Classroom of the Elite – S3 11 – Warmth through Contact

This week’s opening quote, from the 19th century French writer Stendhal, states There is only one rule in love: bring happiness to those you love. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was born in the “White Room” facility. It was run by his father, who made it a point to tell his underlings not to go easy on his son, even if it broke him.

Ayanokouji was raised without love or happiness. One day Sakayanagi Arisu visited the facility with her father, who loved her and encouraged her to love others. She spotted Ayanokouji playing chess from the observation gallery, and she was immediately smitten, vowing to one day face off against him.

That day has finally arrived thanks to the circumstances of the final special exam, and while Ayanokouji is his usual neutral self, Arisu having an absolute blast. Class C jumps to a 3-2 lead with wins in basketball, typing, and archery, while Class A secures wins in English and Math.

When the Mental Math subject comes up, Kouenji doesn’t take it seriously despite likely knowing all the answers, and Class C loses. Ayanokouji took a calculated risk and accepted that he wouldn’t be able to control every element in the exam. This leads to a 3-3 tie.

The deciding subject is chess, of course, and not even Ayanokouji could convince Arisu that it isn’t destiny that they face off against one another in the final game. That said, they are represented at the physical chess board by their proxies, Suzune and Hashimoto.

The two novices begin play on their own, with Suzune only learning a week ago and Hashimoto only a few months earlier. The latter tries to psych Suzune out by talking about Ayanokouji, but she already prepared for that eventuality. Arisu starts issuing instructions first, and for a few tense moments, Suzune is left hanging, but then Ayanokouji issues her instructions, and the real match begins.

Unfortunately, the animation of Suzune and Hashimoto as well as the chess board itself are rendered in somewhat stiff and plasticky CGI. This was most likely a cost-saving measure, but I suppose I’ve seen worse, and it didn’t pull me out of the game. In fact, I was spellbound as the game went on and each move gained more importance.

To Suzune’s distress, Arisu ends up winning, but later she learns the match was rigged: an instruction Ayanokouji sent to Suzune was edited by Tsukishiro, likely on orders from Ayanokouji’s dad. While he loses, the protection point prevents him from expulsion. That’s no solace for Arisu, who is disgusted by the interference, and promises Tsukishiro that he’ll “pay a high price.” I’m just glad Tsukishiro didn’t knock her over again.

The adults can’t keep our two scheming geniuses down, however; they replay the match as it unfolded in person the library, but this time, with none of his moves edited, Ayanokouji beats Arisu. He probably would beat her every time. She’s satisfied with the result, and more importantly glad to have gotten closure on their competition. It’s her loss, and she can live with that.

But it’s also her gain, because she was finally able to compete against the boy she saw in that cold, loveless White Room, and learn something in the process: his genius wasn’t and isn’t artificial or manufactured, but simply a product of his birth, like hers. She likens herself to a childhood friend pining for someone she wasn’t able to find, but now she has, and she’s elated.

Arisu is positively glowing for this final scene, and Hidaka Rina’s voice has never been kinder, gentler, or prettier. She admits that she chose to be a captain so she could spend as much time beside him as possible. And since he showed her he was a true genius, she tenderly takes his hand in both of hers and impresses upon him the importance of the warmth of human contact.

In the end, Arisu wasn’t some conniving mastermind hell-bent on destroying Ayanokouji, but a surprisingly sweet, emotionally intelligent girl in love who refuses to accept that anyone—not even unquestioned geniuses—can survive without love, warmth, and happiness. Is Ayanokouji is truly beyond saving, or is there still hope he may one day grow a heart in that chest of his? I’m sure if you asked Arisu, she’d say anything is possible.

Classroom of the Elite – S3 10 – Out of the Darkness

Yukimura wants to try recruiting 1-A’s Katsuragi as an informant, offering him a transfer to their class once they reach Class A. Suzune turns the idea down as unrealistic considering the vast amount of points needed (2o million). Ayanokouji agrees to at least accompany Yukimura. Katsuragi doesn’t agree to their terms, but he still wants Sakayanagi to lose, so he gives them some broad strokes and best guesses as to Class A’s exam subjects.

In the time they’ve known each other, Ayanokouji has gotten much better at avoiding Suzune’s bad side, at least when he’s not trying to access it. His reward this week is getting a classy home-cooked meal from her as she discusses class analytics. He’s content to leave everything in her clearly capable hands, but does request that she participate in the chess competition. He’ll be her coach.

