Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube

Episode 9

Following on from last week's fairly lackluster installment, I was surprised to experience an attack of the onion ninjas towards the end of this week's very emotional tale. Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube excels at telling narratively efficient stories with a little more depth than one might expect from an episodic supernatural comedy-drama ostensibly aimed at kids.

Our Yokai-of-the-week this time is Zashiki-Warashi, a cute little spirit, invisible to most, who takes up residence in unknowing people's houses, blessing them with good fortune. Throughout the world, there are folklore tales about similarly benevolent house spirits. The British “Brownie” springs to mind: they come out at night to perform household or farming tasks while everyone is asleep, asking only for a simple offering of food and drink in return. They leave if offended or neglected, and can sometime be mischievous.

Nube himself comes across a Zashiki-Warashi in the street, giggling shyly at his misfortune (his own fault after attempting to shoplift using his demonic powers – not exactly a shining example for the kids he teaches), and the tiny wee thing is surprised to learn Nube can see her. Attracted by his kindness towards her, Zashiki-Warashi follows him to school and proceeds to try and make everyone happy with her magic. This soon begins to irritate Nube, as all of the kids suddenly start scoring perfect marks on their tests, achieving impossible athletic feats, winning random competitions etc. When Ms. Ritsuko even asks him out on a date, Nube is initially delighted, yet realises it's only due to Zashiki-Warashi's influence, and he explains to her that when humans no longer need to strive for what makes them happy, they become lazy. His clumsy attempt to get Zashiki-Warashi to move on to her next abode predictably makes the poor mite heartbroken.

Zashiki-Warashi latches onto Makoto, who despite being a fifth-grade student like all of his friends, looks by far the youngest and most childlike. Makoto is the one who conceives of how to help Zashiki-Warashi (and therefore have her move on) – find out what will make her happy. It's at this point the aforementioned onion ninjas begin their relentless assault. Zashiki-Warashi isn't merely a yokai – she's the spirit of a generous, loving little girl who died of starvation/illness in wartime, and her 100-year-old mother still grieves her. While Zashiki-Warashi doesn't remember her true identity, her fervent desire for everyone she loved in life to have happy lives of their own led to her spirit becoming tied to this world, wandering eternally from home to home, providing anonymous acts of service.

Makoto and Nube's plan to resolve Zashiki-Warashi's presence is only partially successful – using Nube's spiritual powers to reunite mother and child does make the painfully cute spirit girl happy, but it can't do anything to alter her fate. After all, helping people is what truly makes Zashiki-Warashi happy.

This is a rare episode without conflict; there's no battle against evil monsters, Nube uses his powers not while fighting, but for purely benign means. Not every yokai is evil, but they aren't human, and human values can't be expected from them. Despite her adorable human-like appearance, Zashiki-Warashi doesn't fully understand the consequences of her actions, and perhaps that's because she was such a young child when she died. As viewers we really feel for her self-inflicted, almost purgatorial existence, and her moment of emotional catharsis is powerful, if brief. I love that this show can tell such melancholy, meaningful stories in between its more action and danger-oriented episodes. I wonder what's next for Nube and his class?

Rating:

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