is a Japanese horror manga series written and illustrated by Junji Ito. It was serialized in Comic Motto! from March 2013 to October 2014 and published in a single volume in December 2014.
Dissolving Classroom follows Yuuma Azawa, a teen obsessed with worshipping the devil, and his younger sister, Chizumi, as they cause problems everywhere they go. The work contains 5 main chapters as well as two unrelated bonus short stories and a brief comedic afterword.
Plot
Dissolving Classroom
Story Dissolving Classroom is told through a series of connected short stories that follow Yuuma and Chizumi Azawa. Each story revolves around the tragedies Yuuma and Chizumi cause, mainly through Yuuma's apologies, which he is actually using to connect with the Devil. Due to the "evil electromagnetic waves between him and the Devil," Yuuma's apologies, which are usually a result of Chizumi's behavior, make people's brains melt and his compliments cause people to become permanently and horrifically disfigured. Drawn in a Baphomet-esque style, the Devil is repeatedly brought up and is the main source of evil and horror in the manga.
Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of how Yuuma and Chizumi interact with the world, featuring them in various settings including Yuuma's high school, Yuuma's dating life, an apartment complex, Chizumi's first experience with love, and on the run from reporters and police. In each chapter, Yuuma melts people with his apologies, or, in the case of the second chapter, causes them to become disfigured, and Chizumi terrorizes everyone she interacts with. The story culminates in a live broadcast apology from Yuuma which results in everyone who watches it to melt, and the final page of the story shows the cityscape of Tokyo flooded by melted humans, a dripping sky, and a shadowed outline of the Devil
Through Dissolving Classroom, Junji Ito develops a commentary on public apologies as a feature of modern Japanese society which questions the purpose and intent of these public apologies.
Chapter list
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"Dissolving Classroom" p. 3-42 The chapter begins with Yuuma Azawa transferring into class 2-B at Hikage Prefectural High School, where he meets Keiko Arisu. Yuuma comes across as strange to his classmates as he introduces himself with an apology and continues to excessively apologize for even the slightest of incidents, which results in him being bullied. Regardless, Yuuma ends up befriending Keiko, who becomes attached to Yuuma and, after a traumatizing encounter which is later explained by Yuuma, wants to help Chizumi. Chizumi is highly resistant to Keiko's attempts at befriending her and ends up terrorizing Keiko more, telling her about Yuuma's connection to the Devil and showing her the Azawa parents' severed heads. Ultimately, Yuuma's apologies result in the brains of everyone at the high school, Keiko's parents, and even Keiko's, melting. Keiko is able to survive due to passing out before her brain could fully melt, but she suffers brain damage and is permanently hospitalized. "Dissolving Beauty" p. 43-58 Starting this chapter, Nao is introduced as she waits at a restaurant to meet her childhood friend who she hasn't seen in two years, Maiko, and Maiko's boyfriend, Yuuma. Nao is shocked upon seeing Maiko's face, which is exaggeratedly ugly, remembering her as a pretty girl when they were in school together, and does not initially believe that Maiko is, in fact, Maiko. Yuuma, however, compliments Maiko's beauty continuously, but when Maiko leaves, he tells Nao he thinks she is more beautiful than Maiko. Shortly after, Nao and Yuuma begin dating. As Yuuma keeps apologizing to her, Nao gets progressively worse looking and is ultimately disfigured, with her eyes hanging out of her eye sockets. At one point, Chizumi finds Nao and harasses her, telling Nao that Yuuma is actually directing his compliments to the Devil and Nao has become ugly as a result. Nao is easily reassured by Yuuma and continues believing she is more beautiful than anyone else even after Yuuma disappears only a couple days later. "Dissolving Apartment" p. 59-88 In this chapter, the Azawa family moves into a small apartment building with several kind neighbors, including a woman named Ogawara, a man name Arashiyama, and an unnamed older woman. The Azawa parents introduce themselves to the neighbors upon moving in, handing out a gift of mochi which, after eating, makes the neighbors very ill. This is overshadowed, however, by the noises and screaming coming from the Azawa's apartment which sound like the Azawa parents verbally and physically abusing their son as he apologizes. The neighbors are concerned and try to confront the Azawa parents but are instead greeted by Chizumi who tells them that her parents have been dead for years. Chizumi later harasses and scares Ogawara, but Ogawara and the unnamed neighbor are still concerned for and sympathetic to her. The neighbors are repeatedly bothered by the noise from the Azawa's apartment, and Ogawara and the unnamed neighbor keep trying to help Chizumi and Yuuma. Eventually, while they are spending time with Chizumi, they feel drips from the ceiling that Chizumi tells them is Arashiyama finally melting. When they try to check on Arashiyama, they receive no answer and end up trying to check on Yuuma, who they find being attacked by his parents, both parents almost completely melted. As the parents finish melting, Chizumi tells Ogawara and the unnamed neighbor that Yuuma is possessed by the devil and has actually been calling their parents back from Hell to repeatedly melt them. At this moment, Ogawara and the other neighbor start melting until only their heads and bones are left. Chizumi proclaims that it is time for her and Yuuma to move again as Yuuma remains lying in the ooze of the melted