List of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei characters

This is a list of characters from the manga/anime series Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei.

Nozomu Itoshiki is the homeroom teacher for class 2-へ (2-He; the hiragana character へ is the sixth in iroha order, indicating that there are at least five other classes in the same year) at a Japanese high school. The class is said to include 32 students, but only some of these students are introduced over the course of the manga. For a variety of reasons, the entire class ends up repeating their second year with Nozomu multiple times, but the characters themselves never age. It is eventually revealed that every character in the class has attempted suicide after falling into despair. Their lives were saved by transplants from Kafuka's corpse, allowing them to see her as a result. The manga version also reveals that the girls of the class have been possessed by the spirits of girls from the Showa era who had killed themselves, and that Nozomu is an exorcist that became their teacher so that the souls of the dead girls could finish their education and move on.

Nozomu Itoshiki (糸色 望, Itoshiki Nozomu)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya

Nozomu is a young man of unspecified age, who, despite living and working in modern day Tokyo, almost always dresses in old-fashioned hakamas rather than contemporary clothes. His name, written across in kanji, can be corrupted into zetsubō (絶望, "hopeless" or "despair"), reflecting his fatalist and defeatist attitude and causing his students to call him "Zetsubou-sensei". In many chapters, he observes negative, unwelcome, or dismaying incidents, which inspires him to list and point to many other examples of the same topic. This is often used as a basis to criticize society, complain, or seek pity, often underscored by his catchphrase, "zetsubō shita" (絶望した), which has been variously translated as "I've lost all hope", "it's hopeless", and "I'm in despair".

Zetsubou-sensei often overreacts to his grievances by attempting suicide, whether or not any misfortune has befallen him. For this purpose, he always packs a suitcase with redundant suicide implements, including a noose, charcoal briquettes, masking tape, cleaning solutions, Enya albums, and a calligraphy kit (for penning a will), though he always resorts to hanging as his death of choice. These attempts never succeed, as any suicidal intent is far outweighed by his overactive, even preternatural self-preservation instincts, further evidenced when others call his bluff. Eventually, his suicide attempts are all reduced to insincere attention-seeking, and are no longer taken seriously by anyone.

Zetsubou-sensei is habitually irresponsible and lazy, finding many excuses to be absent from class and also having no domestic ability. He is also ashamed of his ingrained cowardice, but cannot keep himself from instinctively cowering or running away when faced with danger. However, he also tends to oblige menial requests and extends small kindnesses on occasion. While his ambition is to be recognized for literary talent, his writings are never well-received. He is often shown teaching the works of Edward Gorey to the class.

The series also makes light of Zetsubou-sensei's effeminate mannerisms and failure to be aroused by most women, and facetiously places him in accidental gay liaisons. However, he finds himself attracted to Kafuka's various alter egos, always failing to see through her disguises.

Despite understanding many foibles, weaknesses, and hypocrisies of the general public, Zetsubou-sensei is far from immune to them. He is often enticed by Kafuka to embrace the very practices he himself condemned, whether by flattery, appeal to emotion, or opportunism. However, in doing so, he is often set up to take a fall or receive comeuppance.

Kafuka Fu'ura (風浦 可符香, Fu'ura Kafuka)

Voiced by: Ai Nonaka

A somewhat strange and exceedingly optimistic student who always sees everything in the single most positive light possible due to a brain abnormality that causes increased serotonin output: the polar opposite of Nozomu, who sees only the dark side of things and is constantly in despair. She often has bizarre, childishly optimistic explanations for grim situations, calling suicide by hanging "becoming taller" and the act of stalking "deep love" and does not believe in the existence of hikikomori or illegal immigrants outside the realm of fiction. She enjoys giving whimsical nicknames to people (much to their annoyance), and has a strange obsession with aliens. Her cheerfulness apparently conceals a traumatic past. Her father is portrayed as trying to hang himself on multiple occasions, as did her mother at least once.

At one point, her mother was possessed by demons. In addition, her recent actions; watching the school burn down with a satisfied grin, and the more harmless act of disguising herself as a college student and making food for Nozomu and his nephew (giving them food poisoning) hint at a much darker personality. Another hint is the fact that one or more of the other characters are mortally terrified of her; for example, when Kafuka teaches Meru about communication through eye contact, Meru can sense only bloodlust in her eyes. Kafuka's depiction with a bandaged right wrist in this scene may or may not be an indication that she attempted to cut her wrist. More hints of her ultimately sadistic temperament can be seen in the endings. Also on at least one occasion, she sensed the existence of demons in the area.

