The Winter 2016 Anime Preview Guide

Assassination Classroom season 2

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Summer vacation is almost over, but Koro-sensei isn't ready to go back to school just yet! After spending almost his entire visit to this gorgeous island resort in a tiny defensive ball, everyone's favorite tentacled teacher is ready to pull out all the stops for a test of courage! There's nothing like a few nighttime scares to bring hormone-riddled boys and girls together for a night of romance. (Or so he thinks.) Okay, Koro-sensei might be a little too invested in his students' love lives, but Professor Bitch might really need his help with her own incredibly dense boyfriend-to-be. The second semester will soon be upon us, but on the twilight of Class E's reprieve, there's still time for a few more fireworks to fly. Assassination Classroom season 2 is based on a manga and can be found streaming on Funimation, Thursdays at 12:55 PM EST.

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Hope Chapman

Rating: 4

Real talk: I can't speak for anyone but myself, but this winter is beginning to feel like the soggiest season of anime I've sat through in a long while. Responses may vary on the offerings so far, but almost everything up to this point has been pretty low-energy and safe, which are downright dirty words to my own personal tastes. Fortunately, we have lots of returning sequels to enjoy, and after so much tepid fare, this episode of Assassination Classroom is like a Grade-A shot in the arm. Excitement! Color! Laughs! Foreboding! And of course, the return of one of the most distinctive anime "villains" in recent memory as Koro-sensei takes center stage once again.

The lovable octo-teacher has finally hatched out of his rubbery sphere of plot convenience to dole out heaps of silliness on his beleaguered students. From a comedic test of courage to sentimental character moments to a shocking scene of drama and some ominous foreshadowing, this first episode of season 2 crams a lot of gleeful enthusiasm into a short amount of time. Fans of Irina (aka "Bitch-sensei") should be happy to see her humanized more in this episode too, as she opens up to both her students and the stoic object of her affections, Mr. Karasuma. Miraculously, the leaps between goofiness and sentimentality never feel forced. The show settles back into its groove as if it never left, amassing loads of energy to reel in any wayward fans.

I had honestly become lukewarm on Assassination Classroom by the time its first season concluded in the middle of last year, but this return to form is endearing enough to win me back all over again. If you gave AssClass a pass in the past, there's no better time to start as the stakes intensify in the story's second semester. (Can I get an A for alliteration and assonance, teacher?)