Due to its contentious nature and in light of the ongoing violence involving guns in American schools, the well-known manga collection “Assassination Classroom” is being controversially criticised and banned in public schools in Wisconsin and Florida. Two schools, one located in Wisconsin and the other in Florida, have already banned the manga, and there may be more restrictions in the future.
The manga centres on a group of outcasts and dropouts assigned the mission of killing their instructor, an octopus-like being known as Koro-Sensei, who is simultaneously plotting to end the planet. Parents and teachers have complained about the series’ depictions of children brandishing weapons and attempting to shoot their professors, and there have also been arguments over its use of characters who are minors in sexually graphic scenes.
The Citizens Defending Freedom group in Florida has contested the manga owing to its violent and pornographic material, and the comic was outlawed in Wisconsin over worries over images of students carrying guns. In Florida, a law requiring all school libraries to keep only resources that have been endorsed by someone holding an educational media specialist has also been introduced as a result of the debate.
The criticism and restrictions around “Assassination Classroom” are nothing new for American manga series. Similar debate surrounded the “Death Note” series throughout the past 20 years, but it was selected as one of the Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens as a means to promote awareness of publications that should not be read by minors.
However, it’s hardly surprising that manga showing pupils wanting to shoot their instructor with guns has come under fire given the current context in America over gun violence in schools. The future of “Assassination Classroom” in American public schools is uncertain and most likely will remain so until the problem of school violence is handled.
