Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Yes the characters are one note and defined by their "gimmicks", that is the joke, and I for one think it works very well. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a parody anime. What it is parodying is the average harem, for instance Da Capo or Absolute Duo. For the record, I hate absolute duo. Why? Because I see it as the most average of average harems. There is nothing unique. This is exactly why Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is so hilarious to me. Take Julie from AD, for instance. She is the token kuudere character. We don't know much about her other than that she is a kuudere and she comes from some place in the north. We also know what her boobs look like because fanservice is more important than character development...? Oh dear. Then, let's take Kafuka from SZS. She is hilariously cheerful. Her only personality trait is that she is cheerful. It works because Zetsubou Sensei is so depressed. The two extremes work remarkably well! For instance, in episode one, he is trying to hang himself. Kafuka comes along and decides that he is simply trying to make himself taller. Just like her father did on frequent occasions. Nuff said.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (or So Long, Mr. Despair) is a comedic anime about a depressed high school teacher done by SHAFT and directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. I generally don't like comedy anime because they're usually either moe or spastic Excel Saga-type shows. Zetsubou Sensei is different though because most of the humor comes from the show being so strange. They constantly cut to random scenes that are there only to act as gags, experimental animation styles are used at times, and nonsensical sections are interjected for no reason at all. The anime is soo weird and so rooted in Japanese culture that it will never get licensed. It's all been fansubbed so far, so you can watch this odd series subbed. You could also check out the manga, but without the voice acting and decent character designs, much of the weirdness and humor has been removed.

Definitely not what I expected while watching. More sexual...visualizations(?) then anticipated originally. Over all I think I can say I liked this. There's a lot of social criticism not only of basic things like politics and economics, but they even go so far as to make fun of things like Yaoi/Yuri and the anime and manga industries. The story doesn't revolve quite as much around Sensei as I thought it would, and there were certain episodes that were rather pointless (though I guess in essence the whole anime was really pointless) such as the arranged marriage episode. Other then that, I would recommend this anime only to people with quirky, twisted senses of humor and don't mind a little visualized girl on girl action from time to time. Awesome first opening theme.

