Assassination Classroom is possibly the most unique shounen/comedy/action story I have ever seen in either anime or manga. Despite it's somewhat slow start and very peculiar setup, this manga is executed very well with good pacing and astonishing character development despite the large cast.
As for the story, it is about an unfortunate group of third year middle schoolers at a prestigious school. They are "Class E" which is full of the idiots, delinquents, and other people who didn't fit into the other four classes. Their class is used as an example for the other students about what happens if you don't do well in school
...
and is the main reason why their middle school is as famous as it is. One day, something bizarre happens. Class E gets a new teacher, but he is no ordinary teacher. Their new teacher is an extremely intelligent, fast (like "speed of sound" fast), powerful, and overall extremely advanced octopus who intends to destroy the Earth at the end of the school year just like he already destroyed half of the moon. He is soon given the name "Korosensei" and the students begin their new lives training as assassins in order to kill Korosensei (while still being normal, rejected middle school students). The reasons why Korosensei decided to become a middle school teacher for a year and why he wants to destroy the Earth are shrouded in mystery with only tiny glimpses of his past shown to the reader.
This is where I had some initial doubts about the manga, but they are cleared up very quickly. With such a bizarre setup, you would think the relationship between Korosensei and the 20 or so students would be very difficult to keep going. This, as it turns out, is actually the strongest part of the manga. Korosensei is not only incredibly intelligent, but he has every intention of helping each and every single one of his students succeed in every way possible. He is arrogant, perverted, humble, embarrassed, helpful, kind, scary, and many more things throughout the manga. Despite wanting to destroy the world and all of his students with it at the end of the year, he genuinely cares about all of them and teaches them not only in normal school subjects, but he also guides them to becoming great assassins (despite having absolutely no intention of letting them actually kill him). His bond with the students grows so much that they like him as well and even help him at times in return. The character development not only between teacher and students but also throughout the class as a whole is personally my favorite part of this manga. Watching a group of misfits with no purpose in life who are just waiting until high school when they can escape from their hellish lives in middle school grow into successful students and assassins is actually heartwarming in a way.
The art is certainly interesting especially when it comes to Korosensei. His appearance varies all the time depending on his moods, outfits, hiding techniques, etc. Each of his different moods causes a different facial coloration and pattern which leads to some psychological aspects between him and other characters (especially his common "looking down on you" face). As for his outfits and other things, they range from looking like a baseball on a field to a stag beetle outfit to horrible human disguises.
The rest of the characters are less unique. With around 20 students in the class, there are some who are not very recognizable. While the more important ones like Nagisa and Karma stand out, most of the others (often because they won't appear for many chapters) are easily forgettable in both appearance and characteristics. Still, the mangaka does usually reiterate the strong points of each character when they are playing a more important role, so this is not much of a problem.
As for the characters, it is not necessarily their individual personalities that make them enjoyable, but it is instead the way that they develop and grow together as a class. Individually (aside from maybe Nagisa and Karma), the students are not very interesting and tend to be mostly forgettable aside from the short times when they become important. Shiota Nagisa is the only real protagonist of the entire group. He doesn't often take the spotlight and plays more of a role of an onlooker and narrator for the most part. However, he does have some very interesting parts in which his inner "shounen-action-hero" self shows itself in a way fitting for an assassin. Akabane Karma is the second most important student so far. Despite being in the "failure" Class E, he is actually incredibly intelligent. Karma is a delinquent who is ecstatic to find that it is okay for him to kill his new teacher. He is a genius when it comes to strategizing but also has a tendency to be very lazy and overconfident with his abilities. And then there's everyone else which the manga does a better job of introducing than I could do in this review due to the very large cast.
I think Assassination Classroom is a very good manga which really picks up the pace as it goes along. It starts off slow due to having to introduce many characters and slowly builds their development into something amazing. What seems like just a sad-sack of young teenagers slowly turns into a more intelligent, cooperative, and murderous group of students and assassins. They really do like their new teacher, but they still know that they are doing all of this to kill him. So far at least, they haven't gone soft and decided they like him too much and don't want to kill him. They only have until the end of the school year in March. I'm really looking forward to how this manga will end. As far as shounen/action manga go, this one has kept me the most interested in seeing how it ends. If you enjoy action, comedy, or psychological manga, then I recommend reading this. It has just about everything you could hope for in action manga with a school setting and it keeps getting better and better as the story progresses.
 Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Tokyo Department Sensou Taikenki, Tokyo Department Store War Chronicles Japanese: 暗殺教室 More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: 21
Chapters: 187
Status: Finished
Published: Jul 2, 2012 to Apr 25, 2016
Theme:
School
Demographic:
Shounen
Serialization:
Shounen Jump (Weekly) Authors:
Matsui, Yuusei (Story & Art) Statistics Ranked: #3862 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #70
Members: 156,190
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Sep 19, 2013
Assassination Classroom is possibly the most unique shounen/comedy/action story I have ever seen in either anime or manga. Despite it's somewhat slow start and very peculiar setup, this manga is executed very well with good pacing and astonishing character development despite the large cast.
