Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei
Encyclopedia
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, word 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, and was adapted into a twelve-episode anime
series. A second season, titled aired between January and March 2008. A set of three OVAs titled were produced between October 2008 and February 2009. The first and third volume were bundled with the limited edition of volume fifteen and sixteen of the manga and second volume released separately. A third TV anime series, , aired between July and September 2009.
tree. 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 , 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 made official 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 uses a variety of aesthetic tropes that evoke the Taishō period
, the relatively liberal period in Japan before the rise of militarism in the Shōwa period
. Many aesthetic aspects are meant to evoke Taishō liberalism, Taishō Romanticism (see Japanese literature
) and Taishō arts (see Hanshinkan Modernism). This is exemplified by Nozomu and Matoi consistently wearing a kimono
and hakama
(an obsolete style of Japanese school uniforms in the late 1800s), but is also evident in stylistic choices such as the anachronistic
appearance of architecture, vehicles, and technology indicative of the Taishō period. However, the hair of women is typically short, which is a break from the feudal era and signifies the style of the Taishō period. 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".
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 November 2010, 26 bound volumes
have been released in Japan. The series has been licensed for an English-language translation by Del Rey Manga
, and the first volume was released in February 2009. As of November 2010, Del Ray has released eight volumes in North America.
series aired in Japan between July 7 and September 23, 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. Media Blasters
licensed the first Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei anime series and was going to release the first DVD volumes in May 2010, but has been put on hold.
A special fifty-minute DVD summary episode titled 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. A twenty-minute version was aired as an outline summary on BS11 Digital on January 4, 2008.
The opening animation for the first three episodes 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.
is a mark used in dictionaries to indicate slang or a vulgarity, and has the same pronunciation as , which means 'continuation'.
As with the first season, the opening animation for the first and second episodes 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, "Omamori
", in the thirteenth episode; the accompanying animation is done in the style of Dark Spire or Mike Mignola
.
's OAD Project and was released on October 17, 2008; and the third volume was released with volume sixteen of the manga on February 17, 2009. The second volume was released as an original video animation
on December 10, 2008. Although it is technically the third installment of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, it was promoted as "Series 2.5."
The opening sequence for the first two OVAs feature individual, more exaggerated and over-the-top versions of Zokus. They use several additional effects, bizarre renditions of the characters and paper cut-out characters in a stop-motion style. The third opening uses a rap version of the opening theme, and is set around a circus, following the ending message of the second opening, "Even so, the circus will come for you". The ending of the first volume is modified to fit with the punchline of the final sequence of the episode. The ending of the second and third volumes used the third ending to the second series with minor modifications from its DVD version.
and directed by Akiyuki Shinbo
, with the opening and ending themes sung by Ohtsuki and the Zetsubō Girls. The opening theme is and the ending themes are and . Like previous series, the opening starts off 'low budget' in the first two episodes, simply going through all the placecards of the previous series, before changing to a fully animated sequence depicting the characters, ancient monuments, and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
. Each episode begins with an unrelated story presented with a pop-up book, and ends with the "Zetsubou-Sensei Drawing Song".
featuring Ai Nonaka
, Marina Inoue
, Yū Kobayashi
, Miyuki Sawashiro
, and Ryōko Shintani
, which was used for the first opening theme of the first series of the anime
adaptation. It also included "Gōin ni Mai Yeah", which was used for the second opening theme. It was first released in Japan on August 22, 2007 and was published by King Records. "Zessei Bijin" is a single by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi, and Ryōko Shintani, which was used for the first ending theme of the first series of the anime adaptation. It was first released in Japan on September 26, 2007 and was published by King Records.
The Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Original Soundtrack for the anime adaptation was first released in Japan on October 24, 2007 and was published by King Records. It contains music from the first series, composed by Tomoki Hasegawa
, along with the two opening themes and an ending theme. The "Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Character Song Album" was first released in Japan on November 21, 2007 and was published by King Records. It contains character songs sung by the voice actors
of the main characters from the anime adaptation.
featuring Asuka Tanii
, Asami Sanada
, Yuko Goto
and Miyu Matsuki
, which was used for the second ending theme of the second series of the anime adaptation. It was first released in Japan on February 26, 2008 and was published by King Records.
The Zoku Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Original Soundtrack for the anime adaptation was first released in Japan on March 26, 2008 and was published by King Records. It contains music from the second series, composed by Tomoki Hasegawa
, along with the opening theme and the three ending themes. The Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Best Album: Zetsubō Daisakkai was first released in Japan on May 14, 2008 and was published by King Records. It contains all opening themes and ending themes from the first and second series along with a few character songs and three brand new songs.
