In the blink of an eye, the night sky is forever changed when, with a great explosion, the moon is blasted into a permanent crescent. Confronting the governments of the world, a yellow tentacled monster boasts that it was the one responsible for the catastrophe, and in a year’s time, it will do the same to Earth. Zooming around at Mach 20, the creature makes a peculiar demand: a teaching position at the prestigious Kunugigaoka Junior High School. Desperate to keep the creature in one place, the government agrees, and so the students of Class 3-E find themselves faced with an impossible task—assassinate the creature responsible for destroying the moon.
Although the fate of the world now rests on their shoulders, the class has more personal issues to deal with. Trapped at the bottom of Kunugigaoka’s hierarchical education system, they face harsh discrimination from both teachers and students alike. Defeatism abound, they don’t believe themselves capable of success in daily life, let alone against a monster that surpasses the abilities of any human. But as the enigmatic creature—whom they dub Koro-sensei—educates them in both assassination and academia, the children slowly find the courage to rise up and take aim at their target: the greatest teacher the world has ever seen.
This is my second time reading this series. It’s been teasing me at the top of my list, and this time I am reading the official translation, and I do truly love the series. I read it years and years ago, long enough ago that it feels like another life, but still knowing what happens, I broke down crying in volume 20 and kept crying through 21.
It’s an excellently executed comedy manga that cares not only about its readers but about its characters. Matsui-sensei delivers a satisfying story that honestly makes one feel like they’ve grown alongside the students. You go on that journey with them and at the end… you’re also at peace with the final decision.
Hold on, I’m about to cry again.
Seriously, the reader comes to love and cherish the weirdness of Koro-sensei and find the care he has for all the students warming and wonderful. You enjoy laughing and seeing what sort of things that the teacher comes up with for everyone, or how the students will demonstrate their prowess. Matching the main school tit for tat and watching these kids grow at Mach 20 just does somethin’ to ya.
Back when I first read the series, I didn’t know what to do with Nagisa’s perceived transness. We lauded it as some kind of rickety support of transness, seeing the support of the classroom for Nagisa transitioning to female. In reality, now, I would change it the other way. Nagisa being able to come out of his shell and being able to affirm his male gender still feels like a trans story: denied the masculinity he craves and being forced into a feminine role when he knew how he felt and who he is still rings true with kids struggling with their families forcing them into a gender role that they can’t manage. People love to see him in skirts and with pretty hair. He’s punished if he doesn’t keep his hair long. He’s doomed to walk in his mother’s footsteps, an extension of her until he finds himself being able to express who he is.
It’s a weird series but really a beloved one for me, highly recommend.
