Having a conversation about 90's anime culture in general can be a very hard topic, mainly because it was a decade that meant an explosion in terms of anime: we have, for example, Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2, Slam Dunk, Rurouni Kenshin, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and a long list of classics which are still very popular in our culture, and have a huge impact amongst large groups of people, including kids, teenagers and adults. But what about the anime that existed in those years and has been taken aside from the popular classics that we can still see in expositions, merchandising and music videos?. Because there are literally hundreds of productions that are almost hidden nowadays, and some of them have become cult classics, meaning that they are still recognised in a small group of people. Jigoku Sensei Nube, which is the anime that I'm going to talk about, started as a manga series and then it took its jump to the japanese screens in 1996, consisting of 49 episodes along with OVAs and movies that followed the story of Meisuke Nueno, a teacher that has to deal with different evil forces that include ghosts, aliens and yokai. But, why do I consider this anime to be so important? It's because the story of the Domouri Elementary, on which Nube, the main character, works and saves the students from evil entities, is a perfect mix of terror and comedy. It certainly has this element that makes anime so fun to watch: you get, for example, scenes where Nube acts like a complete clown and gets humilliated by a group of children, we often get to see him getting beaten by Ritsuko, his love interest, or reading adult magazines, only to get caught by someone else. This side of Nube makes him closer to the audience and the students from the school, who always make fun of him, because sometimes he lacks money, or gets rejected by women, making him a likable character. At the same time, he can (and must be) serious about his job: his clumsiness doesn't distract him from taking care of his students, who are always being chased by evil spirits or paranormal situations. And whenever he has to fight, he shows a lot of bravery and strenght, not caring about giving his own life or energy to save the ones that he loves. The fact that he has a demon hand with powers makes it more interesting: besides, we get to see his love interests and how his bonds with them develop. At some point in the anime, Ritsuko, his colleague, starts to get an important role in certain chapters, and even has a date with Nube, struggling to get him because he has a compromise with Yukime, a yukki-onna that fell in love with him after he saved her. I believe that Nube and the adult characters in this show depict us how at some point of your life you are trapped in this stage of life where you are not an adolescent anymore, but still can't be considered as a full adult. Even when sometimes Nube behaves like a child, he still proves that he's a responsible adult whenever he has to fight against these monsters. Another point that is very important is the fact that we see, along with comedy, a big amount of horror, and classic tales from Japan. Nube doesn't need to show gory images to appeal at its public: the pressence of psychological horror, along with the discomfort and fright that the kids show, are all we need to get good chapters. This anime does not only count with monsters: we get to see different topics that can be unsettling, such as reincarnation, death, sad stories, doppelgangers, time travelling and everything that you need in an anime to make it awesome. The presence of yokai makes it a good place to start learning about japanese culture and their legends: we have, for example, Okiku, a real doll that grows her hair endlessly, the story of a Kappa that hides under the school, or when Miki (a girl from the elementary) turns into a Rokurokubi at night, phenomena that is explained by a little ghost in the middle of the episodes. In conclusion, I think that these things make Nube stand out from other animes. It includes action, ghosts, romance failures and one of the best openings out there. Personally, I have been a fan of this anime since I was 5 years old and it was on ETC tv, I used to get scared every night with the different stories and I am still scared of the aliens that appear at an episode. Not much people know this anime, but the ones who used to watched love it the same way as I do, because I think it's some sort of cult classic and it really stands out for being unique on its way. This is why I recommend it to people: you will definitely have a good time and learn some things while watching it, and you might as well become a fan of it. By Camila Iglesias.
