[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zetsubou_sayonara_zetsubou_sensei.jpg]][[caption-width:300:[[CatchPhrase I'm in despair!]] The fact that [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife someone would write a complete page on this series]] has left me in despair!]]

-->''"[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB7o8x0wPhs&feature=related I'm in despair!]] [[NewMediaAreEvil The Internet has left me in despair!]]"'' \\
-- '''Nozomu Itoshiki'''

''[[LoveFreak Optimism]] or [[TheEeyore despair]]? Let's [[SurrealThemeTune rumba!]]''
What do you get if you take a man who is depressed to the point of melodramatic suicide, and make him the teacher of a class full of maniacs, psychos and misfits? No, it's not like your average SliceOfLife show. Instead, in its dark, disturbed humor, what ''Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei'', or "Goodbye, Mr. Despair" ("mister" as in the salutation for a teacher), filled with wisecracking background trivia, has become is one of the most amusing MindScrew-type series ever witnessed.

Nozomu Itoshiki, a man so unfortunate that even his name can be written to mean "despair", attempts to hang himself. He is saved by the most insanely cheerful girl imaginable, who then ignores his protests of sadness and declares him to have been trying to make himself taller by hanging himself. Scared, he runs from this beacon of bright light, and ends up at his new teaching assignment where, of course, the crazed happy girl awaits. The insanity only gets deeper from there...

This anime happily subverts any number of schoolgirl tropes, as well as consisting of many more normal ones. It's also gorgeously animated -- the most jaw-dropping scenes are often beautifully rendered. A second season, ''[[OddlyNamedSequel (Zoku) Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei]]'' ([Vulgar]/Continuation Goodbye, Mr. Despair) aired shortly after, meaning Nozomu had even more reasons to be in despair.

Following that, a set of three [=OVAs=] titled ''Goku: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei'' ([[{{Gokusen}} Prison: Goodbye, Mr. Despair]]) was bundled with the limited edition of volumes fifteen and sixteen of the manga, with the second one released independently, and a third season, ''Zan: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei'' (Repent/Remainder: Goodbye Mr. Despair), recently finished airing.

The manga is out across the pond courtesy of Del Rey, so now ''you'' can despair in English!
----
!!This show provides examples of:

* AbusiveParents: Subverted in Abiru's case.  Contrary to the wildest imaginings of her classmates and sensei, her father seems to be a rather mild-mannered man; he even makes her a small cake for her birthday (that nobody else remembered).
*** Ironically, the most outlandish rumor about him - that he was a former member of an elite special forces unit famous for improvising lethal weaponry from {{moe}} manga - may have been the only one that was true.
** Nozomu's parents, on the other hand...it would take an extremely bizarre childhood to produce somebody like Zetsubou-sensei, even taking into account his own histrionic personality.  Then there's the Majiru situation...
* AccidentalMarriage: By ''making eye contact'' with someone.
* AccidentalPervert: Subverted. During the HotSpringsEpisode, the wall between the men's and women's baths falls over. Poor Nozomu is the one who freaks out, because the girls don't care if he sees them naked.
** Done normally in another episode, where while taking a memento picture for Kafuka, a woman mistakes the picture taking as trying to get a shot at her. [[PaedoHunt The entire town reacts]].
* ActorAllusion: Rin usually shows up with her ass facing the camera -- Akiko Yajima also voiced ShinChan.
* AllJustADream: ''Zoku'''s sixth episode explicitly states the second of the ThreeShorts is a dream, then goes into the nature of dreams themselves while slipping into a BizarroUniverse: Kafuka is in despair, Meru is actually talking, etc.
** And as soon as they all realize that, they figure that they'll all die if the dream ends [[spoiler: and so try to ''kill'' the dreamer, who is Nozumu Itoshiki himself, in order to keep it going, and themselves alive.]]
* AnachronicOrder: Not that it really matters, since the series is completely episodic, but notably in the anime, Nami Hito's introduction episode is saved for the second season (where she had just showed up in one episode with no fanfare in the first season). The anime has so far been in a different order from the manga, so if you take Nami Hito in stride, the entire anime is probably anachronistic.
** ''Zan'' has waited until episode six to introduce another, Kanako Ohra, and brings in two more in episode seven: Miko Nezu and Shoko Maruuchi.
* ArtShift: E.g. the first ED video of the second season portrays all characters in distinctive {{Shoujo}} - [[BoysLove Shounen Ai]] - bishie-ish style, while the third OP features the characters in MagicalGirl style, complete with massive eyes and an upbeat poppy theme song. And [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]]. ''Lots'' of blue hair.
** The third ED of ''Zoku'' is, bizarrely enough, in the art style of Mike Mignola's ''{{Hellboy}}''.
** Also, the seventh episode of ''Zoku'' is an exercise on art shifting. Part three of the seventh episode of season 2 consists entirely of Art Shifts one after another, from claymation to drugged-up, Dr. Seuss-inspired spinning circles, finally finishing up with an actual video of someone going through a flipbook with the characters drawn on the pages.
** The first episode of ''Goku'' has this in its ending theme animation, which is otherwise the same as Zoku's second ending.
*** And don't forget that the opening animation for ''Goku'' changes each episode, and is a combination of the original opening and paper cut-out dolls.
** The second episode of ''Goku'' {{Art Shift}}s to the style of the creator's very first manga, ''Go! Southern Ice Hockey Club'', for the first part of the episode, and a {{Shoujo}} style for the third part of the episode.
*** This art style has been used before in the first ending of ''Zoku''.
** The opening theme of ''Zan'' has bits that are somewhere between this and {{Gonk}}.
** ''Zan'' episode eight, the third short set aboard the Mystery Train, goes into a roughly-sketched cutout style that comes across as rather trippy. There are art shifts that occur within this medium change as well, mainly pertaining to the art style used for faces, which are drawn for major characters.
* AwesomeAnachronisticApparel
* BandageBabe: Abiru Kobushi all the way.
* BattleAura: Chiri in the second episode, because dividing the cake evenly is ''SeriousBusiness''.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: It's implied that Kafuka will eventually snap and just [[KillEmAll kill everybody in the class]].
* BigDamnHeroes: It's not really last minute, but the opening episode of ''Zan'' features this as Chiri leads the other main heroines in freeing Nozomu.
* {{Bishonen}}: Nozomu Itoshiki and his brother Mikoto.
