Assassination Classroom: A New Movie Coming to Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll adds a new *Assassination Classroom* movie to its catalog - an opportunity to revisit one of the most atypical educational franchises of the post-2010 era.

The Announcement

Crunchyroll adds to its catalog Assassination Classroom the Movie: Our Time (暗殺教室, Ansatsu Kyōshitsu) - the platform will put it online Thursday, with subtitled and dubbed versions available. The announcement officializes the return of a franchise that many thought was closed since the end of the anime in 2016 and the two Japanese live-action films released in 2015-2016.

Industry Context

Assassination Classroom was born in 2012 in the Weekly Shonen Jump under the pen of Yūsei Matsui (松井優征), already the author of Neuro: The Cadaver Who Loved Me. The manga ended in 2016, with a total of 21 volumes. The animated adaptation was entrusted to the studio Lerche - a mid-sized but rigorous studio (Classroom of the Elite, Danganronpa, School-Live!), which managed to keep up the pace over two seasons.

The premise remains one of the boldest of its decade: a class of marginalized middle schoolers must assassinate their teacher - a yellow octopus creature, mach 20, capable of destroying the Moon - before the end of the school year. Beneath the layer of gags and action, it's a surprisingly fine reflection on pedagogy, self-esteem, and the role of a teacher in the construction of an adolescent.

What to Expect from "Our Time"

A new film on a franchise that has been on hiatus for ten years raises several questions:

• Narrative Status: Is Our Time an adaptation of an unanimated secondary arc of the manga, an original story in the universe, or a condensed remake? The official details on the Crunchyroll side remain laconic as of this writing.
• Studio: Is Lerche renewed? A studio change on a franchise that has been on hiatus for ten years is rarely well-received.
• Positioning: Exclusive Crunchyroll arrival, or cinema release prior to Japan followed by international streaming? Streaming catalogs sometimes add older films that are not widely available internationally by presenting them as new releases - an important nuance to keep in mind before the euphoria.

Our Take

Assassination Classroom is one of those series that have aged better than expected. The proposal - a hybrid between Great Teacher Onizuka, Battle Royale, and a shonen comedy - remains unique, and its educational message (every student has a talent to cultivate, you just have to see it) still hits home in an era where debates about education are everywhere.

An additional film is good news if it does not give in to the ease of pure fan service - Matsui has always refused free extensions on his own manga, which leaves a reasonable hope.

To be verified upon viewing of Our Time: the faithfulness to Lerche's visual style, the respect for the character of Koro-sensei (殺せんせー), and the place left for the secondary students - who were one of the great successes of the series.

We will return with a review as soon as it is released on Thursday on Crunchyroll (sub/dub).