Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, Goodbye Teacher Despair, SZS Japanese: さよなら絶望先生
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 7, 2007 to Sep 23, 2007
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.231 (scored by 39475 users)
Ranked: #2452
Popularity: #78
Members: 71,065
Favorites: 2,171 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
comedy despair parody school slice of life |
SynopsisItoshiki Nozomu is always in despair! Even simple things like paying for the toll on the subway can send him to a despair so deep only attempted suicide is the answer. How Strange is it then, that he should be the teacher of a High School Class filled with students with even more emotional problems than his. This great Comedy will leave you in anything but 'Despair' as you meet each of his students and watch their wacky adventures. |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Sequel: Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Summary: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Jo: Zetsubou Shoujo Senshuu
Other: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Special
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
|
|
kurodayuchi
134 of 171 people found this review helpful
|
12 of 12 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
We all have times when we wish we were dead, although we don’t always mean it.
Well, I present you Itoshiki Nozomu. He’s the world’s most pessimistic person and always carries around a rope when things turn badly (by the way, when you write his name horizontally, you will get Zetsubou – despair). Right in the first episode we see Itoshiki hanging himself in some cherry trees and his imminent death is only stopped by Fuura Kafuka, his unequal: the world’s most optimistic person. This is what sets things off and from here on in we will make a journey through current Japan’s society, through the eccentric students of this eccentric teacher.
Usually when we talk about smart comedy what comes to mind is a Cambridge PhD that tells jokes that only Stephen Hawking and company can grasp. This series is really something because it is a smart comedy… that allows laughing. Zetsubou has a lot of serious subjects but you never see these treated like a soap opera. The problem is developed with a dark comedy that allows much more reflection about it.
Each character is a takeoff of modern Japan’s problematic citizens: a hikikomori, a perfectionist, a gaijin that suffers prejudice, an addict of cell phones, a stalker, a fan of yaoi and cat ears, an illegal immigrant, a girl that enjoys putting a stick in a dog’s ass (not sure if the last one is a general problem). The development of these characters may become compromised after the first half, conceding space to nonsense episodes, but this is natural coming from a comedy.
Usually when we see an anime we already know what to expect from the funny parts, they’re virtually the same every time. Again, that’s not the case here. Expect the unexpected. A really unique, cynical, nonsensical comedy. The color and the lighting is top quality. Also, get prepared to see a lot of cuts, abrupt changes of images, jokes been told on the blackboard or written on the screen. The dialogue is original and the animation is pretty creative and of high quality; moreover, there are a lot of alternative things.
For example, all the time you’ll see the picture of bald guy around, a Japanese Lex Luthor, that is funny exactly because there’s no purpose for that. There is an episode in which the characters are presented as paper dolls. The first opening doesn’t even have any image, except that damn bald guy. The second one can mix up Buddhism with bondage (don’t ask me how). The ending is like a surrealistic thriller. It’s a pretty cult comedy by this point of view, because uses a lot of art and animation techniques that you thought you would only find in a more serious anime or in a museum.
We can call it a harem series when we think that every girl somehow ends up falling in love with the teacher and that the only male characters that have the minimum relevance are a bald guy (another one) and a boy that only read books the entire time. There’s a lot of fanservice as well, but, one more time, the anime does that in a unique way. It’s almost like it is dissing the fanservice itself.
There are references to other anime like Lucky Star and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (and Zetsubou is incredibly similar to Watanuki from XXX Holic). Furthermore, the otaku world is shown in the traditional Comiket Market.
The first opening song, Hitotoshite Jiku ga Bureteiru, is performed by Kenji Ohtsuki, who some may remember from the ending of Welcome to NHK. Now, instead of the galactic crazy baby, there is a song that keeps repeating bure, bure, bure (warped, warped, warped)… whatever. What’s cool is that there is the participation of some of the voice actors like Nonaka Ai (here, Fuura Kafuka, but also known as Ibuki Fuko in Clannad After Story) and Inoue Marina (here she’s Kitsu Chiri; also made Eve Genoard in Baccano).