Hey! This anime reminds me of all you pessimistic motherfuckers dragging me down! Haha jk, genuinely though this anime centers on a very suicidal man :) and laughs at it :) and it's fucking hysterical :) Anyways, soorrry, just did that cuz I'm bad at hooks. FTR, I'm reviewing the series as a whole here. And also, there are some circumstances with this series that idk- uh- well- the 8 score is probably a bit low? if I ever rewatch it I think the score would go up basically. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a fantastic comedy anime, and do not be fooled- despite the fact that I'm gonna talk about a couple more serious things about it that I like you should not go in expecting anything but a really funny comedy anime with some clever and sometimes pretentious social commentary. We start off with a man trying to commit suicide and a girl witnessing that. Respectively, they are our two main characters here: Itoshiki/ Zetsubou Sensei and Kafuka. Gotta say, I haven't watched many shaft anime- only about 3....ish... to completion but I'm gonna say first episodes are their forte. This is definitely one of my most memorable first episodes and it's horribly funny; In both a literal and figurative sense. The two main characters are the other's foil, Sensei is THE most pessimistic man on the planet and Kafuka is a lovely little lady boundlessly full of optimism and naivety. Starting out the jokes all revolve around his students' mental problems and unhealthy habits/ compulsions... oof. A girl with OCD, a girl with two personalities that kick in depending on what's pressuring her, a hikikomori, and several, several more. And it's all very, very funny. Occasionally there's gonna be a cultural or language-oriented joke you're not gonna get but overall it doesn't detract. After we've introduced our cast of characters the joke setup is mainly: Sensei introduces something awful, or something which- you gotta quote it- makes him declare "I'm in DESPAIR!" or "Zetsuboushita!" about society, gives the students a tour of it all and Kafuka then retaliates with the opposite positive look on things, sometimes her wraparounds to twisting the situation in a positive way are seriously ridiculous. And that's part of what makes it hilarious. But it does get a bit tediously formulaic on that towards the end, I'm not saying it stops being funny at any point. But you're just thinking sometimes, until they do the next really unique episode, that at times it's a bit exhausting even if you're laughing at it. Beyond that, the art in the series is stunning and abstract without being abrasive or immersion-breaking. Shaft does a thing where they overlay patterns over the clothes that's super cool, the colors are gorgeous- it's a damn pretty show. And also every main opening is genuinely one of my favorite openings ever. They are amazing. I wanna go further into the score because, what anyone who has read the ending would tell you, after reading the last 10 or so chapters to see the ending I think this series is a masterpiece or at the very least it HAS to impact the score in some way. ESPECIALLY in the anime production of it, Shaft puts in so much foreshadowing and is so careful about it. Watching the openings and everything after I finished it gave me goosebumps, even now. Made me wanna immediately rewatch it even if I had just finished it and was burnt out. And don't be like, "well, if I gotta read the manga it's not so great" with me mister- it's TEN chapters, it takes a few minutes, and you just watched- like- FORTY EPISODES. And also, well you don't gotta read it... It's still a really good anime without knowing the ending.... Another thing I wanna mention is that this series, ironically, made me super positive after watching it. They're true, all the awful things Sensei says but when you see things from both sides it really makes you realize how trivial it is to obsess over the bad things. When there are good things staring right at you, someone who's willing to try so hard to change things and your perspective. People trying their best to live, love in the air in spring, busy days at school or work, the fun future you can't predict. Maybe Kafuka is right, things aren't so bad. After all, she goes through so much just to make you see the good. Even after the worst things possible.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a dark comedy anime about a pessimistic, suicidal high-school teacher who teaches a bunch of mentally broken girls about how horrible and negative the world is. One student has serve O.C.D., another one is a hikikomori, one has a guilt complex, and one is an extreme optimist, who sincerely believes that there's nothing in the world that is negative; she's the polar opposite of Zetsubou-Sensei. Nozomu Itoshiki is the Zetsubou-Sensei. If you put the first two characters of his name too close together, his name says, "Zetsubou," which means, "Despair." Episode formula: 1.) Zetsubou-Sensei conveys a statement about a negative aspect of society, and on some occasions, the world. 2.) He then gives examples to further prove his point. Most of the time, the show uses metaphorical commentary to get it through the viewer. 3.) His students come out of nowhere, and give their opinion on the subject. 4.) Kafuka Fuura (The extremely optimistic student I mentioned) counters said statement that Zetsubou-Sensei made earlier, and mentions the positive side of the subject. 5.) All of this is going on while the show makes cultural references (Specifically Japanese references), on rare occasions, foreign culture, anime, manga, video games, and even classical literature. Season one in probably the weakest of the three seasons. Season one focuses more on introducing characters. Most of the appeal is the wacky yet dark humor the series has, and season one doesn't go to the extreme like the other two seasons do. As a whole, the entire series is amazing and hilarious, depending on your sense of humor. The humor can be very hit-or-miss for a lot of people. Sometimes you'll get an episode that's completely flat and unrelatable and then in the next episode the comedy is spot-on. That's the only thing that's keeping me from giving this show a 10 out of 10. It's very close, but I will this show a 9 out of 10.