The Zan Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Original Soundtrack was released in Japan on September 30, 2009 and published by King Records. It contains music from the third series, composed by Tomoki Hasegawa
, along with the opening theme and the two ending themes. The Zan Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Character Song album was first released in Japan on October 1, 2009 and was published by King Records. It contains character songs sung by the voice actors of the main characters from the anime.
show titled , produced by Frontier Works
organized by Hirotaka Tahara and directed by Futoshi Satō, began airing on August 28, 2007 on Animate TV
. The show is co-hosted by Hiroshi Kamiya and Ryōko Shintani who played Nozomu Itoshiki and Nami Hitō respectively in the anime. Each episode started with a mini drama between Nozomu and Nami then followed by corners replying mails from listeners in several theme related to the series. The show is often referred as SZBH because of the in-show call sign
. As of the 180th episode, the show has received over 153,000 mails.
The show features six special broadcast. The first one was aired on November 27, 2007 titled which acts as if Ryōko Shintani is a sole host with Hiroshi Kamiya as a guest. The second and third were aired as the second and third season breakthrough commemoration on February 26, 2008 and May 27, 2008 which respectively titled and . The fourth special broadcast titled was aired on November 24, 2008 and featured several still image of the in-show character, Sanosuke, marathon
ing from Kodansha
office to the recording studio. The fifth special broadcast was aired on December 31, 2008 and titled . The sixth one was aired on April 15, 2009, titled .
A special radio event titled was held on March 18, 2008 featuring Yū Kobayashi
, who plays Kaere Kimura, with Kenji Ōtsuki and Narasaki as guests. The recording of the event was released later as the third DJCD volume. A second radio event titled was held on March 24, 2009, featuring Ai Nonaka
and Takahiro Mizushima
, who play Kafuka Fuura and Jun Kudō, respectively. The recording of this event was released as the ninth DJCD. A total of 21 CDs for the show have been released by King Records. Ten of the CDs contain newly recorded episodes, while the fifth and sixth CDs are the collections of the popular episodes.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Kōji Kumeta
Kōji Kumeta
, is a Japanese gag manga artist. His most famous works are Go!! Southern Ice Hockey Club, Katte ni Kaizō and Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei. His other major works include √P Root Paradise, Sodatte Darling!! and...
, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Weekly Shonen Magazine
, also known as Shōnen Magazine, is a shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha, first published on 17 March 1959. Despite some unusual censorship policies , it's mainly read by an older audience, with a large portion of its readership falling under the male high school or college...
. It is a comedy about a teacher who takes all aspects of life, word and culture in the most negative light possible. It satirizes
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
politics, media, and Japanese society. In 2007, the manga received the thirty-first Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
in the shōnen category, and was adapted into a twelve-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series. A second season, titled aired between January and March 2008. A set of three OVAs titled were produced between October 2008 and February 2009. The first and third volume were bundled with the limited edition of volume fifteen and sixteen of the manga and second volume released separately. A third TV anime series, , aired between July and September 2009.
Plot and setting
Sayonara, Zetsubou-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 sakuraSakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...
tree. 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 , and offers to pay him fifty yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
to call him by that nickname. After having enough of the strange girl, Nozomu bolts to the school and starts his homeroom
Homeroom
Homeroom or advisory is the classroom session in which a teacher records attendance and makes announcements. It can also be called Registration or Planning Period...
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
Amakudari
is the institutionalised practice where Japanese senior bureaucrats retire to high-profile positions in the private and public sectors. The practice is increasingly viewed as corrupt and a drag on unfastening the ties between private sector and state which prevent economic and political...
, 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
Omiai
or is a Japanese traditional custom in which unattached individuals are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of marriage. Since this "Miai" or "Omiai" was sometimes translated as "arranged marriage" in English and other foreign languages, which is a total misnomer, some foreigners...
, normally a meeting between a potential match in an arranged marriage, is instead a marriage made official 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
Fan service
, fanservice, or , is a term originating from anime and manga fandom for material in a series which is intentionally added to please the audience. It is about "servicing" the fan - giving the fans "exactly what they want"...
.
While ostensibly set in the present day relative to its original serialization, the manga uses a variety of aesthetic tropes that evoke the Taishō period
Taisho period
The , or Taishō era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taishō Emperor. The health of the new emperor was weak, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen to the Diet...
