Assassination Classroom season 2

Episode 11

Well, I think it's safe to say that the academic gloves are officially off in Assassination Classroom. No longer content to watch the battle between Class A and Class E from the sidelines, the principal steps in as Class A's new teacher ahead of the latest round of school-wide exams. Even the school's top-ranked honor students have trouble keeping up with the relentless flood of information, but the principal keeps them motivated by playing on their growing hatred of Class E. The ruthless manipulation doesn't sit well with Asano, who comes to the students of Class E with a desperate request: he wants them to “kill” his father's approach to education by outscoring Class A on the tests. As both classes struggle to tackle the absurdly difficult exams, Karma and Asano emerge as the two strongest contenders for the highest score.

At its core, this story arc is all about rivalries. The two classes square off against each other yet again, Karma and Asano compete on a personal level for the top ranking, Koro Sensei and the principal let their respective classes champion their opposing teaching styles, and Asano takes a shot at scoring a moral victory over his father. That's a lot of conflicts to keep track of, so it's a good thing they can all share screen time as individual pieces of the same big picture. It feels like this is a decisive moment in the show's ongoing clash of educational philosophies, and the dramatic tension jumps up a notch as a result. It's clear that something important is at stake here.

The one thing that doesn't quite line up with the “final showdown” mood is the over-the-top visual style that Assassination Classroom uses to depict the actual tests. The show brings back its gimmick of depicting each exam as a giant monster, with the characters talking their way through the test questions as they battle the beasts with a variety of weapons. As striking as the visual presentation may be, it can never quite escape its recurring problem of being just a little too absurd to be taken seriously. The same goes for the principal's ruthless teaching style; did we really need all the ominous smoke and imaginary monsters to get the point across? The nightmarish visions are almost too effective, making him seem far creepier than he needs to be. As always, the issue lies in the challenge of making studying and test taking exciting to watch. As silly as it feels to watch the kids take a math test by blasting aliens with assault rifles, at least it's not dull.

Amidst all the intense emotions and heavy-handed visuals, it's easy to overlook the interesting comparison that some of the characters draw between the principal and Koro Sensei. As the kids point out, they're both monsters by one definition or another, and they could both be using their abilities to accomplish bigger things than teaching a single class of junior high students. Koro Sensei's brief chat with the principal is also fascinating, as it's the first time the show has made an effort at putting a personal motivation behind the school's harsh system of class rankings. All of a sudden, I'm curious to know more about what made the principal into such a twisted person. To some extent, the whole “monster” comparison serves as a reminder that Koro Sensei is technically the villain of this story. Despite everything he's done for the Class E kids, he's still a super-powered mutant who's planning to destroy the world. With the show's conclusion getting closer by the week, that fact may become more significant to the plot.

Even with the imaginary action scenes taking away some of this storyline's emotional intensity, this is still a promising start to the latest round of exams. The prospect of the school's top honor student going rogue has my attention, and there's some smart groundwork being laid in this episode's quieter moments. If Assassination Classroom can keep the focus on the personal side of this conflict, then we could be in for something special next week.

Rating: B

Assassination Classroom is currently streaming on Funimation.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.