Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube

Episode 17

Say it isn't so! Is this… a bad episode of Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube? Sadly, I think so, and for multiple reasons, this episode didn't work for me on any level. This is the first time I've thought the show was anything less than passable, and hopefully that's only a temporary blip. Perhaps the episode didn't get off on the right foot by immediately repeating almost the entirety of the pre-credit stinger within the body of the episode proper. It's completely redundant, annoying, and there's absolutely no good story reason to do this, other than perhaps they weren't able to stretch the material out to a full episode and had to pad it out.

There's also a generally weird vibe, with the adults hiding something from the kids: the existence of Kaijin A, a disturbing serial killer who targets school kids on their way home after classes. Apparently every adult in the entire city was in agreement that, after the last time this killer struck, they'd keep it secret from the next generation of kids because… it might scare them? My dudes, your city exists on top of an actual hellmouth and your children are terrorized on a daily basis by eldritch monstrosities beyond the ken of man, and you think a story about the boogeyman will make them flinch? Sorry, I don't buy it. Even though suspension of disbelief is pretty much a prerequisite for enjoying silly shows like Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube, the idea that an entire city of adults could agree, let alone collude, to keep a secret, is several steps too far into unbelievable plot contrivance.

Anyway, this week's antagonist, “Kaijin A” is like a lame urban legend brought to life. He's a masked weirdo with a sharp taste in dramatic capes, who asks random children in the street what their favorite color is, out of a very patriotic selection of either red, white, or blue, before proceeding to execute them according to their choices. That any of the trio of Hiroshi, Kyoko, and Miki would be stupid enough to answer such an obvious nutjob's question also stretches credulity, yet them doing so is what incites a very rote horror movie-esque plot, complete with them running and hiding from the masked psycho who attempts to pick them off one by one.

In general, the episode is too brightly lit and lacking in atmosphere to even evoke the slightest of viewer unease. I was never able to take this villain seriously. The “mystery” over whether he is human or yokai, or something else, isn't developed in any meaningful way, save for when Nube fails to exercise him with his demonic hand. It doesn't matter, as he ends up setting himself on fire anyway, seemingly dying, before unsurprisingly reviving himself at the last minute to invalidate everyone's attempt to incapacitate him. Ho hum. Maybe he'll come back, but I really hope not.

The only bright spots in this otherwise eye-rollingly idiotic episode include Ritsuko-sensei proving she can be properly heroic, as long as there aren't any scary supernatural things going on, Miki being more concerned about not wearing a swimming costume when being dangled over a river to drown, and during the climactic battle when Ritsuko tries to douse the flames but succeeds only in covering herself in extinguisher foam. The scene where a screaming Kyoko is drenched in chicken blood is reasonably gross, at least. I can only hope Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube returns to form next week, as this was kind of lame.

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Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube is currently streaming on YouTube.