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Classroom of The Elite (2017, Lerche)

Anime Reviews

Classroom of The Elite (2017, Lerche)

ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ
Youkoso Jituryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu he [Welcome to The Classroom of The Elite]

Worth A Watch

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School is a special campus run by the government to improve the country's outlook. Only a select number of students are permitted at the school which guarantees a 100% rate of employment. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji who had poor social skills and had little interest in anything, was one of those select few. On the first day of school, he finds their class is granted a generous allowance of points worth 100,000 Yen each month. However, no students from the school are allowed to leave the campus which has facilities serving everything they'd ever need. What's more, no one seems to be punished whenever they do anything that would usually be against school rules such as talking in class or missing classes. As such, many started a very care-free and luxurious lifestyle given the generous allowance they had.

However, a month later they discover the government wasn't really that generous much to their dismay. The school's "S-System" ranked classes based on their students performance as a whole but the exact conditions are unknown. It's hinted their over-negligence in class meant that no one is granted any points for the new month. Not only that, they were also ranked as class D because they were considered the worst kind of people in society. Now together they must get work together and gain the class points they need to get back up the ranks. Unfortunately, not all get along including the smart but outspoken lone girl Suzune Horikata who for her own reasons, wasn't just aiming to get out of class D, She wanted to reach class A too. Kikyou Kushida, a seemingly cheery friendly girl who wants to make friends with everyone, finds Suzune's the only one she can't befriend. As each discover their own shortcomings, Kiyotaka, Kikyou and Suzune find themselves working together to bring unity to the class as they are faced with various trials.

This show covers 4 of the 9 volume light novel series which is basically the first semester in the story's timeline. It starts off quite boring as you can guess from the synopsis but it's actually quite an interesting show. Just as you're getting into the flow of the story it likes to spring a surprise at you. There's a lot of rivalry going on that leads to some dirty scheming. After the first twist you kind of get everything is mostly just a facade and there's always something else dark happening behind each character but, it's still entertaining to watch and guess what class D ends up struggling with next. Or more specifically, Kiyotaka who takes a laid back stance on everything yet he's observative, considerate and sharp enough to pick-up on unspoken situations. He's a bit like Hotaro from Hyouka except more athletic.

I like how they show you how many points each student has in the ending credits although I don't know if the points actually hint at who's helping the class the most. They also have a different character showing the app each time too. Aside from that, the art's not really that impressive to look at. OP theme song is pretty catchy. I think Kiyotaka's voice is overly monotonous... Kind of like listening to a boring lecture.

Unfortunately it's one of those shows with potential but has a fair bit of intrusive fan service, ruining it with awkward camera angles pointing at the wrong places. It's also chosen to go with your "ero-kawaii (cute face, sexy figure)" female character designs as is the trend with most shows these days. Oh, and your obligatory episodes of girls in their swimwear, changing room scenes etc of course with new physics. Either way, it does end up breaking the initial good pacing of the story. The light novels might have been better off but I can't comment on them since I haven't read them..

The show will probably keep you watching wondering whether class D will ever make it to the top as one by one characters reveal a different secret side of themselves. You end up guessing who's up to what. It's good as it is but I think it could have been a lot better if they used the time spent on fan service to flesh out the story even more and cut out the instrusive camera angles that ruin the direction. Such a shame.

5 years later, we get a season 2. Might be because of that large time gap it didn't seem to kick off that great but it picks up again around episode 3 when the manipulation game continues. Class D continues to work towards rising through the ranks to become Class A and we learn more of the class member's pasts as well as Kiyotaka's of course.

There seems to be a lot less fan service this time round which was probably a good idea considering it's only 13 instead of 25 episodes. It's more brutal and violent so be warned, there's a fair bit of bullying and abuse especially towards the end of the season. I think I enjoyed it more than S1 because it felt like Kiyotaka actually had a rival.

Music wise, I think I prefered ZAQ's season 1 opening compared to the newer one although it did grow on me. Shame they didn't list each of the student's points any more in the ending.

A season 3 is due in 2023 and looking forward to it.

Classroom of The Elite

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