Sigh, when does it end? The turmoil the world is in… it just never ends. Well enough about that, lets move on to today.
Thanksgiving is over, and it was a happy day for me since I almost literally ate myself into a coma. I got to see relatives I almost never see, and the car ride home was traffic-less.
But if things were always centered on the happy things, the world wouldn't be diverse and open and fun. Satire, Dark Humor, that is another form of fun. Fun doesn't have to be happy, it is merely a form of entertainment. I'm talking too much. Sumimasen.
But then again, you all knew this, didn't you? If you didn't know that dark things could be funny, you wouldn't have watched/read Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Or maybe you found out after reading it.
Haga: Okay, this is getting boring. Why don't you just skip to the bland stuff and get to the part that everyone wants to know.
And what would that be?
Haga: When a sexual advance made by me actually goes somewhere.
Okay, I'm getting sick and tired of this! Why don't you just crawl off into a cave and live the rest of your life in isolation?!
Haga: Because that's what you want to do.
………….
Chapter One: 1985
"Ah, it's almost winter." Said Chiri , looking at her calendar. November 30th. It is indeed almost winter.
Later, in Nozomu's class…
"Sorry I'm late!" Said Nami as she walked into the classroom.
Nozomu looked at the clock. "You're twenty minutes late."
"I'm sorry. My bus got caught in morning traffic."
"Well, it's almost winter, and that means it's almost the Christmas season." Said Chiri. "People are going everywhere to get ready. It's only natural for the streets to be packed."
Nami sighed. "I just cant get used to the passing of seasons."
"So the passing of seasons troubles you?" Said Nozomu. "You haven't truly seen the troubles of time passing…"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… the passing of eras is much more troublesome than the passing of seasons!"
The entire class had that look of, 'Here he goes again' on their face.
"Try living in the 1980's. It was way less advanced than the world is today. TV programs only just started being popular, people were just starting to develop unique fashion sense, and the internet was still new!"
The class could sort of see where this was heading.
"But now! People always have their eyes glued to their TV's never wanting to be torn away from their favorite programs! The world of fashion rules people's lives nowadays! Human beings have become so dependent on internet technology, they even make phones with internet access!"
Nozomu slammed his hands down onto the podium.
"People got along fine without any innovations before the 21st century! But now that this era's people have been brought up on TV, and Fashion, and Internet access, they can't live without it!"
Flash. Flash. Flash. Flash.
Nozomu clutched his fists and said, "Zetsuboushitta! The absurd result of the passing of eras has left me in despair!"
He pointed out the window. "Look now, even as we speak, there is a person from the previous era having problems adjusting!"
There was an old man, aged at about seventy, holding a computer mouse in his hand. He kept clicking it and moved it around randomly. He said, "What doohickey does this clicker turn on?"
"Oh! I've seen him before!" Said Harumi. "He lives in my neighborhood."
Harumi introduced the class to the old man. "This is Koki. He walks around the neighborhood telling people about the good old days."
Koki smiled. "I remember the good old days, when these confusing square boxes with pictures didn't even exist!"
"You mean manga?"
"Yeah, those things! We all had to read regular books!"
Abiru replied, "Actually, a lot of people still like regular books."
Koki answered, "Well them boxes with pictures is all I hear this girl talkin' 'bout!" He pointed at Harumi.
"Well excuse me for having an interest in something modern!"
"But you see, it's this modernization that you all have become too dependant on." Said Nozomu. "If you couldn't read manga or watch anime anymore, I'm sure you'd be completely different!"
"No, I can still draw dojinshi!"
"But accurate pairings require you to know how the story goes and the characters relationship. And you don't know how any of that goes unless you read the manga or watch the anime!"
Harumi frowned. "Then I'll just draw old pairings!"
"Please. In this day and age, the old are pushed aside for the new. Those pairings won't be as popular anymore."
Harumi wanted to reply, but she couldn't. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She closed her mouth and grunted a bit, unable to respond to Zetsubou-sensei's logic.
"That's right… in the passage of time… the old is pushed aside for the new!"
Books - Manga
Dragon ball - One Piece - Naruto
Rugby - American Football
An Old Park - A new Baseball field
The Power of the Greeks - The Power of the Romans
Myths about Dracula - Twilight
Hinduism - Buddhism
At this point in time, nobody could argue with him.
Nozomu pushed up his glasses. "You know see all the disadvantages to the passage of time. The people have become too reliant on the innovations of the future, and old things good and bad are being pushed out of the world!"
Nami said, "Well it's true that most NEETs are NEETs when they become addicted to anime and online gaming…"
Abiru answered "That's a crude stereotype."
Koki shouted out, "I remember the good old days, when today's crude stereotypes were the truth back then!"
"They didn't have anime or online gaming back in the old days."
The class took a walk to a park.
"This is terrible!" Shouted a frustrated Kei.
Kafuka asked, "What's wrong Zekkei-sensei?"
"It's that park district building…." He pointed to a large park district building. "This spot where I'm standing is the ideal place for sketching that mountain in the background." He pointed to a mountain in the distance, most of the view obscured by the building. The class realized that the "ideal spot" he was on was on a swing.
"So?"
"That building was only built recently. Now the perfect view I had of that mountain is ruined!"
