“The difference between the novice and master is that the master has failed more times than the novice has tried.” -Korosensei
It’s been about a couple years since I last saw this anime, and all I could remember about it were good things. From the beautiful animation and scenery, to the priceless words of wisdom that Korosensei taught his class, and us. Assassination classroom is one of the few anime out there that embraces so many genres at once. Not only that, it does so effectively as well. As we watch E Class throughout the school year, we can’t help but start to feel like part of the class as Korosensei teaches us the valuable lessons in life. Something normally parents do! As a result of this masterful use of character interaction and development, these characters feel THAT much more real. It then allows us to connect and sympathize with the situations at hand, resulting in powerful and effective teaching moments. So without further ado, let’s begin my final review of season 1 of Assassination Classroom....Target On!
Art and Animation: 8.7/10
- Now this may be a surprise to some of you since I said that the art and animation is BEAUTIFUL, but I do have my reasons. First and foremost, while the art itself is stunning when it comes down to the pure beauty of graphics, character design, and environment, it does lack considerably in day-to-day moments. You’ll find that there are many moments where the frames are a little choppy, resulting in rigid movements of the characters at odd times. Unfortunately, where it shines in this department is during the action-packed scenes where we get to really see how amazing this studio is at animation, but then the events in between are somewhat neglected. Nothing too bad though! Just these few key things gave this an above average score in Art and Animation.
Soundtrack and Audio: 8.9/10
- Oh boy. Well I’m sure ALL of us remember the first time we saw the first OST of this anime.......and we would never forget it. As far as Soundtrack goes, it does fit the anime very well due to its cheery and energetic vibe. The second OST is also very decent, and complements the anime as well. If I were to give a score though on just purely the Soundtrack, id give it a 8.7/10. Nothing too crazy, but nothing too amazing as well. As far as audio goes, I’d give that a 9.2/10 for solid voice actors and VERY satisfying sound effects. This anime shines in its effects and doesn’t hold back during scenes full of action, which allows us to enjoy it that much more.
Storyline and Character Progression: 9/10
- Well, as far as this department goes, we don’t see a HUGE jump and focus of character progression OR storyline. Some of you may disagree, which is understandable, but let me explain why I feel this way. First of all, when characters ARE developed, they get 2 episodes max of spotlight....and then aren’t even mentioned throughout the rest of the season. Also, the only ones who really get development are ones like Nagisa, Karma, Miss Hella B!tch, and of course......Korosensei. This is to be expected though since they all are pretty much main characters, the biggest problem though is how LONG it took for them to be developed. It took a whole 20+ episodes (granted there’s a whole class of people we want to learn more about) to develop these people just a little bit......just enough for us going into season 2. In my opinion, I believe that season 1 is better described as a “primer” to get us ready for the crazy, nonstop pacing of season 2. While the development was great, and best of all INTERESTING, it was very light in terms of development. This may be because I’m used to the deep development we see in romance/dramas, but hey, this is a critical review after all!
And there you have it! After a trip down memory lane and getting hit with huge waves of nostalgia, I’m glad to say that i thoroughly enjoyed my rewatch of this stunning anime. If you’re wondering about starting up on this one, I say: GO FOR IT! This is an anime I highly recommend to all who are thinking of starting up on anime. This is mainly because it’s entertaining, unique, and catches your attention EVERY episode. It’s such a great anime to recommend because it encompasses MANY different genres such as action, adventure, psychological, comedy, and even drama, romance, and slice of life! Korosensei is there to teach us all there is to life! Because as he says:
“Those who can't do what they have to when the time comes for action will find their presence fading in our classroom. An assassin who neglects to sharpen his blade is no assassin at all. He's just a boastful brat swinging around a rusty sword."
So, without further ado, my final score on Assassination Classroom is a respectable 8.9/10. While it shines in aspects of Character Interactions and Animation scenes full of action, it digresses and loses its solid performance in the “in between” moments. If you’ve seen this anime already and loved it, then I REALLY recommend you watch season 2. If you’ve finished season 2, rewatch it! I got so much more out of it with my second rewatch, it even made me enjoy and appreciate it a lot more. If you’ve never heard of it, watch it RIGHT NOW. You definitely won’t regret it, until next time though......see you in class!
