For those of you who are new to reading my reviews I typically incorporate a short summary about what brought me to the anime, manga, or light novel that I am reviewing. This will not be the case with Classroom of the Elite. I came into this series almost completely blind. The only thing I knew about Classroom of the Elite going into this watch through was that a season 2 and season 3 had just recently been announced and that fans were beyond excited! There is no way I could have known about the absolutely incredible experience I was about to embark on. Also to preface this review, I have yet to read the Light Novels for this series (which I plan to read very soon). I will be reviewing this anime as its own entity. My score for Classroom of the Elite will not be taking into account any of the source contents' material (which I hear is superior). I will be reviewing the strengths and weaknesses that Classroom of the Elite has from the standpoint of someone who has only experienced the anime. As per usual with my reviews I will be keeping my review completely spoiler free. So without further rambling let me explain to you why I believe Classroom of the Elite is truly an elite anime.
Philosophy:
Putting it quite simply, Classroom of the Elite had me hooked from the opening monologue. In this monologue our main protagonist, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, poses the question of whether or not we as humans are all truly equal? Are we intended to be equal or are we instead judged based on the merit of our character and our work? What this monologue does is immediately get the viewer engaged in this philosophical question. Should we base our society in a meritocracy or instead should we instead strive to create a society where all people are truly equal?
What I particularly enjoyed about Classroom of the Elite is that it never allowed for this philosophical question to leave the forefront of the story. Every aspect of the series related back to this question. Furthermore, and more importantly, Classroom of the Elite never actually answers this question for you explicitly. Does it demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of a meritocracy throughout the series? Yes, 100%. However, it never once explicitly tells you what you should believe. Instead, it allows you to form your own opinion about the validity of this system. This, along with several other philosophical questions, are never answered for the viewer. The viewer is instead given constant reminders and situations that force the viewer to deliberate on what standpoint to take regarding a topic. It is through its story telling that Classroom of the Elite poses philosophical questions and engages viewers in a philosophical debate. Quite frankly, it's an incredibly well thought out and engaging way to encourage viewers in self reflection and philosophical questioning.
Setting:
Building off of what I already mentioned about the philosophy of the series, what this series does so well is creates a setting in which the viewer gets to see how a meritocracy would operate. Classroom of the Elite is set in the school Koudo Ikusei Senior High School, a high school that has a 100% college acceptance rate and a 100% employment rate for graduates. Koudo Ikusei Senior High School is structured in a tier system. Each school year has class rankings based on academic merit. This is split up from the A class to the D class for each academic school year. Classes are allowed to progress up and or drop down based on the merit of their class. Classes can progress up or down, however a class can be greatly hindered from progressing up when the merit of its entire class is not high. Similarly, a class can be dropped down in rank if some of its members merit is not high enough. Each students in each class are given points based on their merit as well. These points are used as currency in the school because students are not allowed to leave the school. What this does is dramatically encourages good merit among students who attend the school.
What this school setting does is demonstrate for the viewer a tangible representation of the meritocracy system at work. It shows the viewer the strengths and weaknesses of this system through the interactions between students, teachers, and classes. Furthermore, it demonstrates whether or not this system is one that holds validity. I will not be going into detailed examples of how the school operates through this system or my own opinion of this system based on this series because that would involve mentioning spoilers. More importantly, in order to fully appreciate Classroom of the Elite and the brilliance of the way the creators used this school setting it is something you should go into blind and form your own opinions on.
One of my few issues with this series came in episode 7 of the series. It is in this episode that we go away from the traditional classroom setting and instead head towards a different location. While the rules of the school and the emphasis on individual merit are still strongly emphasized in this new setting, it is not as well done as it was in the school setting. That being said, this setting did not end up bothering much at all towards the end it just simply wasn't as brilliantly thought out as the school setting was.
