List of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei episodes

This article lists the episodes from the anime series Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei animated by Shaft and directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. It premiered in Japan on July 7, 2007 on TV Kanagawa and contained twelve episodes. There was also a preface and a "girls collection" bonus OVA.

A Zetsubou Girls Collection DVD was released on January 1, 2008. The DVD consists of seven parts, each featuring one of main heroines with several additions to the original TV broadcast version. A 20-minute summary (preface) was aired on BS11 Digital on January 4, 2008. The second season, Zoku, began airing on January 5, 2008. A set of three Goku OVAs were released, starting with the first volume on October 17, 2008 and the third in early 2009. The Zan season began in mid-2009 and concluded after 13 episodes and two bonus OVAs, the last of which came out in 2010. A special was released in January 2012. Though not part of any season, it still uses the same opening and ending themes as Zan. Each episode title is a reference to a piece of literature. Each episode ends with a still image drawn by one of manga artists associated with Kōji Kumeta.

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei

The series was directed by Akiyuki Shinbo at studio Shaft, with Kenichi Kanemaki as the series composition writer and Naoyuki Tatsuwa as the assistant director, and Tomoki Hasegawa composing the series' music. Hideyuki Morioka designed the characters for animation; and Morioka, Hiroki Yamamura (Studio Pastoral), and Yoshiaki Itou (Shaft) served as the chief animation directors. Half of the season was outsourced to Studio Pastoral: episodes 2, 4–5, 7, 9, and 11. ^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Opening Themes

1. Hito toshite Jiku ga Bureteiru (人として軸がぶれている) - Kenji Ohtsuki feat. Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi, Miyuki Sawashiro & Ryoko Shintani (eps 1-9, 12)
2. Gōin ni Mai Yeah~ (強引niマイYeah～) - Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi & Ryoko Shintani (eps 10-11)

Ending Theme

1. Zessei Bijin (絶世美人) - Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi & Ryoko Shintani

No.	Title	Directed by  [lower-alpha 2]	Written by  [lower-alpha 2]	Storyboarded by  [lower-alpha 2]	Original air date
01	"Goodbye, Mr. Despair" [1] Transcription: "Sayonara Zetsubō sensei" (Japanese: さよなら絶望先生)	Yukihiro Miyamoto	Kenichi Kanemaki	Michio Fukuda	July 7, 2007 (2007-07-07)
Kafuka Fuura is cheerily walking to school one April morning when she spots a man trying to hang himself. Kafuka manages to use her weight to snap the rope, saving his life but almost killing him. Kafuka is an optimist while the man, Nozomu Itoshiki, is a pessimist. Kafuka gives him the nickname Pink Supervisor, and proceeds to pay him fifty yen to call him by this name. Nozomu eventually cannot take any more of the girl's ramblings, and runs off to his school at the start of a new school year. When Nozomu walks in, he finds Kafuka is one of his students.
02	"Beyond the Tunnel Was Whiteness" [2] Transcription: "Tonneru o nukeru to shirokatta" (Japanese: トンネルを抜けると白かった)	Yoshihiro Mori	Katsuhiko Takayama	Yoshihiro Mori	July 14, 2007 (2007-07-14)
After confiding in his latest despairs to Ms. Arai, she asks Nozomu to visit one of his students who hasn't shown up to school — Kiri Komori, a hikikomori. When he arrives at her house, he meets Kafuka, who joins him in his attempt to reform Kiri, even though her attitude causes her to misunderstand (and complicate) the situation. In the end Kiri goes to school but decides to be a hikikomori there. The next day, Nozomu notes that another of his students, Matoi Tsunetsuki, didn't show up that day. Ms. Arai brings Nozomu to the counseling room, where she explains Matoi's obsessive-stalker tendencies to Nozomu. That night, he attempts to dissuade her from bothering her last boyfriend; however, his strategy — suicide as the ultimate form of love — backfires on him once he tells Matoi he will kill himself with her if she wishes, as he has offered in the past. This turned him into Matoi's latest object of affection.
03	"Fly over That Country to Come Here" [3] Transcription: "Sono Kuni o Tobikoshite Koi" (Japanese: その国を飛び越して来い)	Tomoyuki Itamura	Kenichi Kanemaki	Kazuya Shiotsuki Naoyuki Tatsuwa	July 21, 2007 (2007-07-21)
This episode is a pastiche of parodies about foreigners and Japanese attitudes concerning them. A foreign student named Kaere Kimura transfers into the class. Nozomu initially hopes to use her to bring up the class average; his attitude subsequently shifts to horror at the thought of an obnoxious 'returnee' that corrects his English, then fear that she will sue him for sexual harassment. Kimura is a blonde girl with multiple personality disorder stemming from cultural identity confusion (Kaere: the foreign personality; Kaede: the Japanese one). After an incident on the school rooftop, Kaere threatens Nozomu with a lawsuit, after which he disappears; while taking roll, Ms. Arai uncovers an illegal immigrant who purchased the name and seat of "Tarō Sekiutsu" from their original owner.
04	"Not Losing to Elbows, Not Losing to Knees" [4] Transcription: "Hiji ni mo makezu Hiza ni mo makezu" (Japanese: ヒジニモ負ケズ ヒザニモ負ケズ)	Masayuki Iimura	Katsuhiko Takayama	Jou Tanaka	July 28, 2007 (2007-07-28)
Chie dispatches Nozomu to investigate rumors that the invariably injured Abiru Kobushi is suffering from domestic violence. He pursues Abiru's father while he shops, causing him a great deal of inconvenience, before discovering Abiru's obsession with pulling the tails of dangerous animals. The latter half of the episode concerns Meru Otonashi, who is silent and shy in person, but remarkably abusive via text-messaging, her only means of communication.
05	"Measuring Social Standing" [5] Transcription: "Mi no take kurabe" (Japanese: 身のたけくらべ)	Hideyuki Yoshida	Katsuhiko Takayama	Shuuji Miyazaki Keita Shimizu Hiroki Yamamura	August 4, 2007 (2007-08-04)
On physical examination day, many of the girls are feeling stress about their weight, measurements and fitness. Nozumu distracts them by deciding to judge the "social worth" of students so that they will know whether they are living "above their station". Chiri seizes on this idea, scolding everyone who possesses any luxuries, appalling Nozumu to the point where he decides to go on a hedonistic binge before killing himself. In the second half he encounters some of his students at a hot spring and is frightened to learn the spring has the power to remove their "toxicity", giving them well-adjusted personalities.
06	"Leap before You Lock Eyes" [6] Transcription: "Miau mae ni tobe" (Japanese: 見合う前に跳べ)	Tomoyuki Itamura	Masashi Kubota	Tomonori Kogawa [lower-alpha 3]	August 11, 2007 (2007-08-11)
Kafuka comes down with a cold during the summer and has to go see the doctor, Mikoto Itoshiki, who happens to be Nozomu's brother. Later, Chiri and Kafuka find out from Mikoto that Nozomu has gone back to his hometown in Kuraizawa for an arranged marriage. One way or another, the girls somehow all end up arriving at Kuraizawa, where they are taken to the Itoshiki residence by Tokita, the Itoshiki butler. Here they find out that the Itoshiki tradition for arranged marriages simply involves both parties exchanging eye contact. The rest of the episode involves Nozomu and his attempts to avoid eye contact with the girls and various other people and objects.
07	"Confessions of a Pen Name" [7] Transcription: "Kamei no kokuhaku" (Japanese: 仮名の告白)	Yoshihiro Mori	Katsuhiko Takayama	Yoshihiro Mori	August 18, 2007 (2007-08-18)
This episode begins with Harumi Fujiyoshi bumping into Nozomu while she is on her way to make copies of her dōjinshi for Comiket. Harumi tells him about her hobby, but Nozomu misunderstands, thinking of dōjinshi in the literary sense rather than in the manga and anime sense. At Comiket, Chiri confronts Harumi about the structure of her dōjin, demanding that she redo it in the yonkoma format of Kishōtenketsu; this leads to Nozomu adding a fifth panel to the standard form. The second half of the episode involves the girls at a matsuri , where overzealous festival-goers begin piling random objects and people on portable shrines and dancing and parading around with them.
08	"I'm Predestined to Be in the Shadows, (I am fated to be an outcast)" [8] Transcription: "Watashi wa shukumeiteki ni hikagemono de aru" (Japanese: 私は宿命的に日陰者である)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Yuusuke Kamata	Masashi Kubota	Michio Fukuda	August 25, 2007 (2007-08-25)
This episode begins with Kagerō Usui lamenting about how he never gets noticed by anyone, when he nearly gets run over by a truck driver who does not notice him. He runs into Nozomu in the shadows, who begins to talk about how some people are destined to be overshadowed by others, no matter how hard they work. After several humorous examples to illustrate his point, Kafuka brings up the merits of being in the shadows. Meanwhile, Kagerō continues to be unnoticed by everyone. The second part of the episode has the class undergo criticism training. A strange man enters the classroom and begins to launch various insults at the students. Kagerō continues to be ignored until a divine wind blows away his hair, revealing his bald head and allowing everyone in the class to see him. He fears that people in the class will begin mocking him, but Kafuka suggests that Chie insult him instead, which he seems to enjoy.
09	"Evening Primroses on Mt. Fuji Are a Mistake" [9] Transcription: "Fuji ni tsukimisō wa machigatte iru" (Japanese: 富士に月見草は間違っている)	Hideyuki Yoshida	Kenichi Kanemaki	Yuusuke Kamata	September 1, 2007 (2007-09-01)
Nozomu notices a few members of the class playing a "spot the differences" game. Nozomu tells them that it is important to spot mistakes, and he instructs the class on how life is filled with mistakes. He asks the class to identify mistakes in their lives, after pointing out several of his own. After Nozomu contradicts himself, saying that a mistake was the correct action, Kafuka reasons that if a mistake comes to light, it is correct, resulting in many people approaching her, confessing their mistakes, making them correct. In the end of the first part, a boy approaches Nozomu, calling him "Dad." The second part of the episode reveals that he is actually Nozomu's brother's child, Majiru Itoshiki. Nozomu asks him to prove that he is indeed his nephew, and then asks all of his students to prove that they are real. When Majiru asks Nozomu to prove he is genuine, Nozomu is unable to come up with a response, and runs off. The episode ends with a sequence that deals with Majiru's apparent hair fetish.
10	"A Cultured Man Was Waiting for the Rain to Stop under the Rashomon Gate" [10] Transcription: "Hitori no bunkajin ga Rashōmon no shita de amayadori shite ita" (Japanese: 一人の文化人が羅生門の下で雨やどりしていた)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Tomoyuki Itamura	Masashi Kubota	Michio Fukuda	September 8, 2007 (2007-09-08)
The episode begins with Nozomu announcing there will be a cultural festival, which he decides not to participate in and explains that they are not cultured people, believing that they will grow to be bad people if they pretend they are. The second part of the episode starts with the class taking a field trip preview, which Chiri makes a large itinerary guide for. They move quickly all over Kyoto until they come to a temple. There the monk enlightens them about the use of previews. The episode ends with Nozomu taking Chiri to visit his preview funeral and gravesite, where she gets angry and hits him, sending him to the hospital and putting him in a coma (which Kafuka calls a "preview of the afterlife").
11	"Hey, You Can't Do That! Isn't There an Original?" [11] Transcription: "Are ikenai yo Gensaku ga aru ja nai ka ne" (Japanese: あれ 不可よ 原作があるじゃないかね)	Yoshihiro Mori	Kenichi Kanemaki	Yoshihiro Mori	September 16, 2007 (2007-09-16)
The girls are watching a particularly awful movie. Outside, they meet with the director, who defends himself by saying that he is just "following the original story." Chasing him, they arrive at roads that are used by many people to escape or to shift blame from their mistakes. In the second part, Nozomu, Majiru, and Matoi are sitting in a kotatsu in Nozomu's house. Chiri then arrives to clean everything up. After the cleaning, Nozomu keeps wishing that humans can hibernate and finally he and the regular cast decide to take a winter hibernation. However, after the group nearly dies of carbon monoxide poisoning, Nozomu decides to simply leave. Matoi follows him as always, only to witness him being struck by a runaway trolley. The episode ends at the hospital as the entire class waits for Nozomu to leave surgery.
12	"Really, That's Annoying!" [12] Transcription: "Nan taru meiwaku de aru koto ka!" (Japanese: なんたる迷惑であることか!)	Masayuki Iimura	Katsuhiko Takayama	Tatsuya Oishi	September 23, 2007 (2007-09-23)
The first part of this episode introduces Ai Kaga, a girl who always takes the blame for everything, even though it is not her fault. Nozomu takes the class to a "guilt scramble" to explain that history has led to the "guilt complex" such as Ai's becoming the Japanese mentality. After being overcome with guilt himself, Nozomu and Ai travel the world to try to stop burdening others. The second part introduces another girl, Mayo Mitama. Her evil-looking eyes have led to her being misunderstood - that is, she actually is evil, but people try not to prejudge her and assume she is actually good. She commits several cruel acts that Nozomu bears witness to and is blamed for, being the only other nearby party. He becomes so concerned with not prejudging that he doesn't blame her when she hits Majiru over the head with an aluminum bat, drops a brick onto Nozomu's head, or detonates a bomb in his house.

