Have pause hot-keyed, will read chalkboard

Is this really a Baywatch reference? I've never watched Baywatch but the scene aligns well with my uninformed stereotypes.

There are probably a lot of references in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei that I don't get or have missed in their entirety, but I accept it like I accept not comprehending most of the Lucky Star references. However, there was one that was sufficiently long and surreal to warrant curiosity. Trailhead provided by GNU which lead to the following:



I don't even know where the original sequence was from and what it's about, although answers will probably be forthcoming.

Hm, what else. Most times, maybe all the time, when Nozumu moves, the patterning on his kimono(?) does not. He's almost like a walking windowpane. Surreal.

Also,

Two pairs of feet don't have a legitimate reason to be here

There wasn't a dead body underneath Nozomu's bed when he went to lie down, so Gsus' hypothesis is convincing. I didn't even catch it the first time around. It was discreet, as dead bodies are wont to be, and the shot was short.

These short visual non-sequiturs is giving me ARG vibes, which is no great surprise as the ARG as a genre and something like Zetsubou Sensei both endeavour towards the surreal. Static background is subverted with hidden and changing content. In an ARG those tend to be puzzles that need to be solved, or require some action like answering a pay phone. The constantly changing chalkboard and signs don't serve such a greater purpose, but their presence does add to the atmosphere.

The potential drawback I see is that unlike an ARG, where searching for subversion is the whole point, repeatedly hitting pause in Zetsubou Sensei disrupts the flow in a very direct way (I mean, you've paused the video!), and more so when you're compelled, at that very moment, to go on a potentially fruitless search for what exactly is being referred to.

For now, props for effort. That much is evident. Hopefully it develops into an experience beyond watching for execution (I know nothing about the source manga), but watching for execution (Air, Kanon 2006) is not a bad thing at all.