# Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (さよなら絶望先生)
**Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei** (さよなら絶望先生, "Goodbye, Mr. Despair") is a Japanese school-comedy manga written and illustrated by Koji Kumeta (久米田康治), serialized in Kodansha's *Weekly Shonen Magazine* from 2005 to 2012 and collected in 30 volumes.[1](https://www.mangazukan.com/work.php?id=20745) Its protagonist, Nozomu Itoshiki (糸色望), is a deeply pessimistic high school teacher who declares "zetsubou shita!" ("I'm in despair!") at everyday life, and his classroom of eccentric students supplies the material for the series' satirical, dark humor.[2](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/titles/1000000196) The series won the 31st Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category in 2007 and was adapted into three television anime seasons by the studio Shaft between 2007 and 2009.[3](https://www.lanovelibrary.com/zetsubou/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author | Koji Kumeta (久米田康治), from Kanagawa Prefecture, debuted in 1990[4](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/comic/products/0000017487) |
| Serialization | *Weekly Shonen Magazine*, 2005 to June 2012; 301 chapters[1](https://www.mangazukan.com/work.php?id=20745) • [5](https://finishedmanga.com/sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-volumes/) |
| Volumes | 30 tankobon volumes, September 16, 2005 to August 17, 2012[5](https://finishedmanga.com/sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-volumes/) |
| Award | 31st Kodansha Manga Award, shonen category (2007)[3](https://www.lanovelibrary.com/zetsubou/) |
| Anime | Three TV seasons (July 2007, January 2008, July 2009) produced by Shaft, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo; first season 12 episodes[3](https://www.lanovelibrary.com/zetsubou/) • [6](https://www.shaft-web.co.jp/portfolio/eraodapyo/) |
| English release | Del Rey Manga volumes 1–8, then Kodansha Comics volumes 9–14; discontinued after volume 14[7](https://darkfantasymanga.com/2026/08/22/is-sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-finished/) |
| Circulation | 8 million copies in series by August 2018[3](https://www.lanovelibrary.com/zetsubou/) |
## Premise and style
The story begins in April, under cherry blossoms, when a hopeful girl on her way to school meets her new homeroom teacher: Nozomu Itoshiki, a teacher so negative that he attempts to jump from the school building and is quick to stop attending. Known as "Zetsubou-sensei" (Despair-sensei), he stirs up unpredictable incidents in his class every week.[2](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/titles/1000000196) His name is itself a running joke: written with its characters connected horizontally, it reads as something sorrowful.[6](https://www.shaft-web.co.jp/portfolio/eraodapyo/)
His class, 2-negi (二のへ組), is stocked with students who may be more troublesome than their teacher: a girl who can only take everything positively, one who cannot rest unless everything is perfectly orderly, one constantly injured, and one who can converse only by text message.[6](https://www.shaft-web.co.jp/portfolio/eraodapyo/) The comedy comes from the collision between the teacher's total pessimism and the students' assorted extremes, with each side influencing the other.[6](https://www.shaft-web.co.jp/portfolio/eraodapyo/)
**Satirical density.** The series is a black-humor school comedy that satirizes society, the entertainment world, sports, and the manga industry, mixed with gag content near the limits of what a shonen magazine would print. One reviewer compared its atmosphere to darker versions of *High School! Kimengumi* and *Utsurinzu*, and noted that it is a manga carried more by text than by drawing: dense lists of short satirical jabs in small panels, a technique the author himself called "retsumeta" (list gags). A typical sequence takes a social phenomenon, declares "I'm in despair over [it]!", and enumerates examples.[8](https://www.honzuki.jp/book/190936/review/78331/) The series does not follow a traditional story-arc structure; it proceeds through topical, episodic material.[9](https://darkfantasymanga.com/2026/08/26/sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-volumes/)
## Publication
The manga ran in *Weekly Shonen Magazine* from 2005 to June 2012, totaling 301 chapters collected in 30 volumes published by Kodansha.[1](https://www.mangazukan.com/work.php?id=20745) • [5](https://finishedmanga.com/sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-volumes/) The first volume went on sale on September 16, 2005, and the final, 30th volume on August 17, 2012.[5](https://finishedmanga.com/sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-volumes/) The final volume collects the magazine's last chapters, includes the final chapter's color pages as printed, and adds a newly drawn episode, "Chapter 30X"; the story closes with class 3-negi finishing an additional 3.1 semester and graduating.[4](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/comic/products/0000017487) The series won the 31st Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category for 2007.[3](https://www.lanovelibrary.com/zetsubou/)