It may be a funny rock – you can’t hear Kenji sing without laughing - but is also a pretty good one, at least the song doesn’t get out of your head. Most of the OST is performed by Hasegawa Tomoki on the piano, and the majority of the songs are somewhat dramatic, melancholic, romantic, what fits with the dark comedy of the series pretty well.
When I finished the last episode I was so gloomy about it that I thought about doing bungee jumping from a two floors house with the rope around my neck cutting my wrists while falling after drinking caustic soda… but then I discovered that there was a second season and a third coming up this July… there’s still hope… ;)
read more
|
|
kiriska
140 of 198 people found this review helpful
|
12 of 12 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Despair! I am in it.
STORY - Story? What story? This is a slice-of-life series and it is based entirely around hilarious character shenanigans, though if you ever see characters like this in your life, I'd be a little worried. Still, there are a few reoccurring themes revolving around anime and otaku snark and satire of Japanese lifestyle, culture, politics, media, literature, etc. They also frequently make fun of themselves, which is incredibly amusing. It's all amazingly well done and highly entertaining, I assure you. A bit of warning through, if you try and pause to read every single thing written in the background for scenes, you will turn 20 minute episodes into 40 minute episodes. read more
Recommendations
|
|
Comedies by SHAFT with the same voice actors.
Both are made by SHAFT and have the similar air and feeling about them.
Both are comedy. Akiyuki Shinbou directs them both.
The voice actors are the same, too.
If you watched and liked Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei you should watch Maria†Holic.
Both are made by SHAFT and have the similar air and feeling about them.
Both are comedy and the pacing is also similar. Akiyuki Shinbou directs them both.
The voice actors are the same, too.
Maria†Holic follows a main plot while Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is strong in parody slice-of-life comedy.
If you watched and liked Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei you should watch Maria†Holic.
similar style and humor. and both main characters are in "despair".
Only 2 episodes into this, I noticed it was HIGHLY similar to Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. The art styles are pretty much the same, the comedy is dark, and hysterical. Even the pictures at the very end (All drawn by different artists) are alike! If you liked Maria Holic, you will definitely LOVE Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei!
Both series are comedies done by SHAFT in similar styles. While Maria Holic has a more structured plot, it can be just as wacky as SZS. Maria Holic also parodies Nozomu's despair sequence from time to time, which SZS fans will love. I suspect that Dorm Mistress and Kafuka are related. They are eerily similar.
Along with Bakemonogatari both are a quintessence of SHAFT's craziness and their great ideas.
Both anime are awesomly done by SHAFT, and also share some voice actors.
Both are comedies with the parody element and a black sense of humour.
Both main characters are in despair.
Both are set at school and have a good, interesting cast of characters.
Both have shoujo-ai, even if in SZS they're only hints.
Both are worth watching, but Zetsubou Sensei is better.
same studio, same style both very funny
Both are Studio SHAFT productions under the helm of Akiyuki Shinbo, which rely on fast paced gags, puns, and innuendos.
The style of comedy is similar, and some of the jokes cross over from Zetsubou-Sensei
Both contain the insane craziness of SHAFT.
They are made by studio SHAFT and have a great art style.
Both are parodies.
Similar sense of humor.
Both are hilarious.
Both series have the same producers so there are elements which are similar between the two. The comedy and the art style are basically similar.
It's been said and exhausted before, but both are fun, crack, series to watch when you're in the mood for a great comedy. Both Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Maria Holic do not have much continuity (Maria Holic has a slight bit more, but that's not saying much), great opening themes, and a great sense of humour.
Same producer (SHAFT). Both of them are comedy, parody and school. Art is similar. The only difference is that Maria†Holic is romance and has plot.
