Anime Review: Assassination Classroom

It’s that time of the year again when summer break comes to a close and school starts up again! And you all know what that means! More delays on content because of schoolwork! So, before I become busy crying over how packed this year of high school is going to be for me, I’ll review an anime that, well, takes place in high school. Sure, finding a high school anime is just as easy as finding a piece of hay in a haystack, but finding the needle in that very same haystack is pretty difficult. In other words, quantity does not equal quality, because most high school anime don’t do much to set themselves apart from the crowd. In this case, the show in question separated itself by taking place in middle school! Okay, that’s not the only thing that separates it. You know that you’re in for something interesting when the teacher of the class is a giant yellow tentacle monster, and is the student’s target for assassination. Sit back, relax, and read on as I review the recently aired Assassination Classroom.

The Setup:

Assassination Classroom takes place in Kunugigaoka Junior High School, and focuses on the “Class E” students. The school has a strange system where 5% of the students are labeled lazy and incompetent, and are dumped into the E Class, therefore acting as a motivation for the other 95% to work hard. If you end up in the E Class, it’s basically like kissing away a successful life, and no one even bothers to monitor or teach you. That is, until the previously mentioned giant yellow tentacle monster threatens to destroy the world in a year, but wishes to become their teacher before doing so. The only way to prevent the apocalypse is to kill the monster, named Koro Sensei, so naturally the students take up assassination training in order to save the world and get a hefty reward. Interested yet? I find it hard to believe otherwise.

The anime follows Class 3E as they attempt to assassinate their teacher, while studying at the same time 

The Characters:

All right, here’s the thing: Assassination Classroom suffers from a bloated cast. I knew it right from the beginning and nothing was done to really prove me wrong. There’re at least 20 students in Class 3E alone. Then there are the teachers, the students in the other classes, the Headmaster, the Headmaster’s son, the Headmaster’s son’s other four friends, the cameo characters, some other assassins, and the main villain. It’s hard enough for some shows to develop characters in 26 episodes, so cramming all these characters into a 22-episode run time means that there are definitely going to be some one-dimensional characters thrown in. Sure, there are some episodes dedicated to helping out singular students with their problems, but it only happens to a few of the students. However, the show does remedy this in a rather smart way. Instead of making every single student stand out individually, the anime makes the entire 3E class feel like its own character. You truly get the sense of them being one huge family brought together by Koro Sensei, so when the entire class is in danger or is acting as a team, I found myself really rooting for them. I guess some would say it’s “underdog syndrome”, since the class consists of down-on-their-luck kids that have been treated unfairly, but in this case I never really saw it as manipulative. The class just felt so natural interacting with each other and their teachers that it just worked. However, there are some individuals that stood out. First up is the main character, Nagisa. He doesn’t exactly have the most going for him personality-wise, but what makes him interesting is his hidden bloodlust. Where it came from, the show has yet to explain, but this makes him rather good at plotting and performing assassinations (or, at least, assassination attempts. For a show called Assassination Classroom, no one really dies.). He’s also one who’s decently intelligent, though only when he puts his mind to it. Though, what may put some people off guard is his character design. I know that his character design was like that in the manga, but it seems Lerche really liked the entire “boy-looks-like-girl” idea, and incorporated it into Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace, their own original work. I also know the reason for why Nagisa looks like that thanks to the internet (it wasn’t explained in the show, but apparently it was in the manga), but I didn’t really find this addition all that necessary. Next, there’s Karma, who’s my personal favorite character of the bunch. He pretty much falls into the same character archetype as one of my other favorite characters, Izaya Orihara: he’s very intelligent, a complete jokester, totally arrogant, and is absolutely insane. His character also has motivation for his actions, and gets some nice development later on in the series. Finally, there’s the heart of the operation, Koro Sensei. Without this oddball of a teacher being as lovable, cheerful, and energetic, this show would’ve been a complete waste of time. He’s able to form attachments with his students and motivate them to succeed in the best ways possible, because unlike how they’ve been treated before, Koro Sensei actually cares. It’s a shame that he also wants to destroy the world for unexplained reasons, because I really don’t want him to die. Yet, that’s the plot.

The students of Class 3E

Karma (left) and Nagisa (right)

Koro Sensei

The Story:

