3 Nen a Gumi (Mr. Hiiragi's Homeroom)

I recently finished watching this 10-episode JDrama called "3 Nen a Gumi", also known as "Mr. Hiiragi's Homeroom".  The plot synopsis of this show is given as:

With graduation 10 days away, homeroom teacher Hiiragi gathered all 29 students of class 3-A and proclaims them his hostages. His last lesson regards the death of a student that passed away a few months before. Nobody will be able to graduate until the truth is known.

In the following writing there will be some rough spoilers of what this movie is "about", but no spoilers to actual plotline events or potential "twists" that happen.  I feel like if you are going to watch this movie, it's probably because you know what it's about anyways, so I don't feel like I'm spoiling much at all.

Although I wrote this off at first thinking that it was just some strange over-the-top anime about a crazy teacher and some sort of murder mystery, I looked into it a little more and was intrigued when I saw that it tries to focus around themes such as social media, cyberbullying, and most of all the accountability of us individuals as human beings to each other.  So yeah, I decided to watch it.

I hate that I feel like I have to keep on giving this disclaimer about like every piece of art that I talk about, but 3 Nen a Gumi is (like most other works of art) not what I would call a "perfect" show, and it's not for everyone.  Its plot is not the most realistic to be sure, and you may not appreciate the way that it tries to work in its particular flavor of comedic relief.  If you are the kind of person who would write off a show entirely for having something resembling a deus ex machina situation, then this might not be the show for you.  You may even view it as being too "preachy" (as the netizens in the actual show do).

But I quite enjoyed watching it, for its willingness to unapologetically confront issues of social responsibility and (to a much lesser extent) mental health.  The main actor, Suda Masaki, who has performed a number of other roles too (Princess Jellyfish, Kamen Rider, etc.) has a stellar performance here as well.

The core message of 3 Nen a Gumi is not really anything too novel and when watered and boiled down, essentially amounts to "please carefully consider your actions.  Be a good person".  But it is one thing to hear this abstract textbook advice and quite another thing to have the consequences illustrated to you and explained to you in such a compelling fashion.  In this way Hiiragi-sensei serves not only as a "teacher" figure in the context of the plot but also in the real world as well.

Hiiragi-sensei's "lectures" and teachings were quite powerful at times to me and inspired me to want to consider in what forms I would like to act when interacting with other people in online public spaces, if not in general.

This message I feel is....well, actually, you could point to any number of time periods in recent history where this is relevant.  But the current climate of social media sticks out in my mind as a time in which this story is particularly relevant to keep in mind.  The FGC (fighting game community) is currently a wreck as multitudes of allegations of sexual misconduct, abuse, and harassment have surfaced against many well-known figures, and yes, we've seen this before (think about a very closely related community....an "industry" if you will, that has had all-too-similar events).  Not to mention the general political climate and abundance of what I will call "strong voices" on our communal internet spaces.  Finally, the disturbing abundance of clearly fake and/or fabricated videos, images, and evidence that is being used to rile up "internet keyboard warriors" who don't know better and are more than eager to pick up a pitchfork and jump onto a bandwagon.

In today's world most of our interactions with other people ARE through online spaces, simply through lack of other safe options.  2020 has not been a particularly kind year to many people, and you can clearly feel how there is a climate online where people are a bit...how do I put it, "on edge", or even (and I apologize for using this phrase) "trigger-happy".

When fingers are so easily pointed and herd mentality becomes an overwhelming factor in affecting people's lives, it is important that we act not as children, but as responsible human beings.  We SHOULD know better.  We must think critically.  We must do our homework.  We must consider our consequences.

"LET'S THINK."

If nothing else, this was one of the most engaging and interesting "online classes" I have ever taken.  And sure, maybe the JDrama format is not for you.  Maybe this show is not for you.  But if you think you might enjoy it, I would recommend that you give it a watch.


EDIT: Literally during the time that it took me to type this post, a former teacher of mine reposted a statement from a fellow educator about how much vitriol, unfounded complaining, and childish yelling is being directed at teachers from parents because "distance learning is a disaster".  "Grocery clerks are working, why aren't you?" they said, as they preached these professional educators on how their jobs should be done.

Please.  Think a little more before speaking.  There are real, human beings, just like yourself, on the other side of the internet.  It's okay to disagree.  It's not okay to belittle, to disrespect, and to assume that because you have a voice that your opinion is the most important.