OP: “Kūsō Rumba (空想ルンバ)” by Kenji Ohtsuki – Holy crap! I was expecting the change this time, but this was still probably the best revision yet. I loved the paper dolls, as well as all of the other frantic action. There were also guest vocals differing from the usual Zetsubou girls this time around.

Summary:

• Nozomu and the students tell 100 stories, but instead of the usual supernatural themes, they use rather typical situations in their tales. This leads to some very humorous possibilities.
• On white day, two otaku present their gifts to a waitress. Although the two boys both declare themselves as better, Nozomu appears to call them both losers. This leads to Nozomu and the class describing many situations where two arguing parties both lose, until Kafuka appears to reverse the situation as usual.
• In the past, Nozomu had reached high school hoping to start a very positive student life. However, the first sight he met under the falling sakura petals was that of four men having hanged themselves from the nearby trees. Further more, while Nozomu hoped to meet a girlfriend at the school, all of the girls he met only presented him with letters to pass on to his other family members. Believing the source of his problems to be his glasses, Nozomu eventually came across a group known as the negative club. The group quickly gave Nozomu a new set of glasses, which caused him a great deal of pain whenever he said anything positive. With the negative club’s new teachings enveloped onto him, Nozomu’s life would be far from normal from this point on.

Impression:

More than a week late, but still faster than the subs right? Well, that’s it for the Goku part of Zetsubou Sensei. It’s hard to say if Shaft will produce more OVAs or series at this point, but the manga certainly isn’t finished yet.

The first two parts of this episode were humorous as usual, but they just weren’t as laugh out loud-worthy as some of the past episodes’ segments. A lot of the little easter eggs in the background were really fun though, and I’m sure a lot of fans have had a lot of fun rewinding to look through those already. I couldn’t help but recall one of my favorite xxxHolic episodes during the play on hyakumogogatari kaidankai, and the bon festival parody had me spending a few minutes researching some culture as usual. The whole ideology around winning and losing in the second part of this episode was the usual awareness parody, but as great as it was, it’s really hard to say anything new about this type of stuff anymore.

The third part of the episode was easily the most entertaining, with a look at how Nozomu came to become how he is in the present. Who would have thought Nozomu could be such a cliched and positive character? A loli Kafuka is win either way you look at it too. Better watch out, Ushio.

OP: “Kūsō Rumba (空想ルンバ)” by Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi – The same trippy stuff we got last time, with a few slight differences here and there.

Summary:

Chiri is alerted that Nozomu will be seeing her for a house visitation, but when he finally arrives at her house, Nozomu simply leaves after a glance. Chiri wonders if he wouldn’t be inspecting the house, but Nozomu confirms that he has certainly seen enough already. Chiri expresses her belief that the visit was made useless because of this when the two meet at school the next day, but this only brings Nozomu to discuss the various changes in attitude that Japanese people have as they grow older. This brings the students to recall many different things that Japanese society prefers, from Maria’s disillusioned vision of what men prefer in a woman to Kudo’s observation of what people like at the end of a story.

As the class visits town, they further confirm the Japanese’s love for their home after seeing things like Nami’s eating in a ramen house. Not wanting the students to simply observe, and wanting them to properly represent their home as well, Nozomu goes to Kiri in belief that no one wants to see a hikkikomori in their home. This makes him mention that there are occasionally times when people break out of their stereotype. Of course, this brings the students to suggest that even Nozomu have a change of pace. Chiri takes revenge on Nozomu, and the officers questioning her in the aftermath refuse to accept her simple excuses.

Chiri one day walks into Nozomu’s house to see him in a very sloppy state. Nozomu credits this to the news dealing with an earthquake, believing that leaving the house will not amount to anything. Chiri wonders if he actually believes something like this, but Nozomu then replies with his belief that everyone secretly believes it. Chiri is shocked to see the rest of the class in unrefined states afterwards, as they all refuse to do anything. Nozomu then states his realization that he does need to do something, just as many people in Japanese society do in different situations. This brings the students to all suggest their own need to do things even thought hey know it is in vain, such as buying tickets to an event that they know they will not actually be able to attend.

As many things will not be preformed, Nozomu and the students then bring up various pieces of material that they were looking forward to reading. As no one will be doing anything anyways, many possibilities of things that typically wouldn’t be possible are brought up. This even brings Kafuka to suggest that Nozomu practice love, and when a partner is searched for, Ai is chosen. Ai initially doesn’t have confidence, but she agrees anyways after being told that such things would not really follow through. Making her quite angry though, this brings Chiri to meet Ai in a very threatening way later.

As the reading of books has declined quite a bit recently, the library committee requests an opinion from Nozomu to see what he believes would increase the activity. With this, Nozomu suggests changing the titles of some books. Looking at various influences from different nationalities among other things, Nozomu begins to suggest very drawn out names. Upon Nami’s suggestion though, Nozomu begins to brainstorm simpler names. In the end, the committee wonders if it even matters what kind of name is displayed on the front of a book. This leads Kino and Kudo to have a challenge, leading the two to give different names to various books that Nozomu picks out. As the committee watches to see which books everyone picks out though, they find that no one will start reading a book simply because the name has been changed.

