Just when you thought high school couldn’t get any more intense, “Classroom of the Elite” enters the chat with a bang! I’ve been totally immersed in the first two seasons, marveling not just at the plot twists, but also at the ingenious point system that drives the story. It’s like Monopoly meets high school – but with higher stakes and real-life consequences! 🏫💰 So, let’s explore the six key moments that define this series, with a special focus on how this unique point system turns a regular high school into a strategic battleground. Ready to get schooled? Let’s go!
If you need a video recap check out my youtube! 😉
Understanding the Point System: More Than Just Currency 📊
Before diving into the key moments, let’s wrap our heads around the point system, shall we? It’s pretty much the backbone of this show. Every student at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School is given points that act like currency. Imagine starting high school with a whopping 100,000 points! 💸 Sounds dreamy, right? But there’s a twist – these points fluctuate based on academic performance and behavior. It’s like living in a micro-economy where your GPA and manners can make you rich or broke. 📈📉
This system is pivotal to the narrative. It’s not just a mere backdrop; it shapes every decision and strategy. Students can use points to buy anything from basic necessities to luxurious items on campus. However, losing points can mean more than just financial poverty; it can lead to social ostracization and even expulsion. But this school has a reputation of having a 100% college and employment rate as well as experimental derived teaching methods. So, the pressure is real, and the stakes are sky-high! 💥📚
1. First Semester: A Rocky Start 🚀
Class D begins their journey with 100,000 points but they receive zero points the next month – talk about a reality check! Too much cell phone usage, talking during class, and interruptions, an academic standing lead to this dry point month. But Class D has the chance to gain points during their midterm exam. The better the class scores the better chance of gaining points but if you fail you get expelled.
Ayanokouji and Horikita had to pull out all the stops to claw their way back up. They create study groups within the class. But thats not enough because some students are not that smart. So, Ayanokouji decides to take Kikyou with him to meet up with an older classman to buy their old quiz questions. Turns out the questions are all the same. But Ayanokouji asked if Kikyou will take credit for helping the class n getting the test midterm questions to continue to stay out of the spot light. One student, Sudou, failed by 1 point but since you can buy anything at the school Ayanokouji and Horikita come together and buy his extra point. Of course Ayanokouji gave Horikita credit. It was like watching a financial thriller but set in high school. Their comeback? Pure genius. 🧠✨
2. Island Exam: The Ultimate Survival Challenge 🏝️
On the island, the point system transformed into a survival kit. Classes had to strategically use their Island points to buy essentials. Each class also had to decide: save as much point by living frugally for the 7 days or spend all thew points lavishly. The catch was that any left over points after the 7 days will be transferred into class points. Also, if each glass guesses the other classes leader they will gain bonus points. If the classes leader is guessed correctly they lose points. Providing each class an opportunity to gain points.
Class D decides to go the frugal route. But they begin to see how they would lose points for 2 team members going back to the ship and Class C spy stealing class D’s leader card from Horikita to potentially guess their leader with class A. Luckily when the results were released Class D was in 1st, Class B in 2nd, Class A in 3rd and Class C in last place. So how were they able to achieve this victory?
Since Horikita was sick that was enough of a reason for class D to change leaders according to the rules. So Ayanokouji became the leader last minute causing the other teams guesses to be wrong. He was also able to guess the leader of class C and A but left class B alone because they are good allies and they also had a class C spy so they would’ve lost points anyways. Of course he gave Horikita all the credit for figuring this out and planning the whole thing. Watching Class D cleverly navigate this economy of survival was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating. 🌊🔥
3. Guess the VIP: High Seas Strategy 🚢
Here, the point system morphed into a tool of deception. In this game everyone was seperated into groups. Each group was a different planet and consisted of a mix of different class student. In this game the goal is to guess who the school choose as the VIP. Everyone was emailed but only one person in each group received a message stating they were the VIP. If the whole group guesses correctly everyone’s class gets points but if not, the VIP gets points. If someone guesses first and is right then their class gets points and no one else. If one person guesses early and is wrong then the game is over. High stalks high rewards for each person to gain points for their class.
Ayanokouji solved this by leading his Mars group to show the email stating whether they were VIP or not. But he swapped phones with Karuizawa, who is the real VIP in their group, and then swapped her phone with another class D student that’s in his group. Turns out Ayanokouji kept his sim card (by purchasing it with pts to unlock the phone to get sim) that way he would have the other persons phone but keep his number. So it looked like the other class D student was the VIP. He also had Ichinose, class B leader, play along and call mc which then made the other students phone ring. Giving away that he and Ayanokouji swapped phones. Causing everyone to believe that Ayanokouji was the VIP.