, the relatively liberal period in Japan before the rise of militarism in the Shōwa period
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
. Many aesthetic aspects are meant to evoke Taishō liberalism, Taishō Romanticism (see Japanese literature
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
) and Taishō arts (see Hanshinkan Modernism). This is exemplified by Nozomu and Matoi consistently wearing a kimono
Kimono
The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...
and hakama
Hakama
are a type of traditional Japanese clothing. They were originally worn only by men, but today they are worn by both sexes. Hakama are tied at the waist and fall approximately to the ankles. Hakama are worn over a kimono ....
(an obsolete style of Japanese school uniforms in the late 1800s), but is also evident in stylistic choices such as the anachronistic
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
appearance of architecture, vehicles, and technology indicative of the Taishō period. However, the hair of women is typically short, which is a break from the feudal era and signifies the style of the Taishō period. Chapter title pages are drawn to resemble karuta
Karuta
is a Japanese card game.The basic idea of any karuta game is to be able to quickly determine which card out of an array of cards is required and then to grab the card before it is grabbed by an opponent. There are various types of cards which can be used to play 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
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
(rather than hiragana
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
) as okurigana
Okurigana
are kana suffixes following kanji stems in Japanese written words. They serve two purposes: to inflect adjectives and verbs, and to disambiguate kanji with multiple readings...
. The anime also regularly refers to the date as though Emperor Hirohito were still alive, such that Heisei
Heisei
is the current era name in Japan. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the first day after the death of the reigning Emperor, Hirohito. His son, Akihito, succeeded to the throne...
20 (the twentieth year of Emperor Akihito's reign, or 2008 by the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
) becomes "Shōwa 83".
Manga
The mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series was created by Kōji Kumeta
Kōji Kumeta
, is a Japanese gag manga artist. His most famous works are Go!! Southern Ice Hockey Club, Katte ni Kaizō and Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei. His other major works include √P Root Paradise, Sodatte Darling!! and...
and was first serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Weekly Shonen Magazine
, also known as Shōnen Magazine, is a shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha, first published on 17 March 1959. Despite some unusual censorship policies , it's mainly read by an older audience, with a large portion of its readership falling under the male high school or college...
in 2005, published by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
. As of November 2010, 26 bound volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
have been released in Japan. The series has been licensed for an English-language translation by Del Rey Manga
Del Rey Manga
was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...
, and the first volume was released in February 2009. As of November 2010, Del Ray has released eight volumes in North America.
First series
The Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series aired in Japan between July 7 and September 23, 2007 on TV Kanagawa and contains twelve episodes. Directed by Akiyuki Shinbo
Akiyuki Shinbo
, born September 27, 1961 in Fukushima, Japan, is a Japanese animation director. Shinbo started his career as an animator in 1981 at Studio One Pattern. He then made his directorial debut with Metal Fighter Miku in 1994. He is most notable for his involvement in a number of Shaft works since 2004...
and animated by Shaft
Shaft (company)
is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 1, 1975 by Hiroshi Wakao. They are best known for their unique use of gags and references notably in Pani Poni Dash!, Maria Holic, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei, Hidamari Sketch, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Bakemonogatari series.- History :Shaft was...
, the anime embellishes the story with abundant references to popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, mainly through the seemingly random thoughts that appear written on the chalkboard
Chalkboard
A chalkboard or blackboard is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulfate or calcium carbonate, known, when used for this purpose, as chalk. Chalkboards were originally made of smooth, thin sheets of black or dark grey slate stone...
in classroom scenes (much like the series Pani Poni Dash!
Pani Poni Dash!
, also known as through its anime adaptation , is a Japanese manga series that uses parody, frequently referencing Japanese and American pop-culture in many ways...
and Negima!?
Negima!?
is an alternate retelling of the manga series Negima! Magister Negi Magi. The anime, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, aired October 4, 2006 to March 28, 2007 in Japan. It is accompanied by a new monthly manga series by Takuya Fujima called Negima!? neo. Both series feature the same characters and...
, 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
Katte ni Kaizo
is a shōnen manga by Kōji Kumeta. The manga ran for 26 volumes in Shōnen Sunday from 1998 to 2004. The art style went through a huge change as the story went on, by the end of the story the art style was the same as the type used in Kumeta's next series, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei...
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. Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
licensed the first Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei anime series and was going to release the first DVD volumes in May 2010, but has been put on hold.