(Zoku) Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei

The series features a majority of the returning staff as the first season with a few changes. Akiyuki Shinbo, Naoyuki Tatsuwa, and Hideyuki Morioka returned as director, assistant director, and character designer (respectively); and Morioka and Hiroki Yamamura (Studio Pastoral) acted as chief animation directors (but without Yoshiaki Itou from the first season). Yukihiro Miyamoto joined the production as chief unit director, Kenichi Kanemaki was replaced as series composition writer by Yuuichirou Oguro, and Shaft (under the collective penname of Fuyashi Tou) took credit for the composition itself. Episodes 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 were outsourced to Studio Pastoral; and segments, or the whole of, episodes 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 were outsourced to Gainax. ^{[lower-alpha 4]}

Opening Themes

1. Kūsō Rumba (空想ルンバ) - Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi
2. Lyricure Go Go! (リリキュアGOGO!) - Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue and Ryōko Shintani (ep 7)

Ending Themes

1. Koiji Romanesque (恋路ロマネスク) - Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi (eps 1-4)
2. Marionette (マリオネット) - Rolly and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi (eps 5-12)
3. Omamori (オマモリ) - Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi and Ryoko Shintani (ep 13)

No.	Title	Directed by  [lower-alpha 2]	Storyboarded by  [lower-alpha 2]	Original air date
01	"Look, the Baron's Absurd Remark" [13] Transcription: "Hora, danshaku no mōgen" (Japanese: ほら, 男爵の妄言)	Yukihiro Miyamoto	Yukihiro Miyamoto Naoyuki Tatsuwa	January 5, 2008 (2008-01-05)
Nozomu Itoshiki, a direct marketing businessman, is chased by a mysterious religious group called "Hamasho" (the nickname of Shōgo Hamada). At one point, he is caught and altered into a Mole–cricket man. After his long adventure, he is discovered by Kafuka and he then becomes a high school teacher. Students in the class start calling him "Left-wing Guerrilla" (apparently in lieu of "Pink Supervisor"), making him despair again. Right before he jumps off a cliff, Kafuka suggests he "mock marry" a girl of the 'Holy Nosebleed Empire'. A card reveals that the entire segment is a gag based on a summary from the jacket of the first manga volume. In the second segment, Nami Hitō, who has been missing classes, finally decides to attend her school as no one seems to notice her absence. Unfortunately, she does not get much attention from her classmates as the class is full of extraordinary characters - all of her claims to be pitiable (such as being suicidal) are met & exceeded by another. At the end of the episode, most of the major characters are introduced and Nami is labeled as the 'ordinary girl' in the school.
02	"The Forelock That Has Just Been Opened" [14] Transcription: "Mada akesomeshi maegami no" (Japanese: まだ明け初めし前髪の)	Akira Katou	Noboru Jitsuhara Tomoyuki Itamura	January 12, 2008 (2008-01-12)
The first part of this episode is supposed to follow this storyline from a chapter of the Zetsubō Sensei manga. It depicts two stories running simultaneously; the same screen is used but the audio track tells one story, and the (Japanese) subtitles tell the second story. In the first story, Perry has come to the school on the anniversary of the school's founding. He is an American Commodore who known for opening up Japanese ports to foreign trade (in Japanese, the phrase "opening the school" (開校) is pronounced the same as "opening the ports" (開港)). After he opens up various things in the school, he tries to open up Nozomu Itoshiki's mind. Nozomu releases a mysterious wave that reveals the dark side of the world, which is full of despair. Finally, Perry learns the lesson that he shouldn't try to open up everything in the world. However, all the characters speak unintelligible gibberish, and the subtitled second story suggest instead that Perry is Son Goku looking for the Dragon Balls and that Nozomu is an alien bent on stopping him. In the next part of the episode, Nozomu is complaining about the over-decoration of various things in Japanese society. However, Kafuka Fuura denies it, saying that it is just a trend among stylish elites. In the next part, Nozomu meets his old time friend Ikkyū-san, who likes old things. They discuss together how old things are often ignored in modern Japan. Ultimately, he wants to obtain a former-surname by marrying Nozomu's sister Rin. Rin tries to escape from Ikkyū by calling her butler, but he ends up persuading Ikkyū-san to marry her. However, Kafuka manages to find out at the end that Nozomu and Ikkyū are not old friends, but rather one-day friends during the first day of school.
03	"You're Seventeen Now, Don't You Want to Pinch Your Own Wrinkles?" [15] Transcription: "Jūnana-sai ne, jibun no shiwa o tsukande mitaku nai?" (Japanese: 十七歳ね, 自分のシワをつかんで見たくない?)	Yuusuke Kamata	Yuusuke Kamata	January 19, 2008 (2008-01-19)
Harumi Fujiyoshi is listening to a Zetsubō Sensei radio show at home while working on her yaoi dōjinshi. The radio show is actually derived from a chapter of the Zetsubō Sensei manga, which portrays Japanese people's indifference to their ages and introduces a new character, Manami Ōkusa, who is a married high school student. In the second part of the episode, Nozomu criticizes the society where individuals are compelled to serve their 'duties' to meet other people's expectations. These 'duties' are often very superfluous and trivial. However, Kafuka points out the irony that Nozomu himself is a part of such a society, as the girls around him are expected to serve their various 'duties' to take care of their teacher. In the third part of the episode, Nozomu is in despair about society, where serious matters are often taken too lightly. Several of Nozumu's students provide their experiences of such a trend. After Rin Itoshiki makes an appearance as one of Nozomu's new students, Nozomu and his students decide to reverse the trend by treating various trivial matters with serious attitudes, which eventually becomes an addicting habit for everyone.
04	"A Painter by the Roadside" [16] Transcription: "Robō no eshi" (Japanese: 路傍の絵師)	Yoshihiro Mori	Yoshihiro Mori Yuuichi Nakazawa	January 26, 2008 (2008-01-26)
