“Assassination Classroom” is an enjoyable, humorous and action-packed manga series thus far. The fifth volume shows how the group is starting to become stronger as a team, but individually, how being part of class 3-E has made them each better. But better what….students or assassins? Recommended!
Image courtesy of © Ansatsu Kyoshitsu 2012 by Yusei Matsui. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: Assassination Classroom vol. 5
STORY AND ART BY: Yusei Matsui (æ¾äº•å„ªå¾)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shueisha, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
Available on August 4, 2015
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Intramural relations are at an all-time low: Principal Asano wants to crush Koro Sensei’s 3-E baseball team while Koro Sensei wants to avenge Principal Asano’s sabotage of 3-E’s midterms. Then the government sends in a new Special Forces operative – a ruthless father figure who tests Karasuma’s combat coaching skills. You’ll never guess which student does him proud! And when Koro Sensei digs a swimming pool to help his students cool off, they discover a new weakness of his – as well as how cute their classmates look in swimsuits!
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?
Find out in volume 5 of Yusei Matsui’s hit manga series, “Assassination Classroom”!
What is “Assassination Classroom” all about?
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 to debut in 2015, the English translated version was released in the United States in Dec. 2014
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 2, 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!
For volume 5, the chief orders Karasuma to concentrate in finding assassins, while leaving the training to his former drill instructor, Akira Takaoka to train the kids. An extremely dangerous psychopath, who uses torture on those who don’t follow his orders.
We have seen the students within Class E grow. Grow as friends, grow as assassins, even seeing their own respect for their alien teacher, Koro-sensei to grow, despite the fact that they must kill him or else see him destroy the world.
In this latest issue, 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?
As for the artwork, Yusei Matsui does a good shop with character designs, as well as creating detailed backgrounds during the more action-driven scenes.
Overall, “Assassination Classroom” is an enjoyable, humorous and action-packed manga series thus far. The fifth volume shows how the group is starting to become stronger as a team, but individually, how being part of class 3-E has made them each better. But better what….students or assassins?
Recommended!