Kafuka Fūra is a pen name, taken from the name of author Franz Kafka, and is quite at odds with her sunny attitude. Her real name has not been officially revealed; however, she was referred to as "An-chan" in a flashback,^[1][2] and the surname "Akagi" appears in the attendance book,^[3][4] leading fans to speculate that her real name is An Akagi (赤木 杏, Akagi An).^[5] In another flashback, she had a name tag that said "An" on it.^[6] This would parallel Nozomu's comment in the first chapter about her personality resembling Anne of Green Gables (赤毛のアン, Akage no An). It may also refer to akagi (赤来, "red future"), considering Nozumu's fate whenever he is near her. For example, her attempt to save him at the start nearly killed him instead. In fact, this becomes a running gag in the series, with Kafuka frequently coming across Nozomu in the process of attempting to kill himself, hurriedly intervening and (whether accidentally or deliberately) nearly getting him killed anyway; on each of these occasions, Nozomu reacts by, ironically and in complete ignorance of the situation prior to Kafuka's intervention, asking in protest what she would have done if she had killed him.

Near the end of the manga, it is revealed that Kafuka, renamed so from the "Metamorphosis" book she was carrying, had died prior to the beginning of the series and having her organs donated to a cast of characters that incidentally make up the majority of Nozomu's class. However, she was "too optimistic to die", and thus possessed one of the main female characters in every scene of the series. In the final chapter, the female students that had fallen for Nozomu hold a symbolic wedding ceremony with him, allowing both themselves and Kafuka to "marry" their beloved teacher. In a bonus chapter in the final volume, however, the ending plays out much differently: Nozomu officially marries the girls and moves to an isolated island, where he divorces and remarries each one every day depending on which girl Kafuka is currently controlling. The final chapter shows that Kafuka has entirely subverted the personalities of the twelve female students that married Nozomu, to the point where all of Nozomu's children look and act like her despite not being biologically related to her. The final page shows the girls adding a new "Kafuka" to the harem via a blood transfusion to a female reporter who was injured in a boat crash having come to interview the strange family.

Chiri Kitsu (木津 千里, Kitsu Chiri)

Voiced by: Marina Inoue

Chiri is a meddlesome and dictatorial girl who imposes her will on not just the class, but, on occasions, the entire world. She demands all people and things to be overliterally categorical, and forces anything that is variable, irregular, or open-ended to pick a lane, whether or not these lanes are good, feasible, or physically possible. Her name derives from the Japanese word kitchiri (きっちり, "precisely"), often used to describe her exhaustively fastidious and consistent lifestyle—which is laudable in some respects, but counterproductive in many others, such as her preference for worse, but matching, grades over better but mismatching ones. She scrupulously parts her hair exactly down the middle, but struggles to achieve sub-micron precision. In later chapters, she wears a hairband.

Chiri resorts to violence in many situations, often wielding a common household shovel as both a blunt and cutting weapon. She is prone to rampages and murder, and is a wanted fugitive and the target of manhunts. She is also versed in violent revolutions and purges throughout history, and has designs to conquer the country, and the world, through bloody insurrection. She also practices occultism and witchcraft, especially the ushi no toki mairi (丑の時参り) curse ritual; has a third eye as a pun on senrigan (千里眼, "clairvoyance"); performs uncanny feats of automatism; and twists various common activities into unheard-of, ghastly variations.

Since childhood, Chiri has suffered from hallucinations and paranoia, and is accustomed to seeing frightening visions and imaginary enemies. Due to her disturbing delusions, Chiri had no childhood friends other than Harumi. She developed an unrequited desire for endearment, and became a third wheel or uninvited guest on many occasions. Lacking awareness of social cues, she is often oblivious to being snubbed, but is highly sensitive once made aware.

Chiri's many dangerous proclivities inspire deference and fear from her peers. Despite this, she is usually cordial and friendly with the class until provoked, and her dangerous impulses are sometimes restrained or foiled by others.

After accidentally sharing an infirmary cot with Zetsubou-sensei, Chiri became at once bent on marrying him, persisting despite frequently being appalled by his irresponsibility and hypocrisy. Chiri's pursuit of Zetsubou-sensei is inevitably commandeering and heavy-handed (to the extent of single-handedly wiping out the rest of the human race), and, upon being rejected by him or sensing competition from others, she is swift to deliver vengeance.

Starting in the second season of the anime, Chiri's spoken punctuation became visible on-screen as a running joke.

Abiru Kobushi (小節 あびる, Kobushi Abiru)

Voiced by: Yuko Goto

Abiru is a habitually bandaged girl who is always impassive and deadpan, except when gleefully interacting with or discussing animals. Her name derives from "to bathe in fists" (拳[を]浴びる, kobushi [o] abiru), describing the extent of her injuries. After the class at first believed her to be a domestic violence victim, they learned that she engages in dangerous horseplay with animals to satisfy her fetish for tails. Later, it is shown that she also suffers injuries from being absentminded and accident-prone, and she is a poor athlete despite being advantageously tall. Abiru's left eye, which is always bandaged, is differently-colored due to a cornea transplant.

