#But I wanted a more human looking Koro-sensei for pretty much this reason

[phantoms-lair]

Koro-Sensei’s Awakening

What do you want to be?

The question was the first thing that pierced the darkness his mind was wrapped in. He’d been asked that before, and he’d remembered his answer then. “Weak” He’d wanted to shed his identity of The Reaper. To live in the world Aguri had lived in .

The tentacles had complied, not with his word but his intention. The ‘Super Being’ was certainly not weak. But he’d been able to connect to people, to experience their sorrows and triumphs. He only had one year to live after that day, but a better final year he couldn’t ask for.

And, as it turned out, it was only a year due to his own foolishness. He approached his goal - teaching Aguri’s class, as he would have something from his old life. Something that must be done from a position of strength. He set himself up as the monster, bringing catastrophe if they didn’t give in to his one odd demand of being a teacher.

And in the end, that was what killed him. He’d built himself up as a threat too big to ignore, ensuring he’d never find peace. It hadn’t seemed to matter that much when he was going to die soon. He’d never expected to be saved, to find out he had been saved months ago. But by then it was too late. What do you want to be?

 He knew he didn’t want to be The Reaper. Did he want to be Koro-Sensei? Yes and no. While he liked both his speed and his tentacles, he didn’t want to be the world-threatening super being again. He just wanted to exist, to learn, to teach.

What do you want to be?

“I want to be me!” he yelled into nothingness. The voice fell silent, and darkness took him once more.

~

His next bout of awareness was slow and sluggish. There was an oxygen mask on his face and he was connected to various equipment. With what little strength he had he tore them out and tried to flop out of bed. But his tentacles weren’t moving right, he had to escape!

“Easy Koro-Sensei.” The voice was comforting, familiar. It was someone he could trust. He felt himself relax. 

“Don’t want to get hooked up again.” he muttered.

“Now that you’ve awoken, you don’t have to.” The voice reassured.

“Good.” was the last thing he murmured as he fell asleep again.

~

The next time he awoke he was more cognizant, but wasn’t sure what to make of his situation. He was on a bed in what looked like a hidden room. There was medical equipment, but as promised it wasn’t hooked up to him.

But what was really perplexing him was the fact that he had legs and feet. In addition to four tentacle arms. Judging by feel his face was human and his hair...well he wasn’t sure what was going on there. 

It was tentacles, he could tell that much, but thinner strands, like the monofilament ones he’d used for the surgery that saved Kaede’s life. Yet at the same time he could feel them merging into thicker tentacle strands, which then dissolved back into thin ones.

“I have brought you breakfast,” The door opened and Koro-Sensei wondered if it was a dream. “You seemed to enjoy sweets, so I’opted for french toast, with a side of fruit.”

“Ritsu? How are you here?” He stared as what seemed to be an older version of his student, or at least the image his student projected.

“A robotic body I inhabit.” The Autonomously Intelligent Fixed Artillery (though she seemed to have abandoned the last two parts) answered, putting the tray in front of him. “And after breakfast we can work on your cover.”

“My cover?” He asked, as his stomach gurgled, enticed by the food. “I do not know why you regenerated with a more human appearance, but it is to our benefit. Though the ‘Assassination Classroom’ incident has been marked resolved with your death, it would be troublesome if someone connected your appearance and realized you were still alive.”

Point. It had probably been years after his not-as-deadly-as-he-thought death, judging by her appearance, but no need to stir the pot. Still... “Don’t you think these might give me away?” he asked, waving his tentacles.

Ritsu merely smiled. “While you eat, let me tell you about a new phenomenon called ‘Quirks’.”

[gwendeeagain]

Compelling Characters, and why I like Gakushuu Asano

I saw a really fun post by Zaina (@dreaming-of-assclass) asking why people like Gakushuu and I thought it was super fun! I realized I have a lot to say about that little shit, and I didn’t want to hijack the original post because I’m about to spam, so is why I like Gakushuu Asano, and a mini commentary on what makes an intersting character, interesting

I think I’ll put this under a read-more because it’s actually kinda long.

