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'Assassination Classroom' Misfits on a mission to kill octopus-like teacher
The main cast of Assassination ClassroomA group of misfits in a prestigious school in Japan is given the worldâs most important mission: kill a yellow octopus-like teacher before he destroys the world
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The main cast of Assassination Classroom
A group of misfits in a prestigious school in Japan is given the world's most important mission: kill a yellow octopus-like teacher before he destroys the world.
Japanese action comedy flick Assassination Classroom delivers touching drama and weird humor that somehow work when a group of students are given the mission to kill their yellow, octopus-like teacher.
In a country where teachers are highly respected, the students of class 3-E, the worst class in the prestigious Kunugigaoka junior high school, face a dilemma.
For an unknown reason, a yellow octopus-like monster with a head resembling a ping-pong ball wants to be their homeroom teacher.
With his super powers and moves, the monster previously tweaked the shape of the moon, making it a permanent crescent. Next on his list is to destroy Earth unless one of the students manages to kill him within a year of studying.
Strangely, the government seems to have no choice but to accept the alien's terms. Now, the world's fate rests on the shoulders of these academically poor students.
'Good luck killing me before graduation!' the monster, dubbed Korosensei, or unkillable teacher, cheerfully tells the class.
It is the wacky premise that is the core of Japanese film Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoushitsu), a live-action adaptation of Yusei Matsui's popular manga of the same name.
Started as a serial comic in a Japanese magazine before being released in book form, Assassination Classroom gained significant followers, with more than 10 million copies of the comics being put in circulation in less than two years after the first volume came out.
The craze lingered when the Eiichiro Hasum-directed film was released in Japan in March. Assassination Classroom topped the weekend box office with ¥410 million and crossed ¥2 billion in two weeks.
The movie, indeed, has many things to offer: humor, heartwarming drama and odd yet appealing fight scenes.
The hero of this flick is timid student Nagisa Shiota, charmingly played by J-pop group member Ryosuke Yamada in his feature film debut.
With his perfectly tousled hair, calm nature and charm, it is a bit hard to imagine Nagisa ending up being a misfit in school.
He closely observes the behavior of his new teacher Korosensei (voice by Kazunari Ninomiya, a member of Japanese boy band Arashi).
Clad in a robe and educator's cap, the yellow being turns to red when infuriated and gets green stripes all over his face when overjoyed. He loathes rainy days as his body absorbs the rainwater like a sponge and swells up.
Nagisa's wingman is Karma Akabane (Masaki Suda), a standoffish boy with a track record of single handedly beating up gangs of students.
The plot develops at a fast pace and throws some interesting details on the characters' past along the way. Even the monster, Korosensei, is haunted by bitter memories.
The government provides the students with guns and knives specially designed to kill the monster. If successful, they will save the world and get a ¥10 billion reward.
The students start with the simple strategy of bombarding Korosensei with bullets and knives and later move on to peculiar plans ' such as luring the teacher into a trap using a porn magazine.
The government also sends some support. A seductive hit woman, Irina Jelavic, is hired to infiltrate the class under the disguise of an English teacher. The character is oddly entrusted to Kang Ji-young, a former member of South Korean girl band Kara, who sports a blonde wig and acts unconvincingly flirtatious in an effort to resemble a Russian femme fatale.
Later, the government sends Ritsu (Kanna Hashimoto), a refrigerator-sized computer and weaponry with a personality of a girl.
Korosensei is unconcerned and instead enjoys thwarting every amateurish assassination attempt by his students. The story gets wackier as the monster wholeheartedly teaches them the art of assassination, besides conventional school subjects.
The appealing part comes when a teacher-student bond develops. Suddenly, Korosensei does not look like a deadly monster anymore but more like the best teacher they ever had.
Some manga-style and slapstick jokes hit the spot. There are also some hiccups where the comical scenes seem to be taken directly from the comic pages without proper silver screen adaptation. One of them is during the arrival of a new teacher, Takaoka (Masanobu Takashima), an ex-military man with a sinister agenda.
With his over-the-top and vicious attitude, Takaoka makes it clear from the beginning that he is the villain. It is disappointing that he is merely pure evil with no layers of personality. His sinister plan is a bit ridiculous and unconvincing.
Assassination Classroom, which summarized 75 manga chapters, is a bizarre universe with a pack of zany twists and turns in its plot. But if you are willing to abandon your logic for 110 minutes, you will have an amusing ride of touching drama, unconventional comedy and action. In a nutshell, the bubbly monster, animated in seamless 3-D, and his class have what it takes to charm you.
Not all the problems and mysteries are resolved when the closing credits roll. Perhaps the answers will be revealed in its sequel, due to be released next year.
' Photos Courtesy of Fuji Television Network
