Found this very awesome fanmade OP set to Bouken Desho Desho while lurking around. Video, despair, etc. Hope you enjoy it.

Going into the first season’s final episode, we return to the earlier format of two skits with two different girls. Apparently Itoshiki recovers back to full health from the accident, so we get to meet two more of his deranged students.

First up is Ai Kaga, a girl with an extreme guilt complex. She constantly worries what others think of her and if she is bothering others with her presence. The girl always frets that she is troubling others and apologizes for her actions non-stop. Itoshiki enters the classroom and effortlessly detects Ai’s guilt complex. Itoshiki explains that guilt complexes develop so regularly because of the self-deprecating teachings of Japanese society.

Ai’s guilt complex proves to be contagious as it spreads to Nami and Kaere. Ai runs out of the classroom thinking she’s caused enough trouble for the class. Itoshiki, Chiri, and Kafuka give chase and find themselves at a traffic crossing, which Itoshiki dubs to be a “Guilt complex crossing”. Everyone they encounter at this intersection has severe guilt complex.

Most notably, the group witnesses a car accident in which both parties consider themselves at fault for the collision. More people come out of the woodwork from the car dealer to the factory worker, all of whom take responsibility for the auto accident. Itoshiki and Ai run away from Tokyo to Okinawa but soon realize they are a bother in Okinawa too. Itoshiki hangs himself, but all the girls take fault for his death. Fed up with all the apologies, Itoshiki opens the lid of his casket and tells them to stop apologizing for an action that was his own fault.

The second featured girl is Mayo Mitama who is misunderstood in the wrong way. She looks evil, but people give her the benefit of the doubt by not judging her based on appearance. However, she is evil and uses this knowledge to her advantage. When she victimizes an innkeeper, he cannot bring himself to believe that Mayo did it. Itoshiki witnesses the act and cannot believe his eyes. When the man notices Itoshiki nearby, it is Itoshiki that is mistakenly punished for the prank.

Itoshiki catches wind of what’s going on and exclaims that when someone fits a stereotype too well, people become skeptical. He dubs this phenomenon the “Innocence complex”. If there is too much evidence; Like witnessing a burglar rob a house, you figure that it isn’t a burglar because it is too obvious.

Itoshiki is aware of Mayo’s evil nature, but no one will believe him. Nami accuses Itoshiki of being a man that judges people based on their appearance. Mayo reigns terror upon her classmates, but no one suspects her because there is too much strong evidence against her.

Mayo clubs Majiru with a baseball bat and Itoshiki comes running. Itoshiki refuses to believe Mayo did it, even though she is caught red-handed. She bludgeons Itoshiki with a brick and he still refuses to believe it was her, because the evidence is too perfect. She even blows up his house, but no one will believe that she is an evil person.

That’s it for SZS season 1. Hope you all liked it as much as I did. It had its fair share of ups and downs, but it was a fun ride. A highly recommended dark comedy that is a refreshing change of pace from the usual anime.

Final Rating: 9/10

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.

It’s time for every school slice-of-life anime’s cultural festival. We all love those don’t we? If you don’t, then pretend you do. Itoshiki thinks too literally into the “cultural festival” and deems the class unfit to act like cultured people when they are not. Chiri puts up the argument that all Japanese citizens have the Constitutional right to maintain a minimum standard of living and culture. He abides with the Constitution and orders the class to enter the cultural festival following the bare minimum cultural standard.

The class first attempts to put on a play. Itoshiki slams them by saying that the quality is too high to follow the minimum standard, despite the fact that every student contribution from the acting to the writing is extremely half-assed. Kaere puts on a terrible music performance which Itoshiki still deems too cultured. The rest of the students try their acts and fail when they exceed Itoshiki’s low standards. Itoshiki explains several examples of the minimum standard of culture to the class, and Chiri challenges Itoshiki to teach the class at a minimum standard which he gladly obliges to. So while the rest of the school’s classes have fun and exciting things to show, Itoshiki’s class presents a menagerie of elementary level science experiments for the cultural festival.

