Hell Teacher Nūbē

Hell Teacher Nūbē (Japanese: 地獄先生ぬ〜べ〜, Hepburn: Jigoku Sensei Nūbē) is a horror-comedy manga created by the collaborative efforts of writer Shō Makura and artist Takeshi Okano in Shueisha's manga anthology book Weekly Shōnen Jump. The series ran for 276 chapters (not including the two pilot chapters where Nūbē was known as Nubo (ぬ〜ぼ〜 Nūbō)) from Issue 38, 1993 through Issue 24, 1999. A 49-episode anime series based on the manga was created by Toei Animation, and aired from 1996–1997 on TV Asahi. The anime resulted in three movies and three OVA episodes. A spinoff story for Izuna Hazuki the itako-girl, Izuna the Spiritual Medium, has been running in Oh Super Jump since July 2007. Furthermore, there is a sequel to the spin off with Izuna titled Reibai Izuna: Ascension started in 2011 and onward. Also recently, May 2014, a Hell Teacher Nube sequel has started with the premise of ten years having passed with Kyoko becoming a teacher at the Dōmori Elementary and Nube returning to the school from Kyushu.

The series follows Meisuke Nueno (鵺野鳴介, Nueno Meisuke), aka Nūbē (ぬ〜べ〜), the homeroom teacher for Class 5-3 at Dōmori Elementary (童守小学校, Dōmori Shōgakkō). More than a teacher, however, he is a skilled exorcist, protecting the town of Dōmori from supernatural threats with strength borrowed from a powerful demon sealed in his left hand—a technique he calls the Demon's Hand (鬼の手, Oni no Te).

Plot

The basic formula for the manga chapters and anime episodes is as follows: what seems like a normal day at Dōmori Elementary is disrupted by some weird phenomenon, usually targeting one of Nūbē's own students. Nūbē is forced into action, most often using the power of the Demon's Hand to assist in solving the problem, but occasionally the solution lies either in another of his spiritual weapons, or somehow reasoning with or appeasing the threatening entity. By the end, things always seem to get back to normal, with Nūbē and his students having learned something from the experience. Most of the series retains an episodic formula, forgoing an overarching storyline in favor of more character-driven action, although there are several recurring antagonists throughout, as well as some longer story arcs towards the end of the series.

Influences and homages

Although Shou and Okano created their universe of Nūbē as its own separate world, they were highly influenced by the works of several other authors, anime and manga artists in one way or another. For starters, Nūbē himself is a combination in design of Chirico Cuvie, main character of the anime Armored Trooper Votoms and Black Jack, from the classic medical manga by Osamu Tezuka. Similarly, several of the students gain their influence from series that have influenced the diversity of series nature: the school-comedy connection coming from the 1970s Jump series Dokonjō Gaeru, the horror side from Go Nagai's classic Devilman. Ritsuko-sensei's design is similar to many of the heroines of classic 1970s giant robot anime, and Minako-sensei design is similar to Honey Kisaragi's design from Cutie Honey. Finally, the yōkai themselves are derived in design from the works of painter Sekien Toriyama, known for his art of the supernatural.

Although there are many connections to the past in Nūbē, the series does acknowledge that it is one of many manga that exist within the Weekly Shōnen Jump anthology. Since the series exists in then-modern 1990s Japan, it is merely one part of the world in which they live in. There are consistently jokes breaking the fourth wall regarding Jump, whether it is Nūbē or one of his students reading the book or commenting about how the staff of the book may act regarding certain plot points. Similarly, several other Jump series occasionally receive mention either in tribute or for laughs. One of the consistent mentions regards Osamu Akimoto's long running police-comedy manga Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo: both series have a similar story style where most stories are just one chapter episodes, yet the characters still grow and change through their run like the serial manga (though some of the comments were in regard to Kochi Kame's extremely long run). Another consistent Jump target regarded Akira Toriyama's action classic Dragon Ball. In this case, the tributes are varied, between the "artistic" appearance of characters like Son Goku or parodies of various attacks such as Nūbē going Super Saiyan or performing the fusion dance. Many other Jump manga from this era have also appeared in cameo within Nūbē as varied as Midori no Makibaō, Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo! Masaru-san, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Rurouni Kenshin!

Since the manga was a period of its time in the mid/late 1990s, the series did touch and joke about many of the things within Japanese culture during this period of time. The series made passing references to politicians (such as prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa) and sports players, as well as having visual cameos of celebrities such as Takuya Kimura of SMAP and actress Ryōko Hirosue. However, amidst the spiritual encounters, the manga also touched on various crazes and factors within the society of the era. One chapter involved a pagers as part of a climax, while another involved the consequences of Hiroshi receiving his first personal computer in a period where computers and the internet were becoming more prominent. Other chapters acknowledged video games such as Pokémon and the "fighting monster" craze (followed up by a literal Pokémon parody in a volume page), the Tamagotchi games, and the Gainax series of Princess Maker games. (Although a more well known Gainax creation, Neon Genesis Evangelion, got in a tiny reference in one of the other manga volumes, as does Cowboy Bebop.)

Episodes

Manga

In other media

A video game was released in Japan on the PlayStation in 1997. More recently, Nūbē and Yukime became support characters in the 2006 Nintendo DS game Jump Ultimate Stars, with Hiroshi and Kyoko as help characters. Nūbē later appeared as a playable character in the 2014 PlayStation 3/PlayStation Vita game J-Stars Victory VS. Both versions of the game were released the following year in Europe and North America alongside a PlayStation 4 port, marking the first release of Hell Teacher Nūbē material outside Japan.

A drama series aired on NTV in Autumn 2014.

Theme songs

Opening

1. Baribari Saikyou No. 1 (The No. 1 Greatest Hard-Worker) by Feel So Bad (TV Series)
2. News na Gakkou (School News) by Sigetaka Takayama & Himawari Kids (OAVs)

Endings

1. Mienai Chikara ~Invisible One~ (Unseen Power ~Invisible One~) by B'z (TV Series - Eps. 1-29)
2. Spirit by Pamelah (TV Series - Eps. 30-47)
3. Baribari Saikyou No. 1 (TV Series - Ep. 48)
4. Hurt by CASH (OAVs)

External links

• Toei's official Nūbē site (in Japanese)
• Hell Teacher Nūbē (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia