Assassination Classroom Episode 4 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

Grown-Up Time

The foreign woman Korosensei rescues from thugs while shopping in disguise turns out to be Irina Jelavić, Class E's new English teacher. She feigns adoration in front of him but drops the act before the students: she is a professional assassin, and she even kisses Nagisa to get his notes on the target's weaknesses. She lures Korosensei into the storage shed for her henchmen to gun down, but he smelled the strangers in advance, sees through the trap, and leaves her stuffed into a gym outfit.

When the humiliated Irina sneers at the students for caring about exams, the class revolts. After seeing Korosensei write separate tests for every student, she changes her mind, teaches them a practical English sentence, and apologizes for her rudeness. The class accepts her as 'Bitch-sensei'.

• Introduction and first lesson

  Korosensei meets Irina at a market and she is introduced as the new English teacher. She openly drops her act and shows confidence in killing him, then a lesson on the letter v is repeated in a disciplinary way.

• Storage shed trap

  Irina lures Korosensei into the shed and hides while machine guns fire at him. He is unharmed, sees through the trap, and punishes her, which leaves her humiliated.

• Teaching and reconciliation

  After a riot over her attitude, Irina considers leaving but is won over by the students' happiness. She apologises, teaches English through a lesson, and the class accepts her as Bitch-sensei.

Recent Timeline

• Grenade ambush and Korosensei's warning (Episode 1)

  Following Terasaka's plan, Nagisa clung to Korosensei with a grenade packed with gunpowder and 300 anti-sensei BBs, and Terasaka set it off by remote. Korosensei shielded Nagisa with his shed skin, then flew around town at Mach 20, brought back the students' house nameplates and threatened their families and friends. He then praised Nagisa's natural approach and scolded Terasaka, Yoshida and Muramatsu for not looking out for Nagisa, and Nagisa for not looking out for himself.

• Failed ambushes and Karasuma's arrival (Episode 2)

  Sugino's baseball ambush was stopped by a glove, but Korosensei's advice helped him learn his own breaking ball. Six students' knife ambush ended with their knives turned into tulips, and the attack on Korosensei tied to a branch as an apology failed when the branch snapped and he fled to the roof. Meanwhile Karasuma became Class E's PE teacher.

• Karma's return and the cliff dilemma (Episode 3)

  Back from suspension, Karma became the first to wound Korosensei with knife shards hidden on his palm, kept up his provocations, and finally leapt off a cliff with a gun, daring him to save him and be shot or let him fall and be finished as a teacher. Korosensei caught him in a web of tentacles and said abandoning a student was never an option, and Karma acknowledged him as a real teacher.

• Irina's arrival and the storage shed trap (Episode 4)

  Professional assassin Irina Jelavić arrived as the new English teacher, feigned adoration for Korosensei, and kissed Nagisa to pry out his notes on the target. She lured Korosensei into the storage shed for her hidden henchmen to fire machine guns at him, but he had smelled the unfamiliar men in advance and lead bullets do not work on him. The henchmen were knocked out, and Irina was punished by being put into a gym outfit.

• Irina's apology and 'Bitch-sensei' (Episode 4)

  When the humiliated Irina sneered at the students for worrying about exams, the class revolted. After seeing Korosensei write separate tests for every student, she changed course, taught them a practical English sentence to show why language matters, and apologized for her rudeness. The class accepted her as 'Bitch-sensei'.

Character Graph

Korosensei

Class 3-E homeroom teacher · Super creature

Super creature who blew away 70 percent of the moon, vows to destroy Earth next March and flies at up to Mach 20; he asked to become Class 3-E's homeroom teacher himself. He looks smitten with Irina but sees through her shed trap by smell, then helps her settle in as a teacher.

• Assassination target

  The government reluctantly accepted his own offer to teach Class 3-E on condition he harms no students, and the class must kill him by next March for a 10 billion yen reward.

• Teaching style

  Teaches the class with unusual methods, praising effort and creativity while chastising weak tactics.

• Tadaomi Karasuma (Pact, Colleague, Hostility)

  Ministry of Defense officer who relayed the government's reluctant acceptance of his offer to teach Class 3-E; he wants the creature dead and openly opposes him. He now teaches PE to train the class in assassination.