As Kino wishes to continue his challenge with Kudo, Nozomu leads the students to a change of location in the form of a video and audio rental store. As there are many deceiving titles which had previously failed to meet Nozomu’s expectations, Nozomu recalls the many cases where the label on an item would be completely wrong. When Kafuka appears, however, she decides that titles must wonderfully display what they are meant to represent. Chiri soon appears in annoyance that she was not called to such an important meeting, then mentioning that Nozomu has not been in despair recently despite the name of the series being “Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.” Of course, this leads to a misfortunate fate for him.

Impression:

I have to go to work, but Aroduc wasn’t going to leave me alone if I put this off any longer. I’ll put up a proper impression when I get back tonight, or later depending on how exhausted I am.

Notes:

• The words for the day were “katei”, “jishin”, and “henjo.” None have truly direct translations to english (as usual), making puns somewhat hard to come across to those who do not understand Japanese. (What’s new?)
• I absolutely loved the parody in styles, with the third segment being almost too pretty for me to take. Mmmm…prettiness.
• Seeing all the characters and their usual quirkiness never gets old.
• Lots of cameo appearances as usual, with Clannad, Lucky Star, Negima, and Zettai Karen Children parodies being very obvious among others.
• The ending that didn’t make its appearance until the end of Zoku, “Omamori,” finally made a second appearance at the end of the episode.
• Kafuka, you will always shine more brightly than Ranka.
• Naked Rin…..ogawd fap fap fap
• Yea, I was here since the beginning. What. Try to be more Shaft fanboy!!!

EDIT: As much as I would like to talk about things like national pride or what there is in a name, I put off revision for so long that I don’t feel like I can return to this post without putting in a considerable amount of time. Leaving the post as it is!

OP: “Kūsō Rumba (空想ルンバ)” by Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi – This is the trippiest and most awesome OP I have seen since…..Zoku ended. I love you, Shaft.

Summary:

While the a few of the girls are out in town, they notice that Valentine’s Day is soon. When Nozomu appears as usual, he wonders if it wouldn’t be better if holidays like this only happened once every four years. Like the Olympics, it could be possible that people would be more excited about the events when they happen. In the classroom on a later day, all of the girls give Nozomu Valentine’s Day chocolate. Chiri’s is notable in particular, as it is a properly shaped heart. Nozomu suddenly questions if this is a “honey trap”, something that will suddenly reveal all of his secrets while he is weak. In response to his wonder, Kafuka introduces Nozomu to a team that cannot fall into honey traps. Because this group of men has been exposed to things such as eroge games, they are not effected by the lure of women. Kaere is put on display to prove this, and the men show a fairly uncaring response as expected. When another organization attempts to break this team of otaku with an alluring woman, they are surprised to see the strength of their resistance to the honey trap. Even when they attempt to imitate anime goods to trap them with, they still find that they fail.

Matoi one day finds Nozomu watching a boring program on TV. Though she expresses that she is uninterested in the program, Nozomu reveals that there is much more going on beneath the surface of the show. This brings the two around the city as usual, as Nozomu gives several examples of how many things happen underneath what seems to be the obvious surface. In class, Rin mentions that Nozomu has his own secrets that he doesn’t reveal. When Chiri hears this, she decides that she must properly find out what this involves. When Chiri follows Nozomu into an exercise facility, she discovers that he has been training the muscles in his neck. When Nozomu runs out in fear that his secrets have been revealed, Rin further reveals that the items in his suicide box are not as lethal as they look. In reality, he did not want to die. While Nozomu is outside, he learns even more frightening secrets from Kafuka and Chie. After watching a display between Chiri and Abiru, he also learns the true meaning behind the injuries the girls seemed to have earlier.

Nozomu is invited to a Halloween party later, but when he arrives, he finds that none of the attendees are dressed in traditional Halloween attire (with the exception of Chiri). This puts him into despair, as he mentions several other things that no longer have the same meaning they had originally. When Matoi leads Nozomu to a secret meeting over this type of thing nearby, he further despairs. After seeing a few seemingly proper Halloween costumes, Nozomu meets an Indian who is not pleased with the curry of Japan copied from his country. When Kafuka appears with a new hairstyle, she suggests that things are simply making progress. Giving Nozomu examples such as chocolate that is closer to its original, she reveals that there are many things that were not that good in their original states. Still wanting to see things in their original state, Nozomu even follows Abiru to a jungle to find animals that no longer exist anymore. Though they do not find these, they meet a soldier who had been lost in the wilderness for quite some time. As he returns to Japan, he despairs at the state it is in. When Nozomu sees Harumi complaining about the loss of originality in manga later, he reveals the reason why change had to be made.

ED: “Marionette (マリオネット)” by ROLLY and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi – This is unchanged from the original with the exception of Nozomu retaining the face he had at the end of the episode. The chorus of this song always pops into my head at random, so I’m glad they used it for this episode.

