A class full of teenagers is transported from their classroom in Japan to a medieval kingdom full of magic and monsters. They’re hailed as heroes and told that they must defeat the Demon King of a rival army, or the nation will come to ruin. Is My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s just another isekai or does it have something else up its sleeve? Seven Seas Entertainment handle the English physical and digital release, but is it worth reading?
Like most fantasy stories, the teens are given job classes. Some become warriors, others become healers, and the most popular boy in class becomes the main hero. It’s a typical isekai setup, but something seems fishy. One of the students – a quiet boy, turned assassin, which is far more powerful than he should be – is determined to find out what’s wrong.
Characters
Akira Oda
A teenager with a talent for staying invisible. Useful, both in his old life as a high schooler and his new one as an assassin.
Satou Tsukasa
A natural leader and the most popular boy in class. The obvious choice for the hero, right?
Story
As the class is summoned into the magical kingdom of Morrigan, Akira instantly recognizes what’s happening. Isekai stories are probably as popular in his version of Japan as they are in ours. Upon their arrival, the king and princess tell their otherworldly guests that their kingdom is under attack from a Demon King. If Morrigan is to survive, the class would have to help stop the Demon King’s advance.
Akira is assigned the role of assassin, which is a natural fit, as he’s always been sneaky and has a knack for going around unseen. In fact, all the students seem to get roles that fit their previous lives and personalities. Includes star athlete, student council president and ladies man; Satou. Who is chosen to be the main hero.
Everyone seems happy with this arrangement, none more than Akira. He doesn’t want to be the main hero. He dislikes attention and isn’t interested in doing the heavy lifting he knows the main hero will have to do. The newbie assassin notices something amiss, however, when the students use a magic crystal ball to show their stats to each other. Akira learns that his stats are the highest – higher even than the hero whom he is supposed to be supporting.
Suspicious, he uses his sneaking skills to vanish from the room before anyone can see his stats. Then, he waits until nightfall to put on his assassin’s robes and do what rogues do best: sneak around and gather intel.
Suspicious, he uses his sneaking skills to vanish from the room before anyone can see his stats. Then, he waits until nightfall to put on his assassin’s robes and do what rogues do best: sneak around and gather intel.
Akira finds the King and the Princess – the two people who summoned his class – engaged in a very shady conversation. They don’t get too specific, but it’s apparent that they’re up to no good. Unsure of what to do next, Akira retreats to his room. The following day, the class is introduced to their head instructor, Saran Mithray. Mithray informs them that they will be raiding a labyrinth in thirty days’ time to test their abilities. And when the raid finally happens, it seems to go well, but it produces consequences no one could have predicted (and that you’ll have to read the book to find out). The art is very good but just shy of great. The characters are nicely drawn and distinctive, but you will probably get the feeling that you have seen them somewhere else. It takes a lot of cues from other isekai manga and seems to borrow heavily from Rise of the Shield Hero, right down to the bangs forming an “X” in front of Akira’s nose. The backgrounds are nicely done as well, comprising of medieval castles, forests, and dungeons. Again, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but they are well-drawn, if a bit familiar. Yes, even if it covers familiar ground. There’s been a trend in isekai recently to create underpowered main characters. We’ve seen characters reincarnated as slimes, swords, and even vending machines and shovels; the pendulum has swung so far from the powerful characters which started the genre, that seeing a powerful main character actually feels fresh again. I also like that the main character is an assassin. That’s my favourite class to play in role-playing games, but it’s the kind of character you don’t often see in manga. The silent killer is often an intriguing side character, but rarely the main focus. Isekai has been done to death, but there’s still enough newness here to keep me intrigued. I’m looking forward to My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s volume 2.Stealth and intrigue
Art
Is My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s volume 1 worth reading?
