Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei

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Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei

Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei DVD volume 1.
さよなら絶望先生
Genre Satire
Manga
Author Kōji Kumeta
Publisher Flag of Japan Kodansha
English publisher Flag of the United States Del Rey Manga
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run 2005 – ongoing
Volumes 13
TV anime
Director Akiyuki Shinbo
Studio Shaft
Network Flag of Japan Chiba TV
Original run July 7, 2007 – September 23, 2007
Episodes 12
TV anime: (Zoku) Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei
Director Akiyuki Shinbo
Studio Shaft
Network Flag of Japan Chiba TV
Original run January 5, 2008 – March 29, 2008
Episodes 13

Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei (さよなら 絶望先生? literally Goodbye, Mr. Despair) is a Japanese manga by Kōji Kumeta, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine. It is a comedy about a teacher who takes all aspects of life, language and culture in the most negative light possible. It satirizes politics, media, and Japanese society. In 2007, the manga received the thirty-first Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category,[1] and was adapted into a twelve-episode anime series. Weekly Shōnen Magazine announced that a second season, titled (Zoku) Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei (【俗・】さよなら絶望先生? literally (Vulgar) Goodbye, Mr. Despair) would be made;[2] it began airing on January 5, 2008.

Contents

[edit] Plot and setting

See also: List of Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei characters

Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei revolves around a very pessimistic high school teacher named Nozomu Itoshiki who, at the very beginning of the series, tries to hang himself on a sakura tree. Despite this effort of self-destruction, he is saved by an extremely optimistic girl known only as Kafuka Fuura (though in her effort to save his life, she almost kills him). She explains to him that it is simply unimaginable that he would hang himself on such a nice day, especially in front of such beautiful trees. She decides to nickname Nozomu "Pink Supervisor" (桃色係長 Momoiro Kakarichō?), and offers to pay him fifty yen to call him by that nickname. After having enough of the strange girl, Nozomu bolts to the school and starts his homeroom class, but the attempt to escape was in vain as he finds that the girl is one of his students. Not only that, but Kafuka is just the tip of the iceberg: each and every student in his class represents a new personality quirk or bizarre obsession, posing challenges that the suicidally-inclined teacher must overcome in spite of himself.

Each chapter or episode of the series revolves around a particular aspect of life, Japanese culture, or a common phrase in the Japanese language. Typically, this involves the subject being taken either to its most logical extreme (a discussion of amakudari, the practice of "descending" from the public to the private sector, results in Nozomu "descending" until he reaches his previous life), or taken literally (in Nozomu's family, omiai, normally a meeting between a potential match in an arranged marriage, is instead a marriage concluded by eye-contact). On other occasions, Nozomu challenges his students to think about the negative aspects of something usually considered positive. These in-depth, off-kilter analyses (along with the reactions of the students according to their own personality quirks) are usually brought to a head with a punchline based on the overall premise, or more rarely, a non-sequitur gag or piece of fan service.

While ostensibly set in the present day relative to its original serialization, the manga utilizes a variety of aesthetic tropes that evoke the early-to-mid Shōwa period. This is exemplified by the main character's consistent wearing of a kimono and hakama (largely relegated to special events in modern Japan), but is also evident in stylistic choices such as the anachronistic appearance of architecture, vehicles, and technology such as televisions. Chapter title pages are drawn to resemble karuta cards, with an illustration in a silhouetted kiri-e style. Chapter titles are oblique references to literature, modified to suit the needs of the chapter. The anime carries this further through a washed-out, grainy visual style that mimics film, and frequent use of katakana (rather than hiragana) as okurigana. The anime also regularly refers to the date as though Emperor Hirohito were still alive, such that Heisei 20 (the twentieth year of Emperor Akihito's reign, or 2008 by the Gregorian calendar) becomes "Shōwa 83".

[edit] Media

[edit] Manga

The manga series was created by Kōji Kumeta and was first serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 2005, published by Kodansha. As of May 2008, thirteen bound volumes have been released in Japan. The series has been licensed for an English-language translation by Del Rey Manga, with the first release scheduled for the spring of 2009.[3]

[edit] Anime first season

See also: List of Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei episodes

The anime series first aired in Japan on July 7, 2007 on TV Kanagawa and contains twelve episodes. Directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and animated by Shaft, the anime embellishes the story with abundant references to popular culture, mainly through the seemingly random thoughts that appear written on the chalkboard in classroom scenes (much like the series Pani Poni Dash! and Negima!?, also produced by Shaft and Shinbo). The anime is somewhat of a personal triumph for the often self-defeating Kumeta, as his previous manga have never been animated — most recently, his earlier work Katte ni Kaizo was scheduled for an anime release but was canceled before it aired. Each episode ends with a still image drawn by one of the manga artists associated with Kōji Kumeta.

A special fifty-minute DVD summary episode titled Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei Jo: Zetsubō Shōjo Senshū (さよなら絶望先生 序〜絶望少女撰集? lit. "Goodbye, Mr. Despair Preface: Despair Girls Collection") was released on January 1, 2008. The DVD consists of seven parts, each of them featuring one of main heroines with several additions to the original TV broadcast version.[4] A twenty-minute version was aired as an outline summary on BS11 Digital on January 4, 2008.[5]

[edit] Music

Opening themes
  1. "As a Person, I am Twisted to the Core" (人として軸がぶれている Hito to shite Jiku ga Burete iru?) by Kenji Ohtsuki featuring Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro and Ryōko Shintani (episodes 1–9, 12)
  2. "Overbearing Dance, Yeah" (強引niマイYeah～ Gōin ni Mai Yeah~?) by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi, and Ryōko Shintani (episodes 10–11)
Ending theme
  1. "Unparalleled Beauty" (絶世美人 Zessei Bijin?) by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi, and Ryōko Shintani

For the first three episodes, the opening animation consists of slides of text with the characters' names and the production staff. It also changes slightly, with each episode's opening having a special message roughly halfway through. The second opening animation, used in episodes four to nine, features a running Nozomu and several of the girls in various yuri and bondage poses. Episode ten debuted a third credits sequence, with a new song, and a note: "The opening was not changed because of complaints." The opening animation then changed back to the original title card sequence in the last episode.

