Assassination Classroom: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Assassination Classroom: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Talk about "extracurricular activities." How about “repeated government sanctioned attempted murder” on the old college application?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 28, 2018

Give it to the Anime genre (and the Manga on which so many, including this show, are based): there's absolutely no shortage of off-the-wall ideas that writers and producers proverbially throw against the wall, and plenty of these oddball concepts tend to stick. Take Assassination Classroom, the story of an all-powerful alien that looks like an octopus with a face that nearly mirrors the cover of Raina Telgemeier's YA graphic novel Smile (minus the braces). Odd, but consider that the alien has destroyed most of the moon and promises to destroy most of the Earth in a few months time and, in the interim, poses as a Japanese schoolteacher -- in full yellow-octo guise -- where it repeatedly takes assassination attempts from students and other individuals with various motivations for killing it, not the least of which is saving the world. The randomness alone carries enough intrigue to give it a chance, but the question is whether Assassination Classroom can stretch the material in a viable, meaningful manner to hold the audience once the initial draw to weird gives way to the show's normal.

"If you stab me at an angle of 34 degrees..."

The students in class 3-E are described as those at the "end off the line." They're a collection of flunkies and rejects with little chance of making a difference in the world...but they just might be the ones to save it. A mysterious alien (who claims to be “Earthly born and bred”) has destroyed most of Earth's moon and is threatening to destroy Earth itself in mere months. But the alien isn't above a little gamesmanship. It agrees to offer mankind an opportunity to kill it before its deadline, no small task considering both its regenerative powers and its ability to move at mach 20, essentially allowing it to dodge bullets and stay ahead of even the world's most advanced fighter jets. The alien is also inserted as a Japanese school teacher for none other than class 3-E. All of the students therein are now in training to assassinate the alien using special BBs that are deadly to it but harmless to humans. Oh, and there's a major cash reward for saving the world, so there is no shortage of eager bodies waiting to pull that trigger and nail that lucky shot. But their efforts prove fruitless. The alien, whom the class names "Koro-sensei" (voiced by Sonny Strait), easily foils every attempt on its life, and actually does the unthinkable: forms a bond with the students. It's the best teacher they have ever had, they agree, but their rising grades and improving self images will mean nothing if the world goes bye-bye in less than a year's time. As various students attempt to take it down -- including a cunning new transfer student and another more interested in profiling the alien and seeking out a weakness -- fail, it becomes ever more obvious that Earth's days are numbered at the tentacles of a smiling yellow octopus-thing.

The show's first episodes are more exploratory than they are forward advancing, setting the stage for and establishing the relationship between Koro-sensei and the students in class 3-E. The first episodes are dedicated to proving that a hail of BB-bullets isn't going to bring the teacher down. No, the students are going to have to get crafty. They have their fun unloading on their teacher but quickly realize that they will have to outsmart their teacher, not just try and overwhelm it with force. They will have to come to know it, love it, understand its innermost workings, feelings, and responses to the world, both in the classroom and beyond. Guile, not guns, will have to be its undoing. But can that storyline hold for twenty-something episodes? If it was just repeated assassination attempts, no. But this is not a static show. It builds a story but maintains freshness through humor and character evolution, new reveals, and expanded story and character dimensions. By the final episodes, it's an entirely different creature, having significantly evolved since those charmingly unique beginning episodes. Without spoiling its turns, suffice it to say that the relationship between teacher and students, as well as the show's greater scope, are much different and pave the way for a highly anticipated second season.

Assassination Classroom: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Assassination Classroom: Season 1's 1080p Blu-ray release delivers a positive image quality. Essential details and colors are both strong points. With the former, viewers will note well-rounded character models and impressively revealing objects throughout, such as the fine wood grains on the desks in the 3-E classroom. Close-up of guns, baseballs marked with the deadly purple/pink pellets that are harmful to the alien, trees and grasses outdoors, all the way on through to even some of the darker segments seen in the final episodes never struggle to reveal seemingly all of the original art's inherent texturing. Colors are lively with character hair, exterior greenery, and those aforementioned BBs enjoying the fruits of a lush, well saturated palette, while darker elements, warmer colors, and numerous support hues never falter throughout. The transfer's only real drawback is fairly persistent and sometimes very heavy banding which can easily distract from any given scene in which it appears at its most invasive. Otherwise, the core animation elements shine on Blu-ray.