** Also, Jun Kudou.
* {{Bishoujo}}: All but two of the "focus" students are female; this is {{lampshade}}d in the post-credit ending of episode ten.
* BlackComedy
* BlackSpeech: Meru, after being stuck in a corner with no cell reception and taunted.
* BlandNameProduct: The class finds a time capsule and fishes out a radio labeled "SONV". Lampshaded immediately ("so Sony used to be Sonv, then?").
* BlueWithShock
* BoatLights: Abiru has different colored eyes underneath the bandage.
* ButNotTooForeign: Kaere. Although we're still trying to figure out exactly ''what'' Caucasian she is. A map of Britain appears when Nozomu is discussing her initial return to Japan with the class, but she ends up coming off as a JerkAss [[{{Eagleland}} American]]...until she starts bringing up animal sacrifices and other pleasantries. She probably just represents the outside world that is blonde and not Japan.
* CatchPhrase: Nozomu Itoshiki's favourite quote "I'm in despair" (''Zetsubou shita!'') as well as "What if I'd died?!" (''Shindara dou suru?!''); Kiri Komori with her "Don't open it"; Kaere/Kaede Kimura's "I'll sue"; the Nozomu/Matoi exchange of "You've been there?!"/"Yes, always"; and last but not least, Nami Hito's cry of "''Don't call me normal!''".
** How...normal.
* CatchphraseInterruptus: Nozomu's surprised when a one-shot character borrows his catchphrase.
* CensorSteam: Very disturbing censor steam.
* CerebusSyndrome: Subverted. The show has gradually glided from a showcase and parody of a suicidal man teaching a dysfunctional school class to becoming a showcase and parody of social ills in modern Japanese society -- but don't think for a moment this means it's taking itself the least bit more seriously.
* CharacterAsHimself: The opening credits list all the characters as being played by themselves.
** Especially unlikely in the face of all the prodigious ThemeNaming.
* CherryBlossoms: Featured in the first episodes of all four seasons.
* ChickMagnet: Zetsubou-sensei, to his class.
* {{Cliffhanger}}: The end of Episode 11, where Nozomu [[spoiler:gets hit by a train and his students are waiting outside the emergency room]].
** Even worse, the incident is not even mentioned in the following episode (the season finale, no less). [[spoiler:[[IGotBetter He got better.]]]]
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Kafuka, the eternally happy girl. Maria, the near-brainless illegal immigrant. Heck, almost every girl in the show is in her own fantasy world.
** Special mention however for Kanako Oora. She barely seems to notice the frequent carnage around her, never letting her vacant smile slip.
* TheCollectorOfTheStrange: Abiru's collection of mounted animal tails.
** For that matter, Itoshiki Nozomu's collection of unwanted admirers.
* ColorFailure: Majiru has one after a quest to catch measles as a child (metaphorically) ends with him groping Chiri and ending up on her bad side. Needless to say, he's no longer interested in breasts.
* ControlFreak: Chiri; she's come close on several occasions to slaughtering everyone in her class to keep the numbers even.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Suicide, [[DudeNotFunny not funny]]. Suicidal teacher winning the love and affection of his students by promising to ''take them with him'' when he does it, hilarious.
* CrossPoppingVeins: Chiri's appears symmetrically in the direct center of her forehead.
** Well, not always...
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The soundtrack varies between hauntingly beautiful orchestral pieces as season main themes, great piano minuets for Nozomu, and the rather light, silly fare used for the rest of the show.
** The opening themes all use a mixture of punk vocals (for the main singer), J-poppy backup singers, grunge guitar and (for the fourth OP) soaring piano melodies.  The ending themes are an appropriately crazy mix of styles that manages to mesh, from swing jazz to surf rock to punk-infused cabaret.
** RUMBA RUMBA RUMBA RUMBA RUUUMBAA
* CultureClash
* CutHimselfShaving: Subverted in Abiru's case; everyone assumes she's abused, but really, she's just pulling animal tails for fun.
* CuteShotaroBoy: Nozomu's little nephew Majiru. Has a touch of the MouthyKid to him, but still cute and mostly innocent.
* CuteMute: Meru, who talks through her cellphone and sends people abusive text messages. Mayo also never actually talks to anyone, you only hear her voice in a narrative sense. In ''Goku SZS'', she didn't communicate her idea verbally, words appeared above her head instead.
** It helps that her limited vocalizations (mostly just wordless gasps) are voiced by Chiwa Saitou.
* DeadBabyComedy
* DeadpanSnarker: Arguably, Abiru Kobushi. She usually wears a totally neutral, bored expression on her face at all times, occasionally uttering a cutting line to another of the students while they're talking about something. In chapter 19 of the manga, when Kotonon (the heavily-photoshopped net idol) is outraged over being called a fat-ass and nobody-has-ever-been-so-mean-as-to-call-me-that, Abiru quips "What? Not even once?" with a perfectly straight face (and even tone of voice in the anime, IIRC). Many of her lines can be interpreted as being snarky; occasionally Nozomu-sensei receives some of this snark too.
* DerangedAnimation: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQhF0aR274Q Oh god,]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx6t2N0Wjtc Goku's]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKRHiue2sIM openings.]]
* DevilInPlainSight: Mayo Mitama has the FaceOfAThug. Her name is a homonym for the Japanese phrase "mita mama yo" - [[MeaningfulName "Exactly as it seems"]].
* DespairEventHorizon: Nozomu crossed this horizon way before the series even started.
* DontExplainTheJoke: In the 10th episode of the second season they (the characters) decided to make the show more accessible to first-time viewers by explaining every single joke, RunningGag and MeaningfulName.  Played for fourth-wall-breaking laughs.
* DreamApocalypse: One episode features Nozomu dreaming, and the characters realizing what will happen if he wakes up. [[MurderIsTheBestSolution They decide to kill him instead]].
* DrivenToSuicide: Nozomu, at least once an episode. Though when he almost does die, he is rather angry about it.
* DucksInARow: Sort of. Each character has a focus episode where we really find out about them.
* DysfunctionJunction: Everyone except for, apparently, Nami Hito, whose name is an anagram of ''hitounami'' -- run-of-the-mill.  Her catchphrase ("Don't call me normal!") is mainly a protesting form of NeverHeardThatOneBefore.
** Though some might see her extreme normalcy as dysfunctional in itself.
* TheEeyore: Go on, take a guess. ''Any'' guess, a wild stab. Ok, here's a hint: The anime is called "Goodbye, Mr. Despair" in English. And no, it's not ironic, at least not the "Despair" part.
