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EP. REVIEW: Classroom of the Elite

This show is a good example that an interesting premise doesn't mean anything if the execution is bad. And honestly, this doesn't come as a surprise. The ridiculously out-of-place fanservice aside, what bothers me most is the extreme black and white portrayal of the characters and the extreme exaggerations of certain character traits. Which, again, is not surprising because almost all anime of this kind suffer from the same problems.

So instead of utilizing the setting in an interesting manner as a social experiment, the show will probably focus on shallow entertainment value (fanservice, cute girls, cheap plot twists, one-dimensional jerks as "antagonists", more revelations of characters' tragic / shocking backgrounds, glorification of the main character, "battle" between the classes).

Well, maybe my hunch is wrong, but … when were these kinds of shows ever clever? I can't remember a single one.

Our fatigued outcast Ayanokoji's class, 1-D, is the very worst of the worst,

Of course, people who actually fail any exams are forced to drop out, so there's also the reasonable strategy of letting your individual failures just fail to raise your class average.

Ikusei's students are competing in a rigged game, but that game is framed in such a way that their opponents are their fellow students, not their overarching oppressors.

Genki girl Kushida could theoretically pass as this show's moral center, given her consistent espousing of open-handed, transaction-free friendship

Scenes like the second episode's finale, where Ayanokoji demonstrates sudden and unexpected martial arts skills to rescue Horikita from her brother, feel silly in a way that actually endears me to the show.

but the show's fanservice-laden framing of her character is so predatory that it makes it hard to believe the show actually cares about her.

Genki girl Kushida could theoretically pass as this show's moral center, given her consistent espousing of open-handed, transaction-free friendship - but the show's fanservice-laden framing of her character is so predatory that it makes it hard to believe the show actually cares about her.

Scenes like the second episode's finale, where Ayanokoji demonstrates sudden and unexpected martial arts skills to rescue Horikita from her brother, feel silly in a way that actually endears me to the show.

I do not think that the scene was silly. There was foreshadowing at the pool scene when not-Yukinon was about to point out he had a toned body. The scene imo points out how everybody is hiding something. Why would not-hachiman boycott himself in the exams? Dunno but that was the name of the episode and I expect a good answer in the episodes to come.

Still not crazy about this whole "school as a microcosm of a brutal society" approach, though. Much too pessimistic for my tastes.

I remember the commentary from a japanese girl that came to mexico and helped in language classes over here saying she spent her time doing arbaito while in university (something I think is unheard of in the west).

in Japan is the exact opposite, as soon as kindergarten kids have to take entrance exams but when they finally get accepted to a university, is a piece of cake, I remember the commentary from a japanese girl that came to mexico and helped in language classes over here saying she spent her time doing arbaito while in university (something I think is unheard of in the west).

With the framing device of the thinky-think philosopher quotes in the beginning of the episodes so far (Nietzche in the first, La Rochefoucauld in the second), it'd be nice if a philosophy major happened across this forum, to help identify any specific shout-outs to classic philosophy and ethics.

I just noticed that the wikipedia page on La Rochefoucauld - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/François_de_La_Rochefoucauld_(writer) - says Nietzche was highly influenced by him, so maybe we're going to get the same kinds of quotes in future episodes.

If you're referring to part-time work while in college, it's hardly ubiquitous but still fairly common in the States. I did it all through college (in fact, I mostly paid for college that way) and have known a fair number of other people who also did so. In fact, major college campuses typically have job services specifically to help students arrange that kind of employment.

[quote="invalidname"]I just noticed that the wikipedia page on La Rochefoucauld - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/François_de_La_Rochefoucauld_(writer) - says Nietzche was highly influenced by him, so maybe we're going to get the same kinds of quotes in future episodes.