Nozomu Itoshiki and his students enjoy the festival of Tanabata and talk about instances where people pay more attention to the trivial details of many objects rather than the main subjects. In the middle of their conversation, which Ikkyū-san later joins, the alien race El Niño invades Japan with their mecha army. Fortunately, Chiri digs up an ancient mask and activates its hidden power to defeat the alien force. The aliens admits their mistake of paying attention to trivial aspects of Nozomu's students rather than the progress of their invasion. At the end, Nozomu and Ikkyū-san do not remember how Japan was saved from the alien invasion, as they were paying attention to trivial details of the battle scene. In the second part of the episode, Jun Kudō is reading books in the school library, while Nozumu is worried about Jun's desire to read everything in the world, which could eventually include Nozomu's own embarrassing mind. When Nozomu's other students visit the school library, Jun tells heart-warming stories that move every one of them to tears. Nozomu feels even more certain of Jun's ability to read people's minds, so he puts himself in a freezing room full of penguins to prevent Jun from reading the conclusion of the episode. The third part of the episode shows what happened between Nozomu's nephew, Majiru Itoshiki, and Kiri Komori while the alien invasion of the 'A Painter by the Roadside' episode was undergoing outside the house. It ends with Nozomu in despair as he sees a viewer survey showing that this side story was more popular than the main episode, once again making the point of how people pay too much attention to trivial details.
05	"Cultural Pedigree" [17] Transcription: "Bunka keizu" (Japanese: 文化系図)	Masayuki Iimura	Masayuki Iimura Tomonori Kogawa	February 2, 2008 (2008-02-02)
While a sports competition is being held outside the school, Nozomu Itoshiki would like to have a 'cultural' sports competition with his students. He insists that everything in this world should be categorized into three kinds: liberal arts, science, and athletics. However, recently, the borderline between the three kinds are becoming so vague that they are often mixed together. At the end, he chooses to end the first part of the episode in an 'athletic' way. In the second part of the episode, Nozomu is unhappy about business practice of selling Fukubukuro, because he thinks it is just a way to sell leftovers at the end of the year. However, Kafuka Fuura argues that many kinds of leftovers are actually beneficial to our world and people should be encouraged to make more use of them. At the end, Nozomu and Majiru get food poisoning from leftover curry rice that was given to them by a mysterious woman, who turns out to be Kafuka. In the third part of the episode, Ai Kaga gives an umbrella to the real Tarō Sekiutsu, but she feels guilty that she was expecting a compliment when she was doing a favor for him. Nozomu Itoshiki sympathizes with her and blames everyone in the world for having an attitude of face-saving patronage and many business practices that depend on it. Eventually, Ai's behavior resembles that of a typical tsundere as she decided to deny any reason for doing favor to people.
06	"Thou Shalt Not Know" [18] Transcription: "Kimi shiritamō koto nakare" (Japanese: 君 知りたもうことなかれ)	Akira Katou	Akira Katou	February 9, 2008 (2008-02-09)
It's time to hand out grades, but Nozomu Itoshiki hands out completely censored report cards to his students, because he understands that the majority of students does not want to be notified of their grades. He argues that people should have right to choose to be 'uninformed' of undesirable information, since they have right to be informed of desirable information. Ultimately, he tries to escape civilization to become 'free' of all the notifications in the world, but he is still in despair as nature are also trying to communicate with him. Meanwhile, Kafuka Fuura is admiring the all-knowing housewife in the neighborhood. In the second part of the episode, Nozomu Itoshiki and his nephew, Majiru, fall asleep together and have a dream where everyone's personality is reversed. The students in his dream realize that they will disappear when Nozomu wakes up, so they try to put him in an eternal sleep by murdering him in his dream. In the third part of the episode, Nozomu and his students discuss various things that are kept secret or unknown from their parents. During this section, the characters are voiced by numerous random voice actors (with most of them from the show itself), and are changed frequently.
07	"The Cat That Was Told a Million Times" [19] Transcription: "Hyakumankai iwareta neko" (Japanese: 百万回言われた猫)	Yukihiro Miyamoto	Asushi Nishigori Takahiro Yoshimatsu [lower-alpha 5]	February 16, 2008 (2008-02-16)
Nozomu Itoshiki hands out an application for his pension in a government office, but an employee makes fun of Nozomu's name. Nozomu is sick of hearing the same thing about himself over a million times and he sympathizes with other people, who have experienced a similar situation for countless times in their life. Meanwhile, Harumi Fujiyoshi realizes that she is an extreme minority as no one seems to agree with her view. The second part of the episode shows a Zetsubō channel featuring a number of television programs such as audience survey, music show, magical girl anime, cooking show, etc. In the third part of the episode, Nozomu is kicked out of a café, because a Jyuken student is constantly irritated by him. The café manager kindly asks Nozomu to forgive him, because it is generally believed that exam-preparing students should be treated with the utmost care. Though Nozomu can't quite understand this kind of expectation in the Japanese society, he nevertheless tries to take advantage of this trend by becoming an exam-preparing student himself. Eventually, he happens to pass every certificate exams in the world except for one: an exam that tests whether a person is ready enough to commit suicide. However, he fails the exam and thus becomes not worthy enough to live nor worthy enough to die. The third part of the episode is shown using various animation techniques.
08	"Spineapple Pudding" [20] Transcription: "Supainatsu purin" (Japanese: スパイナツプリン)	Masayuki Iimura	Masayuki Iimura	February 23, 2008 (2008-02-23)
When Nozomu Itoshiki tries to take photographs of his nephew and Kafuka Fuura in the public swimming pool, he is accused of being a spy by another woman. Nozomu blames the society, where everyone, including those who do not have any malicious intent, is suspected of being a spy. Kafuka gives him a secret mission and Nozomu has to escape from the greater suspicion by finding a good place to isolate himself. At the end, Kafuka devises a plan of 'positive counter intelligence' to help him out by leaking unreliable rumors such as urban legends to confuse everyone in the society. In the second part of the episode, Nozomu claims that the pretentious side of everyone is ultimately exposed in May. At the end, many of Nozomu's students' hidden secrets are exposed, though some of them are merely his imagination. In the third part of the episode, many things in the world are not divided exactly half and half despite their claim. To correct such mistakes in the world, Chiri Kitsu enforces the ratio of everything into exactly 50/50 ratio, which produces various results at the end.
09	"A Couple is Better than a Single" [21] Transcription: "Pin yori Konbi no hō ga ee iu koto dessharo" (Japanese: 一人より女夫の方がええいうことでっしゃろ)	Hiroaki Tomita Ayumu Kotake	Hiroaki Tomita Hiroyuki Imaishi	March 1, 2008 (2008-03-01)
