Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei 1: The Power of Negative Thinking

Do you like black comedy? Do you like social satire? Do you like crazy characters and the over the top antics they get up to? Then congratulations, Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei (Goodbye, Despair teacher) is the manga for you. This cast of eccentrics will leave you laughing and thinking.The story starts off the way all great romances do, with a character trying to hang himself on a public road. Nozomu Itoshiki (our despair teacher and main character) is saved by his soon-to-be-student, Kafuka Fura. Kafuka refuses to believe any person could actually want to kill himself, and suggests that he, like her father, was trying to become taller. It only gets more ridiculous from their.Each chapter of the first volume of this series introduces a new student character, designed as stereotypes of social ills or storytelling tropes. Kafuka, as I've mentioned, is a parody of manic-pixie-dream-girls, designed to show the insanity that goes into having such a positive outlook. Later chapters will introduce a stalker, a shut-in an obsessive-compulsive, the personification of twitter, and many more. All these neuroses mix together into the weirdest, funniest slice-of-life story I've read in a long time.I recommend this series highly. Enjoy it!

I started reading this because I love the anime and wanted more. You find that the anime was a pretty faithful adaptation, so there isn't a lot of new content in volume one, but it is still a blast to read. I have been reading it using the kindle app on my iPad, and while the panels don't zoom in and out like some guided reading comics I have read in other apps, I have found it very easy to read and follow. Check it out if you like dark humor - Zetsubou Sensei is a great read!

I watched the anime first and was immediately attracted to the art style. It's very unique in its own way while style mantaining that manga appearance. The manga, like the anime, is hilariously inappropriate and full of dark humour. Kōji Kumeta has become my favourite manga author.

Although I am somewhat new to manga, this one is definitely my new favorite. Mr. Itoshiki's nickname, Zetsubou sensei, is a sort of written pun in Japanese. this story is jam-packed with these puns as well as loads of social satire on normal Japanese lifestyles. each student in the class is a hyperbole of some social stereotype. There's the shut-in who is finally convinced to attend school...only to lock herself in a storage closet. Then there's Kafuka, the super positive girl. She refuses to accept the possibility of anything bad happening around her. For example, in the first scene she stumbles across Zetsubou sensei hanging himself. but she insists that no one she knows would ever want to commit suicide, so she concludes that he is trying to make himself taller, perhaps to tryout for basketball.But the best part, in my opinion, of this manga is the glossary in the back. Some of the jokes require some knowledge of the Japanese lifestyle, and many puns that may be obvious in Japanese, get lost in translation when read in English. So the translators added a glossary that explains all of the references in the manga. If you come across a reference or joke you dont understand, simply flip to the glossary and you wont miss out on any of the humor.

I watched the anime several years ago and was instantly hooked. I found the manga soon after finishing the anime and the story kept blowing me away! This is my second reread of a most beloved series and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys the bizarre, dark humor and an assortment of extremely weird characters all blended into a delightful satire of modern Japan.

At first, I watched the anime because of the recommendation of a very good friend. I laughed so hard that I decided to, when possible, buy at least the first volume. It was a very good acquisition, but I decided to give it as a farewell gift to a friend.I know it is in good hands.

The book reminds me of watching the anime years ago. Just as funny and well worth the read. Highly recommended.

The cover needs a bit of elbow grease but the rest is like new.

英語の勉強用の教材として購入しました。久米田先生の漫画は絵をなぞっていくだけでもある程度内容を掴むことができますし、文中で使われている単語も比較的易しく、中学英語修了程度の英語力があれば、多分普通に読めてしまいます。それでもスラングや分らない単語は出てきますので（当たり前ですが）、それらの分らない単語やフレーズに関しては蛍光ペンで線を引いておき、後で調べてもう一笑い･･･。そんな読み方をしています。もともとの作品が超面白いので、辞書を引くのはあんまり苦痛にはならないです。私にとってはこれ、結構凄いことかも･･･。いきなり英会話スクール等はハードルが高いとちょっと引き気味で、のんびりとまずは英語に触れあいたい方にはお勧めです。英語に「絶望」しちゃダメですよ？こんなに楽しい学び方もあるんですから。一緒にがんばりましょう！