Chapters of the manga series Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (さよなら 絶望先生, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei) written by Kōji Kumeta was first serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 2005, published by Kodansha. It is a comedy about a teacher who takes all aspects of life, word and culture in the most negative light possible. It satirizes politics, media, and Japanese society. In 2007, the manga received the thirty-first Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category.[1]
Thirty tankōbon volumes have been released in Japan. The series has been licensed for an English-language translation by Del Rey Manga,[2] and the first volume was released in February 2009. As of April 2012, Del Rey and Kodansha Comics have released fourteen volumes in North America. Chapter 268 was not included in the bound volume collection of the manga, as it caused controversy due to similarities between its plot and a story in the 13th volume of Doraemon.[3]
The vast majority of chapters deal in topical humor, and are summarized by their respective topics.
"Beyond the Tunnel Was Whiteness" (トンネルを抜けると白かった, Tonneru o Nukeru to Shirokatta)
"Before Me, There's No One; Behind Me, There's You" (僕の前に人はいない 僕の後ろに君はいる, Boku no Mae ni Hito wa Inai Boku no Ushiro ni Kimi wa Iru)
"Not Losing to Elbows, Not Losing to Knees" (ヒジニモ負ケズ ヒザニモ負ケズ, Hiji nimo Makezu Hiza nimo Makezu)
"Fly Over That Country to Come Here" (その国を飛び越して来い, Sono Kuni o Tobikoshite Koi)
"The Antenna is Rising... We Must Attempt to Live!" (アンテナ立ちぬ いざ生きめやも, Antena Tachinu Iza Ikimeyamo)
"Align Your Books Precisely on the Shelves, Go Out into the Streets!" (書をきちんと本棚にしまって町へ出よう, Sho o Kichinto Hondana ni Shimatte Machi e Deyō)
"No Matter What, We've Got to Stick Together" (僕たちは、どんなことがあっても一緒に固まっていなければ駄目だ, Bokutachi wa, Donna Koto ga Atte mo Issho ni Katamatteinakereba Dame da)
"This Class Has Many Problems, Please Understand" (当組は問題の多い教室ですからどうかそこはご承知ください, Tōkumi wa Mondai no Ōi Kyōshitsu desu kara dōka Soko wa Goshōchi Kudasai)
On the first day of school, Kafuka Fuura finds a man who has hanged himself amidst blossoming cherry trees. She paradoxically pulls him down while strangling him further. Having survived, the downcast man is bewildered by Kafuka's relentlessly optimistic nature. Later, at school, the man introduces himself as Kafuka's teacher, Nozomu Itoshiki, and she reveals the portentous writing of his name as "despair" (zetsubou) to the class. As "Zetsubou-sensei" preaches his hopeless worldview at every opportunity, he discovers the troublesome tendencies of his other students, one by one.
Introduction of Nozomu Itoshiki and Kafuka Fuura.
Ranking one's least hopeful career goals. Introducion of Chie Arai.
"May the Moon of This Month's Evening Cloud Over with My Tears" (今月今夜のこの月が僕の涙で曇りますように, Kongetsu Kon'ya no Kono Tsuki ga Boku no Namida de Kumorimasu yō ni)
"Your Front Hair Swept Back for the First Time" (まだ開けそめし前髪の, Mada Akesomeshi Maegami no)
"Thou Shalt Not Know" (君 知りたもうことなかれ, Kimi Shiritamō Koto Nakare)
"I'm Predestined to Be in the Shadows" (私は宿命的に日陰者である, Watashi wa Shukumeiteki ni Hikagemono dearu)
"Confessions of a Pen Name" (仮名の告白, Kamei no Kokuhaku)
"The People Are at the Breaking Point" (民さんはいっぱいいっぱいな人だ, Tami-san wa Ippai Ippai na Hito da)
"Sister-in-law, I'm an Aristocrat" (義姉さん 僕は貴族です, Ane-san Boku wa Kizoku desu)
"Leap Before You Lock Eyes" (見合う前に跳べ, Miau Mae ni Tobe)
"That Is Why You Are Unable to Flee, Follow Me! Philostratus" (それだから逃げるのだ ついて来い!フィロストラトス!, Sore da kara Nigeru no da Tsuite Koi! Firosutoratosu!)
"Because It Is So Unstable, I Went to Search the Skies" (あんまり不安定だからわたし空を探しに行ってきましたのよ, Anmari Fuantei da kara Watashi Sora o Sagashi ni Ittekimashita no yo)
Wishes.