Two days before the exam, Suzune tries to get Yousuke to at least commit to giving the bare minimum effort if group activities when the day arrives, but he ignores her. Mei once again tries to get him to talk to her, but she shoves her down. Kouenji witnesses the violence and swoops in as her shining white knight, his way of rattling Yousuke’s cage and get him to understand how his pathetic uselessness is hurting those around him.

Ayanokouji observes this exchange, and determines the time is right to truly bring the hammer down on this “broken” Yousuke. He approaches him and asks him simply to tell him why he is being the way he is. When Yousuke asks him what purpose that would serve, Ayanokouji says him he’ll have told him, which can be a purpose in and of itself.

Yousuke acquiesces, and we learn how his inaction in a class bullying regime almost led to the suicide of a classmate. He vowed never to let something like that happen again, and decided to rule the class with an iron grip, meting out punishment to anyone who fell out of line. The result was a broken class, in which everyone acted like cowed automatons. He thought he’d learned his lesson, only for this latest situation with Yamauchi to unfold.

Ayanokouji doesn’t mince words with Yousuke: Yamauchi’s expulsion wasn’t Suzune’s fault, nor was it his; it is solely Yousuke. While he wanted to save everyone, he didn’t do everything possible to make it happen, the way Hounami did in Class B. His belief was nothing more than a fantasy.

If he truly did everything he could, and still failed, it’s incumbent upon him to take all of the blame, and keep walking forward. If he’s struggling, he can ask those same classmates for help. He’ll get out what he puts in. By showing he’s doing everything he can for the class, they’ll do everything they can for him. They can walk forward together.

As Ayanokouji calculated, this cage-rattling did the trick, snapping Yousuke out of his personal pity party. The next morning he’s cleaned himself up, apologizes profusely to Mei and the entire class, and promises going forward he’ll help the class succeed in the coming exam. And while he doesn’t regret opposing Suzune’s methods in the previous exam, he acknowledges she wasn’t wrong, and offers a hand of friendship, which Suzune takes with a smile.

With the return of amity and cohesiveness to Class C, they’re in as good a position as any for this final exam. The day before it begins, Suzune plays 54 online games against Ayanokouji losing all but three, but he assures her she’s made extraordinary progress.

The next morning, Class D’s Captain Kaneda doesn’t show, and Ryuuen arrives in his place to take on Honami and Class B. They head one way, while Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi head another, to finally have their big season-ending showdown.

Classroom of the Elite – S3 09 – Triggering a Flag

Sakayanagi informs Ayanokouji what he likely deduced on his own: she had Class A use their positive votes on him to spare him expulsion, all so they could have a proper duel. She also chose Yamauchi to expel because he was a dick to her at the training camp. Their chat is interrupted by their soon-to-be new Chairman, Tsukishiro, who will take over in April.

He skips the foreplay and knocks Sakayanagi’s cane out from under her, then pins Ayanokouji to the wall. Little more than a thug, he relays a message from his father: voluntarily drop out now. By not blinking twice, or even once, Ayanokouji refuses. Once Tsukishiro departs with this answer, Ayanokouji proposes that he and Sakayanagi officially compete in the next special exam.

That exam, which will be the last of the school year, involves two Classes competing against one another. Each class choses ten subjects of competition, be it athletics, academics, or games, to create a pool of twenty. Of those, seven will be chosen at random by the school. Each class also picks a captain who can’t directly participate in any subjects, but can guide everyone else.

Sudou and Ike want to know why Ayanokouji won the most positive votes. Suzune defends him, inferring that Sakayanagi betrayed Yamauchi by sending her votes to Ayanokouji. That said, class trust in him has been shaken by the last exam, so he volunteers to be the captain, understanding that if Class C loses to their opponent, he’ll be expelled.

The class isn’t without its malcontents. Kouenji isn’t quite that, but he’s so damn stubborn and whimsical you never know if he’ll pull through or not. As for Yousuke, the last exam straight up broke the guy. Now he harbors no illusions about being nice to anyone, not even Mei, perhaps the sweetest girl in class who is only worried about him.

