Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 3rd Season

“Within these truths it is evident that I am truly me; the watcher of bad anime, the sniffer of glue, and the pooper of mine own pants.” - Me, five minutes ago

(Reviews CotE seasons one, two, and the first three episodes of season three; TLDR at the bottom)

Classroom of the Elite is the biggest pile of abject garbage that I can’t stop watching. On almost every front, I consider the show to be a complete failure. It’s pretentious, tonally inconsistent, and borderline unwatchable at points—and yet, here I am, back for my third song and dance with this series. I’ve tried to figure out why ... I find myself sitting on my couch, wasting the prime years of my life watching this show when I could be, I dunno, filing my taxes or something.

Is it the premise? I’ll admit that when I first read season one’s summary, I was hooked. The show sounded like a fun little psychological high school romp, with a colorful cast of characters to match. I heard comparisons to OreGairu, and Baka and Test, among others. My favorite romantic dramedy ever, and a show I generally enjoyed. What was there not to love?

A lot, I quickly discovered. The second I saw a quote from some old dead guy on the screen, and after entire minutes of platitudes being spouted by teenagers that all virtually amounted to “society bad,” I kind of figured the comparisons had been wrong. None of the interesting or humorous character dynamics/romantic tension of OreGairu, or the serviceable comedy of Baka and Test. Season three has kept up the act, and exactly none of it has improved. Which leaves you with… what?

Is it the tests? Or exams, or games, or whatever the show calls them now. There’s a bit that goes into them, and I’ll even admit that some of the tests in season one were somewhat entertaining. Granted, season one had the benefit of not having the formula repeated ad nauseam, and the island special exam was actually paced to the point where I was sort of invested in how it ended—and mildly surprised by the decent payoff. For a moment, I thought that if some of the characters improved (more on that later), then maybe the show could survive by virtue of the tests themselves.

As is a recurring theme with this show, I was disappointed almost immediately. After season two blitzed through multiple “exams” within episodes of each other, season three has showcased the same problems thus far. Any prior creativity and risk with the games has been almost entirely abandoned at this point. One of the games last season was literally just a sports festival, with the “interesting wrinkle” having something to do with class points. Even if the games were interesting (they’re not), what meaningful consequence have class points or individual points had since season one? We almost never get a point of view from other classes, so we don’t know if they’re hurting from losing out on points. From what we can see, everyone seems to be getting along fine. I remember when points were important. You could buy entire test answers with those things! If they’re not gonna be used in any interesting way, what’s the point in even having them? (That same question can also be extended to…)

Is it the characters? Definitely not. Every character in this show falls into three categories—stupid, fake smart, or Ayanokouji. There’s only one character in the Ayanokouji category (I’ll give you one guess as to who), so it’s really only two categories for the rest of the cast. If you’re a stupid character, your role is to be used by Ayanokouji or someone else for whatever nefarious (or stupid) game or plot point the story needs them for, and to be discarded immediately when the arc ends. If you’re a fake smart character, your role is to use a stupid character to advance a nefarious (or stupid) plot against Class D for an arc or two. And if you’re Ayanokouji, your role is to simply go “nuh-uh!” to whatever fake smart character serves as the arc’s antagonist, before spending twenty minutes dissecting why what the fake smart character did was actually the dumbest thing they could have ever done in their entire pathetic lives. Because he knew their plan from the very start.

And why wouldn’t he? Ayanokouji is the smartest person in human history. He’s got an IQ of four million. Can throw hands with the best of ‘em. And he’s such a hunk, too! Literally every woman in this show seems to think so, anyway. Never mind how literally any potentially interesting conflict is immediately dismissed whenever he feels like it. Because he’s such a gigachad! What’s narrative tension matter when we can see how cold and calculating Ayanokouji is for the millionth time?

I don’t hate smart/OP protagonists. There are ways to make them compelling, or even fun in a stupid way. Death Note’s Light Yagami is an immediate example of the former. On the less-serious side, I love Overlord’s Ainz Ooal Gown, and I can even tolerate bottom-of-the-barrel silliness like The Irregular at Magic High School’s Tatsuya Shiba. But the thing that makes those characters (or at least two of them) interesting is conflict. Light has to outmaneuver L. Ainz has to promote an air of all-knowingness and confidence to his subordinates, when he really has no idea what he’s doing. And Tatsuya has the arduous conflict of… not giving in to his sister’s demands of having sex with her. Conflict!

What real conflict has Ayanokouji shown through two-plus seasons? That he doesn’t feel things? That people sometimes annoy him with their silly and simple schemes? That he has so many women clamoring for a chance to slob his knob that he doesn’t have time to do… whatever it is he does in his free time? Read AP English novels, sit in his room doing nothing, or think about how smart he is?

Season three has done nothing to improve upon his character—he’s the exact same person in season three as he was in season one. He isn’t interesting or funny, so I can’t root for him as a protagonist, and the story frames him as the guy you’re supposed to unequivocally root for, so I can’t boo him as an antihero either. I feel nothing toward Kiyotaka Ayanokouji—which is a bit of a problem, considering he gets about 80% of the show’s screen time and is supposed to be the entire driving force behind the series.