(Note: I don’t actually know things. This is just me rambling)

The sympathy factor, or: the sad backstory effect. This is pretty self explanatory - we’re empathetic creatures, and having a sad backstory trope is a pretty quick and easy way to get us to sympathize with a character. You don’t have to necessarily have previously liked/paid attention to a character to feel bad for them, but feeling bad for someone is a first step to emotionally connecting with them. And we feel bad for Gakushuu, right? When he shows vulnerability and weakness, cowering in front of the Principal beating his friends bloody or being slapped across the room. We say, aww, poor boy. The concept of someone facing adversary and getting back up just tugs at people’s heartstrings. 

And then we have character development: the redemption arc. (I’m going to say as a precursor that apart from the kids and Koro-sensei, Assclass sucks at redemption arcs. Gakuhou?? Shiromi?? @ me.) But Gakushuu got a pretty nice character arc to follow through. I loved watching my boy grow up, realize his mistakes, and work towards being a better person! It works especially well if you relate to the character, you start to reflect more about yourself. Dynamic change arcs are more interesting than static characters that reflect no shift from start to finish (if this storyline didn’t change them, how is it supposed to change you?). And compelling character stories don’t even have to reflect good change - I’m sure we all look at characters who slowly delve into insanity and think, yes, good. Humans just love introspection - what else is there to think about if not yourself and others, and how we react to the world around us?

Gakushuu also often subverts expectations. We keep track of unusual and unpredictable situations because we want to know what up next? He debuts with dramatic music as boy-with-book, and then the next time we see him is him pulling out pictures of Koro-sensei in the Principal’s office. The scene from Gakushuu kicking Isogai’s face in during the Pole-toppling tournament and then the immediate switch to watching his friends get their faces kicked in was a shock. Then the next time we see him is his sad backstory, and then he’s asking 3-E for help. It’s spicy. Unpredictable. The character equivalent of a cliffhanger. We take notice of him because we don’t know what happens next, we watch him closely because whatever happens to him is closely tied to the 3-E kids - even if you dislike him, you’re kind of forced to pay attention to him. For anyone ambivalent, thinking more about a character just makes you feel more emotions about them. 

Relatable characters: We tend to attach to characters we see ourselves in! One of the most common relatable factors I’ve seen are their character backstories/circumstances, and Gakushuu has a pretty run-of-the-mill storyline, with overbearing parental pressure to do well in school. Half of us probably looked at him and said, “yep, that’s me aged fourteen”. I definitely did. One of the reasons I attached to him is the point I figured out that as much of I would like to think I was one of the 3-E cast, I would 100% be part of the Main Campus if I was 14, jeering and booing and all. It definitely made me more sympathetic towards the Main Campus cast.

If not for their backstories, we relate to characters with their personalities, and their goals/motivations. (That’s why people often relate to villains - it’s easy to admire the altruism of our hero protagonist but it’s hard to imagine standing in their shoes, and it’s so much simpler to want to be selfish.) Gakushuu’s goals are surprisingly mundane and fun, he just wants to get As, get into a good high school, get the upper hand over his abusive father, and figure out the secret of class 3-E. You can bet that if I was in Assclass, my middle name would be paparazzi and my hobby would be hiding out in bushes. 

And Gakushuu has one of the most compelling character interactions with other characters. We love watching our favs interact with other people! That’s why shipping is so common, because a character floating in isolation isn’t very interesting on it’s own, and the fun comes the rapport and dynamics between them. Rarepairs, undeveloped side characters, and OCs are new, unique sets of character interactions/interpretations, which is why they’re so fun. AUs allow you to dump them into whole new situations and have them re-interact with others in different circumstances! Where was I? Gakushuu is just wild. The Asano family dynamics are just... insane. Every interaction Gakushuu has with 3-E is just so unpredictable. Is he going to help them? Kick them in the face? Ask them for help? Who knows. I love it. 

Personality wise, the characters I think people tend to lean towards are characters they think they are alike, characters they are the complete opposite of, and characters that remind them of people they know. If your fav falls into one of those three categories it’s just more likely that their name will pop up more often in your head. Drawing real life connections to fictional things also makes you feel more empathetic towards the fiction. 