Kafuka Fuura a cheerful and happy girl who always looks on the positives of life is an average high school girl who happens to be on her way to school. On her travels she finds and man attempting to hang himself. After seemingly stopping the attention seeking teacher that sets in motion the chain of unrelated events and the daily life of our absurdest teacher Zetsubo Sensei. I loved watching Welcome to the NHK which was had elements of serious elements of social and mental defects. Such as depression, shut-in's, suicide cults and more. I like it when shows add in elements of serious issues of society and make it into something light hearted. I was hoping this show would be the same... well let’s explore that. Story: Now i wouldn't necessarily say that this series has an overarching story. Essentially the series is just showing us the wacky and random events in the daily life of a depressed teacher and his students. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and since it is a comedy it relies more on its strong characters and comedic moments which are there to see. However the jokes used in Zetsubo Sensei can be hit or miss. Some episodes you can get a good laugh and other times it can be meh. The show does re-use some jokes and i does get repetitive. This series also tends to have sexual references without making it obvious such as a teacher bathing with her student and pleasure through pain or S&M. Art: The art is very strange and fascinating. The character designs are very 2D. There are moments when the animation is very nice to look at because of the unusual sight. The opening is also a strange and creepy thing to watch, but its so different that I couldn't skip it for the life of me. Another thing that had me thinking was that in each episode it had a picture of what i presumed to be the creator's face. It was strange but i didn't mind. Sound: To be perfectly honest I didn't really notice the soundtrack for most parts. I may have to have another listen to the soundtrack. The opening was really good and the closing had a spooky can of theme. All in all it’s ok. Characters: We follow what i assume to be our protagonist Nozomu Itoshiki a depressed teacher who just can't to seem to see anything in a positive light. His character never really develops as we still see the same old teacher refusing to change hos beliefs and ideals. He isn't exactly a great teacher or role model as he is constantly berating his students and diminishes their hopes and dreams with the iron fist of reality. The only other character who plays equally as big role is Kafuka Fu'ura. She is the happy and super positive heroine of the series. She stops Nozomu from killing himself and then proceeds to befriend him. The relationship between the two seems non-existent but the two do show a mutual interest in each other and seeing as this is only the first season who knows what else could happen. Final Verdict: While i can praise the show for being something quite different and a series aimed more at my tastes Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei is an above average show that can be a hit or miss. As for its humour it can also be a hit or miss. The series will feel longer than it should if it drags out and repeats it dark jokes. Overall i give this show a 7 out of 10 and a recommendation to at least try the first three episodes. If its not for you then you'll know straight off the bat Thanks for reading guys. Any comments are welcome and until then. Have a nice day!

tl;dr this show is weird, and most people wouldn't like it or derive anything out of it. I still don't know why I gave it an 8. If you boil down all the fat and reduce the show to its core components, it's a harem show with wordplay entirely based around straight man deadpan humor. The concepts are so farfetched, and the humor is so clearly targeted towards Japanese audiences I am amazed this show has a following as large as it does (not that a majority of people would know anything about this show but 100k members on here is a decent number.) Visually it looks better than most things released in 2007. I still enjoyed myself though, so in the end I suppose I am nothing but a statistic fueling the decent rating for this show. I am in despair!

Having fun with your Work: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Tl;dr - Much fun, very cool, recommend for da horny people So it’s no surprise that SHAFT runs on rather tight production values (until Monogatari and Madoka anyway) and they sometimes tend to be ‘unprofessional’ but it’s these things that give there work so much damn character beyond what’s physically on the screen. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a prime example of the appeal of SHAFT, with brilliant use of audio-visual editing, pop culture referencing and seeming inside jokes that almost no one would get except the people who worked on this. The show itself is filled character with combinations of jokes made by staff or the source material itself, despite jokes not being that funny most of the time. This show greatly raises the standards on any Slice of Life, Harem, Comedy that I’ll see in the future, if all of them were this fun to watch or had this much soul and character in it I’d doubt this genre would be looked down on as much. And it thanks to what you’d expect to be the most important thing to get right for these kinds of shows, extremely likeable characters, each on with they’re own characteristics that serve in themselves to parody the occasional mentality of people and greatly exaggerate them. Not only that but the soundtrack used is pretty top notch in itself, I’m sure you’ve heard the ‘Itoshiki Nozomu’ track. I don’t have as much knowledge in production in music as in film or animation but to me, this song captures his character extremely well and it’s satisfying to hear every time it play. That song is just an example, there are multiple other tracks that have reached me and potentially could reach you as well. Discussing in its art, this is likely something an innumerable amount of people would disagree with me on but I find it only enjoyable in animation (which makes sense as they have simple designs making it easy to translate them to animation) but when I read the original manga, I find myself mixing the characters up more than a few times and, while less, a number of time in the anime as well although never at a point to completely take me out a scene. In all, I still find the general art visually appealing and satisfying to look at but as for designs, it becomes harder to complement as heavily but still like them nonetheless. I’d definitely recommend to anyone looking for more style and creativity in animation in general (despite not being traditionally well animated, but most certainly has its moments) thanks to its top tier editing and direction alone.