• Nagisa Shiota (Mentor, Mixed)

  Student who carried out the grenade attack in episode 1; Korosensei praised how naturally he approached but scolded him for not protecting himself.

Nagisa Shiota (Nagisa)

Class 3-E student

Class 3-E student who keeps notes on Korosensei's habits and weak points. Irina kisses him to get his notes, and he tells her Korosensei has a keen nose despite having none.

• Assassin

  Carried out the knife-and-grenade attack in episode 1 and accepts that he and his classmates are assassins whose target is their own teacher.

• Korosensei (Mentor, Mixed)

  His homeroom teacher and assassination target; Nagisa respects him as a good teacher while aiming to kill him.

• Karma Akabane (Friend, Affinity)

  Classmate from first and second year; Nagisa knows how sharp and dangerous he is.

Tadaomi Karasuma (Karasuma)

Japanese Ministry of Defense · PE teacher

Ministry of Defense officer serving as Class E's assistant homeroom and PE teacher. He introduces Irina as a temporary English teacher on the government's orders, then pushes her to stop looking down on the students.

• Government operative

  Explains that only world leaders know about the creature and that the class must kill him in secret.

• New PE teacher

  Meets the school chairman and takes on Class E as assistant homeroom and PE teacher to train the students in assassination.

• Korosensei (Pact, Colleague, Hostility)

  The creature who offered to teach Class 3-E himself; Karasuma relayed the government's reluctant acceptance and wants him dead. Now a fellow teacher, he still treats him as a target.

Karma Akabane (Karma)

Class 3-E student

Class 3-E student back from a suspension for violence, and the first person to wound Korosensei. He still aims to kill him, now with a 'healthy' killing intent, and mocks Irina when she drops her act.

• Why he was sent to Class E

  He hurt a top student while defending a bullied Class E senior; his homeroom teacher, who had promised to always side with him, blamed him and had him moved to Class E.

• Korosensei (Mentor, Mixed)

  Target he still means to kill; after being caught off the cliff he accepts him as a real teacher, and his killing intent turns 'healthy'.

Kayano (Kaede Kayano)

Class 3-E student

Class 3-E student who sits near Nagisa and came up with the nickname 'Korosensei'. When Irina looks down on the class, she joins the protest against her.

• Naming Korosensei

  Asked Korosensei his name, and when he told the class to pick one, came up with 'Korosensei'.

• Nagisa Shiota (Friend, Affinity)

  Classmate she often talks with about Korosensei and the assassination.

• Korosensei (Mentor, Mixed)

  Homeroom teacher and target, whom she nicknamed Korosensei.

Ryoma Terasaka (Terasaka)

Class 3-E student

Class 3-E student who runs with Yoshida and Muramatsu. He planned the grenade attack that put Nagisa at risk, and in episode 3 Karma mocks him over how that attack went.

• Grenade plan

  Gave Nagisa a toy grenade packed with gunpowder and anti-sensei BBs and set it off by remote, insisting it could not kill anyone.

• Nagisa Shiota (Other, Mixed)

  Classmate he pressed into carrying the grenade, promising to cover any medical bills with the reward.

• Korosensei (Other, Hostility)

  Assassination target who scolded him after the grenade attack; Terasaka shot back that he was not afraid of him.

Tomohito Sugino (Sugino)

Class 3-E student

Class 3-E student who was on the baseball team before being dropped to Class E. After his baseball assassination failed, Korosensei's advice to use his flexible elbows and wrists led him to develop his own breaking ball.

• Pitching style

  Tried to copy a major-league pitcher's form, then developed his own breaking ball after Korosensei told him his flexible elbows and wrists were his real talent.

• Korosensei (Mentor, Affinity)

  Teacher who went to New York to check with the pitcher himself and coached Sugino toward his own style.

Isogai (Yuma Isogai)

Class 3-E class representative

One of Class 3-E's class representatives. In PE, Karasuma challenged him and Maehara to land a knife hit, and neither could.

• Knife training

  Paired with Maehara against Karasuma in PE; Karasuma easily fended off both of them.

