The BEST episodes of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Every episode of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei!
Itoshiki Nozomu is always in despair! Even simple things like paying for the toll on the subway can send him to a despair so deep only attempted suicide is the answer. How Strange is it then, that he should be the teacher of a High School Class filled with students with even more emotional problems than his. This great Comedy will leave you in anything but 'Despair' as you meet each of his students and watch their wacky adventures.
#1 - When I Came Out Of The Tunnel It Was White
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/14/2007
After confiding in his latest despairs to Ms. Arai, she asks Nozomu to visit one of his students who hasn't shown up to school — Kiri Komori, a hikikomori. In the end Kiri goes to school but decides to be a hikimori there. The next day, Nozomu notes that another of his students, Matoi Tsunetsuki, didn't show up that day. Ms. Arai brings Nozomu to the counseling room, where she explains Matoi's obsessive-stalker tendencies to Nozomu. That night, he attempts to dissuade her from bothering her last boyfriend; however, his strategy backfires on him. This turns him into Matoi's latest object of affection.
#2 - Goodbye, Zetsubo Sensei
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/7/2007
Kafuka Fuura is cheerily walking to school one April morning when she suddenly spots a man trying to hang himself in a fit of despair. Kafuka manages to use her weight to snap the rope, thus saving his life. Nozomu Itoshiki, the man, eventually cannot take anymore of the girl's ridiculous ramblings, and runs off to school to start homeroom at the beginning of a new school year. When Nozomu walks in the door, he finds Kafuka is one of his students.
#3 - Removing Toxins and Stains
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/4/2007
On physical examination day, many of the girls are feeling stress about their weight, measurements and fitness. Nozumu distracts them by deciding to judge the "social worth" of students so that they will know whether they are living "above their station." Kitsu seizes on this idea, scolding everyone who possesses any luxuries, appalling Nozumu to the point where he decides to go on a hedonistic binge before killing himself. In the second half he encounters some of his students at a hot spring and is frightened to learn the spring has the power to remove their "toxicity" giving them well-adjusted personalities.
#4 - The Evening Primroses on Fuji are Wrong
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/1/2007
Nozomu notices a few members of the class playing a "spot the differences" game. Nozomu tells them that it is important to spot mistakes, and he instructs the class in how life is filled with mistakes. He asks the class to identify mistakes in their lives, after pointing out several of his own. After Nozomu contradicts himself, saying that a mistake was the correct action, Kafuka reasons that if a mistake comes to light, it is correct, resulting in many people approaching her, confessing their mistakes, making them correct. In the end of the first part, a boy approaches Nozomu, calling him "Dad." The second part of the episode reveals that he is actually Nozomu's brother's child, Majiru Itoshiki. Nozomu asks him to prove that he is indeed his nephew, and then asks all of his students to prove that they are the real one. When Majiru asks Nozomu to prove he is genuine, Nozomu is unable to come up with a response, and runs off. The episode ends with a sequence that deals with Majiru's apparent hair fetish.
#5 - I'm a Social Outcast by Fate
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/25/2007
This episode begins with Usui Kagerou lamenting about how he never gets noticed by anyone, when he nearly gets run over by a truck who does not notice him. He runs into Nozomu in the shadows, who begins to talk about how some people are destined to be overshadowed by others, no matter how hard they work. The second part of the episode has the class undergo criticism training. Usui continues to be ignored until a divine wind blows away his hair, revealing his bald head and allowing everyone in the class to see him. He fears that people in the class will begin mocking him, but Kafuka suggests that Chie insults him instead, which he seems to enjoy.
#6 - One Morning, When Gregor Samsa Awoke, He was Carrying a Portable Shrine
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/18/2007
This episode begins with Fujiyoshi bumping into Nozomu while she is on her way to make copies of her doujinshi. Through a misunderstanding, Nozomu ends up going to Comiket to sell his doujin literature with mixed results. At Comiket, Chiri reads Fujiyoshi's yaoi doujinshi. On the way back from Comiket, they meet Kafuka, who talks Chiri and Fujiyoshi into drawing more manga that strictly adheres to the above mentioned format. The second half of the episode involves the girls at a matsuri, where overzealous festival-goers begin piling random objects and people on portable shrines and dancing and parading around with them.