Abiru often delivers blunt, scathing comments that cut through oblique statements and pretenses. Despite clumsiness, she can nimbly sling bandages as weapons to ensnare objects and people.

Abiru's infatuation with Zetsubou-sensei stems from wishing to put a tail on him, and she is disappointed that he never spontaenously grows a tail. Nevertheless, she aggressively competes with the other students for his affection.

In the anime, Abiru is often juxtaposed with images of giraffes as a running joke.

Kiri Komori (小森 霧, Komori Kiri)

Voiced by: Asuka Tanii

Kiri is an extreme hikikomori (ひきこもり) who never ventures outdoors, indulging exclusively in indoor and domestic activity. Her name derives from komorikiri (籠もりきり, "recluse"), describing her lifestyle. Having no need for dressing up, Kiri always wears ungroomed long hair, casual clothes or undergarments, and a blanket. Despite relocating from home to live at school, she never attends class. The rest of the class, however, is sympathetic when she is in need.

Kiri is usually preoccupied watching TV or going online while barricading her room. After Zetsubou-sensei's house is destroyed, and he and Majiru also move into the school, Kiri becomes their domestic caretaker, handling all housework unconditionally. She and Majiru soon bond in a sibling-like fashion. Normally reserved, Kiri can be ill-tempered when provoked.

Because Zetsubou-sensei passively acquiesces to rooming with Kiri, she becomes possessive of him in a wifelike manner. Kiri's territoriality is particularly threatened by Matoi's frequent intrusion into their "home", and the vendetta between the two girls often escalates into outright brawls.

Early on, Kafuka baselessly declares Kiri to be a zashiki-warashi (座敷童子), who mystically guards homes against ruin. Though nobody takes this seriously, later, the school building indeed collapses as soon as Kiri exits the grounds.

Matoi Tsunetsuki (常月 まとい, Tsunetsuki Matoi)

Voiced by: Asami Sanada

Matoi is a zealous stalker devoted to hounding her love interests at every opportunity. Her name derives from tsune [ni] tsukimatoi (常[に]付き纏い, "always following around"). After latching on to Zetsubou-sensei, she dresses exclusively in hakamas to match his old-fashioned image, and follows him at all hours to all places. In class, rather than take a seat, she hides inside the lectern. Despite Matoi's flagrant invasion of his personal space and private affairs, Zetsubou-sensei is immediately resigned to this outcome and does little to discourage it.

Matoi usually appears near Zetsubou-sensei without warning, inevitably surprising him every time. She often backs up his topical discussions with her own knowledge, and leads the class to various hidden destinations, which are always allegorical conceits where many examples of a topic can be found. Habitually hiding behind telephone poles, Matoi is even able to uproot an entire pole to wield as a club. Due to her clandestine activities, she can also operate spy equipment, such as decoders and surveillance devices.

Nami Hitō (日塔 奈美, Hitō Nami)

Voiced by: Ryoko Shintani

Nami is a girl distinguished by being mundane, typical, and run-of-the-mill in every respect. Her name derives from hitonami (人並み), and characters often label her as futsū (普通), both of which can be translated as "normal", "ordinary", "average", and the like.^[7] Even though Nami's kneejerk protest against being called "normal" becomes her catchphrase, and she pulls various attention-seeking stunts, Nami almost always fails to behave in any exceptional or surprising way, causing her to become the butt of predictable jokes. Eventually, others misremember "Normal" as being her actual name.

Examples of Nami's normalcy include following trendy movies, products, and activities; having common knowledge and making common mistakes; visiting popular venues; being a sentimental romantic; and enjoying ramen. She also often misunderstands difficult words, and tells dull, aimless anecdotes. Later, Nami's gluttony and yo-yo dieting become a running joke, and she routinely relies on food metaphors to understand new concepts. The rest of the class sometimes struggles to conceal their ennui when Nami tries to impress them with trite clichés and platitudes.

Later on, Nami is recruited into Miko and Shoko's idol group, AKaBane 84, and basks in the newfound adulation while failing to notice that she is coasting off the popularity of other members.

In the planning stages of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, Nami was originally planned to be the main heroine.^[8]

Tarō Maria Sekiutsu (関内・マリア・太郎, Sekiutsu Maria Tarō)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

Maria is a small, foreign girl who illegally immigrated to Japan to escape war and poverty in her unspecified home country. She secretly shares overcrowded housing with many other refugees, but attends school officially, having purchased the name and enrollment of a male student named Sekiutsu Tarō, which derives from seki-uttarou (籍売ったろう), meaning "I'll sell my name". Despite her non-native Japanese skills, and being habitually barefoot, Maria openly presents herself as a Japanese citizen. The rest of the class is won over by Maria's humble means and ingénue character, and provides her with acceptance and support.

