Assassination Classroom
A western interpretation of Global themes. WARNING SPOILER ALERT!!!
A western interpretation of Assassination Classroom movie.
This following piece is a completely naive interpretation based on seeing the movie with no prior knowledge or reading on the subject. A lot of what I say here may outrage fans but this is purely a naive interpretation based on themes that the story evokes.
Wikepedia surmises Assassination Classroom animation as follows.
“The series follows the daily lives of an extremely powerful octopus-like alien teacher and his students dedicated to the task of assassinating him to prevent Earth from being destroyed.”
BASIC PLOT SUMMARY
Now in analysing the movie it seems to weave an impossible but interesting tapestry of modern social dynamics, global problems and human psychology. This story blends rather seamlessly the two contradictory elements. The first is encouraging students to kill and become masterful Assassins, and the second being a kind hearted story about teacher inspiring his students to learn. Even though the base motivation is about young High School students in the E-Class (Japanese classification E = Class, for delinquent and lazy students) to be rewarded for killing.
The plot revolves around the fact they were chosen by Korosensei to learn how to assassinate Him. If they succeded in killing Korosensei, the alien teacher they would be rewarded by the Japanese equivalent of 150 Million US dollars paid by the Japanese Government. So ther is a definite dark undertone of which no MANGA is notorious for, but this plot takes a comfortable path of say a Disney feel good movie and absolutely violent action packed samuri MANGA, (but without red blood spurting).
I explain my interpretation from an obviously western perspective. So we first start with some of the intriguing plot themes;
A Yellow Octopus Teacher has taken a huge chunk out of the moon and threatened to wipe out the world at Graduation in a years time, unless the E class can learn to out smart this shapeshifting Octopus Teacher and assassinate him. So as the military has not been able to kill the Teacher with normal weaponry due to the Alien ability of being able to regenerate tentacles and move at Mach-20. They instruct the E-class students to use certain BB-gun pellets made with an anti alien formula or knives made of same material, yet these weapons are somehow relatively harmless to the students. So the movie really starts when they are all in the classroom learning Japanese and other subjects.
Character analysis
“Koro Sensei” 殺せな (un-killable teacher). God of Death
The Yellow smiley face octopus Teacher alien is named Korosensei. This name is explained within the movie as a clever pun based on the Japanese word that mean un-killable and Teacher put together.
There is at least two flashback reference’s to an accident that changed a man through some industrial tragedy into this primary yellow tentacled smiley-faced shapeshifting teacher. It is not hard to put the visual metaphors and timing of the story in 2012 to be somehow influenced by the Fukishima Daichi Nuclear plant meltdown in 2011 . A by product of Japans worst Tsunami and earthquake. Additionally the color Yellow in a circle happens to represent the Radioactive symbol, and the obvious metaphor of Yellowcake being the name for Radioactive Uranium.
It is important to note that Korosensei’s personality comes across as a super positive person, who displays all the traits of someone who has Aspergers or High Functioning Autism. Yet he still maintains a level of empathy fatherly like protectiveness and care for his students. A definite unconventional Ubermensch, Hero, Shiva, Creator Destroyer type character.
Korosensei’s list of weaknesses.
- Has an addiction to viewing Large breasted woman.
- Sheds skin once to escape capture or damage from attack.
- loses speed when looses a tentacle. (speed to each individual tenticle loss: ratio) and looses strength to re-grow tentacle.
- Can replicate his image due to MACH 20 speed but as each tenticle is lost the last replicated image becomes a younger version of himself.
- Has a Sweet tooth.
- Water causes his powers to weaken. (possible reference too the 2011 Tsunami)
So there are various pivotal characters introduced but for the sake of this article I will go with the most representative of a bigger theme within the current world’s topics that face humanity.
Ritsu (律, Ritsu), Autonomously Thinking Fixed Artillery.
Ritsu is the military’s attempt to trick Korosensei by placing a Artificial Intelligent 3d printer weaponised system with full height, school girl as the digital display interface. The military representative who delivers the Robot informs the students and teacher that this digital display within a box, is merely a transfer student to which Korosensei willingly accepts.
According to the fan page trivia
“Her nickname comes from the ‘律’ (Ritsu) in ‘自律’ (Autonomy)”
Now this I interpret as an interesting Metaphor, or representation of the future idea of the singularity concept. The AI robotic systems or as google has developed in its labs its system of Bayesian logic to adapt and learn or enable reasoning with hypothesis that can map between objects and observations.
It seems to be another theme that this harmless Female interface would be a deceptive cover for military system that is purely trained to learn Korosensei’s habits and movements to assassinate the Yellow Alien. Ritsu contains various Gatling-type rotary cannons that appear out of each side of the Ritsu’s enclosure. After annoying her students she is quickly disabled from firing guns. Korosensei breaks the chains on her enclosure and gives advice on how to get acceptance with the class. Ritsu reinvents herself as an App that can help students and is available on their mobile phones and a level of acceptance of Ritsu is formed with her as a peaceful robot rather than militarised one. In the greater global technological theme the relationship between the robot and social sphere is made abundantly clear to be one of helping and not destruction.