When Kei calls him out for being mean to Mei, Yousuke glares at her and tells her to stop calling him by his given name, then warns her to get off his case, lest he go nuclear and tell the class their relationship was a complete fabrication. He storms out, and Mei runs after him.

That night we get out Kei-Being-Cute Scene of the Week, as she arrives at Ayanokouji’s dorm with a “Heyo.” He invited her there to talk about various class dynamics as usual, but also to give her a birthday gift. She’s touched he learned it, and when she finds it to be a golden heart necklace, she’s … confused?

Turns out it was the top gift for a high school girl on a website Ayanokouji purused. While it’s the thought that counts, Kei would have preferred he actually pick something out based on what he knew of her. But while she’s critical, she’s not about to reject a birthday gift from the boy she likes, particularly a heart. The old Karuizawa confidence shines through when she admits that she’s so gorgeous, anything looks good on her, which is the truth.

Ayanokouji happens to encounter Manabe and Akane at a crosswalk, and reports that Suzune is giving the newest exam her all. Ayanokouji asks Manabe why he was so rough with Suzune back when they first met, and Manabe’s answer is enlightening. He didn’t want her to perfectly imitate him, because it meant she was dependent on him, rather than growing into her own.

Manabe freely admits (and betrays his high regard for his sister) that if Suzune were to stop “chasing his phantom” and face herself with “perfect honesty”, she’d surpass him, and become someone even Ayanokouji couldn’t ignore. Ayanokouji not only believes Suzune can change in that way, but wants to be the one to try changing her.

On that note, Ayanokouji asks if Manabe and Akane are dating. Akane’s reaction is priceless, as is Manabe’s immediate reply in the negative. Manabe poses the question to Ayanokouji, who admits he does not have a girlfriend at the moment. Manabe wouldn’t mind giving him and Suzune his blessing, but doesn’t see them as a couple. Akane again interjects, warning him not to “trigger a flag”.

The moments of levity in this episode are welcome after that particularly tough voting exam followed by Tsukishiro’s naked brutality towards both Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi. Honestly, the best partner for Ayanokouji may be and may have always been the Short Queen of Class A.

She clearly considers him someone worthy of her attention and her maximum effort, and with Class C going against Class A and one of A’s subjects being chess, it looks like she’s already determined what form their duel will take.

Classroom of the Elite – S3 08 – The King Must Remain

Suzune assumes leadership of the class and declares that the person they can do most without in their class is Yamauchi Haruki. When he protests, she not only points out how he has the least ability, but has also been conspiring to get Ayanokouji expelled. When blaming Ike doesn’t work, he throw Kushida under the bus, which was always going to be a bad move.

No, Yamauchi is a mere mouse in the corner, and Suzune is a snake preparing for a swift and efficient kill. But to Yousuke, it feels like she’s a cat playing with her food. He finds this whole exercise distasteful to the point he completely drops his nice guy façade, tells her to shut the hell up, and vows to give her his negative vote.

But as Chabashira-sensei adds after this heated exchange, this special exam isn’t meant to be cruel, and anyone who sees it that way is simply being immature. This is a school that produces leaders, and it becomes necessary at times for leaders to cut someone loose. Suzune is making the best of a bad situation and making the hard call, while Yousuke clings to naive idealism.

Meanwhile in Class D, Manabe Shiho teasts Ibuki Mio about her bud Ryuuen’s imminent expulsion, while Ishizaki urges her to take Ryuuen’s private points off of him before it happens. Ibuki meets Ryuuen that night by the water, and Ryuuen agrees to give them to her.

When he wall-or rather pole-slams her and blocks her defensive kick, only to withdraw, saying he likes her belligerent side, but leaves “too many openings” to ever have a chance at beating Suzune.

Meanwhile, Honami calls President Nagumo to ask if he even likes her, to which he says he wouldn’t offer her the deal if he didn’t. That said, she hangs up without agreeing to the deal quite yet, as she want to keep her options open until the last minute.

Once everyone has voted, Yamauchi tells everyone that Sakayanagi promised that Class A would give him positive votes to keep him from getting expelled. But in a previous scene we see that once her plan was exposed she shut that plan down, as she promised Ayanokouji she’d accept the loss of their competition if she indirectly casued his expulsion.

