Assassination Classroom - General Discussion

[Lantern7]

As we wait for the next season of My Hero Academia, Toonami is bringing us another offbeat school-based anime: Assassination Classroom. Instead of kids with "Quirks," we have a large yellow creature with lots and lots of tentacles. I know, "tentacles" and anime leads the mind to bad places. Here's a quick summary from Wikipedia . . .

Quote

The series follows the daily lives of an extremely powerful octopus-like being working as a junior high homeroom teacher, and his students dedicated to the task of assassinating him to prevent Earth from being destroyed. The students are considered “misfits” in their school and are taught in a separate building; the class he teaches is called 3-E.

. . . here's the trailer from Toonami (which does not embed here, for some reason) . . .

. . . and here's an interview I did with mangaka Yusei Matsui back in 2016.

I also got three sketches from artists based on the series. I'll share those down the line.

I never watched the anime, but I did complete the manga. It looks weird, but it's a great coming-of-age story about misfits trying to show what they can do. Also: a yellow monster with tentacles.

Edited August 30, 2020 by Lantern7

[lathspel]

This seems like a fun show so far.  Lots of mysteries to be explained. 

[Terrafamilia]

It went by so fast but let's see if I have this right. The kid who was acting the suicide bomber was protected from the blast by Korosensei's shed skin. But the grenade was filled with the anti-Koro BB's which were shown a little earlier in the episode to be quite effective in damaging Korosensei.

Obvious question: Then how was that skin able to protect anything from the anti-Koro BB's?

Now the skin would presumably be able to protect against the shrapnel of the casing and maybe diffuse the kinetic impact of the blast itself but the BB's should still have shredded it.

Edited September 1, 2020 by Terrafamilia
further thoughts

[lathspel]

On 8/31/2020 at 7:01 PM, Terrafamilia said:

It went by so fast but let's see if I have this right. The kid who was acting the suicide bomber was protected from the blast by Korosensei's shed skin. But the grenade was filled with the anti-Koro BB's which were shown a little earlier in the episode to be quite effective in damaging Korosensei.

Obvious question: Then how was that skin able to protect anything from the anti-Koro BB's?

Now the skin would presumably be able to protect against the shrapnel of the casing and maybe diffuse the kinetic impact of the blast itself but the BB's should still have shredded it.

I think it’s that Korosensei is so fast he dodged the pellets, just like at the beginning of the ep.  

I think my favorite mystery is that he’s from Earth somehow. 

[Vermicious Knid]

I thought Nagisa was a girl until they explicitly said it was a guy. This is all going to be some elaborate fakeout about getting them to try harder, isn't it? I have not read any spoilers, just my speculation.

[Galileo908]

I'm only watching along with the dub airing on Toonami, knowing absolutely nothing about this going on.

The absolute AUDACITY of this show. That is all.

[Vermicious Knid]

If it's so difficult to get down the mountain, how do they all get up there every day for class? This is the kind of sloppy storytelling that makes me want to bitch slap the writers.

[Galileo908]

On 9/30/2020 at 12:37 AM, Vermicious Knid said:

If it's so difficult to get down the mountain, how do they all get up there every day for class? This is the kind of sloppy storytelling that makes me want to bitch slap the writers.

I thought it was so hard because they had to get down the mountain quickly. It's probably much easier if they went at their own pace.

[Terrafamilia]

One might assume they get to their classroom through a separate entrance than going through the main school first.

[Lantern7]

On 9/27/2020 at 8:40 PM, Galileo908 said:

I'm only watching along with the dub airing on Toonami, knowing absolutely nothing about this going on.

The absolute AUDACITY of this show. That is all.

Which part? Koro Sensei himself? Class 3-E being set up to fail in order to make the other students feel superior? Mild-mannered Nagisa getting French-kissed and motorboated in consecutive episodes by the insanely hot teacher/assassin? Awesome, right?!? The manga was fun to read, and I like what I'm watching. My comparison: it's Stand & Deliver, only with a tentacle monster instead of Edward James Olmos.

I forgot to post my sketches based off the manga/anime. I got three so far; one has a bit of spoiler about two-thirds into the manga (give or take a few chapters), so I'll hold off on that.

