Classroom of the Elite

Classroom of the Elite

Cover of the first volume featuring Suzune (left) and Kiyotaka (right).
ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ
(Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e)
Light novel
Written by Syohgo Kinugasa
Illustrated by Shunsaku Tomose
Published by Media Factory
Demographic Male
Imprint MF Bunko J
Original run May 25, 2015 – present
Volumes 6
Manga
Written by Syohgo Kinugasa
Illustrated by Yuyu Ichino
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Comic Alive
Original run January 27, 2016 – present
Volumes 3
Anime television series
Directed by Seiji Kishi
Hiroyuki Hashimoto
Produced by Shō Tanaka
Masahito Ikemoto
Ashitate Harutaka
Aya Iizuka
Hideo Itō
Meiko Tsuruta
Yūta Kashiwabara
Mitsuhiro Ogata
Written by Aoi Akashiro
Music by Ryō Takahashi
Studio Lerche
Licensed by
Original network AT-X, Tokyo MX, TVA, KBS, SUN, TVQ, BS11
Original run July 12, 2017 – present
Episodes 5

Classroom of the Elite (ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ, Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e, lit. "Welcome to the Classroom of the Supreme Ability Doctrine") is a Japanese light novel series written by Syohgo Kinugasa and illustrated by Shunsaku Tomose.

Summary

In the not too distant future, the Japanese government has established the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School, dedicated to instruct and foster the generation of people that will support the country in the future. The students there have the freedom to wear any hairstyle and bring any personal effects they desire.

Our protagonist is Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, a quiet, unassuming boy who is not good at making friends and would rather keep his distance. He is a student of D-class, which is where the school dumps its inferior students in order to ridicule them. After meeting Suzune Horikita and Kikyō Kushida, two other students in his class, Kiyotaka's situation begins to change.

Characters

D-Class Students

Kiyotaka Ayanokōji (綾小路 清隆, Ayanokōji Kiyotaka)
Voiced by: Shōya Chiba[1] (Japanese); Justin Briner[2] (English)
The main protagonist. He is an unmotivated student who is very poor at communicating with others. While trying to become friends with others, he often fails due to his inability to communication. His grades are average and is very conscious of how he spends his points, however it is hinted that he has the academic aptitude to make it to the top class if he wants to, but for some reason he prefers to hide his ability.
Suzune Horikita (堀北 鈴音, Horikita Suzune)
Voiced by: Akari Kitō[1] (Japanese); Felecia Angelle[2] (English)
An aloof student who is the sister of the student council president, Manabu. She sits next to Kiyotaka in class and is also careful about how she spends her points. Like Kiyotaka, she has trouble communicating with others, but unlike him she thinks friends are unnecessary, though she does talk to Ayanokoji, she only sees him as her means to an end. She has a brother who studies in the same school who happens to also be the school's student council president who distances himself from her due to the embarrassment that she is in Class D.
Kikyō Kushida (櫛田 桔梗, Kushida Kikyō)
Voiced by: Yurika Kubo[1] (Japanese); Sarah Wiedenheft[2] (English)
A popular girl also in Class D. She is cheerful and is looking to become friends with everybody at school. However, behind her cheerful and caring facade, she has an alternate personality that is violent and sadistic.
Airi Sakura (佐倉 愛里, Sakura Airi)
Voiced by: M.A.O[1]
A girl who is into photography. She hates standing out and likes to take landscape pictures.
Kei Karuizawa (軽井沢 恵, Karuizawa Kei)
Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu[1] (Japanese); Bryn Apprill[2] (English)
One of the top students in Class D. She has character issues.
Yōsuke Hirata (平田 洋介, Hirata Yōsuke)
Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka[1] (Japanese); Dallas Reid[2] (English)
The top student in Class D. His grades are worthy of being in a higher class, but he ended up getting stuck in Class D for reasons yet to be explained.
Rokusuke Kōenji (高円寺 六助, Kōenji Rokusuke)
Voiced by: Toshiki Iwasawa[1] (Japanese); Christopher Wehkamp[2] (English)
A boy from a prestigious family in Class D. He comes from a well-known family of scholars as his skills and intelligence are great, however he ended up in Class D for being too egotistical and his inability to work with others. Unlike his fellow student who were struggling to obtain points, he doesn't have to worry about it since his family can simply buy them for his use.
Ken Sudō (須藤 健, Sudō Ken)
Voiced by: Eiji Takeuchi[1] (Japanese); Brandon McInnis[2] (English)
One of the "3 Fools of Class D", and a basketball player. His intelligence is poor and he has a tendency of becoming violent, however he has the best athletic ability of the students in the class.
Kanji Ike (池 寛治, Ike Kanji)
Voiced by: Daiki Abe[1] (Japanese); Aaron Dismuke[2] (English)
One of the "3 Fools of Class D". While his intelligence is poor, his communication skills are excellent.
Haruki Yamauchi (山内 春樹, Yamauchi Haruki)
Voiced by: Mutsuki Iwanaka[1] (Japanese); Travis Mullenix[2] (English)
One of the "3 Fools of Class D". He has a tendency for lying.
Teruhiko Yukimura (幸村 輝彦, Yukimura Teruhiko)
Voiced by: Tsubasa Gōda[1]
A boy with great intelligence. Despite his academic ability, his poor athletic ability landed him in Class D.