tl;dr: A very bizarre anime with a bizarre art style featuring a bizarre set of characters that managed to be quite amusing. That anime was utterly bizarre. It's mostly a gag anime, with no real plot, wherein even when there was plot there wasn't any plot. But the thing that makes it different from other gag anime, is that the humor is pretty dark in a social commentary sort of way. It uses its humor to poke fun at society. Some of that of is universal, or at least easy enough to understand, and was quite amusing throughout. But a good portion of it also felt like it was targeted pretty precisely at individual Japan events and issues, which mostly probably flew over my head. In terms of the characters, they were certainly interesting, though flat, but really, they were so strange that I'm not sure if I like them or not, as it feels like you haven't seen that much of them, and it's pretty much at null in terms of development. Still, the story is apparently just getting started here and there's more than enough time for that later. Here it felt like it was enough for it to be amusing, and it was, so it felt solid enough. The art style was also incredibly bizarre, but seemed to work well. I feel that I should talk more about it because it very much does feel like one of the main selling points, but its pretty difficult to describe why it works as well as it does. Just within context it is quite amazing. The main OP was good, but used quite strangely. The second OP was random and not so good. The ED was good. The soundtrack I felt was pretty forgettable considering how the other aspects seemed to be so finely crafted.

Goodbye, Teacher Despair is a surprisingly entertaining anime i stumbled upon while trying to find something new to watch. The story revolves around a highschool teacher Nozomu Itoshiki who is suicidal (dont worry its a comedy). And a very optimistic but kinda clumsy girl Kafuka Fuura. Who despite trying to save him from killing himself she always accidentally almost kills him... His classroom is full of girls who are strange and eccentric in their own way. Girls with split personalities. Stalkers. Girls who look shy but only communicate by sending mean texts. A girl who gets hurt playing with (abusing) zoo animals. A girl who refuses to leave her room. Each day he has to deal with a new problem. All the characters are interesting and entertaining. The MC aswell as his eventual unwanted entourage (harem) of school girls. There is also some nice panty shots and minor nudity for fanservice. It has a nice flat hand-drawn animation style. That sets it apart from looking generic. The animation can also switch to a more goofy style for comedic purposes.

