Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Ep. 1

Why hello, an anime from this season that doesn't disgust me with the overt stench of saccharine tweeness? A surreal mix of Love Roma's school-based charm (but completely mashed on crack) and FLCL's 'you're watching a cartoon' self-awareness? Thank god. I thought I was this new season was going to pass me by like chili beans in a fat man's diet.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei couples extremely stylised cinematography (pretentious noun to use, I know, but I can't think of a better one) with moments of dramatic manga-like stasis (and hilarious use of text. The blackboard! Blahahaha). Cohesively, it comes across like a schizophrenic ADHD kid bleeding Skittle rainbows from its eyes - a complete visual overload - but it works. Oh how it works. I've never seen something this unashamedly animated since a certain GAINAX opus.

The amount of cinema hat-tipping and copious staff invasion (the face of a staff member features as a censor bar when the frequent pantsu shots occur, among many other things) elevates Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei above its slice of life/school drama/etc trappings. To be honest I can't even begin to define it. Its parts suggest it belongs to the categories listed on AnimeNfo, but it flouts every single one with an overriding cynicism that simply doesn't exist in something that takes itself seriously. Serious themes exist in it - suicide being the most obvious - but they act more as a platform for black, ironic humour rather than straightforward dramatic mechanics. Perhaps more genuine serious moments will develop in the coming episodes, or perhaps its tragedy is so ingrained that all it can do is make fun of its characters. Either way, I'd be happy if it maintained this snappy aloofness for the whole run. It provides the same exhilaration I get from reading Love Roma without the quaint YAY LIFE sensibility that taints that manga, but ingratiates this anime all the more for me.

Its character design also reminds me a lot of xxxHolic the manga, moreso than xxxHolic the anime, and is pretty damn sexy as a result.

Cerebral visual stimulus; surreal hilarity; total unpredictability. Where the hell did this thing come from? SHAFT now officially have my attention. Just don't Haruhi-ify this show, anime fandom. It's already so much better than that otaku crap. Don't do it.

(I'll actually talk about the show's characters and plot once I get over this overwhelming desire to seizure in fits of joy. So. Good.)

Comments

[Karry]

"and hilarious use of text. The blackboard! Blahahaha"

Whats so hilarious about them stupid pointless messages ? They dont have anything to do with story, they are not funny, they are detrimental to the viewer's focus. Dumb idea.

And dont you dare to compare THIS to Love Roma.

[Sasa]

They *are* funny, maybe? I especially liked "This world is actually Second Life!" and "Hair falls at 5cm per second." *hahaha*

Ah yes, I have watched the first episode 2 times yesterday and it was still highly enjoyable. Personally I hope for the anime not to get too serious. Imho it should retain its black humour (like in the manga, so far).

[Hige]

I thought they were hilarious. They contributed to the surreal nature of the comedy. Part of me wonders if they were literally translated though. How popular is Second Life in Japan?

And damn right I compare this to Love Roma. It shares the same lofty energetic humour, only without the smaltzy romance. It's like its antithesis many ways but still has a very similar approach.

[Sasa]

The Second Life thing is quite clear. Even though my japanese is nearly non-existent, I can already say that it's stated "se-ku-n-do ra-i-fu" in the second line, and the first line contains the kanji for "world".

And by the way, "North korean refugee" - "loser" was very, very hilarious too *hrr*

[Ashia]

What's it rated?

[Ashia]

What's it rated?