Nozomu huffed. "You see? For people like my brother who make art out of natural scenery, it's a difficult time indeed. The tearing down of natural areas and blocking of natural scenery makes it hard for artists like him to draw!"
Abiru said, "Isn't it more important that animals use those natural areas as homes?"
Nami asked, "What is that park district building used for anyways?"
"Anyways…" Nozomu continued, "Do you now see how the passage of time has damaged this world? Even if most people are content with this, there are plenty of reasons modernization is bad!"
Deforestation.
Easy access to water leads to misuse of good water.
Human beings have become more lusty.
Nuclear Weapons.
Waste of Natural Resources for cosmetics.
Waste of electricity on TV, Computers and Games Systems.
Waste of paper writing this.
"That's not true!" Said an energetic Kafuka.
"There are a lot of reasons that the passage of time has improved life!"
Nozomu half expected this. "Like how?"
Kafuka pointed to an open window somewhere. "Look at that boy online."
The boy is talking to an American Pen Pal.
"Thanks to the internet, he has friends all over the world! And look!"
The boy looks back and forth, then closes his curtains.
"The internet helps with other things too!"
Nozomu shouted, "Stop there!"
Kafuka took everyone to a movie theater. The poster said, "Now playing: Harry Potter and the Continued Plot."
"These days, people can make movies out of books! People are more interested in movies, so they're likely to enjoy the same message they would have received in the books at a faster rate!"
"But not all movies are based off books…"
Kafuka took everyone to a manga artist's house. "Because manga exists, scruffy people like this have a job!"
The manga artist said, "It's a very demanding job though."
Lastly, Kafuka took them to a CD shop. "The King of Pop died recently. He came from the previous era. But even though the media rebuked him and people criticized him, The kind music companies of the current era gave him a chance by letting him release newer versions of his famous songs!"
Nozomu retaliated. "But not every previously famous pop star has had as many chances!"
Kafuka spun around and said, "New age means new chances!"
Tiger Woods- American Superstar, Chinese.
Jean Simmons' reality show.
The respect of others' beliefs.
Game and Watch Gallery.
Fair, efficient Laws.
Kouji Kumeta.
"So since old gets pushed out by the new, why don't you try to become new, Sensei?" Asked Kafuka.
Abiru added, "The quickest way is to find a modern-day person, and try to model yourself after him.
Nozomu put his hand to his mouth. "Hm…"
The class found him reading in the library.
Chiri said, "You haven't actually changed!"
"Yes I have." Nozomu pointed to Jun Kudou. "I've modeled myself after Jun Kudou. I am now a modern day bookworm!"
"You're just trying to sidestep modernization!"
"And everyday, these books give me new ideas for what to despair about!"
Flash.
"Zetsuboushitta! The main character's hypocrisy has left me in despair!"
Abiru said, "So he hasn't changed at all, huh?"
Kafuka said, "He's definitely changed!"
Nami said, "The only new thing about him is how he sidesteps his problems!"
Kei smiled and said, "I guess I'll sketch this building instead with a mountainous backdrop!"
Translation Notes
Title: 1985- Derived from the George Orwell's novel about a futuristic Negative Utopia, 1984. The novel was printed in 1949, and it represented how the author thought the future would be like. I added a year to the title to represent the passing of ages and the changes they bring.
Era: This is used in a general sense. It doesn't mean the Mesozoic era or the Cenozoic era. It stands for the passing of time from one point of worldwide cultural achievement, to another. Example: Newspaper comics - Black and White Cartoons - Cartoons in Color. Or just the transition from Reading Books for entertainment to Watching TV.
Nozomu's Book: The Main Character he's talking about is Holden Caulfield, from The Catcher in the Rye. Holden makes a point of calling almost everyone but himself a "Faker" and expresses his desire to protect children from adulthood. It is my opinion that he is a hypocrite. Why? He is the most fake of everyone in the book; He tells so many lies, I forgot who he is. Not only that, while he may hate adulthood, he used adulthood to his advantage when the only person he ever thought about talking openly with was a prostitute.
If there are other things you don't understand, please direct your questions in either a review, or a PM. Thank you for reading this far.
Paper Blogs
Era: I have a feeling I may have been born in the wrong time. Even back in the 19th century, people had little they could call entertainment aside from good music, books and the funny papers. They had less to distract them from what they were supposed to do. I was asked to do take out the trash, do the laundry, clean the house, and vacuum, but I had been so distracted by online videos, TV, and video games, I had put it off 'till the weekend. I was distracted during the weekend too. I spent all my free time doing the chores I should've been doing the following week. I'm better at managing my time now, but I have the feeling that chores would seem like something enjoyable to do if all this advance in technology didn't look better in comparison.
This is the first chapter of my new story. Unlike Unreachable Happiness, this forms more around the anime/manga; there's little to no plot, it's episodically written, and it takes a more direct approach to the issues brought up. Unreachable Happiness still has major issues, but they more or less mold the story into what it is.
Haga: Blah, Blah, Blah, nobody wants to read over a page of worthless information.
Grr….. Those of you who read Unreachable Happiness will recognize Haga, my unbearably perverted co-host.
Haga: Whatever. You haven't been working on Unreachable Happiness lately.
….. Well, this topic works better in an episodic story!
Haga: Whatever you say…
Sayonara!