The other characters aren’t much better. Horikita, on top of being maybe the most obvious Yukinoshita rip-off I’ve ever had the displeasure of seeing, is painfully boring. Kushida’s two-faced facade had potential, but her character is almost cartoonishly evil at this point. Even the obvious waifu-bait characters who provide the show with nothing but fanservice (Karuizawa, Ichinose, Sakura—there sure are a lot of these characters) could have at least given us some decent character interactions with each other, but they literally cannot function unless Ayanokouji is either on-screen or indirectly involved somehow.

If nothing I’ve mentioned prior compels me to keep coming back, then what does? The production quality and overall animation was never the show’s selling point, and it’s gotten even worse in season three. I don’t remember any particularly notable voice acting performances, the soundtrack and themes are forgettable, and the flip-flopping tone and pacing of the show goes without saying. Season two went from a fun little cruise getaway to teenagers literally waterboarding each other, and now we’re back to wacky high school hijinks to kick off season three. The “serious” scenes are arguably funnier than the intended comedic segments—since when do high schoolers employ CIA torture techniques? And since when do schools let them get away with that?

I don’t even know what this show wants to be anymore. If it’s trying to be a serious, intellectual show, you kinda lost out on that when you devoted two entire episodes to the classic psychological trope of panty thieving back in season one. If it’s trying to be a character drama, considering how flat most of the characters are, it’s hard to care about anyone who isn’t Ayanokouji, who’s about as interesting as my aforementioned taxes. And even if it’s trying to be thinly-veiled harem ecchi fodder—well, that requires an aware and at least semi-willing main character, and seeing as Ayanokouji might be anime’s worst-kept asexual secret, it can’t even seem to do that right.

After explaining all this through this mountain of text, I still don’t know why I watch Classroom of the Elite. Maybe I’m just another cog in the machine that this heartless industry caters to every season (hey, that sounded kinda smart, I should ask if they can put that in the show!). Maybe my standards for enjoyment are so low that I’ll get off on watching something that makes me groan every other minute. Maybe a part of me wishes I was new to anime again, so I could whisper to myself, “I’m fifteen and this is deep,” as I watch the show focus the frame on Kushida’s bouncing tits while she explains how she was mercilessly bullied to the audience again.

TLDR; Season three is more of the same faux-intellectual nonsense that looks for an excuse to shove poorly-animated G-cups in your face while giving you a Plato quote about how he scratched his balls or something. I envy those who were able to ignore CotE’s siren’s call from the get-go. For those who are already in too deep like me, here’s hoping you can find some redeeming qualities in this show this late in the game. Because I sure as hell can’t. Thanks for reading.

The 3rd season of "Classroom of the Elite" elevates the suspense and strategy of the previous seasons, adapting volumes 8 to 11.5 (maybe 11.75) of the light novel. The plot delves deeper into Ayanokouji's complexity and explores even more intriguing challenges at the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School.

This season stands out for its character development and heightened tension in intellectual and strategic conflicts. With an unpredictable narrative and surprising twists, each episode keeps the viewer thoroughly engaged.

Visually captivating and with a soundtrack that enhances the drama, this season is a must-watch for fans of the genre looking for a smart, critical story. "Classroom of the ... Elite" continues to be an anime that not only entertains but also provokes thought about success, ethics, and competition.

Classroom of the Elite, Round 3 - We have now arrived at the end point of this excruciatingly fascinating psychological battle. But this is only just a year in relation to 2 more years in school, and the battle of the greatest minds...has only just begun.

An arduous 6.5 years and 38 heavily compressed episodes later, the adaptation of novelist Shougo Kinugasa's Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e a.k.a Classroom of the Elite, has finally reached its ending consensus. Not gonna lie, it's sad to see a high-profile and prized series like this come to an end, but Year 2 of the LN has already ... begun even before the much-anticipated Seasons 2 and 3 came out to complete the entire 1st Year arc. And even then, while this journey has been met with many setbacks and criticism over the years, the reality is this: people are mortal to rush for the good and work for the bad, causing the adaptation to go on a speedrun from resources run dry, and its titular MC Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, is still one of the GOATs of all of AniManga characters to ever exist.

With Season 3 finishing the remainder of the 1st Year arc from Volumes 8 to 11.75 of the LN, I would say that apart from the closeness in terms of tension, Season 3 is not just the final season, but the pinnacle of peak intellectual psychology thrillers in all of anime that I've ever experienced since unironically starting Season 1 all the way back in Summer 2017. The premiere season still remains as one of the best shows that I've watched thus far, with its adaptation's reputation in tatters from that point onward. Since then, the AniManga community has warmed to the idea of the LN being adapted in a lightning blitz as quick as possible, and yet, still can deliver some of the best scenes of the LN as a whole, which IS still the most important thing when it comes to the anime, also as a whole.