Irina Jelavic
This character is a Curvy Blonde assassin/Physical Education Teacher, with a traumatic past has also been trained as a seductress femme fatal. I would say that in the most part she represents the maza con [マザコン-mother complex, to the male students and mother figure to the female students. Somehow in a flashback battle with Korosensei she is influenced to face her traumatic past and thus becomes a simpler character mostly used for light hearted comic relief and sexy Female gun fantasy sequences during the series.
Karma Akabane
A student in Korosensei’s Class 3-E School who had been suspended from school due to his violent behaviour.
Karma represents the Rebel without a cause and the detached part of society that couldn’t care less for all the drama of modern life.
Itona Horibe
He is the second assassin transfer student to arrive at Class 3-E after Ritsu. The interesting part is that this kid has a Nepoleonic Complex by being a lot shorter than the rest of the class. Eventually we find out that is a younger brother of Korosensei but is not yellow or like an octopus but instead, has tentacles that appear from his hair on command for battle. This is never explained how there is a human version of Korosensei but it gives an excuse for vast action sequences. He never becomes apart of the class instead sides with whatever Military thugs are paid to take down and infiltrate Korosensei’s class. This is due to the class becoming apathetic towards assassination and start to enjoy learning with Korosensei. The Military’s impatience with lack of progress initiates more characters such as mercenaries to increase tension and inevitably forces the students closer to Korosensei.
QUICK SUMMARY
So a greater theme of Stockholm syndrome that appears mid movie. Within the classroom’s changing attitude to the Military and Countries expectations. The students begin to initiate their will to learn, due to the external factors of Korosensei engaging students base instincts of Killing and the promise of 150 Million Dollar financial reward. In their many attempts to kill the teacher. Along the path of the seiries they also learn each others personality flaws and weakness, overcoming there designation in society as the failures. Their many attempts have no success due to the teachers lightning abilities and wisdom. Of course there are always important moral cues from Korosensei to the students to why education is important for survival. This exploration of the human condition appears to have a universal appeal. All western democracies are now faced with an almost omnipresent and undefinable father figure, that holds the weapons of destruction. So Korosensei could almost be a dual representative of the Governance or State that rules over its people with a certain do or die fear based economy.
This gives another greater insight into the Japanese absolute recognition of Education and pressure to succeed in a cut throat environment of Capitalism. Korosensei teaches not only how to learn the Basic Maths, Japanese, Home economics and science. But also the idea of deception to outwit your opponent and become a better and more confident assassin. Another Dark theme of the brutal nature of individualism and corporate profitability.
The NATO — NROL Spy Satellite metaphor.
Now in the final scene, an agreement is made with Korosensei that if the students top the class in every subject. They are able to freely assassinate the Teacher, claim there prize money and save the world. Now once this happens it is rather symbolic that Korosensei willingly allows his death and is tied to a Satellite that he pulled from the sky in one of his teaching lessons about his infinite power.
“To deceive someone, you must know your opponent. You must plan out your words. The power of language is a necessity to skillfully deliver poison.” (Korosensei, ch. 7)
The Satellite is draped with flags of the world different countries, various smily face symbols and common coloured Bunting. It appears in my opinion a strong reference to the space race, communications and the wish to globally dominate the world by somehow controlling all the information. The visual metaphor of the Octopus (Korosensei) that controls the world from one central brain could also be a reference to NATO. So in this pivotal moment in the seiries you see the presentation of the youth, or next generation ready for battle, adorned with high powered modern weapons and anti alien knives.
This could possibly refer to a future of Globalisation and its process, by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of political ideas.
In the end sequence of the world Celebrating (mostly Japan) that Korosensei has been killed by the E-class students. Yet miraculously, Korosensei is found at the base of the satellite, reduced to a small head within a unbreakable clear ball. He is then taken under the arm of the student that struggled with confidence the most, yet won the students respect for his care of teaching him.
Then a high wire set of action sequences in which Korosensei is captured by the military and a large number of anti-alien pellets dropped on to this indestructible ball. The E-class cry at the loss of the best teacher they ever had, only to find him back in the room with his students in some Miraculous Resurrection.
So there appears to be a definite reference to the story of Jesus and the Christian Paradox.
So in closing there are many uses visually Loaded images and Themes to read into.
I will let you be the judge of what you see. It is a quite entertaining and multilayered story. It is executed with humour, absurdity and action that masks a deeper intelligent message about learning and encouragement, mental illness, trauma and the societal themes. There are also interesting sub-commentaries on the future threat of global dominance, Artificial Intelligence and it asks the pertinent question.
“How will the next generation deal with an increasingly Militarily and Technologically controlled society?”
I will let you be the judge of that…
BY A M Graetz
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