Anime Reviews (2010-2019): Assassination Classroom Season 1 (a Neo-Tokyo 2099 Anime on Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Assassination Classroom” is an enjoyable, humorous and exciting action-packed anime series and I can’t wait for Season 2!

TITLE: Assassination Classroom Season 1

YEAR: 2015

DURATION: Episodes 1-22 (550 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0, English Subtitles

COMPANY: FUNimation

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: August 14, 2018

Originally Created by Yusei Matsu

Directed by Seiji Kishi

Screenplay by Makoto Uezu

Music by Naoki Sato

Character Design by Kazuaki Morita

Art Direction by Ayumu Miyakoshi, Kazuto Shimoyama

Mechanical Design by Tomohito Hirose

Production by Lerche

Featuring the following voice talent:

Aya Suzaki/Monica Rial as Kaede Kayano

Jun Fukuyama/Sonny Strait as Koro-sensei

Mai Fuchigami/Lindsay Seidel as Nagisa Shiota

Nobuhiko Okamoto/Apphia Yu as Karma Akabane

Ayaka Suwa/Michelle Rojas as Tōka Yada

Chie Matsuura/Morgan Garrett as Megu Kataoka

Eiji Miyashita/Kyle Phillips as Sōsuke Sugaya

Fuko Saito/Terry Doty as Kirara Hazama

Hisako Kanemoto as Hinano Kurahashi

Junji Majima as Ryūnosuke Chiba

Kana Ueda as Yuzuki Fuwa

Kenta Miyake as Akira Takaoka

Kouki Harasawa as Takuya Muramatsu

Mamoru Miyano as Gakushū Asano

Manami Numakura as Rio Nakamura

Megumi Ogata as Itona Horibe

Miho Hino as Sumire Hara

Minami Tanaka as Hinata Okano

Ryo Naitou as Taiga Okajima

Ryota Ohsaka as Yūma Isogai

Saki Fujita as Jiritsu “Ritsu” Shikō Kotei Hōdai

Satomi Satou as Yukiko Kanzaki

Sayuri Yahagi as Manami Okuda

Shiho Kawaragi as Rinka Hayami

Shintarō Asanuma as Hiroto Maehara

Shinya Takahashi as Kōki Mimura

Shizuka Itou as Irina Jelavic

Sho Hayami as Gakuhō Asano

Shunsuke Kawabe as Masayoshi Kimura

Subaru Kimura as Ryōma Terasaka

Takahiro Mizushima as Kōtarō Takebayashi

Takehito Koyasu as Gastro

Tomokazu Sugita as Tadaomi Karasuma

Yoshitaka Yamaya as Tomohito Sugino

Yoshiyuki Shimozuma as Taisei Yoshida

At Kunugigaoka Junior High School, class 3-E is the lowest of the low. With abysmal test scores and no future prospects, they’ve been given up on and hidden away from the main campus at the top of a deserted mountain. But when a tentacled creature with a thirst for destruction becomes their new teacher, they’ve got a brand new assignment to get them inspired about school: take him out.

In 2012, mangaka Yusei Matsui created the manga series “Assassination Classroom” (Ansatsu Kyoshitsu).

Matsui, who was known for the manga series “Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro” and also was a former assistant of mangaka, Yoshio Sawai, would eventually create one of the best selling manga series in the past few years.

Serialized in “Weekly Shonen Jump”, a total of 12 volumes have been collected into Tankobon format and the first volume has had over one million copies printed and was on the list for best-selling manga in 2013. Came second in Media Factory’s “Book of the Year” and won the #1 position for “2014 Kono Manga ga Sugoi!” voted by male readers for Takarajimasha.

With an anime adaptation in Japan that debuted in 2015, the first part of the first season of “Assassination Classroom” was released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of FUNIMATION.

The anime series is produced by Lerche (“Danganronpa the Animation”, “Persona 4: The Animation”, “Re: Hamatora”) and was directed by Seiji Kishi (“Angel Beats!”, “Persona 4: The Animation”, “Ragnarok the Animation”, “RE: Hamatora”), a screenplay by Makoto Uezu (“Kamisama Dolls”, “Arslan Senki: Fujin Ranbu”, “Quiz Magic Academy”, “Is This a Zombie?”), music by Naoki Sato (“Blood-C”, “Eureka Seven”, “Heroic Age”), character design by Kazuaki Morita (“Kamisama Dolls”, “Tentai Senshi Sunred”, “Persona 4: The Animation”) and art direction by Ayumu Miyakoshi (“Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Noba DC”) and Kazuto Shimuyama (“Daganronpa the Animation”, “Devil Survivor 2: The Animation”).

