#assfacts

[blazardragon]

Nagisa’s, Takebayashi’s, and Gakushuu’ s messages to Chairman Asano

Naturally, in the Graduation Album (i.e. the illustration book), the students of Class E wrote final words to each other, kind of like when you write messages in a yearbook before graduating. However, the students wrote messages to the teachers too! Here are the messages to Gakuho Asano!

Nagisa: Korosensei and the Chairman - both of you are teachers I hold a lot of respect for.  

[Note: Nagisa is being very polite here, so he writes Chairman-sensei when he refers to Gakuho, rather than Asano-sensei or Chairman Asano. Also, he writes his own name as “Shiota”. I believe this is the only time we ever see Nagisa refer to himself as “Shiota”, because even in his message to Karasuma-sensei, he writes “Nagisa”]

Takebayashi: I’m very sorry for breaking your award. It seems I was able to grow in my own way in this class because of you.

Gakushuu: Shall we make a bet? How long do you think it will take for me to rule over high school? Also, I’ll have you show me your tearful face.

[Note: I suppose it wouldn’t make sense for Gakushuu to write his name as “Asano” since they are both Asanos, but I still think it’s pretty cute that he wrote his name as “Gakushuu” here]

Nagisa and Takebayashi are so nice! Honestly, they’re almost too nice! I really like the mutual respect Nagisa and Gakuho seem to have for each other, between Nagisa’s words here and Gakuho scouting Nagisa in the future.

Gakushuu, on the other hand, is just as eager as ever to challenge his dad. I wonder if Gakushuu ever successfully makes his father cry? Maybe when he graduates high school? Still, that sounds difficult...

[blazardragon]

Some background data on the Asano family and the virtuosos

I wanted to scrape up any remaining data on the Asano family in the character book, but it seems like a lot of the “information” in the book just reiterates what has happened in the manga.  The bits translated by fans in the past pretty much covers everything of note (like things Gakushuu is #1 at and Gakuho’s crazy daily schedule). However, there is some background data straight from Matsui that provides some interesting stuff. 

Asano Gakuho:

He appeared in the educational community as a soldier of fortune. The ultimate, rational education system he created is great enough to warrant constant visits from overseas. He is also extremely talented in moneymaking, with his side work and investments putting out huge profits. Almost all of it is spent on putting together a learning environment full of excellent teachers and excellent teaching material. Regarding the employment of the Assassination Classroom in his own school, he doesn’t believe it contradicts his rationality at all. In fact, in this one year, his school’s level has risen remarkably. However, at the same time, many distortions have appeared in his system that are beyond his control. [I wonder what kinds of side work he does? Maybe it has something to do with the two mystery hours in his schedule]

Asano Gakushuu: 

When they act with discretion, his relationship with his father is like teacher and student, and the psychology of the strong was driven into him as he grew up. In the process, his pride and talent was cultivated, causing a blistering rise to his rebellious phase to the point that now all he thinks about is how he’s going to take down his father. However, there hasn’t been a human being more watertight than his father, so he hasn’t been able to obtain any results. In confronting this absolutely powerful man on a daily basis, it can be said that he has continued to live the life of an assassin not unlike Class E since he was a child. 

I found the following fact in a separate section of the book. It certainly matches what Matsui said about Gakushuu, to say the least… How he refreshes himself between study sessions: Daydreaming about how he’s going to treat his father after dominating him.

Araki Teppei: 

His father is the chief reporter of a major newspaper, and Teppei freely takes after him in both pride and his ability to obtain and use information. He is gentle-mannered, but he is consistently cold against those who are inferior to him.

Sakakibara Ren: 

Because his household is wealthy, they had donated a large amount to Kunugigaoka Academy, among others. This, combined with his academic ability, financial strength, and level of motivation, has given him high status in the school. Because of that shrewdness, he became one of the few people who could speak with Asano as comparative equals. The number of women he has been in a relationship with exceeds Maehara’s record, making him 1st place in the school.

Koyama Natsuhiko: 

Up until his second year of middle school, his life was dark and unclear, but because of Asano’s advice, when he told him “With your strength, you should more boldly look down on others,” a strong ego hidden inside had bloomed. It turned into an abnormal self-confidence that matched his abilities, so the number of girls he could trick into accompanying him surged immensely. He feels a very strong obligation to Asano for inducing his reincarnation. [What the hell kind of advice is that!?!? I’m glad Natsuhiko is happier thanks to Gakushuu, and the story is pretty cute otherwise, but damn son] 

Tomoya Seo:

The fact that there is such a remarkably disrespectful and arrogant student within Class A who is so high achieving makes everyone uncomfortable. Ever since that incident with Class C’s Tsuchiya Kaho, even when they’re far away, they rush over to each other and have a lively exchange of vituperative language, so in a sense, they have a very close relationship.

