As a little disclaimer, I haven't read the Light Novel as of writing this review, but I plan on getting around to it sometime soon, so this review will be based solely on the anime and the little that I've gathered about its deviations from the source material. Anyway, Classroom of the Elite. If you want to talk about a show with a lot of promise, Classroom of the Elite is one near the top of the list. It had so much going for it, a bad ass protagonist, an interesting setting, engaging motivations, a solid cast of girls to argue over who was best girl, etc... But it kind of lost me toward the end, unfortunately. I wasn't exactly sure why my attention was waning while I was watching, but it all became clearer as I kept thinking about it and I'll explain as we go on. I'm going to save talking about the characters until the Favorite Character section cause it's a nice section to do the discussion.

Visually, I just want to express my love for the color palette of Classroom of the Elite, every color is so vivid and pops out to the viewer. The character's eyes are also something to be appreciated. It was a really cool approach to use tri-colored eyes for most characters, giving each one a somewhat exotic look, furthering the thought that they're in a school for the elite. Obviously, this was meant to kind of contrast the tone that they were trying to convey with the show, but more on that in a bit. In regards to the audio, nothing really stood out to me. Neither the opening or the ending were particularly good, none of the soundtrack made me notice it, and the SFX was just run of the mill. Maybe I wasn't paying the utmost attention to it all, but in that aspect, absolutely nothing stood out. Take that point as you will, I suppose.

Now for the point I mentioned earlier, the tone. I believe this was probably why I lost so much interest after the halfway mark or so (It was episode 7, actually). The first half or so was pretty dark tonally, which fit the bill that Classroom of the Elite was trying to push. I was behind that tone until the end, but then the mandatory pool episode happens. Basically, from there on out, the tone is so much more inconsistent. And in addition, the story kind of takes a weird turn from its focus on the school life. Suddenly, a school-based anime goes on a cruise to a desert island, which turns into a survival competition arc. While, the explanation that's given makes sense, it's still a bizarre turn for a story that's set in an, essentially, a campus prison. I'm not complaining about the island survival arc per se, I'm just saying that it kind of took me out of what the story was really about. Essentially, that arc was worth it to see Ayanokouji flex on the other classes in the last episode.

Favorite Character: Kiyotaka Ayanokouji

Ayanokouji is pretty much the only reason to watch Classroom of the Elite. Seeing him outwit every problem that arises and successfully dodge the credit, is something of a joy to behold, at least to me, since I'm a big fan of overpowered protagonists. I don't know, maybe I just like to see my protagonists do something instead of being all whiny and such. I can definitely appreciate a doormat-to-powerhouse kind of protagonist, but only if it's done with extreme diligence to not make the said protagonist annoying as hell. Ayanokouji is something unique in that regard. We barely see him doing anything for the majority of the show, as that's his game. He just flies under the radar and only acts when he absolutely has to. And when he does act, it's epic to witness his cold, apathetic cunning. Now, I do have to say, he does wear a little thin in the island arc, where you're kinda just waiting for him to do something, which he doesn't until the very end. It was kind of frustrating to watch all of Class D's struggles and see him just kinda chilling, doing absolutely nothing.

As for the other characters, no one else is really worth talking about, especially since I've heard how much certain characters were shafted out of the story just to make Horikita more important than she is in the Light Novel. In fact, I've heard so much that she's kind of just a side character in the Light Novel instead of the main girl. That frustrates me a little bit, because the two girls who basically got their characters cut are way better than Horikita anyway. There's more changed than just the 'main girl' aspect, but that's the major infraction of Classroom of the Elite from what I've heard.

It's just disappointing to see yet another adaptation fail to stay faithful to its source material, costing us potentially a good series. I really did like what Classroom of the Elite had to offer, but it just made too many errors with tone and focus to be a great show to me. With my disappointment expressed, I still enjoyed watching Classroom of the Elite. Even if I ended up disappointed, the premise and Ayanokouji really elevated the viewing experience for me. Those factors alone cause me to say that it was worth the watch.