Monologues:
I already touched on this briefly but I want to touch on it again. The monologues of Ayanokouji are an integral part of this series overall impact. These monologues give us a glimpse not only into Ayanokouji's brilliant mind, but also into the way people think in a meritocracy. His monologues constantly give insight into what Ayanokouji believes is in his best interest in this system and why. I have heard from multiple sources that this is where the anime falters in comparison to the light novel as apparently the light novels give even greater detail to these monologues. That being said, I still found majority of Ayanokouji's monologues incredibly impactful! Two monologues in particular stick out in my mind. The first of these is the opening monologue I linked earlier. The second monologue I am referring to comes at the very close of Classroom of the Elite. This monologue is arguably one of the greatest moments I have seen in anime. When I say this scene hits, I mean that it HITS HARD! The build up to this scene in particular and the overall impact it has on Ayanokouji's character is profound to say the least. I have linked the video of this final scene/monologue as a spoiler but I would HIGHLY encourage you not to watch this prior to completing the anime as it contains a massive spoiler and out of context it is not nearly as impactful!
Animation & Soundtrack:
I'm only briefly going to talk about these portions of Classroom of the Elite because it truly isn't anything to write home about. The animation is extremely solid and the characters are very well animated. Along with that, the soundtrack of Classroom of the Elite is fairly pedestrian with the only true standout moments coming during monologues.
Fanservice:
Without a doubt this is my greatest complaint about Classroom of the Elite. I want to preface this by saying that I am far from someone who complains about the occasional fanservice. I'd even go as far as to say that there are situations in which fan service is justified in an anime. Classroom of the Elite 100% has these situations and during these situations it is justifiable for the sake of furthering particular characters' agendas. That being said, Classroom of the Elite borders on excessive fanservice throughout the entire series. Episode 7 in particular has an absurd amount of fanservice. As I previously stated, when this fanservice is justifiable I have no issue with it but episode 7 in particular is simply presenting the fanservice for not legitimate reason. Some series need to rely on the crutch of fanservice to help their series more enjoyable however Classroom of the Elite is not one of those series. It is a series that is brilliantly thought out and presents so many thought provoking questions. The fanservice in Classroom of the Elite truly only takes away from the overall quality of the series outside of a handful of particular instances.
Characters:
I won't be going particularly in depth with the characters of Classroom of the Elite either due to me believing that overall the cast of characters is fairly average outside of Ayanokouji and Suzune Horikita. Realistically, Ayanokouji has broken into my top 5 anime characters of all time. He's an extremely well developed and thought out character. Horikita is just the right mixture of mysterious and intelligent that I found her very fun to watch as well.
What I am going to touch on about the characters, rather than discussing each character in depth, is the character interactions as I feel it is without a doubt one of Classroom of the Elite's greatest strengths. What I am talking about when I mention character interactions is not necessarily the interactions they have with one another when holding conversation. While those are very well done, I am more specifically talking about the motivations characters have for interacting with one another. Put quite simply, you almost never know what a character's motivations are in Classroom of the Elite. There were more than a handful of times where I was blown away by a character's motivation behind why they interacted with another character. I was left with my jaw wide open during two interactions in particular. Those two instances being the end of episode 3 and the end of episode 12. Overall, what I would say made the characters of Classroom of the Elite so strong in my eyes was not actually the substance of the characters (though there were a couple of characters who I can say that for), but instead the fact that you truly never knew the motivations of the characters!
Final Verdict:
Classroom of the Elite is an absolutely brilliant anime! It has an incredibly well done cast of characters whose motivations you never truly understand. It poses extremely thought provoking philosophical questions through both its story and its setting. It also has an extremely well done main protagonist in Ayanokouji who has easily entered into my favorite anime characters of all time list. Furthermore, Ayanokouji's monologues only further emphasize the tone, message, and philosophical debate of the series while also giving you additional perspective. It has jaw dropping moments such as the end of episode 3 and episode 12 that stick out among all of the anime medium. The only thing truly holding back Classroom of the Elite from being a masterpiece in my mind is the excessive fanservice (especially in episode 7) and the switching of the setting that can be a bit jarring for those who feel in love with the school setting. Overall, Classroom of the Elite is a fantastic anime regardless of the quality of the light novel. It has pushed me to purchase the light novels for this series (a task not easily achieved) and has forced me to contemplate some difficult philosophical questions as well. To say I am excited for season 2 and season 3 after watching season 1 would be a massive understatement.
Now to answer the question you all have been waiting for me to answer. Should I give Classroom of the Elite a chance? In my honest opinion, this anime isn't for everyone. If you want to shut your brain off and relax to anime after a long day then this may not be for you. If you don't like an anime that is thought provoking then this one honestly may not be for you either. That being said, if any of the major topics I discussed interest you in any way then I would absolutely encourage you to give Classroom of the Elite a watch!