* EmotionlessGirl: Abiru Kobushi is this whenever she's not obsessing about animal tails [[spoiler:or when she's alone with her teacher]].
** Or that one time when Ai Kaga infected everyone with her guilt complex, and she blamed herself for her sensei's death (he gets better, though).
** She's also a LawyerFriendlyCameo of [[NeonGenesisEvangelion Rei Ayanami]] with the hair color inverted. Her bandages are the same as Rei's from the first episode of Eva.
* EpilepticTrees: Lampshaded:--> "Even the author didn't think of such things when they were drawing it... Guess there are people who pointlessly distort something that deeply."
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: An episode of ''Zoku'' shows Nozomu has this kind of appeal.
* EvolvingCredits: The opening to ''Zoku'' starts off in black and white. Despite additional animation, the "film" appears to gradually deteriorate episode by episode. In the second-to-last episode, one scene of the sequence is in color for a few seconds before the film becomes misaligned and the next 20 or so seconds are simply the credits on a white background. In the last episode, the film quality is back to perfect and the whole sequence is in full color.
* FaceOfAThug: Mayo takes great advantage of the fact that because everyone [[GenreSavvy expects this trope]], nobody would believe she's really a thug. [[WrongGenreSavvy She is.]]
* FanArt: Not only does one of the characters produce explicit {{Doujinshi}} based on famous series, but the starting sequence of ''Zoku'' includes a massive wall of fan art.
** How can one also forget the short clip of fanart on the series [[ShoutOut done by a fellow mangaka]] at the end of each episode?
** The "Zetsubou Sensei Drawing Song" at the end of each episode of ''Zan'' could also qualify, though it appears to be done by the staff and cast of the show.
* FanService: The show offers a constant stream of fanservice so random, pretext-free, and in-your-face that it might as well count as {{parody}}. Kaere Kimura is explicitly designated as a PantyShot character and goes through several in every episode, sometimes complaining about it and at other times regarding it as her duty (in one episode she actually greets strangers by mooning them). The other characters chip in as much as they can, with practically every female character (and some of the male ones) appearing in a random erotic context multiple times per season.
** Nozomu's younger sister, Itoshiki Rin, seemed to take over for Kaere for a while in ''Zoku''.  The fact that her name can be read as ''zetsurin'' -- "confidence in (her) sexual prowess" hints at this as well.
** How can we forget Chie Arai? She appears often in season 1 as a means for fan service, even in the middle of scenes.
*** She and Kiri have also been seen in yuri-esque scenes constantly, the most explicit being the HotSpringsEpisode.  Of course, this series being what it is, that episode takes a [[FanDisservice nasty]] [[SlasherSmile left]] [[NightmareFuel turn]] at the end.
**** Well yes it does, but that's a different character. The LesYay in that episode was pure Fanservice.
* FeedMe: Nozomu's rants tend to be grandiosely overblown at times.  Nobody takes them seriously, and one or more of his students will frequently hang a lampshade on it ("I'm going to kill myself now!" "I'm not going to stop you.")
* FirstNameBasis: Kafuka calls Nozomu "Pink Supervisor". He hates the name, but has resigned himself to the fact that she's not going to stop.
** Of course, she only does this in the first few episodes...guess the author forgot about it.
** Or maybe she just ran out of money.
* TheFool: In the very first of the third season's three shorts, Ai Kaga manages to turn her "I'm sorry!" bowing into a headbutt that takes out several armed men.
* FrivolousLawsuit: Threatened by Kaere's foreign side all the time.  The manga features the actual lawsuit documents in the bonus materials for the tankobons.
* GagSub: By the very people who make the show. Season 2, episode 2 is spoken in nonsense, with even greater nonsense added on in the form of subtitles. Only Shaft and Shinbo would do this.
* TheGenericGuy: Nami Hito, whose defining trait is having no defining traits.
* HairColors: Completely averted; despite the surreal atmosphere of the show, every single character except Kaede/Kaere Kimura (who has foreign ancestry) has black hair.
* HeroicSociopath: Mayo Mitama CrossesTheLineTwice in about ''everything'' she does and always gets away with it because she ''looks'' evil -- no one wants to judge her based on her appearance.
** Chiri becomes more and more this trope as the series goes on, starting to carry around a shovel and making frequent references to killing people. At one point she ends up in the Sengoku period and tries to declare herself the ruler of Japan -- by killing everyone else.
* HeyItsThatVoice: Probably more if you're further into anime and seiyuu than this troper is, but [[SuzumiyaHaruhi Abiru's VA is Mikuru (it's hard to tell!) and Ikkyu is Kyon]].
** [[CatchPhrase I'm in despair!!]] [[HiroshiKamiya The fact that I have the same voice as]] [[{{Gundam 00}} Tieria Erde]] [[HiroshiKamiya has left me in despair!!!]]
** [[{{Negima}} Kafuka's VA is Konoka, Kaede/Kaere's is Setsuna]]
*** Worse than that. Kafuka's VA is ''[[{{Clannad}} Ibuki Fuuko.]]'' This troper can't stop expecting her to start talking about starfish.
** [[{{HayateTheCombatButler}} Isumi is a bit farther out than Harumi, but they're both orbiting the same star]]
** One bizarre sequence involved the voice actors for characters switching around during each cut. Among them was KikukoInoue. And that's not even including that one instance where she refers to herself ''by name'' in a ShowWithinAShow.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Itoshiki-sensei. Despite their various insanities and occasionally being murdered by them, he really does care about his students.  Some of them, anyways.
* {{Hikikomori}}: Kiri Komori.
* HoneyTrap: The entire first segment of ''Goku'' is dedicated to this, including Kafuka introducing a [[SelfDeprecation group that's immune to any honey traps]].  Just [[{{Otaku}} guess who they are]] and [[PerverseSexualLust how they are immune to it]].
* HotBlooded: Itoshiki-sensei is sort of a negative version of this, at least whenever something annoys him (see WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome below).
* HotSpringsEpisode
* HoYay: There's a bit in episode 10 of ''Zoku'', with all of the boys in the class directing it towards Nozomu.
* HurricaneOfPuns: The names should be a good start.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: All chapters are plays on the titles of pieces of classical literature.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Nami. She's normal and doesn't like being called that.
* ImageSong
* IncrediblyLamePun: "This is where the contest parts." Subverted; Nozomu and Maria find it [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome extremely hilarious]], much to Chiri's annoyance.