I think I’ve squeezed every last drop of info in the character book on these guys at this point, so I should probably move on to the Graduation Album next.  

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AssClass Character Book – Random Stuff

I tried scanning the book to find other bits of interesting, wholesome information about Kunugigaoka Academy and its students, but nothing really stands out right now. A lot of what’s covered in the book is old news.  There were a few totally gratuitous sections I found oddly amusing though. Primarily-

They’re father and child, so it’s only natural they’d resemble each other…!?  We researched their points of similarity!

Apart from their unusual talents, Gakushuu-kun and Chairman Asano resemble each other in all sorts of ways. Our journal’s reporter continued close contact with the Asano family for an extended period of time to research their similarities. The results of their investigation is here!

1) They look scary when they’re mad

They’re usually a temperate pair, but their expressions when they are angered are super scary. The reasons the two get mad is yet another way they greatly resemble each other in unreasonable ways.  

2) They look unhealthily pale

They both share handsome features, but it’s their constant pallor that makes them the spitting image of each other. Are they getting enough sleep?

…The answer is clearly no. If this reporter knew what they were doing, this section could’ve been at least five pages long. I’ve seen people on Twitter post much more compelling content showcasing their family resemblance, such as their identical facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language.  I’m glad that they are supposed to look a little sickly though! When I first saw Gakuho (in the manga), my first thought was that he looked ill. He practically leaked “I’m a madman who doesn’t take care of himself” from his pores. I got a similar but weaker vibe from Gakushuu when he made his first appearance, so I was wondering if Matsui was just trying too hard to make them handsome or if they were supposed to look unwell.

But yeah, this section literally just consists of “They’re scary and pale”  XD

 The second part I thought was pretty funny was that those two Class D kids got a feature:

Friends!? Or perhaps… they share a “forbidden romance” <3

Their excessive physical contact is proof of their deep affection. The girls in their class whisper rumors about them, but Tanaka thinks that the girls viewing things that way are the ones being impure. This is friendship no matter how you look at it.

They weren’t likeable in the slightest in the actual storyline, but I have to admit, their friendship is something else XD   They’re still hanging out with each other seven years later too, according to the Graduation Album. True Friendship.

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Class B Through D Student Spotlight 

There’s not as many as Class A, but there are a few students we get introduced to from the other classes at Kunugigaoka. Unfortunately, it looks like this is the last of the random students we get introduced to in the data book.  

Class B’s Specially Acknowledged Students:  Class B’s greatest go-getters are listed here! [Pictured top-left]

Uchida Kanako: Her dream for the future is to be a lovely bride

Ozawa Miku: Her technique for applying false eyelashes is equal to that of a model’s

Shindou Kazutaka: The baseball club’s captain. He’s an ace even when it comes to studying

Class C’s Specially Acknowledged Students: We dare to select three students from the inconspicuous Class C [Pictured bottom-left]

Koiwa Hiroshi: The class’s single easily excitable person

Sonoda Tatsumi: He has the most beautiful face when looked at from a 45 degree angle from the right

Hiiragi Tsuyoshi: He has never arrived late. Backflips are his specialty in the gymnastics club

Class D’s Specially Acknowledged Students: Class D’s most promising students consist of these four! Congratulations! [Pictured right]

Sonozaki Mine: 3.5 visual acuity is ridiculous! …Scary [TN: Visual acuity scales seem to only go up to 2.0 (20/10 vision) when I Googled them, so 3.5 does appear to be insanely high]

Shimomura Haruto: He can’t adapt to the heat of the classroom……

Toudou Takahiro: He’s No. 1 in the sheer number of facial accidents. He sports a Ryoutsu-like unibrow [TN: This is a reference to Ryoutsu Kankichi, the main character of Kochikame. Finally, something Asano’s not No. 1 at!]

Igarashi Shiori: Recently, she has begun to take an interest in Tanaka…  

By the way, if you don’t remember who Tanaka is, it’s this guy:

I guess I might as well include the demographic information for those classrooms, too:

3-B: 40 students (22 boys, 18 girls)

3-C: 40 students (19 boys, 21 girls)

3-D: 40 students (23 boys, 17 girls)

[blazardragon]

Kunugigaoka’s Real-life Counterpart: Hachiōji City

When I was looking at the map of Kunugigaoka City, I was wondering if that map was based on a real life city. It looked too detailed and realistic to come out of nowhere, so I checked Yahoo Japan, and it seems that there, at least, the most popular theory is that Kunugigaoka is based on Hachioji City (八王子市, literally Eight Princes City), a commuter town 40 km west of downtown Tokyo.  The main points of the argument posted there is that:

·        The anime based the train station in episode 3 (where Karma makes known his desire to kill a teacher) on Hachioji station.