Moving on to part two, Itoshiki takes the whole class on a field trip preview of Kyoto. Because the trip is a preview he does not allow anyone to go sightseeing. He goes on a rant about how previews are important to prepare people for the real thing in various aspects of life. Chiri takes the initiative and presents her intricate travel itinerary of all the locations for the class to preview. They sort of take in all the sights and things that Kyoto has to offer before meeting a monk at a preview temple.

Itoshiki drops the bomb that he won’t even be going on the actual trip and explains that many things in life end with a preview. To supplement his explanation, the temple monk visits a porn site and only previews the images because the thought of subscribing is too scary. They then look at a stalker who is previewing love and a figure maniac that is previewing the female body. Itoshiki invites Chiri to preview the ceremony site, and she gladly goes there with him. To her dismay she finds out that he has taken her to preview his future funeral ceremony and grave site. Chiri goes insane and wonks him over the head with a gravestone. Itoshiki is rushed to the hospital and happily previews the afterlife. No worse for the wear, Itoshiki later returns to class and informs the students that they will all be going to Okinawa for the class trip. To wrap it all up, the episode ends with a parody fan response segment to poke fun at itself.

Thoughts on this episode. Definitely up to par on the comedy level. They really didn’t pull any punches in the first half with all the little text blurbs about mediocrity. I certainly hope I can wrap up the season 1 summaries before season 2 starts. There’s my subtle hint to the fansubbers out there.

Nami is trying to solve a “Spot seven differences” puzzle but falls one answer short. Itoshiki takes heed of this and proceeds to instruct the class to spot seven mistakes they’ve made in their lives. After debating with his thoughts out loud he then decides that the class should identify ten life mistakes the students have made. Kaere turns the tables on Itoshiki by asking that he identify some of his mistakes first. Itoshiki easily does so and soon goes on a tirade from being born, how it was a mistake to teach the class, and several other trivial things.

Itoshiki then asks the class to name three mistakes the class has made as a whole. He answers his own question by saying they made the mistakes of enrolling in the school, getting chosen for his class, and getting him for a teacher. He pushes the earlier issue of having the students identify their individual life mistakes. All of the students think about the issues that are relevant to their interests. For instance, Meru concentrates solely on topics pertinent to bad cell phone related decisions. He notices that Maria is the only one that has remained unaffected by this class activity. She responds that coming to Japan was not a mistake and the trio of Chiri, Harumi, and Nami are quick to defend her, calling Itoshiki a bully.

The topic then moves to making correct decisions. Kafuka is quick to deduce that if something is correct then it cannot be a mistake. Logic would usually dictate this is the correct train of thought, but Kafuka has things a bit mixed up. She says that once a mistake comes to light it becomes correct. For example, a business man reveals that he was caught for insider trading. Kafuka says that since the mistake came to light then it is now correct. Rinse, later, and repeat for several other people that have done bad things that have been revealed. Kafuka again says that these mistakes are now correct. She even convinces a serial killer to turn himself in to the police and confess his crimes. As Itoshiki and the others watch the man get taken away in a police car, a boy bearing a great resemblance to Itoshiki shows up.

Chiri and Matoi go ballastic at the thought of Itoshiki keeping an illegitimate child hidden from the class. Since the matter has come to light, Kafuka again proclaims that the mistake has now become correct. Cutting away to Itoshiki’s apartment, we learn that the boy is Itoshiki’s nephew, Majiru Itoshiki. His name means “breach in a relationship” when spelled out horizontally.

Back to school, Majiru sits in on a classroom lecture and is the subject of attention for all the girls. Harumi and Nami make a suggestion to keep him as the class pet they can all take care of. Itoshiki asks why Majiru is in the class and Abiru says that she brought him because it would be neglectful to leave him unattended. Itoshiki panics as he thinks about how society will criticize him for ignoring his responsibility as a parental guardian.

