Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei episode 11

It’s winter break and the girls criticize a film they have just seen. As they each voice their own complaints about it, the director peeks out from behind a sign and tells them that he was only following the “original way”. Itoshiki helps the director run away from the girls. Together, Itoshiki and the director escape down a street called Original Way. Itoshiki defends the director’s work by telling the girls that the director is not at fault for the movie’s boringness, because he followed the original way. It is further elaborated that people in the movie industry escape criticism by using this excuse.

After the cut, Itoshiki gives a tour of all the other escape routes in the town. For instance if a meal turns out bad, someone can use the excuse that they were only following the recipe on Recipe Way. We see several other escape routes that people use to escape blame and responsibility for their actions.

Chiri snaps because of all the escape routes people use, and Itoshiki accidentally touches her chest while trying to calm her down. She demands that he take responsibility for his actions by either marrying her or completely ignore her and forget about it. Itoshiki opts to run down the “Ignore” route and is stabbed by Chiri who gets the jump on him. Kafuka, Majiru, and Matoi rush to the scene to find that Itoshiki has mysteriously been stabbed a second time.

To begin the second act, Itoshiki is hanging out at home with Majiru and Matoi at the table (with Komori hiding in the closet). Harumi suddenly bursts into his house to warn everyone that Chiri is coming to clean. The warning comes too late as Chiri shows up with broom in hand. Chiri begins to clean house and throws out everything that she deems to be questionable (i.e. everything).

As Itoshiki and Matoi rummage through the trash, Kafuka and Maria show up with some cake (It’s no lie). Everyone has their piece of cake, and Itoshiki talks about his desire to go into hibernation for the winter. Chiri says that it is impossible for humans to hibernate; Kafuka retorts that any state of inactivity resembling death is considered hibernation. The examples she cites include an unemployed father, a NEET, a delusional woman that hasn’t loved a real man for years, a pulled manga, a frozen government project, and a spam-filled BBS. All of these people and things are hibernating according to Kafuka.

A chain of events leads to everyone in agreement to hibernate like Itoshiki. Itoshiki lays futons all around the house for their group hibernation. They seal all the windows with packing tape to prevent drafts, put on some soothing music, and they burn some charcoal to keep warm over the winter. Itoshiki and Chiri, the only two still awake, soon realize that carbon monoxide is building up in the room. They open the windows and doors to let the carbon monoxide escape, ending the group hibernation.

In all the chaos, Itoshiki finds an opportunity to escape into town. To Itoshiki’s surprise, a runaway streetcar speeds towards him and he is violently struck by it. Everyone gathers at the hospital in anticipation of his condition.

Quite a way to end this episode. As a whole the episode was somewhat subpar, but the twist at the end really made up for it. This has been the only truly serious moment in a dark comedy that so casually pokes fun at death and pretty much everything else.

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