**Sales.** Cumulative circulation of the series reached 8 million copies by August 2018. The best-selling single volume was volume 18, at 137,771 copies.[3](https://www.lanovelibrary.com/zetsubou/)
**English edition.** The translation was then discontinued, and volumes 15 through 30, including the entire final arc, have never received an official English release.[7](https://darkfantasymanga.com/2026/08/22/is-sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-finished/) The English edition retains the transliterated Japanese title, with "The Power of Negative Thinking" used as a subtitle and "Goodbye, Mr. Despair" as a translation on the back cover.[10](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781472595898_A25901779/preview-9781472595898_A25901779.pdf) A French edition, *Sayonara Monsieur Désespoir*, has reached 26 of the 30 Japanese volumes.[11](https://www.manga-news.com/index.php/manga/editions/Sayonara-Monsieur-Desespoir/vol-19)
## Anime adaptations
The first television anime, a 12-episode series, was produced by the studio [Shaft](https://www.edgepedia.org/shaft-company) and directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with series composition by Kenichi Kanemaki (金巻兼一), character design and chief animation direction by Hideyuki Morioka, and music by Tomoki Hasegawa; it aired from July to September 2007.[6](https://www.shaft-web.co.jp/portfolio/eraodapyo/) • [1](https://www.mangazukan.com/work.php?id=20745) Two further seasons followed: *Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei* in January 2008 and *Zan Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei* in July 2009, for three seasons in total.[5](https://finishedmanga.com/sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-volumes/)
**Original video episodes.** Three OAD (original animation DVD) episodes under the title *Goku: Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei* (獄・さよなら絶望先生) were released on October 17, 2008, December 10, 2008, and February 17, 2009, bundled with limited editions of the manga.[12](https://prtimes.jp/a/?c=933&f=3ec210c9bf4dcde41aebdb7e3e47723a.pdf&r=11) Home-video sales for the anime reached 8,481 copies for the first season's first television volume and 13,381 for an OVA release.[3](https://www.lanovelibrary.com/zetsubou/)
## Kumeta's earlier work and legacy
Before this series, Kumeta serialized *Katteni Kaizo* (かってに改蔵) in Shogakukan's *Weekly Shonen Sunday*; Shaft describes that gag manga as the origin of "Zetsubou-Sensei." In 2011 the studio adapted *Katteni Kaizo* as a three-volume OVA with much of the *Zetsubou-Sensei* staff, animating episodes from the original's early, middle, and late periods to reflect how its style and art had changed over its long run.[13](https://www.shaft-web.co.jp/works/l7-ssx-1i/) Kumeta's body of work also includes *Go!! Southern Ice Hockey Club* (23 volumes), *Sodate tate Darling!!*, *Taiyo no Senshi Pokapoka*, and *Route Paradise*.[4](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/comic/products/0000017487)
The manga ended in 2012 with an intentional conclusion, and no sequel, spin-off continuation, or revival has been announced since.[7](https://darkfantasymanga.com/2026/08/22/is-sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-finished/)
## References
1. [さよなら絶望先生, MangaZukan](https://www.mangazukan.com/work.php?id=20745)
2. [さよなら絶望先生, Kodansha](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/titles/1000000196)
3. [『絶望先生』の漫画・アニメの概要、売上, Lanovel Library](https://www.lanovelibrary.com/zetsubou/)
4. [さよなら絶望先生（30）＜完＞, Kodansha](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/comic/products/0000017487)
5. [Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Manga: All 30 Volumes Explained, Finished Manga](https://finishedmanga.com/sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-volumes/)
6. [さよなら絶望先生, SHAFT Animation Studio](https://www.shaft-web.co.jp/portfolio/eraodapyo/)
7. [Is Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Manga Finished? Status, Dark Fantasy Manga](https://darkfantasymanga.com/2026/08/22/is-sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-finished/)
8. [『さよなら絶望先生（1）』の感想、レビュー, 本が好き!](https://www.honzuki.jp/book/190936/review/78331/)
9. [Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Manga Volumes: A Full Guide, Dark Fantasy Manga](https://darkfantasymanga.com/2026/08/26/sayonara-zetsubou-sensei-manga-volumes/)
10. [ILLUSTRATIONS, translation studies preview (Bloomsbury)](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781472595898_A25901779/preview-9781472595898_A25901779.pdf)
11. [Sayonara Monsieur Désespoir Vol.19 : Editions, Manga News](https://www.manga-news.com/index.php/manga/editions/Sayonara-Monsieur-Desespoir/vol-19)
12. [キセカエ「マガジンコラボ」リリース資料, PR TIMES](https://prtimes.jp/a/?c=933&f=3ec210c9bf4dcde41aebdb7e3e47723a.pdf&r=11)
13. [かってに改蔵, SHAFT Animation Studio](https://www.shaft-web.co.jp/works/l7-ssx-1i/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Manga titles, publishers, and magazines › Shōnen manga titles › Comedy, romance, and slice-of-life titles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license