Classroom of the Elite – 10

How could a show that started out so fresh, slick, clever, and cerebral feel so stale, dull, dumb now? The first mistake seemed to be taking the classes out of the proverbial classroom and onto an island…then proceeding to do basically nothing for five days.

Horikita conducts recon of Classes A and B, both times having unpleasant encounters with their respective leaders, both of whom are drawn as if they were in their thirties. Fine, I’ll forgive the disappointingly goofy character design—this is Lerche, after all—but I won’t forgive the obvious holes in logic that keep creeping up this week, even if the sexism subsides.

Remember how I said Horikita came into contact with the leaders of Classes A and B? Isn’t there a 50-S-Point bonus to anyone who correctly guesses the leader of another class—an a 50-point  deduction from the leader correctly ID’d? Am I missing something here? Katsuragi and Ryuuen aren’t exactly being subtle in their leaderliness—nor is Horikita herself.

Days 2 thru 4 breeze by without any incident…or any meaningful developments whatsoever, aside from more of Sakura flirting with Ayanokouji (who has never been portrayed as anything other than an unromantic, assexual character, making her flirtation seem like a futile waste of time), a mysterious scene in which a mystery student of unknown gender steals a girl’s bag from the tent, and Sudou suspecting Class C exile Ibuki of some kind of treachery.

I suppose I should look to the episode’s title for guidance, a Kierkegaard quote: “Every man has in himself the most dangerous traitor of all.” I’m no philosophy major, but off the top of my head, this seems to have dual meaning: everyone has the potential for treachery, but no other person is capable of betraying you more than you can betray yourself.

It could also just mean there’s a traitor in Class D’s midst, which Sudo believes is Ibuki, so I gravitated to her as well. Then, on the morning of Day 5, the girls are united in their outrage that Karuizawa’s underwear was stolen in the night. The rest of the episode deals with the investigation of this panty heist. See what I said about feeling a bit dumb and rote?

Despite that feeling, things to sharpen up a bit when Ike finds the panties in his bag. Clearly they were planted there, but by whom? What the heck would Ibuki have to gain by sowing discord, when her own Class spent all their points and headed back to the boat to party?

By the way, I’m happy Class C’s strategy was not immediately dismissed as the wrong one; none of the remaining classes are guaranteed to earn enough points to make all the trouble they’ve been through worth it. It’s almost as if the show is saying “yes, this whole island survival premise is indeed dumb, but only Class C and Koenji decided to reject it.”

Ike gives the panties to Ayano, and Hirata finds them when giving the boys pat-downs at the girls’ demand. But Hirata doesn’t turn in Ayano, because he understands the distinction of Ayano having the panties and Ayano stealing them.

Hirata takes the panties from Ayano, supposedly to protect his classmate, as Karuizawa’s boyfriend is the one the girls suspect the least to have them, but despite the fact it’s (I’m assuming) to prevent further discord from compromising the class, Hirata is betraying himself here, by lying.

And the fact he’s able to be dishonest here makes me start to think that maybe his whole upstanding, “Everybody Loves Hirata” act is merely cover for…more sinister designs.

Classroom of the Elite – 09

“This test is sounding much more complicated and difficult than I thought it would be.” You and me both, Horikita! The details of weeklong survival trip that pits the four classes against each other is indeed are many and complicated; one might even say convoluted, to the point of ungainliness.

Much of this episode simply sets up all of the various rules and ways of spending, scoring, or being deducted points, but it’s a lot to keep track of, and the episode itself doesn’t do the best job of organizing everything in any kind of order. Instead, it lays out some rules, the students mill around in the woods, and then they lay out some more.

There’s also the fact that Class D is made up of twenty students, and yet we don’t really learn or get any kind of impression from any but the ones we already know: Horikita and Ayanokouji, the three bad apples, Hirata and Karuizawa, etc. The rest are kinda just there.

I appreciate the fact that everyone in the class can agree to appoint Horikita as their Leader (a position with both advantages and potential pitfalls requiring both responsibility and discretion).

What I did not appreciate were the incessant sexist allusions to girls being weaker, more delicate, and somehow not as cut out for roughing it as the boys. Out of twenty students, you’d think one or two of the girls would be outdoorsy types like Ike.

On that same subject, what the hell is the deal with the toilet situation? Have these kids not heard of these things called holes that you can dig in the ground to do your business? I realize a lot of these kids are rich and sheltered, but still…

Somehow, some way, the girls manage to survive the first day (/s), and Hirata manages to work out a reasonable number of points the class can walk away happy with: a floor of 120 out of the 300 they start with. As for the ceiling, well, it all depends on how many leaders they can identify, how may “spots” the possess for how long, and how much food and water they can take from nature without spending points on rations.

They also have to be careful not to lose too many points to deductions, and in this, right off the bat they stand to lose 30 points when Kouenji, after doing his Tarzan thing all over the island, craps out on the rest of the class by returning to the boat. I’ve no idea if he’s just out of the game or has some other plan (probably the former), because all he does is strut around saying “beautiful.”

At least with the majority of the test’s rules out of the way, we’ll see more execution next week. But seriously, CotE: dial back the male chauvinism a bit, if you would. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Classroom of the Elite – 08

This week begins with a production of Icarus in an unfamiliar venue—did the school have such a sumptuous theater?—and an ultimatum from Chabashira-sensei to Ayanokouji: try, actually make an effort to get into Class A…or be expelled. Someone outside the school wants him gone, but Chabashira is willing to let Ayano stay around—but only if he plays ball and makes it worth her while.

We then learn the entire school is not at school at all, but aboard a gargantuan luxury cruise ship. The luxury part comes naturally to the higher-ranked classes, but Sudo and his crew stick out like sore thumbs, while still others (Ichinose and Hoshinomiya-sensei) avail themselves of the fanservice spa facilities.

The only two people neither having a good time nor trying to have a good time are—you guessed it—Ayano and Horikita. They’re weary. This whole cruise has been free and there’s been no explanation for its existence…so what’s the catch?

While the two are sitting at a bar alone together, pondering that question, Ryuuen shows up and calls Horikita out for the camera prank that saved Sudo. Ryuuen is overly familiar and grabby, and returns Horikita’s disgust with a promise she’ll be seeing a lot of him.

They are interrupted by a very ill-tempered classmate of Ryuuen’s who is apparently sick and tire of “how he does things.” She’s flung aside by Ryuuen’s bodyguard Albert, but doesn’t give Ayanokouji anything when he asks what’s up, so all he and Horikita know is that there is tension within Class C.

Some use the cruise as an excuse to try to nab a romantic partner: Ike with Kushida (he chokes and settles for first-name terms), Sudo with Horikita (never gonna happen), and Sakura with Ayanokouji (she hesitates and is interrupted by Kushida).

Because Sakura can sense Kushida is hiding something behind her public image, she skitters off, and before long, Ayano also tires of her friendly girl act and starts to take his leave.

Kushida then changes tone for the first time since the first time, but doesn’t threaten Ayano, just gets him to acknowledge he’s weary around her, while she’s…well, she just doesn’t like being left alone so soon after showing up.

The episode’s title, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” from Dante’s Inferno, provides some early insight into what we and the students are in for. Those are the words inscribed on the gates of Hell, and Hell, albeit in the form of a gorgeous island, seems to be their destination (though none of these kids are anywhere near the middle of their lives).

Once they spot that island, the faculty announces a week-long survival test will take place on the island. I imagine then, that we’re in for some Lord of the Flies kid self-rule adventures next week, with all of the different character and class dynamics touched on this week and in weeks prior will come into play in an all-new, less academic setting. I look forward to it.