Chapters of the manga series Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (さよなら 絶望先生, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei) written by Kōji Kumeta was first serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 2005, published by Kodansha. It is a comedy about a teacher who takes all aspects of life, word and culture in the most negative light possible. It satirizes politics, media, and Japanese society. In 2007, the manga received the thirty-first Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category.[1]
Thirty tankōbon volumes have been released in Japan, collecting all 301 serialized chapters except chapter 268. The series was licensed for English-language publication by Del Rey Manga,[2] and the first volume was released in February 2009. Del Rey and Kodansha Comics released the first fourteen volumes in North America, the last in April 2012.
As "Zetsubou-sensei" preaches his hopeless worldview at every opportunity, accompanied by suicide attempts that never succeed, he discovers the troublesome tendencies of his other students, one by one. His irresponsibility and laziness are repeatedly foiled by the strict school counselor, Chie-sensei, and he is quickly rendered subordinate to his own class, several of whom play along with his lecturing while plotting to romantically conquer him. Their lovelorn jealousy is often inflammed by Kafuka's machinations, as her actions betray concealed sophistication, cynicism, and dark intent.
Most chapters deal in topical humor, and are summarized by their respective topics.
The last standalone chapter is 295; the ending runs continuously through chapters 296 and later.
On graduation day, Majiru is confused when Zetsubou-sensei addresses each of the girls by posthumous names. The girls explain to Majiru that the graduation was not for them, but for the restless spirits of a number of girls who died untimely deaths during the Shōwa era; most of the 2-He girls had once attempted suicide, and each was visited by one of these spirits afterwards. 2-He had been, all along, roleplaying as students and teacher for the sake of living out the unfinished school days of these lingering souls, because one can only speak to the dead after a near-death experience. The Itoshiki family set up the memorial rituals behind the scenes, while the boys in class were actually designated backups for Zetsubou-sensei. With this seven-year memorial service completed, the girls gratefully acknowledge Zetsubou-sensei as their teacher one last time.
Meanwhile, the police discover that "Kafuka Fuura" is not a real person, and interrogate Mikoto and Chie-sensei over this discrepancy. The two admit that "Kafuka" is a pseudonym invented to honor the memory of a deceased organ donor named An Akagi, taken from a beloved book of hers: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. The 2-He girls had each received a life-saving transplant from "Kafuka", and now take turns supernaturally manifesting her personality and memory, still encoded in her tissues beyond her death. Chie-sensei concludes that the girls will all forget Kafuka, even as she becomes an indelible part of each of them.
On a remote island, Zetsubou-sensei starts a new class. Chiri, not placated by her posthumous graduation, sets all the girls upon him to compete for his hand in "posthumous marriage". The would-be brides chase him to a chapel, but one of them arrives ahead; seeing the gowned figure, Zetsubou-sensei approaches and knowingly greets her as one of the Kafukas.
Chapter 268, published in July 2011 and titled "Pei no Kakujū" (ペイの拡充), discusses the topic of pay-to-work jobs, then explores the consequences of an imaginary world where sellers pay money to buyers. After its magazine publication, due to similarities to the Doraemon story "A World Without Money" (お金のいらない世界), chapter 268 was left out of the compiled tankōbon.[53]
Kumeta explains the incident in volume 27: after his editors received complaints pointing out the similarities, Kumeta voluntarily submitted the matter to Shogakukan's Doraemon department, who concluded that the similarities were unintentional. Despite receiving clearance, Kumeta still held back chapter 268 due to suspecting himself of subconscious plagiarism, citing how the thought experiments of both stories (even parts editorially suppressed from Kumeta's draft) arrive at the same conclusions, using the same wording.