Maria is both childishly impressionable and well-informed about Japan at the same time. She praises many aspects of Japanese society, though many of her compliments are backhanded, or outright critical, from a citizen's perspective. On other occasions, she points out the comforts that the Japanese people take for granted. Many chapters end with Maria delivering a moral or ironic comment on the story that preceded. She is sometimes seen with an unnamed friend of similar stature and descent, who carries a rifle, but never speaks.

Being agile and animalistic, Maria can pounce and attack on a whim. After falling victim many times, Zetsubou-sensei becomes conditioned to fear her, and starts carrying an emergency whistle.

Meru Otonashi (音無 芽留, Otonashi Meru)

Meru is a girl who never speaks, solely using her phone to communicate, whether by texting or by simply holding up the screen. Meru's family name, Otonashi, means "soundless", and her given name derives from the loan word "mail" (メール, mēru). Despite being visibly timid, she brazenly flames others in hostile and profanity-laden messages. Early on, Meru becomes baselessly convinced that Zetsubou-sensei is secretly bald, and repeatedly insults him for this. As a result of past school bullying, Meru experimented with voice confrontation, reacting so extremely as to repress her voice to the present day.

As the manga debuted in the mid-2000s, Meru uses flip phones, although her phone models were ironically outdated. Later, she also uses smartphones.

Meru's father is a wealthy and powerful business magnate, who lavishes her with extravagant indulgences while disregarding her own wishes and preferences. As a result, he is not exempt from her insults. He often lurks nearby to personally inflict punishment for any and all transgressions upon Meru.

As a non-speaking character, Meru has no voice casting in the anime, denoted by a string of nonsense symbols in her voice credit slot.^[9] In episode 6 of the second season, Chiwa Saito voices Meru in a dream sequence.

Harumi Fujiyoshi (藤吉 晴美, Fujiyoshi Harumi)

Voiced by: Miyu Matsuki

Harumi is a stereotypical fujoshi (腐女子) (from which her last name derives), who is preoccupied with reading or drawing boys' love doujinshi at all times, whether in class, out and about, or even in the wilderness. Her annual summer and winter schedules revolve around preparing doujin publications for Comiket (her first name deriving from Harumi (晴海), the convention's previous venue).

Sharing these interests with only one (unnamed) friend, and apparently having no interests outside of anime and manga, Harumi is frequently out of touch with social conventions, and becomes used, at her expense, as an unflattering example in many of the class's topical discussions. While often giddily oblivious, Harumi is sufficiently self-conscious to sometimes hide her hobbies, and to be mortified when called out. She is also embarrassed by her three older brothers all being otakus and aspiring animators.

Harumi is a natural-born athletic prodigy, excelling in all sports effortlessly, though these talents largely go unused.

Harumi's interest in yaoi extends into real life, and her attraction to Zetsubou-sensei, far from romantic, is solely for the purpose of slash pairing him with fictional or real men.

From childhood, Harumi became Chiri's only friend, being the only one curious about Chiri's alarming behavior. In the present day, their familiarity sometimes breeds contempt, as Chiri finds Harumi's hobbies repellent, and Harumi has retroactively understood Chiri's history of antisocial and dangerous actions.

Kaere Kimura (木村 カエレ, Kimura Kaere)

Voiced by: Yu Kobayashi

Kaere is a tall, blonde girl who has returned to Japan after studying in an unspecified foreign country. Her given name derives from Japanese kaere (帰れ), the imperative form of the verb kaeru (帰る, "to return; to go back"), and also from Kaela Kimura, a Japanese idol. Belligerent and assertive, Kaere nitpicks many aspects of Japanese culture, making comparisons to the (always outlandish and apocryphal) culture and rituals she picked up overseas. She is enthusiastically litigious, threatening to sue so often that it becomes her catchphrase.

Despite Kaere's culturally clashing behavior, her overseas experience turns out to be far exaggerated, as she spent only two months abroad and her spoken English, despite self-confidence, is shown to be incomprehensible.

At first, Kaere is established as having a second personality called "Kaede", who is demure and obedient to Japanese tradition, and who falls in love with Zetsubou-sensei even when Kaere does not. However, Kaede only rarely resurfaces.

Over time, many of Kaere's appearances are reduced to panty shots, often in the background. Kaere eventually is seen so rarely that she appears on several occasions solely to protest being omitted.

Ai Kaga (加賀 愛, Kaga Ai)

Voiced by: Saori Gotō

Ai is a constantly compunctious, anxious girl, who assumes that her presence troubles others (with her name deriving from kagai (加害, "to harm")), and apologizes profusely whenever she attracts attention, regardless of context. She avoids being seen as much as possible, habitually ducking and dodging to avoid even the audience's view through the fourth wall. She is so high-strung as to faint in extreme situations, and she also suffers from mood swings.

Despite her deference, Ai possesses great tenacity, being able to bow in apology with incapacitating force, and possessing the will to master any art, science, or sport. She is shown to be versed in classical arts and literature, and works as a shrine maiden.

