Assassination Classroom is definitely a unique series, as given by the title. We have countless middle school or high school setting manga, but what about ones with themes of assassins? To add on top, the story involves the students trying to assassinate their teacher. But the real thing that this manga strives for is more on the education with the teacher-student relationships.
One constant theme is how important the educator is. As they make a huge impact on the students. However, this series faces reality in many ways. As great as teachers like Koro-sensei and Principal Asano are, they aren’t perfect. We see them experience failure. With class 3-E, the big thing is shown that it is ok to fail, but it is about how you get back up. In fact, so many times the characters in this series run into a roadblock, but how they get back up is key.
The other thing this manga does well is showing that there is one more path to success. There are multiple teaching styles that are successful. Again, the rivalry between Koro-sensei and Principal Asano shows this well. Also, with how Koro-sensei creates a lesson plan for his students, everyone learns differently. They need the right adults to guide them in life. However, the root of it is the adults need to also make sure the students don’t become overly dependent on their teacher, as there is a time that they will need to move on. The ending for this manga highlights this.
Koro-sensei’s design itself is very odd, to say the least. He looks far from what a teacher would look like. Which is basically the point where ultimately results matter more. We should trust who he is as a person rather than the monster that he looks like and is called. As we see the students come to trust Koro-sensei as the series continues forth.
One great theme this series shows is the influence our educators can make. Koro-sensei failed as a teacher his first time around despite having all the talent in the world. Raises the point that educators passion is so important. Aguri herself has many flaws, but her passion is what ends up influencing Koro-sensei the most. We see the torch get passed from him to Nagisa as he finds out that he wants to be a teacher. One thing this series points out is that your skills don’t define you. Nagisa resembles this as he chooses a path in life that most people wouldn’t suggest, but it is something he loves.
The comedy is definitely one aspect that will greatly affect your enjoyment of the series. Overall, it was very solid in this area. The art is also very good for a weekly manga in Weekly Shounen Jump.
Probably the one weakness in this manga is the action arcs. As you have some good arcs, but sometimes these conclusions can feel lackluster. Granted, there are messages that serve as learning points for the students of this series. The large cast of students is one that I wouldn’t disagree can feel too large. Not everyone is given equal focus and development. Perhaps if the number of students were closer to 15 students, things would be more even. Though the personalities of them are endearing, I couldn’t imagine the class of 3-E without them.
If you read manga, I consider Assassination Classroom a must-read, more so with all the themes and messages it has. It approaches many topics that both adults and kids can take a lot out of. Plus the story is so much fun to read.