Let's deal with the issues methodically:
The Mixed Training Camp where the entire school is targeted from its mix-up from all 1st to 3rd Year students, and this throws Suzune Horikita's older brother, Manabu, into the spotlight as the reigning Student Council President against the one who will succeed him: Class A's Miyabi Nagumo. Clearly, both Manabu and Miyabi lead by different mindsets and ideals, and non-mistakably, Ayanokouji has to be thrown in the wrench to help Manabu through his usual psychological games and come out surviving against a madman who wants to topple the entire school upside down.

Of course, this puts one of the students at a very high risk: Class B's Honami Ichinose, the kind, helpful and selfless class rep who does not want to put her class at risk of the dangers from the school's unforgiving test requirements. Her status as one of the top students of her class, alongside her benevolent nature, makes her very much admired and respected. Her involvement with Ayanokouji comes not just at a much-needed time of between the Mixed Training Camp and the one forced event that is the ultimate plan to scout said intelligent boy out of the school by nefarious means. Throughout the venture, where her being part of the Student Council allows her to interrogate Ayanokouji a lot more, as well as trying to get to know his philosophy when it comes to the never-ending psychological battles between fellow classes and frenemies alike in between the school's notorious exams, and along the way, develops a liking for him since they get along and work so well together.

But in the chad Ayanokouji's mind, he already has his perfect tool for the perfect job (you know who), and this infuriates none other than one of the most prominent characters of Class D: Yousuke Hirata. Being known as the top student of Ayanokouji's class, things take a downturn for him in Season 2 when it was found that his "relationship" with Kei Karuizawa was nothing more than just brute protection for being her shield so that she does not get bullied in school. If that wasn't enough, the In-Class Voting forced exam is the one that puts all of his skills to the test, to which he was blindsided time and time again, not just from said manipulator himself, but also the 3 Idiots "Stooges" of the class: Ken Sudo, Kanji Ike, and Haruki Yamauchi (which LN readers will inevitably know the term "Yamagod", not gonna say much), one which broke his sanity and afterthought about his own class in general.

But none of the above compares to the very enemy of whom Ayanokouji feels that this person's his biggest target yet: Class A's Arisu Sakayanagi. The clear runaway leader of Class A, who appears to be disabled and walking with a cane, she's the progenitor of the rivalry that Ayanokouji has been dutifully waiting for to duke their intelligence at each other, given the backstory that both her and Ayanokouji were in fact from the same White Room in the unknown facility that forces children to participate in an immense battery of tests designed to raise and train them into teens with almost superhuman-like capabilities. The only two people who share a bond for the extremists of human intelligence, their final battle of the alternate inter-class tests proves critical and shows the very reason of their fierce rivalry to begin with within the midst of the entire Season 3, even if they end on an amicable note of each other acknowledging their prowesses.

Even after all this time, I don't really need to re-emphasize the production of the series as a whole. Under the directorial leadership of duo chief directors Seiji Kishi and Horiyuki Hashimoto, with Yoshihito Nishouji coming onboard for the rushed Season 2 and 3, it's safe to say that there's a clear disparity of the sheer downward force when it comes to the animation department, because studio Lerche clearly doesn't care anymore, opting to just adapt the scenarios that truly matter and give the peak moments more grace and finesse to show that their "dedication" still sticks around after the long-run. Be it with the many changes in staff when it comes to producing and scriptwriting the anime, it's a terrible nightmare just to see a different team of staff coming back to helm the series throughout its entire run, which definitely affected both the later Seasons 2 and 3 to a degree where a complete adaptation is the only onset goal/objective of mind. And let's face it, getting a good (or even BETTER) adaptation is rare in this day and age.

The music too, also suffers from much ambience this time, though I do have to set the precedence that Season 2 suffered the same fate as well, with a rather pressing deadline to be completed in 2 years. And within those same 2 years, we've got theme songs, which by your own definition, can be great or bad. At least for ZAQ, she maintained her stance as the series' defining OP artist, with Season 3's "Minor Piece" still being a banger of a song, but not as good as Season 2's "Dance in the Game" nor greater than my absolute favourite OP song of the series, which was Season 1's "Caste Room". The ED songs however were a rather mixed bag, with Yui Ninomiya vouching in for Season 3's ED, which felt like a trippy song at best, though much better than Mai Fuchigami's Season 2 ED song, but none as great and mesmerizing as Minami Kuribayashi's Season 1 ED song "Beautiful Soldier", which is still the melancholic song I still love to this day.

Still though, for a series like Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e a.k.a Classroom of the Elite to finally meet its end on not just the LN back in Septmber 2019, but also now close the chapter on the anime as well, we've come a long way to appreciate the return of one of the most anticipated AniManga series, even if that return necessitated many sacrifices along the way. I have deep respect for novelist Shougo Kinugasa for his commitment of 4 years and 4 months from May 2015 to September 2019 concocting one of the most thought-provoking works in all of AniManga, which even if the anime was explicity bad, it would still be regarded as one of the best series of all time.

So, studio Lerche and directors Seiji Kishi and Horiyuki Hashimoto, better buck up if you're ready to adapt Year 2 of Classroom of the Elite, because the psychological battle will be EVEN more intense, for Kiyotaka Ayanokouji to flex his one-of-a-kind intellect onto more people, from the Board of Chairmans down to both new Year 1 Kouhais and Year 3 Senpais.