"Opening" things, in various senses.
Notices that one would rather not receive.
Lesser-known adjacents to prominent things. Introduction of Kagerou Usui.
Introduction of Harumi Fujiyoshi.
Things that are on the brink of disaster.
Introduction of Mikoto Itoshiki and the Itoshiki family.
"It's Way Too Gross in This Sad Town" (きもすぎて悲しみの市, Kimosugite Kanashimi no Ichi)
"I've Read Books Full of Shame" (恥ずかしい本ばかり読んできました, Hazukashii Hon bakari Yondekimashita)
"A Cultured Man Was Waiting for the Rain to Stop Under the Rashomon Gate" (一人の文化人が羅生門の下で雨やどりをしていた, Hitori no Bunka-jin ga Rashōmon no Shita de Amayadori o Shiteita)
"The Namayatsuhashi Must Be Burned" (生八ツ橋を焼かねばならぬ, Nama-yatsuhashi o Yakaneba Naranu)
"I Am Amakudari. I Still Don't Have Any Work to Do" (吾輩は天下りである 仕事はまだない, Wagahai wa Amakudari dearu Shigoto wa Mada Nai)
"As Gregor Samsa Awoke One Morning He Found Himself Carrying a Mikoshi" (ある朝 グレゴール·ザムザが目をさますと神輿を担いでいた, Aru Asa Guregōru Zamuza ga Me o Samasu to Mikoshi o Katsuideita)
"Evening Primroses on Mt. Fuji Are a Mistake" (富士に月見草は間違っている, Fuji ni Tsukimisō wa Machigatteiru)
"I Was Thinking of Proving It This New Year" (証明しようと思っていた。今年の正月, Shōmei Shiyō to Omotteita. Kotoshi no Shōgatsu)
"Because of My Hereditary Lack of Energy, I Have Been Hibernating Since Childhood" (親譲りの無気力で、子供のときから冬眠ばかりしている, Oyayuzuri no Mukiryoku de, Kodomo no Toki kara Tōmin Bakari Shiteiru)
"The Musashino of Today is Shrouded in Darkness" (今の武蔵野は闇である, Ima no Musashino wa Yami dearu)
Things that are disgusting in various ways. Introduction of Rin Itoshiki.
Various things that can be "read". Introduction of Jun Kutou.
Various practices as reduced to minimum standards.
Previews, in various senses.
Descending to a lower station, as a privilege. Then, self-important idea men.
Celebrity worship of the unremarkable. Introduction of Kotonon.
Spot-the-mistake puzzles, as applied to life. Introduction of Majiru Itoshiki.
"If you work by reason, you grow rough-edged; if you choose to oar into sentiment's stream, it will sweep you away. Demanding your own way only serves to constrain you. However you look at it, the human world is a three-way standoff" (智に働けば角が立つ。情に棹させば流される。意地を通せば窮屈だ。とかくこの世は3すくみ。)
"Time to celebrate, though in this world there's nothing worth celebrating" (おめでたき こともなき世を おめでたく)
"I'm telling you, I'm not myself these days. Every little thing makes me so mad" (だから僕は、このごろ毎日、不自然なんだ。ひどく怒りっぽくなった。)
"When the Fruits of Exposure Ripen" (暴露の実の熟する時)
"You must profit from disaster as Kinkaku" (金閣で焼け太らねばならぬ)
"I will not return to Japan. I could not make that promise" (私は日本には帰りません。そういう決心をできませんでした。)
"Concealment in the Ranks" (隠蔽卒)
"The Serene Realm Beyond Entitlement" (恩着せの彼方に)
"A Landing Amply Rewarded" (着陸の栄え)
"A Roadside Artist" (路傍の絵師)
Sets of three counterbalancing things.
Unearned self-promotion.
"Unnatural" things, in various senses.
People who reveal their true selves after some time.
Profiting from publicity disasters.
Indecision between two choices, only to choose neither.
The limited edition of volume 27 was bundled with an audio CD containing an additional story titled 希望と絶望のはざまで (with the English title "Between Hope and Despair"), performed by the anime cast.
In the paper blog of volume 27, the author has stated that he suppressed the inclusion of chapter 268 even though permission was granted by Doraemon's author, Fujiko Fujio and its publisher, Shogakukan.