Ai develops heartfelt love for Zetsubou-sensei after he shows her kindness and compassion on several occasions. However, she is usually unwilling to stake any claim to him.

Manami Ōkusa (大草 麻菜実, Ōkusa Manami)

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue

Manami is a housewife and experienced homemaker, despite still being high-school age. Her name derives from okusama-nami (奥様な身, "a married person"). Having married into extenuating debt, Manami works many side hustles to prop up household finances, and always cooks frugal meals and wears mended clothes. However, she falls for many get-rich-quick schemes, such as payday loans, gambling, multi-level marketing, and day trading, inevitably compounding her debts. Manami's down-to-earth troubles, including marital dissatisfaction (resulting in mutual infidelity), debt evasion, and economic anxiety, are usually presented for their sobering contrast to other petty concerns.

Manami treats others with motherly protectiveness, causing even older boys or men to become submissive and childlike.

Mayo Mitama (三珠 真夜, Mitama Mayo)

Mayo is an outright malicious girl who wilfully commits acts of common cruelty. Her name derives from mita mama yo (見たままよ, "exactly what it looks like"). Since she never speaks (aside from one line of narration, voiced by Asuka Tanii), little is known about her motivations except that she targets Zetsubou-sensei for abuse as her way of expressing affection. Mayo has subjected Zetsubou-sensei to stabbings, beatings, immolation, and anal penetration, and also destroyed his house. She seemingly does not understand human reproduction, and tries to reproduce Zetsubou-sensei by horticulture.

Mayo wields a steel baseball bat as a weapon, and she is shown to be drawn to urban exploration.

Kanako Ōra (大浦 可奈子, Ōra Kanako)

Voiced by: Ayahi Takagaki

Kanako is always placid and serene, to the point of being vacant most of the time; she can sit in the same position for hours or even a week, unperturbed by discomfort. Kanako is also heedless of danger or being taken advantage of, and her name derives from the phrase ōraka na ko (大らかな子, "big-hearted girl"). She is carefree to the point that her clothes are never fully put on.

Miko Nezu (根津 美子, Nezu Miko)^[10] and Shōko Maruuchi (丸内 翔子, Maruuchi Shōko)

Voiced by: Michiko Neya and Voiced by: Yui Horie

Miko and Shoko are two mercantile girls who seize upon every business opportunity in sight, conjuring articles for sale immediately. Miko's name derives from nezumi-kō (ネズミ講, "pyramid scheme"), while Shoko's name derives from maruchi-shōhō (マルチ商法, "multi-level marketing"). In their first appearance, they notice Zetsubou-sensei's popularity among the girls of the class, and begin selling subscriptions for a kit to assemble a lifesize Zetsubou-sensei automaton. Later, they launch the highly lucrative idol group "AKaBane 84", in which twelve members collectively perform as 84 different roles.

Kotonon (ことのん)

A net idol. Her website of heavily photoshopped images is extremely popular; in reality she is overweight and unattractive, and wears Gothic Lolita-fashion. Her name is derived from voice actress Kotono Mitsuishi. She is very narcissistic and thinks that she is the prettiest girl in class.

Madoka Marui (丸井 円, Marui Madoka)

Voiced by: Asami Sanada

A tea ceremony club member who likes Kino, but despairs at his fashion sense. Her surname is a pun on marui (丸い, "round-shaped") and her first name means circle. She can be identified with her double bun hairstyle. She is only a provisional tea club member because she Chiri will not allow her to join half-heartedly. She is also extremely lucky and Chiri considers her a "time-thief" based on the current gag in that chapter. She usually appears in chapters regarding love.

Aoyama (青山)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita

Another friend of Kino and Haga who is nearly as negative as Nozomu. In the manga, Aoyama was also given the responsibility to become the substitute 'Mr. Despair' which he keeps up for a couple chapters. He gave up his post after the girls in the class keep bringing up more disturbing things that inadvertently make him look on the brighter side of things. Identified as the one with red glasses.

Kagerō Usui (臼井 影郎, Usui Kagerō)

Voiced by: Youji Ueda

Kagerou is a prematurely balding student, who is so unassertive as to become literally invisible and inaudible to others, despite his vocal protests. His name derives from kage ga usui (影が薄い, "overshadowed"), while usui (薄い) also refers to his thinning hairline. Though he was elected class president by default, the class remained unaware, while assuming that Chiri had the role. Highly insecure about his balding, Kagerou often seeks ineffectual hair growth treatments and styling techniques which inevitably fail to improve his appearance. Thanks to Chie-sensei's verbal and physical abuse, he discovers that he is a sadomasochist. He also becomes infatuated with Abiru, but always fails to get her attention.

Kagerou repeatedly shows himself to be a poor comedian who relies on bad puns.

