Anime Review - Assassination Classroom Season 1

There are many diverse types of anime that have been released throughout the years. Some are more unique than others. In 2013, an anime named Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoushitsu) was released. Adapted from a manga with the same name, the series was produced by a studio called Lerche and went on for a total of 49 episodes across 2 seasons. This review will focus on Season 1, with a review for Season 2 coming out shortly.  

The story follows a yellow octopus-like monster (with a borderline emoji for a head) destroying around 70 percent of the Earth’s moon, and threatening that within one year, the Earth itself will be destroyed next. However, the monster makes an ultimatum. If humanity can successfully kill him before the one-year time limit is up, the Earth will not be destroyed. There is a catch to this ultimatum, though. At the choice of the monster himself, the group of people who must kill him is... a group of middle school kids! With the monster subbing as their full-time teacher, Class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Junior High School have until their graduation to find a way to kill him. Can Class 3-E succeed in doing so, and what mysteries hide behind this monster and his goals?  

Right off the bat, this anime sounds a lot more unique compared to most of its peers. Not to mention the combination of assassinations and classrooms has not aged well throughout the years. So, to some, this anime might seem a little off-putting at first but trust me, there is a lot more than there seems (in a good way). This anime mostly takes place in Kunugigaoka Junior High School, but not really. Class 3-E has been segregated from the rest of the school, and the students conduct their studies on the school's original campus, which contains one single small school building. This segregation is due to the students’ low grades, and this has been a system since the opening of the current campus. Students with significantly lower grades are required to be in Class 3-E, which is dubbed as the “End Class”, and will remain there until they can get their grades back up. This is a brutal system since every class above them looks down on them like they are lesser beings. Contrary to what you might think, things start to brighten up, for both the End Class and the viewers when their new monstrous teacher arrives. 

There is a wide variety of characters amongst the students and their “teachers.” Each student fits in with common niches when it comes to the school genre, and each teacher is, well, unique, to say the least. When it comes to the students, there are a few of them that are notable. Those that are notable include Kaede Kayano, the shy and awkward girl of the group, Karma Akabane, the “bad boy” of the group who is more so focused on the assassination rather than being a student, and Nagisa Shiota, the implied main character. With Nagisa specifically, while it may not seem that he is worthy of being the main character, unexpected character developments and events later in the show certainly prove why he was chosen. There are many other students in the class, each with their own personalities, and down the line, two new students appear who certainly shake up the game on the assassination. Regarding the teachers, none of them fit into the role of a teacher per se, but they all develop as such very nicely. Among them, there is Tadaomi Karasuma, a government employee who was originally sent to monitor the assassination, who becomes their gym teacher of sorts and trains the End Class for said assassination. Next is Irina Jelavic, a foreign assassin who uses her good looks to help with her assassinations, and eventually develops to be the students’ foreign language teacher (this aspect of their curriculum surprisingly comes a lot in handy down the line). And finally, the star of the show himself, the emoji-headed monster: Koro Sensei. Koro Sensei is an absolute joy. His comedic personality combined with just how overpowered he is as a monster makes him an incredibly fun character every time he is on screen. Above all that, his devotion to not only survive but also to be a teacher for these students is the cherry on top. Outside of the students of the End Class and the teachers, there is the principal of Kunugigaoka Junior High, and his son, who is the lead student at the school when it comes to grades. Both are very suspicious characters and prove to be challenging obstacles to get past for the End Class. The principal himself, Gakuho Asano, certainly has some mysteries behind him as to why he is the way he is, and why he is so dedicated to maintaining this corrupt school system. 

Speaking of being a teacher for the students, the teacher/student relationship is what makes this show so much more than just an assassination in a classroom. The show itself, and the characters try to find a perfect balance between their education and the assassination. The students are actively trying to assassinate Koro Sensei, but fail most of the time, due to his god-like powers. With that in mind, Koro Sensei is still devoted to being a teacher and helping them raise their grades and get out of the End Class. Whether it be after a failed assassination attempt, or a school or life-related conflict, Koro Sensei does his best to help the class become better people and succeeds in doing so. Every time he has a one-on-one interaction with one of the students, or a meaningful lecture to give to the whole class, it is always a very wholesome moment that emphasizes how much more this anime is than what is advertised.

Assassination Classroom is certainly what it says it is. It is a show about an assassination that is mostly happening in a classroom. With background mysteries and the depth the characters hold in general, it reaches greater heights and shows that under the surface, it is a great watch with phenomenal messages and themes to hold itself together. Being that this is only Season 1, the End Class are only done with their first term of the year, and only have one term left to finish the job. Can they successfully assassinate Koro Sensei, and will the underlying mysteries be revealed? Only Season 2 can tell.