* InterruptedSuicide: Way too many. If the first episode doesn't clue you in...
* {{Invisibility}}: Kagero Usui.
** Who?
* {{Joshikousei}}
* TheKlutz: In episode 9 of ''Zoku'', Chiri attempts to be a "proper" dojikko, with horrendous results.
* LargeHam: '''I'M IN DESPAIR! BEING A LARGE HAM HAS LEFT ME IN DESPAIR!'''
* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: The previously unseen Ai Kaga, who suffers from delusion of infliction (加害妄想), blames herself for everything. Her reason for not showing up was that she felt she would be a detriment to the class and the show with her presence; along with Mayo Mitama, a cruel girl who tortures anyone she sees with multiple witnesses to the act only to receive no blame.
** Justified, Mayo was briefly seen in the first episode, and as a background/cameo character before her official introduction.
** Ai Kaga was in the first episode, too...hiding directly behind Abiru Kobushi.
** Both Ai and Mayo can be seen on the eleventh episode in the hospital scene.
* LesYay: Chie-sensei and Kiri Komori on occasion.
* LimitedWardrobe: Nozomu is nearly always seen wearing kimono and hakama, and most of the time that he isn't, he's sporting something else retro and Japanese. The same goes for his nephew Majiru (who lives with him) and Matoi (whose fashion sense is dictated by whomever she's obsessed with). Notably averted by most of the other characters, though.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: Every single chapter title is a reference to a work of literature, albeit in parody, and with the meaning twisted beyond all recognition.
** The series's title itself is a ShoutOut to ''GoodbyeMrChips''.
* LoveDodecahedron: Played straight insofar as virtually every girl loves Zetsubou-sensei, some of them have other love interests or boys that are interested in them, and Nozomu-sensei is entirely aware of their romantic expectations; subverted in that he is exceptionally ambivalent to anything like a romantic relationship.  He occasionally opens up to the possibility of romance, but nothing ever comes of it (except maybe a suicide attempt).
** I would say "anything like a sexual relationship," but he's clearly got no problems with ''that'' aspect of the matter, since he once spent an awesome, perfect night with a high-class escort-girl who was apparently ''very'' satisfied with his "performance".
** There's even an entire segment about this trope in ''Zan'', with the conclusion that in order for the LoveDodecahedron to hurt less, Nozomu must ''take up relationships with as many people as possible'' (in order to make it a non-pointy circle, you see). [[MurderTheHypotenuse It goes about as well as you would expect.]]
* LoveHurts: Poor, poor Itoshiki-sensei...
* LyricalDissonance: The first ending theme, "Zessei Bijin", sings about lovers' suicide to a peppy swing jazz number.
* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: Itoshiki-sensei shows up in a supporting role in the ''Shounen Sunday x Shounen Magazine: Taisen Action'' fighting game for the PSP.
* MeaningfulName: '''Every single named character''' has a name that is some sort of Japanese-based pun on his or her personality type. In fact, this almost seems to be to the point of AnthropomorphicPersonification. See the Character Sheet link above, lest this section become a complete duplication.
** Nami Hito, the only normal character in the show, translates to Hitonami: run of the mill.
** Chiri Kitsu's name has ''three'' puns--one referring to perfectionism, another to clairvoyance, and a third to burying.
*** Four puns if you recall SZS episode 9 where she mentions that her hair is naturally chirichiri (Japanese for frizzy).
** [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil Nothing can kill Despair]], not itself, not even the DeathNote ([[http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=9OTCIlGNJJM seriously]]).
** The convention has even been fought by Rin, Nozomu's sister, whose name can become "unequaled" (in terms of sexual stamina). She threatens to cut down anyone who brings it up and wants to marry out of the family to lose the surname.
** Kagero Usui's name means overshadowed, while usui refers to his thinning hairline. For this reason, he can only be seen / noticed when his balding head is exposed.
** Harumi Fujiyoshi is a reference to "fujoshi", a derogatory term for "YaoiFangirl", while Harumi was the previous site of Comiket before it moved to Tokyo Big Sight.
** The entire Itoshiki family. To explain: the kanji for "itoshiki", when jammed together horizontally, form "zetsu", which, roughly, undoes the word appended to it. Every Itoshiki family member has a given name that turns into something appropriate when attached to the "zetsu" kanji. The main character's name, Nozomu, means a wish or a hope. When written horizontally, it becomes "zetsubou", which means despair.
* MeasuringDay
* {{Meganekko}}: Harumi Fujiyoshi
* MemeticMutation: "X has left me in despair!"
* MsFanservice: Chie Arai was one in the first season, but Kiri Komori seems to have taken over the role in ''Zoku''.
* MotiveRant: Ruthlessly parodied, as Itoshiki rants every episode about his latest reason to commit suicide.
* MyNameIsNotDurwood: Half of the Itoshiki family is prone to this sort of name corruption, including the butler.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Deconstructed lightly. Mikoto, Nozomu's older brother, apparently has little business because his name crammed together becomes "death".
* NietzscheWannabe: ''The main character.'' The counselor, Arai Chie, is also named after him (her name can also be read ''niichie'') [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic for whatever reason]].
** Doesn't it have something to do with her [[FetishFuel sadomasochist fetish tendencies]]?
** Unlikely, as Nietzsche has no connection to S&M. So far, she hasn't done anything even remotely Nietzschean, but perhaps we'll get an explanation eventually.
* NegativeContinuity
* NewMediaAreEvil: Parodied in a couple of episodes during the teacher's rants.
* NighInvulnerability: Nozomu Itoshiki.  He gets better.  Always.
** He has survived hangings (self-inflicted and accidental), stabbings, bludgeonings, carbon-monoxide poisoning, and being hit by a runaway trolley so far.  He once tried to drown himself in a bowl of Dom Perignon, so that probably also counts as an attempt at drinking himself to death that failed.  Considering all of the pills he keeps in his suicide kits, he's probably also survived overdoses of OTC medications at well.  Even when he has died, it doesn't ever stick, much to his consternation.  Incidentally, popping out of his coffin at his own funeral to tell everybody to stop blaming themselves for his death inadvertently prevented him and Matoi from having to survive cremation.
*** Don't forget surviving from having his name written in the DeathNote .
* NightmareFuel: Though most of the show is just wacky, some segments have twisted the surreal too far.
