Otakuism

Story:

On her way to school Kafuka Fuura meets a man trying to hang himself. After successfully getting him down she learns that he’s unhappy she ruined his suicide attempt. The eternally optimistic Fuura tries to cheer up the man, even giving him the name of Pink Supervisor. Later at school Fuura meets the man again as her new homeroom teacher. His name is Nozomu Itoshiki, an insanely pessimistic man who constantly curses his life and wishes he were dead. His one job as a teacher is to point out how hopeless life is to his students. A dark comedy following the exploits of a pathetically suicidal teacher.

Impressions:

The truly amazing thing in Sayonara Zetsubo-Sensei so far is the animation. The opening scene of falling sakura petals was beautifully life-like and the sudden, jarring entrance of the hanged Itoshiki worked well. Akiyuki Shinbo is the director and like all his other works - Tsukuyomi Moonphase, Paniponi Dash, Negima!?, and Hidamari Sketch - the animation style is completely unique, utilizing everything from real life stills, classic edo paintings, and random text to create the feel of the work. SZS also uses moving gradient images for clothes and such, exactly like the animation style of Gankutsuou. I’ve always admired the technique and am glad to see it in use again. Unlike other Shinbo works, the feel of SZS isn’t as over the top crazy as usual. The colors used are somber and none of the characters look weird at all. This better highlights the more realistic and depressing mood of SZS, though.

As for the actual story of the show, I’m liking it. Itoshiki is such a weird character it’s hard not to like him. He’s the non-rabbit version of Mesousa from Paniponi dash. His constant attempts at suicide and rantings on the hopelessness of life are hilarious, mostly for the effect they have on the students. The students themselves are an interesting mixed bag. Kafuka Fuura is the main girl and fortunately looks like she has enough substance to back up her bubbly-sweet personality. I really felt a sting of sympathy for her when she described all her parents’ suicide attempts as attempts to get taller. It’ll be interesting to see how the relationship between the pessimistic Itoshiki and optimistic Kafuka goes. The OP and ED were both excellent, the OP especially so. I’ve liked Kenji Ohtsuka since he did the first NHK ED and the scrolling credits work for this series. Sayonara Zetsubo-Sensei looks to be another winner from Akiyuki Shinbo, blending a dark sense of comedy with gorgeously unique animation. I only hope it can maintain these standards throughout the series.