With "Welcome to the Classroom of the Elite" scheduled to begin airing in July 2022, before we dive into the second season, let's take a look back at the first season. (Contains spoilers!)
About the School
The school our protagonist, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, enrolls in is Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, a school established by the Japanese government with the goal of "nurturing young people who will support the future." Despite being located in the heart of the city, this school is located on a spacious campus of over 600,000 square meters, equipped with numerous facilities such as karaoke and a theater room. Its greatest appeal is its 100% employment and advancement rate, making it a dream school where enrollment promises a bright future.
Points & Student ID Card
This school is a boarding school, and all students are completely cut off from the outside world for three years of their school life. Access to various facilities on the campus, including the dormitories, and purchases of merchandise are all purchased with points, allowing students to freely purchase groceries, daily necessities, clothing, game consoles, and more. Students are given 100,000 points every month, with each point worth 1 yen in real life. They are also given a student ID card, which acts as a credit card when redeeming points. The newly enrolled students of Class D spend their 100,000 points without hesitation.
About the Characters
The protagonist, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, enrolls at Advanced Nurturing High School. He is a quiet man who avoids interference and maintains a "do-nothing" mentality. After entering Class D, Ayanokoji begins working with Horikita Suzune, his seatmate, whom he happens to become acquainted with. The story revolves around these two characters. Class D is filled with unique individuals, including the popular Kushida Kikyo, who proactively communicates with both boys and girls, Hirata Yosuke, who brings the class together, and Karuizawa Megumi, who leads the girls' group. The class is also home to many problem children, including the three idiots Sudo Ken, Yamauchi Haruki, and Ike Kanji, and the extremely self-centered Koenji Rokusuke.
S System
A month has passed at this special school, where the students of Class D are pampered and lazy, with a generous monthly allowance of 100,000 yen, a laissez-faire teacher, and May 1st, as Class D is in uproar over their points not being deposited, their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, announces the S System. "The S System evaluates students in real time and produces a numerical value." This school, which measures students based on their abilities, uses a machine called the S System to evaluate all students. Students who successfully enroll are awarded 100,000 points, and their grades for the following month, including tardiness, absences, talking during class, and using their cell phones, are deducted from the 100,000 points. Class D lost all of the 100,000 points they were due to receive, resulting in a total of 0 points.
About Class D
Students are assigned to classes A through D based on their entrance exam results and various individual abilities. They compete based on the total points earned in each class. Since this class division is based on meritocracy, Ayanokoji and his classmates in Class D are the lowest-ranking underachievers in their grade. Among them, top-achieving Horikita and honor student Hirata take the lead in trial and error to earn points. By the way, as of May of their first year, Class A's points were 940, Class B's 650, Class C's 490, and Class D's 0. Each student receives 10 times their class points.
Midterm Exam Study Session ①
At the end of April, Class D received a zero point rating. Hirata, the class's central figure, organized a study session to earn points. However, students with poor grades like Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi were not participating. If they failed, the class's total points would drop. Hoping to move up to Class A, Horikita dragged Ayanokoji into organizing the study session. Horikita's somewhat forceful behavior, coupled with her condescending attitude toward the studious students, led Sudo and the others to leave in anger. And so, the midterm exams arrived without any preparation.
Midterm Exam Study Session ②
The test results were astonishing: Class D students dominated the top of their grade. The man behind this result was our protagonist, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji. The truth is, two days before the exam, Ayanokoji targeted a broke third-year student eating a free mountain vegetable set meal at the school cafeteria, and purchased past test questions for 15,000 points. By comparing the questions with the previous quiz, they discovered that all of the questions were reused. The day before, they had Kushida, a trusted member of the class, distribute past exam questions to the entire class. Sudo and his classmates, who had poor grades, crammed the entire exam and successfully avoided expulsion. Ayanokoji's brilliant strategy took advantage of the rule that "there is nothing in this school that can't be bought with points."