Itoshiki calls doubt to Majiru’s origin and demands that the boy prove his identity. Itoshiki then demands that everyone in the class prove their identity. He casts his doubts about the identity of every student in the class except for Maria, who coincidentally is an imposter. The questions he asks her pertain to personal information that can easily be discovered online, but Itoshiki wholeheartedly belives that she is the person whose identity she has assumed. Majiru now asks Itoshiki to prove that he is the real deal, and the entire class jumps on the bandwagon. Itoshiki comes up short and realizes the hardship of having to prove your identity when the tables are turned. The class decides what the real Itoshiki is and they create their own ideal version of him. In despair, Itoshiki runs away on a journey to discover his own identity.

All in all, this episode definitely ranks up with the earlier episodes in terms of pure hilarity. The social commentary jabs were very spot-on this time and quite funny too.

While walking outside, he bumps into someone that doesn’t notice him. He is then hit by a truck whose driver remains oblivious to his existence. Itoshiki walks by and bumps into Kafuka and Chiri-chan. He starts discussing the lives of inconspicuous people that live in the shadows as outcasts; Such as Mr. Curie who was overshadowed by his wife Madame Curie, and subsequently forgotten. Chiri-chan agrees with his argument, further discouraging Usui, as they remain oblivious of his presence. As Itoshiki further emphasizes his claim with more examples, he sends himself into a fit of despair at how society can allow great achievements to be overshadowed and forgotten. Usui is still forgotten as the group walks away to continue the conversation elsewhere.

At the pool, the group observes Kaere (a.k.a. lawsuit girl) who is enjoying the attention of the guys there before she is overtaken by the bustier, bouncier Chie-sensei. Itoshiki finds a 1,000 yen bill and rushes to the police station in an attempt to overcome being an outcast. Kafuka then turns in a briefcase full of money, completely overshadowing his good deed. Back outside, Kafuka consoles Itoshiki by explaining all the wonderful things that are only possible because of shadows. The group finally notices Usui’s existence but no one seems to know who he is. Kafuka denies the fact that someone could be so inconspicuous and instead claims that he is a fairy that she can only see occasionally.

Part 2. Summer break is over and the new semester is in full swing. Chie-sensei drags the truant Itoshiki into the class with a chain leash. Chiri-chan criticizes his childish behavior; Itoshiki responds by starting class with criticism drills. As he talks about the many examples of how critical society is, he throws himself into a state of despair again. A drill instructor from the fire department makes his presence known to the class. He basically just goes around to all the students and insults them to their face. As always, Usui is ignored and does not get any criticism. It is only when the wind blows his combover away does the class pay attention to him because of his bald head.

Kafuka persuades Chie-sensei to criticize Usui. Chie-sensei insults him by calling him bald, but he feels good about it because it was said by someone beautiful. He asks for more criticism and he gladly receives it. The wind blows Usui’s hair back into place and he disappears yet again.

This episode is a vast improvement over episode 7. Near the end of the episode, the Psycho spoof was pretty funny as Itoshiki is murdered in the shower by a plethora of movie icons with Kafuka finishing the job. As the final four episodes get subbed, I hope they can maintain the quality of episode 8.

Harumi, the crazed yaoi fangirl, collides with Itoshiki-sensei on the way to the copy store to publish her doujinshi. She discusses her doujinshi hobby with Itoshiki and he reveals that he too used to be into doujins in his youth. Of course the two are talking about totally different subjects as Itoshiki writes self-published poetry while Harumi is into fan comics. She invites Itoshiki to sell his works at Comiket.

At Comiket, Itoshiki is mistaken for a Rurouni Kenshin cosplayer and has his picture taken by quite a few girls. His stalker also garners some attention from the cosplay photographers as well. His poetry ends up being a big flop.