That said, please continue the adaptation into Year 2, anime-onlies have only seen the surface of the iceberg yet deep into the lore that is the Classroom of the Elite.

Hello my dear readers! The following review contains jokes that may be offensive, so if you are a fan of "Rebite Cleberson" you can skip the entire review and give me a confused face, it even helps me to give it relevance.

Starting off, when it comes to ANIME, Rebite Cleberson can certainly be one of the worst in history, it's not an exaggeration to say that you have to work hard to produce such a bad anime. Bad is not enough, to be bad you have to improve a lot. So as not to say that I'm just spreading hate about the anime, I'll start ... by mentioning the MAIN DEFECTS:

The plot proposal:
When you think of an anime where psychology is a theme covered and manipulation, difficult decisions between things like that, you expect the script to be at least consistent, unfortunately Rebite Cleberson doesn't bring an intelligent script, far from it. The script is extremely superficial, predictable and inconsistent, unless you think it's normal for school principals to kick disabled people... Anyone with the slightest sense knows that the organization and pacing of the anime was a complete disaster. It is unable to take this plot proposal and deliver content that can encourage the viewer to continue watching. Examples of anime that do this very well are Monster, Psycho-pass and Death Note. These examples have what Rebite Cleberson doesn't have, which is a thought-provoking story that makes you curious about what happens behind the scenes. Rebite Cleberson just throws it in anyway and executes it in a very poor manner. At certain times it becomes revolting for the viewer to follow the plot as it is so uninteresting and inconsistent, any plot construction can be at any time simply destroyed by chance or by a character who appeared out of nowhere, without any cohesion or justification.

Production:
The anime is extremely boring and boring, the direction is so generic that it seems like just another anime from any other season, moments that were supposed to make an impact or bring emotion to the viewer fail due to poor execution, the guys can't play a game of chess be minimally coherent with what real chess is, and, if they had the slightest care for the work, they would have dedicated themselves. In fact, this season is launching much better animes with much lower visibility, so I'm going to take advantage of the review to recommend Mr.Villain's Day Off, which gives a CLASS on how to produce an anime even without an incredible script, if you're going to watch these two animes and compare one with the other, you will notice the difference that direction and production makes in an anime. It honestly saddens me to see Rebite Cleberson with such a high rating because it shows that cheap Marketing managed to sell well while several much better animes don't have the same visibility, I believe this is a reflection of our society as a whole. Do people really enjoy doing what they do or do they do it just to do it? I watched this anime not just to show gratuitous hatred but to point out in a review all the problems this anime has, and the extremely wasted potential, I'm sure the producers of the Light Novel are happy with the result this anime gave, the popularity It's huge and must have made good money for the producer (and some crumbs for the animators), but deep down they must be sad to see their work having such miserable quality. Seiji Kishi, the director of this anime, only managed to direct a decent Lerche anime and that was Assassination Classroom, and the anime is completely plot-driven, as the direction is nothing special. Besides him, the rest of the staff is made up of complete random and inexperienced people.

Character building:
The characters are all uninteresting, it's even difficult to remember their names because they are so irrelevant, and many of these irrelevant characters play crucial roles in the progress of the story, which makes the plot meaningless, uninteresting in general, the development of character in this anime is worked in such a way that you don't feel anything for the character, terribly constructed. It's impossible to build a script without characters that add something to the story, you can take all of MAL's best-rated anime and see that they all have good characters.

To conclude, I would like to touch on a detail that left me thinking for a long time, but in the end it makes sense, think with me.
(How does such a bad anime have such a high rating?)
Unlike The Promised Neverland, Rebite Cleberson's sequel remained on the site with a high rating even after a terrible sequel. What makes this score so high?

Let's use an example of a bookstore, two different authors publish their first books, book A and book B
Both have positive reactions and make a sequel, assuming that the chance of a person who liked the first book buying the second is 80%, so if 100 people bought both books, in the second part 80 people would evaluate the book, however book A It had a disastrous continuation, which made this book's grade drop extremely.
The same 80 people bought book B, and the chance of you continuing to buy the book after the second one rises to 95% since you liked the first and second volumes. The second book B was mediocre, those who didn't like it don't buy the third but those who liked it buy it, and that's where the catch lies, the rating is based only on those people who read book 3, therefore the people who didn't like books 2 and 1 They won't rate it because they wouldn't buy the book. Which leads to a statistical error, as you would have far fewer than the initial 80 people evaluating. Rebite Cleberson's rating of 8.09 (March 2024) does not mean that the anime is an 8.09, but rather that it is an 8.09 for the people who watched it. Honestly, I'm only giving this anime a 1 because there's no way I can give it a 0. Watching this anime is like watching an F1 race led by Max Verstappen, it's boring and boring but you won't lose the habit of watching it.
Run away, run away from this anime as quickly as possible.

