Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoshitsu) Season 2 Part 1 (Blu-ray) (2015) |
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Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoshitsu) Season 2 Part 1 (Blu-ray) (2015) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Anime |
Audio Commentary-x 2 Featurette-The Many Faces of Koro Sensei (6:06) More…-Textless Opening Song - Version 1 More…-Textless Opening Song - Version 2 More…-Textless Opening Song - Version 3 More…-Textless Closing Song Trailer-Previews Trailer-x 8 for other anime |
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| Year Of Production | 2015 | ||
| Running Time | 299:46 (Case: 325) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Seiji Kishi |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Jun Fuchigama / Sonny Strait Mai Fuchigama / Lindsay Seidel Aya Suzaki / Monica Rial Nobuhiko Okamoto / Austin Tindle Tomokazu Sugita / Chris Ryan Shizuka Itoh / Martha Harms |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | Naoki Sato |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 1080p | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English (Burned In) | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | Yes, after credits episode 13 | ||
Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoshitsu) is based on the manga by Yusei Matsui; Part 1 of Season 2 continues with the misfits and failures of Class 3-E of Kununigaoka Junior High School being taught by a special teacher, Koro Sensei (voiced by Jun Fuchigama / Sonny Seidel), a yellow three metre tall octopod who can move at a speed of Mach 20, has a myriad of skills within his tentacles and has destroyed 70% of the moon. The students of 3-E including Nagisa (Mai Fuchigama / Lindsay Seidel), Karma (Nobuhiko Okamoto / Austin Tindle), Kayano (Aya Suzaki / Monica Rial), Terasaka (Subaru Kimura / Marcus D. Stimac) and Isogai (Ryota Osaka / Jerry Jewell) must step up their attempts to kill Koro as they have less than six months before he destroys the Earth. Still around are government agent Karasuma (Tomokazu Sugita / Chris Ryan) and professional assassin Irina Jelavich (Shizuka Itoh / Martha Harms) who assist the students of Class 3-E to advance their assassination skills.
In Season Two the reward offered by the government to kill Koro is increased and the class tries some inventive ways to assassinate Koro, including a giant pudding to try to take advantage of his sweet tooth, but there are other assassins after the reward as well, including Koro’s brother Itona (Megumi Ogata / Ricco Fajardo), who instead ends up joining Class 3-E, and master assassin The Reaper (Nobunaga Shinazaki / Ian Sinclair). In addition school principal Asano (Sho Hayami / Micah Solusod) and his son Gakuho (Sho Hayami / Chris Rager), the best student in the school, strive to humiliate the students of Class 3-E so that 3-E will continue to be not only the scapegoats who will encourage the other students to work harder but a validation of the Principal’s education philosophy and policies.
Assassination Classroom is about teenage dilemmas but is also into teaching life lessons to do with leadership, the names given by parents, careers, parental expectations, failure, humiliation, discrimination, working as a team and not abusing your powers. Koro Sensei remains a manic and wacky creation, with weaknesses including girlie magazines and a sweet tooth, but he also continues to be a caring and supportive class teacher, teaching his charges about life’s lessons beyond the school curriculum.
Assassination Classroom is into its second season of 25 episodes. This release contains Season 2, Part 1 of 13 episodes which aired on Japanese TV between January and March 2016. Episodes 1-9, plus commentaries, are on disc 1, episodes 10-13 and the other extras on disc 2.
Assassination Classroom is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the original broadcast ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.
The print is not super realistic but detail is firm. Background colours have a nice muted watercolour look although vibrant colours also appear, such as bright red flowers or the colours on the head of Koro which show his moods and include yellow, green, purple, red or pink. Blacks are firm and shadow detail is fine. I noticed no marks or artefacts.
The American English subtitles are in a clear white font. The subtitles are burnt in when the Japanese dub is selected so they cannot be removed for Japanese speakers. I noticed no errors, but sometimes when the subs also translate Japanese signs or text on the screen, they flash by quickly making them difficult to read.
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Like many Funimation releases, audio is a choice of the original Japanese in Dolby TrueHD 2.0 or the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 dub. The audio selection can only be changed through the menu, not on the go.
I did listen to a couple of episodes in English. There is nothing wrong with this dub but it was not particularly enveloping and I really do prefer the original Japanese voice acting, especially Jun Fuchigama who makes Koro one of the most funny and endearing monsters in anime for some time! The Japanese audio track is surround encoded and the surrounds featured music and effects, such as the whip of tentacles. Dialogue is clear and the sub-woofer supported the music, explosion and assassination attempts.
The score by Naoki Sato is fine and varied, supporting the tone of the series.
It is anime so lip synchronisation is approximate in either audio track.
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On start-up is a trailer for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (1:49). It cannot be selected from the menu.
Ricco Fajardo, Marcus D Stimac and Terri Doty (the voices of Itona, Terasaka and Hazama) sit together, laugh, make funny voices, talk over each other and occasionally talk about the show. A typical Funimation commentary.
Jerry Jewell and Micah Solusod (the voices of Isogai and Asano) sit and watch the episode. There is less manic laughing; it is more deadpan, there are a number of rather silly comments but not much about the series.
On start-up is a trailer for Wolf’s Rain (2:00). It cannot be selected from the menu.
Sonny Strait (the voice of Koro) takes us through the various colours that Koro’s face turns, and their meanings.
A version of the opening song without the credits.
Another version of the opening song without the credits.
A third version of the opening song without the credits.
The closing song without the credits.
The previews that are usually at the end of each episode.
Trailers for Danganropa, Unbreakable Machine Doll, Death Parade, Nobunagun, Scrapped Princess and Attack on Titan.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Our release is identical to the Region A US Blu-ray including the FBI anti-piracy warning.
Assassination Classroom Season 2 Part 1 continues to be wacky, wry and funny, providing some life lessons as well as looking at the high school experience in a different way. Koro remains one of the most endearing and funny of anime creations! Fans will know what to expect.
The video and audio are fine. The extras are the same as available in the US.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S580, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | NAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | NAD T737 |
| Speakers | Studio Acoustics 5.1 |