Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei: Volume 2

by Koji Kumeta, 169 pages

In this second volume following the antics of a suicidal teacher and his class of head-cases, we meet yet another student, a creator of dojinshis (self-published zines and comics); but she doesn't write the kind of lofty essays Zetsubou-sensei remembers from his youth.  An impersonator of Admiral Perry, famous for "opening" Japan to the West in the 19th century, drops by--only this guy has taken the concept of "opening" to extremes.  Also, in his world-weariness, sensei often takes the chance (between attempts to throw himself from the window) to be a wet blanket and dispense (questionably sound) advice to the younger generation.  This time around, they discuss such topics as overshadowed things (like second-place athletes, siblings of celebrities, etc.), criticism training, and the benefits of instability.

So very silly and morbid.  Just don't read it when you're tired, as all that dense, rapid-fire text and flipping back-and-forth to the end-notes to interpret it requires more brain cells than I usually have at my disposal after, say, 8:00 in the evening.  If you're awake enough, however, and in a perverse, cynical mood, it's a hoot.