A special fifty-minute DVD summary episode titled 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. A twenty-minute version was aired as an outline summary on BS11 Digital on January 4, 2008.
The opening animation for the first three episodes 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
Bondage (BDSM)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private 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.
Second series
In October 2007, Shōnen Magazine announced that a second season of the anime would air in January 2008. Titled , the season began airing on January 5, 2008 and consisted of thirteen episodes. The title is a pun, as the kanjiKanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
is a mark used in dictionaries to indicate slang or a vulgarity, and has the same pronunciation as , which means 'continuation'.
As with the first season, the opening animation for the first and second episodes 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
Eureka Seven
Eureka Seven, known in Japan as , is a mecha anime TV series by Bones. Eureka Seven tells the story of Renton Thurston and the outlaw group Gekkostate, his relationship with the enigmatic mecha pilot Eureka, and the mystery of the Coralians....
, alongside various still images of anatomical muscle and skeletal figures based on Kaitai Shinsho
Kaitai Shinsho
is a medical text translated into Japanese during the Edo period. It is based on the Dutch-language translation Ontleedkundige Tafelen, often known in Japan as , of Kulmus’ German Anatomische Tabellen. As a full-blown translation from a Western language, it was the first of its kind in Japan...
, 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
Magical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
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
Josei
also known as or , is a term that refers to the target demographic of manga created mostly by women for late teenage and adult female audiences. Readers range from 15-44. In Japanese, the word josei means simply "woman", "female", "feminine", "womanhood" and has no manga-related connotations at...
art style similar to that of Kiyo Kūjō or Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
. The second ending theme, "Marionette", was used from the fifth to the twelfth episodes and the third ending theme, "Omamori
Omamori
Omamori are Japanese amulets dedicated to particular Shinto deities as well as Buddhist figures. The word mamori means protection, with omamori being the sonkeigo form of the word, "to protect.".-Design and function:...
", in the thirteenth episode; the accompanying animation is done in the style of Dark Spire or Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola
Michael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
.
Series 2.5
On July 8, 2008, the production of a set of OVAs titled was announced. The first volume was bundled with the limited edition of volume fifteen of the manga as a part of KodanshaKodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
's OAD Project and was released on October 17, 2008; and the third volume was released with volume sixteen of the manga on February 17, 2009. The second volume was released as an original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
on December 10, 2008. Although it is technically the third installment of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, it was promoted as "Series 2.5."
The opening sequence for the first two OVAs feature individual, more exaggerated and over-the-top versions of Zokus. They use several additional effects, bizarre renditions of the characters and paper cut-out characters in a stop-motion style. The third opening uses a rap version of the opening theme, and is set around a circus, following the ending message of the second opening, "Even so, the circus will come for you". The ending of the first volume is modified to fit with the punchline of the final sequence of the episode. The ending of the second and third volumes used the third ending to the second series with minor modifications from its DVD version.
Third series
A third full anime series, , began broadcast on July 4, 2009 in Japan. The series is once again animated by ShaftShaft (company)
is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 1, 1975 by Hiroshi Wakao. They are best known for their unique use of gags and references notably in Pani Poni Dash!, Maria Holic, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei, Hidamari Sketch, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Bakemonogatari series.- History :Shaft was...
and directed by Akiyuki Shinbo
Akiyuki Shinbo
, born September 27, 1961 in Fukushima, Japan, is a Japanese animation director. Shinbo started his career as an animator in 1981 at Studio One Pattern. He then made his directorial debut with Metal Fighter Miku in 1994. He is most notable for his involvement in a number of Shaft works since 2004...
, with the opening and ending themes sung by Ohtsuki and the Zetsubō Girls. The opening theme is and the ending themes are and . Like previous series, the opening starts off 'low budget' in the first two episodes, simply going through all the placecards of the previous series, before changing to a fully animated sequence depicting the characters, ancient monuments, and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
. Each episode begins with an unrelated story presented with a pop-up book, and ends with the "Zetsubou-Sensei Drawing Song".
