CLASSROOM OF ELITE

## Manga

### Produced by

Shō TanakaMasahito IkemotoAshitate HarutakaAya IizukaHideo ItōMeiko TsurutaYūta KashiwabaraMitsuhiro Ogata

### Licensed by

NACrunchyroll FunimationSA/SEAMuse Communication

### Original network

AT-X, Tokyo MX, TV Aichi, KBS, Sun TV, TVQ, BS11

## Manga

### Volumes

11

***Classroom of the Elite*** (Japanese: ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ, Hepburn: *Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e*, lit. "Welcome to the Classroom of the Supreme Ability Doctrine"), often abbreviated as **CotE**, is a Japanese light novel series written by Shōgo Kinugasa and illustrated by Shunsaku Tomose. A manga adaptation by Yuyu Ichino began its serialization in Media Factory's *Monthly Comic Alive* on January 27, 2016. An anime television series adaptation by Lerche aired from July to September 2017.

## Plot[edit]

In the distant future, the Japanese government has established the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School, dedicated to instruct and foster the generation of people that will support the country in the future. The students are given a high degree of freedom in order to closely mimic real life.

The story follows the perspective of Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, a quiet and unassuming boy who is not good at making friends and would rather keep his distance. He is a student of D-class, which is where the school dumps its inferior students. After meeting Suzune Horikita and Kikyō Kushida, two other students in his class, Kiyotaka's situation begins to change.

