Note: I've read the manga of Assassination Classroom prior to watching this special. Reading the manga is not necessary at all before watching this and if anything, this may just make you want to read it as well. This does skip a little ahead to the Kyoto school trip but it's not that far into the story. That said, this is a good 30 minute special episode that's main purpose is just to promote the manga. It begins with an initial setup of the story to clear a few things up for people who have not read the manga. For anyone reading this review who hasn'tread the manga, just read the summary on MAL first, it'll take less time than me explaining it (and again, it's explained in the episode). This episode includes three stories from Class E's field trip to Kyoto: an issue that Nagisa and his group run into, an assassin that is working together with Class E to try and snipe Korosensei, and some antics back at the inn they are staying at.

The animation is pretty good for a stand-alone episode, though seeing Nagisa, Karma, and Kaede's vividly colored hair alongside everyone else's brown/black hair was strange. Korosensei is well animated in all his weird, gelatinous, tentacular, alien-ness. His emotion color-changes are well done, and the only small problem I had with him was his voice actor. It's just my personal issue and not something that applies to everyone, but I always imagined his voice being higher pitched than that. The rest of the characters' voices (especially Nagisa's) fit them well.

Whether you've read Assassination Classroom or not, I recommend watching this special. If you enjoy the manga, I'm sure you'll enjoy this. If you haven't read it yet, maybe this will help you find a new manga you enjoy.