C-Class Students

Kakeru Ryūen (龍園 翔, Ryūen Kakeru)
Voiced by: Masaaki Mizunaka[1]
He is a student under Class C who has a reputation of being a feared delinquent, where he rules the class like a mafia boss, and has a group of henchmen who does his dirty work.
Mio Ibuki (伊吹 澪, Ibuki Mio)
Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu[1]

B-Class Students

Honami Ichinose (一之瀬 帆波, Ichinose Honami)
Voiced by: Nao Tōyama[1]
She is one of the Top students of Class B who is very much admired and respected, unlike most students who despised the lower class, she is basically down to earth and doesn't mind being friends with some of them like Kikuyou and Ayanokouji.
Ryūji Kanzaki (神崎 隆二, Kanzaki Ryūji)
Voiced by: Akihisa Wakayama[1]

A-Class Students

Alice Sakayanagi (坂柳 有栖, Sakayanagi Alice)
Voiced by: Rina Hidaka[1]
Kōhei Katsuragi (葛城 康平, Katsuragi Kōhei)
Voiced by: Satoshi Hino[1]

Student Council

Manabu Horikita (堀北 学, Horikita Manabu)
Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara[1] (Japanese); David Matranga[2] (English)
He is the Suzune's older brother who is also the school's student council president, he belongs to the upper echelons of the school student society where he is highly respected. However, he despises Suzune for being in the lower class, as her presence threatens his reputation in the student council.
Akane Tachibana (橘 茜, Tachibana Akane)
Voiced by: Konomi Kohara[1]
She is the Student Council secretary.

Faculty Members

Sae Chabashira (茶柱 佐枝, Chabashira Sae)
Voiced by: Rina Satō[1] (Japanese); Jennifer Alyx[2] (English)
She is the homeroom teacher for Class D, who is very cold and apathetic to her own class, but she can be bribed for the right price where she was willing to sell a grade to a student who is in danger of being expelled.
Chie Hoshinomiya (星之宮 知恵, Hoshinomiya Chie)
Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto[1]
She is the homeroom teacher in Class B, whom was pretty much a klutz and a drunkard.

Media

Light novel

The series has been published under Media Factory's MF Bunko J imprint since 2015; as of May 2017, five volumes and a spin-off volume have been released.