** The end of episode 5's purifying is a startling vignette that can haunt the dreams of those unprepared for it.
** Zoku's first episode is a treasure trove of NightmareFuel, in particular Kafuka's creepy Traumerei and school lighting fixings turning into ''the bottom halves of crying babies''.
** The ending of the hikikomori episode creeped this editor out.
** The eighth episode of ''Zoku'' ended with a moment to rival the ending of season 1, episode 5.  And it's all the more terrifying considering it focused on [[spoiler:Kafuka, the only character in the series proper who we ''know'' is thinking of murdering everyone.]]
** Chiri has been letting bits of this slip more and more lately, such as her description of a childhood game called "[[{{Squick}} Meat Doll]]"
** One episode focuses on using different genre and animation styles. The magical girl pastiche was adorable, but the simplistic claymation was quite frightening, and the "acid" style forced this troper to stop watching.
** The openings to ''Goku''. Creepy, jerkily-animated paper cutouts of characters with paper cutout!Maria crying arms and legs? Sure, why not? Adding weird old-timey effects and [[{{Eye Scream}} DOOR EYES]]? Sure! Oh, we forgot to include the part where [[spoiler: Kafuka is [[strike: standing]] dancing and tossing flower petals on the dead bodies of her classmates]]. No problem, we'll add that, as well as a heaping of {{Mind Screw}}!
* NoFourthWall: Several characters refer to each other using the anime character tropes they embody, such as "[[MissFanservice Designated Panty Shot Girl]]" or by noting that "[[BandageBabe the bandaged look isn't popular any more]]."
* OnceAnEpisode: Itoshiki's declaration that something "has left me in despair!"; also if you look carefully in every ''Zoku'' episode, you will see a dog with a stick in its butt.
** Generally done with all the random, silly background characters that has appeared. This is even done in the manga apparently.
** You'll see the creator's face hidden among things.
*** In the manga, it's actually a running challenge by the authors (once a chapter) to find all the things in a list provided at the end of the chapter. These usually include at least one penguin and a panty shot. It makes sense that these would carry over to the anime, even without a specific list.
* OnlySaneMan: Nami Hito, the only normal person in the entire series (even ''minor'' characters are crazier than her).  It says a lot about the series that the second sanest individual may very well be Itoshiki himself.
** Actually, I'd put Harumi Fujiyoshi as saner than Itoshiki.
*** YaoiFangirl, 'nuff said.
* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: At the end of every episode there's a "This show is a work of ficion" disclaimer. It usually contains a lot of SuspiciouslySpecificDenial.
-->''Similarity to any actual paradises on Earth, interesting comics called ''Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei'', Blue Man, or Hata Kenjiro and his assistant who came to ADR, cipped in their voices, and got photographed with two of the actresses is purely coincidental.''
* PaintingTheFourthWall: The punctuation in Chiri's dialogue shows up on-screen in the lower right corner, accompanied by KabukiSounds.
** The characters for certain sound effects (''jiiiiii~'' being the main example) have been written on the screen, like in a manga.
*** In addition to appearing on screen, ''every'' sound effect in the third season is spoken, including doors (ga-CHA), a tense crowd (piri-piri), and in one case, constantly in the background, the ocean (za-zaaaan).
* OutOfFocus: Only certain members of the cast will appear in any given episode, but some of them have been given less and less screen time.
* PaleSkinnedBrunette: Nozomu.
* PantyShot: Kaere Kimura provides gratuitous panty shots, usually with the print on them being absurd (green with eyes, a picture of the manga's author). Meru Otonashi lampshades this to the extreme.
** One of the second season episodes has a HomageShot sequence borrowed from the Evangelion movie with Chiri (giant-sized) filling the role of the mecha...which leads directly to a shot of ten-foot panties.
* PhenotypeStereotype: Kaere Kimura
** In the fourth episode of the second season, a textbook with English exercises is shown. The cartoon illustrations seen on the page feature grotesque caricatures of foreigners with enormous noses.
*** This is apparently TruthInTelevision: actual textbooks feature this kind of caricature. See [[http://bigdaikon.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=61623&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc this link]] for an example and an attempt to turn the tables. Hypocrisy knows no bounds.
* PhraseCatcher: "How...normal" or variations thereof, to Nami.
* PlagueOfGoodFortune: Again, suicidal teacher Itoshiki. Man, he's not a happy guy, is he?
* ThePollyanna: The [[strike:delusional]] optimistic Kafuka Fuura, who sees Itoshiki hanging from a noose in the park and pulls him free while yelling "Don't throw away your life!"  Seconds later, she begins denying the idea that he could have meant to die, because "No person could ever attempt to take their own life on such a beautiful spring day!"  What was he attempting to do with the rope, then?  Why, he was "making himself taller", of course, just like her father when the debt collectors came, or when his company went out of business...or her mother that one time...
* PowerLimiter: If ''Zan'''s second episode is to be believed, Harumi's glasses are so heavy they're what's holding her back from being a sports legend.
** Note she is ''already'' naturally a decent athlete.
* PreviouslyOn: Every episode of ''Zan'' opens on a "the story up to now" recap told in pop-up storybook format. This would be all well and good, except that none of the stories being told have actually ''happened'', or indeed make any kind of sense. The stranger part? All taken from the manga itself.
* PsychoticSmirk
* PunnyName: See above under MeaningfulName.
* RapeAsComedy: Mayo anally violates dogs with pencils and branches as a RunningGag.  It's played for ''comedy''.
** Matoi's clingy behavior occasionally borders on molestation, and then there was that one time when Abiru forced teacher to wear a tail from her collection...
---> '''Itoshiki''': "Pervert!  This girl's a pervert!"
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Kafuka in the full-color "Kuusou Rumba" opening.
* RefugeInAudacity: Well, there's suicide, weird David Lynch segments, gratuitous panty shots, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking a song about the Rumba]].
** Mayo Mitama (whose name is a pun on "exactly what she looks like") gets away with the most appalling behavior even when she's caught red-handed, because everyone assumes that no one could possibly get caught doing those sorts of things.
*** The point is that she looks evil, thus "exactly what she looks like".
** The last episode of season one features Itoshiki's "funeral," and shows [[YaoiFangirl Harumi]] reading a [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kamina x Simon]] {{Doujinshi}} while kneeling at his coffin and ''blaming herself for his demise''.  Funny?  [[CrowningMomentOfFunny You bet]].
* RememberTheNewGuy: Because of Ai Kaga's extreme guilt complex, she doesn't even appear until the first season's last episode, thinking that if she had appeared on camera it would drive down the ratings.