Same style animation both very funny
Beyond the obviousness of their both being Shaft productions, each has a single theme that gets beaten senseless. These one-trick ponies get lost in the wilderness and well before they actually finish, each runs out of things to say. Many episodes would have benefitted from losing 5-10 minutes since much of the repetition would have been cut. Losing a few episodes would have helped the series as there were a few too many in which nothing happened -- the season finales offending most egregiously.
Typical for Shaft shows, the music is mostly interesting. The artwork is good and the characters are visually attractive.
To sum the experience up... I feel like I've watched two comedy skits that were turned into feature films.
The artwork and the animation is pretty much the same. Maria Holic might be a little lighter than Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, but there's numerous characters and lots of high school girls absurdities in both of them.
|
|
|
Both Includes a lot of references of greats animes..So Funny
The way they use other anime reference hidden or revealed in each episode.
Both are School, Satire, Comedy making fun of Japanese culture. Lucky Star makes fun of the gaming and anime culture whilst Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei ridicules other psychological and social issues. ^_^
Although the humor is much darker in SZS, prepare for cute girls and EXTREME RANDOMNESS in both :]
Both share the genres of parody, school, and slice of life. There is no real story in either and filled with randomness. There is an evidence of uniqueness in both.
Both refer to otaku's culture.
Both anime feature strange and funny school girls, and both have a lot of cameo from other anime.
Great humour which, unfortunately, is brought only to the chosen ones, who have watched either Lucky Star, or Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Both shows take place mainly in the school grounds and have many similarities in the use of jokes. Also, the characters in both anime are strange and are not the typical ones you can expect from the average school related series. While Konata in Lucky Star is presented as a hardcore otaku with questionable morals, Itoshiki Nozomu from Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei has somehow weird understanding of very much ordinary things. Well, one's for sure - you won't get bored while watching either os these series!
totally random with plenty of references and parodies
Anime/manga references hidden (or popping out in your face) in each episode, but SZS has a more darker art style. Most of their characters are females, and they're both funny. Both series also center their plot around high school students, including teachers and other side characters. Oh, and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei sometimes add a little dark comedy in the mix.
Both are slice of life comedies that parody a lot of other animes, and there are even a few Lucky Star parodies in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.
Both seem to point out the small things in life that tend to become our habits without even noticing. Also, both have a cast of mostly girls who are quite stereotypical.
Both anime share the same style but sayonara zetsubou sensei uses a darker style of humor, both are extremely random and dosent follow a specific storyline, and both uses various parody about japanese culture.
while lucky star maybe less crazy than sayonara zetsubou sensei, they are still both very funny and revolve around school
|
Opening Theme#1: "Hito toshite Jiku ga Bureteiru (人として軸がぶれている)" by Kenji Ohtsuki feat. Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yu Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro & Ryoko Shintani (eps 1-9, 12)
#2: "Gouin ni Mai Yeah~" by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yu Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro & Ryoko Shintani (eps 10-11)
Ending Theme"Zessei Bijin (絶世美人)" by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yu Kobayashi & Ryoko Shintani
Fansubbing Groups
Which fansubbers do you like the best? Click + to approve of their subs for this show. Click - if you don't think they did such a great job.