They used the psychological trick that after uncovering a lie people are more likely to believe the next thing as truth. So everyone though Ayanokouji was the VIP and were all wrong leading to only the VIP Karuizawa’s D class gaining points. Ayanokouji manipulated the VIP game to protect Karuizawa, showcasing how points can be used as a strategic weapon in this high-stakes game of wits. 🕹️🛡️
4. Sports Festival: Athletic Economy 🏆
The sports festival showed us that points could be lost or gained in the field too. This time it was about athletic skills and knowing your classmates strengths and weaknesses. The catch was that the 10 worst performers would lose 10pts in the next upcoming exams.
Ayanokouji was able to use his new puppet Karuizawa’s to show Horikita the importance of having allies or tools. Ayanokouji and Horikita see that Kushida was a traitor and traded Ryuuen, class C’s leader, their sports line up so they could win for him to help her frame Horikita to get her expelled. But Ryuuen receives a recording in that moment of how he planned to injure Horikita and then injure the girl that ran into her even more and try to frame Horikita. So Horikita was protected and Kushida is pissed because she still thinks Horikita knows of her past.
Due to class C having it out for class D, class D ended up coming in dead last. Horikita tamed Sudou and now has him as her tool. But not Ryuuen is more interested than ever about who the mastermind of class D is. Ayanokouji’s handling of the festival’s challenges was a lesson in how to balance physical prowess with smart economics. 🏃♂️💼
5. Paper Shuffle Exam: Academic Chess 📚
This exam was all about academic prowess and point management. For this exam the class is put in pairs of those with high and low test scores. The thing is that if the pair’s score falls below 60pts they will both be expelled, caught cheating then the person will be expelled, and every year there is at least 2 or 3 students that get expelled. The catch is that each class will be creating the test for the other class and their grades will be compared to them. The class with the higfhest score steals 50pts from the other classs.
Ayanokouji and Horikita use this chance to make a deal with Kushida that if she gets a higher score in math on the exam then Horikita then Horikita will drop out. if the opposite then Kushida will stop sabotaging her. Horikita’s older brother, Manabu, who is the president of student council stood as a witness to this deal.
Class D had Kushida turn in their classes question sheet but she gives a copy of it to class C and told the teacher to not accept any other ones from the class. Luckily Horikita turned in the real class questions first and told the teacher to not accept any other sheet unless it was from her. Ayanokouji also had Karuizawa freak out during a meeting and throw water on Kushida to plant a cheat sheet in her jacket just in case. Class C was supposed to give Kushida a copy of their test so she could get a high grade in the math section but they gave her a fake because Horikita was already onto class C’s plan.
It all works out because no one was expelled due to the test and Horikita did better on the math section than Kushida. Kushida tells her that she will keep her end of the deal and stop sabotaging her but that doesn’t mean she won’t do the same for others. Implying she may come after Ayanokouji. The way Ayanokouji played the system to safeguard their scores and points was nothing short of a strategic ballet. 🩰📝
6. Winter Semester: Past and Points ❄️
As Ayanokouji faced his past, we saw how points played into personal conflicts and power plays. Class C leader Ryuuen becomes obsessed with figuring out who class D’s mastermind is. He goes as far as baiting Karuizawa to a construction area on campus to see if the real mastermind would show to save her. Along with 3 other class C students, they tie her up, threaten to tell everyone about her past of being bullied, drench her in water while its freezing outside, waterboard her, and try to get her to tell them who the mastermind was.
Ayanokouji gets the teacher and Manabu Horikita to help save Karuizawa. In return Ayanokouji will do what he can to get Horikita on the student council and if the school has to get involved Manabu will testify that it was Ryuuen and class C that started it. Ayanokouji solves this one a little differntly, with his fists. He goes in to save Karuizawa and fights all 4 members from class C. He unexpressively beats up Ryuuen and shows him that he does have the capacity to feel fear.
Ryuuen thinking he’d get expelled tries giving his personal points to Ibuki and then turns himself in for spray painting the cameras in the construction area but turned out that class D took the blame for it so he’s still in school. Seems like Ayanokouji will work with and use Ryuuen to have class D take class C’s place temporarily until Kushida gets kicked out. This whole plot brought Ayanokouji and Karuizawa closer which is what he wanted. Now he has an even more loyal servant and one that has proven her usefulness. His calculated moves in this complex point economy solidified his status as a master strategist. 🧐🏦
Final Thoughts 💭
“Classroom of the Elite” is more than just an anime; it’s a mind-bending exploration of strategy, psychology, and the economics of a high school point system. This is one of my favorite anime for its psychological mind whirlwinds. Season 2 came out in 2022 so I am so excited that it is returning for a season 3 this January.