## Characters[edit]

### D-Class Students[edit]

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji (綾小路 清隆, *Ayanokōji Kiyotaka*)
Voiced by: Shōya Chiba (Japanese); Justin Briner (English)
The main protagonist is an unmotivated student and is very poor at communicating with others. His grades are intentionally average and he is very conscious of how he spends his points. It is revealed that he has the academic aptitude and true intellect to make it to the top class if he wanted to, but for some reason, he aimed to get into Class D. It was mentioned by Chabashira Sensei that he intentionally got 50 out of 100 points for every subject on the entrance exam. Despite not exhibiting any kind of fitness regimen, he's incredibly well-built and is seen as very skilled in martial arts, such that he held his own in a fight against the Student Council President. He is also shown to be extremely intelligent as he comes up with various grand schemes that fool and use almost everyone in the school. In a flashback, it is shown that he was part of an experiment performed by an unknown organization which is owned by his father, in an unknown facility called the "White Room" that forced children to participate in an immense battery of tests designed to raise and train children into teens with almost superhuman-like capabilities and he's shown to be the only known survivor. He prefers to stay in the background and use other people to implement his plans whenever necessary. He is considered an unreliable narrator due to his mysterious background and lies.
Suzune Horikita (堀北 鈴音, *Horikita Suzune*)
Voiced by: Akari Kitō (Japanese); Felecia Angelle (English)
She is an aloof, cold-hearted, and unfriendly student, who is considered to be an intellectual beauty that sits next to Kiyotaka in class and is also careful about how she spends her points. Like Kiyotaka, she has trouble communicating with others but unlike him, she thinks friends are unnecessary. Kiyotaka is the only student in her class that she talks to and confides in him as she seems to express interest in his insightful yet mysterious personality and has her doubts about him and his mysterious past, believing that he is hiding much more than he actually lets on. She also has an older brother who studies in the same school as her and is the school's Student Council President who distances himself from her due to the embarrassment that she is placed in Class D. She also has knowledge of martial arts, as she was seen fighting Mio Ibuki, a C-Class student and held her own against her, despite being ill at the time. Her attitude seemingly improves for the better as she acknowledges her own hypocrisy by admitting that she is no different than her classmates when faced with a serious down-sided problem.
Kikyou Kushida (櫛田 桔梗, *Kushida Kikyō*)
Voiced by: Yurika Kubo (Japanese); Sarah Wiedenheft (English)
A popular girl who is also in Class D has a seemingly nice and cheerful personality and is also looking to befriend everybody at the school. However, behind her cheerful and caring facade, she has an alternate personality that is violent, cold-blooded, detestable, and manipulative. She also shows deep resentment towards Horikita, and yet she wants to get closer to her for an unknown reason. In the light novels, she was revealed to be from the same middle school of Horikita and assumed that Horikita found out about her dark past.
Airi Sakura (佐倉 愛里, *Sakura Airi*)
Voiced by: M.A.O (Japanese); Leah Clark (English)
A girl who is into photography, was placed in Class D, due to her fear and nervousness, causing her to have difficulties communicating and interacting with others. She hates standing out and likes to take modeling pictures. She was originally revealed to be a gravure idol, until her life was in danger of being chased by a stalker who worked in a convenience store and attempted to assault her, causing her unable to stand out anymore for the rest of her life. Fortunately, Kiyotaka and Honami came on time, saving her life and the stalker was arrested by the police, thanks to the security cameras located around the campus and the GPS tracking system on each students' school cellphones. She then feels deeply indebted to Kiyotaka, causing her to have an admiration for him on saving her while inspiring her with his encouraging words of wisdom to always do more than she would have done.
Kei Karuizawa (軽井沢 恵, *Karuizawa Kei*)
Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu (Japanese); Bryn Apprill (English)
One of the top students in Class D, who has character issues. In the light novels, she seems to form a very close trusting bond with Kiyotaka and notices that he has a dark mysterious side that he doesn't want people to know about where Kiyotaka is shown to trust her more so than others and in volume 6 of the light novel, she is shown to develop a crush on Kiyotaka. Further in volume 6 of the light novel, she is the only one who remembered and celebrated his birthday causing Kiyotaka to hesitate on deleting her messages, which he usually does and he also learned of her birthday and decided to do the same for her. Kiyotaka and her also call each other by their first names, also showing how very close they are. Her developing crush on him was also shown, as she was seen very jealous of Maya Sato, due to the latter's confession to Kiyotaka.
Yousuke Hirata (平田 洋介, *Hirata Yōsuke*)
Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka (Japanese); Dallas Reid (English)
The top student in Class D. His grades are worthy of being in a higher class, but he ended up getting stuck in Class D for reasons yet to be explained.
He is in a "relationship" with Karuizawa, although in the light novels this was revealed to be a ruse and a cover-up so that she doesn't get bullied in school. It was also hinted in the light novels, that Hirata begins to suspect Kiyotaka for his manipulations and usage of others while taking advantage of transpired events through various grand schemes that gradually ends up helping Class D and doing it so subtly behind the shadows unbeknownst to others who are seemingly unaware of what goes on.
Rokusuke Kouenji (高円寺 六助, *Kōenji Rokusuke*)
Voiced by: Toshiki Iwasawa (Japanese); Christopher Wehkamp (English)
He is a narcissist, who is from a prestigious well-known family of scholars, as he is equipped with great physical abilities and intelligence, however, he ended up in Class D for being too arrogant and egotistical, making him unable to work with others. Unlike his fellow students, however, who are struggling to obtain enough points, he doesn't worry about it since his rich family can simply buy the necessary points needed for his use.
Ken Sudou (須藤 健, *Sudō Ken*)
Voiced by: Eiji Takeuchi (Japanese); Brandon McInnis (English)
One of the "3 Fools of Class D", who is also a basketball team player and is in the basketball club. Although he has the best athletic ability compared to his classmates, he has a very poor intelligence, a short temper, and a thin skin-like personality making him easily angered and provoked, which it wasn't for Horikita and Kiyotaka's intervention, would have gotten him expelled twice. His personality was seen to improve a little though he still acts rough towards others and he is seen to have feelings for Horikita. In the light novels, he is shown to be quite close to Kiyotaka and it is revealed that both are actually close friends. In the sports festival in volume 5 of the light novel, he seems to have formed a close bond with Horikita.
Kanji Ike (池 寛治, *Ike Kanji*)
Voiced by: Daiki Abe (Japanese); Aaron Dismuke (English)
One of the "3 Fools of Class D", who has poor intelligence, though his communication skills and experiences in camping are excellent. He is also shown to have a crush on Kushida.
Haruki Yamauchi (山内 春樹, *Yamauchi Haruki*)
Voiced by: Mutsuki Iwanaka (Japanese); Travis Mullenix (English)
One of the "3 Fools of Class D", who has lying tendencies. He also has a crush on Kushida but has feelings for Sakura as well. In the spin-off volume of the light novel, he confesses to Sakura but gets rejected due to her inability and uneasiness to cope with the uncomfortable situation and her feelings for Kiyotaka.
Teruhiko Yukimura (幸村 輝彦, *Yukimura Teruhiko*)
Voiced by: Tsubasa Gōda (Japanese); Josh Grelle (English)
A boy with great intelligence. Despite his academic ability, his poor athletic ability landed him in Class D. In the light novel volume 6, he is also a member of Kiyotaka's study group.
Maya Sato (佐藤 麻耶, *Sato Maya*)
Voiced by: Michelle Rojas (English)
A girl in Kiyotaka's class who has taken a liking to him.
### C-Class Students[edit]