#7 - Leap Before You Look
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/11/2007
Kafuka comes down with a cold during the summer and has to go see the doctor, Mikoto Itoshiki, who happens to be Nozomu's brother. Later, Chiri and Kafuka find out from Mikoto that Nozomu has gone back to his hometown in Kuraizawa for an arranged marriage. One way or another, the girls somehow all end up arriving at Kuraizawa, where they are taken to the Itoshiki residence by Tokita. Here they find out that the Itoshiki tradition for arranged marriages simply involves both parties exchanging eye contact. The rest of the episode involves Nozomu and his attempts to avoid eye contact with the girls and various other people/objects.
#8 - From Elbow to knee
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/28/2007
Chie dispatches Nozomu to investigate rumors that the invariably injured Abiru Kobushi is suffering from domestic violence. He pursues Abiru's father while he shops, causing him a great deal of inconvenience, before discovering Abiru's obsession with pulling the tails of dangerous animals. The latter half of the episode concerns Meru Otonashi, who is silent and shy in person, but remarkably abusive via text-messaging, her only means of communication.
#9 - Go Fly Over That Country
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/21/2007
This episode is a pastiche of parodies about foreigners and Japanese attitudes concerning them. A foreign student named Kaere Kimura transfers into the class. Kimura is a blonde girl with multiple personality disorder stemming from cultural identity confusion. Nozumu prevents her from committing suicide but sees her underwear and is sued. While Nozomu is absent from school Chiri investigates his students and discovers that Maria is an illegal immigrant.
#10 - Dark Despair Women / On This Month, On This Night, The Moon Shall Be Clouded by My Tears
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/15/2008
Detective Nozomu Itoshiki is called upon by an investigator Jinroku to cooperate with the serial murder case, which took place in Sakebu Itoshiki's mansion. Sakebu was a famous artist, who was known for taking care of twelve girls in his mansion, but he has recently died of a chronic disease. After finding out that each murder resemebled various scenes of well-known anime, Nozomu initially suspects Kagerō Usui from his deduction. However, he later discovers the hidden truth behind the serial murder in Sakebu's underground storage room. In the second part of the episode, everyone is celebrating the Tanabata by hanging their written wishes on a bamboo tree, but Nozomu is initially doubtful about the Tanabata custom. However, Kafuka Fūra manages to convince him that every wish will eventually come true in the afterlife, even if it seems impossible to achieve in the current life. Suddenly, everyone in Tanabata festival is convinced of her idea, so they begin to form a cult based on her belief.
#11 - Dismissal of Myohonji in Kamakura / The Voice of Daidouji Shinsuke / Under the Assumption of Siblings
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/29/2008
After dismissed from the school as a demon, Nozomu Itoshiki wonders where the devils will end up once they are dismissed from everyone. Nozomu suddenly argues that dismissed people should be provided with a new employment after their dismissal, otherwise dismissed people will end up being 'wild' people in the street. Nozomu's students brings various wild people to his house and ask him to take care of them. Nozomu flatly refuses the offer, but he cannot help but to take care of them. Unfortunately, Nozomu is fired from his school for his suspicious conduct and he himself becomes a 'wild' teacher. In the second part of the episode, Meru Otonashi's dad wants to find a suitable voice actor for her as she has inferiority complex of her voice. However, no one seems to have a voice that matches with Meru's character. After the failed audition, she goes throught a number of troubles thanks to the voice transmitter attached to her neck. In the third part of the episode, Nozomu complains that people seem to have too many statements on the premise of something as it is a serious breach of etiquette. While Nozomu makes a visit of a Tsundere cafe in Akihabara, he finds numerous instances where unnecessary premises are made. Moreover, Nozomu confronts an enemy character, but they end up being friends together on the premise that the anime series is indeed derived from a Shōnen manga.
#12 - Revenge of the Shit / We Are Linus / The Optimism Prize / Kiyohiko Night
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 9/26/2009
When Chiri hangs up a painting upside down without noticing, the class are taken through a gallery where involving big mistakes that go unnoticed compared to the minor details. In the second part, Nozomu accidentally causes Kiri's blanket to fly away, and the class go on a search for it. However, it flies onto a government member who decides to mass produce it so people will feel more secure. Soon everyone decides to become civil servants and the world becomes impoverished. In the third part, Nozomu and company discuss buzzword generals and are disturbed by one. Maria then mentions "Kiyohiko's Night" (a mispronunciation of Silent Night) and a Kiyohiko shows up, but is unprepared for the abrupt pun.