Series 3.5
An OVA series titled was announced in August 2009. The first volume was bundled with the limited edition of volume nineteen of the manga and was released on November 17, 2009. Although it is technically the fifth installment of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, it was promoted as "Series 3.5".First series
"Hito Toshite Jiku ga Bureteiru" is a single by Kenji OhtsukiKenji Ohtsuki
is a Japanese rock musician and Seiun Award-winning writer. His musical career began in the late 1970s. He is the vocalist of Kinniku Shōjo Tai, Tokusatsu, Underground Searchlie and Karate Bakabon. He is a somewhat popular figure in the otaku subculture...
featuring Ai Nonaka
Ai Nonaka
is a Japanese voice actress. She currently works for Aoni Production and was formerly a member of the voice actor unit DROPS, which included fellow voice actor Akemi Kanda, Tomoko Kaneda, Mariko Kōda, and Ryōko Shiraishi...
, Marina Inoue
Marina Inoue
is a voice actress and singer. She is signed onto Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex division. As for voice acting career, she's employed by Sigma Seven...
, Yū Kobayashi
Yu Kobayashi
is a female voice actress from Tokyo, Japan and is affiliated with HolyPeak. She also occasionally works as a key animator.-Anime:*12Riven - Yuyu Hoshino*Air Gear: Kuro no Hane to Nemuri no Mori - Emily Adachi*Amatsuki - Benitobi...
, Miyuki Sawashiro
Miyuki Sawashiro
is a female Japanese voice actress and singer who works for Mausu Promotion.She voiced Puchiko in the English dubbed releases of Di Gi Charat the Movie and Leave it to Piyoko, making her one of the few Japanese voice actors to have reprised a role in English in addition to the original Japanese...
, and Ryōko Shintani
Ryoko Shintani
is a voice actress and singer from Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan. She is under the Lantis and Vi-vo Recording Label and famous as the voice of Milfeulle Sakuraba in the Galaxy Angel Series...
, which was used for the first opening theme of the first series of the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation. It also included "Gōin ni Mai Yeah", which was used for the second opening theme. It was first released in Japan on August 22, 2007 and was published by King Records. "Zessei Bijin" is a single by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi, and Ryōko Shintani, which was used for the first ending theme of the first series of the anime adaptation. It was first released in Japan on September 26, 2007 and was published by King Records.
The Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Original Soundtrack for the anime adaptation was first released in Japan on October 24, 2007 and was published by King Records. It contains music from the first series, composed by Tomoki Hasegawa
Tomoki Hasegawa
is a Japanese composer and arranger of music, best known for his work on anime soundtracks, born on 19 July 1957 in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He has also done sound production work on albums for Mayumi Iizuka.-Anime:...
, along with the two opening themes and an ending theme. The "Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Character Song Album" was first released in Japan on November 21, 2007 and was published by King Records. It contains character songs sung by the voice actors
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
of the main characters from the anime adaptation.
Second series
"Kūsō Rumba" is a single by Kenji Ohtsuki featuring Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro, and Ryōko Shintani, which was used for the first opening and ending themes of the second series of the anime adaptation. It was first released in Japan on January 23, 2008 and was published by King Records. "Marionette" is a single by RollyRolly Teranishi
more commonly known as Rolly, is a Japanese musician and music producer.- Personal background :Teranishi was born in Kyoto. He grew up in Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan.- Professional background :...
featuring Asuka Tanii
Asuka Tanii
is a Japanese voice actress.She was born June 19, 1978.-Anime:*Black Jack *Elfen Lied *Futakoi *Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart: Friends of the Snow-Laden Sky *Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart...
, Asami Sanada
Asami Sanada
is a Japanese voice actress, best known as the voices of Vita in the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series, Jun Sakurada in Rozen Maiden, and her debut role as Dejiko in Di Gi Charat.-Notable voice roles:Lead roles are in bold....
, Yuko Goto
Yuko Goto
is a Japanese voice actress who works for Production Baobab. In direct contrast to her cute-and-vulnerable moé typecasting, Yūko in real life is a devotee of biker culture who dresses and acts as such when not working, right down to her motorcycle...
and Miyu Matsuki
Miyu Matsuki
is a Japanese voice actress. Her hometown is Hiroshima Japan.-Anime cast in:*Ayakashi as Hime Yakushiji*ARIA The NATURAL as Ayano *Binchō-tan as Pukashuu*Claymore as Flora*D.C. ~Da Capo~ as Yoriko Sagisawa*D.C.S.S...
, which was used for the second ending theme of the second series of the anime adaptation. It was first released in Japan on February 26, 2008 and was published by King Records.
The Zoku Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Original Soundtrack for the anime adaptation was first released in Japan on March 26, 2008 and was published by King Records. It contains music from the second series, composed by Tomoki Hasegawa
Tomoki Hasegawa
is a Japanese composer and arranger of music, best known for his work on anime soundtracks, born on 19 July 1957 in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He has also done sound production work on albums for Mayumi Iizuka.-Anime:...