Impression:

Oh man, I am overjoyed. When this OVA was announced a few months back, I’m pretty sure I had a “told you so” moment. The end of Zoku really wasn’t an end at all, and I’m sure Shaft already knows how great of a great fanbase they have for this series. Being an OVA, this episode was packed with hilarity, references, and just everything we love about Zetsubou Sensei. There are probably too many to list (especially during the Halloween costume scene), but the Kyoani, Sunrise, and self references were all obvious as usual. I always like to see this as Shaft throwing out their challenge to the bigger studios, using originality as their weapon. They’ll never lose in my eyes! The Michael Jackson and Indian scenes were hilarious too. I love how this show just isn’t confined to Japan in all of its cultural displays.

Speaking of which, it was awesome to return to the “Zetsubou sociology and psychology lessons” that I have come to love so much in the past year. My favorite in this episode probably had to be the topic of loss in originality. Taking a look around my room, and I can already see several things that wouldn’t be that good in their original states. Skateboards, Computers, and phones would be a nightmare to use if they retained their original states throughout all these years. Nozomu’s reference to bands using the same name despite losing their original members was genius too, since it’s something I feel like I’ve seen way too much (Seeing the Halloween costumes made me want to play a Misfits song!). Chie gets points for making the “proper heart” too. I always love seeing how symbols become embodied in people’s heads, despite how abstract they are.

Seeing all of the characters return was definitely nice too, since there’s just about none that I dislike in this show. Hearing several of my favorite seiyu was just as pleasing, as this show has had a strong cast from the very beginning. Miyuki Sawashiro using her signature voice during the television scene caught me off guard in this episode, and it’s still hard to believe that she plays Maria. Even though seeing Kafuka with long hair was nice among other things, I feel like some of the characters (like Meru) didn’t have enough time at all in this episode. Seeing that there is a second episode coming though, I suppose I can only look forward to seeing more.

OP: “kūsō Rumba (空想ルンバ)” by Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi – It might have been easy to miss, but the OP has been changing slightly with each episode. This time it was offered in full color, making it more epic than ever. (Final Impression at the end!)

Summary:

The demon Nozomu is pelted out of the school by many of his students. As he stands outside, he wonders where he is to go. Nozomu describes the many pitiful situations people are forced to face when they are thrown out of positions, but the students do not seem to care much as they proceed to knock him down more. Walking in town, Chiri lets out a terrifying scream at the sight of demons she sees. Nozomu takes Chiri away when he finds her, suggesting that it would be better for her to put the demons out of her mind. When Nozomu reaches home, he is shocked to find that Majiru has taken in a stray demon. This makes Nozomu wonder about other strays, as his students take many other abandoned individuals to his house. Nozomu attempts to find places that would take people in, but he is denied where ever he goes. He eventually makes it to an icy schoolhouse, where his students have followed. Nozomu attempts to escape his responsibilities again, causing the students to desperately search for him. Nozomu eventually returns as a stray, relieving those who have been searching for him. In the meantime, Majiru sadly searches for his lost demon.

Jun tells his audience a story about a princess. The princess is Harumi, who one day discovered BL doujinshi. The princess’s followers desperately searched for ways to please her, but she only wondered where they obtained the doujinshi they brought to her. Their reply was Comiket. After the event, Nozomu finds that Meru was also there watching. He suggests that it would be nice if she could say that much, but he quickly apologizes after his statement. Nozomu is soon attacked by a large man afterwards, discovering that he is Meru’s father. Meru’s father explains that his daughter had stopped talking after becoming traumatized as a child. Her classmates had called her voice strange, and Meru found that this was true when she tested herself. Nozomu and his students find themselves at a very large competition later – a competition to see who would provide the best voice for Meru. Many people present their voices, and even the students become involved. Meru runs out after the humiliation, but she gets caught by a strange man in the process. The man finds that the image he had in mind for Meru’s voice is quite different because of the microphone around her neck, allowing her to escape. When she bumps into Majiru, an even bigger misunderstanding is created.

Nozomu overhears a lot of talk about prerequisites in school one day, falling into despair. Because of this, he invites his students into the city to find examples. Nozomu finds many ridiculous forms of prerequisite, but some even show up to state that prerequisites are a good thing. Wanting such things to end, Nozomu points out things such as couples fighting before making up. Nozomu eventually makes it to Akihabara, surprised by the attitudes he finds inside a maid cafe. As she works inside, Kafuka explains to Nozomu the tsundere and eternal 17 traits that accompany the job. An enemy appears before Nozomu, but quickly becomes his ally. Bringing up shounen manga, Kafuka believes that this is another necessary prerequisite.

ED: “Omamori (オマモリ)” by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yu Kobayashi and Ryoko Shintani – Following the usual SHAFT style, the last ED did not appear until the last episode. This song was already on the previously released single. The almost comic style animation is disturbingly amazing, putting a perfect end to the second season.