Assassination Classroom: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Assassination Classroom: Season 1's English language Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack largely remains the property of the front channels. Surrounds are technically in use, but they do not often carry a significant barrage of prominent information, presenting light support more so than loud and readily obvious sound elements. Front end width is terrific, where music and effects alike enjoy an appropriate stretch and clarity to go along. Dialogue is positioned in the center, and definition and prioritization are fine. The native Japanese track is unfortunately limited to a Dolby TrueHD two channel configuration but it is not significantly impacted by the loss of the surround or subwoofer channels. Depth is a little lacking but what minimal surround use was evident in English isn't missed here. Musical and effects clarity are fine, stretch is a positive, and dialogue is clear and images to the center. Note that languages cannot be changed "on the fly" or in-program via remote button press. A return to the main menu is required.

Assassination Classroom: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Assassination Classroom: Season 1 contains a quartet of commentary tracks, a cast interview, and a bunch of filler. A FUNimation digital copy code is included with purchase.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentaries: For episode 1 "Assassination Time" and episode 7 "School Trip Time/1st Period."

Disc Two:

• Episode 0 "Meeting Time" (1080p, 10:12): A short film that looks at the story of how Karasuma and Korosensei met.
• Interview with the Cast (1080p, 20:20): Actors Sonny Strait, Martha Harms, Austin Tindle, and Actor/Director Apphia Yu participate in a fairly humorous sit-down. They explore the show from some peculiar angles but also delve into some straightforward ideas about the story, too.
• Textless Opening Song - "Seishun Satsubatsuron" (1080p, 1:32): It actually has text, just not all of it.
• Textless Closing Song - "Hello, Shooting-star" (1080p, 1:32): Lyrics, but no credits.
• Previews (1080p, 2:50 total runtime): Rapid-fire previews for episodes 2-11. In Japanese with English subtitles.
• U.S. Trailer (1080p, 1:32): An English language preview for the show.
• Trailers (1080p): Additional FUNimation properties: Black Butler: Book of Murder, Tokyo Ghoul √A, The Boy and the Beast, Psycho-Pass, Yona of the Dawn, Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie, and Rage of Bahamut: Genesis.

Disc Three:

• Audio Commentaries: For episode 14 "Vision Time" and episode 17 "Island Time."

Disc Four:

• Top 10 Moments (1080p, 11:17): Various members of the English voice cast talk up a few favorite moments from the show.
• Textless Opening Song - "Jiriki Hongan Revolution" Version 1 (1080p, 1:32).
• Textless Opening Song - "Jiriki Hongan Revolution" Version 2 (1080p, 1:32).
• Textless Closing Song - "Hello, Shooting-star" (1080p, 1:32).
• Previews (1080p, 3:07 total runtime): Rapid-fire previews for episodes 12-22. In Japanese with English subtitles.
• U.S. Trailer (1080p, 1:02): An English language preview for the first season's second half.
• Trailers (1080p): Additional FUNimation properties: Blood Blockade Battlefront, World Break: Aria of Curse for a Holy Swordsman, The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Project Itoh: Harmony, Garo the Animation, The Rolling Girls, Doamygar-D, and Fairy Tail.

Assassination Classroom: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One must wonder why they didn't just try to nuke the thing from orbit, just to be sure, especially with the fate of the world in the balance, but chances are Speedy McOcto would have just outrun the bomb and the blast, anyway. Besides, there wouldn't be a story, as curious as it may be, if something as "simple" as a nuke would have worked. Assassination Classroom allows for a curious relational construction in the shadow of the end of the world, pitting, essentially, a roomful of rejects against a superior, all-powerful entity. One can only imagine the potential for thematic resonance there, and the show does a fair job of deconstructing some of the finer points of the relationship, but it's also sure to have fun along the way, too. It's a good show that's well worth watching, and there's also a live action movie adaptation for those interested. FUNimation's Blu-ray delivers pleasing video and audio alongside a fairly lengthy collection of extra content. Highly recommended.