bodies. "Chizumi in Love" p. 89-120 The fourth chapter begins with Tomohito, a young boy around Chizumi's age, narrating how a rumor has been going around school recently about a strange girl who threatens people on the sidewalk, after which her brother will show up to apologize for his sister's behavior. After the brother's apologies, the victim will disappear, leaving only a stain. After school, Tomohito runs into Chizumi on his walk home, whereupon she tackles Tomohito to the ground, licking his face and calling him cute, all while Yuuma watches on. Yuuma confronts Chizumi later, initially enraged and trying to kill her. Once Yuuma calms, he observes that Chizumi seems to have been very happy recently and asks if she was in love. Meanwhile, Tomohito has been traumatized from the event and is terrified that the second half of the school rumor will come true, which it ultimately does. Having been faced with Yuuma's apologies, Tomohito's parents begin to melt and Tomohito runs for help, unfortunately running into first Chizumi and then Yuuma, who acts as if he will help Tomohito. Yuuma brings Tomohito to his house and "introduces" Tomohito to Chizumi. Tomohito tries to run but is tied up and kept in the house for Chizumi to harass. Eventually, the bottles of melted people that the Azawa siblings keep are able to knock themselves over, instructing Tomohito to use the grease to escape the ropes. Tomohito escapes, running to the police, and the Azawa's house is later found to be empty. "Interview with the Devil" p. 121-160 In the final chapter, the scene begins with a news reporter, Hamaoka, pushing Keiko Arisu through a forested area to a dilapidated house they are hoping to find the Azawa siblings in. Hamaoka enters the building and talks to Yuuma, proclaiming he's trying to find the cause behind the recent incidents appearing where people's brains have melted. When trying to have Yuuma talk to Keiko, Keiko screams when Yuuma apologizes to her. Chizumi then appears, detailing Yuuma's powers and his connection to the devil. Yuuma unsuccessfully tries to defuse the situation, and Hamaoka flees with Keiko. After getting Keiko to the car, Hamaoka returns to the house, but Yuuma and Chizumi have fled. Hamaoka keeps investigating and is able to find the siblings again by having Keiko point at a spot on a map of Japan. Hamaoka requests for Yuuma to come forward and give an explanation, but Yuuma flees with Chizumi again. Three days later, Yuuma and Chizumi appear at Hamaoka's work, and a broadcast is planned. Hamaoka goes to retrieve Keiko for the broadcast, and it is revealed that Hamaoka is actually the Devil and is excited for Yuuma's upcoming public apology. As soon as the broadcast starts, Yuuma gives continuous intense apologies, until everyone has melted and the ooze from upstairs seeps through to cover Yuuma and Chizumi. Afterwards, it is narrated that the broadcast was spread around on social media, but what happened to the watchers and the Azawa siblings is up to the reader's imagination.
Bonus Stories
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"The Return" Only six pages, "The Return" is a very brief story about a man named Mitsuo searching for his fiancée, Yuka, after she dies, her final words being a promise to return to him. Mitsuo is able to feel Yuka's presence and is confused to realize her presence seems to follow the rotation of the Earth. Eventually, he hears Yuka's voice, and follows it to watch a meteor land nearby. Charred human bones are found at the site of impact, and Mitsuo knows that Yuka was alive inside the meteor up until she entered the atmosphere. Ending the short story, Mitsuo finds a charred hand with Yuka's engagement ring and welcomes her back.
"Children of the Earth" Also six pages, "Children of the Earth" is about a group of kindergarten students that go missing. Their families search for them and end up finding them stuck in the ground. When they try to pull the silent children out of the ground, their torsos extend into a long trunk, so they do not come out of the holes. After being pulled partially out of the ground, they are then rapidly dragged back into the holes until they disappear entirely, and the children are never found again.
Afterword In an amusing one-page comic, Juunji Ito draws Yuuma, though this time he is presented as the actor, Jirou Yamada, who played Yuuma. He brings up the recent trend of public apologies and invites the reader to start doing their own public apology for whatever reason they think of. Chizumi is also drawn, although she only says that she is Chizumi and acted as Chizumi.
Characters
Dissolving Classroom
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Yuuma Azawa: Yuuma is one of the main characters of Dissolving Classroom, a teenage boy in his second year of high school. Yuuma is considered a serious and handsome boy by the people he meets; however, he actually worships the Devil and causes many deaths throughout the manga. Yuuma can melt people's brains with his apologies or make them horrifically ugly with his compliments. As described by his sister, Yuuma derives pleasure from his apologies and is a masochist. Although people can be uncomfortable with his intense apologies, they will sometimes end up feeling pleasure from the apologies. Chizumi Azawa: Chizumi is another main character in Dissolving Classroom and is Yuuma's younger sister. Chizumi is generally regarded as strange or scary looking and is shown to have her own kind of supernatural abilities. Chizumi is supernaturally athletic, has long and sharp nails, and an unnaturally long tongue. Chizumi drinks the melted people after Yuuma has apologized to them enough. Chizumi and Yuuma are shown to have a strange relationship as they are both frequently mean to each other, but Yuuma will go out of his way to help Chizumi with what she wants.