Impression:

Seeennn noooo kaze ni naaattteeeee~. GET OUT OF THE ORICON!!! Man, as much as I hate that song, I laughed really hard when it appeared at Meru Meru’s audition. Hatsune Miku’s appearance was just icing on top of the cake. I think they even actually used the real Vocaloid voice! The first part of this episode was the usual cultural flare, and I almost melted at Kiri’s appearance again. The subtle things were hilarious as usual, like Abiru staring at Nozomu’s tail. I also loved Jun’s tale of the BL princess. Nozomu’s inviting everyone outside in the third part had me thinking about the usual lecture parallel, but it was even more direct this time. The otaku references were really high when they even went to Akihabara, and I think I facepalmed at the Naruto reference. ZETSUBOU SHITA!

Final Impression:

Ah, what am I to say? It’s really hard to put an impression on this series without looking at the first season. Being the SHAFT loyalist I am, I came into this show expecting a wonderful dark comedy with a Pani Poni Dash edge. After just a few episodes, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei became one of my favorite anime of all time. At the end of the first series, I had fallen in despair at the ending of my joy. When the second series was announced not too long after, however, Kafuka’s positive message might have been ringing in my head. Zoku was everything I was hoping for it to be, combining the same twists from the first season with an even greater SHAFT edge. There may have been a few episodes that didn’t come off as strong to me in the beginning, but overall, this was a perfect continuation from the first season I loved with a passion. I don’t think I will despair this time, because I feel like the series is not even over. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another Zetsubou Sensei in another few years. If not, the ride has been just as fun as it ever has. Why take psychology or sociology? All you need is Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.

I want to gattai!

Summary:

With summer break just around the corner, Nozomu does not believe the students should begin getting comfortable all of a sudden. Giving examples of marathoners cooling down when finishing races, Nozomu describes the dangers of hard landings. The students’ spirits are brightened, however, when Nozomu suggests more days off before school is left out. Only Chiri finds this idea ridiculous, as even Chie agrees that this is a good idea. Nozomu begins giving even more examples of hard landings, putting Chiri up to a flight simulator to create a soft landing. She is unable to do well, but when Kafuka attempts the simulator, she is amazingly able to complete the mission successfully. The conversation moves to hard and soft landings when dealing with swimsuits, resulting in some very revealing situations. More hard and soft landing situations are revealed by the class, all with their own ridiculous end results.

Nozomu attempts to get a ride to the station, but he learns that this will be the taxi driver’s last job. Because of this, Nozomu has the driver take him all the way to the sea. Going to a restaurant later, he is used for another person’s birthday party. Nozomu is also left in the dark while helping a hotel perform a small show. When Nozomu is used to bring a couple back together, Kafuka makes him realize that he is like a supporting character that is cast aside. Nozomu even faces trouble when returning to his house, so he attempts to travel far to escape. He still cannot escape after doing this, even getting involved in a couple’s suicide attempt.

Harumi sees that Jinroku-sensei is reading manga at school. She wonders about this, so he tells her about the interest appearing after playing at the pachinko parlor. Because there were manga characters on the machines, he began developing interests in the manga itself. Nozomu appears to describe how common this phenomenon is, going through several examples. This type of thing has also happened with students in Nozomu’s class, and even with Ikkyu. Kafuka appears to describe her own thoughts on this subject, causing even more chaos. Many men begin describing their duties as men in various situations, but the atmosphere becomes even more awkward when Usui attempts to describe his beliefs. When some of the girls attempt to buy shirts with popular images on them, Chiri is forced to discipline them.

Impression:

Kimochi~! Besides the blatant Eva references, this episode was full of parodies around every corner. There were several Gundam ones, and some particularly funny Haruhi ones (I still like to think of Shaft as the polar opposite of Kyoani). I love seeing the Apple computers as usual, and even Che showed up again. There was also a familiar noise after the hotel light show if you’re a fan of Hidamari.

This being the second to last episode of the second season, it certainly didn’t disappoint. If not only full of fanservice, the first part of the episode was a riot. I still love how they can take such odd concepts, such as hard and soft landings, and turn them into such sociological pieces of work. I’m sure everyone has had experience with what they described, though it’s not something that I would usually think about. The second part of the episode dealt with getting involved in others’ problems, another common event in the world. It’s pretty funny looking for the line between anime and real life situations in this show sometimes. I think quite a few people have also experienced what was presented in the third part of the episode. Like, if someone saw a reference in Zetsubou Sensei, maybe they would get interested in what was referenced…

Next week is the last for Zoku, but for some reason, I don’t even feel like it’s the end.

The culprit is…….!
……..not you.

Summary

Nozomu wakes to the sound of a phone. Answering it, he informs Matoi that he has new work. On the train ride to his location, Nozomu sees a group of black clothed girls on the beach. Reaching the mansion he has been sent to, Nozomu is introduced to the inhabitants as a famous detective. The girls there, the regular students, notice that Nozomu has the same name as their old teacher. This teacher has passed away, and the girls act very suspiciously towards the detective before them. Jinroku also reports that two students have disappeared, Maria and Manami. When Jinroku names all of the girls in the room, Chiri and Kaere become outraged at the implication that one of them were the culprit. Walking outside with her dog, Rin panics at the sight she sees on the beach. When Nozomu and the others go outside, they find Manami’s body is on the ground. Ai confesses to being the culprit, but Jinroku explains to Nozomu that she is simply one who will take the blame for things. Meanwhile, Nozomu overhears Chiri and Nami discuss their disappointment. Jun takes Nozomu to an old woman next, who has a large video collection related to the previous Itoshiki. Nozomu proceeds to watch, but he wonders what good this will do.