Kakeru Ryuuen (龍園 翔, *Ryūen Kakeru*)
Voiced by: Masaaki Mizunaka (Japanese); Eric Vale (English)
He is depicted as the antagonist of the series, and a student under Class C who has a reputation of being a feared delinquent, where he rules the class like a mafia boss and has a group of henchmen who do his dirty work.
Mio Ibuki (伊吹 澪, *Ibuki Mio*)
Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English)
She is a student under Class C who despises Ryūen's dirty reputation as an infamous delinquent. Not only does she possess the excellent academic ability, but her physical ability is also not to be underestimated. She is skilled in combat, having the knowledge of several martial skills that can rival those of many martial artists. Mio battles Horikita, to confirm if she was the arsonist, and reveals that she is the mastermind of stealing Horikita's key card, then she defeats her. She is then seen handing the stolen key card to Ryuen who requested it to be stolen. She was revealed to be a spy for her class, sent to infiltrate Class D on Ryuen's orders, however she was manipulated, controlled and played by Kiyotaka along with both Ryuen and Katsuragi from Class A causing their plan to fall in shambles earning their class a huge loss.
### B-Class Students[edit]

Honami Ichinose (一之瀬 帆波, *Ichinose Honami*)
Voiced by: Nao Tōyama (Japanese); Kristi Rothrock (English)
Honami is the president of B-Class, and a very kind, helpful and selfless individual. She is one of the Top students in her class and is very much admired and respected. However, unlike most other students who despise students from the lower classes, she is down-to-earth and is also friends with some of them like, Kushida and Kiyotaka. She obtained a huge number of private points through unknown means, and seemed secretive about it, causing Kiyotaka to wonder about how she got that many points. She also expressed her interest in Kiyotaka's true abilities and true intelligence by even wondering about it, more specifically on why he hides his true talents from others. In the light novels, she becomes a member of the Student Council and she is seen to have a close relationship with Kiyotaka, whom she occasionally teases and flirts with, as they are seen to get along very well and work well together. Kiyotaka, however, spread rumors about her huge number of points, which were revealed to be legally obtained by her, to trap Kakeru Ryūen from Class C, though the latter caught on to it and decided to play along in order to find the true mastermind of Class D.
Ryuuji Kanzaki (神崎 隆二, *Kanzaki Ryūji*)
Voiced by: Akihisa Wakayama (Japanese); Ricco Fajardo (English)
He is a student from B-Class, who is seen to be quite intelligent and friendly, and alongside Ichinose, did not mind lending a helping hand to Kiyotaka on proving Sudo's innocence in the C-Class's violent incident case.
### A-Class Students[edit]

