I first came across Classroom of the Elite in its anime form a couple years back, and while I enjoyed the first season it was not anything overwhelmingly special that made me remember it. I passed it off as another high school tropey show with an overabundance of fan-service and an overpowered protag that did not seem particularly interesting. Consequently I completely forgot about the series until Season 2 came out, which made me revisit the show and made me remember the things I liked about it.
Then I came across a thread somewhere that said that the light novel was a million times better. Now, I am used to manga/light novel elitists always complaining and whining about poor adaptions and what not, and as someone that doesn't read a lot of this stuff I was reluctant to give it a try. Needless to say by my score, the light novel is really well crafted. Objectively it is not a unique or "special" story in a traditional sense: 9 times out of 10 the OP protag comes out on top and sort of forms an unofficial harem around him. In hindsight, the major plot arcs are all very obvious, but the reader nevertheless experiences a massive "AHA!" moment once it all comes together time and time again.
This is the magic of this light novel. The author subtly drops hints to future developments in his story, in many cases setting up for events that happen 7 or 8 volumes ahead. Currently I have just finished year 1, and I already know that certain hints/events have already occurred that aren't significant now but will be later. Personally it was very satisfying trying to "one up" the author and try to predict Ayanokouji's plans, only to realize that I never had a chance of comprehending the sheer intellect that goes into every decision. It never feels as if the author is reaching with plot holes either, for as I already said, in hindsight the pieces fit very snugly. I just wasn't big brained enough to piece them together myself.
Honestly everything about this light novel is big brained: the characters themselves obviously, but also the intricate rules of the school and the varying complexities and uniqueness of the exams that the students compete against one another in. For a story without any death, it plays the high stakes genre VERY well as tension and stress is conveyed masterfully even in a "simple" math quiz. The drama between the students naturally spices up the "geopolitical climate" as I call it as well.
Without a doubt the best aspect of this light novel (in my opinion) is how massive and vibrant the cast of characters are, and more importantly how the story balances everybody's part so well. As someone who prefers anime over manga, I find it difficult to remember Japanese names if I do not have a face to match it with, but I never had that issue with this cast of roughly 30+ significant individuals. While many end up being one-dimensional (as of year 1), most are very complicated individuals that commonly shatter their initial stereotypes and/or affiliations. As for our protag himself, 11 volumes into the story we the readers still don't really know much about him, and yet he has had a profound impact on how we understand the plot-line (to understand what I mean by this, you really need to read the light novel). Ayanokouji is one of the few OP protags that has never made me feel bored when learning about his story. His ability to tackle four to five major plot points all in a single blow is truly remarkable, but its also done in a way that seems plausible (sounds crazy, I know).
Perhaps I am just a stubborn anime-first individual, but I don't think that the anime adaption is as bad as people say when compared to the novel (in fact, I still prefer the execution of the anime in certain arcs such as the boring Sakura/Sudou arc of Volume 2). That being said, overall I do give the novel the edge as Ayanokouji's internal monologues really do help round out his character and doesn't make him as edgy as the anime does. Even if you don't like to read, I believe that this story will more than catch your attention.
If you made it through these long paragraphs, thank you for your time.
