The popular anime "Welcome to the Classroom of the Elite" is scheduled to air its second season starting in July 2022. Today, we'll be giving you a sneak peek at the first part of what's likely to be in the second season. (Spoiler Alert!)
Shipboard Exam Arc
After completing their seven-day special exam on a deserted island, Ayanokoji and his friends were given no time to rest before the next special exam was announced. They were divided into 12 groups of three classes, each with three to four students, to play a Werewolf game. The groups were named after the zodiac animals, with Ayanokoji, Tonomura, Yukimura, and Karuizawa forming the "Rabbit" group. The game involved finding the "preferred person" in each group. On the first day of the exam, participants were informed via email whether they were the "preferred person." They then had two one-hour group discussions per day, during which they had four days to identify the "preferred person."
Onboard Exam - Results and Rewards
There were four possible outcomes. In outcome 1, the preferred person came forward, and everyone in the class except the preferred person emailed their name. In this case, 500,000 points were awarded to the entire group, and 1 million points were awarded to the preferred person. In outcome 2, the preferred person was not revealed, and only 500,000 points were awarded to the preferred person. In outcome 3, the preferred person was emailed before the end of the exam and correctly guessed. The student who guessed correctly received 500,000 points, 50 class points for that student's class, and -50 class points for the student whose name was guessed. Result 4: If the student emails the winner before the exam ends and answers incorrectly, the class of the student who got it wrong will lose 50 class points. The winner will receive 500,000 points and 50 class points.
Grouping
After hearing the details of the exam, Ayanokoji goes to check on the other groups. Horikita's group is called "Tatsu," and its main members are Katsuragi from Class A, Kanzaki from Class B, Ryuen from Class C, and Kushida, Horikita, and Hirata from Class D. It's a group that seems artificially made up of key figures from each class. Ayanokoji's group only has Ichinose from Class B and Ibuki from Class C, with no other key members.
Exam Begins
Then, the first discussion session began. In Ayanokoji's "U" group, Ichinose actively tried to lead the discussion. However, the students in Class A, who had the most points, feared that a traitor would penalize the class, and showed no willingness to participate in the discussion. The first day ended without any discussion.
Uji Group
Looking back on the exam content so far, Ayanokoji thought that there must be a clue somewhere about the pattern of the favored students in this exam. However, unlike Kushida and Ichinose, she had no connections with other classes, and even within her own class, she had no trustworthy peers, making it difficult to establish rules for preferential treatment or intervene in other classes. Meanwhile, Ayanokoji's attention was drawn to Karuizawa Kei, a member of his own group. A gyaru who commands the girls of Class D, she was the first to approach Machida from Class A in the "U" group, and from the outside, she acted like his girlfriend.
Karuizawa Kei's Argument
Ayanokoji witnessed Karuizawa arguing with the girls of Class C. As the argument escalated, a female student from Class C named Manabe grabbed Karuizawa around the neck. Karuizawa suddenly cowered in fear, trembling, and froze in place. "A person's true nature is revealed in times of crisis." To discover Karuizawa's true nature, despite her usually high ranking in the hierarchy, Ayanokoji sets up a trick.
Conversation with Hirata
During the shipboard exam, Hirata reveals that she's not actually dating Karuizawa, but only pretends to be in front of everyone. Considering this, along with the fact that she's managed to get Machida on her side in the "U" group, Ayanokoji deduces that her motivation is to protect herself. Hirata also reveals that Karuizawa was bullied in elementary and middle school, and that she asked Hirata to help her establish a high position in her class so that this wouldn't happen in high school. Hirata also reveals that his own past experiences have made him obsessively concerned about others, and asks him to help solve Karuizawa's problems.
Summoning by Email
Using Hirata for Karuizawa and anonymous chat for Manabe, he summons them to a secluded area on the ship. Manabe leads a group of C-class girls around Karuizawa, surrounding her and repeatedly assaulting her, who is paralyzed by past trauma. Having planned this, Ayanokoji watches from the shadows. After making sure Manabe and the others leave satisfied, Ayanokoji approaches Karuizawa.
Persuasion/Collaboration
After explaining that he rushed over in place of Hirata and comforting Karuizawa, he touches on her core concerns. He explains her past bullying, that Hirata is on Karuizawa's side but also on the side of the entire class, and that if there's a problem with another class, she could be bullied again like this. Karuizawa's brutal past experiences of bullying were not hard to imagine, given the deep scars on her ribs. "I'll protect you from bullying more than Hirata or Machida." His appearance and words, so different from the usual Ayanokoji, naturally carried a powerful message. "You work for me, and I work for you." Ayanokoji gained a new ally in Karuizawa Megumi, protecting her from bullying in exchange for her cooperation.
Ayanokoji's Intentions
Though his methods were forceful, this series of tactics was also intended to gauge Karuizawa's hatred of being bullied more than anything else. By subjecting her to bullying once, he reminded her of her trauma and offered her a helping hand. Karuizawa had been trying to maintain her status by parasitizing Hirata and Machida, but now he has successfully shifted her parasitizing to Ayanokoji. It will be interesting to see how Ayanokoji and Karuizawa's cooperative relationship will move the story forward.
Exam Results
As for the intriguing exam results, it seems that a traitor appeared in each class and assigned the preferred students. Class A lost points, Class B remained unchanged, Class C gained 150 points, and Class D gained 50 points. It turns out that Ryuen had some kind of plan behind it, as Class C achieved the top score and Horikita and the "Tatsu" group were the preferred students. However, the details remain hidden, and the Shipboard Exam Arc comes to a close.
Summary
So what? This time, we've explained the first story of the second season of the anime, the Shipboard Exam Arc. In the manga, this corresponds to volume 7. While his class points only increased slightly, Ayanokoji got a panel featuring Karuizawa Kei. And as for Horikita's group, why did Ryuuen and the rest of class C win? This will be a key point in the story going forward. Ayanokoji is looking for allies, and it will be interesting to see what Horikita does next.
