The second season retains focus on the competition for students in each class to overcome different challenges through working out the rules and mechanics of the challenges and working within or exploiting loopholes with said rules to have things swing in their favor. This element still makes for one of the more engaging elements of the series with characters learning to work with one another or conspire against one another to gain whatever advantage they can get. This makes up the majority of Season 2’s story arcs, though is focused on as equally as the issues that stir up between Class C and Class D throughout the season that builds up in intensity as Class C becomes more suspicious of Class D’s “leader” sabotaging their chances at victory.
One major strength of this season to Classroom of the Elite is that it devotes time to further fleshing out and developing its characters. In particular, Kiyotaka’s character gets more fleshed out in regards to his past and motives, while also undergoing some development as he comes to gradually view a few of his classmates to be more than just valuable pawns to take advantage of. Increased focus is also shown on Kei Karuizawa, a seemingly minor character from Classroom of the Elite’s first season who becomes a major character to aid in Kiyotaka’s plans throughout much of the second season. Suzune’s character is also shown to undergo some major developments to get over her abrasive personality affecting her ability to befriend others and becoming less dependent on Kiyotaka to overcome any of the school challenges.
These praises aside, Classroom of the Elite II still carries similar weaknesses as its first season in that audiences may not like like many of the characters within the series due to the title’s jaded stance on school life reflected with its premise. Kikyo and Ryuuen, in particular despite their strategical capabilities, are pretty shallow as far as their personality and what their main motives are. Plus, it’s rather rough at points for me to think if I should root for Kiyotaka or not considering his manipulations and regarding his classmates as pawns to utilize for his plans, even with the gradual character development he undergoes in this season. In addition, the series still ends inconclusively as there are ongoing developments with the series’ plot that remain unresolved due to its light novel source material still ongoing as of this review. However, a third season of the series is currently in the works and slated to air sometime next year.
In short, I admit my reception to Classroom of the Elite II is just as mixed as my viewing of its first season. While the challenges faced by the classes are still engaging and this season actually features some fleshing out and development of some major characters, others are still rather shallow and Kiyotaka’s character is still rather questionable in whether or not I can connect with him due to how he perceives his classmates, alongside the title’s trademark cynical approach to exploring high school life. If you enjoyed the show’s first season, you’ll likely get similar enjoyment out of this latest installment of Classroom of the Elite if you’re still watching the series up to this point.
