Sixth grader Shou Takamatsu is a troublemaker who refuses to grow up. However, one fateful day, his world is turned upside down, forcing him to quickly mature—or die. When Shou arrives at school that morning, an earthquake of mysterious origin strikes, and the campus is teleported to an empty wasteland, far removed from society. Not only do Shou and his peers face an immediate crisis of food shortage, they must also contend with other problems, including new and dangerous external threats, and rising conflict among the student body. With the adults having a hard time adjusting, Shou finds the immense responsibility to quickly adapt to his new dystopian reality a heavy burden on his small shoulders.

Written by the horror specialist Kazuo Umezu, Hyouryuu Kyoushitsu is regarded as a classic in its genre—a unique blend of the riveting mystery behind the entrapment of Shou and his classmates on the barren, hostile world, and their struggle for survival.

Hyouryuu Kyoushitsu won the 20th Shogakukan Manga Award in 1975. It received a live-action film adaptation on July 11, 1987, as well as a loosely adapted television drama called Long Love Letter on January 9, 2002.

The series was published in English as The Drifting Classroom by VIZ Media under the VIZ Signature imprint from August 15, 2006 to April 15, 2008, and as omnibus volumes from October 15, 2019 to June 16, 2020. It was also published in Spanish by Ponent Mon from October 2008 to August 2010.