* RetroUniverse: Though set (more or less) in the same time period as when it was written, the series' aesthetic sensibilities evoke early Showa-period (1920s-1950s) Japan. This is driven home by the use of katakana where hiragana ought to be, and referring to the year as though Emperor Hirohito (who died in 1989) were still alive.
* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: ''Jiiiiiiiiii''.
** Throughout ''Zan'', many sound effects appear [[WrittenSoundEffect written on screen]] as the sound is heard. Whenever this happens, the girls' voices also read said sound effects.
* SceneryPorn: Breathtakingly!
* SchoolFestival: With the absolute minimum amount of culture possible, as demanded by Itoshiki.
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Nozomu, combined with the BigNo. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Even funnier]] when you realised during [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iHU_pChy_s&feature=related this situation]], the roles should be reversed.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Rin Itoshiki. Unable to leave the house due to Chiri checking up on people every hour, she bought out her neighbours and added their property to her estate just so she could move around. When she suddenly craved for ramen, Tokita mapped out the several properties they could buy out so she could buy ramen without technically leaving her home.
* SeriousBusiness: Played with every which way short of aversions. The main source of humor in all versions is taking the most minor things seriously, to ludicrious extremes.
* ShoutOut: SHAFT's famous quotations on the blackboard and Harumi's fangirlisms are the main culprits, but there are also stuffed toy characters and dances from several shows, as well as split-second references to other anime, games, or general pop culture.
** Partial listing of the blackboard shout-outs, subject to change:
*** TengenToppaGurrenLagann: "Use your [[{{Moe}} (moe)]] drill to break through the heavens!" "Believe in the you who believes in you."
**** This doubles up as a reference to ''LuckyStar'''s NintendoDS game: ''Lucky Star: Moe Drill''. (It's ''BraingAge''-like)
*** ''AzumangaDaioh'': "Hang in there, Tomo-chan"
*** ''OnePiece'': "[[{{Yaoi}} Zoro x San]]"
*** ''CodeGeass'': "ZEROOOOO!" and "I am not Orange!"
*** Can't remember the exact wording, but once the blackboard featured a shoutout to the {{shotacon}} {{yaoi}} {{hentai}} ''BokuNoPico''. Seriously.
*** Yet another blackboard gag referenced, of all things, Sylar and Hiro from ''{{Series/Heroes}}''.
*** 'In ''Zan'' there's a caricature of Nozomu in the art style of ''{{Bakemonogatari}}''[='s=] next episode previews.
** ''DragonballZ'': Not a blackboard shoutout, but when Itoshiki is bewailing all the significant historical landmarks that were dwarfed by greater ones, many examples appear in the background; one of them is "[[SuperPowerLottery Saiyan's strength]] / [[OvershadowedByAwesome Krillin's]] [[CantCatchUp strength]]"
*** Matoi and Nozomu perform the fusion dance halfway through episode 3.
**** And Goku and Vegeta spar in the background while Itoshiki monologues during the non-athletics festival in ''Zoku''.
*** And then there's Perry's search for the Dragonballs...
*** And MasakoNozawa saying Goku's CatchPhrase, but with Meru's name.
** ''Zoku'' even has the first appearance of the {{vocaloid}} Hatsune Miku in an anime.
*** ''Zoku'' has a whole screenful or two of various characters from other shows, and during the Honey Trap segment included knockoffs of some [[LuckyStar very]] [[HaruhiSuzumiya popular]] series.
** ''DeathNote'': Light Yagami appears briefly for one page, followed by a confused Itoshiki.
*** In episode 3 of the anime, while the class is discussing the optimal angle for viewing fireworks, Sensei briefly sees Light Yagami. Pan back to the students - on the blackboard behind them is written "Death NEET," an obvious reference and pun.
*** In chapter 17 of the manga, a wanted poster for Kira (with a question mark in place of the mugshot) appears.
*** There's a chapter in the manga about people saying things they'd never say as jokes (but because it's out of character, it gets taken seriously) -- included is Soichiro saying "I'm Kira".
** ''LuckyStar'': "You're purposely talking about stuff nobody cares about, aren't you? Like ''how to eat a chocolate cornet!'' Nobody gives a damn!"
*** Not to mention the brief classroom shot with Kagami, Tsukasa and Konata in it - but in ''Zetsubou Sensei'''s animation style... or the brief "Chinese bootleg" parody.
*** Or Bob Ross painting Konata.
** ''GGundam'' and ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' both get referenced in [[AlienInvasion a]] [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever big]] [[CallingYourAttacks way]] in Episode 4 of ''Zoku''.
*** In episode 11 of ''Zoku'', each of the murders is a ShoutOut to another anime series. One features Kaere/Kaede [[NeonGenesisEvangelion impaled on a cross with the Lance of Longinus]].
** In episode 9 of ''Zoku'', ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'' gets a shout-out when Maria jumps out of the classroom window, holds her hand up as she falls, and vanishes.
** One episode briefly shows the class with desks like from ''MahouSenseiNegima''.
** In episode 8 a picture of Ritsuka and Soubi from ''{{Loveless}}'' appears whilst the class is talking about criticism training.
** A lock from ''AceAttorney'' briefly appears.
** A box of doujin labeled ''{{Genshiken}}'' appears in the classroom one day, and the table behind Itoshiki-sensei at the Comic Convention turns out to be staffed by Genshiken members as well. In ''Goku'' episode one, the Halloween cosplayers include one dressed as [[KujibikiUnbalance Ritsuko Kubel Kettenkrad]]. And the Tanabata chapter of the manga includes a ''tanzaku'' from someone wishing to get into "Shio University" (''Genshiken'''s version of Chuo University).
*** Meru's "death" bed looks suspiciously like the one from ''SailorMoon'', including her dress.
** During the Magical Girl opening, Meru is writing out something on her cell phone. The message? [[ClassicCheatCode Up up, down down, left right left right B A]].
*** Nozomu's defeat at the end of the sequence is a reference to the end of the ''ShamanKing'' opening credits.
** In episode 12, the practice for "soft" landing is done on an arcade-like machine. On the side in one scene, it reads "Afterburner" from the game series.