Ayanokouji is the top positive vote-getter, followed by Yousuke and Kushida, while Yamauchi gets the most negatives and is expelled. When he doesn’t accept this and starts crying and shouting, Kouenji provokes him into violence. Chabashira breaks it up and escorts Yamauchi out of the class. In Class A, some nobody got expelled (Sakayanagi decided Katsuragi was too talented to drop), Manabe Shiho is expelled from Class D, and … no one is expelled from Class B.

So Honami caved and made a deal with Nagumo, right? Wrong. Well before the vote, Ibuki and Ishizaki reached out to Ayanokouji for a way to save Ryuuen. They needed positive votes, and Honami needed about four million points to keep someone from being expelled. Once Ibuki got the points from Ryuuen, Ayanokouji served as the go-between for a mutually beneficial deal.

I love it when a secret Ayanokouji plan comes together. Indeed, I pumped my fist emphatically when it was confirmed Honami wouldn’t have to sell herself to that prick Nagumo. As for that prick Ryuuen? Like Ibuki and Ayanokouji, I don’t mind keeping the guy around.

Hell, not only has Ayanokouji proven his intellectual, strategic, and physical superiority, but Ryuuen’s now indirectly in his debt for putting the deal together. That said, Ayanokouji is modest as ever in victory, giving credit to Ryuuen’s associates for wanting to save him in the first place.

As for Sakayanagi, the moment the book closes on the special voting exam, she’s texting Ayanokouji, no doubt to tell him that their competition is back on like Donkey Kong. I say bring it on … whatever it is.

Classroom of the Elite – S3 07 – Closing the Distance

Ayanokouji sows the seeds for his plan right from the start, by questioning Suzune’s resolve to choose someone from their class to expel. This puts Suzune in a state of irritation: because her brother has taken an interest in Ayanokouji, his opinion carries weight. It’s the groundwork that will make her receptive to what her Manabu tells her later.

Whether out of sheer concern for her fellow second-year Honami or simply a stitch in a larger tapestry not her own, Asahina Nazuna reaches out to Ayanokouji and informs him of the bargain proposed by President Nagumo. She believes he can do something with the information she gives him, and in his way the giving serves as a “prayer” that doesn’t require any other direct action from her.

Ayanokouji takes the rare step of inviting a girl to his place so he can confirm the deal Nagumo proposed to Honami. She doesn’t see any other way to prevent one of her classmates from being expelled. Ayanokouji won’t judge her, nor does he see any reason to judge her. That he was concerned enough about her to invite her over makes Honami happy, to the point she almost says too much about how amazing he is, and how his not thinking he’s amazing only makes him moreso.

Speaking of girls with a crush on our Best Psychopathic Boy, Kei calls Ayanokouji to inform him of an emergency situation: at least half of the class is planning to vote to expel him. He’s so calm about it over the phone that Kei assumes he must have some kind of plan, but can’t help but blush when he says it’s precisely for times like this that he relies on her.

That night Ayanokouji asks Kikyou to meet with him. At first, she won’t reveal the ringleader behind the vote to expel him, but when he says he’s unlikely to determine who it is in the time he has left, she changes her mind and tells him it’s the potato-face Yamauchi Haruki, who had been acting very smug and relaxed of late.

Ayanokouji immediately connects the dots to suspect that Arisu is using Yamauchi as a puppet to remain a degree of separation from his ruin. Kikyou’s change of faces indicates he is correct. In light of this, Arisu’s big bold announcement of a ceasefire might only have been an attempt to lull him into a false sense of security. That said, I doubt Arisu expected it to succeed.

Ayanokouji makes a call to Manabu, and the next day, Manabu meets with his little sister alone for the first time in three years. What a family. Even so, while he’s been harsh with her in the past, and Suzune is so intimidated by his presence she can’t help but fiddle with her hair, it’s a highly productive encounter.

Suzune tells Manabe what Ayanokouji knew she would: that while the rest of the class it trying to run away from choosing someone to expel, she wants to face the exam head-on. Manabe asks her how her school life has been, and while she can’t say it’s been enjoyable, it hasn’t been boring.

He praises her for widening her view and escaping her life of boredom. When he asks her what she thinks of Ayanokouji, she says she doesn’t really care for him, but does want to catch up to and someday surpass him. Manabe says that’s not possible, but she doesn’t have to: she should grow in a way that’s “more like her.”