While pondering outside the mansion afterwards, Nozomu sees Chiri and Abiru run outside to kill something with knives. Nozomu panics, but learns from the other girls that these are dinner preparations. Later, Nozomu learns from a few of the girls that they were actually Itoshiki’s lovers. The girls then wish to learn about the current Nozomu, so he tells them his reasons for wanting to solve mysteries. Shortly after, Ai and Jun witness something horrible. Kaere is found to be murdered, so Nozomu is forced to look at the situation decisively. Seeing that the previous teacher enjoyed watching anime, Nozomu finally decides on the culprit. This turns out to be Kagero, who everyone else was unable to notice. This isn’t the end of the case, however, as Nozomu and the girls enter rooms below the mansion. Nozomu does not believe that any of the girls could be the culprit, but they suggest otherwise. Although Itoshiki was loved by all of the girls, he would not pick any of them to marry. As all of the girls pull out knives, they suggest that Nozomu resembles their previous teacher. Nozomu runs in fear, escaping the mansion as it bursts into flames. On the train ride home, Nozomu despairs at the results of this case.

Walking through a Tanabata festival, Nozomu expresses his belief that no wishes will be granted. The other students then appear, and Kafuka contradicts his belief. This makes Nozomu believe he should make a wish too, but it is a particularly despairing one. Nozomu learns all of the other student’s strange wishes next, but he again suggests that they will not be granted. Kafuka again contradicts Nozomu, then saying that wishes will be granted in the afterlife. This causes many people to rush to Kafuka, expressing for their impossible wishes to be granted in the afterlife. Nozomu decides to make a wish too, going through procedures to make his trip to the afterlife faster. Looking out into the starry sky later, Kiri puts up her own wish.

Impression:

Oh man, the EVA reference was hilarious (a lot of you have been lucky enough to watch that recently, huh?). Though I enjoyed this episode thoroughly, I did find the first part kind of strange. It just didn’t seem like the usual Zetsubou style. After digging through the AnimeSuki forums out of curiosity though, I learned that the first half was an apparent parody to the film “Ten Dark Women”. The director has passed away recently, and Shaft was the perfect production team to do such a cool tribute. It was funny that they still managed to fit in all the girls’ quirky traits, and the parody of a typical mystery film was great. They did have a special OP, but it was just instrumental on black text. The second half, dealing with Tanabata and wishes, was a cultural riot as usual. I loved Kafuka’s suggestion of the afterlife and the crowds she drew to herself because of it. The funny thing is, people are actually that easily manipulated in real life. Ah, how I love this series. With only two episodes left, I feel like I will be falling into despair for a second time.

Ariari!

Summary:

Nozomu enjoys his time at a baseball match, but he gets hit by a flying baseball in the stands. Observing the situation around him, Nozomu believes he is witnessing detuning. When Nami shows up in her normal appearance, Nozomu wonders if she is detuning as well. Kafuka appears to confirm this, describing many people around who are hiding their true potential. Nozomu and the girls travel further out into the city, finding crowds angry at people for detuning their true talents. Kafuka believes there are many good reasons to detune, however, giving many examples. When Nozomu sees Abiru not too far away, he finds that she has used detuning for herself as well. Even Chiri has detuned before, though her experiences are horrifying. Chiri decides that things must be done to their full potential, forcing Harumi to do many things at a photo shoot. Elsewhere, the other students have their own problems.

In class, Nozomu brings up the problem of “ariari sari”. He takes Meru as an example, who earlier went to a stylist to have her hair done. One of the girls wanted to play with her hair, but a man decided that the new hairstyle could work. This obviously wasn’t the case, as most people secretly laughed at Meru. Looking at these situations, Nozomu describes this as mini propaganda. Two male students come up with the silly idea of wearing colorful shirts over their uniforms. Another student believes that this could work, however, so they walk around in this appearance to the disturbed eyes of the rest of the students. Throughout Japan, ariari sari takes place in many ways. Because of this, Nozomu falls into despair. Kafuka suddenly wonders if it is possible for Nozomu to have a relationship with his students. He doesn’t think so, but most of the class suggests that it is. This eventually leads to Nozomu being surrounded by many of his students. However, he denies Chiri’s acceptance when she asks. With this, Chiri buries Nozomu under the sands.