As for the story, it is about an unfortunate group of third year middle schoolers at a prestigious school. They are "Class E" which is full of the idiots, delinquents, and other people who didn't fit into the other four classes. Their class is used as an example for the other students about what happens if you don't do well in school ... 
Oct 31, 2016
Truly the best manga ever created.This is by far the most enjoyable manga of all time. If you are a school student, this series has got to be the most relatable for your time. If you are not a school student, then you may be able to relive your moments as a school student. The length of the manga is appropriate to the complex storyline that in encompasses. It is really a nice way to enjoy the introduction of characters and see how they are developed before moving on to the core elements of the plot.
Story: 10/10 The story is amazing. As I have said earlier, ... 
Mar 17, 2016
Oh Yūsei Matsui, thanks for the greatness of a manga you bestowed upon thee.
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu was a pretty great ride while it lasted, I think this was perhaps one of my least favorites at first, however it really grew on me. To be more specific the characters did. I'll have to say personally I think the story was a bit too ridiculous, however the good thing about it was that it added a great sense of humor along with. I was always excited to see what was going to happen next each and every chapter. Going back to what I said earlier, I loved the characters. ... 
Jan 12, 2015
[SPOILER FREE REVIEW - UP TO CHAPTER 30]
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu is a very unique shounen/comedy/action manga that has managed to make me reconsider about the combination of the said genres. I never go for such manga since I prefer to read an actual story with an intriguing plot etc. I'd rather watch comedy than read it most of the times. But this manga has definitely captured my attention. The story is pretty simple to follow, since there's just one crucial plot point you need to remember from the beginning (although, I can assure you that you won't forget it, as it is mentioned more times than I ... 
Mar 2, 2015
Assassination Classroom is somewhat of a unique shounen which blends comedy and action really well.To me this manga is a break from the more mainstream shounen manga and it really is a fun and interesting read.
Story The story to say the least is really weird.The misfits(Class 3-e) of Kunugigaoka Middle School must kill their new homeroom teacher (an octupus creature of unknown origin or as the students call him Koro-sensei) before he blows up the earth in one year and also become world class assassins in the process .For the most part the stories really focuses on the development of class 3-e developing into assassins ... 
Mar 11, 2017
Assassination Classroom is an enjoyable, if overrated, series. It's one that started off merely okay, but it certainly improved as it progressed and I read more and more.
First of all, the premise is certainly unique. A super powerful creature threatens to destroy the world, yet he wants to teach a middle school class? It's a concept that will leave you wondering what's going on, and this is something the series uses to keep you going: What are Koro-sensei's secrets, and when will we discover them? And I can say that while you do have to wait quite a while to find out everything, it's certainly ... 
Jan 13, 2015
If you are the kind of individual who enjoys tentacles of comedy penetrating your funny bone, then Assassination Classroom is the manga for you. It has everything you could want from a shonen manga: a unique art style, likeable characters, and, most importantly, it manages to maintain an essentially perfect balance between comedy and action. Unlike other comedy manga, which can often come across as being too Japanese, Assassination Classroom’s comedy is generally much more accessible, relying more on character-based comedy than wordplay (although wordplay does feature quite heavily in the beginning).
Assessing the characters in Assassination Classroom is a difficult exercise. It took more ... 
Jun 17, 2013
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu, or Assassination Classroom (my preferred title), is a remarkable manga; since its debut, its tankobons have been topping sales charts in Japan and ranked relatively highly in Weekly Shonen Jump, which is amazing. Having read the mangaka's previous manga, Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, which was incredible in terms of storytelling, I had been looking forward to Assassination Classroom for quite a time. And in some ways, it is vastly different from Neuro, but in some other ways it still has the trademark absurdist humor and surrealism that are typical of Matsui's works.
Certainly, the octopus-like character of Korosensei merits some inevitable hentai fanart, but ... 
Aug 11, 2015
After constantly putting off reading this manga i have finally caught up.Ansatsu Kyoushitsu is a very popular manga among teens in japan that is always in the top 10 of weekly shounen jump and so i wondered what was so good about it and after having read it i can say the popularity is well deserved.Ansatsu Kyoushitsu is different from the standard shounen series the entire concept of middle scholars having to kill their homeroom teaching or else he will blow up the planet in a year is something you don't see in shounen.The relationship between the students and the teacher koro sensei is peculiar
...
Jul 7, 2016
NO SPOILERS
Assassination Classroom was a manga I didn't really like when I read the first volume. Was it the odd premise? Or the somewhat bland characters? I couldn't tell you, but I decided to come back to it after I heard it would end in five weeks. I'm glad I did, because I found a very well done manga that has a somewhat rough start. STORY ----- Assassination Classroom's premise is very odd to say the least. Class E3, the worst of the worst, have been given a special assignment: Kill their new teacher, punnily named Korosensei by one of the students, before their graduation in March. ... 
