Over the last three weeks I got through all 13 LN volumes of Year 1 of Classroom of the Elite. My first impression was that it was kind of like a less crazy version of Kakegurui, which turns over-the-top mind games into a competitive school story. But that is a pretty shallow description of what I got out of Elite. It is actually structurally closer to a heist or mastermind show like Leverage. The school in Elite holds these extreme “special exams,” like having the classes play a territory-control game on a deserted island for a week. These events drive most of the plot, and the large cast gives the social and strategic side of the story a lot of variety. However, it can be a bit hard to keep track of everyone. This feels like the kind of series where it is worth taking some notes.
Instead of feeling like a classic mystery, it feels like a story with a mystery engine buried inside it. There is a hidden layer of storytelling beneath the typical school scenes, gradually filling in the missing pieces through flashbacks. It is a bit clever in that it does this while mostly staying in the protagonist’s head, so it feels like you should know everything even when important details are being kept from you.
I found it more satisfying than Death Note’s mystery-box style. I think that is because the hidden plans feel embedded in a larger social game instead of existing just for the reveal. Death Note feels a bit more centered on the shock of the twist, while Elite makes those twists feel more connected to the broader cast dynamics and strategy.
As the story progresses, it lets us further into the main character’s head and ends up relying a bit less on the flashback reveals. This gives the rest of the cast more room to stand out, especially when the perspective shifts to other characters. Overall, I have enjoyed this series quite a bit. I checked out 6 episodes of the anime, and it leaves a lot on the chopping block, which means you miss out on some of the depth from the novels. I’m not sure the anime is worth recommending, though being a visual format does make it easier to follow who is who, so there are still advantages. I think I’ll take a break from the series and explore something else for a bit, but I’m looking forward to coming back to Year 2 and seeing where the story goes from here.