When everyone's mind isn't functioning well after the New Year, Maria decides to tackle them in a manzai fashion. Nozumu Itoshiki explains that there are things other than the New Year that causes people to feel groggy such as jet lag. Ultimately, Maria decides to tackle the government of Japan arguing that Japan isn't paying enough attention on its national security matter during the peace time while the neighborhood countries are posing as a threat. In the second part of the episode, Nozomu Itoshiki decides to inspect students by surprise. In order to help Nozomu to achieve his goal, Maria and Chiri starts taking photographs of vulnerable private moments of students. Nozomu's colleague, Jinroku, is the only one able to withstand the inspection 24 hours a day. Kafuka Fuura argues back that being a careless person can be a great appeal as it can draw sympathetic feeling from everyone. Chiri decides to take advantage of this trend by becoming a careless person on purpose, but it consequently puts many characters in grave danger.
10	"Deteriorating Stream" [22] Transcription: "Rekka ryūsui" (Japanese: 劣化流水)	Yuusuke Kamata	Yuusuke Kamata Tomonori Kogawa Tomoyuki Itamura	March 8, 2008 (2008-03-08)
Nozomu Itoshiki watches a live baseball game and is reminded of a fact that many baseball stadiums intentionally reduce the flight range of baseball to make the game more enjoyable to watch. He realizes that such practices of intentional 'detuning' are quite popular in Japanese society. Nozomu points out that some people use 'detuning' as an excuse for their faults, Kafuka explains that people in general feels more comfortable with 'detuned' products rather than the cutting-edge one. In the second part of the episode, Nozomu states that there is an increasing tendency of saying 'not bad, not bad' at terrible things to comfort the victims. However, Nozomu explains that such instances can turn out to be a 'mini-propaganda', which could unknowingly mislead other people to believe in the same way. In the third part of the episode, Nozomu refuses to teach the first period class, because he was previously rejected by a restaurant in Kyoto as he was a first-time customer. He realizes that the Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei anime series could have been a difficult series to approach for a first-time audience, so he decides to start the first-time-friendly episode. However, he is annoyed by the constant inquries from the first-time audiences. Thus, he decides to only invite regular audiences, but they seem to knows too much about the series. Ultimately, he decides to also reject the regular audience from the show.
11	"Twelve Dark Despair Women" [23] Transcription: "Kuroi jūni-nin no zetsubō shōjo" (Japanese: 黒い十二人の絶望少女)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Shouji Saeki	Shouji Saeki	March 15, 2008 (2008-03-15)
Detective Nozomu Itoshiki, parodying Kousuke Kindaichi, is called upon by an investigator Jinroku to cooperate with the serial murder case, which took place in Sakebu Itoshiki's mansion. Sakebu was a famous artist, who was known for taking care of twelve girls in his mansion, but he has recently died of a chronic disease. After finding out that each murder resembled various scenes of well-known anime, Nozomu initially suspects Kagerō Usui by his deductions. However, he later discovers the hidden truth behind the serial murder in Sakebu's underground storage room. In the second part of the episode, everyone is celebrating the Tanabata by hanging their written wishes on a bamboo tree, but Nozomu is initially doubtful about the Tanabata custom. However, Kafuka Fuura manages to convince him that every wish will eventually come true in the afterlife, even if it seems impossible to achieve in the current life. Everyone in Tanabata festival is convinced of her idea, so they begin to form a cult based on her belief.
12	"Landing Amply Rewarded" [24] Transcription: "Chakuriku no sakae" (Japanese: 着陸の栄え)	Masayuki Iimura	Masayuki Iimura	March 22, 2008 (2008-03-22)
Nozomu Itoshiki teaches his students to get themselves used to summer vacation gradually as he believes that a sudden change of state is unhealthy for everyone. Nozomu is in despair, because there are too many instances of 'hard landings' in current society. In order to teach how to do a proper 'soft landing', he prepares a flight simulator for the students. In the second part of the episode, Nozomu meets a taxi driver, who is about to do the last driving before his retirement. However, he ends up paying ridiculous amount of taxi fee as he was unwillingly drawn to taxi driver's dramatic situation. Subsequently, Nozomu is constantly drawn to many other dramatic situations despite his desperate attempts of escape. In the third part of the episode, Nozomu discusses various instances of 'backward flow', where people are drawn to various interests in reverse way. While Nozomu considers phenomena of 'backward flow' quite embarrassing, Kafuka argues that it is a manly thing to do like a wild salmon climbing the flowing river. Meanwhile, Chiri forces other people to approach their interests in proper way instead of the usual 'backward' way.
13	"Dismissal of Myohonji Kamakura" [25] Transcription: "Kamakura myohōnji kaiko" (Japanese: 鎌倉妙本寺解雇)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Tomoyuki Itamura Shouji Saeki	Yukihiro Miyamoto Tomoyuki Itamura Shouji Saeki	March 29, 2008 (2008-03-29)
After dismissed from the school as a demon, Nozomu Itoshiki wonders where the devils will end up once they are dismissed from everyone. Nozomu argues that dismissed people should be provided with a new employment after their dismissal, otherwise dismissed people will end up being 'wild' people in the street. Nozomu's students brings various wild people to his house and ask him to take care of them. Nozomu flatly refuses the offer, but he cannot help but to take care of them. Unfortunately, Nozomu is fired from his school for his suspicious conduct and he himself becomes a 'wild' teacher. In the second part of the episode, Meru Otonashi's dad wants to find a suitable voice actor for her as she has an inferiority complex of her voice. However, no one seems to have a voice that matches with Meru's character. This is also the only occasion where the most popular Vocaloid character Hatsune Miku makes an appearance in the anime. After the failed audition, she goes through a number of troubles thanks to the voice transmitter attached to her neck. In the third part of the episode, Nozomu complains that people seem to have too many statements on the premise of something as it is a serious breach of etiquette. While Nozomu makes a visit to a Tsundere cafe in Akihabara, he finds numerous instances where unnecessary premises are made. Moreover, Nozomu confronts an enemy character, but they end up being friends together in a stereotypical Shōnen manga style.

