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Subject: "Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom" Archived thread - Read only
 
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drakensis
Member since Dec-20-06
415 posts
Mar-14-15, 07:04 PM (EDT)
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"Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
 
   I personally happen to think this is one of this year's break out hits (in fact it ranks alongside Girls Und Panzer as one of my favorites from the last few years). I gather the manga is in Shonen Jump and doing very well - which is good news.

(I'd like to stress that I mean the TV series. Don't waste your time on the OVA which is vastly inferior). There's supposed to be a live action movie soon which actually looks like it might be a decent adaptation.


For those who haven't seen Assassination Classroom, the core idea is very simple: Class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Junior High School have been offered ¥10 billion if they can assassinate their homeroom teacher. This is problematic on two levels.

1. Kuro-sensei is a tentacle monster capable of moving at Mach 20 (aka the speed of plot*). He's more or less invulnerable to normal weapons although ample provision of anti-tentacle monster plastic knives and BBs has been made. Kuro-sensei is fully aware that his class is out to kill him and in fact orchestrated this as part of a deal to cut down on continuing efforts by military forces to eliminate him. Before the school year began he vaporised 70% of the moon's mass, leaving it a permanent crescent. When the school year ends he proposes to do the same to the Earth.

2. He's the best teacher Class 3-E has ever had. Kunugigaoka is a prestigious school that motivates students by moving poorly performing students into Class E (the End Class) who are openly discriminated against by staff and students. Typically students will to go any length not to be assigned to it. Kuro-sensei however is encouraging and goes to incredible lengths to build up the confidence and good spirits of his class. He evidently cares for them and works hard to better his charges. (Even the two assistant teachers Karasuma and Irina, who are there to teach the class to be better assassins, are more caring than the other staff).

With that as the case not only do the students have a seemingly insurmountable challenge in killing Kuro-sensei but also one of motivation: for all his many, many faults he's 110% on their side against the rest of the school and indeed against anyone else.


And that's what the show does very well, at least so far. It gradually develops the class (almost 30 students and their associated teachers) as characters and builds the show around their development with the assassinations as a spur.

It's also, obviously, taking a subversive poke at the pressure-cooker competition of Japanese school life. Class 3-E by those standards are the losers... but with Kuro-sensei's support they're probably the happiest class in school**, and they're getting better grades too.


* He can move so fast he has afterimages in front of each individual student and give them all individual coaching at the same time. In fact he effectively has a separate lesson plan set to cater to each individual's needs and can follow it while the kids are trying to kill him.

** It doesn't hurt that Karasuma and Irina are younger and more attractive than the other teaching staff, leading to rampant envy by other classes.

D.


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  Subject     Author     Message Date     ID  
  RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom drakensis May-13-15 1
  RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom Gryphonadmin Jun-26-15 2
     RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom Peter Eng Jun-26-15 3
     RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom drakensis Jun-27-15 4
         RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom Gryphonadmin Jun-29-15 5
             RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom drakensis Jun-30-15 6
  RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom dbrandon Jul-29-15 7
     RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom Terminus Est Jul-29-15 8
     RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom drakensis Jul-30-15 9

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drakensis
Member since Dec-20-06
415 posts
May-13-15, 01:07 AM (EDT)
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1. "RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
In response to message #0
 
   Having read the manga now I have to add another quick point here: this is one of the best planned stories I've seen for while. There's a lot of careful foreshadowing of the secrets in the series and the villains are fully fleshed out and developed just as much as everyone else - and none of them consider themselves villains, they have clear motivations for their actions. They may be rather uncomfortable reasons but they're not cardboard cut-outs.

There's also a good balance between the various plots and characterisation. As one character says: "I think the least we owe you for asking you to save the world is a normal school life."

Granted this does mean that in a tense situation, with lives on the line, when one character enacts a radical plan to save lives that two of the class go for their phones to immortalise the moment for future blackmail potential. And the moment works because it's totally believable that those two would do that.

D.


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Gryphonadmin
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22374 posts
Jun-26-15, 02:29 PM (EDT)
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2. "RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
In response to message #0
 
   >I gather the manga is in Shonen Jump and
>doing very well - which is good news.

I noticed a volume of the manga in translation at the zombie ex-Borders in Bangor the other week, but as I didn't have any money at the time I didn't pick it up. Anyway, it appears to be available, is the point.

>For those who haven't seen Assassination Classroom, the core idea is
>very simple: Class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Junior High School have been
>offered ¥10 billion if they can assassinate their homeroom teacher.

