Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (TV)

On the surface, Koudo Ikusei Senior High School is a utopia. The students enjoy an unparalleled amount of freedom, and it is ranked highly in Japan. However, the reality is less than ideal. Four classes, A through D, are ranked in order of merit, and only the top classes receive favorable treatment.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji is a student of Class D, where the school dumps its worst. There he meets the unsociable Suzune Horikita, who believes she was placed in Class D by mistake and desires to climb all the way to Class A, and the seemingly amicable class idol Kikyou Kushida, whose aim is to make as many friends as possible.

While class membership is permanent, class rankings are not; students in lower ranked classes can rise in rankings if they score better than those in the top ones. Additionally, in Class D, there are no bars on what methods can be used to get ahead. In this cutthroat school, can they prevail against the odds and reach the top?

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Adaptation:	Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e
Other:	Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e
Sequel:	Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (TV) 2nd Season

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Characters & Voice Actors

Ayanokouji, Kiyotaka

Main

Chiba, Shouya
Japanese

Horikita, Suzune

Main

Kitou, Akari
Japanese

Karuizawa, Kei

Supporting

Taketatsu, Ayana
Japanese

Ichinose, Honami

Supporting

Touyama, Nao
Japanese

Sakayanagi, Arisu

Supporting

Hidaka, Rina
Japanese

Sakura, Airi

Supporting

Ichimichi, Mao
Japanese

Ryuuen, Kakeru

Supporting

Mizunaka, Masaaki
Japanese

Kushida, Kikyou

Supporting

Kubo, Yurika
Japanese

Chabashira, Sae

Supporting

Satou, Rina
Japanese

Kouenji, Rokusuke

Supporting

Iwasawa, Toshiki
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Kishi, Seiji

Director

Hashimoto, Hiroyuki

Director

Iida, Satoki

Sound Director

Itou, Fumio

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

"Caste Room (カーストルーム)" by ZAQ (eps 2-8, 10-11)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Caste Room (カーストルーム)" by ZAQ (eps 1)
	2: "Beautiful Soldier" by Minami (eps 2-11)

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Reviews

Sep 27, 2017

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 3

Pitzer (All reviews)

922 people found this review helpful

“Are human beings truly equal?”

Using a pretentious question as an opener is common in Light Novel adaptations. It's a fast way to both grab the attention of the inexperienced viewer and to introduce the general intentions of the show. However, questioning the equality of the entire human race is a comical idea. The question itself only functions as a rhetorical question and even then, you gain nothing from the inevitable “no” as an answer. It is a question that serves no purpose, a problem that is reflected throughout the show’s entire runtime. Unfortunately, the problems don’t end there. Welcome to the Classroom of the Elite read more

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Sep 27, 2017

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

Shingster (All reviews)

561 people found this review helpful

Please note this review assumes that you have already finished watching Youkoso and while care has been taken to minimize story spoilers there may be spoilers in character analysis

In Society are humans really treated equally or are they treated according to the standards in society

Based off a well-known light novel series of the same name Youkoso gives us the opportunity to ask one of the fundamental questions that most teenagers would ask as they enter High school. In society are all human beings treated equally and does this by introducing us to a prestigious high school that has an impressive record read more

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Sep 27, 2017

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 4

HellLyter (All reviews)

245 people found this review helpful

I'm not claiming to be a veteran when it comes to watching anime, but I've seen enough where viewing shows with a typical high school setting just doesn't cut it for me anymore. Of course a lot of the shows in this genre come with a twist or two, and Classroom of the Elite is no exception. However just because an anime uses the classic school life formula doesn't mean that it will be successful. While it's true that some shows are able to effectively pull off the school life setting, lesser anime, like Classroom of the Elite, fail right from the get go.

Episode one dives right into explaining the setting and sets up the general story of the anime. Viewers learn that the school in which the characters are attending is a special academy where students are divided into four classes based off of skill and other criteria that is never really discussed (you'll soon learn that the lack of a proper explanation for things is a reoccurring theme with this anime). Unsurprisingly, the two protagonists, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji and Suzune Horikita, are put in class D, the lowest ranking class. The story is supposed to be about their rise from the bottom to the top of the academy's hierarchy, but there's one major problem; They make relatively no progress toward achieving this goal throughout the course of the anime.

Before I go into more detail on this, let me explain an unique plot element that the author introduced for the anime: a point system. These points are given to students and represent multiple things, including currency and class ranking. The students lose points for bad grades, behavior, etcetera and earn them by achieving various things, many of which are unexplained. Points are allocated after each month, and one of the first twists in the anime is that class D failed to earn any points after their first month at school (pfft. What losers), thus throwing them into a state of turmoil. Now this system could have been used in so many ways that would have easily benefited the plot of the anime. However the distribution of these points is so convoluted and rarely touched upon that in the latter portion of the anime I felt like their importance completely vanished. Characters would just go up to a chart and say things like "Oh look, our class has X points and the others have Y points. Cool." and then move on. The few exceptions are when Ayanokouji actually uses the points in an inventive manner to do things like purchase old test answers and boost the grade of a classmate's exam. Unfortunately, the point system wasn't nearly as explored as it should have been, and it failed to reach its full potential.