Assassination Classroom basically follows the episodic adventures (or misadventures, depending on the situation) of Class 3E as they tackle exams, learning assassination techniques, or gathering information about Koro Sensei. However, there is an underlying message beneath it all, and it concerns the relationship between teachers and their students. Something I especially like about this anime is how the teachers are focused on, and shows how they learn how to teach as well. This is especially prevalent with Mr. Kurasuma, a government agent who becomes Class 3E’s gym teacher. The anime shows how treating students as equals or forces to be reckoned with is much better at instilling self-esteem and confidence than scaring them into submission. After all, they’re still children who need comfortable learning environments to succeed. This contrasts with the rest of the school, who all work hard just to avoid getting stuck in the E Class. Fear may make students perform better on tests, but Assassination Classroom makes it very clear that learning isn’t just about performing well on tests. And, well, in my opinion, it’s very sound in this message. I’ve been through countless teachers in my school years, and the ones I always remember fondly are those who took me seriously and made me interested in the subject they were teaching. Though, this wonderful message also leads to the fatal flaw of Assassination Classroom: the fact that it’s a classroom of assassins. Okay, I need to back up. I love the idea of watching an anime about a school that raises assassins. There are a ton of possibilities that can result from this, and it could make for a very interesting watch. However, Assassination Classroom tries to combine this with a heartfelt tale about teachers and students by having the students be trained to kill the one person who inspires them to succeed. Think about that for a second, and then take into account that all the students have no qualms about doing this. There’s something very wrong with this mentality. You’d think that the students would eventually give up on wanting to assassinate Koro Sensei after all he’s done for them, or at the very least begin to have second thoughts about this. Sure, there’s a monetary award for a successful assassination, but money can only take it so far! This wouldn’t be a problem if I never believed that Koro Sensei was actually helping his students and was an incredibly likable character! What makes this even worse is that Koro Sensei is one of the only people who has cared about them in the entire world. Wouldn’t there be at least one student who would want revenge on the world for mistreating them, so therefore they’d let the world get destroyed? Again, if the aspect of Koro Sensei being the best teacher the students has ever had wasn’t done so well, then the entire plot about assassinating him wouldn’t feel so wrong. It’s pretty much a double-edged sword: the idea that draws most people to this show is also its major issue. One could argue that it's a comedy and I should stop taking it so seriously, but here's the thing: dark comedy, especially comedy involving death, only works for me when there's a clear separation from reality. For example, in Sabagebu!, they make it clear that the shootouts between the Survival Club members only take place in their imagination, which makes them both hilarious and entertaining to watch. In Assassination Classroom, it is made very clear that the students want to assassinate Koro Sensei in real life, and I still don't understand their motivation for doing so. It could pass off as dark comedy if not for the fact that, when tasked to kill real people, Koro Sensei bans actual assassinations. So, does killing Koro Sensei not count or something? I get that he's not human, but he may as well be human from the way he acts! This plot point is just befuddling. Though, that’s the show’s only huge problem. Everything else is pretty well done, actually. The comedy’s pretty funny, if not slightly repetitive, the assassination plots are fun to watch, and the final six episodes were so good that I watched them in one sitting. It displayed one of the best mixes of comedy, action, and tension that I’ve seen in quite some time, and the final fight was pretty awesome. Outside of that major plot error, I’d say Assassination Classroom was very fun to watch.

If only Koro Sensei weren't so lovable...

The Animation/Sound:

The animation of Assassination Classroom was done by Studio Lerche, known for their work on the “classic” Danganronpa anime in 2013, and the summer 2015 anime Game of Laplace, Monster Musume, and School-Live!. Assassination Classroom looks very nice, with fantastic designs and eye-catching visuals. The backgrounds are nice, the environment is nice and colorful, and the character animation was pretty well-done for the most part. You could tell that most of the budget went to animating Kurosensei’s fast-paced movements, though the action scenes are pretty fluid. I also have to give props to the lighting in some scenes, which made those moments stand out, with the title-stealer being the final fight. The soundtrack is also pretty great, with quite a few great songs. Songs worth checking out are “Yukai Na Ansatsu Keikaku”, “Bokutachi No Yuujou”, “Haritsume Ta Kuuki”, “Nakama No Tame Ni”, and my personal favorite, “Electric Kaigi.” Both openings and the singular ending are great as well, so check those out too. Finally, should you watch this in Japanese or English? Well, I watched half of this in Japanese while it was airing, and then the other half I watched all at once in English. Personally, I prefer the English dub, because it was simply more fun to listen to. The Japanese is technically better-acted, but here’s the thing: I don’t remember a single performance from the Japanese dub, whereas I can point out a few noteworthy performances in the English dub. Austin Tindle as Karma was particularly fantastic, and Lindsay Seidel did a great job as Nagisa because he actually sounded more like a guy, but the best performance goes to Sonny Strait as Koro Sensei. He also played Maes Hughes in FMA, so you know he’s got this type of role down, but Strait really knew how to make Koro Sensei come to life in humorous and lively ways. His performance made this English dub, and was much better than the Japanese. However, if you’re a sub-elitist, this dub probably won’t change your mind.

Yukai Na Ansatsu Keikaku:

Bokutachi No Yuujou:

Haritsume Ta Kuuki:

Nakama No Tame Ni:

Electric Kaigi:

Opening 1:

Opening 2:

Ending Theme:

Everything's pretty top-notch in the presentation department

Final Judgment:

Overall, I’d say give Assassination Classroom a shot. Despite its double-edged sword of a main idea, it’s a very enjoyable ride with some great elements and some average elements. The main characters and Class 3E are very likable, the story’s nicely paced, and it’s a good time waster if nothing else. I can't honestly recommend it as a fantastic show, but I do think it's worth a watch. Despite the score (which you'll see below), this show actually ended up on my favorites list, if that says anything. This show may not be the best written, but it's one of the most heartfelt shows I've seen this year, and I think that should count for something. I look forward to this show's second season in the winter, and whatever Lerche will offer in the future. I give Assassination Classroom a 6.5 out of 10, which makes it above average in my eyes. But, like always, it’s up to you to decide your own opinions.

Further Recommendations:

Kill la Kill

Another action-comedy that also has a lot of heart. It also manages its themes a bit better than Assassination Classroom, though Assassination Classroom was more enjoyable for me.

Sabagebu!

My personal favorite comedy anime that also involves fake weapons, but the comedy is much darker, much funnier, and more focused.

Anyway, good luck to all the students reading this with their new school year, whether it be studying assassinations or otherwise! I’ll see you guys in my next review!