Danica Davidson
October 2, 2024 
In the latest news for manga bans or attempted bans, Horry County Schools in South Carolina pulled the whole Assassination Classroom manga series after a single parent complained. The series is being looked over by the schools, a process that is said to take 30 days. After that the schools will decide whether to return Assassination Classroom or keep it off their shelves.
This all started when Jennifer Hannigan got upset after her high school daughter checked out Assassination Classroom from the library at her school.
“Even if I didn’t have children, I would not want a child to read this book,” Hannigan remarked. She took offense to the manga’s violence, as well as the fact it showed lingerie. In the story, which is a pretty out-there science fiction comedy, students have to assassinate an alien who’s going to destroy the whole earth. That alien also happens to be posing as their teacher, and before the series is over, he turns out to be a good teacher.
Hannigan continued, “In the book, they’ll have several chapters that are telling you…a killing is in the title, of some nature. There’s also several pages where there’s handguns, rifles, knives, and potions, and it talks about killing in the pages.”
The local article on the case described Hannigan as flipping through pages, but did not say if she had read the whole book.
Hannigan also indicted she believes that Assassination Classrooms is more than what young people — including high schoolers’ — “brains can handle,” as she put it. Assassination Classroom is rated Teen Plus by VIZ Media.
Assassination Classroom is the most banned manga in America. Otaku USA recently covered another manga ban in Brevard County, Florida, that went after Sasaki and Miyano. A parent who hadn’t read Sasaki and Miyano filed a complain that got it pulled from the district for at least eight years. Otaku USA also talked with a school board member and reviewer at Brevard who didn’t agree with the Sasaki and Miano ban.
We’ll have to see what happens with Assassination Classroom in Horry County.
Source: WMBF
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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