Harumi’s manga is critiqued by Chiri-chan who explains the proper story setup and demands that the doujinshi be rewritten on the spot into a 4-koma comic. After Comiket is over, Kafuka and Chiri-chan tell Harumi to aim for Manga Koshien to sell her new, improved 4-panel comics. The next day at school Harumi, Chiri, and Maria are in the classroom talking about 4-panel manga. Itoshiki hears them and introduces them to concept of the forbidden fifth panel which he names “Darkness”. This fifth panel adds very dark subject matter to the comics and depresses the girls.

We are now taken to a summer festival where all of the girls are having fun doing stereotypical festival activites. A moving shrine passes by and everyone becomes excited at the spectacle. Itoshiki then tells them that they should think before jumping onto the bandwagon so easily. He goes into a huge rant about the evils of marketing and putting everything on a pedestal through undeserved hype. The men hauling the shrine soon begin to hype everything they see from stalkers to hikkikomoris. They even hype Nami for being very normal.

All in all, a fair episode. The Comiket segment was fairly funny and had some nice moments. The popsicle stick puppet act was well done. The second half’s social commentary joke really started to wear thin after a while and ruined the satire. Here’s to hoping the comedy returns back to normal in episode 8.

Itoshiki boldly proclaims that he will go missing during the summer break. As he marches out, it seems that Kafuka has a slight cold. She visits the local clinic for a check-up and discovers that the doctor there is in fact Mikoto Itoshiki, Nozomu’s older brother. She puts the characters in his name together to find out that his name means Dr. Death (Zetsumei-sensei), sending him into a fit. After calming down, Mikoto asks why Kafuka has come to the clinic, and it seems that the cold has passed. She happily skips away, further aggravating him.

She runs into Chiri-chan on the street who reveals a note from Itoshiki-sensei that he has seriously gone missing. Kafuka decides that no one she knows could ever go missing and that he has simply returned to his hometown. The two go back to the clinic to ask about their teacher’s whereabouts. Mikoto tells them that his younger brother has returned home to deal with his arranged marriage interviews.

Fate gathers all of the girls together at the train station as they begin their quest to find Spock Itoshiki-sensei. As soon as the girls disembark at Itoshiki’s hometown they are quickly greeted by the Itoshiki family’s butler, Tokita, who is there at the request of Dr. Death. To their surprise, they see their teacher walking by the side of the road in very casual summer attire.

Back at the Itoshiki mansion the girls learn about the Itoshiki family tree. They meet his younger sister Rin, who as per the quota goes ballistic once the girls analyze the meaning of her name. Chiri inquires about the arranged marriage, and Tokita obliges by revealing the true nature of the matter. From midnight to noon, he will be forced to marry anyone who he makes eye contact with. The girls also find out that they will also be participating in the marriage ritual.

As the ritual begins, Itoshiki masterfully avoids making eye contact with everyone that gets in his way. His luck runs out when he runs into a multi-eyed monster but it is voided because it’s a monster after all. The marriage ritual ends with Itoshiki coming out unscathed and everyone takes the train back to the city together.

All of those movie reference cuts really eluded me. While this wasn’t Sayonara’s funniest episode it was still good. Itoshiki seems to take great pride in his repertoire of useless skills like avoiding eye contact with people. Coming soon to a blog near you, the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei episode 7 write-up.

Moving on to part 2, Itoshiki wins a free trip to a hot spring. Coincidentally enough, all of the girls are there too. He is horrified to learn that the hot spring detoxifies them, reversing all of their bad habits and personalities. I’m getting lazy on the writing now, so go look at some screenshots.

Screenshots

Currently listening to: move – Rage your dream

Case 2: Great Teacher Zetsubo deals with a seemingly shy girl who is anything but that. She sends vindictive e-mails to everyone in the class until Itoshiki forces her to trade seats with Kafuka, the only place in the room that doesn’t get phone reception. All in all, another weird episode. The new opening for this episode was strange too. Cough.

Screenshots