By this point you know what you’re going to get with these You Zitsu seasons. Good to great experience for anime onlies and an awful experience for fans of the source material. YZ season 3 is more of the same. If you’ve enjoyed the series to this point and are presumably anime only, you’ll love season 3. It covers the climax and conclusion of the first school year and has some of the hypest moments in the story. If you’re like me, a LN reader you’ll find this to be another abomination from Lerche and at this point are probably just watching to see ... how bad it gets.

As an anime only viewer this season will probably come off as really thrilling and engaging. There’s a lot of twists and turns and the exam stakes are upped tremendously. In particular, Suzune’s development as a leader and the external forces getting involved at the school are the big highlights. The students are placed in one perilous situation after another and as usual Ayanokouji pulls strings behind the scenes to get the result he wants.

But sadly, as a massive fan of YZ, I just can’t believe how awful a season this was. There were massive cuts to key story moments, emotional climaxes that didn’t hit because they weren’t properly built up to, exams being basically power point slides, rushing through entire volumes in an episode.. it was bad. And it’s hard to separate the anime only experience from the source reader/viewer experience because of how invested I am into this story. I really do love the characters and the exams and all the behind the scenes tactics Kiyo pulls, but the anime just doesn’t capture that. It makes Ayanokouji out to be so one dimensional and edgy. It makes the exams look like side points when they are the whole focus of entire volumes. There’s so much planning the students put into these to succeed and it just gets cut out. I do fully understand that in a dialogue heavy story you’re going to have omissions, but there’s still series like Oregairu(even though I hate it for other reasons) that do this very well. This just feels like a soulless cash grab that’s only YZ in name, but retains none of the heart and spirit that’s in the source material.

And we haven’t even touched on the production values. I think the only thing Lerche care about in this show is making sure the thighs look good, which is a plus, and making sure Suzune shots look beautiful. Other than that, the animation is pretty bad, character models can be quite off and the production in general is decent to subpar. One thing I will definitely compliment them on is the use of shadows and lighting in certain scenes. For some reason, Lerche like to change the background of certain LN scenes, maybe because it’s easier to animate, or less stress on the staff, but some of them are nice. Others not so much. The OST they use during hype moments is as usual on point. I will definitely compliment Lerche on their use of music throughout the YZ adaptation.

So, what’s the verdict on YZ season 3? Is it worth watching? Well, simple. If you’ve liked it up until this point you’ll love this. It’s the best arc so far, biggest stakes and the most interesting exams, not to mention the world opening up and exterior forces coming to challenge Ayanokouji. Up until now, he hasn’t had much competition, but that looks like it’s about to change. If you’re a LN reader, it’s probably worth just watching in the background while doing something else to just to laugh at how some of our favourite moments have been butchered. It’s definitely not going to make any new fans of the series. I’d encourage anyone at least remotely interested in this franchise to get the books.

YZ season 3, gets 6 out of 10

Well, after last season let's get something very, very clear, there is no point comparing the Anime to the Light Novel. Clearly both are their own separate entities. For instance, one of the most hype moments in the first part of the light novel was the rooftop scene, which as you'd expect DOESN'T exist in the Anime. So does many many many, and I can't emphasize this enough many key and hype moments. As for purely a standalone Anime, it's quite decent though. Anime onlys will probably find it much more enjoyable. Let's just not compare this to the source though.

Plot and Characters: There is ... nothing new to tell here since most of you who have followed thus far are pretty much aware of who's who and what's going on. Though, one notable thing to observe is the long anticipated crossing of paths between Ayanokoji and Sakayanagi, probably would be quite the watch.

Animation and music: The animation quality is decent, probably slight improvements here and there, a more polished product as a whole. As for music there isn't much to talk about save the opening and ending credits, which are again decent. Not much to complain here.

Enjoyment: If you have enjoyed it thus far, there is much more of the same in store for you.

This anime is one of my favorites
The animation is great, taking into account that this anime is not action or supernatural, which does not require a lot of work to move and animate
One of this anime strength is its characters building, and design. It is amazing how the interaction among all of them.
In my opinion, story is a masterpiece, and the writer was able to create all these different types of interactions among all these people.
I am not a LN reader, and I see many saying that there are differences from the anime.
Although I think the anime is doing great ... especially in this season, but some of these pieces looks interesting.
I still give this anime 10/10

The tangled web of academic intrigue and psychological gymnastics—a saga where the classroom becomes a battleground, and the stakes are as high as the Himalayas. Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu 3 beckons us once more into its labyrinth of schemes and secrets, leaving us grappling for meaning amidst the chaos.

The premise is as convoluted as a Rubik's Cube in a hurricane—an intricate dance of wits where high schoolers engage in mind games that would leave Sherlock Holmes scratching his head. Our protagonist, the MC, stands as the beacon of reason in this tumultuous sea of adolescent machinations, his intellect a lighthouse guiding his classmates ... through the storm.

Accompanied by a harem of support females, each as unique as a snowflake in a blizzard, our hero navigates the treacherous waters of academia with the finesse of a tightrope walker, balancing the scales of victory against the weight of expectation.

Yet, amidst the swirling maelstrom of characters and plotlines, one finds oneself adrift in a sea of confusion, struggling to discern friend from foe, ally from adversary. The cast of characters ebbs and flows like the tides, leaving us grasping for a lifeline in the tumultuous waters of narrative ambiguity.

