While gags are fired off one after another, there's a prevalent impression of many Japan-specific jokes. It seems highly regarded overseas as well, and I'm amazed that anime fans are familiar with Japanese culture to such an extent. Right from the start, even the protagonist's name becomes a clever wordplay - Itoshiki Nozomu (糸色望). The characters '糸' means 'thread,' '色' means 'colour,' and '望' means 'hope.' When you place these characters side by side, it forms 糸色望, which reads as '絶望(Zetsubou),' meaning 'hopeless.' Thus, 'Itoshiki Nozomu' translates to 'Hopeless Teacher.' Moreover, the sound '(糸色)Itoshiki' can also be interpreted as 'beloved,' resulting in 'Beloved Teacher.' Such wordplay appears throughout. By the way, my favourite moment is the reference to Gaban/Gavan in the fourth episode. I couldn't stop laughing. "Jouchaku!"
I thought the humor sense of the original author, Kouji Kumeta, is similar to that of the comedy duo "Rahmens," but interestingly, there are panels in the original manga that mock Rahmens. I wonder if this is a form of self-deprecating humor.
Either way, the anime is even more crude, and it's all about constant silliness, which is great. However, the unnecessary and excessive insertion of panty shots, as seen in some scenes, would be open to criticism in today's Japan.
The Japanese-style and flat screen composition are techniques that were later inherited in the "Monogatari" series. It's a brilliant approach by Akiyuki Shinbo and Shaft, which both reduces animation effort and maintains a stylish presentation.
The anime is a delightful mix of logical gags, nonsense, wordplay, and parody. Truly an entertaining work!
If it had been on television, it would have been a delight to watch every week. Base score 5/10; add one point to give it a 6/10, as its energetic silliness and outstanding voice-over performances are still present in the second season.