There is always a certain sadness when a comic comes to an end. But when an ending is done well, it leaves not just a gap in your reading list, but also a void in your heart, knowing that this will be the last you’ll see of the characters from this beloved comic.
After four years in serialisation, popular Japanese manga Assassination Classroom published its final chapter in Weekly Shonen Jump last week, bringing to an end one of the most original and inspiring manga series in recent times.
While the story of a weird, octopus-like alien monster with a smiley face for a head teaching a class of misfits may not seem like blockbuster material at first, Yusei Matsui’s manga not only became one of the best-selling manga in Japan (as of December, the 17 collected volumes have sold more than 20 million copies), but was also made into a live-action feature film that was the 10th highest-grossing film in Japan for 2015 (a sequel is due out later this year).
The story of Assassination Classroom is simple – the aforementioned tentacled alien monster has supposedly destroyed 70% of the Moon and threatened to do the same to Earth within a year. Seemingly unkillable, the monster can move at Mach 20, has an almost impossible number of deadly tentacles, and can only be hurt by one particular substance.
Earth’s only hope for salvation lies with the students of a certain Class 3-E at the Kunugigaoka Junior High School, the worst class in the school, populated by delinquents, bottom scorers, and general no-hopers. The idea is that the monster, nicknamed “Korosensei” (a combination of korosenai, meaning unkillable, and sensei, meaning teacher) by the students, will become their home teacher and not only teach them the usual subjects, but also methods of assassination, in the hopes that they would be able to kill him within the one-year limit.
However, what follows in the next 180 chapters or so of the manga is not page after page of homicidal students trying to kill an alien in the most violent way possible, but a heart-warming, sometimes touching, mostly hilarious tale of a teacher and his students.
Korosensei turns out to be the best teacher they ever had, teaching them to become the best version of themselves, helping them with their schoolwork, and giving them the neccesary skills to succeed in life; while at the same time, teaching them martial arts, how to wield machine guns, and giving them every skill they would need to assassinate him.
Along the way, they meet formidable opponents who are also out to kill Korosensei (and get the one billion yen reward the Japanese Government is offering for the kill), including a sexy blonde Russian assassin (who later becomes their teacher), a murderous artificial intelligence (who later becomes a student as well), and a master assassin nicknamed the God Of Death.
What makes Assassination Classroom such a great read is the way Matsui manages to make you care about each and every one of the characters, especially Korosensei and his students.
While Nagisa, the timid boy who becomes a master assassin, and Karma, the delinquent who is actually a genius, stand out the most, the rest of the class is given every chance to shine as well. Their progress from no-hopers to oustanding students is a joy to read, as is the dark secret behind Korosensei’s past, and the real reason he became their teacher.
While many of the most popular manga seem to go on and on endlessly, Matsui has chosen to end his hit series on a high note, with the final chapters wrapping things up in the most uplifting yet bittersweet way possible.
Goodbye, Korosensei, and congratulations on your graduation from the assassination classroom, Class 3-E.
Selected volumes of Assassination Classroom are available at Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC. Call 03-2164 8133 or e-mail: ebd3_kbm@kinokuniya.co.jp or visit www.kinokuniya.com/my
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