Subculture Anime Blog

I shall call him…mini Nozomu.

Summary:

Nozomu encounters the the girls while they are searching for mistakes in a puzzle. As class starts, he suggests that they search for mistakes in life instead, and gives several examples as usual. He states that there are mistakes everywhere in life, and that life itself could be a mistake. When asked about the mistakes he has made in life, Nozomu gives several examples, including being born. He continues his lecture by pulling down a picture of himself, and asking the class to find the mistakes in it. After they fail to do so, Nozomu reveals the several mistakes in it. Of course, the class replies that they could not find those mistakes just by looking at the picture. Nozomu tells them that they must not assume that anything is correct. Nozomu later makes the class think of the mistakes they have made, which puts them all at unease but Maria. Maria denies that she has made a mistake, and the students quickly go to her defense as Nozomu tries to convince her otherwise. After hearing the word “correct” come from Nozomu’s mouth, Kafuka becomes convinced that not everything is a mistake. She even starts to say that mistakes are actually correct. As many victims appear to describe their mistakes, Kafuka convinces them that their choices were actually correct. Suddenly, a small boy appears to address Nozomu as his father. Nozomu tries to convince the girls that it is a mistake, and they eventually discover that the boy is Nozomu’s nephew Majiru.

As the class interacts with Majiru, Nozomu becomes frustrated. Refusing to give up, Nozomu continues his writing. However, after coming across the word “pen name”, Nozomu starts to ask if Majiru is really his nephew. Nozomu even starts to doubt his student’s identities. He first asks if Chiri can identify herself. She shows him her student id, but this isn’t enough. Nozomu asks for something that only the real Chiri would know, but she thinks that there is something called privacy that should be taken into account. Chiri eventually agrees, and she proves her identity by telling him about her compulsive actions. After seeing a picture of her very curly hair as a child, Nozomu finally accepts that she is the real person. Nozomu moves on to Nami, and accepts her identity after receiving a very normal answer from her. Maria answers all of Nozomu’s answers correctly next, so even she is accepted as the real person. Nozomu moves on to ask the rest of the students if they can prove their identities, but Harumi and Kagero both express that it is impossible because of their embarrassing secrets. Nozomu begins to say that he will not be able to accept them as the real people, but Majiru then asks if Nozomu can prove himself as the real person. The class starts demanding proof that Nozomu is the real person, and Nozomu despairs because he has nothing to prove himself. As Nozomu prepares to kill himself, Kafuka and the rest of the class start telling him that he is mistaken. They express that he is a great teacher, and give their representation of him. Nozomu wonders exactly who he is, as he runs off on a journey of self discovery. While he is gone, Kafuka lifts up Majiru to touch Chiri’s hair. This makes it unravel, putting Majiru in a state of shock.

Impression:

The Gundam SEED and Narutaru parodies were particularly hilarious in this episode. Matoi’s “chiiii”, Kiri and Chie’s usual scenes, and Maria’s antics also kept the humor going as always. It was hilarious that Maria was identified as the real Sekiutsu Taro, when she really isn’t. Nozomu’s nephew Majiru is a fairly interesting character, and it is always nice to see more of the Itoshiki family. Quite a few people may be bothered by the constant introduction of characters, seeing it as a cheap plot device to keep the story going. As usual, I will have to say that these people are not looking past the surface of this show. I enjoyed this episode even more than usual, because Nozomu’s lecture really seemed like an actual lecture on life. Who needs a philosophy class when there’s Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei?

It is easy to consider that almost everything in life is actually a mistake, but Nozomu only represented the pessimistic side of this. People like Nozomu can easily search for the most subtle things to start considering negative. I’m actually going to have to agree with Kafuka’s optimistic view this time, and say that things only have to be seen as correct choices to be satisfying. Kafuka really is the light at the end of Nozomu’s shadow. Have I ever mentioned that Nonaka Ai’s voice makes me a very happy person? The second half of this episode dealt with identities. Material things cannot reveal who you really are, and it is your actions that really identify you. Nozomu’s actions at the episode were hilarious, because there are actually people who go on journeys of self realization. In the end, it is really unnecessary. People should stop worrying about identifying themselves, and accept things the way they are.