Anime

An anime adaptation has been announced and premiered on July 12, 2017 on AT-X and other channels.[3][4] Seiji Kishi and Hiroyuki Hashimoto is directing the anime at Lerche, while Aoi Akashiro is handling the series composition.[5] The opening theme "Caste Room" is performed by ZAQ. The ending theme "Beautiful Soldier" is performing by Minami.[4][6] Crunchyroll is streaming the series.[7] Funimation has licensed the series in North America.[8]

No. Title[lower-alpha 1] Original air date
1 "What is Evil? Whatever Springs From Weakness."
"Aku to wa Nani ka?? Yowasa kara Shōzuru Subete no Mono da." (悪とは何か――弱さから生ずるすべてのものだ。) 		July 12, 2017
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji begins attending school in class 1-D at the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, an institution established by the government for training Japan's best students. Class D homeroom teacher Sae Chabashira explains the point system where everybody gets a monthly allowance 100,000 points that they can use as money at local shops with one point equaling one yen, and also warns the students that they are judged on merit. Kiyotaka begins navigating through the system being careful about how he spends his points, while becoming friends with the gregarious Kikyo Kushida and then attempting to become friends with the aloof outsider Suzune Horikita. In an attempt to become friends, Kiyotaka brings Suzune to a cafe where only girls meet having secretly arranged for Kushida and two other classmates to be there, but Suzune saw through the plan and leaves without becoming friends. As the month of April passes, the majority of class D lavishly spends their points and slacks off in class without any reprimand, causing Kiyotaka to be suspicious. On May 1, the class D students are surprised to find out that they did not get an allowance, and Chabashira explains that their allowance depends on merit and having ignored their studies, the class receives no points for the month. 
2 "It Takes a Great Deal and Skill to Conceal One's Talent and Skill."
"Sainō o Kakusu no Nimo Takuetsu Shita Sainō ga Iru." (才能を隠すのにも卓越した才能がいる。) 		July 19, 2017
Chabashira explains how the system works at this school as the four first-year classes are all ranked by merit, and that class D has the opportunity to be promoted to class C with strong performances on exams. She also warns that with the current situation, anybody who fails one more exam is expelled. Now fully aware of the system, everybody takes their studies more seriously except for the three biggest idiots of the class in Ken Sudo, Kenji Ike, and Haruki Yamauchi. Suzune treats Kiyotaka to an expensive lunch to discuss the strategy, as well as bringing aboard those three to the library to study. Kiyotaka and Kushida succeed in getting them to come, but they leave immediately while Sudo lets everybody know that he wants to make it rich quickly by going pro in basketball That night, Kiyotaka overhears Suzune talking to her brother Manabu, and Manabu attacks her over a disagreement about her view of isolation being independence. Kiyotaka intervenes, and Manabu then reveals that he scored a 50 on every test and asks if it was coincidence or not. The midterm exams come, and class D as a whole performs very well with some scoring among the highest among the first years in the school. 
3 "Man is an Animal that Makes Bargains: No Other Animal Does This - No Dog Exchanges Bones with Another."
"Ningen wa Torihiki o Suru Yuiitsu no Dōbutsudearu. Hone o Kōkan Suru Inu wa Inai" (人間は取引をする唯一の動物である。骨を交換する犬はいない) 		July 26, 2017
Class D gets the results of their last exam and everybody passes except for Sudo, who missed the passing threshold by one point. The grades were the result of Kiyotaka spending 15,000 points to buy the questions to an old exam from an upperclassman three days prior to the exam, which is within school rules. Kiyotaka approaches Chabashira asking the question of whether equality exists, and she answers that it does not, which Kiyotaka agrees with. Kiyotaka and Suzune then spend their points to buy the missing point from the teacher so that Sudo's expulsion can be rescinded. That night, Kushida organizes a little party in Kiyotaka's. After the party, Kushida leaves but forgets her cellphone and Kiyotaka follows her to find out the truth about her personality. Having discovered her secret personality, Kushida demands Kiyotaka to keep it a secret or else she will accuse him of raping her by having him forcefully touch her breast and using the fingerprints as evidence. 