** A Zaku tied a wish to a tree. Its wish? "To become a High Mobility Model!"
* SnapBack: One episode ends on a cliffhanger when Itoshiki [[spoiler:gets so fed up that he goes for a walk downtown and is crashed into by a runaway trolley. The episode ends with the entire class crying for him in the hospital waiting room, and the "in operation" light finally turning off]]. The [[ContinuityNod only indication the above actually happened]] is the fact that Chie is acting as substitute teacher in the next episode and Itoshiki has to storm into the classroom and resume his rantings.
** It's entirely possible that this was related to the first half of that episode, where a brief mention was made of "being completely disconnected from the source material".
* SomebodyElsesProblem: To Kanako Oora, ''everything'' is somebody else's problem.
* SoundtrackDissonance: The final episode of the first season features a scene of Itoshiki attempting to hang himself (again...) while "HappyBirthdayToYou" plays in the background. Furthermore, cheerful or peaceful music is always playing when Kafuka presents an implausibly optimistic view of a negative situation.
** Hearing the "Marionette" ending of ''Zoku'' always makes ThisTroper happy, too.
* SplitPersonality: Kaere, between lawsuit-crazy ButNotTooForeign Kaere and demure YamatoNadeshiko Kaede.
* SpoofAesop: Anything that Itoshiki considers a valid {{aesop}} -- the show doesn't tend to take him very seriously, and invites the viewer to do the same.
** It especially doesn't help when Kafuka jumps in and [[ThePollyanna tries to put her own "spin" on things]] -- it usually only means the examples are crossing the line into insanity.
** If Chiri takes the Aesop on, we can expect her to come within an inch of killing everyone in a sequence bordering NightmareFuel and comedy.
* StalkerWithACrush: Played straight but exaggerated severely with Matoi Tsunetsuki.
** Chapter four of the manga (Matoi's introductory chapter, naturally) has a block-long string of them.
** In ''Zoku'', one of Nozomu's neighbors is a cute young college student who occasionally brings him home-cooked meals and commiserates with him about whatever rotten thing his students did to him that day.  The end of episode 8 reveals that [[spoiler: the girl is actually Kafuka wearing a wig, complete with creepy [[Film/FatalAttraction bunny-boiler]] overtones]].
*** Even creepier: in ''Zan'' (and possibly earlier), you can sometimes see a framed picture of her on his desk.  Apparently he likes her enough to keep something like that.  One wonders how he would react if he ever put two-and-two together and realized just whose picture he keeps prominently displayed on his dresser drawers...
* StepfordSmiler: Beneath her smiling and overly optimistic facade, Kafuka hides a past that is traumatic beyond all comprehension. The classmates who are aware of this fact are mortally terrified of the day Kafuka's mask finally breaks.
* StraightMan: Nami, whose defining characteristic is her normality. According to Kafuka, she is "more normal than most people."
** This, of course, is subverted and played for laughs. Nami's first appearance has her claiming to have various problems no normal person would have for sypmathy, only to be outdone by her classmates, so she threatens suicide. Of course that is the moment Itoshiki makes his appearance by attempting to ''hang himself'' from the school roof. Only Nami reacts to it though.
* StockFootage: Nearly every time Itoshiki prepares to say his catchphrase. Other characters have used similar stock footage as gags. In the MagicalGirl Parody sequence, Itoshiki's stock footage doubles as a pseudo TransformationSequence, (though initially it's a reaction to all of his students being drawn in Chibi-style, he does gain a "suspicious cape and staff" when the shot returns to him, apparently from nowhere.)
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Majiru looks like a young Nozomu. He even has the same dress sense as his uncle. Nozomu and Mikoto are also identical.
* SurrealThemeTune: All of them.
** The season one opening theme, set to (among other things) annotated diagrams of bondage positions, laments how everything is twisted.
** The season one ending theme, set to scenes of murder and death, enthuses about killing oneself with one's lover.
*** Or the woman is killing the guy herself. I've seen both translations work. Either way, it's creepy beyond belief.
** The season two opening theme talks about a man trying to dance the Rumba being turned down.
** The season two ending theme {{Art Shift}}s the characters into a {{Shoujo}} style and shows them attached to medical drips, or, in the case of Kagerou Usui, [[{{Squick}} dressed in nothing but a billowing long coat]] in front of a [[CreepyCoolCrosses crucifix]].
** A season two one-shot opening was the theme for a MagicalGirl parody.
** The season two finale theme {{Art Shift}}s into a gothic horror, drawn in a style reminiscent of {{Hellboy}}.
** The season three opening, "Ringo Mogire Beam!" literally translates to "Apple Plucking Beam". The lyrics are about a man who believes he has found his soulmate, but is afraid to proceed (by "giving her his password"), accompanied by repeated exclamations of the song's title. Ringo Mogire Beam could be viewed as the password mentioned in the song... or it could just be a random exclamation.  (Note: Apparently it parodies a group called the Cosmic Brotherhood Association; they believed that the world would be destroyed by a flood, but they would be rescued by UFOs.  Their "password"?  "Ringo okure C."  This from SchwarzXD on YouTube.)
** The season three ED, "Zetsubou Restaurant", sings about leaving the troubles of the world behind, while depicting the various evening activities of Class 2-He (with the notable exception of Kafuka, who is only shown standing in front of the school in a Kimono).
** Subverted with "Marionette", the second ED of the second season, a rather normal anime song with rather normal images. Appropiately enough, it gives Nami the most eye-catching featuring of all the girls.
* TakeThat: "You're purposely talking about stuff nobody cares about right? Like [[LuckyStar how to eat a chocolate coronet?]] Nobody cares about stuff like that!"
** Also coming up frequently in whatever-it-is-Zetsubou-Sensei-is-ranting-about-today. Especially when he starts talking about soccer, or politics.
* TakeThatMe: The author appears to take regular potshots at himself as part of Nozomu's rants -- he frequently shows up in the background (voiced by himself in the anime) demonstrating some annoying tendency that Nozomu is complaining about. The anime studio is also not averse to launching {{Take That}}s at itself, as demonstrated by a brief reference to ''MahouSenseiNegima'''s major AdaptationDecay popping up in the second episode of ''Zan''.  Also, in each tankobon, the bonus materials feature short and very self-deprecatory written pieces in which the author talks about himself in relation to the theme of each chapter.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Parodied in the MagicalGirl spoof, Model Warrior Lily Cure. When Masked Despair starts monologuing, Kafuka just blows him away before he can even say, "Let me finish!"
* TakeAThirdOption: The third episode of ''Zan'' mocks this trope.
* TearJerker: Apparently, any story told by Jun Kudou.
