Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei – Episode 3
1 August 2007
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is turning out to be one of my favorite shows. It’s hilarious. I don’t understand it, but it makes me laugh. The Death Note reference had me falling out of my chair. I OD when I take screens for SZS. Usually, I find it a bit tedious to take screens, but like I say every other episode, it’s so much fun for this show!
Plot Two policemen are running in a shipping dock, looking for a criminal. They are unable to find the person and decide to split up and search again. The person being sought after plugs in a television set (don’t ask me how), huddles by, and the episode begins to play on the screen.
Itoshiki is explaining something, something about a girl who wanted to watch fireworks and in the end, watched fireworks from a helicopter. Suddenly, he falls over, limp. Two second shot of who is obviously Yagami Light and now you can safely assume Itoshiki is suffering from a heart attack and dies. His students are watching, completely perplexed. He gets back up and tells them there’ll be an exam tomorrow. However, it doesn’t matter how badly they all do because the overseas class is returning. Itoshiki is putting all of his faith in the overseas class to maintain the class average. He tells his students that the overseas class is on a different level entirely. Then he realizes that one student cannot possibly raise the entire class average. Plunging into another fit of despair, he and Tsunetsuki both commit suicide.
Meanwhile, in the counseling office, Chie looks like she’s doing a handstand, or in any case, just propped up against a wall. She fidgets and wiggles, trying to keep her skirt from inevitably falling down.
Kafuka asks Itoshiki if the overseas student is a returnee. I’m not so sure what a returnee is really supposed to be, but Itoshiki describes frantically that a returnee is one who will correct his English, answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and look you straight in the eye when you’re talking to them. Having yet another fit of despair, he wails that will be told off in five different languages. Despite just having committed suicide minutes earlier, Itoshiki asks for a rope. Chiri tells him that she just neatly put away the rope and he can’t mess it up. Kafuka announces that she has a rope. Before anything else happens, the overseas student returns.
Blonde hair, short skirt Kaede Kimura walks in the classroom. Shocked and vexed at Itoshiki’s strange behavior, she asks what’s wrong with the country. Chiri tells her that the teacher, even by Japanese standards, is a bit weird. Meanwhile, Itoshiki keeps on ignoring eye contact with Kaede and keeps his hands above his head to show her that he’s not molesting her. Kaede points out multiple flaws with the country, saying that people don’t sleep with their pillows facing north, people take off their shoes when they get into cars, people get married to cheat on their wives. Chiri points out again, those actions weren’t really normal either. Kaede continues her rant anyways, saying that in her country, the 7:3 (referring to the nerdy, glasses guy) split hairstyle is meant for funerals, that holding two fingers to your lips means you want to get it on tonight and that a guy having strawberry stationary, or strawberry anything, is a blatant sign of his virginity. Fed up with her rants, the class rebels against Kaede. The tables are turned and suddenly Kaede is the one crumbling to the floor.
After suffering a mental breakdown of sorts, Kaede is a completely different person. As Chie explains, Kaede probably created different personalities to deal with different countries. One for Japan and one for foreign countries. The one that’s exhibiting now is the Japanese personality. Kaede’s Japanese personality is extremely different, shy and reserved, she falls in love with Itoshiki. Saying that the perfect woman must follow three steps behind, she’s devastated to see Tsunetsuki already following him. Watching them together, walking together, drinking together, doing strange dances together, Kaede becomes suicidal and pitches herself off the roof.
However! Itoshiki to the rescue, saves her before she dies saying that the roof was a perfect spot for a love suicide and that she couldn’t have it. All of this commotion brings the foreign Kaede back and as she hangs upside down off the roof, her skirt falls and her underwear is exposed. The foreign Kaede exclaims she’s going to sue Itoshiki. Overcome with despair once more, Itoshiki says he doesn’t want to be in a courtroom picture.
The next day, Chie subs in for Itoshiki. Calling roll, she notices that Tsunetsuki was absent. She also notices a new person, Maria Tauro Sekiutsu. No one has, apparently, ever heard of her. No one is bothered by the total stranger in their class except for Chiri, who follows the new girl after school. Running into Kafuka, the two follow her home. Maria arrives at her apartment and as the door opens, Chiri catches sight of a bunch of illegal immigrants. However, Kafuka says that they can’t be illegal immigrants, besides, they have Japanese names, like Honda. Chiri then asks how Maria’s name was already on the roster. Maria takes to a boy living in a cardboard box, advertising every possession he has for sale. Apparently, he, the former Sekiutsu sold his student number to Maria. Satisfied with this explanation, Chiri accepts Maria as a student.
Maria collects garbage from the streets and Chiri tells her not to. Maria says that Japan was a country of abundance and that people throw out perfectly good things such as television, refrigerators, babies. Shocked, Chiri tells her to put the baby back where she found her. Watching her, Chiri suddenly feels the need to protect her. Kafuka calls her a busybody for justice. The need to protect Maria is infectious and everyone at school feels the same, showering her in gifts and food, even a collection box. Maria is extremely happy, saying that a pile of stuff got there on its own, that Japan was a good country. People call other people cute when they’re not, adults are kind to children (cough, pedophiles) and everyone is nice. Skipping down a sakura tree lined road with Kafuka, the dangling feet of Itoshiki and Tsunetsuki hangs in the background.