·        Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (Matsui’s first major work) takes place in 東西京市 (literally East-West Capital City), which corresponds to the real life 西東京市 (literally West-East Capital City, but is actually read as Nishi-Tokyo City). Both of these series are set in the western part of Tokyo. In fact, Hachioji City and Nishi-Tokyo city are the only two major cities west of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

 I searched Hachioji on the Japanese side of Wikipedia and based on what I read, I’m inclined to believe it:

·        Hachioji is surrounded by mountains except for on the East side (i.e. where people would need to go when travelling to Tokyo). This point is rather minor, since Japan seems to have a lot of mountains in general, but this is still a similarity it shares with Kunugigaoka. At least that makes it a popular destination for mountain hiking.

·        Like Kunugigaoka, it is known as a commuter town. In 2010, 14.9% of adults commuted to Tokyo City alone.

·        This city is famous for having a lot of schools, so much so that it is known as Japan’s “Gakuen City” (Academy City). Apparently, there are 23 colleges inside this city’s borders. There’s also 70 elementary schools and 37 public secondary schools. This fact right here shattered any doubts I might have had about this theory. If an anime about education were to take place anywhere in Japan, it would be here. 

 Other random facts I thought were interesting include:

·        Hachioji is the most populous city in Tokyo, with a high proportion of students and young people.

·        There are two voice actors from here: Morikubo Showtaro (Shikamaru Nara from Naruto) and Tetsu Inada (Sajin Komamura from Bleach and also a minor character from Neuro)

·        Hachioji City’s latitudinal coordinates is between 35° and 36°, putting it about the same distance as the northern border of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, or the northern tip of Africa.  That means it probably gets pretty hot. Based on the fact that its record low only goes down to -8.6 degrees Celsius (16.5 degrees Fahrenheit), I think I’m right.

 I hope this was interesting! Definitely a place I’d want to stop by if I ever got to visit Japan :D

[blazardragon]

Kunugigaoka Faculty Spotlight

Continuing on finding supplementary information on the school, here’s a section highlighting the staff. It’s important to note that the book was released before we learned about Aguri (around chapter 110 or so), so the information on her is really vague. Also, this information was compiled from the perspective of an outsider, so Karasuma is listed as the homeroom teacher rather than Korosensei. That might also explain why some of these entries sound like total BS…  

Profiles are listed starting from the top left and moving right 

Page 196 Profiles:

We will help make your dreams a reality! An introduction to Kunugigaoka Middle School’s faculty

We shall introduce you to all the faculty and staff in our educational establishment who back up the growth of our students,

Kunugigaoka Academy’s Founder and Chairman: Asano Gakuho

Starting off as a small private school lecturer, he established the current Kunugigaoka Academy just short of ten years ago and became the educational world’s soldier of fortune. Sometimes, he teaches the lessons himself.  

The honorable man who sacrificed his hair to education, Principal Matsumura Shigeo  

His scalp became bare because of his passionate devotion to education and lack of nutrition to his hair roots. He hates the winter.

The Chairman’s Dagger (handyman), Vice Principal Iiyama Tokuzou

Always sitting by the Chairman’s side, he takes care of all the small chores. His hairstyle is like this all year-round.

Class 3-A’s Homeroom Teacher: Shishido Kazuhiko

He is characterized by his silver-grey hair and plump cheeks. He has a weakness for beautiful women.

Class 3-B’s Homeroom Teacher: Sawatari Shizue

She is adored like a mother by her students. This familiarity has earned her the nickname “Buddha”.

Class 3-C’s Homeroom Teacher: Kobayashi Masao

He sports a mysterious combination of white eyebrows and black hair. His nickname is “Othello”.

[TN: At first I thought of Othello from the Shakespearian play and wondered how that made any sense, but apparently there’s a board game in Japan with the same name that features black and white checker-like pieces]

Class 3-D’s Homeroom Teacher: Oono Kensaku

A hot-blooded teacher whose educational zeal propels his excellent leadership. Currently, he is taking applications for a girlfriend of rave reviews.

Page 197 Profiles: 

Our school boasts educational specialists

The cleaner who writes on the blackboard with high speed, Kurokawa Nobuo

This educator rapidly writes on the blackboard while talking rapidly, and he erases with double the speed. The result is speed learning!

The test writing demon: Yano Yuusuke

This test craftsman displays visible pleasure in designing exam problems that vex the students. His sweat is a cause of annoyance.

The baseball club advisor on sick leave, Terai Kiyoshi

Soon after its founding, this coach established the baseball club as one that specializes in offense. His body is somewhat weak, so he tends to get sick.