(A digression: most MCs are the most plain of the bunch, because you get to project more onto them! They’re a blank slate for you to imagine yourself in, and they typically have very safe mild but positive personality traits, because you want to associate yourself with someone kind.) 

Not so much of character writing but more of just how AssClass manages comedy: every situation 3-E faces is treated with equal weight. Oh no, someone tried to poison them and drown them and kill them! Oh no, they have to put on a school play and they’re going to fail their midterms! It’s hilarious. Gakushuu’s debut is especially funny because we have 3-E coming down from the immediate previous crisis of their teacher who gave them broken ribs, and then (cue dramatic music) their next equally daunting situation: midterms. Their next recurring antagonist: a boy that studies a little bit too much. It’s downright hysterical, and it’s why Gakushuu caught my attention in the first place.

Where was I? I don’t know. This got away from me. This is why I don’t post often on tumblr or you get behemoth walls of text like this kjhgk

[luna-loner]

Gotham Queen: Hazama

So, a while ago, I saw this post where someone, either @assclass-dump or @bea2804 (I don’t remember which one was it, and I am not about to roam through the Hazama tag just to find that one post, so I’ll tag both just in case) point out how Hazama has a unique cape in Koro Q. 

The moment I saw that cape, I instantly thought of one thing: Batman.

That lead to an idea of a Hero!Hazama AU where she was part of the bat-fam, and all because of that one cape.

Anyway, I’ve been trying to think of some Hazama content, and today, I had an idea for a drabble based on that one idea.

***

If she were to be completely honest, seeing the legendary bat-cave was....disappointing.

It was exactly as she'd imagined it: big cave full of fancy equipment, a giant computer, and oh, we shouldn't forget the shiny bat mobile.

Really, what do you expect from a billionaire vigilante?

"Answer the question."

Red orbs met the narrowed white slits of none other than the caped crusader himself. Hazama wondered if this was the notorious "bat glare" that was rumored to send shivers down one's spine. If that were the case, then it was another disappointment. 'He should see my mom when she's in one of her moods.'

Maybe it was just her. After all, nothing came close to the haunting eyes of her own mother as well as the soul-shattering screams that had become the title track of her miserable childhood. In fact, everything else paled in comparison to the devil woman that was her mother.

Hazama shrugged. "I tracked you down, that's it.”

The glare deepened, not that it had any effect on her. 'Maybe I should show him that picture of mom, tell him to take notes.'

"How exactly?" Batman questioned.

"I had help."

"Who?"

'An AI who roams the internet. Oh, and she's been living your big, bat-computer, so that's how I know who you and your sidekicks really are.'

Of course, she wasn't going to tell him that, mainly to get under his skin, but there was a reason as to why she was here in the first place.

"It doesn't matter right now." Hazama spoke, straightening in her seat and regarding the hero with a serious look. "I'm here to help with the tentacled monsters that're suddenly popping up."

The Dark Knight did not seem pleased by that answer. In fact, he was growing irritated with this mysterious girl who had casually strolled in that bat cave like it was no big deal.

"Kirara Hazama." Nightwing stood next to Batman, a tablet in hand. "Sixteen years old. Japanese nationale. Transfer student at Gotham Academy." He looked up to meet the girl's eyes. "Not to mention, you were one of the students involved in that whole assassination ordeal from last year."

Hazama clutched her elbow. A year had passed since Korosensei's passing, but it was still felt so recent, as though that fateful night was only hours ago. Her heart clenched when she remembered the the tiny, yellow orbs floating around them, the feeling of Korosensei literally slipping through her fingers was unforgettable.

And now, her past had followed her all the way to another country; Hazama didn’t know if this was life trying to be funny, but if it were truly the case, then it was an utter, humorless fail. 

Really, all she wanted was to be as far away as possible from her controlling mother, and the opportunity comes in the form of a transfer exchange program. But then one day, she gets attacked by a creature bearing an eerie resemblance to her late teacher. It had everything: the tentacles, the yellow skin, and even that trademark grin of his.

“Koro...sensei?”

Except that grin had been laced with malice, and before the girl could comprehend what was happening, she found a tentacle wrapped around her neck and dangling her in the air to suffocate. 

