"Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei" takes this sentiment with a grain of salt. Our lead character, Itoshiki Nozomu, is a depressed, suicidal teacher who always views things in the most negative light. His class, sadly enough, has more problems than he does; the students range from a hikkikomori to a balding boy who literally disappears from a lack of presence. The show details Nozomu's attempts (mostly failed) to teach his class about life and society.
Story:
As you can see above, this show does not have that much of an overarching story. While some elements of an episode may be referenced in later episodes (often hilariously), the episodes all have contained stories. This first season is primarily focused on introducing the characters. The stories in the episodes feature elements of life, parts of Japanese culture, or Japanese phrases, taken to the logical extreme in a satirical manner. I enjoyed this format quite a bit (though others might not; it depends), and gave it a 9.
Art:
Being a show created by Shaft, "Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei" features Akiyuki Shinbo's distinct animation style (there's even an episode in a later season that explains and deconstructs his style). Now, Akiyuki Shinbo's usage of quick cuts to blocks of text and frequent color-replacing may not appeal to everyone, but it certainly does for me. The artwork in this show is sometimes inconsistent (to create humor). Also, Shinbo always likes to put random things into his shows, and this one is no different. Every single shot with a blackboard in it probably has a shout-out or reference of some sort displayed on the blackboard. He also likes to use the "Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei" manga author's face (mostly as a censoring device, but also on the school's clock, and randomly inserted elsewhere), and he even appears as a character (voiced by himself). This random style really appeals to me, which is why I gave it a 9.
Sound:
Hiroshi Kamiya does a great job voicing the character Itoshiki Nozomu, and is always a delight to listen to. All of the other voice actors/actresses do marvelous jobs as well. The soundtrack is not bad; it helps to set the mood and isn't annoying to listen to, but it does not have any outstanding tracks. I give sound an 8.
Character:
Almost all of the characters are interesting. We have suicidal teacher Itoshiki Nozomu, positive girl Fuura Kafuka (pen name), and a ton of other characters with their own unique quirks...although they're almost never unique; they're either extreme versions of a stereotype, or a subverted version of a stereotype, but stereotypes nonetheless. However, the charm of these characters is not in their depth (because they're all pretty shallow characters). One of the best parts of this show is the interaction between the characters, and their dialogues. Because these interactions, to me, were very entertaining, I give Character a 9.
Enjoyment:
I really enjoyed this show, it's satirical story and dialogues, its random art style and animation, and the voice actors/actresses performances. I give Enjoyment a 10.
Overall:
I really enjoyed this show, but others might not. For one, the themes and issues addressed in this show may be a little disconcerting for some. Others might not like Shinbo's strange animation style. The lack of a good story may also be a turn-off factor for people (I myself was a little disappointed that there was no good ending, even at the end of the third season). I recommend that you watch an episode or two, because the first episodes give a pretty good idea of what's in store for future episodes. You might love it like I did, or you may hate it to death, but in my opinion, it's a unique, quirky piece of art that should not be missed.
9/10
