Although, in Shougo Kinugasa’s Classroom of the Elite, the term ‘school’ is given an innovative meaning, essentially a veritable formula that breathes new life into the concept’s shortcomings. Additionally, as the story voyages into the characters themselves, Classroom of the Elite becomes something much more than a 'school’ tale. With a plot-heavy foundation, several classes consisting of A-D, separated by a hierarchy-driven system, are continuously scrimmaging for the desired throne of class A. With a metropolitan high school, a non-stop battlefield is fought by distinctive individuals through examinations given by the school itself. The opportunities of victory and the risk of failure are set in stone inside the students themselves. And with the ever-so changing character perspectives that are filled with colorful diversity, unpredictability becomes a leading product of Classroom of the Elite's general nature.
In terminology of the characters themselves, the words presented to the reader are a reflection of their thoughts, decisions, and ideologies. The amount of depth and substance ingrained in each person's psyche righteously works well with the narrative simply because of how each individual interacts with one another. The relationships, dynamics, contracts, and connections formed by enemies, allies, and neutrals has given me incredible immersion and curiosity into what’ll occur next. The stakes of sinking to rock-bottom and the joy of monumental growth is simply breathtaking. Confrontations, whether combatively physical or introspectively psychological, are given justified placements. In other words, psychological warfare and tactical strategy planning are the main dish of character motives. Though most impertinently here, Classroom of the Elite is a feasible “coming of age” tale that privileges its narrative with truthful realism. I’d rather not spoil the contents of what this masterful story has to offer but for quick insight, the ranging cast of characters feel humanized in all the right ways due to how each individual struggles with uncertainty and hardship.
Ryuen’s Class C showcases tyrannical authoritarianism as an embodiment of who he is, and how he functions as a deceptive snake-like creature. Ichinose’s Class B is a believable representation of steel-borne unity as a sign of synergism and caring leadership. Sakayanagi and Katsuragi’s Class A influences a divided, factional, orchestration of pure talent with sprinkles of puppeteering and manipulation. Ayanokouji and Horikita’s Class D sits at the short end of the stick naturally, essentially at odds of sitting at rock-bottom, but through time, there seems to be hints of valuable growth within several individuals because of certain occurrences. Additionally, with a mastermind in the depths of the shadows, manipulation and strategic thinking play a vital part in their successes and failures.
On the surface level, some characters may seem to be outlines of generic, carbon-copied mannequins pasted from other works. There’s branded clicks determined by popularity and status, and even the romanticism may come off as cliche... but not to the point of being off-putting. Things start to become nuanced each volume, which is occasionally hinted beforehand through Ayanokouji and character monologuing. Within its core, Classroom of the Elite becomes a cavernous exploration of human psychology through showcasing the deepest secrets of each individual. Motivations, sought-after dreams, and goals followed by actions, decision-making, and framework start to become meaningful because of overarching circumstances. The humanization of several characters through presenting credible, convincing problems and issues within their backstories concerning delicate topics are a manifestation of what makes a “coming of age” tale appealing. And while the constant, regurgitated limelight surrounding the inner thoughts of these individuals may seem repetitive at times, the merciless payoffs of each arc make the experience much more rewarding.
For more insight, Classroom of the Elite's first 3 volumes act solely as a prologue, and the .5 volumes are heavily significant in giving the reader background knowledge in orienting character identities and further insight into each compelling mystery within the school. Moreover, It's relatively moderate in pacing, as seen through its steady buildups of each arc, meaning it may take some time to be familiarized with, especially as it is a light novel.
In relation, there’s a balanced amount of variables within the complexion of its narrative flow and encompassment. While society’s management with schooling tends to lean on independence of one’s success, Classroom of the Elite is the opposite with forcing its idea of the ‘S’ system and ‘Class Points’ System upon the students, motioning towards the significance of teamwork and dependence in order for victory. And with an unforgiving layout akin to this, the stakes, risks, and significance of each arc simply becomes mountainous.
Additionally, because of these implementations, character notability, standing, and eminence steadily increases as time moves forward, creating Classroom of the Elite’s investment factor and privileging the reader with a sense of responsiveness to the characters themselves. At first sight, the characters may seem one-dimensional, but with patient, methodical writing direction, things eventually become multi-layered.
Homogenous to Netero’s renowned quote, “Human potential for evolution is limitless.”, Classroom of the Elite’s thematic nosedives into an enterprise of maturity and growth, not only that, but it invokes the unrealized capabilities of what humans can become through appropriate maturity and heightening of each individual’s aptitude. Principally, It's a dormant flair patiently waiting to be resurrected back to life. Horikita Suzune, along with several others, is an incarnation of this fundamental regarding their noticeable improvements in self-identity because of the school’s “examinations”, personal relationships with others, and discernment. Because of this, the concept of self-reflection is enhanced to its fullest potential, being able to create natural poignance. Within each chapter, most characters are constantly putting up a facade, clouding their inner identities, motivations, and biography, which if done properly, can formulate misleading outcomes that one would not expect.
With sharp dialogue that details upon a multitude of personas, the extent of Shougo’s aims has no boundaries whatsoever, especially in terms of fleshing out its ranging cast. Many modernized stories tend to have incoherent dialogue, ending in major fallacies with stemming the intended atmosphere, but in Classroom of the Elite’s case, the amount of relentless, pressuring, yet connate dialogue is a sight to behold. Not merely within the realms of characterization, but in leaving a profound message by the end. From mere words in a light novel, the descriptive usage of wording is given priority. And with this, picturing scenarios aren't tedious, instead, they're addictively engaging, without any need of enforcement.
The terms, “creativity” and “impact”, are a fundamental, underlying basis used to illustrate this odyssey. With the bizarre systematics within the school itself through usages of forcing the classes to establish alliances, or to uncharitably pressure them into conquering one another during the exams, is a prime example of setting unrivaled entertainment value for predetermined success.
Introspection is something Classroom of the Elite embraces without any strings attached. With all the characters having to face hindrances, whether it’d be about past traumatization, recent impediments, or future distresses, the story itself is simply a pilgrimage of growth exploring the weight and struggles of human potential, conveying how imperfection stems enlightenment. More notably, Classroom of the Elite centers around multiple forms of growth. While the concept itself is rather vague without context, this is something the story emphasizes on with care, expressively recognizing itself as a brilliant ode. Some characters come to understand that change is naturally an arduous process, others have difficulty in managing themselves, and many unfortunately fall victim to dilemma. Respectively, I guess this is ironically similar to many problems residing within innumerable students, such as myself, throughout high school to college. But most notably here, since time doesn’t wait for the average person, there comes a moment when maturity introduces itself, whether the intended occasion is sentient or not. And regardless of what difficulties people are met with, what reputation they’ve produced in youth, or whatever the current situation is, one should know there exists an opportunity for redemption and growth atop the peak of misfortune.