“Sensei!”   

Were it not for her assassination training, Hazama would not have managed to escape. Those had arguably been the most horrifying seconds of her life, more horrifying than the Okinawa ordeal, where Hazama truly believed herself nearing death’s door. 

“It’s not him.” She breathed, her hand seemingly glued to her neck. “Korosenei would never...”  

And she was right, especially after more and more of these psuedo-senseis appeared on the streets of Gathom city, wrecking havoc in a manner akin to mindless zombies. Hazama didn’t know their origins, but she was deadset on unraveling this mystery. ‘And...’ She bit her bottom lip.

And maybe...by some strange, unforeseeable miracle, he would be be alive.    

Batman scrutinized the girl, her melancholy was not lost on him. The sadness glinting in her eyes was uncomfortably familiar, one that told the story of loss. He may not of read it, but he felt like he already knew the tale.

But that wasn’t the issue at hand. He will eventually learn how this girl managed to track him down, not to mention, do a thorough background check.

But for now, his priorities lied in handling the “Octopus terror” that had plagued Gotham. If this Kirara Hazama person had a solution to this, he was willing to listen, though her words will be taken with a grain of salt. After all, Batman did not trust her, not when she had somehow figured out their secret identities.

“Kirara, was it?”

“Hazama.” She corrected. “I don’t like my first name all that much, so just call me, Hazama.”

The man was silent for a few moments before responding “Very well then, Hazama.” He crossed his arms. “What do you know about these creatures?”

“Not much.” She admitted. “But they’re undoubtedly linked to my teacher.”

“Your teacher?”

“The one we were tasked with killing.” She explained, ignoring the slight ache in her heart. “I know how his past; maybe that could help us get to the bottom of this.”

“Uh...us?” Nightwing spoke up. “Kid, we’re talking dangerous stuff here.”

Hazama raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“What do you mean “And”?” The acrobat questioned irritably.

“Just because you have information on these creatures doesn’t mean you can come with us.” Batman said, regarding her with his notorious bat-glare once more. 

Hazama glared back at him. “You’re going to need me.” She said firmly.

 “I won’t.”

“You will.” She argued. “For a whole year, my class and I were trained on how to kill that octopus.” 

The bat glare intensified. “We don’t kill.”

“Neither do we.” She walked closer to bat until the distance between them was a few centimetres. “At least not when it comes to human life.”

She then pulled out her anti-sensei knife for the two men to see. “This is what I used when I was attacked by one of the monsters. To humans, it’s just a rubber knife.” 

She bent it slightly to prove her point. “But it’s a deadly weapon to those monsters.”

The two heroes still didn’t look convinced.

“We spent a whole year studying that octopus, jolting down all his weaknesses.” She met Batman’s gaze with a determined look. “Like it or not, you’re going to need us.”

Batman narrowed his eyes. “Us?”

“Correct!”

The two men whipped their heads to the bat computer, their eyes widening at the sight of a purple-haired girl displayed on screen.

Ritsu smiled brightly at the two and waved. “Hello!”

The Dark Knight was the first to recover from his shock. He turned back to Hazama, bat-glare ever present.

“I take it this is who helped you, correct?”

The Goth gave him a smug smile. “Yup; and she’ll be a big help in this mission.”

“You bet!” There was a glitch on screen and suddenly, Ritsu was dressed in a female version of Batman’s costume.

Batman was absolutely not amused by this.

“Alright.” He turned back to Hazama. “But once this is over, you both will be answering some question. Is that clear?”

The girl shrugged. “Sounds fair.” She smirked. “But if you’re gonna interrogate me again, you’re gonna need to do better than glaring. Here, take notes.”

She then held up picture and gave it to Batman. Curious, Nightwing leaned closer, then jerked back a second later. 

“Yikes!” He yelled in fright. “What is that?!”

“My mom.” The girl replied casually. “I use this to scare off cat-callers. It’s the one thing my mom’s good for.”

Batman regarded her with a neutral look. “Not the best relationship, I suppose?”

“Nope.” She stretched her arms and walked away.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The Bat asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m starving.” She replied without even looking back. “Your butler said he’ll be making dinner, right? We can’t save Gotham on empty stomachs.” 

