Kouji Kumeta just out Shyamalan’d Shyamalan

June 7, 2012 in Random

Let me get this out of the way first. This post will deal with at least part of the manga ending to Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei ending and as such will contain heavy spoilers that may also fuck with your mind. Read on at your own mental peril.

ZSZSB OP - YouTube.webm_snapshot_01.35_[2012.06.07_20.12.15]

 

Alright, since I already put a spoiler warning in place, there is no need to sugar foot this. Kafuka Fuura is dead. By the start of both the anime and manga she has been long dead actually.

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Oh Itoshiki, do you always talk to dead girls?

 

So you may be asking, well if Kafuka is dead, then why is it that Itoshiki and the rest of the class can see and hear her? Kumeta revealed in the latest chapter that Kafuka will possess some member of the class and that Itoshiki and the rest of the class will see whoever she possessed as Kafuka. Why? Well, it seems that after Kafuka died all (or at the very least, the most prominent) the current students of Itoshiki’s class as well as Itoshiki himself received an organ or something from her after they had attempted suicide or had been seriously hurt. It’s likely that she died shortly after she met Itoshiki when he was in high school though as of now there hasn’t been anything concrete as to when she died. A big theory is that Kafuka is in love with Itoshiki and therefore possesses the members of his class in order to get close to him.

Something that is clear however is that Kumeta has had this planned for a very, very long time, perhaps since the very first chapter. Here is an example from chapter 7, where Kafuka wasn’t seen at all in the chapter until a certain point where she possesses Abiru (even maintaining one of her bandages) with Abiru never showing up again for the rest of the chapter.

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Abiru clearly shown in bottom left panel

t08

Kafuka shows up, with bandage on arm

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Abiru no longer seen in class

 

Here is foreshadowing of the organ donation from a few panels of chapter 72, which detail more information about Abiru, particularly what lies underneath that bandage over her left eye.

t72

 

And you know what? SHAFT knew. Kumeta definitely told Shinbo about this  Want proof? Well, here’s a screenshot from the 2nd (full) Bangaichi OVA opening.

ZSZSB OP - YouTube.webm_snapshot_00.48_[2012.06.07_20.11.17]

Notice anything strange about the picture? That’s right. Those fuckers at SHAFT knew. Here’s the second OP animation and take note of what the entire first half of the video is showing.

Yeah, I thought the body parts were just for cool effect until now.

 

So I’m definitely going to be re-reading (and once I get past chapter 90, reading) SZS and trying to pick out any other hints that Kumeta laid down for this big reveal.

One thing is for certain, Kumeta (and to a lesser extent Shinbo and SHAFT) are a fuck ton better than Shyamalan because they’ve been holding this fucking bombshell back for at least 5-7 years. My mind is full of fuck. Just think about it. 300 chapters of this and the author doesn’t reveal it until the penultimate chapter.

 

Oh, and this just makes me even more excited for Joshiraku this summer, because even if it looks like some mundane SoL comedy with an all-girl cast, you never know just what the fuck Kumeta is going to pull.

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