Chiri becomes angry when Nozomu arrives to class late as usual. When he gets there, he begins describing the world of first time customers. In the cases Nozomu describes, most first timers are denied. Rin suggests an experiment, where all of the girls serve a first time customer. The girls find a first time customer at their business, but he takes the chance to make fun of all of the girls’ names. Many of the girls become frustrated at the man, but Nozomu insists that they do their best to serve him. However, Nozomu becomes annoyed when he checks on him as well. Rin lets in many other new customers, all with very pestering questions. Because of this, Nozomu forces out all of the first time customers. Nozomu is relieved when regulars show up, but it turns out that they are annoying in their own ways. After Nozomu throws these people out too, Kafuka wonders what a good number is for returning customers. Rather than 100, Nozomu suggests 10. However, this results in a ridiculous suggestion from Kafuka.

Impression:

Haha, I loved the AAA reference!!! I wonder if it is a coincidence that their new album came out today. Honestly it’s kind of a disappointment. Why have a compilation CD when there are only three albums out!? Oh well, I still love the action pop. Anyways, getting past that random album review, this episode was pretty funny all around. There were a lot of phrases that will not translate directly into English again, but it’s easy enough to figure out while watching the episodes. I could relate to the first part about “detuning” a little bit. I think there’s quite a few people out there who hide their true talents at least from time to time. The consequences from this kind of action were represented pretty nicely in this episode. Of course, it was over the top as usual.

The second part of the episode was really fun, especially with all the “ariari”. The shirt scene totally reminded me of high school, and the stupid things kids would do that were obviously unappealing. It’s really funny how easily people are influenced by others. I think anyone who’s worked in a business before could relate to the last part. The number of times people have visited a business only matters to a certain extent really. In the end, it just depends on a person’s personality in general. I laughed pretty hard when the girls wondered if they could kill their customer though. It was funny that the customer basically explained a lot of the puns with the girls’ names. Lastly, the blatant ef and studio references were a riot. The mention about newbies getting owned in games hit base with me too.

Wait……what?

Summary:

As animals, Maria and Kaere engage in battle. When Nozomu passes by them without thought, they attack and kill him. With this, the two creatures enjoy a meal while Nozomu floats to the heavens. When the class finds Nozomu not paying any attention while teaching, Kafuka wonders if he is slacking off at the start of the year. This makes Maria knock him over, explaining that she is performing a tsukomi comedy act. Chiri realizes that Maria has been watching this on TV, which is causing her acts against the students. Maria escapes to the city, where she continues to attack people who are not paying much attention.

Trying to stop Maria, Nozomu explains that there are many other reasons that people may be light headed. Chiri becomes irritated at Maria, but only because she is not properly doing things. When Chiri points out a nearby couple, Maria continues her attack. When Kagero crashes into Kaere, another tsukomi act is created. However, this isn’t quite right for everyone. Maria makes her way to a television station after she sees someone on screen that doesn’t seem to be paying attention. She finds that this woman is not what she suspects at all, however, putting her in fear.

When Kafuka finds her, Maria expresses her continuing desire to preform tsukomi. With this, Kafuka introduces Maria to a person who knows where many light headed people are. Under the command of her new leader, Maria heads to the courts. Rin makes a joke with Nozomu while watching this on TV at home, causing Maria to appear again to haunt Nozomu. During the Zetusbou Fight, Nozomu has trouble teaching his distracted students. They begin fighting, when a bull appears. The students attack the bull, but Nozomu is again killed in the process. Harumi later gets in a fight with Chiri after a disagreement, but Nozomu appears to propose a proper fight. Chiri has already died, however, so Nozomu fights instead. With one punch, he defeats Harumi.

At school while the students are playing in class, Nozomu proposes an inspection. Chiri believes that this is a good choice, but she changes her mind when Nozomu shows a picture of her not paying attention in a picture. In response, Chiri takes Maria to find people who are not paying attention all over the city. With this, embarrassing pictures show up all over the school. However, when Maria attempts to get a picture of Jinroku-sensei, she finds that it is impossible.

Kafuka eventually appears to suggest that all of this is only dojikko appeal. This makes Chiri recall that the clumsy kids were more loved than her who did things properly in the past. Kafuka hands Chiri a book with instructions for Chiri to become a dojikko, which Chiri follows quite ridiculously. Chiri accidentally stabs Nozomu, forcing his brother to operate on him. When he screws up, Kafuka calls him a dojikko. While all of this was happening, Meru ran into trouble with a bra saleswoman. During the Zetusbou Fight, Nozomu is left alone. When a strange creature appears, Nozomu attacks it. This changes his speech, as he forces his students to attack the creature. This causes more trouble with everyone, as many of them float to the heavens. In the future, the students continue to battle and live their usual lives.

Impression:

Okay, this episode was just weird. I know this is Shaft, but man, this reminds me of one of those episodes of Pani Poni Dash that people talk about and say “Oh, remember that crazy episode where…” It was just insane, experimental, and out of place. So yea, it was basically awesome. I’m definitely going to have to bring up all the cultural references in this episode too, because it was full of them. I don’t think there is any direct translation for “boke” (kind of like a light headed person), “tsukomi” (a comedy act), “nekeuchi kensa” (the examination that took place when people were not paying attention), or “dojikko” (clumsy person). Ha, and people wonder why it takes people so long to sub this show.

