さよなら絶望先生

I'm in love with this show and I know I've spoken of it briefly before, but here I will try to maybe describe some of its appeal and brilliance, and maybe some of its oddities as well.

First off...



It's still on TV in Japan. That means that as fast as the fansubbers can crank them out we will see them. Or at least I will, but I doubt you will not be able to stop watching once you start.

The premise is wonderful: a teacher who is incredibly negative and depressed (as you may be able to guess from that flattering shot of him hanging from the tree by his neck) and a student who is positive to the point of ridiculous naivety. In fact, she suggests (and you get the feeling she's almost OC positive because of her past, maybe...could be some interesting developments in store, either that or it's just more goofy fluff) that he is only trying to make himself taller, and not attempting suicide at all.

As the show continues it becomes a parade of strange classmates such as...



in episode two. There is also an exchange student, a bandaged girl (which is apparently out of style according to), a crazy cell phone girl, and others. You may notice they are all female. It seems only incidentals are male. OH, let us not forget the stalker! That episode was terrific.

The opening and closing themes are rather emo and a bit punk, or at least alternative. Definitely not your typical happy fly J-Pop love and bunnies. Of course, if you couldn't tell by now, the show is primarily dark humor.

Each episode also features a moment like this:



wherein our handsome scholarly hero descends into despair, crying, 「絶望した！」And followed with the reason. He really does get upset about everything and even visits the school counselor regularly, to her annoyance.

Apparently the show started off as a manga, and the creators are very open about the fact that they won awards and have met with much success. Comments are included that almost make you think they are a little put out to be doing an anime, but I'm sure it's meant jokingly. Hopefully they'll get over the little asides, though, because it's a bit tiring. I'd rather just enjoy their work.

Also of note are the censor icons, which are not little black bars, but the face of...the director? Someone. Maybe just some random fellow. They are used sporadically, sometimes to shield an innocent's panties or the nipples of someone's daydream, but at other moments panties are flying with wild abandon, so it just depends on the context, really. It's more a joke in and of itself (he is often glancing off camera) than it is actual censorship.



Anyways, I feel like I've already said too much, but hopefully it will entice you enough to want to see the show. Episode five has just recently been subbed, so off you go to catch up.