Goku Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei

The OVA retains much of the same staff from Zoku with few changes. Akiyuki Shinbo, Naoyuki Tatsuwa, Yukihiro Miyamoto, Hideyuki Morioka, and Hiroki Yamamura all retain their previous roles as director, assistant director, chief unit director, character designer/chief animation director, and chief animation director, respectively. However, Oguro is replaced as series composition writer by Shinbo and Shaft (the latter under the collective penname of Fuyashi Tou) themselves.

Opening Themes

1. Kūsō Rumba (空想ルンバ) - Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi (vol 1-2)
2. Kūsō Rumba Rap (空想ルンバらっぷ) - Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi feat. Rapbit (vol 3)

Ending Themes

1. Marionette (マリオネット) - Rolly and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi (vol 1)
2. Omamori (オマモリ) - Ai Nonaka, Marina Inoue, Yū Kobayashi and Ryoko Shintani (vol 2-3)

No.	Title	Directed by  [lower-alpha 2]	Storyboarded by  [lower-alpha 2]	Original air date
01	"Sweet Princess" Transcription: "Amai hime" (Japanese: あまい姫)	Yukihiro Miyamoto	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Hiroki Yamamura	October 17, 2008 (2008-10-17)
Valentine's Day has arrived and Nozomu is rather popular. Wondering if this is a honey trap, appealing to a man's desires to obtain secret information, he is introduced to an elite group of otakus, whose disinterest in real women allows them to carry top secret information without falling into the honey trap. Nozomu then ponders about the violent nature of unaired battles, before Chiri discovers his unaired training. Later, Nozomu goes to a halloween party only to find his ideals about Halloween are much different from current ideals, and dwells upon things not being like the original.
02	"To Say That the Pursuit of Happiness from a Process is the Origin of Crime" Transcription: "Iwaku, Katei no Kōfuku wa Shoaku no Moto" (Japanese: 曰く, 過程の幸福は諸悪の本)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Masayuki Iimura	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Masayuki Iimura Yukihiro Miyamoto	December 10, 2008 (2008-12-10)
Nozomu is paying a visit to Chiri's house after going through various scenes, but his home visit abruptly ends when he reaches Chiri's house. Chiri argues that Nozomu's visit was pointless, but Nozomu points out that most Japanese people take the process more seriously rather than its result. As a typical shōnen manga puts emphasis on the character's development throughout the story, Nozomu asks his students to appeal the audience by showing off development of their immaturity. In the second part of the episode, a warning of earthquake disaster is published by the Ministry of Prediction, which makes every characters except Chiri very lazy as they believe they are not going to make appearance in the magazine. Meanwhile Nozomu points that many Japanese put efforts into various activities despite being aware there won't be any reward for their action. A number of Nozomu's students act inappropriately, expecting themselves not to appear in front of the audience. In the third part of the episode, the students are worrying about the dropping interest of book-reading among students. Nozomu thinks that many books should change their titles so that they accurately reflect the content of the book as many books betray the readers' trusts by having inaccurate title. Thus, Nozomu asks Kino and Kudo to give more appropriate names for various books by holding a book-titling competition.
03	"Mondō in the Dark" Transcription: "Anchū Mondō" (Japanese: 暗中問答)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Masayuki Iimura	Naoyuki Tatsuwa	February 17, 2009 (2009-02-17)
In Mondo in the Dark, Nozomu asks his class, who are sitting in a cabin filled with candles, to come up with a new gag. For every gag that has been done, a candle is blown out. Nozomu says that when all 100 candles are blown out something terrible happens. In Storybook of Failure, Nozomu tells his class how when people are fighting over something, to an outsider it seems like both lose. They find themselves walking in an actual battlefield set in the city to observe the "losing" battles. In a Book of Folktales, it shows how Nozomu, first a positive, normal person as a student, is forced to become the negative man he is today.

Zan Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei

Opening Theme

1. "Ringo Mogire Beam!" (林檎もぎれビーム!) - Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi

Ending Themes

1. "Zetsubō Restaurant" (絶望レストラン) - Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi (episodes 1–9, 13)
2. "Kurayami Shinchū Sōshisōai" (暗闇心中相思相愛) - Hiroshi Kamiya (episodes 10–12)