#13 - Highway to Hell / The Spring Postman Always Rings Twice / Withering Heights
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/5/2009
As the school exams approach, Nozomu sniffs at the idea of good luck charms. Just then, he is arrested by mysterious people for being a potential bad luck charm for the students and locks him up in solitary, which he is quite pleased about. However, the girls break in and rescue him, and it comes to light that the students actually see Nozomu as a good luck charm. Next, everyone has different opinions of what tells them spring has come, which for some people involve strange dancing people. Later, Nami tells Nozomu she is going on a trip to find herself, whereas Nozomu says it is really a journey that exposes a person's true nature.
#14 - She Who Has / Russian Time Song / Withering Heights Part 2
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/12/2009
While watching a baseball match, Nozomu wonders about the sad fate of the multi-talented people. If a famous baseball player is as handsome as a model, is he missing a more successful career? Later on, as Kiri is taking some medicine to treat her cold, Nozomu explain to Majiru why did it took a moment for the medicine to take effect : the dreaded time lag, which can be observed in a lot of phenomenon. As the journey to find themselves continues, more of Nozomu's students embarks on the bus and procede to reveal some parts of their personality. In the end, Kafuka leads the group to expose themselves to reality and at the same time the acceptance of their true self as they are, after which she concludes by singing a heartwarming song.
#15 - The Tragedy of X / I will not Return to Japan. I Was Unable to Be That Resolute / Doctor Kahogo
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/19/2009
As Nozomu and Kafuka attempt to find the switch to the town christmas lights, Nami finds she keep switching on other people's switches. Next, Nozomu contemplates on how people making a decision between two things subconsciously end up picking a third. He and the girls end up in a third-choice city. Whilst arguing about excessive care, Nozumu is taken by Rin to a Guardian's Club, where people take excessive care measures.
#16 - How I Became a Real Human / Celebrated Pedigree / Doctor Kahogo Part 2
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/26/2009
Chiri notices Nami wearing brand new trainers in the rain and gets annoyed when people don't consider TPO (a wasei-eigo term meaning Time, Place, Occassion). Nozomu laments that some people do an incorrect TPO when compensating for another TPO. When ume no hi comes, Nozomu ponders that its not a convenient holiday for prefectures of Japan that aren't next to the sea. The discussion moves onto the morals of celebrating things others can't cheer about. The gang decide to have a 'chimerical holiday', involving as little fun as possible. After escaping from the Excessive Care Guardian's Club, Nozomu finds all his leisure options restricted due to excessive care. He then notices that his body double has been benefitting everyone in his place.
#17 - Back Scratch / The Adventures of A, Leap, and B / The Dropper in the Rye
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/2/2009
Whilst complaining about how people use poetic words that make you skeptical about them, Nozomu gets thrown into a card game by Rin in which excessive writing is applied to their names. As Chiri complains about the leap seconds added at the new year, Nozomu considers there might be leap people who multiply unnoticed. Chiri is suspected of being a leap person and is enlisted into a parody of the Blue Man Group (in Japanese, blue (ブルー) and leap (うるう) have similar pronunciations). Whilst Nozomu sees Houjoue, a buddhist holiday, as a day for overlooking things, Kafka believes it should be a part of daily life, and introduces him to family that ignores life.
#18 - The Measles of Madison County / Polygon in the Evening / The Dropper in the Rye Part 2
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/9/2009
Since there's an outbreak of measles in town, Abiru suggests to Majiru that he should get infected right now, for it is quite worse to get them as an adult. Nozomu then proceeds to unveils many more types of "measles" you're better off to have as a kid, since their effects can be disastrous later on in your life. As Nozomu and Kafuka walks in the street, they stumble on Kanako Ōra, a laid back and careless girl from Nozomu's class, who doesn't seem to mind that a myriads of political parties uses her property's wall for their posters. As Kafuka and Nozomu continues to explore the concept of "through life", Chiri decide to label object and people so as to know who's the creator.