Nightwing chuckled slightly. “First Tim, now this Hazama kid.” He turned to his former mentor with a playful smirk. “It’s pretty hilarious how a bunch of kids can easily deduce your secret identity, huh?” 

Batman’s only response was a glare, followed by him holding up the photo to show Nightwing the devil herself.

***

I have no idea what I just wrote...

Question: Has anyone in this fandom ever thought of an AC/DC crossover where Hazama was apart of the bat-fam before?

Because I’m starting to like the idea, especially when I imagine her endlessly trolling the Dark Knight.

Hazama in the bat clan....so many possibilities...Maybe have her be the new batgirl...or take on a completely original mantle... 

[mewtonian-physics]

For the Fandom Ask Game! Death Note (since ya asked), BNHA, Assassination Classroom, and BSD (obviously) - Dino Anon

Woohoo! That’s a lot! Let’s do this!

Starting with Death Note, time to special interest on main~

Favorite character: L! He sure is a trash frog, but honestly, that’s why I love him. It’s so rare to find characters like that, especially amongst the ‘quirky detective’ archetype which I so adore.

Most relatable character: Mello. Ughhhh, that inferiority complex. Pretty much everything about his relationship with Near is enormously relatable. Also, if you count Another Note as any sort of canon, then he canonically writes. So relatable. My son now.

Most underrated character: Underrated? Uh, Sayu. I really wish she’d gotten a bigger role. I love her so much.

Most overrated character: Most overrated, huh... Misa. Can we please stop giving her the pure cinnamon roll treatment? It’s 2019. Let’s be real.

Least favorite character: I’m probably going to get hate mail for this, but I really don’t like Near at all. (Well, drama Near’s a different story.) It’s not at all his fault, and I am trying to like him more, but it is what it is.

Favorite pairing: I’m basic Matt/Mello trash. Don’t @ me.

Least favorite pairing: Any shinigami/human pairing automatically gets this spot. 

Favorite part/moment: The Lind L. Tailor scene and the scenes where Ide and Aizawa come back to help the task force! They give me goosebumps every time I rewatch them. And I’ve seen them so many times now.

Least favorite part/moment: Hmm, I don’t like watching the characters I love die. Shock of shocks. Shock of shocks

What about it got my attention: Honestly, it was like... my second anime ever so I was really just going ‘hey this show is pretty popular isn’t it? let’s take a look’

What about it kept my attention: The mind games, the music, the animation, how it somehow managed to be simultaneously serious and completely ridiculous, honestly just... so much.

Overall opinion: ah yes this is my #1 special interest i will drag anyone i can into it

I, uh, haven’t seen any BNHA. Don’t @ me about that either please

Assassination Classroom:

Favorite character: Koro-sensei, of course! He’s so wacky and fun. I love him.

Most relatable character: Karma. Why do I always relate to the edgy ones...

Most underrated character: I’m not really in tune with the fandom so I don’t know!

Most overrated character: See above.

Least favorite character: Takaoka. He sets off my fight-or-flight instincts. 

Favorite pairing: Uh, I kinda like Nagisa/Karma, tbh.

Least favorite pairing: Not in the fandom enough to really notice any that I’d qualify as this.

Favorite part/moment: The ending. It was so beautiful.

Least favorite part/moment: The ending. I sobbed like a child.

What about it got my attention: ‘Excuse me, what is with the yellow tentacle guy?’

What about it kept my attention: ‘I love this yellow tentacle guy. And everyone else.’ Honestly, the characterization and overall tone of the show were amazing.

Overall opinion: A wonderful show that I’d definitely recommend. Unfortunately I forget it exists sometimes -_-

And now, BSD!

Favorite character: Ranpo! Not too dissimilar from L, but less of a bad person, at least. Haha.

Most relatable character: Either Ranpo(he’s totally autistic you can’t say he isn’t) or Dazai(i’m fine atm thanks)

Most underrated character: I don’t know. It feels like everyone gets lots of love from the fandom!

Most overrated character: Mori...