No.	Title	Directed by  [lower-alpha 2]	Storyboarded by  [lower-alpha 2]	Original air date
01	"The Way to Lost Garden" [26] Transcription: "Rakuen e no Michi" (Japanese: 落園への道)	Yukihiro Miyamoto	Naoyuki Tatsuwa	July 4, 2009 (2009-07-04)
As the school exams approach, Nozomu sniffs at the idea of good luck charms. Just then, he is arrested by mysterious people on behalf of the examinees for being a potential bad luck charm and locks him up in solitary until the end of testing, which he is quite pleased about. His peaceful solitude is short-lived; as he soon realizes that Matoi, naturally, has followed him into his cell. The girls (and Usui, whose lack of presence proves useful) break in and rescue him, and it comes to light that the students actually see Nozomu as a good luck charm. Next, everyone has different opinions of what heralds the arrival of spring, which for some people involve strange dancing people. Chiri, due to her commitment to proper social order and etiquette, is not content to let any herald pass without a response. Later, Nami tells Nozomu she is going on a trip to find herself, whereas Nozomu says it is really a quite normal journey that exposes a person's true nature.
02	"She who has." Transcription: "Motsu Onna" (Japanese: 持つ女 )	Yukihiro Miyamoto Masayuki Iimura	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Masayuki Iimura	July 11, 2009 (2009-07-11)
While watching a baseball match, Nozomu wonders about the sad fate of the multi-talented people. If a famous baseball player is as handsome as a model, is he missing a more successful career? Later on, as Kiri is taking some medicine to treat her cold, Nozomu explain to Majiru why did it took a moment for the medicine to take effect : the dreaded time lag, which can be observed in a lot of phenomenon. As the journey to find themselves continues, more of Nozomu's students embark on the bus and proceed to reveal some parts of their personality. In the end, Kafuka leads the group to expose themselves to reality and at the same time the acceptance of their true self as they are, after which she concludes by singing a heartwarming song.
03	"The Tragedy Of X" [27] Transcription: "Peke no Higeki" (Japanese: ×の悲劇)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Naoyuki Tatsuwa	Naoyuki Tatsuwa	July 18, 2009 (2009-07-18)
As Nozomu and Kafuka attempt to find the switch to the town christmas lights, Nami finds she keep switching on other people's switches. Next, Nozomu contemplates on how people making a decision between two things subconsciously end up picking a third. He and the girls end up in a third-choice city. Whilst arguing about excessive care, Nozumu is taken by Rin to a Guardian's Club, where people take excessive care measures.
04	"How I Became an Honest Man" [28] Transcription: "Yo wa Ika ni Shite Maningen to Narishi ka" (Japanese: 余は如何にして真人間となりし乎)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Yasuo Iwamoto [lower-alpha 6]	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Tomoyuki Itamura	July 25, 2009 (2009-07-25)
Chiri notices Nami wearing brand new trainers in the rain and gets annoyed when people don't consider TPO (a wasei-eigo term meaning Time, Place, Occasion). Nozomu laments that some people do an incorrect TPO when compensating for another TPO. When umi no hi comes, Nozomu ponders that it is not a convenient holiday for prefectures of Japan that aren't next to the sea. The discussion moves onto the morals of celebrating things others can't cheer about. The gang decide to have a 'chimerical holiday', involving as little fun as possible. After escaping from the Excessive Care Guardian's Club, Nozomu finds all his leisure options restricted due to excessive care. He then notices that his body double has been benefitting everyone in his place.
05	"Back-scratch" [29] Transcription: "Katatataki" (Japanese: 過多たたき)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Toshikatsu Tokoro	Naoyuki Tatsuwa	August 1, 2009 (2009-08-01)
Whilst complaining about how people use poetic words that make you skeptical about them, Nozomu gets thrown into a card game by Rin in which excessive writing is applied to their names. As Chiri complains about the leap seconds added at the new year, Nozomu considers there might be leap people who multiply unnoticed. Chiri is suspected of being a leap person and is enlisted into a parody of the Blue Man Group (in Japanese, blue (ブルー) and leap (うるう) have similar pronunciations). Whilst Nozomu sees Houjoue, a buddhist holiday, as a day for overlooking things, Kafka believes it should be a part of daily life, and introduces him to a family that ignores life.
06	"The Measles of Madison County" [30] Transcription: "Madison-gun no Hashika" (Japanese: マディソン郡のはしか)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Kazuhide Kondou	Naoyuki Tatsuwa	August 8, 2009 (2009-08-08)
Since there's an outbreak of measles in town, Abiru suggests to Majiru that he should get infected right now, for it is quite worse to get them as an adult. Nozomu then proceeds to unveils many more types of "measles" you're better off to have as a kid, since their effects can be disastrous later on in your life. As Nozomu and Kafuka walks in the street, they stumble on Kanako Ōra, a laid back and careless girl from Nozomu's class, who doesn't seem to mind that a myriads of political parties uses her property's wall for their posters. As Kafuka and Nozomu continues to explore the concept of "through life", Chiri decide to label object and people so as to know who's the creator.
07	"Do Androids Dream of Mechanical Brides?" [31] Transcription: "Andoroido wa Kikai no Hanayome no Yume o Miru ka" (Japanese: アンドロイドは機械の花嫁の夢を見るか)	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Masanori Takahashi	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Tomoyuki Itamura	August 15, 2009 (2009-08-15)
During a walk, Nozomu gets deceived by Maruuchi Shoko and Nedu Miko, who sell him maguro and a block of ice for 15.500 ¥. Nozomu complains that many dealers make up money only after the customers buy the goods, using tricks. The too mild winder is caused by Shōgun Frost who refuses to do his work anymore. The class helps him to find a new job. The class prepares a surprise party for Nozomu, even if his birthday is not on that day, but on 4th of November.
08	"Yes, It's a Surprise Party, I Murmured Hollowly Part 2" [32] Transcription: "Aa Sapuraizu da yo, to Watashi wa Utsuro ni Tsubuyaku no de Atta Pāto 2" (Japanese: ああサプライズだよ、と私はうつろに呟くのであった パート2)	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Hisatoshi Shimizu	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Tomoyuki Itamura	August 22, 2009 (2009-08-22)
Nozomu shows how, in a suspicious society, there is more "reverse-surprise" than surprise itself: people, in fact, are more surprised when they expect things to happen, but they do not, than when they really do. Chiri finds out Nozomu standing in front of a Police box, he tells her that he's training to confess. Modern japanese people are not able to admit their fault and need this kind of training. Nozomu gets on a train which apparently has no destination. On the contrary everything, even the train, has got a previously decided destination. People, in fact, ask questions about things they have already analized and chosen. The 3rd part of the episode has been made with an experimental graphic technique.
09	"The Emergency Which Became a Nun" [33] Transcription: "Ama ni Natta Kyūba" (Japanese: 尼になった急場)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Masayuki Iimura	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Masayuki Iimura	August 29, 2009 (2009-08-29)
Whilst waiting for the bus, Nozomu and Chiri talks about how important are emergency measures in one's life. Later, at school, the class finds out Nami's birthday, but, because nobody knew about it, everyone makes her a sudden emergency present. Nozoumu, correcting some tests, shows the class how, in the adults' world, there are correct but not right answers. While the class is playing golf, Nozomu's sister tells them that a new course has been created in town. In this new kind of game the balls are represented by people and the tees are disguised as objects or places they have to keep away from as long and as far as they can.
10	"The Cracking Egg" [34] Transcription: "Kurakku na Tamago" (Japanese: クラックな卵)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Kazuhide Kondou	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Kazuhide Kondou	September 5, 2009 (2009-09-05)
Grabbing an easter egg, Nozomu wonders if came first the egg or the chicken, the panties or the panty-thieves, hope or despair, and so on. Being in a queue clogged up by a woman who's seeking for changes in front of the counter, Nozomu notices how Japan has become the Paradise for spies who try to wreak havoc among the population.
11	"House of the Child in Glasses" [35] Transcription: "Meganekko no Ie" (Japanese: 眼鏡子の家)	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Yuu Nobuta	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Akira Takamura	September 12, 2009 (2009-09-12)
Nozomu says that a ghost stole his glasses so the class decides to buy him a new pair. The glasses he gets are tinted and make Nozomu be filled with prejudice and hatred about everything. Rin is home and bored but, because she cannot leave her estate, in order to get the near ramen shop she buys and destroy all the houses on the way. During sport time Nami lifts her leg in order to gain males' attention, this makes Nozomu think about people provoking with intention.
12	"After The Third Time" [36] Transcription: "Sanji no Ato" (Japanese: 三次のあと)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Naoyuki Tatsuwa Yuusuke Kamata	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Yuusuke Kamata	September 19, 2009 (2009-09-19)
It's Valentine's Day and Kagerou is afraid to open his box, because he doesn't really know whether any girl had dedicated a love letter to him or had not. Nozomu tells hit not to open it, in order to create a Shroedinger's box, in which the possibilities of the presence of any letter and the possibilities of absence are both infinite. A missile drops on the school's field and the class tries despairingly to hide it. An interviewer is, in fact, going to come to the school. After purchasing all the houses and getting the ramen shop Rin notices how the flavour has changed because of changing of her new management.
13	"Revenge of the S**t" [37] Transcription: "Gojiingahara no Katakiuchi" (Japanese: 誤字院原の敵討)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Kazuhide Kondou	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Masayuki Iimura Kazuhide Kondou	September 26, 2009 (2009-09-26)
When Chiri hangs up a painting upside down without noticing, the class are taken through a gallery where involving big mistakes that go unnoticed compared to the minor details. In the second part, Nozomu accidentally causes Kiri's blanket to fly away, and the class go on a search for it. However, it flies onto a government member who decides to mass produce it so people will feel more secure. Soon everyone decides to become civil servants and the world becomes impoverished. In the third part, Nozomu and company discuss buzzword generals and are disturbed by one. Maria then mentions "Kiyohiko's Night" (a mispronunciation of Silent Night) and a Kiyohiko shows up, but is unprepared for the abrupt pun.

Zan Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei Bangaichi

All of the main staff from Goku remain the same for Zan, including director/series composition writer Akiyuki Shinbo, studio/series composition writer Shaft, assistant director Naoyuki Tatsuwa, chief unit director Yukihiro Miyamoto, character designer/chief animation director Hideyuki Morioka, and chief animation director Hiroki Yamamura (Studio Pastoral). Several parts or the wholes of different episodes were outsourced to other studios: episodes 2-3 and 11 to Studio Pastoral; episodes 4, 9, and 12 to Mushi Production; episode 5 to Mito Animation; and episodes 6, 10, and 13 to Studio Izena. ^{[lower-alpha 7]}

Opening Theme

1. "Ringo Mogire Beam!" (林檎もぎれビーム!) - Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi

Ending Themes

1. "Zetsubō Restaurant" (絶望レストラン) - Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi (episode 1)
2. "Kurayami Shinjū Sōshisōai" (暗闇心中相思相愛) - Hiroshi Kamiya (episode 2)

