Wakaranai

Against all the odds I’ve been diligently keeping up with the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei all this time. In this case the odds can pretty much summed up by a fansub dilemma. It seems to be usual practice for a sub group (this time it was gg) to pick up the latest SZS series and churn out the episodes at a good pace for the greater part of the show’s length before suddenly bailing and leaving fans hanging out for the last few. Unfortunately, seeped with Japanese cultural gags and puns, and notorious for its WALL-OF-TEXT humour, this isn’t the kind of series you can casually get by on with just the RAWS. So I’m really glad someone else stepped up the challenge and finished what gg started. The release of this episode, the latest OAD, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: No Man’s Land, came as a total surprise and I would never have known about it but for the kind soul who subbed it and uploaded it. Which is lucky, because I genuinely enjoyed it! In fact this episode was probably funny than most (but not all) of the last tv series. As usual the political jabs, cultural satire, and wry social commentary are delivered well by the quirky (and sometimes insane) cast of cute high-school girls. The topics of this episode were:

1. Indecisive demonstrations - the paradoxical tone that describes many political and cultural protests.

This was a great segment because a lot of the protests alluded to apply to all developed countries of the world and not just Japan.

2. Jokes that people feel obliged to laugh at for fear of looking like they can’t understand the humour.

3. The introduction of Chiri-chan’s crhonically messy older sister. Together they form a combo: older sister messes things up, the younger sister cleans up.

Good solid episode. I’m a bit worried by a comment I came across that implied that the introduction of Chiri’s sister was fast-tracked into this episode because the sales for the anime are down and there might not be another tv anime to follow! It’s funny, initially I didn’t really care for this series, but now I’ve become accustomed to having SZS to watch every season, and attached to the familiar characters and humour. With this anime gone I think there would be a void in anime seasons to come. What other anime even bother attempting satire?

As usual featuring some really lovely outfits for the girls were featured, including the usual array of attractive kimono patterns, and almost Kobato-tier cute casual wear. But the highlight in the cute department was Maria dressed up in a maid outfit. It was so charming I had to stitch it! Maria is one of my favourite characters. I wonder if she’s inclined to break her habit of not wearing panties when she’s in maid-mode? Well, it’s something for the imagination..
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