Related ClubsBlack Hair Fanclub., BANZAI! federation, Manga vs. Anime, Multiple Personality Characters, Group of Anime Addicts (GAA), Save Media Blasters!, anime-all, Critics and Connoisseurs, Ecchi Squad, Dying Will Bullets!!!, The funny fan club!, Nozomu Itoshiki Fanatics., Marry A "" Character!!, Devon & Cornwall Anime & Manga, Bermuda Tri Star Angle Club, Kenji Ohtsuki Appreciation Club, Anime Experience, Anime art that r0cks!!, Kafuka Fuura Fanclub, Claim an Eye Changing/Eye Technique CharacterIntelligent Perverts, Kitsu Chiri Precise Fanclub, Kamiya Hiroshi fanclub, Zetsubou-sensei Fanclub, Harem Club, Insane Anime Club, Bows!, Polski Mindfuck Klub, Parody Lovers!, New South Wales Aussie Anime Club, Comic Corner, Unrequited Love Club , Crack Anime, Yin & Yang , ♥ Baka Nation ♥, The Amazingly Cute Club of Komori Kiri-Chan, Random Anime & Manga Club, School Anime Club, Anime Latino, JadedGoth Fan Club, Unusual is Better, The Nonaka Ai Association, Ro-Otaku, Anime Recommendation and Help Center, Ryoko Shintani Fanclub, Marina Inoue fanclub, CNCFixins, Matoi Fan-Club, Zessei Bijin., #Anime on irc.LucidChat.net, Claim an Anime Studio Club! , Horror Anime Fanclub, Anime/Manga Club, Just Noticed, Draccon's Tea House, Girls Otaku Community, Artsy, Internet is serious business, Takahiro Mizushima fanclub, Anime Pairings FC, 91.8 The Fan, Claim a baka(Idiot), chiaki's favorites!, Red Eyes Fanclub, !~~tsubasalover's Friendships~~!, Missile Punch, We Luv Anime Guys, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, VIC ANIME CLUB, Comedy Anime Lovers, Love|Hate Anime Character, ♥Yuuichi Nakamura Fanclub♥, GHHS Anime club, Meru Otonashi fanclub, The Official Maedax Fanclub, Secret Club, TGIF Club, Ultimate Anime Pairs, ~~*Claim Club*~~, The Noodle and the Bear :D, Anime/Manga Discussion , Harumi Fujiyoshi (藤吉 晴美) FC, Hot Springs (Onsen) and Bath House (Sentou) Fanclub, Haitou, Dark Comedy, Complete Craziness, ACG Cruisers/Akihabara Battleships, Chiri Kitsu Fan Club, One-eyed characters, ♥, MAL Anime Academy, Anime Comedy Club, Scary Girls Club, Don't Say Normal! Nami Hitou Fan-Club, Savršeno normalna grupa ljudi, Proper Language, Comedy Explosion, Studio SHAFT, Abiru Kobushi Fanclub, Dimension of Despair, Slice of Anime Life, The BADASSED Club, iCarly fanclub, Personagens Carismaticos, We love Kudou-kun and his stories!, MALs Comedy Club, The Spoon Mode Club, Fang-tan fun: The cree Fanclub~!, Rights for Men Alliance, Shishio's Custom Lists and Profiles (CSS + BBcode help) with Image sharing, Jacob is Everyone, Anime/Manga Discussion , ~The Nife Room~, Oliver's Secret Yaoi Night Club (Belgium), Ponytail Characters Club, Emo Characters Club (Claim is available), Claim a School Delinquent, ★Pictorial Culture Miscellany★, 小節あびる (Kobushi Abiru), The Goto Yuko Club, Chiwa Saito, The fangzhao club, SZS rpg, Anime/Manga Sanctuary, Claim A Psycho., My favorites, Why did you do that? That really irritates me!, Chiri Kitsu (木津 千里) FC, MAL chain of stalkers!!, Odd Eyes Club, Split Personality Fan Club, Mari's Club XD, Intense Anime Characters Fanclub , Pirate Party MAL, Dark Anime Club, --||international Hikikomori Kyoukai||--, Animetr, Mindfuck-Club, Role Players Unite!, Cute Anime Girl Club, Goths, punks, and metalheads unite, Hiroshi Kamiya & Daisuke Ono Fanclub, Animanga Lovers, Deadpan Humor, Anfiniti Network, Anime Songs , Hikikomori Kyoukai!, We Love Maria, Pink Supervisor's Supergirl ~Kafuka Fuura~, Itoshiki Rin Fanclub, Otaku see all
Recently Watched By|
3 minutes ago |
7 minutes ago |
7 minutes ago |
23 minutes ago |
43 minutes ago | |
1 hour ago |
2 hours ago |
2 hours ago |
2 hours ago |
3 hours ago |
|
|
