Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Episode 3 (Completed)

Who knew that despair could be so much fun? For two series and now this OVA, the art of negativity has induced much hilarity and many, many smiles, but as ever all good things must come to an end, and thus this is really, officially, "sayonara" for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.

This third and final episode of the show's OVA may be the end of the road for our favourite teacher with suicidal tendencies, but what a fantastic send-off. We begin with what could well be described as a bit of a crisis, with the class left with no gags left to use. Why not simply remake the first chapter of the manga? Oh, they've already done that too. Still, the girls seem to have plenty of half-decent ideas floating about, if only Zetsubou-sensei wouldn't keep blowing them out like so many candles.


From there, and via a bon dance that somehow invokes 'Blogging, we enter the world of the pyrrhic victory - In short, a situation where even by winning, you still lose. The examples come thick and fast with frequent hilarity (and more than the occasional shot across the bows of otaku culture), until Kafuka (who else) turns it around to discuss situations where both sides win. This moment brings about what might well be my new all-time favourite line in anime, "No, she's obviously from the planet Peacock".

To end the series for good, we go back to the beginning, which is probably about the most Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei-esque thing to do. Here, we see the origins of a young Nozomu's fall from relentless positivity to... well, the shell of a man we've seen before us for the entire duration of the series. I wouldn't want him any other way though.

It may have been occasionally hit and miss throughout its run (as any comedy show of this ilk is inevitably going to be), but there can be little doubt that as a single entity Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a work of absolute genius, happy to lampoon all and sundry (itself included) with its unique and twisted, yet still bizarrely right on the money, view of the world. From its ever-smart references to various facets of world culture through to its quirky wordplay, and via a spot-on line in surrealism, there isn't much that this series does wrong. Even if you aren't tightly in step with modern Japanese culture, you'll still find plenty to laugh at, and this series must easily be up there amongst the funniest anime of the 21st century thus far. It's sure as Hell the smartest, and quite probably one of the most artistically diverse to boot. Time for me to find some time to go back and watch this show in its entirety methinks.

Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Episode 2

Here on the cusp of Christmas, is there any better way to celebrate than with some more Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei? Of course there isn't, which brings us untidily to the second instalment of the show's Goku OAV.

Speaking of untidy, the animation for this particular episode is all over the place, but this being Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei that is, of course, deliberate, mimicking other popular animation styles both in keeping with one of the topics under discussion ("maturation", under the auspices of the Japanese preference for process over the end result, a prediliction which this very series arguably makes a strong case of) as well as just to poke fun at other specific anime genres. In a way this does make things a little difficult to watch sometimes, as you're so distracted by the changes to character designs that you almost forget to pay attention to what's being said, but on the plus side I suppose that at least gives us a good excuse to watch this episode more than once.


Other topics up for discussion this time around include doing things even though you know that they're completely pointless, and (perhaps most amusingly of all from this episode) book titles (and indeed titles of media in general) that should be changed to better reflect their contents. In fact, this particular segment climaxes with a suggestion that Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei simply doesn't feature enough despair these days, meaning that it either needs more despair or a new name, although this gag is eclipsed in my mind by the suggested renaming of Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World.

Of course, to pick out one or two gags doesn't even begin to cover the cornucopia of topics that get "the treatment" here, with the War in Iraq and the lack of WMDs and (amusingly) both Clannad and Negima having fun poked at them mercilessly - You can't possibly hope to pick up on all of this series comic nuances and quick-fire visual or textual gags in a single sitting, but as always you'll delight in the ones you do get, and find yourself wondering whenever you're going to get time to watch it all again with the "Pause" button on the remot to hand so that you can at least try to catch the rest. It's as hit and miss as ever, yet despite that Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei remains as brilliant as ever.

Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Episode 1

I don't know what the opposite of "Zetsubou shita!" is in Japanese, but if I did that's what I'd be shouting at the return of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, even if it's only in three episode OVA form. It's been a while Zetsubou Sensei, but boy am I glad your back.

Indeed, never mind simply returning, this first episode of Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is nothing short of absolutely fantastic, piling on the hilarity arguably better than any episode of the series I can remember, although maybe it's just because absence makes the heart grow fonder.


Speaking of hearts, the first port of call for this episode is a suggestion than Valentine's Day, Christmas and the like should only fall once every four years, which quickly moves us on to Chiri's rather gruesomely detailed idea of what a chocolate heart should look like. From there, we're introduced to Japan's defence against "honey trap" seduction techniques, a bunch of otaku who are more interested in 2D girls than the real thing, and can spot a dodgy piece of Haruhi or Lucky Star merchandise from a mile off.

Next on the agenda is how off-air battles are always more vicious than those you see on air, for example... err, cat stacking competitions. Oh, and manga awards for that matter, with this series happily poiking fun at its own award-winning manga by suggesting that it was only won thanks to a hefty bribe.

Finally on the menu is how things are never faithful to, not as good as, the original, from Hallowe'en (which has been overtaken by cosplayers) through to a cameo by Michael Jackson (for obvious reasons), and with plenty of amusing things in between.

I'm not going to spoil any more of the fantastic gags in this episode beyond the little odds and ends I've mentioned here (and besides, you have to be there to really appreciate it), because this truly is one of those things you could watch over and over again and not get bored of, so packed is it with humour and great little touches. Like any comedy series, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei can be a hit and miss affair, but when it comes to this first instalment of Goku, it's hit, hit, hit all the way - Simply brilliant stuff.