, along with the opening theme and the three ending themes. The Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Best Album: Zetsubō Daisakkai was first released in Japan on May 14, 2008 and was published by King Records. It contains all opening themes and ending themes from the first and second series along with a few character songs and three brand new songs.
Third series
"Ringo Mogire Beam!", a single by Kenji Ohtsuki featuring Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro, and Ryōko Shintani, was used for the opening theme of the third series of the anime adaptation. It was first released in Japan on July 23, 2009 and was published by King Records. "Zetsubou Restaurant", a single by Yuko Goto, Asami Sanada, Miyu Matsuki and Asuka Tanii, is used as the first ending theme, released on August 5, 2009. "Kurayami Shinjū Sōshisōai" a single by Hiroshi Kamiya was used as the second ending theme and was released on August 26, 2009 by Kings Records.The Zan Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Original Soundtrack was released in Japan on September 30, 2009 and published by King Records. It contains music from the third series, composed by Tomoki Hasegawa
Tomoki Hasegawa
is a Japanese composer and arranger of music, best known for his work on anime soundtracks, born on 19 July 1957 in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He has also done sound production work on albums for Mayumi Iizuka.-Anime:...
, along with the opening theme and the two ending themes. The Zan Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Character Song album was first released in Japan on October 1, 2009 and was published by King Records. It contains character songs sung by the voice actors of the main characters from the anime.
Internet radio show
An Internet radioInternet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
show titled , produced by Frontier Works
Frontier Works
is a Japanese company specializing in the creation and distribution of media related to anime, such as producing OVAs, radio dramas, drama CDs, anime soundtracks, or other related products...
organized by Hirotaka Tahara and directed by Futoshi Satō, began airing on August 28, 2007 on Animate TV
Animate
is the retailing arm of MOVIC and is the largest retailer of anime, games, and manga in Japan. The first and headquarters store of Animate opened in 1983 and is located in Ikebukuro, a district in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, there are 38 Animate stores in Japan, and two in Taipei, Taiwan...
. The show is co-hosted by Hiroshi Kamiya and Ryōko Shintani who played Nozomu Itoshiki and Nami Hitō respectively in the anime. Each episode started with a mini drama between Nozomu and Nami then followed by corners replying mails from listeners in several theme related to the series. The show is often referred as SZBH because of the in-show call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
. As of the 180th episode, the show has received over 153,000 mails.
The show features six special broadcast. The first one was aired on November 27, 2007 titled which acts as if Ryōko Shintani is a sole host with Hiroshi Kamiya as a guest. The second and third were aired as the second and third season breakthrough commemoration on February 26, 2008 and May 27, 2008 which respectively titled and . The fourth special broadcast titled was aired on November 24, 2008 and featured several still image of the in-show character, Sanosuke, marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
ing from Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
office to the recording studio. The fifth special broadcast was aired on December 31, 2008 and titled . The sixth one was aired on April 15, 2009, titled .
A special radio event titled was held on March 18, 2008 featuring Yū Kobayashi
Yu Kobayashi
is a female voice actress from Tokyo, Japan and is affiliated with HolyPeak. She also occasionally works as a key animator.-Anime:*12Riven - Yuyu Hoshino*Air Gear: Kuro no Hane to Nemuri no Mori - Emily Adachi*Amatsuki - Benitobi...
, who plays Kaere Kimura, with Kenji Ōtsuki and Narasaki as guests. The recording of the event was released later as the third DJCD volume. A second radio event titled was held on March 24, 2009, featuring Ai Nonaka
Ai Nonaka
is a Japanese voice actress. She currently works for Aoni Production and was formerly a member of the voice actor unit DROPS, which included fellow voice actor Akemi Kanda, Tomoko Kaneda, Mariko Kōda, and Ryōko Shiraishi...
and Takahiro Mizushima
Takahiro Mizushima
is a Japanese seiyū. He is affiliated with Production baobab. When voicing adult games, he is known as .-TV Anime:Lead roles in bold.* Adam * Amezo * Billy * Bob...
, who play Kafuka Fuura and Jun Kudō, respectively. The recording of this event was released as the ninth DJCD. A total of 21 CDs for the show have been released by King Records. Ten of the CDs contain newly recorded episodes, while the fifth and sixth CDs are the collections of the popular episodes.