Assassination Classroom
A mysterious creature destroys 70% of the moon. The creature then warns that if he is not destroyed by March of next year, Earth will be next. The creature also demands that he becomes the homeroom teacher for 3rd grade E class at Kunugigaoka Junior High School. The government is powerless to say no. The creature then becomes the homeroom teacher of 3rd grade E class which consists of failed students including Nagisa Shiota. The creature is called Teacher Koro. Meanwhile, the government requests that the students try to kill Teacher Koro even though he possesses super powers. The government offers a 10 billion yen reward for whomever successfully kills him. The students are confused by the situation, but decide to kill Teacher Koro. When their class begins with Teacher Koro, the students finds themselves having a good time with their new teacher.
The film earned $25.0M at the global box office.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Assassination Classroom (2015) exhibits strategically placed dramatic framework, characteristic of Eiichiro Hasumi's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 50 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Koro-sensei
Nagisa Shiota
Karma Akabane
Kaede Kayano
Tadaomi Karasuma
Irina Jelavic
Gakuho Asano
Main Cast & Characters
Koro-sensei
Played by Kazunari Ninomiya
A mysterious octopus-like creature who destroyed the moon and now teaches Class 3-E while they attempt to assassinate him before he destroys Earth.
Nagisa Shiota
Played by Ryosuke Yamada
A gentle, observant student with natural assassination talent who serves as the emotional core of Class 3-E.
Karma Akabane
Played by Masaki Suda
A rebellious genius student with exceptional combat skills and a mischievous personality.
Kaede Kayano
Played by Seika Taketomi
A cheerful classmate with a hidden agenda related to Koro-sensei's past.
Tadaomi Karasuma
Played by Kippei Shiina
A stern government agent assigned to supervise the assassination classroom and train the students.
Irina Jelavic
Played by Kang Ji-young
A professional assassin hired as an English teacher who initially views the students as tools.
Gakuho Asano
Played by Mitsuhiro Oikawa
The manipulative principal of Kunugigaoka Junior High who uses Class 3-E as scapegoats to motivate other students.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Class 3-E students are ostracized and humiliated in their decrepit mountain classroom, treated as the school's outcasts and failures with no hope for improvement.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Professional assassin Irina Jelavić arrives as the new English teacher, representing the escalation of assassination attempts and the government's serious intent to kill Koro-sensei.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 28 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Nagisa and the students actively commit to assassination, executing their first coordinated class-wide attack plan, embracing their dual role as students and assassins., moving from reaction to action.
At 55 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat The students achieve top academic rankings, humiliating the main school building, but the principal intensifies persecution of Class 3-E, raising the stakes and revealing the deeper institutional corruption., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 83 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The government issues a final ultimatum with a deadline for Koro-sensei's death. Students realize they must kill the teacher who saved them, facing the impossible choice between duty and love., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 88 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. The class realizes that killing Koro-sensei with their own hands, as his students, is the greatest act of love and respect they can give him - synthesis of assassination and education., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Assassination Classroom's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Assassination Classroom against these established plot points, we can identify how Eiichiro Hasumi utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Assassination Classroom within the action genre.
Eiichiro Hasumi's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Eiichiro Hasumi films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Assassination Classroom takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Eiichiro Hasumi filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional action films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Eiichiro Hasumi analyses, see Assassination Classroom: Graduation.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Class 3-E students are ostracized and humiliated in their decrepit mountain classroom, treated as the school's outcasts and failures with no hope for improvement.
Theme
Koro-sensei tells the class that assassination and education are the same - both require understanding your target, finding weaknesses, and never giving up. True strength comes from accepting yourself.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to the premise: a powerful yellow octopus-like creature destroyed the moon and threatens Earth, but agrees to teach Class 3-E while the students attempt to assassinate him for 10 billion yen.
Disruption
Professional assassin Irina Jelavić arrives as the new English teacher, representing the escalation of assassination attempts and the government's serious intent to kill Koro-sensei.
Resistance
Students learn assassination techniques from both Koro-sensei and professional assassin Tadaomi Karasuma, while Koro-sensei simultaneously improves their academic performance and self-worth through unconventional teaching methods.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Nagisa and the students actively commit to assassination, executing their first coordinated class-wide attack plan, embracing their dual role as students and assassins.
Mirror World
Koro-sensei's genuine care for the students becomes evident as he tutors them individually, particularly supporting Nagisa's growth. The teacher-student bond deepens beyond the assassination mission.
Premise
The class executes increasingly creative assassination attempts while simultaneously improving academically and personally. Students gain confidence, the class bonds strengthen, and they start to genuinely care about Koro-sensei.
Midpoint
The students achieve top academic rankings, humiliating the main school building, but the principal intensifies persecution of Class 3-E, raising the stakes and revealing the deeper institutional corruption.
Opposition
The principal schemes to destroy Class 3-E's success, elite assassins arrive with more lethal methods, and students face increasing pressure to choose between saving Koro-sensei and saving Earth.
Collapse
The government issues a final ultimatum with a deadline for Koro-sensei's death. Students realize they must kill the teacher who saved them, facing the impossible choice between duty and love.
Crisis
The students struggle with their emotional conflict, processing grief and guilt over what they must do. They reflect on how Koro-sensei changed them from failures to capable individuals.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
The class realizes that killing Koro-sensei with their own hands, as his students, is the greatest act of love and respect they can give him - synthesis of assassination and education.
Synthesis
The students execute their final assassination plan together, combining everything Koro-sensei taught them. They succeed in killing him peacefully, with gratitude and tears, giving him the dignified death he wanted.
Transformation
Class 3-E students stand together, transformed from ostracized failures into confident individuals who learned the greatest lesson: to face impossible challenges with courage and compassion.