We’re starting off this season’s ANN weeklies with Classroom of the Elite, which offered a pretty intriguing opening pair of episodes. I’m kinda guessing this show will get weaker as it goes along, but a strong start with a whole lot of social relevance is still a fine thing. My review ended up sprawling out in order to touch on all of this one’s various thematic parallels, so you guys get plenty of Fresh Content today. Hope you enjoy the piece!
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode two notes below.
“It takes a great talent and skill to conceal one’s talent and skill”
Opening with the fanservice, geh
Oh my god these boob shots are so in my face fuck
The opening sees them buried in literature quotes, like some kind of intellectual prison. It’s a nice thought
The S-system assesses students in real time
“You lot have proven you’re the worst kind of defective.” The world here may be mean-spirited, which is a serious shift from Oregairu
“Just as in the real world, I cannot reveal the details of your performance evaluations”
The institutions hold all the power
The musical cues remain incredibly ham-handed
The classes can actually be promoted and demoted past each other, encouraging the students to see each other as their enemies instead of the system
People who get failing grades will now get expelled
And they’re graded collectively, so they see even their own classmates as enemies
“This school has an incredible college/professional enrollment rate” means “this school expels many, many students”
Ayanokoji’s our MC
Horikita’s the girl
Those who stick out and don’t conform are punished by the group
And now we’ve got class 1-A plotting in a dark room, lol
“The fact remains, some people are going to fail.” And it’s true. Some people do fail. This society assumes they deserve it, and it’s okay for them to be discarded
“Step one is to rehabilitate the failures.” They damage the class as a whole
Even Horikita is buying into this place’s transactional values
This show is so damn horny
Kushida’s the genki girl
Kushida’s emphasis on transaction-free friendship is the counterpoint, but the show doesn’t respect her enough or write her well enough to make that land
“I can’t hang out with someone who looks down on me.” The session goes as well as expected
Ah, glasses-pusher is Horikita’s older brother, who she wants to follow
Even her brother judges people in this utility-based way
Ayanokoji’s secretly a ringer, which… fine. This is fun
“As usual, you’ve mistaken isolation for independence”
“Your shortcoming is you assume others will hold you down from the start”
Our MC is too perfect