By Shanel Kamara

I honestly cannot believe I even wasted my time actually watching this; I know that may seem a tad harsh but that’s genuinely how I felt after watching the first episode of the anime series, Classroom of the Elite.

Initially, I thought I would give it the benefit of the doubt seeming there was no strict adherence to a particular demographic, but I realized afterward that that decision was a poor one. I was actually a little annoyed that this series was not classified as a shounen series when it clearly caters more towards a male audience. The presence of a nonchalant male protagonist did nothing to lessen the male gaze. If it weren’t for that demeaning aspect of the show, I think I probably would have enjoyed it.

The plot is decent; Classroom of the Elite is, to some extent, similar to Danganronpa in that the students in both series are completely ignorant of the school’s cruel system. However, the disparity between these two shows stems from the fact that the main characters in Classroom of the Elite are ironically labeled as the “inferior” students, while the characters from Danganronpa are admitted entrance into Hope Peak’s High School because of how talented they are in their area of specialism. The students in Classroom of the Elite are awarded points each month based on their merit and their contribution to the school, while the students of Danganronpa are given access to a new floor of their school after each class trial and the likelihood of them escaping with their lives intact greatly increases.  Overall, albeit the commonalities these two shows share are few, the one feature that both of these shows have is an aspect of foreboding.

Admittedly, I’m curious to find out why D-class is designated as the class for the “inferior” students and what makes these students “inferior”. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no intention of watching this show further than the first episode.

Score: 2/5

Classroom of the Elite E.01
Studio: Lerche