Brief summary: --- "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" is a gag anime based on a manga of the same name. Animated by SHAFT ("Bakemonogatari", "Madoka Magica"), 12 episodes long (with a second season). From what I understand, it jumps around the manga's chapters. Zetsubou-Sensei is a high-school teacher who flies into sudden fits of despair, usually caused by the most minor of things. This usually leads to his attempted suicide, but he is often distracted or talked out of it by other characters. The show focuses on his antics with the students in his class (nearly all girls); each student has their own brief story segment and defining character traits. Despite the macabre premise, the show is lighthearted and funny, with humor on the darker side of things. My thoughts: --- Before I get negative about the show, I want to commend the animation of "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei". Shots vary wildly and change quickly. The show's art is stylized and texture masking is used to great effect. I like how every episode has easter eggs; watching the dub for this one required some pausing to get everything. Even though these details are mostly nonsensical writing (or more likely, jokes that just didn't translate well into English), it's neat. The show also does a lot of what I'll unfortunately call "trolling" (if I had a better word for it, I'd use it, but "trolling" seems to work best here), although I think this is the funniest part of the anime. Jokes like having a stripped back intro because "they were still working on it" is pretty funny, or teasing things at the end of episodes that end to nothing. From the little I know about SHAFT, all of their shows are like this. This aspect of the show is the strongest, and really where most of my rating comes from. I can't say that "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" excels in any other category. In fact, I think it's quite an average, milquetoast show largely carried by the style. SZS's major flaw is that it is simply not funny. For the record, I think gag anime has a large bar to clear. The source material usually has shorter chapters, so it's hard to extract a 10 page chapter into a 12-13 minute segment (as is done in this show; every episode is about 2 or 3 chapters). But while this conversion works a little better in other shows like "Daily Lives of High School Boys", it just falls flat in SZS. Often you'll understand the breadth of a joke within the first 2 minutes of the segment, and then have to deal with it while they just drag it on way, way, way too long. The subject of the jokes may be different than other gag anime (choosing to focus on Japanese culture and customs instead of Japanese pop culture), but it's still presented in the same juvenile manner. Instead of "wow, look how silly video games are!", it's "wow, Japanese people are really goofy!". I don't mind this subject matter, but this show just picks low hanging fruit jokes and runs with them for far too long. "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" also struggled with a lack of continuity. Again, this isn't something I expected from a gag anime, but it feels like character interaction and the weight of some scenes dissipate after the episode ends. Watching SZS is more like tuning in to the weekly "The Simpsons" episode than it is watching a continuous piece of work. Again, not bad, but there isn't much keeping me to the show if the previous episode I watched wasn't that good. Once each girl in the class has their little storyline, they become nothing but a single joke, far beyond one dimensional. This is kind of frustrating because I feel like this anime could have been so much more. There's an ever-so-slight sense of supernatural going on in the world of SZS and they never expand on it. The intro and outro are so interesting (my favorite parts of the show by far); when I started watching, I thought that the show would be so much more than just a simple gag anime. It feels like a missed opportunity, and I've heard the manga actually does go places, so I may try reading that instead. If you're fond of gag anime and you're sick of the standard fare from the genre, I'd recommend "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" as an oddball take on the form. But I'd much rather read gag manga over anime, so it feels lost on me. 6 ~ Mixed Feelings

I never realized an anime about suicide will be this funny It is basically episodic, with each episode introducing a new character, my favourites are: the girl who trolls others with messages , and the one obsessed with animals tails (Yes that is really in the anime). Be aware the it is very fanservicey and filled with random shots of panties and other weird stuff. Aside from that, this anime can teach your things about society, particularly the Japanes society and the social issues which you do not normally see in media. I can summarize the show in five words: Random Hilarious Meta Crazy Informative Sorry If my review is a random, I am trying to mimic the style of the anime :)

While this was almost close to a 10 score, the main character was also close to trying to kill himself. This alone stopped it’s way from having a perfect score. In all seriousness Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is the perfect underrated (though, at times underappreciated) comedy that balances the darkness and absurdity in ways that made for the best entertaining comedy I’ve seen from an anime perspective. The mental acuity in trying to keep up with most of the satirical jabs regarding Japanese school, work and home life were very unique and done in a way where both the main and supporting characters shined in ways in which I did not think were possible. Most people might shy away from anime like this due to its absurdist humor, but if anything, I have to say they’d be doing themselves a disservice for skipping on this. Most of the episodes that take place outside the classroom, to most episodes having to deal with making hard choices like evading responsibility and trying to follow the “right’ or “original” way, are the reason why something that was made in the mid to late 00’s deserves a nomination of the best anime for the 2000’s for sure. With the exception of Nichijou and the Monogatari series, it will be a while until we get a comedic anime that can almost hit all the levels of what comedy is supposed to be. Though, if there ever was a rebooted version of this, I hope the main character doesn’t get too hurt trying to not self harm himself while trying to figure out the meaning on why he should continue wanting to live his own life while actually being alive (instead of trying to desperately find a way to end it).