Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei 1

Koji Kumeta – Del Rey – 2009 – 24+ volumes

Hey! Why didn’t someone tell me that this was by the same person who wrote Katte ni Kaizou? I’ve been wanting to read that series for years. I picked this up during a Del Rey sale at Right Stuf, for lack of any other Del Rey books to read. I’m glad I did. This is truly bizarre.

It’s a gag manga about a teacher who is pessimistic and constantly contemplating suicide. While that doesn’t sound funny, and is in poor taste, the gag about him mock-hanging himself and choosing locations to die does get very, very funny by the end of the volume. The short chapters focus on individual students in his class. Each one is… quirky in the same way as Itoshiki-sensei. One girl is a crazy stalker when she falls in love with a boy. Another girl is mistakenly thought to be a victim of domestic violence, but really just likes chasing large animals in order to grab their tails, often getting pummeled in the process. Another very shy, quiet girl trash talks everyone via text on her cellphone. All the chapters are short and gag-heavy, introducing a student and slowly unveiling what makes them unique. Or, in one case, not unique at all. Normally, this is with a framing device about how the student is a “trouble” student at the school, and the chapter ends with Zetsubou getting praised for “solving” whatever problem the student had… when usually he just accidentally drew out their bad side, probably by trying to commit suicide.

It’s hard to fault a series that opens with a first page that features a girl praising the beauty of cherry blossoms, then shows a man hanging himself from the same trees on the next page. Also, I really love the 20s look that Zetsubou-Sensei has going on.

It’s hard to explain the style of humor without reading it for yourself. There are usually a number of gags per page, and many of them are pretty funny. Many are in poor taste, too. And some just meet expectations in entertaining ways. After suggesting one of the students isn’t good for anything but panty flashes, several chapters end with a final panel, unrelated to the story, where the wind blows up that student’s skirt. For no good reason.

It’s funny. I love it, even after one volume, and it makes me want to read Katte ni Kaizou even more. I’m curious as to what will happen after all the students are introduced, though.