‘Assassination Classroom’ Pulled From Libraries In Florida And Wisconsin

As reported by Anime News Network, Gifford Middle School in eastern Florida and Elmbrook School District in southeastern Wisconsin recently removed copies of the Assassination Classroom manga  from its libraries after parental complaints.

Here is the official manga synopsis:

Kunugigaoka Middle School has a special class 3-E. Their sensei is a weird combination of an ALIEN and octopus that moves at the speed of Mach-20 and the one who is responsible for destroying half of the moon. The creature will teach the class 3-E to how to assassinate him before the end of the year when he will destroy the Earth.

I’ve seen the entire anime series and can safely say that Assassination Classroom isn’t any more violent than Star Wars or the Hunger Games, or more sexual than Looney Tunes or Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

This is just a PG-13 rated action comedy that’s more wholesome than meets the eye. It’s also worth noting that the teens in this story are fighting a big yellow tentacle-monster with weapons that are non-lethal to humans. Concerned parents are within their rights to say that a specific book is inappropriate for their child. However, there are other readers who may need to hear this story.

Assassination Classroom features an androgynous protagonist, Nagisa Shiota, in a position of power and agency. There’s also a suggested romance between Nagisa and the dashing bad boy Karma Akabane. The characters never kiss or hold hands and the extent of their relationship is open to interpretation. Nagisa also disguises himself in girl’s clothing during some secret missions for comedic effect.

There has been a rise of LGBTQ+ representation in media for young readers and there has been an equal amount of backlash. One frequent tactic that’s used to criticize queer representation for young readers is that it’s “sexualizing minors” and will promote misbehavior. In my opinion, this attack on Assassination Classroom probably has less to do with preventing violence against teachers and more to do with cracking down on any book that’s gay-coded.

Many Japanese manga explore more subversive material than most American comics and cartoons for a similar age category. However, manga like Assassination Classroom often explore mature subjects with a level of humor and empathy that gives them literary and artistic value. It’s worth noting that celebrated titles like Dragon Ball and Death Note have also been banned from libraries in the past.

Assassination Classroom is a light-hearted series full of humor, charm, and lovable characters. This may not be a series for everyone, but any reader who wants to jump into this adventure should be able to do so. I hope that this needless controversy will spark a renewed interest in audiences who may have skipped this unique series. For those who are first time readers or viewers– you are in for a great ride!

Assassination Classroom is now streaming on Crunchyroll and available from VIZ Media.