Jun Kudō (久藤 准, Kudō Jun)

Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima

Jun is described in episode 4 of the second season as "Genius Storyteller"; there is no story he can't tell. His name comes from the bookstore Junkudo-Shoten (ジュンク堂書店, Junkudō Shōten) and Jun Kudō (工藤 淳, Kudō Jun), its founder. His stories usually drive other characters to tears even though some of his stories have a mocking purpose. He has previously checked out every book in the library Nozomu wants to read, and lives with his grandfather (a reference to Seiji Amasawa in Whisper of the Heart). His parents, who were Christian, disowned him for getting a blood transfusion and led to an attempted suicide and a transplant from Kafuka's corpse. He is shown to live on the same island as Nozomu and his "wives", but escaped the fate that befell the girls for an unknown reason, though it is possible that, due to him living at the island's church, he was able to have Kafuka's spirit exorcised from his body.

Kuniya Kino (木野 国也, Kino Kuniya)

Voiced by: Takuma Terashima

Kuniya is described in episode 10 of the second season as "Library committee member, hates losing. Supposed to appear as a rival character to Jun Kudō, but his strange clothes and interest in Kaga Ai are now his most notable traits." His fashion sense is terrible; a scene in the manga showed strange underwear hanging from his balcony. His mother is a fashion designer and was the one who designed Kino's clothes. He relatively had fashionable clothes but started to become weird when her mother was fired. However, that doesn't seem to be the reason for his horrible fashion sense. His name comes from the Books Kinokuniya chain.

Haga (芳賀)

Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima

The perverted friend of Kino and Aoyama. He is the third substitute for "Mr. Despair".

(name unknown)

Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima

A student with a butch haircut like a jizō. He read a pornography named "Bishōjo in Northern Europe" (北欧の美少女, Hokuō no Bishōjo), so he is sometime called "Hokuō" (北欧). He wears an earring in chapter 19 (episode 8 of the anime's first season), earning the nickname "Pierced Jizō" (ピアス地蔵, Piasu Jizō). He has more appearance on the manga than in the anime.

Ex-Tarō Sekiutsu (元・関内太郎, Moto-Sekiutsu Tarō)

Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima

The real Tarō Sekiutsu who sold his own family register to Tarō Maria Sekiutsu. The origin of the name is the same as Maria and refers to him. He sold his name as it was the only possession he had left which prevented him from experiencing complete and total freedom. He is usually found in random places like Kiri Komori and is seen sitting in a cardboard box selling his possessions, wearing a lamp shade over his head with holes for his eyes.

Wataru Manseibashi (万世橋 わたる, Manseibashi Wataru)

Voiced by: Yōji Ueda

Wataru is a hardcore otaku who puts more priority on his hobby than anything else, even once rushing into his burning house rescue his possessions, despite his sister also being trapped inside. His name comes from Manseibashi o wataru (万世橋を渡る, "to cross over Mansei Bridge"); Mansei Bridge is a bridge that connects Chiyoda and Akihabara. He is not in Nozomu's class, but from the neighboring Class 2-ほ (2-Ho, "2-5", "2-E"). He sometimes wears a stereotypical hero costume with a mask and cape.

Sonokō Suzuki (鈴木 その公, Suzuki Sonokō)

Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima

A former male student of Class 2-He. He leaves the class by the promotion. He is an otaku who wants to be an animator. He looks like Wataru Manseibashi but with a different hairstyle. His surname, Suzuki, can mean "to continue", and his given name is likely derived from (sono ko) which means "that child", therefore his full name roughly translates to "the child that continued"; a reference to his promotion. It is also likely to be a reference to "Sonoko Suzuki" (鈴木園子), a character from Detective Conan.

Ichirō Tanaka (田中 一郎, Tanaka Ichirō)

Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima

A former male student of Class 2-He. He leaves the class by the promotion. He belongs to the soccer club.

Shun Honoi (本能井 駿, Honoi Shun)

A former male student of Class 2-He that has transferred to another school. Apparently nobody remaining in the class knew who he was. His name is a pun on the phase "hon no isshun" (ほんの一瞬) which means "only for a moment".

Chie Arai (新井 智惠, Arai Chie)

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima

The school counselor. Her name can also be read "Niichie", a reference to Friedrich Nietzsche. She has an excellent figure and a large bust, which is admired by the local people during the swimming pool scene. A case of sexual fetishism features her as a sadist rebuking various masochistic males, often featured in the beginning of various episodes. Nozomu usually does anything she orders him to do (like getting Kiri Komori back to school) as he states her eyes are terrifying, but he goes to her anytime he has one of his suicidal breakdowns brought on because of a random conspiracy theory. She once stated she had three husbands. Terrifyingly beautiful, she once had hoped to be an idol but was rejected because she looks "too pretty". Her recurring gag in the series is that her clothes will always be stolen and is replaced by a high school uniform.

