Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

~*Goodbye Mr. Despair*~

~Intro~
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is probably SHAFT's (those who brought you Pani Poni Dash, Maria+Holic, and Bakemonogatari among others) crowning achievement.
As it stands, there are three seasons (1) Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, (2) Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, and (3) Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Along with OVA's of Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, and Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Bangaichi.
So, as you can see, it has quite a little empire unto itself, and it's still not through.



~Story~
Sensei Itoshiki Nozomu wants to kill himself, because he sees everything through a negative light. But all of his attempts are foiled by his class of students that are anything but ordinary. Other than that, it's like South Park in that sometimes it's completely episodic, and other times, it picks and chooses what continuity it wants to keep. But most of the time it's completely random. But in a good way. The kind of way where you're on the ground giggling and going 'Where the hell did that come from!?'

Setting: The story, for the mostpart, takes place an (nondescript) city from anywhere to the neighborhood, to the school (who's name constantly changes), to the beach (where Nozomu constantly tries to fall off a cliff), to even the zoo! But mostly the school. All in all, the setting is constantly changing with every episode. And then in some episodes, they break off into their own little mini-stories that have nothing to do with the main story...which is usually episodic. To put it simply and in 1980's terms: This series is like random to the max!

Characters: The characters are what sells the anime to most people. Namely, because they're all insane. And from a psychological point of view, you actually have fun trying to diagnose all of them. In fact, the introduction of new characters is what gets you amped with every coming season. Because of this, I feel that too much explanation of the characters is the only thing that could even be considered a spoiler.
So, here's a short list: Nozomu (Zetsubou Sensei), Kafuka (Positive Girl), Meru-Meru (Mute Abusive through Text Messages), Matoi (Stalker Girl), Kiri (Hikikomori), Harumi (Fujoshi [Female yaoi-loving otaku]), Itoshiki Mikoto (Dr. Death), Itoshiki Majiru (The resident shota who gets teased by Kiri), Kaere (Mostly the fan-service 'I'll sue you for sexual harassment!' Girl), Chiri (OCD to the point that it's scary), Abiru (Domestic Violence Victim? Nope. Mauled over her love for pulling tails [and trying to give one to Nozomu if you know what I mean]), Maria (The adorable Illegal Hispanic who can do no wrong), and a variety of others.

~Review~
Characters: My god. The characters are all awesome. That's the whole point of why the series is so awesome. There's a mental disorder for everybody to love!

Humor: It feels incredibly random. Apparently, a lot of the references, those outside Japan won't understand at all. Stuff like commercials and old movies that just makes your average American go "...What? I don't get it." but at the same time, the random factor in this makes you stop caring. Though, there are plenty of ones that most American Otaku can catch. The thing about watching that show is how much text there is. You'll have to watch every episode at least twice; Once for the overall factor of it, and again to pause it and read all the text, because it's usually pretty funny. So, if nothing else, this does cause a rewatch value, which for me seems pretty rare.
The wordplay is actually hard to explain. A lot of it seems to be lost in translation as well, due to all the use of puns, which one particular episode is nothing but word play. But other than that one episode, despite the fact that those who don't know that much Japanese won't understand it, it doesn't take anything away from the humor.

Creepy Factor: There are times where the series goes from 'Lol' to 'OMFG NIGHTMARE FUEL!' But it does this in a funny enough way that you don't end up with said nightmares. In essence, it does an excellent job of somehow merging the incredibly creepy with the downright hilarious. And not in a 'Leprechaun Horror Movie' sort of way where it's so bad it's funny. It's hard to explain. But, it always ends with a funny note at least. Still, it's quite impressive to make something sort of horror-esque so damn funny.

Plot: Plot!? We don't need no stinkin plot! Again, it's almost like South Park or Family Guy in that everything is extremely random, but in a good way. In otherwords, it fits to the point that you probably won't get lost (though it is possible), but sometimes you're just lost, because you don't understand the Japanese-only references. I will say this though. I think there's an episode for just about everyone. It changes things up with each episode that much. But for those that have stuck with it from the beginning, they'll appreciate it too. In otherwords, even if you skip two seasons, it's episodic enough to still figure out what's going on. (Which is how it was for a few people in my college's anime club. Which is why we chose to show it despite its length.)

Music: The music is amazing. In fact, it's some of my favorite anime music of all time. Well, at least as far as the opening themes go. The ending themes, it depends on your taste. Some of them I like, others I'll pass on. As a bonus, I'll let you see how great the Openings are for yourself. Those alone should tell you how insane and awesome this show is:
Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, and here's an added bonus.
Oh. And before you ask. The opening themes have absolutely nothing to do with the actual series. That should tell you how incredibly random and sometimes creepy this series is. But again, it's all in the name of lulz.

Overall:
It's a 10/10. It may not be for everyone, but for those that aren't put off by a few small things, it's that epic. It's one of those few things that I could try watching the entire thing in a three-day straight sitting if I had the time. Of course, the second time through (where you read everything) would be way longer than that, and would probably be done differently. But even so, I've seen the first two seasons about three times and wouldn't mind watching them again. I can't say many things have that level of rewatch value. It's just that damn good.