Nozomu Itoshiki is a high school teacher so pessimistic that even the smallest of misfortunes can send him into a pit of raging despair; some of these "catastrophes" even lead to suicide attempts. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a satirical slice-of-life comedy set in the modern day, covering various aspects of Japanese life and culture through Nozomu and his interactions with his students: Kiri Komori, a recluse who refuses to leave the school; Abiru Kobushi, an enigma who frequently arrives to class with severe and mysterious injuries; the hyper-optimistic Kafuuka Fuura, Nozomu's polar opposite; and several other unusual girls, all of whom are just as eccentric as their teacher. Itoshiki Nozomu is the world’s most negative person. To his way of thinking, there is no hope or meaning in this existence. Even the three kanji of his name become the two-kanji word zetsubou, “despair”, when compressed. What an ironic twist of fate, then, that he becomes teacher to a class containing his precise opposite, the invincibly positive-minded Fuura Kafuka.