Fight ①
Class D somehow managed to complete their midterm exams without incident, but then a violent incident occurred: Sudo, who is known for his bad behavior, got into a fight with students from Class C. Sudo claimed self-defense, claiming that he was called out by members of the Class C basketball team and that a three-on-one fight had broken out. Meanwhile, a student from Class C filed a complaint with the school, claiming that Sudo had called him out and beaten him up. With no eyewitnesses to report the incident, Horikita set her sights on fellow Class D student Airi Sakura.
Fight Incident ②
Sakura is shy and often alone in class, but she's actually a popular social media user who posts selfies. By chance, she happened to be taking a selfie while Sudo and the others were fighting in the special wing. Sakura's selfie clearly captured a fight between Sudo and the Class C students. However, since it was unclear who had started the fight, the Class C teacher requested that both students be suspended. However, Horikita maintained Sudo's complete innocence, and neither side backed down, leading to a retrial the following day.
Fight Incident ③
Even though Sudo was found completely innocent, Horikita and Ayanokoji, who had no other options after using up their trump card, Sakura, decided to devise a plan. First, Horikita asks Kushida, who is popular with boys from other classes, to email the three Class C students to the special wing. Then, she points to the surveillance camera she purchased with her points. Horikita argues to them, as if the surveillance camera, which wasn't originally in the special wing, had always been there, claiming that the entire incident was captured on camera and that the school is aware of it. She then goes on to assert that the school is watching to see how the students solve the problem.
Fight ④
The presence of the camera and Horikita's eloquence leave the three Class C students shaken. Horikita continues, "Once this incident occurs, both parties will suffer and be punished." Furthermore, Class C threatens to expel all three of them for lying and involving the entire school. To the three students, who are becoming increasingly flustered, Horikita offers a solution: "It's too early to jump to conclusions. Let's just let the incident go." Horikita suggests the option of forcing them to drop the lawsuit altogether. Threatening them with expulsion, Horikita's urging leads Class C to drop the lawsuit, and Sudo is found completely innocent.
The Man Named Kiyotaka Ayanokoji
The protagonist of this story, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, may not be a particularly successful student, but he's no ordinary underachiever. His achievements, such as scoring 50 points in all subjects on the entrance exam and mastering martial arts techniques that allow him to easily dodge the attacks of even advanced students, suggest that there are secrets hidden in his past. In the first season of the anime, Ayanokoji's true nature was gradually revealed, as he was seen in a facility surrounded by white walls and his obsession with freedom and equality.
Summer Vacation
Final exams are over, and summer vacation begins. Ayanokoji and his friends enjoy a cruise on a luxury cruise ship sponsored by the school. The ship is fully equipped with a first-class restaurant, amusement facilities like a pool, and a luxurious spa, all of which are freely available to the students, just like on campus. Their vacation is short-lived, as the ship arrives at a deserted island owned by the school. The week-long, inter-class group survival test on this deserted island kicked off.
Special Test Rules
Each class was given 300 points specifically for the test, which they used to purchase food, portable toilets, fishing rods, and other items. Any remaining points were added to their class points. Classes were penalized for illness, serious injury, violence, looting, absence from morning roll call, and withdrawals, resulting in a point deduction. The deserted island also had several base camp spots, and each time a spot was secured, a bonus of +1 point was awarded. Only the leader of each group could occupy these spots, and the leader could not be changed without special reason. On the seventh and final day of the test, if a class correctly identified a leader from another class, +50 points were awarded for each correct leader. A penalty of -50 points was awarded for incorrect identification, and bonus points were not awarded.
Special Exam ①
First, Class D split up to explore the deserted island and secure a spot facing the river. Surprisingly, Ike and Sudo, who had poor grades, took the lead in finding a spot. Ike, drawing on his camping experience, was able to start a fire and select edible nuts. Thanks to their efforts, Class D gradually came together, and Hirata led the team in deciding how to spend the 300 points they had been given. The plan was to use 150 points to purchase nutritious food, water, men's and women's tents, and temporary toilets, 30 points as reserves, and 120 points left over, with the assumption that some points would be used. The plan was to save as many points as possible.
