What would you do if you woke up tomorrow morning and seven-tenths of the moon was gone? What would you think of a permanent crescent moon Would you panic? Would you suspect that the world is ending or that something bad was about to happen? This is just one thing that class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Junior High School has to deal with during their last year; the other is a tentacle monster proclaiming that he blew up the moon.
In Assassination Classroom, a yellow tentacled being threatens to blow up the Earth unless the Japanese government agrees to his terms and conditions. The agreement states that “Koro-Sensei” won’t destroy the earth for one year as long as he can teach class 3-E; he will not harm any of the students in class 3-E. After the Japanese government fails to assassinate the target, the Japanese Ministry of Defense offers a reward of 10 billion Yen (100 million USD) to whomever can kill him. The only people who know of the target’s existence at the start of the show are: class 3-E, the Japanese military, and world leaders.
Class 3-E must train to become assassins in order to kill Koro-Sensei. Koro-Sensei attempts to teach and reform class 3-E in order to make them better students. E class stands for end class, which is where Kunugigaoka Junior High School sends their bad students.
The students–determined to give their newly found teacher a nickname–choose the nickname Koro-Sensei. This is a pun on the Japanese words korosenai meaning unkillable, and sensei meaning teacher. He earns this nickname because he can move at Mach 20, has ability to regenerate rapidly, and has the capability to turn into an indestructible glass orb.
So why should you watch Assassination Classroom?
1. Interesting and Unique Story Line
At times, it is easy to lose track of time when watching Assassination Classroom. One reason it’s so unique is the fact that they are trying to kill their teacher. If the teacher was displayed as human, the anime–let alone the manga–would probably have never seen the light of day. Assassination Classroom is the story of Nagisa and Koro-Sensei and their interaction with the rest of class 3-E.
Assassination Classroom follows Koro-Sensei’s attempts to teach a group of social outcasts how to be productive students and members of society. Viewers watch as Nagisa changes from a shy and self-doubting child into a confident and courageous teenage assassin. As more assassins enter the story, the class learns from the mistakes and adapts new strategies based off their past failures. As the story progresses so does class 3-E. No character is unimportant.
2. An Emotional Journey
Most of the time when you watch a show you develop an emotional attachment to a character or the show itself. Assassination Classroom enjoys playing to the emotions of the watcher with its catchy intro music and wise-cracking jokes from the students. Assassination Classroom will have you feeling a rollercoaster of emotions. One of the most enjoyable things that will make the show memorable is Koro-Sensei’s quirks, whether it be hygiene punishment or dressing up oddly to “fit in.” This show has teenage rivalries, romance, comedy, suspense, mystery, and action. While the plot twist may be predictable, it will be a memorable experience.
3. Well Picked Voice Actors
Sometimes you find a show that has an enjoyable premise but for some reason, you cannot get into the show fully. After trying to sit through the show, it finally dawns on you that the voice acting is the problem. Maybe it’s that the voice does not fit the character or maybe the character’s voice is out of sync with the animation. Assassination Classroom has a great group of voice actors that make the characters shine and bring out their different personalities–in both Sub and Dub.
In the English Dubbing of Assassination Classroom, you have Sonny Strait, Lindsay Seidel, Austin Tindle, Martha Harms, J Michael Tatum and Clifford Chapin.
Sonny Strait is the voice of Koro-Sensei, Krillen and Bardock (DBZ), Maes Hughes (Fullmetal Alchemist), Usopp (One Piece), and Drossel Cainz (Black Butler II). Lindsay Seidel is the voice of Nagisa and also the voice of Ruka Urushibara (Steins; Gate), Angel (Fairy Tail), and Yayoi Kunizuka (Psycho Pass). Martha Harms is the voice of Irina Jelavic and also the voice of Maya (Borderlands 2), Aphrodite (Smite), Ranmaru Rindo (Good Luck Girl!), and Audrey Duvall (Freezing). Austin Tindle is the voice of Karma Akabane and is also the voices of Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul), Alzack Connell (Fairy Tail), and Accelerator (A Certain Scientific Railgun S & A Certain Magical Index II). Clifford Chapin is the Tomohito Sugino as well as the voice of Conny Springer (Attack on Titan), Hideyoshi Nagachika (Tokyo Ghoul), Mikhail (Gangsta.), and Takuya Uozumi (Free! Eternal Summer). J Michael Tatum is the voice of Shiro ,one of the main antagonists of the series. He is also the voice of Sir Hammerlock (Borderlands 2), Kyoya Otori (Ouran High School Host Club), Scar (Full Metal Alchemist), Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler), and Rei Ryugazaki (Tokyo Ghoul).
4. Curiosity
Why did Koro-Sensei decide to teach class 3-E; why is he allowing them to try to kill him without fighting back? Why is he never displayed as the antagonist after taking credit for blowing up the moon? All these questions plus more keep you interested in the show and make you keep asking “why?”. How did Koro-Sensei come to be? Is he an alien or is he a mutant? Can Class 3-E assassinate Koro-Sensei or will someone else obtain the reward? Why does he care about the well-being of the children? Who is Koro-Sensei?
5. Relatable and interesting Characters
Assassination classroom features a diverse group of characters with their own little quirks. Each character has believable traits which make the characters relatable. There is a red-headed boy named Karma who is intelligent but lazy; his only goal at first is to kill a teacher. Karma’s desire to kill a teacher is triggered by his favorite teacher betraying him. The teacher scolded him after going to the aid of a fellow student and beating up the bullies that were picking on that student.
Next, there is the character named Nagisa whose gender is difficult to determine at the beginning. He is the main protagonist of the story. Nagisa struggles to establish his self-identity because of an over-controlling mother who always wanted an obedient daughter that she could control. Finally, there is the character Ritsu, an intelligent super computer who was made to specifically assassinate Koro-Sensei. After multiple attempts, the class gets annoyed with Ritsu and tie her up so she can no longer interrupt the class. Realizing that the children are upset with Ritsu’s presence, Koro-Sensei upgrades and reprograms Ritsu so that the class will approve of her.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a show to watch, or just enjoy anime and have yet to see it, Assassination Classroom is a must see. The show only has 47 episodes split between two seasons and the last episode of the subbing comes out this week. Until the end Koro-Sensei will be the class 3-E’s target, but completing the task is no easy matter. From someone who loves the show and loves anime in general, Assassination Classroom earns at least an 8.5 out of 10 for its story, voice acting, and animation. (However, Assassination Classroom will still find a 9.5 in my heart.) Also, there is a decent live-action adaptation of the series.