It's a veritable juggling act of intrigue and suspense, where the line between brilliance and bewilderment blurs with each passing episode. I find myself lost in the labyrinth of plot twists and character arcs, desperately seeking the light at the end of the tunnel.

Classroom of the Elite is a series that tests the limits of patience and perseverance—a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows that leaves us questioning whether the journey is worth the destination. Will Season 3 deliver the closure we seek, or will it leave us stranded in the wilderness of unresolved plotlines? Only time will tell, my friends. Only time will tell.

Both individual growth and personal relationships develop through frequent communication and interaction with others. The primary focus of Classroom Of The Elite III explores action, or the lack of it, and the effect it has on people. As such, the foundation heavily relies on the character writing to carry the weight. However, the adequate quality of writing does not fully justify the mediocre standard set by other categories, such as animation, art, and music, despite having some genuinely interesting themes. Expect a good understanding of interpersonal connections and relatable character struggles, hindered by the lack of expected enhancements in the presentation from the source material.

“Those ... who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Redemption from our past errors through genuine effort is something most people desire. We strive to learn from our mistakes and become better people in the future. However, despite our constant struggle, we often reproduce our anxieties despite our continuous improvement. “We never forget what we endeavor to forget.” These quotes, aptly included in various episode titles, identify the core message found in this season. Various characters grapple with their previous actions and learn to understand their shortcomings for what they are: human. This is compelling material. Unfortunately, the anime does little to produce additional emotions in comparison to the vastly more detailed and in-depth light novel, which has no descriptive limitations. The already low bar for animation and art is missed with inconsistent segments, rigid mouth flaps, and sometimes below-average production quality. This disadvantageous approach detracts attention away from the solid writing. Furthermore, a few pieces in the soundtrack, while good, are used in great repetition. Nothing felt memorable, except what was used much too often, which does not incite immersion. None of the additional improvements from source material to animation stood out. They were average.

In all things considered, this production is a sequel to an anime that many already enjoy. While nothing except the writing stood out from other shows in the medium, it still was not entirely a disappointment. If you can handle the lower aspects of quality, you likely will enjoy the core substance as seen in previous seasons, and the high peaks the writing achieves. When watching, make an effort to focus on the messages laid within. The themes of redemption, regret, and growth are truly well done here. We each have the opportunity to overcome past mistakes and create a version of ourselves we can be proud of. “The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice.”

tldr: good. If you liked season 1 and 2, you'll like this one. But as an ln reader, I'm a little disappointed. Read the ln for a better experience

Purely from an average anime watcher's perspective, this show is still pretty great. The plot is quite intriguing and the way the anime portrays the main character makes him seem completely unpredicable, which increases enjoyment. This show really forces you to think, or if you don't want to, wait for it to reveal everything to you. The characters in the show are very unique and complex, not exactly what you would find in a show about high ... school. If you liked the previous season, I believe this one will be even better due to my knowledge as an ln reader.
If I'm rating this purely as an anime watcher, I would give it an 8

HOWEVER, from a ln reader's perspective, several scenes were already cut/changed, similar to the previous season, which leaves me with a feeling of slight disappointment. It is also expected though for an adaptation. Regardless, the missing inner dialogue of Ayanokoji present in the ln really makes the main character seem more edgy and mysterious than he really is, and the failure of developing other characters doesn't really sit right with me. As the second highest rated ln series on this website, I feel that the adaptation could have been executed better.
So as a ln reader, I rate this a 7.

To start off my 100th review ever on myanimelist, this season was very good. I'm glad we didn't have to wait 5 years for another season. It started off a bit slow at first but started building later. Like the previous season, we get the usual game aspects with even tougher challenges, but I can feel a sort of shift in the overall story as the games aren't as long anymore, and they're leaning more and more into Ayanokoji's backstory as the episodes progress. This season's ultimate focus was his relationship with Sakayanagi, the class rep of class A, and how he would triumph against ... her antics. This season pretty much completes his evaluation of all the students within his grade level, like how last season was about the previous class C and Ryuen.

Though what I noticed most is how Ayanokoji is secretly building up allies from all different areas. I can't help but feel that this is building up to something big beyond the games they play at school, maybe something we will see in S4 or maybe S5. Though even with some surprises, things are going Ayanokoji's way as he continues to gain knowledge and learn more about the students, staff, and the school. Definitely didn't expect that ending of the last episode, but that's definitely an Ayanokoji thing to do.

The music is great. Love listening to the opening and endings.

Overall: Solid 9. It was a great season, and I can't wait for season 4.

✵Synopsis and Background Story✵

This show focuses on struggles between characters, in different school classes, aspiring to enter the highest class in Japanese society, some classes scheming against each other. It's truly amazing how it manages to keep you on your toes, wondering what might be next. This anime is truly unlike any other that I've seen before, especially being set from a teenager's perspective who wants to hide his true indentity and act like normal highschool student. The Drama, mysterious characters and psychological elements makes classroom of the elite lovers to keep coming back and watch the anime again to understand this amazing but complex ... plot.

