Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui

While the introductory premise to this manga series requires quite a suspension of disbelief--an alien threatening to destroy Earth has chiselled away most of the moon and can only be placated by being allowed to teach a group of struggling Japanese middle school students how to assassinate him along with their regular school subjects--manga fans will enjoy joining the group of students who are at the bottom of their school’s totem pole and marveling at a teacher who can regenerate limbs and fly through the air at a speed of Mach 20.  The violence of classroom assassination attempts makes this unsuitable for younger readers, but the violence is so over-the-top as to be unrealistic.  The storyline allows various students to express their feelings of frustration in regard to teachers at their demanding school as they try to determine Sensei Koro’s weaknesses and appreciate his successes as well as his care for them.  Originally published weekly in a manga magazine, the story is episodic and seems to grow in complexity as new characters are introduced and the plot thickens. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber