Since the last time I wrote about the manga and anime series Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei さよなら絶望先生 I have endeavored to struggle through to the third volume of the manga and got around to watching the 4th episode of the anime (one behind at present). Let me first of all say that this is not a series that is friendly to those who do not have a good understanding of japanese, which would include myself. I have to question whether or not some of the concepts and words used are easily accessible to the average japanese reader but I can not speculate on that either way.
That said even though it’s not absolutely impossible that the anime series might see release in another country the manga strikes me as being close to untranslatable. At this point I would describe the series as being composed of “gags about japanese social commentary and language filled in with otaku pandering”. I’m having a hard time trying to explain the format used for the chapters but after reading a few volumes it’s apparent that there’s a consistent pattern. I suppose this is the case with most works if you give them consideration but I usually try to avoid doing that.
Something that I noticed which I wondered if it will ever be made an issue or not was a bandage on Kafuka’s right wrist/forearm which was shown when she was wearing a uniform with short sleeves. This happened in both the manga and the anime (episode 4 second half) only one time that I noticed. What I noticed aside from that was that in scenes were part of that area was exposed but the entire forearm wasn’t, such as in scenes where Kafuka is wearing a kimono or yukata, the bandage was not visible. So was this merely a one time thing or is it supposed to be a plot device with deep significance which has fallen into a plot hole due to the author’s carelessness? Only further investigation will tell.
To get back to the question which sparked my reading of the confounding manga I have determined that as of volume 3 the series is not a love comedy so it can therefore not be a “harem love comedy”. But if it was a love comedy then it would indeed be a harem love comedy since it has those elements for comedic effect. For the most part there are 3 characters introduced early on who seem to have strange romantic impressions of the main character and it seems like Kafuka is the intentional pairing although she herself doesn’t seem to have romantic feelings for Nozomu. Which of course is the main gag, the contrast between Nozomu’s hopeless delusions and Kafuka’s hopeful delusions. Neither one has a sense of reality but Kafuka’s impressions are continually shown to be more troublesome. It’s often the former which opens chapters and the latter which ends them.
That said Kafuka is the main mystery of the series starting with her name. It is referenced many times that “Fuura Kafuka” (that’s the original japanese order) is a pen name representing Franz Kafka, however her true name is not mentioned. I am wondering if eventually there will be some chapters containing actual plot about her, the name and the bandage being what comes to mind as topics. I suppose all I can do is read more.
Something else I was curious about and have confirmed is that the anime does indeed omit and change certain elements and scenes as a form of censorship. The example off the top of my head is in episode 4 when Nozomu imagines someone being abused with a fry pan. In the manga the character is hit over the head but in the anime this character is instead poked with it in the legs. That makes absolutely no sense but I suppose that a person would indeed be hurt a lot less by that. This change seems inexplicable and pointless compared to the next scene in which it’s imagined that the same character is going to suffocated with plastic wrap. I don’t want to think about the effects of the fiction that people view in relation to the actions that they take right now though.
Speaking of “what the hell is up with episode 4” I wonder if the opening that they used is the “real” opening, I had assumed that the way they did things in the first 3 episodes was the way they would continue doing them. Perhaps not so. Perhaps the series is still in production after all then. Anyway the twisted opening featuring silhouettes of the female characters wearing kimonos and strung up in elaborate bondage suits the opening song perfectly. It also had me wishing I hadn’t bothered to start talking about series that haven’t finished yet since it makes me want to retract what I said about it being the most enjoyable anime of the current season. I think it probably still is but the escalating exploitational direction of the series definitely makes me enjoy it less and feel disinclined to recommend it to anyone.
This brings up the question of whether or not anything really is okay as long as it’s done in the name of satire or justice but as I’m not prepared to answer that and I don’t want to think about it I’ll end this poor entry here and go play an old video game (the SEGA AGEs PS2 version of Dragon Force, I did buy the edition that came with the art book and soundtrack CD) with 1.2 hands.
Okay I lied, as the manga goes on I definitely feel less like laughing and more like despairing while reading it. That is not good. I think the main reason I feel this way is because the work brings up a lot of valid questions if you’re willing to think about them, and I’ve been running away from those questions for a long time now. In fact writing is the main way that I run away, and to escape is the main reason I write. That might be saying a bit too much about myself.
The Sky Before Dawn 