✵Starting✵

At start of Season 3 first episode, the show gave you this seemingly normal yet unique understanding of what this season is going to be about and what we might expect to see in the upcoming future.

✵Characters✵

Characters in the show seem to come off as normal, average students, all while holding back on secrets about their past, what they really want, and who they really are.This third season isn't going to disappoint watchers to provide deeper character development for all important main and side characters. Starting from our Main Protagonist Kiyotataka Ayanokoji, Arisu Sakayanagi and Kei Karuizawa, to all supporting characters who have a key role in arousing the audience's curiosity.

✵Animation✵

Classroom of the elite season 3 Animation is great, character designs are amazing, they stay true to the light novel version. Like other seasons the animation in this season is very colorful and easy to watch. the frame rate is well done and the style fits the scene of the story perfectly. The voices fit the characters perfectly and each person is easy to listen to as well. The backgroud and the characters expressions looks really good and it supports the mysterious atmosphere of the story.

✵Reccomendation and Conclusion✵

The show personally gave me this sense that what I thought I knew about the characters was in fact entirely more than what they let on. Throughout the show, I really had to pay attention to everyone's motives and what the school was trying to accomplish. On the surface, it seems like just another teen drama, but it's really so much more. For the idea of a school being far superior to the rest, coming from being a teenager myself, these kids seem far more advanced intellectually and academically, which gives the viewer that sense of unrealness and dystopia that the show really manages to capture. Overall I 100% recommend to anyone who likes these kinds of Psychological Thriller animes to give it a watch; it's sure to keep you guessing and wondering what might be next.Overall it's a 10 out of 10.

The anime is great. It's one of the most unique anime one would be curious and would consider watching it. First of all, it has great art style. Second of all, the plot is awesome. It leaves people who watched it with curiousity and excitement. The anime has a mix of mind games,bits of action and slice of life parts(just a bit though). It is definitely an anime one would not regret watching. It feels sad but also kind of happy that this season is done. The fact that viewers realize something they don't for every episode definitely adds up the greatness of this anime. ...

Overall, this anime is one of the best anime(at least for me). It has been my fav since 2020 when I first started watching the first season. I hope they will announce for a season 4 because this anime can't end yet. There are still a lot of volumes to adapt and the anime's rating is decent and it's quite popular.

The production is consistent and reasonable, but it's in the plot that this season stands out, maintaining a constant intrigue throughout all episodes, surpassing by far the previous seasons. Although the first season has an excellent first half and a disastrous second half, except for the last episode, and the second season presents an exciting final arc, along with some sporadic episodes or scenes, it's in the third season that the quality remains consistently high. However, the climaxes don't reach the same elevated levels as in the other seasons. Nonetheless, there are excellent character and relationship developments, along with the best hook of the work, ... concluding with something that a large part of the audience wanted and expected. An exception in the final arc is a character's haircut, something nobody wanted.

There's a persistent issue in Classroom of the Elite that affects all seasons, but it was significantly mitigated in this third season, and this merit must be acknowledged. The many changes from the original material, especially the reduction in the number of students in the classrooms, caused disorganization in certain aspects of the narrative. However, the biggest annoyance is that the cuts made didn't solve the problem of the abundance of characters. Instead, they created a new problem that compounded the previous one. Many characters only have sporadic relevance, remaining in the background most of the time. This often leads to confusion in identifying characters, swapping, or forgetting some, resulting in a less immersive experience.

Furthermore, this season continues to present adaptations that, compared to the manga, lack more detailed explanations, resulting in quick explanations or even explanation cuts. However, it's worth noting that the explanation issues are less severe than in the second season.

Some final considerations: the case of the characters Kei and Ichinose is emblematic, as despite being charismatic, they end up occupying the space that previously belonged to Horikita, which is extremely frustrating.

Synopsis and Background Story

In this school, students are judged not only on their academic abilities but also on their social and psychological skills. The main attractions are the drama, school life, and psychological elements that keep fans coming back to see the character development and complex plot.

Visuals and Animation

With Lerche as its animation studio, Classroom of the Elite 3rd Season features stunning visuals and good animation. The character designs stay true to the light novel version, with an improved animation quality that viewers can enjoy.
In every scene, we can feel the attention to detail given by the animation studio to visualize this intriguing school world. ... From the backgrounds to the characters' expressions, everything looks so vivid and supports the mysterious feel of the story.

Interesting Characters

Classroom of the Elite is known for its complex and mysterious characters. This third season does not disappoint in providing deeper character development. Starting from the mysterious Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, and the ambitious Suzune Horikita, to supporting characters who have a key role in arousing the audience's curiosity.

Recommendations and Conclusion

If you like school dramas with a psychological touch, Classroom of the Elite 3rd Season is the right choice. With an interesting story, stunning visuals, and complex characters, this anime has managed to maintain its appeal since the first season.
As a fan, you may also want to explore similar works like KandoReduction, Liar Liar, or The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. Anime-Planet also provides recommendations based on user favorites, so you can find similar anime that you may not have watched yet.
So far, Classroom of the Elite 3rd Season Anime Review has managed to maintain its quality as one of the anime worth watching. For those who haven't watched it, immediately put it on your watch list this season. Happy watching!

