Most people watch anime to relax, but then there's Classroom of the Elite Season 1. It’s the kind of show that makes you question if your high school friends were actually your friends or just tactical assets in a long-term psychological war. Honestly, when it first dropped back in 2017, the vibe was a bit confusing for some. People expected a standard "super-genius in a school" trope, but what we actually got was a cold, calculated look at social Darwinism.
The story centers on Kiyotaka Ayanokoji. He's a guy who looks like he hasn't slept in three years and possesses the emotional range of a brick wall. He enters Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, a place that looks like a paradise where the government guarantees your future. But, as we quickly find out, it's basically a gladiator pit with better uniforms.
What Actually Happens in Classroom of the Elite Season 1?
The hook is simple: the school gives students 100,000 points a month, which is basically 100,000 yen. Sounds great, right? Class 1-D, our main group of "misfits," spends it all immediately like they just won the lottery. Then the first month ends. Their balance hits zero.
That's the moment the show pivots from a school life story into a psychological thriller. We learn about the S-System. It’s a meritocratic nightmare where your points—and your literal survival in the school—depend on your class's collective performance. If you're in Class D, you're the "garbage" of the school. Or so the faculty wants you to think.
The first season follows Ayanokoji as he helps (from the shadows, obviously) his classmate Suzune Horikita try to climb the ranks to Class A. We see them navigate midterms where failing means expulsion, and we see the introduction of characters like Kikyo Kushida. Oh, Kushida. She's the perfect example of why this show works. One minute she's the sweetest girl on campus, and the next, she's threatening to frame Ayanokoji for assault just to keep her "nice girl" persona intact.
The season peaks with the Island Survival Exam. This isn't Survivor with Jeff Probst; it's a brutal test of logistics, internal sabotage, and mental fortitude. While everyone else is playing checkers, Ayanokoji is playing three-dimensional chess with people's lives.
The Ayanokoji Problem
Let's talk about the protagonist because he's why Classroom of the Elite Season 1 still gets talked about years later. He’s an unreliable narrator in the best way. For twelve episodes, he acts like a boring background character who just wants to be left alone. Then comes that final monologue.
"But, Horikita... I've never once thought of you as an ally."
🔗 Read more: Bad For Me Lyrics Kevin Gates: The Messy Truth Behind the Song
That line changed everything. It reframed the entire season. Every "helpful" thing he did wasn't out of kindness. It was a move. He views people as tools. Period. This revelation is what separates the show from other school dramas. It isn't about the power of friendship. It’s about the power of leverage.
The Controversy with the Light Novels
If you talk to any die-hard fan of the original light novels by Shogo Kinugasa, they probably have some beef with the first season. It’s a well-known sticking point in the community.
Director Seiji Kishi and the team at Studio Lerche made some... choices.
One of the biggest issues was the "pacing" and the character focus. In the books, a character named Ichinose or even Kei Karuizawa had much more significant roles early on. The anime, however, funneled a lot of those moments into Horikita. It made her the clear female lead, which arguably skewed the intended character dynamics of the source material.
Then there's the pool episode. Episode 7. It's legendary for the wrong reasons among book fans because it takes a plot point from much later in the novels and shoves it into the middle of the first season. This led to a lot of "review bombing" back in the day from purists. But, if you're just a casual viewer watching Classroom of the Elite Season 1 on Crunchyroll, you probably didn't even notice. You just saw a weirdly intense episode about hidden cameras in a changing room that somehow turned into a tactical mission.
Why the Island Arc is a Masterclass in Writing
The final four episodes of the season cover the "Special Test" on the deserted island. This is where the show earns its stripes. The classes are dumped on an island and told to survive while trying to figure out who the "leaders" of the other classes are.
It’s fascinating because it highlights the different ideologies:
💡 You might also like: Ashley Johnson: The Last of Us Voice Actress Who Changed Everything
- Class A: Defensive, elitist, and organized.
- Class B: Cooperative and "power of friendship" (led by Ichinose).
- Class C: Pure tyranny under Ryuen, who uses physical violence and intimidation.
- Class D: A complete mess of infighting until Ayanokoji starts pulling strings.
The way Ayanokoji wins is genuinely brilliant. He uses the rules against the school. He orchestrates his own "retirement" from the test to manipulate the point totals. It’s a dense, complicated set of moves that requires a second watch to fully appreciate. You realize that he was setting the win up from the very first day on the beach, while everyone else was worried about where to go to the bathroom.
Visuals and Vibe
Lerche did a great job with the aesthetic. The eyes are the most striking part. Every character has these multi-layered, almost predatory eyes. The color palette is bright but feels sterile, which fits the "perfect school" facade. The music, composed by Ryo Takahashi, uses a lot of synth and ticking-clock sounds that ramp up the anxiety during the exams.
It doesn't look like a dark show, which makes the dark moments hit harder. When Ryuen is beating someone up or when Ayanokoji is staring blankly at a girl crying, the contrast with the beautiful, sun-drenched background is jarring.
The Philosophy of the Elite
Underneath the "who's going to get expelled" tension, the show asks a real question: What is equality?
The opening quote of the series is from Nietzsche. That’s a bold move for a show about teenagers. It sets the tone for a story that rejects the idea that all men are created equal. The school is a microcosm of a hyper-competitive society. It rewards the cunning and punishes the weak.
Ayanokoji is the ultimate product of this. We get hints of the "White Room," a facility where he was raised to be a genius. This is why he doesn't have emotions like a normal kid. He wasn't raised; he was programmed.
Watching him interact with "normal" students who have crushes and insecurities is like watching a scientist observe ants. It's cold. It's a bit uncomfortable. But it's also why you can't stop watching. You want to see if someone can actually make him care.
📖 Related: Archie Bunker's Place Season 1: Why the All in the Family Spin-off Was Weirder Than You Remember
What You Should Do After Finishing Season 1
If you just finished the first season, you're probably feeling a mix of "wait, that's it?" and "I need to see Ayanokoji wreck more people."
First, don't just jump straight into Season 2 without a breather. The tone shifts slightly as the stakes get higher and the animation changes a bit because of production shifts.
Here is the move:
- Check the Light Novels: If you're a reader, start from Volume 1. I know, you just watched the show. But the internal monologues of Ayanokoji in the books make him feel way more human—and way more terrifying—than the anime's "poker face" version.
- Rewatch the Finale: Go back and watch the last 10 minutes of Episode 12. Now that you know his "tools" speech, watch how he interacted with Horikita during the island arc. You'll see the manipulation in real-time. It’s chilling.
- Research the S-System: Look into how the points are actually calculated. The show glosses over some of the math, but the logic behind how Class D lost their points in the first month is actually based on real-world behavioral economics.
- Watch Season 2 and 3: They exist now! For years, fans thought we'd never get a sequel. Now the "First Year" arc is fully animated. The "Spread Your Wings" and "Lunar Festival" arcs coming up are even more intense than the island.
The reality is that Classroom of the Elite Season 1 was just a prologue. It was the "tutorial" level of a very dangerous game. It established the rules, showed us the monsters, and then revealed that our hero might be the biggest monster of them all. It’s a cynical show, sure, but in a world of generic protagonists, Ayanokoji is a breath of cold, refreshing air.
Just don't expect him to be your friend. He's already figured out how to use you to get to Class A.
Seriously. Watch your back.
Final thought: if you find yourself agreeing with Ryuen's methods, you might want to take a walk outside. But if you find yourself agreeing with Ayanokoji? Well, you've probably already won. Or you're about to lose everything. In this school, there's no in-between.