No.	Title	Directed by  [lower-alpha 2]	Storyboarded by  [lower-alpha 2]	Original air date
01	"Network of the Proletariat" [38] Transcription: "Demo no Ito" (Japanese: デモの意図)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Naoyuki Tatsuwa Masanori Takahashi	Naoyuki Tatsuwa Masanori Takahashi	November 17, 2009 (2009-11-17)
The gang encounter several groups of protestors, who protest about things, but end up vaccilating over certain things. Nozomu soon winds up in the same scenario when he comments on the earliness of his gag. Maria shows him a tepid vaccilation, where her cuteness gets her out of several troubles, including extinguishing the Olympic Torch. In the second part, the gang discuss matters where you're compelled to say something is interesting or funny. Matoi decides they should use these tactics to get more laughs from the low minded viewers by using complicated word gags. However, they get attacked by Chiri when she doesn't get the desired response from her dialogue. The third part introduces us to Tane Kitsu, Chiri's older sister who, as a polar opposite to Chiri, constantly makes everything messy. Harumi explains to Nozomu that Tane became messy to stop Chiri from cleaning a goldfish with shampoo when they were little. Nozomu uses this knowledge to control Chiri, whilst Tane falls for him.
02	"General Virus and the Three Doctor Brothers" [39] Transcription: "Uirusu Shōgun to Sannin Kyōdai no Isha" (Japanese: ウィルス将軍と三人兄弟の医者)	Yukihiro Miyamoto Naoyuki Tatsuwa Hisatoshi Shimizu	Yukihiro Miyamoto Naoyuki Tatsuwa	February 17, 2010 (2010-02-17)
The class is learning how to properly use the AED, but Nozomu tells that the Dysfunctional AED (DAED) is the one which everyone should avert. The DAED, in fact, has the task to revive dead things which should remain dead. Ohkusa, anyway, decides to pursue her instincts and starts reviving everything she faces, until resurrecting the deads as zombies. The class, fleeing from the horde of zombies, gets trapped in a store, but Nozomu anyway has been bitten. In the second part the whole class is at the pool and gets washed away to the Island of Those Who Don't Go with the Flow. In the third part Nozomu talks about Doublespeak, in other way the act of disguising words with softer ones.
03	"Despair Has Fallen on The Murder Scene" Transcription: "Satsujin Genba ni Zetsubō ga Ochiteita" (Japanese: 殺人現場に絶望が落ちていた)	Yasutoshi Iwasaki Takashi Kawabata	Yasutoshi Iwasaki	January 2012 (2012-01)
The first part is another detective story. Nozomu goes to a mansion where he finds Maedax dead, it's up to him to solve the murder. The second part is a semi-musical where the class explains how changing one little thing can make the world a better, or worse place.

Notes and references

1. A reference to Sayonara Doraemon, a chapter in Doraemon
2. A reference to a line in Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country : "At the end of the long border tunnel there was the Snow Country." (国境の長いトンネルを抜けると雪国であった., Kunizagai no nagai tonneru o nukeru to Yukiguni de atta.)
3. A reference to a line in Yukio Mishima's The Sound of Waves :"Jump across that fire."
4. A reference to Kenji Miyazawa's Not Losing to the Rain .
5. A reference to Higuchi Ichiyō's Takekurabe .
6. A reference to Kenzaburō Ōe's Leap Before You Look (見るまえに跳べ, Miru mae ni tobe).
7. A reference to Yukio Mishima's Confessions of a Mask .
8. A reference to a line in Fumiko Hayashi's Vagabond Song: "I'm a predestined vagabond." (私は宿命的な放浪者である., Watashi wa shukumeiteki na hōrōsha de aru.)
9. A reference to a line in Osamu Dazai's 富嶽百景:"The evening primroses on Fuji are befitting."
10. A reference to a line in Rashomon (short story):"A servant is waiting under the Rashomon while avoiding the rain."
11. A reference to a line in Kyōka Izumi's novel 高野聖:"Hey, You Can't Do That! There is a customer!"
12. A reference to a line in Masuji Ibuse's 山椒魚:"What a mistake it is!"
13. A reference to Gottfried August Burger's novel The wonderful adventures of Baron Munchausen
14. A reference to a line in Tōson Shimazaki's poem 初戀 (First Love):"The forelock that has just been turned over"
15. A reference to a line in Kenzaburō Ōe's novel Seventeen (セヴンティ-ン):"You're seventeen now, don't you want to pinch your own skin?"
16. A reference to Yuzo Yamamoto's novel A Stone by the Roadside
17. A reference to Kyōka Izumi's novel 婦系圖
18. A reference to Akiko Yosano's poem 'Thou Shalt Not Die' (君 死にたもうことなかれ)
19. A reference to Yōko Sano's picture book 100万回生きたねこ
20. A reference to Banana Yoshimoto's novel Pineapple Pudding (パイナツプリン)
21. A reference to Oda Sakunosuke's novel A Married Couple is Better (夫婦善哉)
22. A reference to Yasunari Kawabata's novel 落花流水
23. A reference to Kon Ichikawa's movie Ten Dark Women (黒い十人の女, Kuroi Jūnin no Onna)
24. A reference to Marquis de Sade's novel Juliette, or Vice Amply Rewarded
25. A reference to Kunikida Doppo's poem 'Recollection of Myohōnji Kamakura' (鎌倉妙本寺回顧, Kamakura myōhonji kaiko)
26. A reference to Mario Vargas Llosa's The Way to Paradise.
27. A reference to Ellery Queen's The Tragedy of X
28. A reference to Uchimura Kanzō's Yo wa Ika ni Shite Kirisutoshinto to Narishi ka (余は如何にして基督信徒となりし乎 - How I became a Christian)
29. A reference to Saijou Yaso's Katatataki (肩たたき).
30. A reference to Robert James Waller's The Bridges of Madison County.
31. A reference to Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.
32. A reference to On Watanabe's Aa Kazoku Sama Dayo to Watashi ha Uso wo Haku Nodeatta (ああ華族様だよ　と私は嘘を吐くのであった)
33. A reference to Tanaka Koutarou's Ama ni Natta Rouba (尼になった老婆)
34. A reference to Harvey Jacobs's The Egg of the Glak and Other Stories
35. A reference to Yukio Mishima's Kyoko's House.
36. A reference to Shizu Shiraki's Sanji no Ato (惨事のあと - After the disaster)
37. A reference to Mori Ōgai's Gojiingahara no Katakiuchi (護持院原の敵討 - Revenge on the temple Goji-in)
38. A reference to Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Kumo no Ito
39. A reference to Kenji Miyazawa's Hokushu Shougun to Sannin Kyoudai no Isha (北守将軍と三人兄弟の医者)

1. Studio Pastoral credited in the ending to their respective episodes as Production Assistance (制作協力).
2. Information is taken from the ending credits of each episode.
3. Credited as Otokanbun (音間聞).
4. All outsourcing studios credited in the ending to their respective episodes as Production Assistance (制作協力).
5. Credited as Something Yoshimatsu (サムシング吉松).
6. Assisted by Souichi Shimada.
7. All outsourcing studios credited in the ending to their respective episodes as Production Assistance (制作協力).

External links

• Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei (anime) at Anime News Network 's encyclopedia
• (Zoku) Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei (anime) at Anime News Network 's encyclopedia
• Goku Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei (anime) at Anime News Network 's encyclopedia
• Zan Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei (anime) at Anime News Network 's encyclopedia
• Zan Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei Bangai-chi (anime) at Anime News Network 's encyclopedia