[edit] Internet radio show

An Internet radio show titled Sayonara Zetsubō Hōsō (さよなら絶望放送?) began airing on August 28, 2007 on Animate TV. The show is hosted by Hiroshi Kamiya and Ryoko Shintani who played Nozomu Itoshiki and Nami Hitō respectively in the anime. Each episode containing several corners, starts with a mini drama between Nozomu and Nami and is followed by various corners on replying mail from listeners in several themes related to character's personality in Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei. Occasionally, the show features special guests related to the show and the title of listener's corner changed to reflect that. The show is often shortened to SZBH because of the in-show call sign.

Even though Sayonara Zetsubō Hōsō is mainly used to promote Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei, the show often replies to mail that has no direct relation to the series, such as the one that talks about Minami-ke. The show received mail at peak of 600 mails daily. There're two special episodes. The first special episode, Tokimeki Nāmin Night (ときめきナーミンナイト?) was aired on November 27, 2007 features Ryoko Shintani as a host, with Hiroshi Kamiya as a guest. The second special episode, Sayonara Zetsubō Hōsō Senshū Nyo (さよなら絶望放送撰集・如?) was aired on February 26, 2008.

The first special CD of Sayonara Zetsubō Hōsō was released on January 23, 2008 featuring Ai Nonaka who played Kafuka Fūra as a guest. The second CD was released on March 12, 2008 featuring Asami Sanada and Miyu Matsuki who played Matoi Tsunetsuki and Harumi Fujiyoshi respectively in the anime as guests. Special radio event titled Zoku Sayonara Zetsubō Hōsō~SZBH Kaizokuban (賊・さよなら絶望放送～SZBH海賊盤?) was held on March 18, 2008 featuring Kobayashi Yu who played Kaere Kimura, Kenji Ōtsuki and Narasaki as guests. The third and fourth CDs have also been announced to be released on June 4, 2008 and August 6, 2008 respectively.

[edit] Anime second season

See also: List of (Zoku) Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei episodes

In October 2007, Shōnen Magazine announced that a second season of the anime would air in January 2008.[6] The second season is titled (Zoku) Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei (【俗・】さよなら絶望先生?) and began airing on January 5, 2008. There are thirteen episodes. The title of the second season is a pun as the kanji 俗 is a mark used in dictionaries to indicate slang or a vulgarity, and has the same pronunciation as 続, which means 'to continue'.

[edit] Music

Opening theme
  1. "Daydream Rumba" (空想ルンバ Kūsō Runba?) by Kenji Ōtsuki featuring Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro and Ryōko Shintani
  2. "Lyricure Go Go!" (リリキュアGOGO！ Ririkyua Go Go!?) by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue and Ryōko Shintani (episode 7)
Ending themes[2]
  1. "Romance Romanesque" (恋路ロマネスク Koiji Romanesuku?) by Asuka Tanii, Asami Sanada, Miyuki Sawashiro, Yuko Goto and Miyu Matsuki (episodes 1–4)
  2. "Marionette" (マリオネット Marionetto?) by Rolly featuring Asuka Tanii, Asami Sanada, Yuko Goto and Miyu Matsuki (episodes 5–12)
  3. "Amulet" (オマモリ Omamori?) by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yu Kobayashi and Ryoko Shintani (episode 13)

For the first and second episodes, just like the first season, the opening animation consists of slides of text with the characters' names and the production staff. This opening sequence features picture postcards sent from viewers. The second opening animation began use in the third episode and features Nozomu freefalling from the sky in a parody of Eureka Seven, alongside various still images of anatomical muscle and skeletal figures based on Kaitai Shinsho, and featured fake film deterioration effects that were exaggerated throughout the season. There is no opening in the fourth and eleventh episode. The third opening sequence, "Lyricure Go Go!", was used in episode seven, and features Kafuka, Chiri and Meru in magical girl style. In the twelfth episode, the second opening animation was partially colorised, and the thirteenth episode used a full color version. The initial ending theme, "Romance Romanesque", was used from the first to fourth episode; the accompanying animation features idealised versions of the characters in a josei art style similar to that of Kiyo Kūjō or Aubrey Beardsley. The second ending theme, "Marionette", was used from the fifth to the twelfth episodes and the third ending theme, "Amulet", in the thirteenth episode; the accompanying animation is done in the style of Mike Mignola, in reference to Hellboy.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kodansha Manga Awards Page (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
  2. ^ a b StarChild:俗・さよなら絶望先生 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
  3. ^ Del Rey Adds Gakuen Prince, Samurai 7, Zetsubo Sensei. Anime News Network (2008-04-19). Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  4. ^ Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei Jo: Zetsubō Shōjo Senshū at Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  5. ^ Syoboi Calendar for Zoku Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  6. ^ Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei's 2nd Season in 2008 Confirmed (2007-10-09). Retrieved on 2007-12-10.

[edit] External links

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