Hell Teacher Nūbē is a Japanese manga series written by Shō Makura and illustrated by Takeshi Okano. It was published Shueisha's magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump between September 1993 and May 1999. The manga ran for 276 chapters and was compiled into 31 tankōbon volumes. The series follows Meisuke Nueno, aka Nūbē, the homeroom teacher for Class 5–3 at Dōmori Elementary. More than a teacher, however, he is a skilled exorcist, protecting the town of Dōmori from supernatural threats with strength borrowed from a powerful demon sealed in his left hand—a technique he calls the Demon's Hand. The manga was adapted into a 49-episode anime series by Toei Animation, and aired from April 1996 to August 1997 on TV Asahi. The anime resulted in three movies and three OVA episodes. A spin-off story for Izuna Hazuki the itako-girl, Reibaishi Izuna: The Spiritual Medium, was serialized in Oh Super Jump and later in Super Jump from July 2007 to October 2011. A sequel to the spin-off entitled Reibaishi Izuna: Ascension started in November 2011 and finished in June 2016. In May 2014, a Hell Teacher Nūbēdirect sequel has started with the premise of ten years having passed, with Kyoko becoming a teacher at the Dōmori Elementary and Nūbē returning to the school from Kyushu. The manga finished in December 2018. A sequel entitled Hell Teacher Nūbē S started in Saikyō Jump in August 2018.
Plot
What seems like a normal day at Dōmori Elementary is disrupted by some weird phenomenon, usually targeting one of Nūbē's own students. Nūbē is forced into action, most often using the power of the Demon's Hand to assist in solving the problem, but occasionally the solution lies either in another of his spiritual weapons, or somehow reasoning with or appeasing the threatening entity. By the end, things always seem to get back to normal, with Nūbē and his students having learned something from the experience. Most of the series retains an episodic formula, forgoing an overarching storyline in favor of more character-driven action, although there are several recurring antagonists throughout, as well as some longer story arcs towards the end of the series.
Media
Manga
Hell Teacher Nūbē is written by Shō Makura and illustrated by Takeshi Okano. The manga was first published in the 38th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, released on September 6, 1993 and finished in the 24th issue on May 24, 1999. Thirty-one tankōbon volumes were published between January 11, 1994 and September 3, 1999.
Spin-offs
A spin-off story for Izuna Hazuki the itako-girl, entitled Reibaishi Izuna: The Spiritual Medium, started in Shueisha's seinen magazine Super Jump in the August 2007 issue. The series was transferred to Super Jump on September 8, 2010. It ran in the magazine until its suspension on October 12, 2011. Ten tankōbon volumes were published by Shueisha between August 4, 2008 and December 2, 2011. The manga was then transferred to Shueisha's new magazine Grand Jump, but renamed as Reibaishi Izuna: Ascension, starting on November 16, 2011. On July 16, 2014, the manga was announced to be transferred to Grand Jump Premium and the first chapter in the magazine was published on August 27. The manga finished in the 7th 2016 issue of Grand Jump, published on June 22, 2016. Ten tankōbon volumes were published between April 19, 2012 and December 2, 2016. A one-shot chapter Jigoku Sensei Nūbē: Ōmagatoki was published in Grand Jump on April 2, 2014. A to sequel to the original series, Hell Teacher Nūbē Neo, started in Shueisha's magazine Grand Jump Premium on May 28, 2014. It was transferred to Grand Jump on July 16 of the same year. The series finished on December 5, 2018. As of January 4, 2019, 17 tankōbon have been published. Hell Teacher Nūbē Neo was simultaneously serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Saikyō Jump from the September issue published on August 5, 2016, until the July 2018 issue, published on June 1, 2018. Then, in the September issue, published on August 3, 2018, a new series entitled Hell Teacher Nūbē S started. This is a sequel to the previous series. The first tankōbon volume was published on March 4, 2019. As of January 4, 2020, two volumes have been published.
Anime
An anime adaptation produced by Toei Animation aired on TV Asahi between April 13, 1996 and August 7, 1997. The opening theme is "Bari Bari Saikyou no. 1" by Feel So Bad. The first ending theme is "Mienai Chikara -Invisible One-" by B'z, and the second ending is "Spirit" by Pamelah.
Films
Three movies have been released. The first movie Jigoku Sensei Nūbē was released on July 6, 1996. A second anime film entitled, Jigoku Sensei Nūbē: Gozen 0 toki Nūbē Shisu, premiered on March 8, 1997. The third anime film entitled Jigoku Sensei Nūbē: Kyoufu no Natsu Yasumi! Asashi no Uni no Gensetsu premiered on July 12, 1997.
Three OVAs were released. The first OVA Kessen! Yōjin no jutsu VS kabeo was released in June 1998. The second OVA Nazonazo nana fushigi BUKIMI chan was released in July 1998. The third OVA Shijō saidai no gekisen! Zekki raishū!! was released in May 1999.
Video games
A video game was released in Japan on the PlayStation in 1997. Nūbē and Yukime became support characters in the 2006 Nintendo DS game Jump Ultimate Stars, with Hiroshi and Kyoko as help characters. Nūbē later appeared as a playable character in the 2014 PlayStation 3/PlayStation Vita game J-Stars Victory VS. Both versions of the game were released the following year in Europe and North America alongside a PlayStation 4 port, marking the first release of Hell Teacher Nūbē material outside Japan.