Remember when I said that the goal in this anime (at least from what I could discern) was for the core cast to strive to become the best in the school? While its true that class D (with the exception of Ayanokouji at first) desperately want to rise to the top, we rarely see anything significant done by them in order to achieve this goal. At one point Horikita gave a commanding speech in which she warned the other classes to look out for class D. From my perspective, this was just an empty threat. In fact, more often then not, the anime showcases the members of class D struggling to simply earn any points at all much less hoping to compete against their rivals. The anime constantly presented us with many "tough" scenarios that were supposed to leave viewers impressed with the protagonists for finding creative solutions to them. The problem is that many of these situations were too lackluster for me to even care about them in the first place. These mediocre events ranged from trying to have everyone in the class pass an exam without failing miserably to finding a panty thief. There are literally no stakes, and this was deleterious to the anime's success.

On a positive note, I did sort of like Ayanokouji and Horikita at first. Ayanokouji's casual and disinterested attitude was sort of refreshing, and his along with Horikita's social ineptitude was interesting, especially when they were forced to interact with other characters. Now the primary issue that I had was that both of them have a similar personality. They're both social outcasts who have a hard time fitting in with the rest of the class. Granted, they each posses differing views on things like friendship and whatnot, but it sometimes got really boring hearing both of them talk to each other in their monotone voices all the time. Also, they each hardly interacted with the other characters (Horikita more than Ayanokouji) unless they were forced to, which left the rest of the cast terribly underdeveloped. To compensate for this, the producers would give the other characters (most notably Kikyou Kushida) random quirks in order to make them seem more interesting. This ultimately failed because I didn't really care for the characters too much in the first place.

The majority of the budget went into eyes and fanservice. The characters' eyes always seem to shine bright with vibrant splotches of color. While high in detail, the focus on irises makes everything else seem lazily designed in comparison. The only exception to this is when a character is used for fanservice appeal. During these sacred moments, the characters' bodies suddenly gain a ton of depth, shading, curves, and enlarged breasts (unless they're male, in which case they become overly muscular instead). Hallelujah for these ecchi scenes, am I right!? Seriously though, if the animation quality was consistently like the short and almost always unnecessary fanservice scenes, then I would have been really impressed with the show's visuals.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't despise Classroom of the Elite or anything. I was just disappointed by the show's laid back attitude. Everything felt anticlimactic or unnecessary and it seemed like the creators were too afraid to take any risks and instead chose the safe and easy path. And in doing so, Classroom of the Elite became yet another mediocre anime that will certainly be forgotten by most as time goes by.

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Sep 27, 2017

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Stark700 (All reviews)

188 people found this review helpful

When you think of the word ‘school’, the first words that come to mind might be textbooks, lecture, exams, and careers. Schools are designed to prepare for students for their future after all. However, that’s not entirely the case for Koudo Ikusei Senior High School, a school that tests their students beyond the academic level. Youkoso Jitsuroku Shinjou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (also known as “Classroom of the Elite”) is an anime that explores how survival in the outside world depends much more than just your academic skills.

From my early impressions, this anime stood out from some light novel adaptations as it deconstructs the educational system. This especially earns my attention as Japan already has a tough educational system so deconstructing that idea felt like a unique idea. In essence, this anime explores how the fictional Koudo Ikusei Senior High School takes initiative at preparing its students to survive in the real world. Granted by the government, the school has a budget system and students are supplied with points (100,000 every month). These points essentially translates to money as students are advised to use them wisely. The catch is that classes will receive points only based on their performance. Get the idea now? It basically exposes the idea of responsibility for these young teens as they realize what they’re in for.

The first episode introduces some of the main cast including main male protagonist Kiyotaka Ayankoji. It won’t take long to realize that he has a rather dry outlook on life and often try to avoid being noticed. My impression of Kiyotaka reminds me of the main male protagonist from Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru as both him and Hachiman has similar personalities. His isolated personality doesn’t make him stand out as a character on the surface but it gets really interesting when you listen to his thoughts about others. It’s further evidenced by his poor social skills as he has difficulty making friends with others. As such, Kiyotaka’s role in this anime feels different than from the usual light novel stereotype. As the episode progresses, I feel like some people can relate to Kiyotaka as well. Then, there’s Suzune Horikita, the unfriendly cold beauty that gets involved with Kiyotaka from the same class. Similarly, she has a personality that also appears to be unsociable with others although she purposely tries to avoid making friends. In her mind, friends aren’t necessary and holds her back. On the other hand, there are also very social people in their class like Kikyou Kushida. She’s like the antithesis of both Kiyotaka and Horikita. Unlike them, Kushida is very good at communicating with others and has a friendly personality. Yet behind her bubbly appearance also lies a girl that masks her true image. Either way, it’s shown that the main characters in this series all have the same objectives and that’s to survive at their prestigious school.