Now, I’m going to be completely honest. This time around, I really couldn’t relate to a lot of the jokes presented. I laughed a lot because of the situations (nandeyanen?), but I’m sure it would have been a much different kind of humor to someone living in Japan and constantly seeing things like tsukomi acts. Not that I feel left out or anything, because I’m pretty sure that most people who are not Japanese and watch this show laugh purely from the ridiculous presentation than looking at the cultural, psychological, or sociological aspects of it. Oh, and I’m also not the biggest Maria fan in the world. She’s okay for a couple of scenes, but this time around was just a bit much. Eh, preference. Chiri fans are definitely in for a treat again though.

Maybe the first half really was just about the influences TV has on people, and it was just a play on the violence factor. The Zetsubou Fight scenes could have gone with that pretty well. The light headed victims just seemed like a joke to make fun of, but it seems like this series typically goes half and half like that. The second half of the episode might have hit base with me just a bit more, because who hasn’t been found in an embarrassing situation before? I can kind of see where the dojikko appeal can come in to, since people just think there’s no helping these types of people. I’m also wondering if they’re planning something big/ridiculous with Kafuka, since they’re constantly showing her in yandere mode or whatever. I guess we’ll find out.

The truth….revealed!

Summary:

As Nozomu and the girls have arrived at a pool resort to enjoy themselves, Kafuka requests for Nozomu to take a picture of her and Majiru. A raging girl appears to stop Nozomu, however, believing that he was trying to sneak a picture of her. Later, Nozomu tells Kafuka of the recent suspicion of spies. He brings up two of his previous encounters, where shop owners suspected him of gathering information for competitive purposes. Nozomu despairs at this turn of events around the world, when the students bring up their own experiences with this. Nami believes that she has suspected someone of looking at her personal information while having her phone serviced, for example. Reading a manga, Harumi also suspects a previous purchaser of one of her doujinishi of stealing her ideas.

When Chiri notices many people watching Nozomu from afar, she takes care of them and tells Nozomu to run. Nozomu fears that he will really become involved as a spy with this turn of events, when Kafuka even appears to give him a mission. Even when Nozomu believes he has found places of escape, he is still suspected of being a spy. Nozomu even believes that he is being watched in the movie theaters and through the computer. Nozomu decides to have his information changed, but finds that the people he goes to wish to kill him. Three of his students appear to save him, as he continues to run in despair. Later, Kafuka believes she has come up with a positive way to use spies. Nozomu overhears many things that he would rather not, and Kafuka credits this to the Positive Counter Intelligence.

When some of the girls notice the good weather one day, Nozomu tells them that the time has come for things to be revealed. For example, he points out a very vile looking delinquent. In reality, he is wearing an anime shirt and very weak. Manami also realizes that he is someone she knew in school, as the boy goes to her for comfort. Nozomu reveals that during the month of April, many truths are discovered. He gives many examples to prove his point, then heading to the school. When Harumi notices how many things have changed about the author she once thought was interesting, Nozomu brings up the effects of the fifth month. While wearing a wig, Kagero nervously checks to see if anyone has noticed his actions. He believes that he is safe, but most of the class looks at his with obvious stares. Rin believes that she understands what Nozomu is talking about, giving examples of her own. However, Nozomu contradicts her.

When many students appear at the classroom to call on Harumi, she fears that she has been found out. The girls mention Harumi’s great athletic skills despite her denial, trying to recruit her for their groups. Chiri explains to Nozomu how this always happens, just before two detectives appear to take Chiri away. Chiri expresses that she was found out after they reveal a shovel for evidence, but she will not tell Nozomu what it was that she did as she is taken away. Some of the girls despair at the changes they have encountered during May, and Nozomu brings up that such shifts in people during the month are definitely possible. After one of Kafuka’s statements, Nozomu suggests to the girls that it would be better if they revealed their secrets before they would have to be discovered. After they all do, they wonder if Nozomu has any secrets as well. He tells them of his own, but they find that none of them are negative and accuse him of making himself look better. At home, Kiri reveals to Majiru that she is not really his older sister. Of course, he already knew this.

When September has come, Nozomu despairs that the world is not really 50/50 as people claim. After giving several examples, he wonders if Nami can do a half smile. She obviously can’t, so Nozomu points out an example for her. Ikkyu has a perfect half smile, which is actually quite creepy. Chiri appears to claim that it is no good unless something is perfectly half and half, so Nozomu assures that her hair is certainly split perfectly. Nozomu becomes afraid when Chiri begins talking about murder, however, as she runs off to correct things that are not perfectly half and half. At school, Ai exclaims that her sleeves have been cut in half. Chiri finds many students failing at doing things perfectly in half, scolding all of them. She even goes out further into the world, before continuing to make things perfectly 50/50. When Nozomu fails at one of her suggestions, she causes the school room to explode. Nozomu’s neighbor comforts Nozomu while walking with him afterwards, telling him that she will do anything she can for him. Nozomu appreciates this, just happy that she cooks for he and Majru. Later with her wig off, Kafuka wonders what she should cook for Nozomu in a twisted state.

