As a longtime anime and manga fan who has collected notable collections of Sailor Moon, Naruto, and Tokyo Ghoul, I recently found myself hooked up with Assassination Classroom Manga Box Set. This manga and anime series is also one of my favorites; thus, I ordered the collection without hesitation.
Today, it finally came, and I thought it’d be helpful to review it.
Table of Contents
Assassination Classroom Manga Box Set: Is It Worth The Money?
It is.
The whole set contains 21 volumes telling a one-of-a-kind story about a peculiar, smiley-faced, tentacled, supernatural professor who helps a bunch of outcast pupils understand themselves—while also attempting to murder him.
The lovely box (adorned with the Assassination Classroom logo) arrived utterly new, still covered in plastic. All of the volumes are great, and the set as a whole looks gorgeous on the bookcase. It also features a little poster containing the school lineup printed on the rear.
It also includes a mini artbook (featuring official Assassination Classroom art). However, I’m not sure if they created the artbook simultaneously with the book series or after the anime was released.
Regarding the book content, the manga offers absolutely no additional content (as far as I can tell) and even overlooks a few minor details, which is sad news.
Most of what is missing are one-liners from the anime, including when Koro-sensei builds a sandcastle.
A pupil in the anime remarks on this being a unique kind of sandcastle in Japan, while the book only mentions “sandcastle” and gives no more clarifications. If you’re a massive anime lover, I bet you’ll spot those minor omissions.
Besides that, the paper quality and artwork have nothing to complain about. Indeed, unlike several other box sets where you might find torn edges, all the mangas in my Assassination Classroom box set are in perfect condition. I also found no misses or doubles in my box set.
Assassination Classroom Review: Should We Read It?
Assassination Classroom is perhaps the greatest shounen/comedy/action manga I’ve ever encountered in anime or manga. Despite its relatively slow beginning and unusual setting, this manga is incredibly well-produced, having a solid pace and impressive personality building despite the enormous ensemble.
Story
The plot revolves around a class of troubling third-year middle school students at an elite institution. They belong to “Class E,” which comprises fools, troublemakers, and other individuals who did not belong to the remaining 4 classes.
This class is utilized as a lesson for fellow kids about what comes if you don’t excel in academics, and it is the key reason why their high school is so well-known.
A strange event happens suddenly. Class E has a new professor, but he is not your typical schoolteacher.
Their new instructor is a very clever, quick (like “supersonic speed”), supernatural, and all-around incredibly developed octopus who threatens the Earth’s existence by the completion of the school term, just as he has already demolished part of the lunar surface.
He is quickly granted the title “Koro-sensei” while the pupils start their new journey preparing as assassins to execute him. This is pretty ironic since when Koro-sensei was still a human, he hated high school students.
The motives for Koro sensei’s decision to be a high school instructor for a term and why he intends to blow up the Earth are kept a secret, with only snippets of his background revealed to the readers.
Character Development
This was when I had my first worries about the book, but the author soon alleviated them.
With such an awkward situation, you’d assume Koro sensei’s relationship with the 20 or so pupils would be impossible to maintain. However, as it ends up, this is the manga’s biggest strength.
Koro-sensei is not only extremely clever, but he also does have the intention of assisting all of his pupils in any way imaginable. The manga revealed many sides, such as prideful, perverse, modest, embarrassed, friendly, nice, scary, and many other traits.
Despite Koro-sensei’s power to blow up the planet and all his pupils’ intention to kill him by the completion of the term, he sincerely loves them individually.
He instructs them not just on formal academic lessons but also in the art of assassination (despite not having any intention of allowing them actually to execute him). His relationship with the pupils builds to the point where they love him and occasionally assist him.
The best aspect of this manga is the interpersonal and relationship growth between the instructor and the kids and among the whole class members.
It’s fantastic to see a bunch of outcasts with no reason to live who are only waiting for graduation to grow up. And in the end, they have matured and left their miserable existence in high school to blossom into excellent academics and assassins.
Character Portrayal
The individuals are fascinating not because of their unique characteristics but how they evolve and mature as a group.
Collectively (except Nagisa and Karma), the pupils aren’t impressive and remarkable, only standing out in a few moments when required.
Although Shiota Nagisa is the team’s actual heroine, he rarely takes center stage, preferring to be a spectator and storyteller for the most part.
However, he offers some extremely fascinating moments in which his hidden “shounen-action-hero” personality manifests itself in a manner suitable for an assassin.
