Episode 39

Discord Time is the thirty-ninth episode of the Assassination Classroom anime and the seventeenth episode of Season 2. It premiered in Japan on 5 April 2016.

Summary
When Nagisa proposes that they find a way to save Korosensei, the class becomes divided over the idea. As Nagisa and Karma's argument evolves into a physical scuffle, Korosensei suggests that the two sides settle the issue in a team death-match, capture-the-flag paintball game, where the opinion of the winning team will be the decider. Thus the Class 3-E civil war begins.

Plot
After calling the class together, Nagisa proposes that they find a way to save Korosensei from self-destructing. Although he admits that he does not know where to begin, Kurahashi is the first to support him, followed by Kataoka, Sugino, Hara and Okano. As more classmates begin to voice their support, Nagisa feels relieved. Nakamura however voices her disagreement, citing the bond developed with their teacher as assassin and target is exactly why she believes Korosensei should be killed. Terasaka agrees with her and Yoshida asks what would happen if they ran out of time to save their teacher. Terasaka further asks whether Korosensei would indeed be happy with a half-baked ending.

While Nagisa struggles to come up with an answer, Karma accuses him of being too arrogant and wanting to quit the assassination despite having the best talent. In fact he compares this as though a beautiful woman is telling her homely friends to quit looking for boyfriends. Nagisa’s modest answer though angers Karma, further accusing him of not understanding others’ feelings. Nagisa counters back that he is just being honest and lists the fun times they had with Korosensei. Karma states that it was precisely why their teacher made their class fun so that they would not turn out to be “lazy losers” and the classroom would not have existed if there was no bloodlust. But Karma goes too far when he insults Nagisa’s short stature, triggering a look in the latter’s eye that prompts Karma to go on the offensive. He challenges Nagisa to fight him if he wants to say something and starts shoving him. When Karma grabs his tie, Nagisa catches him in a flying triangular chokehold onto the ground, to the surprise of the classmates. Karma quickly recovers and is about to punch Nagisa until Sugino, Isogai and Maehara break up the scuffle.

Korosensei then appears to mediate the situation. He brings out paintballs, guns and coloured knives and requests that the class resolve the issue in a team deathmatch between those who want to kill and others wanting to save. The winning side’s opinion becomes the class’s opinion. He adds that regardless of who wins, he does not wish to end their class in a state of discord. At Isogai’s urging, the class agrees. At their teacher’s condition, the students clearly state their reasons for choosing their side. With the students having picked their sides, Nagisa and Karma pick their weapons simultaneously. The two look at each other before quickly turning away. Kayano and Sugino watch on as they discuss the peculiarities of their friendship.

Karasuma acts as the referee for the match and states the rules and victory conditions, though he is still harbouring doubts about the near-future of the class regardless of the outcome. Just as quickly as the match begins, Kataoka and Takebayashi are eliminated by Chiba and Hayami respectively. Irina marvels at how their teachings have taught the kids to be monsters but Korosensei adds that others have yet to unleash their true potential. Case in point, Chiba and his guard Okajima are snuck up on and eliminated from behind by Kanzaki, thanks to her gaming experience on the virtual battlefield. She heads for the red team’s flag, shooting Sugaya along the way, but is then ambushed by Karma, lying in wait for her. Since the red flag is the only key point on their side, it is obvious for Karma to predict her movements before eliminating her. Karma then calls the red team to follow his orders. He instructs Mimura (with his keen eyesight) to head to a position near Karasuma and act as a recon in force, while Terasaka, Muramatsu and Yoshida will defend at a key choke point.

As the first casualties join up with Korosensei and Irina, they discuss how Karma kept his leadership skills a secret until now. With Mimura in position he spots a blue squad of Sugino and Fuwa flanking on the forest right. Karma instructs Hazama to advance. She does so and eliminates Sugino and Fuwa from behind. Isogai, and Yada (accompanying them), kills Hazama in return, where the latter just realized she was a sacrificial pawn. Korosensei comments on this while Takebayashi observes that despite Hazama’s poor battle skils, she took out two enemies, one of them being a CQC specialist. Hinata Okano follows up by eliminating Kurahashi with a knife. She tries to kill the accompanying Kayano, but is surprised by Kayano’s quick movements, which she attributes to the stunt training in her acting job but unable to use as she was focusing on her tentacles. Kayano leaps off a hill with a hidden pistol, aiming it at Okano. However she is shot from behind by Kimura before she could fire. The pair help Kayano up and promise that they will strive forward together with Kayano before leaving. Kimura begins to get cocky and convinces Okano to kill Hara lying in wait. But they are caught in a net trap prepared by Hara and Maehara cheekily pokes Okano and Kimura in the butt to eliminate them. Karma watches this unfold in disappointment while Nakamura now enters the battle to join up with Terasaka’s group. Okuda spots Mimura with her special glasses, prompting Isogai to snipe him and eliminate the main leaker of their position. Hayami meanwhile snipes the carefree Hara out of the game.

With both teams now halved in strength, Karma now begins to think about capturing the blue team’s flag. Having already taken out Kataoka and Takebayashi to deprive the enemy of strategic options, Karma had Hayami (guarded by Itona) positioned at a crucial spot that allows her to see their own flag and any intruders. Meanwhile Isogai also recognizes that taking out Hayami is vital, as going around the battlefield means battling Terasaka’s group. When the eventual firefight between Isogai’s survivors, Hayami and Itona begin, Nakamura will use Terasaka and his friends as shields as she heads for the blue team’s flag. The only disconcerting issue according to Karma is Nagisa’s whereabouts, as not even Mimura can locate him. Isogai then gives the order to attack Hayami and Itona. Hayami quickly takes out Okuda and then Isogai before Yada fires a lucky shot to kill Hayami. Yada in turn is taken out by Itona while Maehara rushes in with a knife attack in kill Itona. Nakamura’s squad advances to the unguarded flag. But Nagisa unexpectedly appears from behind and wipes them out. Karma witness the unnatural one-man ambush in astonishment, and the two friends look at each other once again as the episode ends.

Anime and manga differences

 * The anime does not show a scene in the manga showing Isogai allowing Nagisa to act as he sees fit prior to the start of the battle.
 * When Hinano was dueling against Hinata (Hinano refers as Hina-Hina duel), Kayano was with Hinano. The manga depicted her being on her own without Kayano at her side before Hinata assassinates her as Kayano arrived to see Hinano was already defeated.
 * The duel between Kayano and Hinata Okano happened on the tree branches in the manga. The anime depicted their fight on the ground.
 * This is also same when Hinata, with Masayoshi, was supposed to be jumping from one tree branch to another while the anime depicted them running on the ground as they are attempting to ambush Sumire.
 * When the match begins, Kataoka was supposed to receive a headshot from Chiba in the manga but in the anime she was hit in the same spot where Hayami hits Takebayashi.
 * Yukiko Kanzaki used a G36 to assassinate Chiba, Okajima and Sugaya in the manga. The anime depicted her using dual MP5Ks as her loadout.
 * The manga showed that Hazama was hit in the hand, whereas the anime depicted a headshot.

Trivia

 * Uniquely, the release of this episode was at a hot week of the movie release, Captain America: Civil War.
 * The opening also shows that the deadline to kill Koro-sensei was reduced from 83 days to 64 days.