Extra
Impressions Another brilliantly funny episode. I loved the Death Note reference in the beginning. It was so funny! Seeing a shot of Light in SZS made my day. And after that, I think I subconsciously referenced most of the characters to a show. Kaede reminded me so much of Asuka. For one thing, they’re both foreigners in Japan, Kaede’s blonde, Asuka’s a red head, both are pretty arrogant and at one point curls up in fetal positions and suffers a mental breakdown. Maria reminded me of Ed, maybe because I started rewatching Cowboy Bebop last night, or maybe because she likes TVs, or maybe because they’re both so naive. But Maria reminded too much of Ed for my own good.
I miss a lot of cultural references in this, especially the beginning where it was talking about Dejima. I have no idea what that is and I got lost there. Kaede’s rant was rather entertaining. I’m assuming that she’s American, but I’ve never heard of strawberry print meaning you’re a virgin. I can see where the hair thing is coming from, as well as the hand gesture, but that strawberry print thing was weird. There was a lot of underwear in this episode. First we caught a glimpse of Chie’s underwear, then we saw Kaede’s pomegranate underwear hanging upside down off a roof. I thought it was rather nice the way they did it. Not too much, but enough so that it’s satisfying.
I liked both Kaede and Maria. The characters in this show are just so funny. Almost all of them, at this point, has fallen in love with Itoshiki and the hilarious thing is, he’s oblivious to it. He’s always in despair and he just wants to die. Judging from the ending animation, he probably ends up Kafuka. Who knows!
I still can’t get over how pretty the animation is. Together with the animation and the great comedic timing, this is seriously going to be one of my all time favorite anime. It’s only episode three, maybe I’m speaking too soon, or just reeling from the aftershock of having seen the episode, but in my mind, this show is great. I liked the scene with Kaede in the end, totally random, no idea why it’s there, but it was cute. Blonde girl with an electric guitar in a temple. Gotta love it.
I also just realized that the picture at the end of each episode is drawn by a different artist. The only reason I noticed is because this week’s episode featured Seo Kouji who created Suzuka and Crossover. I thought that style looked familiar and then I realized that, ah!, they were all by different people. Yes, I’m mindlessly slow when it comes to things like this.
Oh! I just realized! The dance Itoshiki and Tsunetsuki were doing! The DBZ fusion dance! No wonder it looked so familiar! Oh my god! Death NEEET!
Maybe I was expecting too much out of it, but episode 3 didn’t seem as funny to me as the previous ones had. It was probably the choice of students, pairing two not-so-hilarious ones with each other, as opposed to episode 1 and 2’s side-splitting combinations. Did you feel that there was any difference between episode 1-2 and 3?
<p>@Owen S – You do have a point. Despite still being ridiculously hilarious, episode three felt a bit flat. Not flat as in a loli, but flat as in flat soda. Episode two is my favorite of the three, that episode had such a kick to it. Not every joke in SZS is that funny and not all of the characters are great, but I think what I really love about the show is the way it’s done. There’s a certain feel to it, all of weirdness and quirkiness, the random references, the talking chalkboard, everything. As long as that’s still there, I’m good. XD</p>
I wholeheartedly agree. SZS compensates, I guess, in the sense that even if the jokes aren’t as funny the idiosyncrasies of the characters are there as a failsafe. The random shot of Chie doing a handstand was random yet fantastic.
@Owen S – I think the characters make the show. You’re right in saying they act as a failsafe. Every time I see Itoshiki scream he’s in despair and try to hang himself (even if it’s wrong to laugh at someone committing suicide) I just crack up. Just the way he is, it’s just funny! And I LOVED that random show of Chie. Random yet fantastic, maybe that’s why SZS is good. Random, yet fantastic.
I’ve been reading your blogs on the first three episodes and wow, thanks so much for the screenshots! Especially the ones with Itoshiki in them, heh. But what happened? You suddenly stopped blogging this series. If you don’t want to continue doing it, then just ignore this post. On another note, I don’t think Itoshiki is going to end up with any of his students. Not even Kafuka. Actually, I’m not even sure if Kafuka is who she seems to be, especially after reading these posts: http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=1083613&postcount=468 and http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=1083696&postcount=473 Well anyway just wanted to say hi, so you don’t really have to respond to this ^^;
@Firefly – XD, I watched it up to episode five and suddenly the subs stopped coming out, I was like O___O!!!! What happened to Zetsubou Sensei subs, I’m still waiting for six. Thanks for reading my blog, and when the subs start coming out again, I’ll definitely start blogging, with probably even more screens.
As for the posts, O_o, they seem just a little bit excessive. I mean, certainly, there is something strange about Kafuka, and I remember there was this one scene that freaked me just a bit, but calling her a psychopath? Maybe I haven’t seen enough episodes, but that’s just a little extreme. XD
No problem. The lack of subs has left me in despair as well.But afk released a lucky star episode lately so they’re back on again. Man I thought they were dead. But anyway hopefully this means they’re gonna start releasing subs for the episodes again.
Well, I still won’t be seeing Kafuka the same way any more though. Ever since I read those posts I finally realize how delightfully evil she is. Example, in episode nine, tho you may not have seen it yet, she successfully gets the criminal to surrender, places Itoshiki under the blade of Tsunetsuki’s and Kitsu-san’s justice, and happily announces that he is an impostor.
She probably is just a ridiculously happy girl, but if the show was more serious and Kafuka was a killer, then it’d be awesome. It’d remind me of Higurashi though, and Kafuka would especially remind me of Rena…
Well, see you round.