* TemptingFate: In one episode of ''Zoku'', Dr. Death states (while performing surgery on an injured Nozomu), "I'll have to take care to avoid this blood vessel." Guess what happens next.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Possibly subverted in the fact that there is a school psychologist, but then again, when [[MeaningfulName her name]] is a reference to [[NietzscheWannabe Nietzsche...]]
** Averted by the presence of a therapist. Subverted by the fact that she doesn't help any. Made cute by her interactions with Kiri Komori...
* TheThingThatGoesDoink: Itoshiki turns out to be from a wealthy family.
* TheWoobie: Maria, who woobifies herself and even makes Nozomu pity her.
** Abiru Kobushi both subverts this trope and plays it straight, in that, on the one hand, all of her injuries are actually the result of her animal abuse and therefore entirely deserved, while on the other hand she was fooled into thinking her teacher returned her feelings, a notion which he coldly disabuses her of.
* ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs: SliceOfLife on crack.
** It's also like tripping into drugs without taking any.
* {{Troll}}: Meru.
** And she's not the only one. Zetsubou-sensei advises his students to start trolling to avoid being trolled. Abiru replies, "I always have." (Nami: "I think that just came naturally." Burn.)
* {{Tsundere}}: Mayo Mitama is said to be one. If she is, though, she's probably the tsunnest {{Tsundere}} ever.
** Chiri Kitsu could also be called one - her default mode is tsun-tsun with (rare) instances of dere-dere that almost always devolves into a violent, psychotic episode when Nozomu fails to live up to her (somewhat unrealistic) expectations.
** Parodied/Discussed in episode 5 of Zoku. It even uses the "Don't misunderstand. I didn't do this for you" excuse which triggers the conversation and practically gets lampshaded as a common Tsundere excuse.
* UnmovingPlaid: Anything anyone wears that has a pattern. Most often applies to Itoshiki.
* UnreadablyFastText: The first few episodes of season one opened with Unreadably Fast Anecdotes. Weird gags also show up before every episode title card. Most of Nozomu's lists of whatever he's despairing about at the moment also probably count.
** Another quick gag relying on this is the name of the school Nozomu teaches at. It changes on a whim, even going so far as to change itself to [[HarryPotter Hogwarts]] once.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: The upshot of every single girl in the class being in love with the teacher.  He is almost pathologically resistant to their affections (ethical concerns aside), but is painfully aware of the UST, which is why he has stopped resisting Matoi's stalking as doing so only spurs her to more extreme behavior.  The class exists in a kind of equilibrium where the UST never quite boils over, at least until somebody or something kicks over the anthill, such as Nozomu's arranged marriage in season 1, his flirtatious body-double in ''Zan'', and an out-of-left-field love-confession from a random student [[spoiler:who sounds an awful lot like Kafka-chan]] in the same season.
** She actually debuted in ''Goku''; she's a student from another class (or another school?) who works at a Maid Cafe where she makes desperate losers fall in love with her.  The absurdity of the situation arises from the fact that Itoshiki-sensei was never one of her customers, so it's not only a complete role-reversal for her but a totally unexplained one (except insofar as Chiri's explanation is correct, namely that Itoshiki-sensei's popularity with the ladies is starting to spread beyond the classroom...)
* UnsoundEffect: A RunningGag. The most notable is Matoi Tsunetsuki's constant "''jiiiiiiiii''" for staring, but there are numerous instances where a chorus of girls will say a sound effect (with it often being written on-screen as well).
* UntranslatedTitle
* UnwantedHarem: Parodied, with the way that girls randomly fall in love with the teacher, but then don't bring it up again, except for the stalker.
** They do bring that up quite frequently in the manga, but not in a good way.
** And there is enough ShipTease. An episode of ''Zoku'' has even Chie and all the boys in the class showing attraction towards Itoshiki.
*** Taken to another level entirely in ''Zan'' - Abiru Kobushi has been "promoted" from one of those girls who fell in love with teacher once and never brought it up again to one who is consistently portrayed to be in love (or at least obsessed) with him, alongside Matoi, Chiri, and Kiri.  Several other characters get distinctly "friendlier" with sensei at times in ''Zan''.
* WackyHomeroom: If the above and below don't clue you in...
* {{Wallbanger}}: Done literally with Mikoto, Nozomu's older brother, when anyone brings up his MeaningfulName ''zetsumei'' which means "death". So he's literally [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Dr. Death]]. HilarityEnsues.
* {{Wangst}}: Itoshiki's ability to be left in despair by anything, any time, anywhere, followed by suicide attempts. Fortunately for the viewers, this isn't taken even remotely seriously.
** In fact, [[HilarityEnsues it can be downright hilarious]].
* WeWantOurJerkBack: The hot springs turn all the girls in the class into normal, well-adjusted people. Itoshiki will have none of this, and feeds them junk food.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: Episode 3 of ''Zoku'' explores the trope by having characters make statements like "I haven't eaten lunch yet".... ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VvO3rjiFeI&feature=related in overly dramatic ways!!!!!]]''
** BreadEggsMilkSquick: Chiri then announces that she's given her sister illegal vitamin injections in a grandiose manner -- because, apparently, doping one's sister isn't a big deal to her.
** The battery acid, however, was a different story...
** '''I'M IN DESPAIR! SHOUTING OUT THINGS THAT BUG ME HAS LEFT ME IN DESPAIR!'''
* WidgetSeries: And how.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Kaere's alternate persona, Kaede.
* {{Yandere}}: Kafuka, arguably. She's certainly repressing, with her eternal happiness and obvious destructive past. Other characters fear her when they get a glimpse into her mind. Then again, all the significant female characters are mentally unbalanced in one way or another...
** While Kafuka's damage is only ever hinted at, towards the end of the series, Chiri frequently goes from just obsessive-compulsive to completely psychotic.
** A few chapters, such as chapter 127, indicated the '''entire class''' is composed of Yanderes.
*** If you are observant, you would know this by second volume (chapter 11)
*** Except for Nami anyway. She's normal.
---->'''Nami:''' [[CatchPhrase Don't call me normal!]]
* YaoiFangirl: Harumi Fujiyoshi
* {{Yonkoma}}: Played straight, but with a twist -- according to Itoshiki, there's a hidden fifth panel: darkness.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Completely averted; everyone except Kaere has black hair, and their hairstyles, while distinct, are still realistic.
** This is, of course, referenced in the shojo parody episode of ''Zoku''.
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