• Tadaomi Karasuma (Mentor, Neutral)

  PE teacher who challenged him to land a knife hit.

Maehara (Hiroto Maehara)

Class 3-E student

Class 3-E student who questioned Karasuma's training and failed to land a knife hit on him. When Irina insults the class, he is the first to tell her to get out.

• Knife training

  Paired with Isogai against Karasuma in PE; Karasuma easily fended off both of them.

• Tadaomi Karasuma (Mentor, Neutral)

  PE teacher who challenged him to land a knife hit.

Irina Jelavić (Bitch-sensei)

English teacher · Assassin

Professional assassin sent to kill Korosensei and placed in Class 3-E as a temporary English teacher. She feigns affection to get close, and Korosensei looks smitten, yet he sees through her shed trap; after she apologizes to the class, they accept her as 'Bitch-sensei'.

• Assassination plan

  Rigged the storage shed with her henchmen and real machine guns; Korosensei smelled the strangers, was unharmed by lead bullets, and 'cared for' her as punishment.

• Change of heart

  After Karasuma shows her how Korosensei writes separate tests for each student, she apologizes to the class and offers to teach practical conversation.

• Korosensei (Other, Mixed)

  Her assassination target; she feigns affection to get close, and though he looks smitten he sees through her traps.

• Tadaomi Karasuma (Colleague, Neutral)

  Her supervisor who introduced her to the class; she complains to him about having to teach, and he tells her not to look down on the students.

• Nagisa Shiota (Other, Mixed)

  She kisses him to get the notes he keeps on Korosensei's weaknesses.

World Memo

• Crescent moon and the destruction of Earth

  At the start of the students' third year the moon suddenly exploded into a permanent crescent. The creature responsible has declared that he will destroy Earth next March in the same way, a standing threat that frames the assassination.

• Government-sanctioned assassination and reward

  The government reluctantly accepted the creature's own offer to teach Class 3-E on condition that he harms no students, and secretly tasked the class with killing him, since public knowledge would cause global panic. A successful assassination is rewarded with 10 billion yen.

• Anti-sensei weapons

  The government developed anti-sensei BBs and knives that are harmless to humans but break down the creature's cells, and supplies them to the students.

• Isolated Class E and its nickname

  Kunugigaoka's Class E is sent every day to an isolated mountaintop campus and discriminated against as the lowest-ranked class, nicknamed the E-as-in-End Class.

• Class 3-E status stigma

  Being a Class 3-E student marks students for discrimination in their future lives, and this would remain even if Korosensei were killed.

Clue Board

• Unknown motive for the deal (Episode 1)

  The creature himself proposed becoming Class 3-E's homeroom teacher, and the government reluctantly agreed without knowing what he is after. Why he wants to teach them remains unexplained.

• Real name unknown (Episode 1)

  Korosensei says he has no name worth giving and lets the class pick one; Kayano comes up with 'Korosensei'. His real name remains unknown.

• Post-lunch weakness hypothesis (Episode 1)

  Nagisa suspects Korosensei is most vulnerable when his face turns light pink after lunch, around when students get sleepy, since he was slow to answer a question at that time. This is an unconfirmed hypothesis.

• Woman in the ruins (Episode 1)

  In a brief flashback Korosensei holds a bleeding woman in a ruined building; she tells him that with those tentacles he would surely become a wonderful teacher. Who she is remains unknown.

• A promise to someone (Episode 2)

  Korosensei tells Nagisa he became their teacher to keep a promise he made to someone. He does not say who.

• What happened in the shed (Episode 4)

  When Nagisa asks what Korosensei did to Irina in the shed, he only gives a vague answer. What actually happened in there is never shown.

• A plan behind Irina's change (Episode 4)

  Karasuma thinks Irina's fitting into the class may have been Korosensei's plan all along. Whether Korosensei really intended it is not confirmed.

Deduction Board

Facts

• Harmful BBs

  Korosensei is harmed by the anti-sensei BBs, which the government developed specifically to kill him, though they are harmless to humans.

• Why Karma was sent to Class E

  Karma hurt a top third-year while defending a bullied Class E senior. His homeroom teacher, who had promised to always stand by him, sided with the top student and had him moved to Class E, and Karma says that teacher is dead to him.