As such, in the Cardassian Union, this series is known simply as Typical Homeroom. :)

>1. Kuro-sensei is a tentacle monster
(...)
>encouraging
>and goes to incredible lengths to build up the confidence and good
>spirits of his class. He evidently cares for them and works hard to
>better his charges.
>
>With that as the case not only do the students have a seemingly
>insurmountable challenge in killing Kuro-sensei but also one of
>motivation: for all his many, many faults he's 110% on their side
>against the rest of the school and indeed against anyone else.

Now, see, that's just nice. Ever since they were both playable characters in the original Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, I've wanted to team up Sakura Kasugano and Shuma-Gorath and send them on a wacky, madcap, completely rape-free buddy adventure.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.


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Peter Eng
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2045 posts
Jun-26-15, 04:55 PM (EDT)
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3. "RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
In response to message #2
 
   >
>Now, see, that's just nice. Ever since they were both playable
>characters in the original Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street
>Fighter
, I've wanted to team up Sakura Kasugano and Shuma-Gorath
>and send them on a wacky, madcap, completely rape-free buddy
>adventure.
>

I'm imagining something that's part E.T. ("I just want to get home, Sakura.") and part Collecting The Multipart MacGuffin. ("Well, that's the first piece. The other two seem to be in Latveria and Mriganka.")

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.


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drakensis
Member since Dec-20-06
415 posts
Jun-27-15, 03:22 AM (EDT)
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4. "RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
In response to message #2
 
   >I noticed a volume of the manga in translation at the zombie
>ex-Borders in Bangor the other week, but as I didn't have any money at
>the time I didn't pick it up. Anyway, it appears to be available, is
>the point.

Four volumes released so far and another four or so this year. That should cover more or less the material of the first anime season (which wrapped last Friday).

>>For those who haven't seen Assassination Classroom, the core idea is
>>very simple: Class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Junior High School have been
>>offered ¥10 billion if they can assassinate their homeroom teacher.
>
>As such, in the Cardassian Union, this series is known simply as
>Typical Homeroom. :)

I didn't realise the Cardassians paid that well.

>Now, see, that's just nice. Ever since they were both playable
>characters in the original Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street
>Fighter
, I've wanted to team up Sakura Kasugano and Shuma-Gorath
>and send them on a wacky, madcap, completely rape-free buddy
>adventure.

Well. Completely rape-free, yes. The show itself is more an ensemble (around thirty characters for Class 3-E and associated teachers) which combines slice of life (final year middle school) with assassination efforts.

Sakura would probably fit in perfectly well with the class though.

This is a class where PhysEd involves knife-fighting, shooting and parkour. (Seriously, the kids will be on security watch-lists for the rest of their lives).

The series doesn't skimp the characters either. Witness one character who was damsel-in-distress in an early arc taking out a sniper team in the current arc of the manga. And that's hardly the most surprising ascension of a minor character in the show.

D.


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Gryphonadmin
Charter Member
22374 posts
Jun-29-15, 04:45 PM (EDT)
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5. "RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
In response to message #4
 
   >>Now, see, that's just nice. Ever since they were both playable
>>characters in the original Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street
>>Fighter
, I've wanted to team up Sakura Kasugano and Shuma-Gorath
>>and send them on a wacky, madcap, completely rape-free buddy
>>adventure.
>
>Well. Completely rape-free, yes.

That wasn't a speculation about Assassination Classroom, it's just, y'know. The long history of schoolgirl-tentacle monster diplomacy is... fraught. Is all I'm saying.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.


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drakensis
Member since Dec-20-06
415 posts
Jun-30-15, 03:32 AM (EDT)
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6. "RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
In response to message #5
 
   Well, be assured anyway that it's safely subverted here.

Korosensei may be a tentacle monster but the 15-year old school girls in his class are safe from him. He has... specific tastes, shall we say. (This is scientifically studied and determined by Okajima for an assassination scheme).

D.


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dbrandon
Charter Member
220 posts
Jul-29-15, 04:29 PM (EDT)
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7. "RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
In response to message #0
 
   A co-worker, recently back from Otakon, was talking about all of the SoulEater cosplay that was happening there. I noticed that it was available on Hulu, and tried it. After concluding that I was just a bit too far outside of the target demographic, I noticed that Hulu also had this show, and remembered your post. After the first couple of episodes, I concur-- this is some good stuff right here. Thanks for the recommendation.

dbrandon


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Terminus Est
Member since Nov-5-04
569 posts
Jul-29-15, 07:22 PM (EDT)
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8. "RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
In response to message #7
 
   To be fair to Soul Eater, it takes a few episodes to really take off. ...well, technically it takes most of the first season, at least for me, and there's still the issue of certain really annoying characters...

...Y'know, I just realized I can't really be fair toward that series either.


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drakensis
Member since Dec-20-06
415 posts
Jul-30-15, 02:01 AM (EDT)
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9. "RE: Recent Anime: Assassination Classroom"
In response to message #7
 
   You're welcome.

D.


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