The series begins by introducing us to a powerful alien creature that destroyed 70% of the moon, making it a crescent moon forever. The alien has said that within a year, he will destroy the Earth but he does give mankind a chance to prevent it.

Having special speed and quick reflexes, with a number of tentacles like an octopus, the alien known as Koro-sensei, becomes a teacher for the lowly class 3-E at the prestigious Kunugigaoka Junior High School.

Government worker Tadaomi Karasuma tells the entire class 3-E what problems they are facing and how Koro-sensei will destroy the Earth. But the deal the alien made with the government and military is that if he is assassinated before the end of the year, he will spare Earth. So, Tadaomi Karasuma announces that the focus of class 3-E is to kill their homeroom teacher.

And Koro-sensei is hoping the students can do it..but can they?

For volume 1, we are introduced to Nagisa Shiota, a weak student but very observant and smart and studies Koro-sensei’s color-changing moods and tries to find any weakness that he can.

Meanwhile, bad boy Karma Akabane joins class 3-E and was suspended from school prior to Korosensei’s arrival and now, Karma wants to do all he can to kill Koro-sensei.

But each time the students try to kill Koro-sensei, his mach 5 ability makes him difficult to see and kill and all fail. But when they try to kill him, Koro-sensei tries to teach each student on becoming a better person and in someways, making him likeable to a point.

With the destruction of Earth many months away, can these students kill Koro-sensei before it’s too late.

Also, a new English teacher is brought to Kunugigaoka Junior High School. Her name is Irina Jelavich who is very fashionable, sexy and no doubt has her own ways to charm the guys. But in truth, this new teacher is a mercenary and one of the best. But will she be skillful enough to assassinate Koro-sensei?

Meanwhile, we are introduced to Kunugigaoka Private Academy’s principal Gakuho Asano and learn how he views Class E!

In the second part of the first season. Government worker Tadaomi Karasuma’s former teacher in special forces replaces him as teacher for 3E, but his methods are not the most kindest and includes torture. How will the class of Koro Sensei’s 3-E respond to their new teacher?

Many of the students of Class 3-E were inflicted with a deadly virus and the person responsible for the virus is demanding that Koro-sensei’s head be delivered to him at the Fukuma Denjo Hotel, in exchange for an antidote.

But Class 3-E must use their skills which they have learned to go against high-level assassins waiting for them.

Will they survive the ordeal?

What happens when Class 3-E gets a sadistic instructor as their new P.E. teacher?

Meanwhile, what happens when the students are poisoned by a deadly virus and the remaining students must get the antidote by infiltrating a high-security hotel and taking on their deadliest rivals yet?

VIDEO:

“Assassination Classroom” is presented in 1080p High Definition. The anime series is colorful and vibrant.

Backgrounds are well-painted and it was interesting to see the darker character lines for how the main characters are drawn. But for the most part, the animation does compliment the manga series very well! And the overall anime series looks fantastic!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Assassination Classroom” is presented in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD stereo. “Assassination Classroom” is a series that features crystal clear dialogue. Both soundtracks are well-acted but I felt the English dialogue had the advantage of the use of the surround channels when it comes to lossless audio utilization.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Assassination Classroom” Season 1 comes with the following special features:

Episode 1 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Co-ADR Directors: Joel McDonald and Apphia Yu.
Episode 7 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Monica Rial (voice of Kaede Kayano), Leah Clark (voice of Yukiko Kanzaki) and Clifford Chafin (voice of Tomohito Sugino).
Episode 0 “Meeting Time”– (10:06) Koro-sensei’s story of how he met Karasuma.
Interview with the Cast – (20:22) Interviews with the English dub actors Sonny Straight, Austin Tindle, Apphia Yu and Martha Harms.
Episode 14 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Sonny Strait (voice of Koro-sensei) and Lindsay Seidel (voice of Nagisa)
Episode 17 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Martha Harms (voice of Irina Jelavich) and Chris Ryan (voice of Tadaomi Karasuma).
Top 10 Moments – (11:17) Featuring the “Assassination Classroom” voice dub cast (Sonny Straight, Apphia Yu, Chris Ryan, Lindsay Seidel, Monica Rial, Micah Solusud) discussing the top 10 moments from the first season.
Textless Opening Song – “Jiriki Hongan Revolution” Version 1 and 2, “Seishun Satsubatsuran”
Textless Closing Song – “Hello, shooting-star”
U.S. Trailer

EXTRAS:

“Assassination Classroom” Season 1 comes with a Funimation Code and a slipcover and both Blu-ray and DVD versions of the series.

