Classroom of the Elite II

Episode 8

So here we are at the twentieth overall episode of Classroom of the Elite and we finally get to learn what Kushida's deal is. It's about time.

When it comes down to it, Kushida is obsessed with the rush she feels whenever she gets praise and recognition. When she was young, she had enough physical and mental talent to stand out and have it heaped upon her. However, as she grew up, she had to face the truth: she had been the biggest fish in a small pond. In the wider world, there is always someone stronger and someone smarter.

So Kushida had to look for other means of peer approval. She found one by being the person willing to do all the dirty or monotonous jobs that no one else wanted to do. The issue here is that those jobs are despised for a reason and just because she got the praise she wished for, that doesn't mean that stopped her stress from growing. She needed an outlet and so vented in an online blog—which worked well enough until the day someone in class found it. Then, when everyone turned on her, she blabbed all their darkest secrets—causing the class to devolve into infighting around her.

High school was Kushida's chance to start over—to play the same role as before but not get found out. Unfortunately, anyone who knew about what happened to her class in middle school would be a threat to her plans—hence her fixation on getting Horikita (and now Ayanokoji) expelled.

The thing is, Kushida is targeting the two people who don't actually care about her dual-faced nature. The chances are both would be keen to utilize her skills for their goal of moving up to Class A. Moreover, from them, she would get praise not for being the “good girl” she pretends to be but for being the actual person she is underneath. What's doubly tragic is that, at least in regards to Ayanokoji, she suspects this to be the case. More than once, we've seen her be on the edge of confiding in him—only to turn back at the last moment.

In the end, it is fear that rules Kushida's life—the fear that she will once again be exposed and thus denied the public recognition she is addicted to. It blinds her to other paths forward and makes her reckless when her goal is in sight. She should know by now to never let your opponent choose the game—especially if its one you think you should win. But she still can't stop herself from rising to Horikita's provocations thanks to the fear at the core of her being. But even if this doesn't spell the end for Kushida yet, as long as she continues to give into her fear, she is all-but-guaranteed to crash-and-burn eventually.

Rating:

Random Thoughts

• Yelling your true feelings out loud seems even more risky than a blog. Honestly, I wonder if just having a private blog that only she could access wouldn't have worked.

• Personally, I think Kushida should take up boxing. Some time with the punching bag might be exactly what the doctor ordered.

• The moment Kushida was asked to relate her backstory is the moment she should have rethought her plan. If Ayanokoji doesn't know what happened, he isn't a target—especially as he has kept her outburst secret up until this point. And if Hirokita hasn't told him, then that likely means she was telling the truth about not knowing the specifics as well.

• At this point, Kushida has got to know (or at least highly suspect) that Ayanokoji is the mastermind of the class. So why hasn't she told Ryuen?

• I can't understand how Kushida sees the highly apathetic pair of Hirokita and Ayanokoji as more of a threat than Ryuen.

Classroom of the Elite II is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.