Jinroku (甚六)

Voiced by: Yōji Ueda

School teacher, Nozomu's colleague. He is generally gentle, but he is also unusually aware of his surroundings, and his back is covered with a large tattoo that suggests a past with the yakuza. He is a fan of Nightmare.

Mr. Parachutist (天下り様, Amakudari-sama)

A middle-aged man who came to 2-He from the Ministry of Education via "golden parachute," which launches a discussion of "descent" from one sector of life to another and leads to Nozomu re-visiting his previous life.

Takashi (たかし)

Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima

The Itoshiki are a prestigious family in Kuraizawa (蔵井沢), Shinshū Prefecture (信州県, Shinshū ken), a parody of Karuizawa, Nagano, where they reside in a 70 hectare mansion, and have great influence in local affairs. As a running joke throughout the series, when the characters for "Itoshiki" (糸色) are written closely together, the resulting kanji can resemble zetsu (絶, "beyond"), which often undoes the next character it is appended to. Thus writing Itoshiki-ke (糸色家, "Itoshiki house") resembles zekke (絶家, "extinct family").^[11] The manga eventually reveals that they aren't the original Itoshiki family, but merely the descendants of look-alikes paid to masquerade for the real family while they fled from those who wanted them dead. After the family vanished from the face of the earth, the look-alikes decided to remain as the Itoshiki family.

Rin Itoshiki (糸色 倫, Itoshiki Rin)

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima

Nozomu's younger sister, a seventeen-year-old ikebana master. When her name is written horizontally it resembles zetsurin (絶倫, "unequaled"), which describes her exceptional talent in various skills; however, calling her zetsurin evokes her fury, as the word is often used as slang for sexual prowess. She has revealed her willingness to marry out of the Itoshiki family in the hope of abandoning her unwanted name. Growing up privileged, she has misconceptions about poverty and engages in slum tourism. Rin eventually transfers to Nozomu's school and becomes a student in his class, after which she frequently faces the readers/audience with her backside (in a parody of Shin-chan, who is also voiced by Akiko Yajima).

Mikoto Itoshiki (糸色 命, Itoshiki Mikoto)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya

The third son of the Itoshiki family, with an uncanny resemblance to Nozomu. He is a medical doctor at the private Itoshiki Clinic. When his name is written horizontally it resembles zetsumei (絶命, "extinction"), which explains why his hospital is rarely visited by the town's residents; he has a tendency to lose control of himself whenever he is referred to as "Zetsumei-sensei" ("Dr. Death").

Kei Itoshiki (糸色 景, Itoshiki Kei)

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu

The second son of the Itoshiki family, a surrealist painter who is quite full of himself. He has a wife named Yuka who is actually a large stain on the wall of his house. When his name is written horizontally it resembles zekkei (絶景, "superb scenery").

Enishi Itoshiki (糸色 縁, Itoshiki Enishi)

The first son of the Itoshiki family, Majiru's father, who has yet to appear in the series. He is described as a lawyer who resembles his brothers. His name becomes zetsuen (絶縁, "disinherited") when compressed, presumably hinting at his whereabouts. He is revealed to have started a posthumous marriage counseling business to help put dead souls to rest and divorce their ties from the world. He is also revealed to have been Nozomu's masked shadow doppelganger.

Majiru Itoshiki (糸色 交, Itoshiki Majiru)

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima

Nozomu's nephew, the son of Enishi. He was sent to live with Nozomu when his parents abandoned him. Although he is rather arrogant for his age, he is quite vulnerable to the psychological trauma caused by Nozomu's students. His name becomes zekkō (絶交, "breach in a relationship") when compressed. It is hinted he has feelings for Nozomu's student Kiri Komori but so seems to hide this and refer to her as his big sister. Even though he is young, he likes older women and already shows signs of perversion, especially an attraction to hair.

Hiroshi Itoshiki (糸色 大, Itoshiki Hiroshi)

The head of the Itoshiki family, a member of the National Diet. His name becomes zetsudai (絶大, "immense") when written horizontally.

Tae Itoshiki (糸色 妙, Itoshiki Tae)

Matriarch of the Itoshiki family. Her name becomes zetsumyō (絶妙, "exquisite") when written horizontally. She is a cookbook author.

Tokita (時田)

Voiced by: Yōji Ueda

The Itoshiki family butler. He is called Sebastian by the students. He is often seen attending to Rin. He is the true heir to the Itoshiki fortune, being the last descendant of the actual family that Nozomu's ancestors impersonated.

Ikkyū (一旧)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita

The self-proclaimed "old friend" of Nozomu Itoshiki, who, like Nozomu, likes old things. It is later found out that they weren't old friends (旧友, kyūyū), but rather "one-day friends" (1日友, ichinichitomo) in elementary school. His name is a reference to the anime series Ikkyū-san. He attempted to marry Rin, thus gaining an "old name" and becoming a member of an "old family", but Kafuka thwarted him in his advances. He is the only person who can do a half smile and it seems he always does so.

