10 Comments

1. Good

2. The entire season felt like a prologue or an exposition for the anime. Certain episodes like those that happen on the island were not really relevant to the plot. They just introduce more characters. There were in my opinion only two plot twists throughout the story, which is fine although surprising since I expected this anime to have more. But again, the season may have served as an exposition.

   Despite that, it was an easy watch. The last scene of this first season is possibly the only reason I am choosing to continue watching it. I hope the second season will be as easy to watch …

3. STORY: 7/10
   CHARACTER: 10/10
   ART: 8/10
   SOUND: 7/10
   ENJOYMENT: 9/10
   OVERALL: 8/10

   I knew this anime would be different just based on the quotes at the start of each episode and I wasn’t wrong. This show takes pleasure in cheerfully stunning its audience by strongly commencing with an interesting setup that only gets diluted as the show proceeds yet still manages to land strong with its ending! The story is nothing unique since it revolves around students trying to top their class by making more points. What works in this standard setting is the play along of strong, interesting characters which help elevate the plot to an enjoyable watch. The point system introduced into the story felt oddly fresh, working in the show’s favour since it brought about essential character development. This leads me to the last arc, which was both a blessing and a curse! The pacing issues became more evident here which hurt the show’s momentum. (Personally, I felt like the story started losing steam once they got out of school). And now this anime has some backlash due to that 1 fanservice episode, I don’t mind it much since I understand it’s importance. But I would have rather opted for this episode to be allotted on story instead because it could have helped wash away the few plot holes that exists! However, the way how this arc wrapped up was more than satisfactory, making it my fav arc of the season!

   What truly sets this anime apart is its characters and the point system really helped establish their different personalities. Furthermore, we get mini arcs for various people that help shed light on them without taking away the spotlight from our main characters. (Solid Writing!) I liked how each class was represented with respect to individuality, from the bullish domain of class C leader to the dual leader contest among class A, etc. This really helped establish the students of other classes as real people rather than some background characters, which also meant they presented a real threat to our MC as well. If I were Ayanokouji, I would seriously watch out for Sakayanagi because she played her cards very well this season! (I feel like she will be a hard roadblock to climb for Ayano since she might be on to him) And some character arcs do not conclude, most probably left for another season. Horikita is the main girl of the show who’s an interesting person, coming across as a mere tsundere at 1st glance but turns out to be just more than that. Her surprise relationship with the student council and interesting setup of falling from grace (metaphorically) to class D has her uptight and fixated on a single goal. Yet it’s this ironclad sight of hers that alienates her from the rest, making her unpopular and unapproachable in class. But enters a boy and her life changes! Slowly, but surely, Ayanokouji breaks down her defences and his efforts aren’t wasted because his constant efforts makes Horikita more likable, eventually ending up on good terms with her classmates.

   And now to Ayano who’s easily the most unique MC of 2017 and by far the best aspect of this show, I mean the air is filled with intrigue as you slowly peel off the layers from this guy! It was a pleasure to take this journey with him despite the show trying to present him as an uninteresting character. Behind his deadpan look and those cold, lifeless eyes reclines a manipulative and calculative mind which misses nothing! His attention to details will catch you by surprise and his attitude to problem-solving makes us spellbind to him since it provides a stimulating mechanic to the already evoking plot. I mean look at how well he was able to tame the once smart and proud Horikita towards the end! Ayano is viewed and presented in the anime as a troubled individual with a shady past. His early life is just as mysterious as his present (Only shown a few short scenes of where he grew up) but once you understand how he was raised, you get to know Ayanokouji better. (And the teacher knowing all this was astounding) You recognize with his way of thinking, his view of all other people beside himself, his obsession with winning by trumping over everyone, his choice of avoiding all spotlights in order to pull every string by controlling everyone, all of this starts to make sense once you glimpse at his past. Yet you don’t fully realize this until the very end when the curtain is lifted to reveal the final act! This is because the story itself presented him in a manner of making me think the best for him despite the anime dropping hints of otherwise! We were being misled into thinking he wants to connect with his new classmates and cares about what they think of him. But that was all an act! Which is why the twist at the end really hammers you with reality by opening your eyes to the truth. The truth being, he prefers to remain in shadows, he prefers the role of a puppeteer, they all are playing his game! After all he did build a strong class by uniting everyone behind a capable leader which gives him the safety of time and space to micromanage everyone! He is devoid of any other emotion aside from winning, whatever else we felt never really existed or at least they never came from his side. Top marks to the writer for perfectly giving us viewers a full realized character!

   The art style for characters were good and distinguishable. (For me Ayano’s look reminded me of Karma from “Assassination Classroom”) I liked how you could tell at 1st glance which characters would be popular and which a troublemaker. The animation was nicely portrayed delivering on the Action and Drama well. The best thing were the eyes of the characters, they had a certain incandescent glow to them which always managed to get my attention. The OP is deceptively cheerful while ED is more on the calm side. The soundtrack is particularly good during the upbeat moments of the story. Voice Acting was good on both grounds, though the Subs were a tad bit better than the Dubs.

   In conclusion, I had a blast with this anime! It’s nowhere Perfect but it far exceeded my expectations and that counts as a win! While pacing was a little off and some parts of the story were predictable but the sheer writing brilliance in the character arc of Ayano brings a whole new level of uncertainty to the plot which only increases the audience excitement. The show leaves on a high note, doesn’t give everything away but grand enough to make us desire for more so let’s hope for S2. Because I am very thrilled to see how Ayano is going to reply to the following, “Icarus did no heed Daedalus’ Warning”

4. […] Themes: Shonen, Delinquents, School. […]

5. this anime show that there is no room for idiots. ha ha lol 😆

6. In first to 2nd last episode he be like I just want to go home. And in last ep wait let me tell you how to control people minds😒

7. one of the good series that i watched.

8. Classroom of the elite is really for elite fans 🙂

9. No one can fight with Kiyotaka Ayanokouji not even white room subject,🤣

10. […] Studio : Studio Hibari ( Assassination Classroom, Classroom of the Elite ) […]