#19 - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? / Failure as a General / Yeah, It's a Surprise, I Muttered Hollowly
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/16/2009
During a walk, Nozomu gets deceived by Maruuchi Shoko and Nedu Miko, who sell him maguro and a block of ice for 15.500 ¥. Nozomu complains that many dealers make up money only after the customers buy the goods, using tricks. The too mild winder is caused by Shogun Frost who refuses to do his work anymore. The class helps him to find a new job. The class prepares a surprise party for Nozomu, even if his birthday is not on that day, but on 4th of November.
#20 - Yeah, It's a Surprise, I Muttered Hollowly / Confession Crepe Team / The Last, and the First Enoden
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/23/2009
Nozomu shows how, in a suspicious society, there is more "reverse-surprise" than surprise itself: people, in fact, are more surprised when they expect things to happen, but they do not, than when they really do. Chiri finds out Nozomu standing in front of a Police box, he tells her that he's training to confess. Modern Japanese people are not able to admit their fault and need this kind of training. Nozomu gets on a train which apparently has no destination. On the contrary everything, even the train, has got a previously decided destination. People, in fact, ask questions about things they have already analyzed and chosen. The 3rd part of the episode has been made with an experimental graphic technique.
#21 - The Emergency Which Became a Nun / The Right Answer, 30 Years Late / Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 8/30/2009
Whilst waiting for the bus, Nozomu and Chiri talks about how important are emergency measures in one's life. Later, at school, the class finds out Nami's birthday, but, because nobody knew about it, everyone makes her a sudden emergency present. Nozoumu, correcting some tests, shows the class how, in the adults' world, there are correct but not right answers. While the class is playing golf, Nozomu's sister tells them that a new course has been created in town. In this new kind of game the balls are represented by people and the tees are disguised as objects or places they have to keep away from as long and as far as they can.
#22 - The Egg of the Klak / A Certain Country You Know Well / Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher Part 2
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/6/2009
Grabbing an easter egg, Nozomu wonders if came first the egg or the chicken, the panties or the panty-thieves, hope or despair, and so on. Being in a queue clogged up by a woman who's seeking for changes in front of the counter, Nozomu notices how Japan has become the Paradise for spies who try to wreak havoc among the population.
#23 - House of the Girl in Glasses / Progress in Confinement / The Clothing Seen By the Sage Leglipht
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 9/13/2009
Nozomu says that a ghost stole his glasses so the class decides to buy him a new pair. The glasses he gets are tinted and make Nozomu be filled with prejudice and hatred about everything. Rin is home and bored but, because she cannot leave her estate, in order to get the near ramen shop she buys and destroy all the houses on the way. During sport time Nami lifts her leg in order to gain males' attention, this makes Nozomu think about people provoking with intention.
#24 - After the Third Time / The Unburied Secret / Progress in Confinement Part 2 / Naughty Teacher Kaere
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 9/19/2009
It's Valentine's Day and Kagerou is afraid to open his box, because he doesn't really know whether any girl had dedicated a love letter to him or had not. Nozomu tells hit not to open it, in order to create a Schrodinger's box, in which the possibilities of the presence of any letter and the possibilities of absence are both infinite. A missile drops on the school's field and the class tries despairingly to hide it. An interviewer is, in fact, going to come to the school. After purchasing all the houses and getting the ramen shop Rin notices how the flavour has changed because of changing of her new management.
#25 - The Glory of Landing / Role of a Certain Woman / Pororokka Came Riding a Wave
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/22/2008
Nozomu Itoshiki teaches his students to get themselves used to summer vacation gradually as he believes that a sudden change of state is unhealthy for everyone. Suddenly, Nozomu is in despair, because there are too many instances of 'hard landings' in current society. In order to teach how to do a proper 'soft landing', he prepares a flight simulator for the students. In the second part of the episode, Nozomu meets a taxi driver, who is about to do the last driving before his retirement. However, he ends up paying ridiculous amount of taxi fee as he was unwillingly drawn to taxi driver's dramatic situation. Subsequently, Nozomu is constantly drawn to many other dramatic situations despite his desperate attempts of scape. In the third part of the episode, Nozomu discusses various instances of 'backward flow', where people are drawn to various interests in reverse way. While Nozomu considers phenomena of 'backward flow' quite embrassing, Kafuka argues that it is a manly thing to do like a wild salmon climbing the flowing river. Meanwhile, Chiri forces other people to approach their interests in proper way instead of the usual 'backward' way.