Special Exam ②
Since Hirata and Kushida usually stand out when occupying the spot, it was decided that Horikita would be the leader of Class D. Also, on the first night, while collecting firewood, Ayanokoji and his friends happened upon Mio Ibuki from Class C, who had a bruise on her cheek. Apparently, Ibuki had a conflict with Ryuen Kakeru, a central figure in Class C, and after Ryuen punched her, Class D decided to protect her. Hirata was skillfully managing the gender roles and miscellaneous tasks, and Class D was beginning to come together, but then an incident occurred.
Special Exam ③
An incident occurred in the middle of the night, when girls' underwear was stolen. The girls were furious, and Ike's bag was found to contain unfamiliar women's underwear. Fortunately, Hirata managed to hide the underwear during the baggage search, so it wasn't discovered. However, the fact remained that someone had rubbed the underwear theft into the pond. The culprit was never identified, the girls' anger continued, and a major rift developed between the boys and girls.
Special Exam ④
Class D remained unstable as the exam entered its sixth day. Horikita, who had been feeling unwell since the beginning of the exam, inadvertently had her leader's key card stolen by someone. Then, as if on cue, a fire broke out in Class D's tent. After the incidents that have led to rifts between the group and the theft of the key card, Horikita suspects Ibuki from Class C to be the culprit. Taking advantage of the fire, she chases after Ibuki, who is about to disappear into the forest, and in the midst of a sudden downpour, a battered and injured Horikita catches Ibuki. Ibuki resists with his skilled martial arts skills. Feeling responsible for her blunder of having her key card stolen, Horikita tries to catch him somehow, but due to her physical condition, Ibuki hits her with a heavy kick and she loses consciousness.
Special Exam Results ①
Ayanokoji found Horikita lying on the ground with a high fever, bruises, and injuries all over her body. Horikita confessed her lack of comradeship and regret for having fought alone until then, before passing out. Horikita immediately withdrew. With Horikita's withdrawal and the leader being identified, Class D's special exam came to an end with the worst possible outcome. On the seventh day of the exam, the students gathered on the beach. Ryuen from Class C appeared, a fearless smile on his face. From the first day of the exam, Ryuuen teamed up with Katsuragi from Class A and sent Ibuki and Kaneda as spies to identify the leaders of Class B and D. By connecting with groups opposed to Katsuragi's faction in Class A, he planned to identify the leader of Class A and ensure Class C's victory.
Special Exam Results ②
Ryuuen bursts into laughter. The exam results were announced: Class C (lowest), 0 points; Class A (third), 120 points; Class B (second), 140 points; and Class D (first), 225 points. Once again, it was Ayanokoji who brought about this result, which perplexed the other classes and even Horikita, who had to withdraw from the competition. "The leader of Class D has not been revealed." The exam rules state that "the leader cannot be changed without a valid reason," but this can be flipped around to mean that the leader can be changed as long as there is a valid reason. Ayanokoji changed the leader of Class D from Horikita to Ayanokoji, citing Horikita's poor health as an excuse. He was also quick to spot the spy Ibuki, and waited until Horikita's health reached its limit, deliberately having him steal the card and start a fire, allowing Ibuki to escape.
The End of the Exam and After
Everything was in Ayanokoji's hands. By having him steal the leader's key card, Ryuuen and Katsuragi were convinced that Horikita was the leader, leading to their mistake in guessing the leader on the final day. Furthermore, based on a conversation between Katsuragi and Yahiko he witnessed on the first day, he determined that the leader of Class A was Yahiko, and he also confirmed that Ryuuen, the mastermind behind Class C, was the leader. Class D received a bonus of 100 points, while Classes A and C suffered penalties, resulting in the results shown here.
Summary
We hope you enjoyed this article. This time, we thoroughly covered the first season of the anime "Welcome to the Classroom of the Elite." One of the charms of this series is how Ayanokoji and his friends overcome the numerous challenges they face. The production of seasons two and three has already been announced, and it has been stated that the entire first-year arc will be adapted into a live-action film. The pasts and secrets of the quirky Class D students will likely be revealed little by little. I can't wait for season two!