This is Koro Sensei by Marleni Gomez, commissioned at Liberty City Anime Con in 2016:

And here's a chibi Nagisa Shiota by funkatr0nic from Coffee Pudding Studios, also from Liberty City (2017):

Back when conventions were a thing, I brought references for Irina Jelavić (the infamous "Ms. Bitch"), but I never got her sketched out. And I always wanted to get Karma. Turns out we got the same birthday.

Edited October 3, 2020 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

Checking to see who's up to date on the Toonami run. Last episode that aired was the one with Ritsu, the AI designed to kill Koro Sensei . . . but then he made some upgrades to her, and she's all cute and perky now. Oh, she'll try and kill him, but not without the other students. Gotta love how the best way to prevent an AI activate military hardware is with duct tape. Thanks, Junior High Student That Looks 35!

ETA: His name is Ryoma. The guy whose first line was about Ritsu's hotness was Koutaro . . . and that was lifted straight from the manga.

Edited November 2, 2020 by Lantern7

[Galileo908]

4 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Checking to see who's up to date on the Toonami run. Last episode that aired was the one with Ritsu, the AI designed to kill Koro Sensei . . . but then he made some upgrades to her, and she's all cute and perky now. Oh, she'll try and kill him, but not without the other students. Gotta love how the best way to prevent an AI activate military hardware is with duct tape. Thanks, Junior High Student That Looks 35!

I just love how nonchalant Nagisa and the rest are about their whole situation.

"Here's our newest student: An AI programmed to kill Koro-Sensei! Just another typical day in class!" And their biggest problem with Ritsu is that the constant shooting interrupted the class.

And Koro-Sensei just upgrades her, and teaches her the power of friendship through assassination. And to play the drums (wait, wrong Ritsu)

Again I say: the absolutely AUDACITY of this show. I love it.

[Lantern7]

I’m wondering if this should have been a 15-minute anime. I know there will be a lot more material, but I get a Cromartie High School vibe. And now I’m imagining Koro-Sensei dealing with Mechazawa. 🐙🤖

The stuff is good, with Irina dealing with her mentor, leading to a “kill-off” with Kurasuma as the target. And then Koro-Sensei takes Nagisa and Karma to a movie premiere in Hawaii . . . . because if your teacher is a bizarre squid monster possessing incredible speed, why not take advantage? It’s a pity Koro-Sensei is unaware that his brother is the next to kill him.

[Lantern7]

Episodes resume tomorrow night. Did anyone here catch the baseball episode? The principal really loves pedagogy. "First, small baseball tournament between the third-years. Then the baseball team humiliates E-class. Fun for all! Well, except for 3-E, but we need them sad to feel better about ourselves!"

Thinking of @Galileo908 and audacity . . . the baseball team moving everyone into the infield to thwart 3-E's bunting? Not too bad. Two guys from 3-E standing directly in front of the batter? WOW. Forget that they were able to dodge a swing (being assassins-in-training and all). I don't think it's possible to be able to stand that close. But 3-E does, and they end up recording a game-winning triple play after the star player has a massive fuck breakdown in the batter's box.

Next episode: I won't spoil, but I will say one character get a huge bump.

[Terrafamilia]

Um, Korosensei, you, or your translators, might want to brush up on English grammar. Since your tentacles can be numbered, rather than less tentacles it should be fewer tentacles.

[Matt K]

On 11/12/2020 at 10:49 PM, Lantern7 said:

I’m wondering if this should have been a 15-minute anime. I know there will be a lot more material, but I get a Cromartie High School vibe. And now I’m imagining Koro-Sensei dealing with Mechazawa. 🐙🤖

The stuff is good, with Irina dealing with her mentor, leading to a “kill-off” with Kurasuma as the target. And then Koro-Sensei takes Nagisa and Karma to a movie premiere in Hawaii . . . . because if your teacher is a bizarre squid monster possessing incredible speed, why not take advantage? It’s a pity Koro-Sensei is unaware that his brother is the next to kill him.

I'd recommend checking out Koro-Q (Koro Sensei Quest) after the series ends.  It's twelve humorous shorts set in a fantasy world classroom.  Although I believe it does spoil some of the show.  It's on Funimation with an english dub (same VA).  

 

I really loved this show. Koro Sensei is the highlight but I love seeing a bunch of the characters grow as the series progresses.  Plus it's always nice to see a show about the transformative power of a good teacher.  

[Lantern7]

Caught the latest episode on Toonami. We'll be getting into a great arc, if it's anything like the manga.

I know that this is a "Downtrodden kids against impossible odds" anime . . . but you'd think there would be one person that who wasn't a total asshole (aside from Sugino's friend that got humbled in the exhibition game). Of course, their top students are real pieces of work, with Gakushu Asano being the worst. Since he is the son of the principal that enforces pedagogy with extreme prejudice, of course he'd be used to the pressure. And natch, he tries to one-up his father via side bet with 3-E with a buried clause.

How do you like the battle scenes? I know that parallels can be made to Food Wars, but seeing advanced test problems as hulking beasts in gladiatorial arenas is pretty neat. When I was reading the manga, there was a bit from Matsui about how he had help coming up with the questions (and answers) encounted by the students.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

Checking in again . . . next episode is a good one.

Spoiler

The class comes so close to killing Koro-Sensei, but he eludes death. That leads to an arc where half the kids are poisoned, and the others have to protect their teacher from expert assassins. Aside from the guy Nagisa humiliated making a comeback, the on,y one I remember is the guy that likes his gun way too much.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

Bumping again . . . for those who haven’t heard, Toonami will be replace the show with Food Wars! on February 28, which means the next episode will be the last for a while. I’m sure the whole series has been dubbed, and I think this will come back.

Gotta love junior high students becoming crack commandos. And you have to feel bad for Nagisa. I’ve seen a lot of folks classify him as “trap,” even though crossdressing wasn’t his idea. Of course, getting a rematch with “Daddy” makes the drag thing look so quaint.

[Lantern7]

Heads up: Class 3-E and their offbeat teacher return to Toonami next Saturday.

[Lantern7]

Bumping up to see if anyone else has been watching on Toonami. I read the manga, so I knew how screwed-up Nagisa's mother was . . . but damn, the anime ramped up the scary. You gotta feel sorry for the kid. I wonder how nice he is for not snapping on a few of his classmates who suggest a sex change.

I didn't get Koro-Sensei's scene in Brazil and why he was being attacked. Apparently, the octopus brought up "7-1," and you're NOT supposed to do that.

[Galileo908]

27 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I read the manga, so I knew how screwed-up Nagisa's mother was . . . but damn, the anime ramped up the scary. You gotta feel sorry for the kid. I wonder how nice he is for not snapping on a few of his classmates who suggest a sex change.

It's an honest to goodness change of pace, since anime (especially Toonami staples) are just full of bad dads. No wonder Nagisa has no self worth to the point of becoming a suicide bomber in the first episode. This show is essentially if the villain of Sleepaway Camp had a healthier outlet for their fucked up upbringing.

The biggest laugh in this past week's episode was the obvious nod to Food Wars. "There was going to be a bigger reaction shot, but another anime aleady has dibs on that gimmick."

Edited February 28, 2022 by Galileo908

[Lantern7]

Bumping up again because now I get to show the third sketch I've gotten based off the show. This is Kaede/Akari by BunniiKitty.

As you can see, the references I gave the artist had the tentacles. That's why I didn't share this before.

After Principal Asano shot his shot and dumped some painful backstory, the timing of Kaede's attack was stunning. The funny thing: someone reading the manga wrote in, having noticing something on the back of Kaede's neck in one panel. I won't spoil what happens next, but the big fight opens up lots of character development and propels the plot forward.

I keep saying I'll get a Karma sketch, but I never gotten around to printing up references on him. Turns out we share a birthday, so that's one good reason.

[Galileo908]

Why did seeing the Octopus man die make me bawl like a baby?

[Vermicious Knid]

Do they really expect us to believe Kurasama didn't keep tabs on any of them, especially when you consider that's 27 potential assassins running around?

Poor Nagisa, only 1 centimeter. Converts to 5 foot 3.

[Lantern7]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:53 PM, Galileo908 said:

Why did seeing the Octopus man die make me bawl like a baby?

Yeah. It really hits you in the feels, doesn't it?

On 6/12/2022 at 5:47 AM, Vermicious Knid said:

Poor Nagisa, only 1 centimeter. Converts to 5 foot 3.

Worse, he landed in the version of Cromartie High School that isn't full of goofballs. But it looks like he'll make a difference with his students, just as Koro-Sensei did before him.

I'm guessing Toonami won't run the RPG-style follow-up, Koro-Sensei Quest! Ah, well.

I forget to post this sketch of Irina I got about a month ago. Here is the artist's website.

Edited June 22, 2022 by Lantern7