Least favorite character: Mori die challenge

Favorite pairing: Ranpoe :)

Least favorite pairing: Pretty much anything with Mori in it? For obvious reasons...

Favorite part/moment: The first time Ranpo used his ‘ability’, as well as the first time Chuuya used Corruption--aw hell, just ability usage in general is so beautiful.

Least favorite part/moment: odasakuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

What about it got my attention: Some of my friends kept talking about it and they really seemed to love it, so I wanted to know what the big deal was!

What about it kept my attention: Everything? The characters, the concept, the tone and pacing and animation and hhhhhhhhhhhhh it’s such a good show okay

Overall opinion: A+ would and do recommend to people on a regular basis

Thank you for the ask!!! I hope the answers are satisfactory :)

[azapofinspiration]

Ahh! Your take on Karasuma calling Shiro is great! Rin did indeed leave before finding out Yukio knew, but I feel like that would be part of Korosensei's report to Rin. Shiro has no clue what to make of Korosensei at first bc he isn't given full details until after failing to kill him, but he grudgingly agrees Rin is likely safer here than anywhere else. He's also amazed and slightly jealous of how disciplined and respectful Rin is with Karasuma. Yukio has to be talked down from joining classE.

I also like to think about Shiro and Mephisto meeting Chairman Asano. They want/need to talk to him and Rin is like “Just remember he *isn’t* a demon, even if he seems inhuman. The centipedes aren’t real either.” And they’re like ok but I think we know what demons look like. And they come back from the meeting with hair standing on end, staring into the distance wondering how someone like Asano can exist. It adds to Shiro’s nerves about leaving Rin in this place, even more so then the assassins.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure Asano would freak anyone out more than Koro-sensei. Even Mephisto being freaked out by him is even better. He’d be wondering how a human like that can even exist and how is he even more evil than him.

Also, I imagine Mephisto would think that Rin getting assassin training would help him become a better tool in his schemes, though he does offer for Rin to become a member of the exorcism cram school when he’s done.

Back to Shiro, I can see him being weirded out how respectful Rin is to all of his teachers, Karasuma, Irina, and Koro-sensei. As an infamous problem child, he never got along with his teachers. However, now he learns how amazing a child can be if they feel like someone is actually listening to them and respects them. It certainly helps Rin that he doesn’t feel that he is being pushed around as someone else’s problem.

And yes, Yukio would probably be willing to throw away everything to be in Class E, so he can 1. protect his brother which he places as his reason to be and 2. find a way to beat that smug Karma brat. Who manages to be at his level despite being a year younger and probably likes teasing Rin much like he teases Nagisa. Also, Karma can actually help his brother with his studies which is something Yukio failed at during their entire school life. Karma likes rubbing that in.

Now that I think about it, I also want Irina and Shura to meet. They’d be great drinking buddies and they have terrible pasts which have effected their outlook on life and made them cynical. Also, Shura would let Irina rant about her feelings for Karasuma, while, after Aoyama, Irina would help Shura in her attempts to find someone.

[ionica01]

