Episode 42

Valentine's Day Time is the forty-second episode of the Assassination Classroom anime and the twentieth episode of Season 2. It premiered in Japan on 26 May 2016.

Summary
While Nagisa ponders about his future after graduation, Valentine's Day is in the air as some of the students including Kayano prepare to give their chocolate to the one they most admire.

Plot
To make up for the lost time due to the class’s internal problems, Korosensei blitzes through the Christmas and New Year celebrations. But with only 32 days left until graduation (and Korosensei’s deadline), the class begin to ponder about their future goals. Most of the students have already decided on what they want to do and which high school they wish to enter. Karma in particular opts to stay in Kunugigaoka, primarily to ‘make fun’ of the main campus students and also enjoying the academic challenge in his main rival Gakushu Asano, knowing that he will easily get the job he wants. Nagisa however is unsure about his own future beyond getting into the university his mother favours.

During a tutoring session with Sakura at the nursery, she notices Nagisa’s lack of attention to her and asks him of the issue. When Nagisa admits that he does not know what to do for the future, Sakura simply states what else apart from being a teacher. From the time when they first met, Nagisa has always been a teacher to her. He has an epiphany that it took her to make him realize the same thought, like how a kid becomes a doctor after admiring those who saved their lives. As he goes to take his entrance exams at his first preference high school, Korosensei comically cheers him on before frantically rushing away to support the rest of the students. While Nagisa admits he will never be like Korosensei, he still has until the final careers consultation after the entrance exams to decide on becoming a teacher.

Valentine’s Day arrives. While Okajima gets agitated about potentially receiving a chocolate from someone, Karma and Nakamura spot Kayano hiding a piece of chocolate under her desk. She tries to brush them off as a matter of formality when asked who she plans to give it to, but becomes totally embarrassed when Karma shows Kayano a photo of Nagisa kissing her on his phone. The pair privately think to themselves that despite Kayano’s acting prowess that fooled even Korosensei, her feelings for Nagisa completely throws her off. Should they succeed in pairing Kayano and Nagisa together, Karma and Nakamura have a perfect couple to tease about. Outside, Kayano admits that she never had any real life experiences about love despite studying the matter in her career. Nakamura and Karma state that Nagisa himself has low self-esteem in the opposite gender not liking him. Coupled with that of his fear that the kiss would cause Kayano to hate him, they are why he is afraid.

The pair decide to help Kayano out in how to express her feelings by covertly spying on other students. They spot Sugino banging his head on a pole in his insane enjoyment of receiving chocolate from Kanzaki. Her calm composure however means that she has only given the chocolate to Sugino out of formality. The three move on to Chiba and Hayami, who were testing out chocolate bullets. Nakamura admires their sharpshooting skills but Kayano is unable to tell whether Hayami gave her bar out of affection or formaility. Moving on to Terasaka’s group, Hazama gives each of her friends a list that Terasaka comments it is more of a curse. Karma is disappointed that he could not leave his chocolate (spiked with poison concocted by Okuda) in Terasaka’s shoe cupboard, much to Kayano’s dismay. Finally they spot Kataoka presenting a sack full of chocolate to Isogai, bought in bulk from a supermarket four hours away by bicycle to share with his younger siblings. Learning that the two of them wish to enter in the same state school, they hope they are both successful. Overall, Kayano sees that everyone has their own way in expressing their feelings to one another. When Nakamura points out Korosensei’s irritating hobby for love gossip, Karma asks for a few things from Kayano to keep the teacher distracted.

Late in the day, Kayano prepares to confront Nagisa with Karma and Nakamura spying from outside. She pulls him over (after Okajima leaves in anguish) but is still shy to admit her feelings. She ends up asking him about his future goals. When Nagisa admits he has a vague idea of what he wants to do, Kayano deduces him to become a teacher, mainly due to how Nagisa admires Korosensei not as a target or monster to be killed, but as a teacher. After seeing the look on Nagisa’s face when he spots Korosensei perched on a tree fixated on something, Kayano is reminded of why she fell for him, and his bloodlust kindly filled in the holes made inside her after the loss of her sister and pursuing revenge. With a smile, Kayano presents her piece of chocolate to Nagisa and thanking him for being by her side throughout the school year, much to Nagisa’s shock. After the two part ways, Karma ponders Kayano’s actions while Nakamura admits to herself that she can no longer poach Nagisa from someone like Kayano. When Nakamura asks what has gotten Korosensei so fixated, Karma reveals to have planted a photo of Ms Yukimura wearing bikini, a note and a piece of chocolate for Korosensei to see. In fact had he known this would work so well, he would have used it in an assassination.

At the end of the day Korosensei is still fixated on the photo, but still dodges Chairman Asano’s strikes from behind. Seeing a photo of Ms Yukimura, Asano admits that given a few more years, she would have been an outstanding educator. He asks Korosensei whether he’d like to continue teaching if he does not die by the deadline. Although flattered and grateful by the offer, Korosensei is adamant that this will be the only year he will teach. Asano muses that with himself at the top and teachers like Korosensei and Yukimura at the bottom supporting the students, he may have realized his education ideal. The two then talk about Gakushu’s wellbeing.

Meanwhile Irina and Karasuma dine together, though Karasuma is more inclined to leave. Irina brings up the fact that just because Korosensei and Earth will not die, does not mean that the rest of the world will stop in their efforts to kill him. Karasuma admits that there is a plan being put in place by the world governments to kill Korosensei but his role as a guide to the students means that he will not know the full extent of it until the eleventh hour. After dinner Irina frets that should someone else kill their target, the students will feel negatively about not being the ones to do the deed. Karasuma points out that her feelings towards the class have made her role as an assassin become unsuitable. He suggests that she quits and join the Ministry of Defense’s intelligence services, as a way to save more people than she has killed in the last 10 years, as well as pray for her victims in a shrine. When Irina states that she is Christian and has no family in Japan, Karasuma replies there are no churches at his place. This causes Irina to comically realize she is being invited to stay with Karasuma.

Differences between Manga and Anime

 * The anime has cut the scene for the post-result of exam and the Valentine's Day gift for Hinata and Maehara from the manga.
 * When Sugino receives the chocolate from Kanzaki, he headbutts a tree in the manga but in the anime he headbutts an electric pole.
 * Houjou did not make his appearance in the anime while in the manga he was introduced briefly when Karasuma mentioned about the "superweapon" that the government built.
 * When the class are discussing on their future they are already leaving the school grounds while in the manga they are still at the school grounds as Karma is looking at Gakushu Asano at the Main School Building.
 * When Karasuma offers Irina to stay at his house, they are holding conversation on the street while in the anime they are holding conversation at the people crossing a bridge.
 * Gakuho did not bring his book to write about Korosensei's behavior while in the manga he writes about Korosensei's behavior. This includes when he tries to assassinate Korosensei, he makes multiple stab attempts while in the manga he just makes a one slash attempt.
 * During Valentine's Day, Karma and Nakamura tease Kayano during lunch break in the manga while in the anime they tease Kayano before the class started.