4 "We Should Not be Upset that Others Hide the Truth from Us, When We Hide it from Ourselves."
"Tanin ga shinjitsu o inpei suru koto ni taishite, wareware wa okorubekidenai. Nazenara, wareware mo jibun kara shinjitsu o kakusu koto no arukara" (他人が真実を隠蔽することに対して、我々は怒るべきでない。なぜなら、我々も自身から真実を隠蔽するのであるから。) 		August 2, 2017
July 1 arrives and class D's point distribution is put on hold due to an incident the previous day involving Sudo and three basketball teammates from class C. Sudo was attacked and fought back in self-defense. However, due to his poor reputation he is going to be held liable unless the class can find a witness to clear his name before the hearing next week, which would consequently result in the class receiving no points for the month. In an attempt to manipulate the case to their favor, the three class C attackers secretly get beaten up badly by their classmates at their request. With the help of Class B, the class posts messages asking for witnesses of the incident. Suzune tells Kiyotaka and the others that Airi Sakura was there and witnessed the incident with her camera. That night, Kiyotaka and Kushida talk about how in a murder case with the suspects being a known murderer and a law-abiding citizen that with the lack of evidence, people are more likely going to believe the law-abiding citizen even if that person is the one who is guilty. The next day, Sakura is approached asking for the evidence, and she runs away dropping her camera in the process. Sakura freaks out when she cannot turn on her camera thinking that she broke it and continues her running not wanting to get involved. 
5 "Hell is other People"
"Jigoku, soreha tanindearu" (地獄、それは他人である。) 		August 9, 2017
Sakura asks Kiyotaka and Kushida to accompany her to the electronics store to get the camera repaired, which is covered under warranty. The store clerk asks for Sakura to give out her contact information, and Kiyotaka uses his instead. Kiyotaka figures out that Sakura is the internet model that has become a big hit recently. At the hearing presided by Manabu, both classes give their testimonies accusing each other for instigating the fight with the initial ruling going in class C's favor. After staying silent, Suzune speaks up after getting harassed by Kiyotaka. Suzune asks what the circumstances were for the fight and points out that in a three against one fight that it is nearly impossible for those injuries that serious to be all Sudo's doing. She then presents Sakura as a witness providing evidence that she was present as she captured the fight going on in the background during a photo shoot. However, the evidence only proves that she was present and does not clear Sudo of any wrongdoing. The class C homeroom teacher Sakagami proposes a compromise to suspend Sudo for two weeks and the three class C students for one week each, but class D rejects it. Realizing that one side is clearly lying, Manabu ends the hearing and will make his decision the next day unless admissions or additional evidence is presented with expulsions possible. 
6 "There are Two Kinds of Lies; One concerns an Accomplished Fact, the Other concerns a Future Duty"
"Uso ni wa nishurui aru. Kako ni kansuru jijitsujō no uso to mirai ni kansuru kenri ri no usodearu." (嘘には二種類ある。過去に関する事実上の嘘と未来に関する権利上の嘘である。) 

Notes

  1. ↑ All English episode titles are taken from Crunchyroll.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e Anime Reveals 21 Cast Members". Anime News Network. May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Summer 2017 Simuldub on FunimationNow". Funimation. July 13, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e Light Novel Series Gets TV Anime in July". Anime News Network. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e Anime Reveals Ending Theme Artist, July 12 Debut". Anime News Network. June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e TV Anime Reveals Staff". AnimeNewsNetwork. May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Classroom of the Elite Anime's Promo Video Previews ZAQ's Theme Song (Updated)". Anime News Network. June 24, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Crunchyroll to Stream A Centaur's Life, Classroom of the Elite, Restaurant to Another World, Saiyuki Reload Blast Anime". Anime News Network. June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Funimation Reveals Summer Simuldub Lineup". Anime News Network. July 2, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
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