Their talk ends with him telling her that to close the distance, she must step forward … and step forward she does, in the last class before the day of the vote. Armed with the motivation given to her by her brother (at Ayanokouji’s urging), she addresses the class as a whole, and points out the elephant in the room.

Someone has to go, but she wants to prevent that person from being an “excellent student” who could help Class C continue to rise. As she talks, her line of thinking is supported by both Kouenji and Sudou. Rather than discuss with the class who the person should be, she comes right out and names the one who should be expelled: Yamauchi Haruki.

Whatever future challenges the class faces, I doubt Yamauchi will play much of a role. He also has a criminally stupid face. But will he make enough of a stink about her choosing him that he’ll influence enough people not to vote for him? Suzune has taken a step toward leading her class. We’ll see if they follow.

Classroom of the Elite – S3 06 – Someone’s Gotta Go

Chabashira announces that everyone passed the last exams, which means the school has gone an unprecedented length of time without any expulsions. That said, apparently the school’s goal is to cull the herd at least somewhat, so there is a surprise Special Exam: a Student Vote. Everyone in each class will be able to cast a positive vote for and a negative vote against another student.

The votes will be counted up, and the student with the most positive net vote will get a non-transferable “protection point”, which will allow the awardee to negate an expulsion they’ve qualified for. The only other way to potentially cancel an expulsion is to pay twenty million private points.

Chabashira makes clear there’s no getting around the fact that there will be one winner of a protection point and one person marked for expulsion: someone at the top, and someone at the bottom. It’s an unreasonable, unfair exam, but life is unreasonable and unfair, isn’t it? The vote will be held in four days. Ayanokouji advises his study group to lay low, and also supports covering for one another with each other’s votes.

That said, he knows that the lowest in the class hierarchy will naturally be the ones who receive the most negative votes, not necessarily out of malice but because students won’t want to vote out their friends or allies. Suzune confronts Ryuuen in the library, someone who seems doomed to be expelled. But while he’s ready to accept that fate, he may also have a plan for survival, and believes Suzune is too soft to “carry out the sentence” of someone from her class worthy of expulsion.

Ayanokouji believes Ryuuen is right in one regard: Suzune should really face her brother at least once before he graduates, something she still believes to be impossible. He also admits that he doesn’t necessarily want Ryuuen expelled; he may be of some use to him in later exams.

That night, Kei calls Ayanokouji, partly to hear his voice, and partly to ask about the exam and how she should vote. Like his study buddies, he advises her to lay low. He also tells her the fact she and Hirata “broke up” works in her favor, since the girls who were jealous of her relationship might’ve given her negative votes if they were still “together.” After assuring Kei she’s important to the class and won’t be eliminated, he asks her to keep her eyes open for voting groups.

The next morning, Honami “ambushes” Ayanokouji to ask if she can walk to school with him. They discuss the upcoming exam, and he quickly notices she may be trying to sacrifice herself in some way to protect the rest of Class B. Without getting too deep into strategy, Honami offers to give Ayanokouji her outside positive vote (everyone gets one of those too). He appreciates it, while she’s happy to have gotten to speak to him.

Unfortunately, their walk to school is interrupted by Arisu. She reports that her father the chairman has been suspended, suggesting “someone” may have “a larger plan in mind.” This makes Ayanokouji consider that the school, or perhaps “that man” is maneuvering to get rid of him.

Arisu calls a ceasefire in their competition until this exam has concluded. During that time, she’ll do nothing to sabotage him, and will consider it her loss if her actions indirectly cause his expulsion. Needless to say, Arisu values “interesting” people like Ayanokouji, so would prefer if he stuck around. As for who she’s voting to expel, it was always going to be her Class A rival, Katsuragi.

Ayanokouji was right about Honami having some kind of selfless plan in mind for the exam, and at the end of the episode we learn what that is. With just under sixteen million private points, she’s short the points needed to cancel another person’s expulsion. It seems she’s struck a deal with President Nagumo to gain the remaining points she needs. In exchange, she needs to date him. Did I mention I don’t like this Nagumo fellow? This seems slimy.

One thing I’ll say about this newest exam: it’s simple, at least on the surface. At this early stage, three days from the vote, there’s the feeling anything could happen, because with a few exceptions, anyone could vote for anyone for any reason, and that vote might be the one to determine who gets expelled. I’m keen to see how this all pans out; I have a feeling it will be someone I least expect.