The school building’s home economics teacher, Yasui Naomichi

His specialty is Italian cuisine, such as pasta and pizza. He’s part of the faction that adds olive oil onto everything.

Exclusive instructors for the special enhancement class (Class E)

Class 3-E’s Homeroom Teacher, Karasuma Tadaomi

The homeroom teacher for Class E, where students with bad grades gather. He just transferred to work here, yet he has a lot of secret fans.

Foreign Languages teacher, Irina Jelavic  

She is the foreign language teacher for the aforementioned Class E. Because she has a high degree of exposure, she is called “Kunugigaoka’s beautiful oasis”.

Class E’s Home Economics teacher, Korosensei

From Beijing to Cantonese to Szechuan food, he is a Home Economics teacher who has mastered every form of Chinese cuisine. He’s part of the sesame oil faction.

?

A mysterious teacher who is rarely seen on campus. He is big and yellow, and his joints are ambiguous. He laughs with a “Nurufufufu”.

Supplementary Information: Educators who were formerly enrolled to this institution

The violent Physical Education teacher, Akira Takaoka

He was dismissed because his coaching style involved excessive corporal punishment against his students. He loves sweets.

The former homeroom teacher of Class E, Yukimura Aguri

Karasuma’s predecessor as the homeroom teacher for Class E. Retired because of personal matters.

The legendary teacher!? The mysterious calligraphy instructor, Ikasensei.

One of Kunugigaoka’s seven wonders. He seems to be the incarnation of a giant squid.

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Class 3-A Student Spotlight

There’s a portion of the Assassination Classroom character book that highlights some of the students in Class 3-A. I figured I’d share it since it could be useful for fanfic writers. It’s nice to know more about Gakushuu’s class too. Some of them sound like pretty cute kids. 

The heading at the top reads “Specially acknowledged students: We shall introduce you to the twelve students in Class A with the highest grades”

Asano Gakushuu: Kunugigaoka Middle School’s most excellent student

Sakakibara Ren: He can prepare two blocks of a town in one week

Edit: Thanks to @irraydiance, I learned that “Two-block” is a type of hairstyle, so the correct translation should be: 

“He tidies up his two-block cut once per week.”  

Koyama Natsuhiko: His driving force is definitely complex

Araki Teppei: Behind his glasses is pride akin to a celebrity on official business

Seo Tomoya: If you are elite, even ill-naturedness is forgiven

Mori Iori: He is secretly troubled by his feminine name

Yano Takaaki: The reading for his name is different than a certain soccer player’s. [TN: His name is written with the exact same kanji characters as the Japanese soccer player Yano Kisho (矢野貴章), but it’s pronounced entirely differently]

Mizuno Takemaru: The son of an ophthalmologist. He sports pearly white teeth and a smiling face.

Fujii Hiroyuki: Because he really hates having his picture taken, he broke out in a cold sweat

Toda Seijiro: He’s a member of the student council. He is troubled by his thick beard

Tamamushi Keima: Of all the Shogi pieces, the knight is his favorite

Torii Hidetoshi: He’s the type who always visits a shrine before a test

 Note: This is not all of class 3-A. There’s a total of 40 students in Class 3-A, 28 boys and 12 girls. For whatever reason, we’re only introduced to 12 students. Interestingly, all of the classes with the exception of 3-E have 40 students.

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Map of Kunugigaoka City

If you’ve ever wondered what the layout of the city our dear sons and daughters live in is like, look no further! Unfortunately, the map is not detailed enough for us to tell, for example, where everyone lives (which is absolutely stalkerish, but I’m genuinely curious who neighbors whom). We get information about the general location of the town and the things in it though.

 Caption at top of page 186

 Located west of the Tokyo Metropolitan area, Kunugigaoka is a commuter town for people who work at the city center. This is a town map of Kunugigaoka!

 Main Facilities and Areas

A: Area that frequently suffered attacks from the underwear thief

B: Wakaba Park (The kanji 事故 indicates the site of the accident with Wakaba Park’s Principal)

C: Cyberia

D: Kunugigaoka Station

E: Maid Café, Black and White

F: Isogai’s former part time job

G: Kunugigaoka Middle School (Former school building)

H: Yoshida Motors

I: The warehouse where Bitch-sensei was captured

J: Shouraiken  [TN: Muramatsu Takuya’s family ramen shop. Based on how close this is to Yoshida motors, it seems safe to assume that Yoshida and Muramatsu, if not the entire Terasaka gang, live close together.]

K: The shrine they went to for the Summer Festival

L: Takebayashi General Hospital

Other Symbols On The Map 

The note on the map highlighted in black indicates that only national highways, prefectural roads, and city roads are displayed.

It seems there are a lot of schools in Kunugigaoka. If I counted right, there are nine elementary/middle schools labeled on the map.