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Assassination Classroom is currently available on Funimation, Hulu and Amazon Video. The series just ended after it's second season, however as of this writing (07/06/2016) an anime movie is planned and talks are underway for a spin-off series. The show is based on the hit manga of the same name, and in Japan has enjoyed two successful live action films, an OVA and more than one video game.
Never have I been so moved by an anime. This show ripped my heart out and smashed it to pieces just as much as it made me laugh and more importantly, it made me think. Assassination Classroom was a sleeper hit from out of nowhere. It premiered on streaming and television platforms in Japan and in America with almost no fanfare, dropped a few movies with no advertising, dished out a manga with no warning, and yet despite the lack of adverts has managed to become one of the most successful titles of the current decade, and every accolade is well earned. The series starts in an E classroom of Middle School students. For those who do not know, in Japan, the E Class exists for students on the brink of expulsion due to either poor grades or delinquency. This particular class is so unwelcome, they have to hold class off campus, in a cabin in the woods, far, far away from civilization. OUCH! The students are greeted by the government, who makes a pact with them. If you can kill your teacher within one school year, you'll get one billion yen to split among you. Fail to do so, and your teacher is blowing up the Earth. Also.... your teacher is the Walmart logo with tentacles. Enter Koro Sensei, (the kids named him, it means Useless Teacher) the aforementioned Walmart Logo. Once a human assassin, an experiment gone horribly, horribly wrong has left him looking like a children's birthday party balloon. Gifted with tentacles, mach speed and a laundry list of abilities, the only two things that can harm him are rubber and water. The government is powerless to stop him until the final few episodes, leaving the Earth's future on shaky ground. So they send trained assassins to help Koro Sensei teach the children, and they outfit the 14 year olds with rubber weapons, safe for humans but deadly to the teacher. Why 14 year old kids? Well, this particular class used to belong to a researcher who was a close friend of Koro Sensei's. She was killed in the same explosion that caused him to exist in this way, and her dying wish was for him to become a teacher. So her class is chosen specifically for the experiment. The delinquent kids initially invent all sorts of ways to kill the teacher, but they run into a small problem..... he actually CARES about them, more so than any of their parents. What's more is he's actually a very good teacher and helps them get their grades up. Can you really kill a man who treats you better than anybody in your entire life? The question is especially hard for Nagisa, the show's main teen. Effeminate, tiny and a frequent target of bullying, much of the story is told from the narrative of the blue haired boy, who ends up becoming one of Koro Sensei's more favored students. The series starts off with a balance between comedy and action, but occasionally throws in a dramatic multi-parter, delving deeper into the story of Koro Sensei and subsequently, the growing bond between teacher and students. It's very close to the manga, except there are a few joke segments missing from TV due to time constraints. If you watch the very first episode, you won't be too surprised by the ending, which is split up into a few episodes, but the writing is meant to accommodate those of us who grew to love Koro Sensei. If you want a happy ending, or otherwise have Koro Sensei as your favorite character, stop at episode 23 of the second and final season. If you want to know what happens, watch until the very end. You WILL need tissues handy, but the epilogue ties everything up in a neat package. Assassination Classroom started silently and ended with a bang. It will have you laughing, have you on the edge of your seat, and is one class you can't afford to miss! |
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Codename Sailor earthCodename Sailor Earth is a lifelong anime and wrestling fan. IRL she is cartoonist Koriander Bullard, formerly Koriander Ake, a happily married Chicagoan. Her favorite anime is Sailor Moon. A baby in the late 80's, the first anime titles she ever saw were Speed Racer, Voltron and Robotech. Archives
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