Up to this point, Akabane Karma is the second most important character. Despite staying in “failing” Class E, he is brilliant. Karma is a troublemaker who is thrilled to discover that it is permissible for him to murder his new instructor.
He is a talent at planning, but he is also inclined to be careless and cocksure in his skills. And after that, there’s everybody else, which, because of the large ensemble, I couldn’t mention them all here.
Art
The artwork is really fascinating, particularly when it comes to Koro-sensei. His look changes based on his emotions, costumes, camouflage strategies, and so on.
Different feelings yield Koro-sensei a new facial color and patterns, which results in certain mental connections between him and different individuals (especially his well-known “looking down on you” attitude).
His clothes and other accessories span from resembling a softball on the pitch to a stag beetle attire to terrible human masks.
The remaining personalities are less memorable. With roughly 20 pupils in the classroom, a few are difficult to identify.
Although the more notable names, such as Nagisa and Karma, pop up, the rest of everyone (mainly because they won’t show up for a long time) are quickly forgotten in both look and traits.
However, the manga writer generally emphasizes all cast’s unique advantages when a pivotal situation comes, so this isn’t a big deal.
Pace
Assassination Classroom is a respectably impressive manga that cranks up the intensity as it progresses. It begins slowly owing to the necessity of introducing several personalities and gradually deepens their maturation into something extraordinary.
In the end, the pathetic bunch of young kids gradually transforms into a more educated, coordinated, and deadly team of pupils and assassins. They enjoy their new instructor a lot, but they realize they’re doing everything to murder him.
I heartily suggest this if you like action, humor, or psychological manga. It contains all you might want in an action book centered in a school, and it gets better and better as the plot unfolds.
Assassination Classroom Anime Vs. Manga: Which One To Try?
I believe it depends on your favorite medium. Although both are very close, I prefer the manga.
I’m sad that they did not translate some of my favorite manga details into anime. I wouldn’t claim that these moments played a prominent role in the overall plotline, but they were to handle various concerns that fans may have encountered. It’s also one of the most exciting moments.
However, if you’re a fan of the anime up to this point, you can probably just keep watching it and then snack on the manga afterward.
FAQs
How Many Seasons Are In Assassination Classroom?
This program had a two-season run.
The 1st season, created by Lerche and filmed by Seiji Kishi, aired on Fuji TV in Japan from Jan 9 to June 19, 2015. Later on, Funimation purchased the show in Northern America, simulcasting the translated edition as it premiered and streaming an English dubbed rendition beginning on Feb 30, 2015.
The 2nd season premiered from Jan 7, 2016, to June 30, 2016, and was officially streamed by Funimation, with the television English version coming online on Feb 10, 2016.
Koro-sensei Q!, a collection movie of the show and an animated movie centered on the spin-off comic series, was launched in Japan on Nov 19, 2016.
How Old Is Koro Sensei?
The author never disclosed Koro-sensei’s actual age or name throughout the series. So all we know is that he was light-skinned and skinny as a human before being tested on and finally becoming the alien-looking entity he has now become.
According to a few clues in the movie, he was in his twenties when he had his first student, and he coached that guy for about ten years. So, as a result, he’d be in his late twenties or early thirties when the plot begins.
Likewise, Koro-sensei was once believed to be the one who created the crescent moon during antimatter tests.
Why Does Koro Sensei Want To Destroy Earth?
Actually, he didn’t plan to do it at all. However, here’s why it was almost unavoidable.
Recall how the moon exploded and became an everlasting crescent? That was created by a rat that had been united with antimatter. The scale and explosion period were related to the creature’s size, which they had merged with antimatter.
Koro-sensei was once a person who had been subjected to experiments in which his cells fused with antimatter, transforming him from a regular man into an octopus-shaped monster.
Because the scientist set his explosion timing precisely 1 year from when he was converted, the Earth was set to be demolished on that day.
What Is Koro Sensei’s Biggest Weakness?
Water is one of Koro sensei’s biggest drawbacks. Fortunately, his body compensates for this by creating mucus, which can reduce, or even eliminate, inflammation to his tentacles once they come into touch with even minute moisture.
This mucus isn’t limitless, and if it’s depleted before his system can naturally generate more, he’ll be left with no protection against one of his most significant weaknesses.
Wrapping Up
Assassination Classroom is undoubtedly one of my favorite series. Matsui’s sharp critique of the education sector and the underestimation of the influence a good teacher may have on students’ futures are undoubtedly noteworthy.
If you’re also a fan of this series, I highly recommend getting Assassination Classroom Manga Box Set. The quality truly lives up to expectations and would be a valuable asset to your collection.
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