[Anime Reviews]

Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 4: how it brought me back from despair

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Akayuki Shinbo, Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei]

An observation I made during ef was that, in some ways, SHAFT are the new Gainax; after the mindblowing levels of win in Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei’s fourth episode, that feeling is beginning to feel all the stronger. The budget is visibly higher than that of the first series of course, but it was the structure and cleverness that made this one of the most enjoyable episodes in a long, long time…it threatened disappointment, but showed innovation and brilliance; an experience akin to watching those classic Gainax landmarks.

…as well as a lot of other things

The third episode didn’t bode well for me though - the first half was perhaps intentionally slow and uneventful (reminiscent of the notorious last episode of Haruhi in some ways), with zillions of references but the in-jokes just served to alienate me. I love the new op them by the way - it has the typical male/female seiyuu duet vocals that we heard on the first season’s theme but the backing music that accompanies the rumba could have been lifted off Diru’s last album. Extreme indeed. The second half was more in the typical SZS vein, but it still felt like it was trying to capture the spirit of the first season by tapping into contemporary Japan’s most topical despairs and stretching the theme to comedic effect; I felt like that tiresome burden of duty had been extended to poor old Shinbo and co. too. Then episode #4 happened.

[3 Comments]

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Belated 2008 mission statement

Posted by Martin  [Tags: First Impressions and Retrospectives, Gunslinger Girl, Persona Trinity Soul, Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, Spice and Wolf]

I thought it would be a good idea to lump my first impressions of the new year’s shows in one post because I want to spend more time watching and less time flooding the aggregators with daily posts. It’s an exhausting task that I don’t feel is sustainable in the long term, and doesn’t give much time for the latest post to enjoy its time at the top of the page either. As I stated at the beginning of the year, the plan is quality over quantity from now on (hopefully freeing up a bit of time to update my other Wordpress part of the site) - plus the fact that I’m watching rather a lot to begin with. 2008’s shaping up quite well already actually, so here are the token First Impressions that I may or may not adhere to.

A burnt-out science graduate seeking solace in solitude and sake…even the hairstyle’s the same

[3 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei #12: end

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei]

Hats off to a.f.k. for pulling out all the stops and delivering the final instalment of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - we can now give a final Farewell to Mr. Despair, if only a temporary one. With it being the last episode and all the series leaves on a high with the quality of humour being up there with the stronger instalments earlier on in the series. The reasons for it being such a great show were twofold: firstly the humour was darker, dryer and sharper than what we’ve come to expect from the high school comedy genre, more in the vein of classic Britcom. Secondly Shinbo’s input made it an artistic marvel was well as a refreshing piece in terms of entertainment value.

[5 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

2007 in 12 day 11: Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei

Posted by Martin  [Tags: ABC, Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, Twelve days of Christmas]

Comedy is somewhat under-represented on this blog (an issue I’ll be addressing in another forthcoming editorial) but one series that did tickle me every time was the offbeat, dry and often pretty dark Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Chalk-and-cheese pairings have been a comedy staple since time immemorial but when the classic gag styles and plot devices are applied to the anime high school comedy the results are surprising…and brilliant.

Relax, you have a second season

[4 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 10 and 11

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei]

With only one episode to go after this, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei seems to be running a little low on the laugh-out-loud comedy moments that are concerned with the major themes that make up each half of the episodes - it even goes as far as leaving us on a decidedly serious cliff-hanger. That is not so say that the references and non sequiturs have lost any of their novelty value though, and SHAFT’s visuals are still an absolute delight. The humour seems to be losing that frenetic, hard-hitting quality that endeared it to me at first - as is so often the case, jokes get tired so I’m hoping that the break between this and the forthcoming second season gives them the break they need.

[1 Comment]

[Anime Reviews]

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 8 and 9

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei]

That wild op theme and off-the-wall imagery is a constant reminder that this show is still worth following, even if it’s lost a bit of its edge as the series progresses. First up here is the episode dedicated to the class rep Kagero Usui - the one who is always overshadowed. Itoshiki’s rant on the subject of forgotten personalities was as always melodramatic but not without its truths: I was aware that the famous Curie name applied to both the husband and wife who made such important discoveries in science; nevertheless, the point is proved to me because I didn’t know about their Nobel Prize-winning children either.

Of course, Kafuka’s on hand to point out the metaphorical cloud’s silver lining, which marks a much-needed return for her optimistic contributions; the way in which her personality contrasts with Itoshiki-sensei was one of the best aspects of the early episodes so I was glad to see it return. Even shadows have an important part to play in life, although I’m not sure that Usui would agree!

He who is overshadowed

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[Anime Reviews]

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 6 and 7

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei]

I’ve always wondered while watching this show what sort of background made Itoshiki the hopeless soul he is now and whether the unfortunate naming has affected other members of his family. Episode #6 went some way to explaining it all, which was nice. If you thought it was bad being a teacher whose name can be read as ‘Professor Despair’, how much of a problem would it be if you were a medic whose name read ‘Dr. Death’?

[2 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 4 and 5

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei]

This is one of those shows where summarising and commenting on things such as storylines is a bit futile. What there is of a storyline is steered by the humour, which is the opposite of pretty much everything I watch, comedy included. Still, these eps did succeed in making me laugh. A lot.

Ask a silly question…

[3 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 2 and 3

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei]

Bure bure bure bure…

I don’t think I’ll run out of reasons for saying that this show is a piece of comic genius. High school comedies are two-a-penny (or a dime a dozen, depending on where you shop) so it’s testament to the writing that it can play around with the personality stereotypes and still offer something new - in ep #2 it goes all Welcome to the NHK! on us as Itoshiki-sensei and Kafuka are given the unenviable task of getting a hikikomori to attend class. By a twist of events, the two of them succeed…more or less. That is to say the poor kid is scared out of her room and decides to hole up in the science lab instead.

[2 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei #1

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Akayuki Shinbo, Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei]

How in Heaven’s name did this slip under my radar? Even after the favourable intro I read over at Epic Win the other day, I was surprised at how I ‘got’ this very twisted and offbeat show. Some animated comedy makes me inwardly chuckle, others make me snicker outwardly but this was the first time in A LONG time that I was creased-up, laughing out loud and almost falling off my chair at any TV show, animated or otherwise. Sayonara Zesubou-sensei isn’t funny. It’s bloody hilarious.

This is a comedy show. No, really.

[6 Comments]