Arisu Sakayanagi (坂柳 有栖, *Sakayanagi Arisu*)
Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (Japanese); Trina Nishimura (English)
She is the main leader of A-Class, who appears to be disabled, causing her to walk with a cane. She is shown to be highly intelligent, as she seems to have very high knowledge of the school rules and the S-system. Ryuen from Class C mentions how she is still acting as the "Queen" of the school for being in Class A. There is an intense rivalry between her and Ryuen alongside their respective classes as she thinks his challenges against Class A are interesting but ultimately futile. In volume 5 of the light novel, she was revealed to know about the "White Room" and cryptically reveals that she knows Kiyotaka, where she met him 8 years and 243 days ago in the past. According to her, she knows him very well and everything about his mysterious past though he denied knowledge of her and doesn't seem to remember her. In volume 7 of the light novel, Mr. Sakayanagi, Chairman of the School Board and an old acquaintance of Kiyotaka's father, confirms that Alice is his daughter, thus explaining in part why she has observed Kiyotaka in person behind the window in the White Room.
Kouhei Katsuragi (葛城 康平, *Katsuragi Kōhei*)
Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (Japanese); Jarrod Greene (English)
He is an intelligent man, and the most well-respected student of A-Class, who takes on the full responsibility of his class. For some reason, he has a troubled past on being rejected into joining the student council for his unknown failures.
### Student Council[edit]

Manabu Horikita (堀北 学, *Horikita Manabu*)
Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara (Japanese); David Matranga (English)
He is Suzune Horikita's older brother and the school's student council president. He is also highly respected to the upper echelons of the school student society. However, he resents Suzune for being in the lower class as her presence threatens his reputation in the student council. Manabu is shown to be a very serious and intelligent man, who is attached to his role as the Student Council President and is also shown to be quite skilled in martial arts as seen in his skirmish with Ayanokōji. Following the clash, Manabu takes an interest in Ayanokōji and sees him as a worthy opponent.
Akane Tachibana (橘 茜, *Tachibana Akane*)
Voiced by: Konomi Kohara (Japanese)]; Apphia Yu (English)
She is the Student Council Secretary, who is seen with the school's Student Council President Manabu almost all the time and has feelings for Manabu.
### Faculty Members[edit]

Sae Chabashira (茶柱 佐枝, *Chiyabashira Sae*)
Voiced by: Rina Satō (Japanese); Jennifer Alyx (English)
She is the homeroom teacher for Class D, who is very cold and apathetic to her own class though she can be bribed for the right price where she was willing to sell a grade to a student who is in danger of being expelled. She is the only one who knows the truth behind Class D's designation for the students with defective aspects and Ayanokōji's hidden potential as the "most defective" and an excellent student in D-class. She also threatened him to have him expelled if he doesn't ascend to A-Class immediately, for holding back his true ability and true intelligence. It is unknown why she wants him to ascend to a higher class. One possible reason could be that she probably feels like he is wasting his true talents by being in the lowest class instead of being at the top class which he deserves. She, later on, revealed to Kiyotaka that it was his father's wish to be expelled and that his father stated that Kiyotaka will choose expulsion of his own free will.
Chie Hoshinomiya (星之宮 知恵, *Hoshinomiya Chie*)
Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto (Japanese); Sara Ragsdale (English)
She is the homeroom teacher in Class B, with a reputation for being a klutz and a drunkard. In spite of her quirks, she appears to be insightful as she recognized that Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, a student from Class D, whom she never met may present a problem for her class based on what Ichinose told her about him. In the light novels, she has formed a very unique close bond with Kiyotaka, whom she teases and even flirts with him despite being a teacher, though he is shown to be a little put-off by her eccentric behavior.
## Media[edit]

### Light novel[edit]

The series is written by Shōgo Kinugasa with illustrations by Shunsaku Tomose and has been published under Media Factory's MF Bunko J imprint since 2015; as of October 2020, thirteen volumes and three short volumes have been released. Seven Seas Entertainment has licensed the series. On February 17, 2021, Seven Seas announced it will be releasing a new version of volume seven due to the localization decisions in the original omitting several paragraphs.

**2nd Year**

 2
 3
 4

### Anime[edit]

An anime television series adaptation was announced and aired from July 12 to September 27, 2017 on AT-X and other channels. Seiji Kishi and Hiroyuki Hashimoto directed the anime at Lerche. Aoi Akashiro handled the series composition, while Kazuaki Morita designed the characters. The opening theme "Caste Room" is performed by ZAQ, and the ending theme "Beautiful Soldier" is performed by Minami. Crunchyroll streamed the series. Funimation has licensed the series in North America.

## Notes[edit]

1. **^** All English episode titles are taken from Crunchyroll.
2. **^** The episode titles are taken from literature by various European philosophers.