Kōji Kumeta (久米田康治, Kumeta Kōji)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya

Disheveled, unshaven, and overworked self-insert of the author.

Maeda-kun (前田君)

Voiced by: Himself (first season's stage name is MAEDAX and second season's is MAEDAX G and third season is MAEDAX Roman or MAEDAX R)

The bald, bespectacled model of the character is Kumeta's assistant, Maeda. Appears often in the animated version in self-imposed restraint marks. He plays the voice of himself.

Hata-kun (Former Assistant) (畑君 (元アシ), Hata-kun (Moto-Ashi))

Voiced by: Kenjiro Hata

Another assistant of the author. Although unlike Maeda-kun he rarely shows up, but often talked about by the author. He was based from Kenjiro Hata, former assistant of the author and current author of Hayate no Gotoku.

Tane Kitsu (木津 多祢, Kitsu Tane)

Voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi

Chiri's older sister, and in contrast to her, a complete slob who creates disarray and spreads trash by her mere presence. According to Harumi, Tane would not have been so dirty had it not been for Chiri. In a flashback, a young Chiri and Tane were shown with a pet goldfish. Chiri suggests cleaning the goldfish by pouring shampoo into the tank, which Tane tried convincing her not to. Tane then leaps into a pile of mud and distracts Chiri from drowning the fish in shampoo, which Nozomu understands as a way to suppress Chiri's proper behavior. Tane also expressed that if it were up to her, she would like to be able to dress up nicely and go on dates like a typical girl. Like some of the other girls in Nozomu's class, Tane also develops a crush on him. Her name derives from the Japanese word kittane (汚ったね, "dirty", in broken Tokyo dialect form).

College Girl Student (隣の女子大生, Tonari no Joshidaisei)

Voiced by: Ai Nonaka

She is a "college student" living beside Nozomu's house, who often gives him food. Nozomu seems to have a crush on her, having a picture of her at home, and often blushes when he talks to her. She is Kafuka Fuura in disguise wearing a wig and often gives Nozomu and Maijiru food poisoning. She belongs to the idol group "AKaBane84" as Nari Oto (尾吐菜梨, Oto Nari). Her name derives from the Japanese word otonari (お隣, "neighbor").

The Emperor Penguin (皇帝ペンギン, Kōtei Pengin)

A deformation of a chick of an emperor penguin. It has appeared in the scenery since chapter 20. Its face resembles a deformed three-sided yin-yang. General Winter yields to this creature because it has a title of an emperor on its name.

The Stork (コウノトリ, Kōnotori)

A stork that delivers babies, and sounds like a passing jet. It has appeared in the scenery since chapter 41.

The Stick Dog (棒犬, Bōinu)

A dog that has a stick inserted into its anus by Mitama. It has appeared in the scenery since chapter 46.

The Dark Eye (黒い涙, Kuroi Namida)

A parody of Japanese cinemas public service announcement against bootleg recording. It has appeared in the scenery since chapter 53.

Niáng-niáng (娘々, Nyan'nyan)

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima

A female spy from a certain nation. She has appeared in the scenery since chapter 126.

Ms. Sakurai (櫻井女史, Sakurai Joshi)

A Japanese journalist. Her likeness has appeared in the scenery since chapter 13.

Mr. Asō (麻生さん, Asō-san)

The 92nd Prime Minister of Japan. His likeness in the manga has appeared in the scenery since chapter 59.

Mr. Abe (安倍さん, Abe-san)

The 90th Prime Minister of Japan. His likeness has appeared in the scenery with "Depression-ful Country" (鬱くしい國, Utsu-kushii Kuni) (parodying his slogan "Beautiful Country" (美しい国, Utsukushii Kuni)) since chapter 67.

Kiyohiko (きよ彦)

A man with sharp head. He has appeared in the scenery since an extra chapter in Magazine Dragon December 12, 2007 (a supplement of Weekly Shonen Magazine).

Tsubouchi Chitan (坪内地丹)

Character from Katte ni Kaizō. He has appeared in the scenery since riding a train on chapter 3.

There was a cameo of Akiyuki Shinbo (director of this anime) on episode 10 of the second season wherein he along with some people discuss on how this anime should end. The introductory "The Story Until Now" segments in Zan and Goku were voiced by Chiwa Saito.

• The female students who perform in Opening/Ending themes are often credited together as Zetsubō Shōjotachi (絶望少女達).

• Manga official website (in Japanese)
• Anime official websites:
  • First series official website (in Japanese)
  • Second series official website (in Japanese)
  • Third series official website (in Japanese)
  • Series 3.5 official website (in Japanese)