Apr 2, 2018
Assassination Classroom is not fot everyone. Its concept is weird and it kind of makes you question whether you should read it or not at first. However, once you get used to the concept, it actually becomes pretty balanced.
Story-wise, it's a pretty chill manga that offers you that one bit of relaxation. You don't have to waste brain power to understand what's going on. It's also pretty funny; the humor is simple but effective. There are gags that play many times without getting boring. That's what happens at the beginning. After a certain point, Assassination Classroom becomes way more interesting and you'll find yourself invested ... 
Jul 15, 2015
So, i pick up this manga after i watch all 22 episodes of the TV Anime.
Maybe this is the most unique shounen manga i have ever read. So, first we have an octopus who can move at a mach 20 speed. He threatens mankind that he will destroy earth if by the end of march next year, Class 3 E can't kill him. But is it really his intentions ? What is the secret behind this mysterious octopus? Art. Most people judge manga by the art. If the art is bad, then they are out. At first, i was reluctant to start reading this manga because the ... 
Mar 17, 2016
It was a very nice and not tediously long manga series. I loved it, we got to know all characters (some more than others), we got failure, success, laughs and tear. It ended where it should have ended but I still wished that the outcome was different and that after the big event at the end everything wasn't as rushed up (3 chapters for so many students is just not enough Matsui Yuusei-sensei! >_<' ) but still I'm really glad I picked this series up when I read by chance the plot and got me hooked from start to end. You have my big thanks
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Mar 22, 2018
Assassination Classroom is one of my favorite manga in recent years, and it caught me completely by surprise as I was reading it. Short, sweet, packed with funny moments and extremely heartfelt moments, I most definitely recommend anyone should read it. My recommendation is to read it to about chapter 40, at which point you can see if it's for you or not.
Story: The story is fantastic. It's got a unique premise, it's got a continuous sense of progression and incredible pacing. It's got some crazy twists, as well as some predictable moments. It's overall quite light hearted despite some of the subject matter, but ... 
Mar 17, 2016
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu (Assassination Classroom) incorporates a mix of comedy and action which is executed well and differs from other shounen manga that I have read before. From the start I found the premise a bit strange and how could this be popular at all, but as you go on I found the series to be interesting and enjoyable to read.
How exactly do you assassinate someone that can travel at Mach 20 and move from one location to the next in the blink of an eye? Story: 9/10 The story is simple and is about a super powered alien octopus (Koro-Sensei) that has destroyed a ... 
Nov 18, 2015
Assassination Classroom is unique.That's the word to describe the manga.It draws you in and keeps you there.
A super-being destroys a large part of the moon and then becomes a teacher.If that doesn't make you curious, I don't know what will. It's very funny, the art is well done, and the setting of the story in particular(a school which discriminates against students who don't perform well) is refreshing.The manga hits you hard with the realism in relation to the education system.The characters are done fine.You can see the development happening gradually. Overall, it's a fun and refreshing manga to read.This is one of the few mangas that don't ... 
Jul 20, 2021
Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoshitsu) 10/10
This was seriously one of the best manga I've ever read. I can't describe how unique this series felt while still maintaining its classic shonen tropes. With a cast of absolutely amazing characters and pretty solid storytelling, I truly believe this series is an essential for anybody whether they like manga or not. I laughed, cried, and felt dozens of emotions all in the span of 181 (official) chapters and this will be a series that will live in my heart til the day I die. For those who haven't seen or read Assassination Classroom, shame on you. You will ...
Mar 21, 2020
So I recently started to re-read this manga since I have it on my bookshelf and I realized a couple things that compelled me to give it a review on here, to explain why this is such a phenomenal story, at least to me.
Firstly, despite the large cast of characters and the fact only a handful really get focused on for more than a couple pages here and there, they are all distinct. Each character has their own drive and ambition that lets them stand up and really shine when it's their turn, and it's at a level far above other stories with large casts ... 
Nov 16, 2022
TL;DR
Read this. Funny, thoughtful, emotional, this is a real classic. Story: 9/10 Excellently written, we get to follow the characters throughout the academic year. It's relatable and consistently intelligent both in terms of assassinations and how to tells it's message. And it does have a message despite the silly premise, this is a very opinionated manga. This manga is essentially the authors education philosophy in graphic form. I have seen multiple people say that it inspired them to become teachers and I can absolutely see why. On the other hand, the manga can feel a bit too blunt with the message sometimes, for example, making the ... 
Dec 8, 2021
Assassination classroom is not a great action manga. It is however a great slice of life manga with action.
All of the characters in the class are fleshed out and given usually a chapter or more to make themselves unique and different. This is good because most of the manga is about them and their relationship with Koro-sensei. The main character is a bit bland at first because he is the vehicle to view the interactions between the other students and Koro-sensei. However, as things go on he does grow and get stronger. Which is not something usually seen from the usually pretty static main ... |
