even for the characters where it’s not totally deserved). Without any connection to the characters and its purely situational, non-serial drama, it’s a bit hard to stay invested in the series. The art also comes off as a bit unsophisticated at times; it’s hard to tell if some of the background girl characters are supposed to be ugly or if Sano is having trouble with proportions. Both the backgrounds and shading are purely per-functionary despite both being good areas to add in additional absurdity.
There is an anime adaptation of the series and while I remember thinking that the humor was equally “not as funny as it thinks it is” and that the art direction it was lacking, with sounds and movement it might be a little funnier than this odd bird of a manga.