Nozomu Itoshiki is depressed. Very depressed. He’s certifiably suicidal, but he’s also the beloved schoolteacher of a class of unique students, each charming in her own way: The stalker. The shut-in. The obsessive-compulsive. The girl who comes to class every day with strange bruises. And Kafuka, the most optimistic girl in the world, who knows that every cloud has a silver lining. For all of them, it’s a special time, when the right teacher can have a lasting positive effect on their lives. But is that teacher Itoshiki, a.k.a. Zetsubou-sensei, who just wants to find the perfect place to die?
>Assorted tests In contrast to the very serious tests listed on the previous page, the tests listed here are generally frivolous or of dubious merit. The Hakatakko Certification Test is a test given by the Japanese Culture Kentei Association to promote interest in regional culture. The Nahamage Qualification Trials is a test given to promote tourism in Japan’s Oga peninsula. Based on the local custom in which namahage (demons or bogeymen) visit people’s homes on New Year’s Eve looking for “bad children” to scare, the test trains people to dress up and play the role of namahage. The Akashi Tako (octopus) Test is a test given in the major fishing port Akashi City, in which people are judged on their knowledge of the fishing industry, fishing culture, and the ability to test the freshness of fish and octopus. The Fabre Exams, named after entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre (1823-1911) and administered by the Japan Association Henri Fabre NPO, test one’s knowledge of insects.
>Assorted references “Practice and Learn” is written in Japanese as Keiko to Manabu, the title of a continuing-education magazine that provides information on various courses, schools, and qualifications. However, Kumeta uses it as a pun on the name of the playboy actor Manabu Oshio (1978- ), who has gone out with many different women, including women named Keiko, Megumi Yokoyama, Natsumi Abe, Akiko Yada (see ), etc. The Time Schedule Qualifying Test is a test on how to save time on train and transportation schedules by finding the fastest routes.
The Sanzu River, or “River of Three Crossings,” is a river that the dead must cross in Japanese Bud- dhist tradition, similar to the River Styx. One common way of committing suicide in Japan is to burn charcoal briquets in an enclosed space and suffocate on the smoke.