• Assassin posing as English teacher

  Irina Jelavić, introduced by Karasuma as the new English teacher, is a professional assassin hired by the government.

Evidence

• Karma's first wound

  Karma hid anti-sensei knife shards on his palm and wounded Korosensei with a handshake, the first attack ever to hurt him.

• Cliff-jump dilemma

  Karma leapt off a cliff with a gun: if Korosensei came to save him he would shoot him first, and if he let him fall he would be dead as a teacher. Korosensei caught him in a web of tentacles.

• Unfamiliar adult male body odor

  Korosensei smelled the unfamiliar adult men hiding in the shed, and the lead bullets Irina used do not work on him.

Inferences

• Weak points are character flaws

  The listed weak points are actually flaws in Korosensei's character rather than exploitable weaknesses.

• A teacher who never abandons students

  In the cliff dilemma Korosensei saved Karma without hesitation and said abandoning a student was never an option; when a student's life is at stake, he will always come to the rescue.

• Trap seen through in advance

  Korosensei realized early that Irina Jelavić was setting a trap and pretended to fall for her.

Suspicions

• Motive for the deal

  Even the government does not know why the creature asked to become Class 3-E's homeroom teacher.

• Karma's lingering intent to kill

  Karma still means to kill Korosensei with his own hands, but after being caught off the cliff his killing intent turns 'healthy' and he treats him as a real teacher.

• Irina's grudge

  Humiliated by her failed shed trap, Irina Jelavić vows as a professional to pay Korosensei back; she keeps targeting him even after apologizing to the class and making peace with it.

Battle Record

Irina lured Korosensei into a storage shed with a trap of machine-gun fire, which failed. Korosensei was unharmed and her henchmen were knocked out.

Karma's special knife surprise attack

Karma's return ambush · Episode 3

Location: Class E

Trigger: Karma Akabane, back from suspension, went after Korosensei from his very first greeting

Sides

• Karma Akabane — attacker: Karma Akabane
• Korosensei — defender: Korosensei

Outcome: Korosensei was wounded by anti-sensei knife shards Karma had hidden on his palm for a handshake, the first attack ever to hurt him.

Aftermath

• Nagisa judged that when it comes to weapons and surprise attacks, no one in the class comes close to Karma

Karma's mid-air dilemma ambush

Rescue dilemma · Episode 3

Location: Cliff

Trigger: After Korosensei assured him a teacher would risk his life to protect a student, Karma leapt off a cliff with a gun to turn that promise into a dilemma

Sides

• Karma Akabane — attacker: Karma Akabane
• Korosensei — defender: Korosensei

Outcome: Korosensei caught Karma in a web of tentacles, and Karma's best plan failed

Aftermath

• Karma accepted he could neither break Korosensei's commitment nor defeat him
• Korosensei judged that Karma no longer needed his 'care'

Storage shed ambush

Irina's trap against Korosensei · Episode 4

Location: Storage shed

Trigger: Irina's assassination attempt

Sides

• Irina Jelavić — attacker: Irina Jelavić, her henchmen
• Korosensei — target: Korosensei

Outcome: Trap failed; Korosensei unharmed; henchmen unconscious

Aftermath

• Korosensei punishes Irina by dressing her in a gym outfit

Ability Table

Season Summary

Season 1 — Season 1

Episodes 1–4

Class 3-E must assassinate their Mach 20 homeroom teacher, who blew away 70 percent of the moon and vows to destroy Earth next March, for a 10 billion yen reward, yet every attempt fails while he teaches them to believe in themselves. Sugino finds his own pitching style through Korosensei's advice, and Karasuma of the Ministry of Defense takes over PE to drill them in assassination basics. Karma Akabane returns from suspension, becomes the first to wound Korosensei, and after leaping off a cliff to force a dilemma and being caught by his tentacles, accepts him as a real teacher. The professional assassin Irina Jelavić arrives as a temporary English teacher and feigns affection to get close, but Korosensei sees through her shed trap; after she apologizes to the class, she is accepted as 'Bitch-sensei'.

Music Releases

• Seishun Satsubatsuron (OP)
• Hello, shooting-star (ED)