How to do a plot twist right

Once again, I'm singing in to brink the Assassination Classroom daily quota. Heavy spoilers ahead and let's continue! So, the crucial point in AssClass's storyline is obviously the secret of Korosensei's existence and what he was before. Now, given that this is a shounen manga (180 chapters long is actually pretty short for a shounen jump series), you may wonder why it's so short. I, at least, surely did. But once I came to read this I understood why: because it was all planned. Usually, a manga knows how it starts, but sometimes the authors are just going with the flow. My favourite anime and also manga of all time is Fullmetal Alchemist, but halfway through the mangaka stated that she didn't know how her characters will develop or how the series will end (I'll do some analysis on that one of these days). Look at Fairy Tail: 500+ chapters and no clear goal in sight, apart from winning the current battle and then the next one and so on. Shounen manga is designed to go forever (or as long as it's popular) so it often needs to prolong the action sequences or to invent new arcs. AssClass, however, doesn't suffer from that. Matsui Yusei has clearly established from the begining what Korosensei's backstory is and how he'll tell the students, and I'm so sure because of the foreshadowing the story is full of. In the first outing of the class, when they go to kyoto, karasuma-sensei asks korosensei if his love story is part of his life when he had two legs, making the octopus get very solemn. Even earlier, he asks the class to write a poem and gives them an example related to his tentacles. Despite playing it as "just fun", Korosensei is definetely nostalgic. And it's not just in the teacher's arc that Matsui-sensei proves how good of a planner he is: even in smaller chapter, like the ones with nagisa's mother, he always makes things more versatile: karma notices the footsteps of someone foreign and later that night an assassin tries to kill koro. All these small details make it much easier to accept a plot twist, because they keep our sustantion of belief, whuch is rather ironic for assclass. Think about it: this is a series about an OCTOPUS TEACHER WHO HAS TO BE KILLED BY HIS STUDENTS. The premise in itself is crazy, but in this crazy universe that you come to accept, everything else is logic: some assassination atempts get ruled out because they aren't scuentifiaclly plausible; others are based on human pahychology. Every single student has another storng point they bring into the frame, as they make their own assassination plans and each of them is knowledgeable in their domain. Matsui has definetely done a lot of research for this(the suspense bridge effect; the physics of Korosensei; the chemistry of Okuda; the biology of Hinano; the history of Kyoto assassinations; the fact that, unlike other mangas, he actually shows the problems the students solve and gives correct solutions to them!). Every little detail is tackled, creating a world that seems real. You begin to accept the context because it's all given a logical explaination, while keeping the mistery and being entertaing to boot! I was worried thattge big reveal will destroy it all, but instead of doing that, it just proves once again how masterful the mangaka is. For one, you have this unkillable guy who seems so friendly despite being dangerous. He says he'll destroy the earth, yet will kill you if you as much as touch his students. Sounds impossible, right? No, because he'll destroy the eath without wanting to: he'll just blow up. Second: why be a teacher if you'll bow up either way? Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself? No, because he promised the woman he loved he'd teach them. Moreover, that woman was their former teacher AND Kayano's sister. She was also dying when she asked him that... Third: why can he escape every damn situation? Because he was thw god of death: ultimate assassin of all times, and knows every assasssination pattern by heart. Fourth: if so, why does he have such strange weaknesses? Because that's what his live pictured him like, in a world where he didn't have to be the god of death. And plus, the detail that he has always been a pervert...😂 moreover, ever since back then, he couldn't foresee everything, like the betrayal... Which makes it plausible that he was caught. Fifth: why is he such a good teacher? Because as a hitman, he had info in all kinds of domains and held yukimura with her quizes. Sixth: why does he care about the children? Because she did and because he feels guilty. The ultimate message this manga transmits is that talent can be used in more ways than one: it's happened to Korosensei that chose the path of an assassin and only saw (truly saw, as a person) yukimura too late. He only realised that his feelings were those of a man in love when she was dying and he changed his perspective of life. He realised that he could have saved her and will likely never forgive himself for that, so the least he can do is guide some children so that they don't make the same mistake. As such, a really important (but often overlooked) moment in the manga is when Nagisa tells Korosensei that he thinks he has the talent to kill people and asks him what he should do. Not yet aware that his teacher was an assassin, Nagisa is straightforward and puts koro under doubt. On one hand, he doesn't want nagisa repeating his mistakes, while on the other hand, he doesn't want to force him into anything else. He tells Nagisa to think really well about him, but assures him that he'll be by his side no matter what. Korosensei most likely sees himself in Nagisa, a young unpolished talent. That's why, aside from the assassination skills, he urges him and all the other students to polish their second blades, too. He knows their strenghts and pushes them, while at the same time rasing the bar in their weaker subjects. What I want to emphasise is how, once you understand who korosensei was, you understand his motives even better and arcs of the manga that seemed filler suddenly get a meaning: like the kindergarten and the old man. The reason koro got so mad back there was because the kids were injuring others with their skills, while being too proud of them. He probably showed himself to the ojiisan because ge considered that his own failure as a teacher. Moreover, that serves to make Nagisa realise that he wants to be a teacher, stepping fully on Korosensei's path now: an assassin teacher. So yeah, great foreshadowing and a clear goal: that's worldbuilding that makes you feel even a fantasy is realistic!