Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui. "Slice of Life-y Action Manga where a ragtag team of underperforming students attempt to kill teacher who is also a deadly alien."
暗殺教室 (Assassination Classroom)
A Manga by Yusei Matsui, Review by Willie Fowler
(Yes, this guy is what is constantly drawn on the Chalk Boards)
For some background, Assassination Classroom is a manga written by Yusei Matsui from 2012 to 2016 that gained enough popularity to have an anime produced for it in Late December of 2013, and a...so-so movie. It's chapters were being published to Japan's No. 1 best selling magazine from Shueisha: "Weekly Shonen Jump" from the start of July in 2012 to the middle of March in 2016. The chapters were collected and put into 21 volumes a few months down the line, releasing in November of 2012 and concluding in July of 2016.
Weekly Shonen Jump currently holds the undying One Piece (CHAPTER 1 CAME OUT IN 1997 AND IT STILL HAS CHAPTERS NOW), The "quirky" My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and more. Though now no longer running as of now, many well known manga in pop-culture such as Naruto, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Dragon Ball, and many others have amassed millions of fan, millions of merchandise and BILLIONS of dollars. If your manga makes it onto Shonen Jump, then I'd say: You definitely made it in life.
Now that we've had some background info;
Synopsis/Story/Plot/insert other word that means story
Our main protagonist is Nagisa. Nagisa was placed in Class 3E of Kunugigaoka Junior High School, where 3E is treated pretty much like social outcasts. They're isolated on a heavily wooded mountain, where their shabby building sits in an open clearing. The reason behind this was to segregate the "weaker" students. Those who couldn't meet the school's standards or who broke school regulation would be sent to 3E. Maybe it was a coincidence that all the characters in 3E have abnormal hair, but hey, don't look at me. (Look at Nagisa on the left instead. He has the blue hair)
The thing about Sensei though, is that he is a genuinely good teacher. He doesn't discriminate Class 3E like how the other Kunugigaoka students and teachers do. While the students try to kill him, they are still able to learn from him. He gives not only academic advice, but some life advice to students, deeply caring for their physical and emotional well-beings. He also can be funny at times, where he even references Naruto, a popular manga series during class. Quite the down-to-earth teacher. Ironic, no?
At the end of chapter 1, Class 3E dubs our endearing yellow alien teacher "Korosensei," which is a play on the word "殺せない (Korosenai)," meaning Unkillable
Class 3E, Government officials, and who knows what all attempt to kill Korosensei in wacky, stupid, but most times lowkey intelligent ways. Will he survive the term and kill his innocent students along with the 7.9 billion other people on Earth? I mean with their colored and uniquely styled "protagonist" hair...probably???
You'll just have to read it and find out!
The Review
Assassination Classroom is a wonderful manga that I strongly consider you read. It has many aspects of slice-of-life, and comedy, but at the same time, it ties in elements like suspense and action, and in a pleasantly excellent manner at that.
Whether it's the well-thought out and detailed plans of killing the "unkillable," the peaceful peer bonding between the students of 3E, or the comical yet somewhat meaningful bond between the students and Korosensei, I can clearly visualize why this book is Shueisha material. Having also watched a bit of the anime, I'd say that it thankfully stays true to the continuity of the manga thus far and keeps the elegant charm the manga has...
What's that? The movie??? What movie? I didn't say anything about a movie. If there was one, then it would definitely feel too rushed to fit 200 chapters of a complex story into just 2 hours. There is definitely, absolutely, positively, undoubtedly, indubitably, NO Assassination Classroom movie :D (but seriously, don't watch the movie, it's not too good, haha)
If I were to recommend anywhere to read this, I'd recommend trying to find the books at the Champaign Public Library (TeenSpace specifically, they have some good manga), or just reading it online at this link:
Type either: Assassination Classroom manga (in google)
or Copy-Paste/Type this link
https://www55.assassinationclassroom.online/
This book sounds like an interesting deviation from the normal books I find interesting. Great job on explaining the intricacies in the summary of the book and making the blog as a whole interesting and engaging!
ReplyDeleteWow, I really enjoyed reading this blog post Willie! Your writing was humorous and witty, and made me more intrigued into reading Assassination Classroom! I also like how you added background information, and where you can access the manga! Great job!
ReplyDeleteP.S I'm loving these titles :)
This manga definitely sounds interesting, and you really illustrated well the tough situation the students were put in! Like Steph, I enjoy your style of writing blogs and the comedic elements involved with it. I'm really interested in reading more of your blogs!
ReplyDeleteGreat manga review. I can just imagine Nagisa's face when he walks in to 3E for the first time and finds out his teacher is an alien trying to destroy Earth. I like how you made clear that although the teacher is trying to destroy Earth, he is the nicest and most down-to-earth teacher in the school. I definitely enjoyed reading this review and will definitely try this manga out.
ReplyDeleteAmazing job Willie! This blog really blew me away -- I love how you formatted it, all the pictures you included, and even the links at the end. I have heard about this manga but I never really knew what it was about. The plot seems so interesting and fun. This will definitely go on my manga must-reads! Again, great job Willie!
ReplyDeleteYour titles never disappoint. This book has probably the weirdest plot I've ever seen, but it still seems enjoyable to read. I really liked your review of the book as well as the general summary. You didn't keep things serious, and instead embraced the funny and wacky side of this manga. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYAY! Another manga review!! As someone who greatly enjoys reading manga, this series has been on my to-read list for a while, actually. I really loved how you formatted this review and how you described the plot and even gave us some background information! I've heard from a quite a few people that this story is also quite sad, but you say it's also a slice-of-life? But I'll definitely have to check out the story to find out for myself. Great post!!
ReplyDelete