Impression:

Now am I talking about the end of this episode, or the general theme of this show? It doesn’t really matter either way, because this episode was pure quality. I’m so glad this series has gone back to the roots that made me love the first season so much, and I’m sure I’ll be touching on that when it’s all over. The first third of this episode was a hilarious take at the paranoia of society. It was easy to relate despite the base being in Japan, because this kind of thing happens all over the world. I know I’ve had experiences similar to everything Nozomu suggested, and I’m sure everyone else has too. The one exception might be the extremes they threw in at the end…I’d also like to mention the parodied fanservice that SHAFT threw in once again during this episode. I had a fit about this during the first season, and I hope everyone can realize the team’s true intentions this time around. It was dead obvious.

The second part of this episode might be a bit confusing to those who don’t know any Japanese, because wordplay was used quite a bit. This has already happened a lot during this season, and it’s been brought up many times. The theme presented kind of played in with the first part’s, but it was a bit different. I wonder if people really change due to the seasons, because that was a bit too extreme to take seriously. It was certain funny though. The last part was probably a real treat for Chiri fans, because she went on a rampage while trying to perfect things. Of course some things can’t be made perfectly 50/50, though Chiri might have the magic to do it… Her murderous secrets are hilarious, and they play so well in with her mindset. I think the author of this series could easily make a successful “serious” story, because the themes presented are just genius when looking past the surface of hilarious jokes.

OP: “Lyricure Go Go! (リリキュアGOGO!) ” by Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue and Ryōko Shintani – Can we have a Zetubou Shoujo-tachi mahou shoujo spin off? Why yes we can! This OP was well….amazing. I need not say more.

Summary:

When Nozomu arrives at the school, the girls suspect that he is not their usual teacher. He then reveals himself, making the girls transform and prepare for battle. When Nozomu visits an office, an employee there laughs at the word his name makes. Nozomu states that although the man believes this is funny, he has had to hear this a million times. This isn’t just the case for Nozomu, as many others in the world have had this experience. Nozomu begins choking the man, demanding that he apologize. Nozomu begins finding others that have had these types of experiences in the city, eventually reaching the school to scold students for their actions. He begins giving many examples of dialog where people have heard things for the millionth time, falling into despair as usual.

Harumi suggests that there should be photos of boys in a magazine with the label shounen on it, bringing up similar magazines. She apologizes for this probably being the millionth time someone has said this, but the class denies this fact in their disturbed state. Even after she attempts to give other examples, the class denies that the things she describes have been said a million times. Putting Harumi aside, the other girls of the class describe the experiences they’ve had with being told something a million times. When Kiri tells how she has been told that she might have an older brother, Kafuka appears to state that something that has been said a million times cannot be wrong. An older disgusting hikikomori then appears, putting Kiri in fright. The Itoshiki brothers have had their own experiences with these statements, disturbing themselves.

A variety of shows are then shown on the Zetsubou Channel. There are contests, singing, mahou shoujo anime, cooking, and even drawing shows. A new type of anime is then shown. Nozomu is forced out of a building after a boy becomes angry with him. The manager states that there’s no helping it, as the boy is a jukensei (exam taking student). Nozomu thinks about the various times that this has been used as an excuse, coming to a conclusion. When he arrives at the school in the morning, Chiri scolds him for being late. Putting a band around his head, Nozomu states that there is no helping it because he is a jukensei. After Nozomu begins describing the many great types of studies, Kafuka asks which test Nozomu is studying for. He announces that he is studying flower arrangement, but soon finds that he is no longer able to do so. Wondering if there are any alternative things to qualify for, he begins looks for some with the girls. He has difficulty finding anything he can qualify for, however, wondering what he should do.

Impression:

Acid trip? Episode of Zoku Sensei? Same thing! ….Oh man. I’m now playing the Ramone’s “Now I Want to Sniff Some Glue”, because like Aroduc, I felt like I probably should have been high watching this episode. And by my books, trippy means awesome. I was already wide eyed when the beginning of the episode built up the mahou shoujo opening sequence, full of loli zetsubou girls and its own little mini plot. I want some OVAs, for real. The first part of this episode was about little sarcastic jokes that are told way too much. I’m sure everyone has had this experience at some point. From my personal experience, I’m an Azn American that hangs out with a bunch of white guys. My last name is also Wang. Do you need any more of a description than that? Even my persona “Totali” is easy to make fun of!

The Zetsubou Channel was an absolute riot, as it basically ran through a lot of the other shows that typically air on Japanese television. You almost forgot that they show more than just anime over there, didn’t you? The highlight of that section was probably Kaere’s worrying about her other self coming out. I’ve been constantly disappointed that this has only happened in her first episode, and I really want to see it happen again. Chiri’s horrible drawing was pretty funny too though. The last part of the episode about jukensei was great too, but it was totally overshadowed by the way SHAFT decided to present it. I love this production team. I really do. The flip book was probably my favorite, but watching Nozomu get slapped by a green clay blob was also genius. Looks like the quality of these episodes can only go up from here, and I’m starting to feel the magic of the first season return to me.