From the cast of characters, Class D’s students are easily the most prominent compared to the others as most of the series revolves around them. It’s ironic since Class D is often looked down upon because of their grades and performance. Nonetheless, we get to see how they adapt with the school’s points system. Some characters like Kiyotaka and Horikita manages their resources well while others carelessly uses it to satisfy their own desires. Not to mention, Class D seems to always get involved in some sort of drama from the very beginning. These include the plot involving Airi Sakura, an inspiring photographer and a stalker. Ken Sudou (one of the 3 Fools of Class D) even gets into a complicated drama that almost had him expelled from the school. The anime showcases these drama as any of these events can be relatable and happen in real life. Later in the show, the school even tests their students with an actual survival test that really brings the reality of what it means to survive. To be honest, I think all these concepts brings the potential of this anime to light. It highlights what some of the main characters are capable of and how they influence others. Unfortunately, this anime is presented as a distilled adaptation so don’t expect a complete series. In other words, it leaves some important territories unexplored such as Kiyotaka’s mysterious past, Kushida’s darker personality, and among others.

Despite my interest of the main characters, the others in this series rarely stand out particularly those from Class B, C, and even A. The only ones that caught my attention occasionally are Mio Ibuki and Kakeru Ryuuen (Class C), Honami Ichinose (Class B), and Kouhei Katsuragi (Class A). Student council leader Manabu Horikita initially had my interest due to her relationship with Suzune. However, the anime doesn’t really capitalize on exploring their relationship. Most of Class A seems to stand out only by status as none of their key members gets important focus such as their leader, Alice Sakayanagi. There’s also not much focus on the school faculty except for Class D’s homeroom teacher Sae Chabashira. In essence, viewers coming into this anime will likely remember this anime’s characters mainly from Class D than any of the others. Background stories are vaguely delivered that holds characterization back as well.

With such a premise, expect this anime to really dive into drama often. If you’re not a fan of such genre, then it will likely make your heads turn. By drama, this anime explores social problems such as isolation, fear of anxiety, identity issues, and fear of rejection. Even the simple concept of trust is tested in later episodes. Not to mention, this anime seems to have hidden dark intentions from its character cast. In addition, do expect lighthearted comedy to pop up from here and there. Unfortunately, this show doesn’t escape from light novel pitfalls such as panty jokes, swimsuit fan service, and generic misunderstandings. As I mentioned before though, the humor of this anime can get distracting at times although it doesn’t hold the show back in general. Oh and don’t expect any actual romance like some gimmicky shoujo anime.

Adapted by studio Lerche, I must admit that the visual quality stood out compared to some of its other works. The characters look vibrant, colorful, and smooth with their appearances. This is especially true for Horikita as her character design matches those of a class beauty and Kiyotata’s stoic personality also matches perfectly with his face on most scenarios. Character expressions and body language is indeed important in this anime as it discreetly shows how characters behave. Luckily, the anime pulls that off. The setting also looks appealing as it looks visually impressive as an upper class community. However, the anime still relies on some fan service from the old book. Kushida and Honami are the guiltiest of these examples as the camera seems to focus on them suggestively at times. Oh and before you forget…swimsuits.

While it can be overlooked on occasions, character voice mannerism is an important part of the show especially with the main cast. Kiyotaka is perhaps the most noticeable as we observe his thoughts and words. The way he talks often lacks emotions but noticeable for the way he speaks. Similarly, Horikita’s cold personality is easily reflected by her tough voice and attitude. However, there are some character voices that I found annoying to the ears in particular with Kushida and occasionally the nicer guys in this anime. The theme songs has a J-pop style tune that while doesn’t stand out too much is stylish enough to carry themselves. OST of this show balances between its eerie and lighthearted tone depending on the circumstances.

To be honest, this anime can be a hit or miss for people. Some will enjoy it with the ideas it has to offer while others will discard it from their memories. However, I think this anime does do well to deconstruct the school system. Too often these days, our society relies on education to determine an individual’s social status. This show demonstrates that it’s not always about academic skills that matter in the real world. That being said, I think the story and main characters are what attracted me to this show. However, I can’t say that some of the other characters are noticeable for their roles. The story itself is also incomplete so it will feel like an advertisement of the light novel. However, I’d still give this show a try for this anime’s style and way of portraying its society. The fact that some characters can be such assholes and exploring social issues will wake up our minds to reality.

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Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (TV)

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Ayanokouji, Kiyotaka

Horikita, Suzune

Karuizawa, Kei

Ichinose, Honami

Sakayanagi, Arisu

Sakura, Airi

Ryuuen, Kakeru

Kushida, Kikyou

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Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (TV)

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

External Links

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

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