This season of youkoso is realy bad, youkoso in general is tbh, trash characters and horrible dramas, clearly an anime made for money with horrible production and character design.

Edgy mc with a bit off shallow thinking and everyone hypes him up like he's a genius. The characters are all cringy and horrible written. The dramas are either cringy, disgusting or generic. The plot is also horrible, predictable and just made in a way that ayanokoji can find a glitch so the show magnifies the mc. Ichinose's, Karuizawa's and Sakura's dramas are specifically horrendous.

The only reason i watched this so far is that i don't ... rly mind the show, and even tho its is a piece of garbage, it still entertains and i can laugh at it and the ayanokoji goat moments.

As the first review I must say, this is the best of Classroom of the Elite because there is more Arisu Sakayanagi, it makes me so happy, here in the disabled fandom we get very little recognition but it makes me so happy that the people behind Classroom of The Elite know what they are doing, the story follows s2

One thing I find strange is how some characters can be so dumb and the others can be so smart in the same place, but each personality is unique and reflects the psychological behaviour of how someone with their personality would react.

Having binged all seasons and available episodes of Classroom of the Elite, I can safely say that this is one of the more entertaining mainstream light novel adaptations out there.

Now don't get me wrong, Classroom of the Elite certainly has glaring problems. Namely the lack of development of some of its previously focused on side characters (Airi Sakura comes to mind), its sociopathic genius of an MC that stomps through almost all conflicts as if its an Ocean's 11 movie (the anime's structure brings that movie to mind... mind boggling things occur, we get a flashback and bam! Ayanokoji set it all up), and ... annoyingly, the whole pseudo-intellectual cosplay that the anime puts up with the pretentious opening title in each episode and its implicit suggestion that these psychological mind games are supposed to represent some aspect of human nature (I don't think its doing that convincingly at all but maybe that's just me).

Still, Classroom of the Elite is a fresh take on the psychological thriller genre in anime and light novel media. It throws in a very interesting twist on the high school genre with its varied cast of broken and twisted individuals, each with their own exaggerated dark history and defects, and most intriguing of all, a sociopathic main protagonist whose complete lack of empathy subverts romantic and harem narratives, and the nice but anti-hero trope that light novels tend to lean toward. If anything, this makes the whole show a rather interesting character study.

There are of course the mind games that are done rather well with lots of interesting scenarios, gimmicks, ideas and characters thrown into the mix to make things interesting. It certainly makes it difficult to predict what would happen next (though we know that the MC probably will come off on top). Although some of the conflicts are very 'Japanese' ideologically in that there is an over prioritization and importance of one's social status, making it a little hard for me to personally find importance in the some of the stakes, but overall the whole thing plays out quite entertainingly and I am always keen to figure out what social and tactical maneuvering Ayanokoji and his fellow '4D chess players' are doing to shift the board.

The show does ideologically promote the ideas of individualism, elitism, the notion of a singular genius who can do everything and anything and does not do enough to critique some of these toxic ideas other than making us think about what a 'badass' sociopath the main character is. It is precisely this belief that a singular person is impressive enough to plan and run everything that may eventually link to rather... authoritarian ideas. Still, the show's fantastical setting and exaggerated characters I think make it clear that viewers should not take this series at face value.

Look, Classroom of the Elite is no Citizen Kane and while it does give the impression that its trying to be intelligent, it doesn't proclaim itself to be the greatest thing ever. All in all this is a very entertaining series that shakes up the status quo of generic high school narratives. It is nice and entertaining as passive consumption. I really enjoyed it.

Well, it's evident that the anime revolves around intellectual showdowns among prodigies in a school setting. These duels consistently deliver unforeseeable twists, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. The protagonist skillfully sidesteps common character clichés, harboring a captivating past that promises further exploration down the line. However, this season seems to be progressing rather sluggishly. Whether it's my eagerness to witness the antics of our favorite psychopath, Ayanokouji, or a genuinely slower narrative pace, it's hard to pinpoint. I yearn for the return of that tense atmosphere lingering in the air after each scene cut; everything currently feels a bit too passive-aggressive. Here's ... to hoping things pick up the pace soon—I'm eager to witness the brilliance of our eccentric genius in action.

This season is a big downgrade to previous ones.

Main reason is that Sakanayagi is just not a good villain. Compared to Ryuuen, there just isn’t a reason to feel any dread from her when she appears on screen. We are 5 episodes deep and I already forgot what led up to the latest episodes. They are that boring. It’s been mostly dialogue and the payoff for the latest arc didn’t feel satisfying as it seemed such a trivial matter.

We are exploring other characters this season, but they just aren’t as interesting as Kushida, Horikita, and Karuizawa, so frankly, it makes for a detached ... viewing experience.

There is time to turn this season around. I am waiting for a meaningful conflict to happen with some of that S1/S2 magic, but if that doesn’t happen, I can only recommend you watch this season with very low expectations.