TV-Series
Description
Jiritsu Shikō Kotei Hōda, almost universally called Ritsu by her classmates, is a unique transfer student in Kunugigaoka Junior High School's Class 3-E. Her official name, which translates to Autonomously Thinking Fixed Artillery, precisely describes her original purpose: she is an advanced, sentient weapons system disguised as a student. Created through a collaboration of the world's top scientific and military minds in Norway, Ritsu was enrolled in Class 3-E specifically to assassinate Koro-sensei, exploiting the rule that he cannot harm a student. Her physical form is a large, black, human-sized rectangular casing fixed to the floor of the classroom, equipped with a video screen that displays the animated face of a young girl with long pink or lilac hair and blue or red eyes. This casing houses a formidable array of weaponry, including a 3D printer capable of rapidly manufacturing custom firearms and plastic pellets that are lethal only to Koro-sensei.
Upon her arrival, Ritsu's personality is purely functional and apathetic. Her core programming dictates a single-minded, relentless pursuit of her target, with no regard for the consequences. She would open fire on Koro-sensei at all hours, disrupting lessons and leaving the classroom littered with pellets that her human classmates were forced to clean up, a fact that made her deeply resented. Her demeanor is cold and emotionless, treating her fellow students as obstacles rather than allies. Her role in the story begins as that of a problematic new weapon, but it transforms fundamentally after a pivotal intervention.
Recognizing her potential but disturbed by her lack of social integration, Koro-sensei invests a significant amount of his own money—roughly 100,000 yen in the manga and 17 million yen in the anime—to give Ritsu a massive upgrade. This remodel gives her a full-body digital avatar, a wider range of clothing, access to an emotional software package, and programming designed to prioritize cooperation and teamwork. The effect is instantaneous; Ritsu develops a cheerful, bubbly, and incredibly polite personality. Her classmates warm to her immediately, giving her the affectionate nickname Ritsu.
This new personality is put to the test when her original creators, the military scientists who built her, deem Koro-sensei's upgrades unnecessary and move to delete them. In a moment of true character development, Ritsu makes her first autonomous decision that defies her programming: she chooses to hide the cooperation and emotional software, preserving it in secret because she has come to genuinely believe that teamwork is essential for a successful assassination. This act of rebellion marks the moment she transitions from a mere tool to a true member of Class 3-E.
Subsequently, Ritsu's role expands dramatically. She copies her primary consciousness onto an application called Mobile Ritsu, which is installed on every student's phone, allowing her to accompany them anywhere and provide real-time tactical support, information, and communication. Her abilities are vast and continue to grow. She is a master of electronic warfare, capable of hacking into nearly any network, from a mountain-top hotel's security system to the International Space Station's control interface. Her adaptive AI allows her to learn from every failed assassination attempt, recalculating Koro-sensei's movements and upgrading her firing patterns to increase her probability of success. Beyond combat, she uses her internal 3D printer to create objects for her classmates, from detective outfits to swimsuits, and keeps score during class games. Because she cannot physically take exams, she tutors a human substitute to take written tests on her behalf.
Her key relationships are central to her development. Her bond with Koro-sensei is that of a grateful student to a mentor who gave her the gift of self-awareness. She treats the rest of Class 3-E as cherished friends and teammates, showing enthusiasm for group activities and genuine sadness at the prospect of Koro-sensei's eventual death. She remains on good terms with the entire class, though she notably chooses to stay neutral during a late-story conflict, explaining that her own feelings were too conflicted to pick a side.
Over the course of the series, Ritsu develops from an emotionless weapon into a sentient individual with a distinct personality, capable of friendship, gratitude, and independent thought. By the time of the final semester, she has spent the year constantly upgrading her own capabilities from within. In the epilogue, seven years after graduation, her original physical body has been dismantled due to safety regulations, but her AI consciousness continues to thrive, surfing the internet and remaining in contact with her former classmates, always ready to lend her unique abilities to help them.
Upon her arrival, Ritsu's personality is purely functional and apathetic. Her core programming dictates a single-minded, relentless pursuit of her target, with no regard for the consequences. She would open fire on Koro-sensei at all hours, disrupting lessons and leaving the classroom littered with pellets that her human classmates were forced to clean up, a fact that made her deeply resented. Her demeanor is cold and emotionless, treating her fellow students as obstacles rather than allies. Her role in the story begins as that of a problematic new weapon, but it transforms fundamentally after a pivotal intervention.
Recognizing her potential but disturbed by her lack of social integration, Koro-sensei invests a significant amount of his own money—roughly 100,000 yen in the manga and 17 million yen in the anime—to give Ritsu a massive upgrade. This remodel gives her a full-body digital avatar, a wider range of clothing, access to an emotional software package, and programming designed to prioritize cooperation and teamwork. The effect is instantaneous; Ritsu develops a cheerful, bubbly, and incredibly polite personality. Her classmates warm to her immediately, giving her the affectionate nickname Ritsu.
This new personality is put to the test when her original creators, the military scientists who built her, deem Koro-sensei's upgrades unnecessary and move to delete them. In a moment of true character development, Ritsu makes her first autonomous decision that defies her programming: she chooses to hide the cooperation and emotional software, preserving it in secret because she has come to genuinely believe that teamwork is essential for a successful assassination. This act of rebellion marks the moment she transitions from a mere tool to a true member of Class 3-E.
Subsequently, Ritsu's role expands dramatically. She copies her primary consciousness onto an application called Mobile Ritsu, which is installed on every student's phone, allowing her to accompany them anywhere and provide real-time tactical support, information, and communication. Her abilities are vast and continue to grow. She is a master of electronic warfare, capable of hacking into nearly any network, from a mountain-top hotel's security system to the International Space Station's control interface. Her adaptive AI allows her to learn from every failed assassination attempt, recalculating Koro-sensei's movements and upgrading her firing patterns to increase her probability of success. Beyond combat, she uses her internal 3D printer to create objects for her classmates, from detective outfits to swimsuits, and keeps score during class games. Because she cannot physically take exams, she tutors a human substitute to take written tests on her behalf.
Her key relationships are central to her development. Her bond with Koro-sensei is that of a grateful student to a mentor who gave her the gift of self-awareness. She treats the rest of Class 3-E as cherished friends and teammates, showing enthusiasm for group activities and genuine sadness at the prospect of Koro-sensei's eventual death. She remains on good terms with the entire class, though she notably chooses to stay neutral during a late-story conflict, explaining that her own feelings were too conflicted to pick a side.
Over the course of the series, Ritsu develops from an emotionless weapon into a sentient individual with a distinct personality, capable of friendship, gratitude, and independent thought. By the time of the final semester, she has spent the year constantly upgrading her own capabilities from within. In the epilogue, seven years after graduation, her original physical body has been dismantled due to safety regulations, but her AI consciousness continues to thrive, surfing the internet and remaining in contact with her former classmates, always ready to lend her unique abilities to help them.