My first introduction to “Assassination Classroom” was from the Vita video game “J-Stars Victory Vs.” And was wondering why there is yellow octopus in the game.

After googling and doing my research, I eventually learned about “Assassination Classroom” and wasn’t sure if it was a horror-based storyline or a manga series with humor and action.

So, I have been anticipating Yusei Matsui’s “Assassination Classroom” and it being adapted to an anime series because it has done so well in Japan.

The anime series is quite interesting as an alien who threatens to destroy the planet, unless the students of class 3-E can kill him before the year is over. I wonder how Yusei Matsui came up with the idea to make this series. It’s so far out but yet you welcome anything new and fresh.

And while the series features many characters, we are slowly introduced to the primary characters such as the weak but smart Nagisa Shiota; the cunning, smart and coldblooded Karma Akabane; and then there is Tomohito Sugino, who dreamed of becoming a baseball player, but his hopes lost when his grades got worse and thus, having him become part of class 3-E.

As the students do all they can to kill Koro-sensei, we get to learn how difficult it is because he is lightning quick and has various tricks, also many tentacles to have him do multiple things all at once.

But it’s not just students. We are introduced to a sexy English teacher named Irina Jelavich, who is an actual assassin who has succeeded in using her sexy charm to allure men and then kill them. And now, she is brought to the Academy to kill Koro-sensei…but can she? And will her style even fit in a school setting as a teacher?

We are introduced to the principal of the academy, Gakuho Asano and we start to learn how much they despise Class E. Of course, no one in Class E knows about Koro-sensei and the plan to assassinate him, but we learn how hostile the student body is towards the class.

Meanwhile, the government turns to a professional assassin known as “Red Eye” to assassinate Koro-sensei, as well as a fighting machine known as “Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery” joins Class E. And much more!

The story and premise of what the students must do is the same. As the students do all they can to kill Koro-sensei, we get to learn how difficult it is because he is lightning quick and has various tricks, also many tentacles to have him do multiple things all at once.

But each time they know they must kill him, they start to learn that he’s actually teaching them a lot about survival, their studies and are doing much better than they were before. In fact, he’s become quite likable. But can students kill a teacher that they like? Unfortunately, with this alien teacher planning to destroy the planet in one year unless they kill him…they have no choice.

In the second half of the season, we get to see the class work as a team in a baseball challenge, but also see them get a new pool. But the main storyline is the hiring of Akira Takaoka of the Ministry of Defense Special Task Department.

He has been hired to be in charge of the training for the students, while Mr. Karasuma looks for more assassins.

But for Karasuma, leaving the kids with Takaoka freaks him out because he remembers how Takaoka, as a trainer, used torture to get what he wants. Does he follow the chief’s order to let Takaoka teach the kids, or does he actually care for the kids and wants to protect them?

But now they must put their skills to use as classmates have been inflicted with a deadly virus and now they need to obtain the antidote from the person responsible.

Also, as students of Class 3-E were inflicted with a deadly virus, time is in the essence of getting an antidote to save them. So, a few of the students along with Koro-sensei, Ministory of Defense teacher Tadaomi Karasuma and Ms. Irina Jelavich must infiltrate Fukuma Denjo Hotel, where the person who was responsible is staying. But not only is he waiting for them, so are many high level assassins.

Can Class 3-E survive?

With this second part of the first season, the storyline is exciting as class 3-E finally get to use all what they learned and put it to practice, as they take on their greatest challenge yet! And while this is all happening, of course, class 3-E continues to find ways to assassinate Koro-sensei.

As for the Blu-ray release, animation is vibrant and colorful, voice acting for both Japanese and English soundtracks are well-done. You also get a good number of special features included, from audio commentary to an interview with a few of the voice talent and more.

Overall, “Assassination Classroom” is an enjoyable, humorous and exciting action-packed anime series and I can’t wait for Season 2!

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