2022 was the year in which the definitive consecration of a title that is now on the lips of all readers took place within the world of light novels, which had the merit (a term that we will find several times in the future ) to have built a large number of fans all over the world and has become a cult series for fans of school series with “psychological” implications. You will have already understood from the title of this article that the light novel we will talk about today is Classroom of the Elitethe best-selling ongoing series of the year in Japan, which boasts a total of nineteen regular volumes and four specials, and from which a souls two seasons (with a third on the way) that made its comeback just last summer. The prerequisites for bringing this series to Italy were all there and the light novel publishing house Dokusho Editions seized the so-called ball by acquiring the rights and making all the Italian fans happy who were clamoring for it.
In recent weeks, the first volume of Classroom of the Elite (Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e), written by Shogo Kinugasa and with illustrations by Shunsaku Tomose, together with a limited edition that includes a cardboard box, a set of postcards, a PVC picture and a special dust jacket. Now that we have this Italian edition of the blockbuster light novel in our hands and after having read all the chapters, let’s go to frame what are the aspects that made Classroom of the Elite a title so appreciated by readers.
The events of Classroom of the Elite they take place in our times, in a reality not very different from ours where there is a very rigid society that rewards the most deserving people and turns its back on those who struggle to achieve success. Based on these principles, the Japanese government has founded Tokyo Higher Education School, a large high school that aims to educate Japan’s most promising pupils and make them the future ruling class of the nation. This huge campus resembles a small city in all respects, equipped with supermarkets, shops, entertainment venues and so on, where students can spend the 100,000 points they earn each month and live in complete autonomy. However, only those able to pass the very difficult entrance exam will be able to enter this school designed for the elite; among these is Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, the protagonist and narrator of this story, an ordinary boy who in truth neither excels in any particular subject nor has important ambitions to achieve, who will have to undertake his new school life, trying to make new friendships and not to rock too much the waters of his quiet life.
The class in which Ayanokouji finds himself is 1st D, ie the one with the lowest grade of the whole school, where the pupils with the lowest scores are grouped. This section is made up of the most diverse individuals: sportsmen, trendy girls, nerds, flirts and even some hotheads. The two girls who will get closer are Suzune Horikita and Kikyou Kushida, each the exact opposite of the other: the first is one of the people with the highest grades in the whole school, but who isolates herself from the rest of his classmates because of his antisocial behavior; the other is instead a cheerful and sunny girl who wants to get along with everyone. Against the background of this scenario, a new school year is kicked off, which will give new life experiences to these promising young first year students who have just entered their dream school. Or at least so they believe…
The beginning of this Classroom of the Elite it’s not that different from just any school comedy that you respect. The modest Ayanokouji will observe everything around him and will tell us about the various faces of his class and which will be the first groups that will form, such as the one made up of the jock on duty and the girls who follow him, and that of the less popular and slightly weird types. In the meantime, he will try to fit somewhere and live his life as a normal high school student, but also having to deal with the distrustful Horikita and her haughty and uncooperative attitude. Everything proceeds in the best possible way and everyone enjoys themselves as best they can between one lesson and another, but very soon the 1st D will have to collide with the harsh reality that awaits them within this school where merit counts more than any else. Without spoiling it too much “surprise”, we just tell you that while reading you will find yourself at a point in history where the situation will become so difficult as to put Ayanokouji and his companions against the wall. Or rather with their head in the books, given that this high-level school will ask them for a high level of preparation in order to pass the many exams. And who can’t keep up the pace? What end awaits him?
Classroom of the Elite immediately makes one thing clear in this first volume: nothing is as it seems, there is always something underneath. Right from the opening pages, this aura of mystery is felt which raises so many doubts in the reader about the true nature of this school. Too many aspects of it seem too idyllic, some things don’t add up, others instead seem to make little sense… until then some knots gradually start to come home to roost. It is an elegantly intriguing type of narrative that pushes the reader to want to try to compose a puzzle by finding those pieces that are still missing. To give an example, the same concept of “merit” and the ways in which the students must assert themselves are not very clear to the protagonists and therefore it will be up to them to have to draw conclusions by groping towards a road fraught with unknown dangers.
The other strong point of this light novel is represented by its thick and deep cast of characters. If you are not good at remembering many names, it is better that you write them down on notes because the students who are studied in depth in this first volume are quite a few. But fear not, since an excellent job has been done in outlining the fundamental traits of each of them and in fact even the secondary characters manage to carve out their own important space in the story. Although we are only at the beginning, it is possible to glimpse the growth of the various protagonists, such as the aforementioned Horikita and Sudou, a grumpy boy and basketball lover. Instead, other characters will prove to have hidden sides of their personalities that we didn’t initially think they might have.
A separate discussion must be made on Ayanokouji, the one who narrates the story in the first person: if you are very careful while reading, you will notice that the facts he recounts have some omissions on his part. The of him is a character who hides a pragmatic side and difficult to frame, who hides behind the typical appearances of any student without merits worthy of note. As well as the mysteries surrounding the school, the true nature of the protagonist is also very dubious and this serves as a warning to readers, who must be careful not to take everything that Ayanokouji tells them at face value.
Let’s add the fantastic illustrations of Shunsaku Tomosewhich really are the icing on the cake, and we can promote with flying colours these first volume of Classroom of the Elite. The story read so far has been very compelling and exciting, with few dead ends and many small more or less unexpected twists and turns. What actually looks like a plot centered on the school life of some students of a prestigious institution hides within it a dense network of mysteries and unknowns waiting to be revealed. And its main actors are certainly no less. Ultimately, we found ourselves in front of a crackling incipit for a series that promises a lot and touches on themes that are more current than ever through a suggestive and diabolically exquisite narrative. A unmissable title for anyone who loves to read light novels (and not only) who will keep you glued while reading and who will then make you wait for the release of the next volume. Give us a chance and you won’t regret it, because Classroom of the Elite has so much to offer and, despite its success, we have to give it back… merit.
Classroom of the Elite 1
I know it’s sudden, but I’d like to ask you a question. Are all people the same? Tokyo Higher Education School boasts a 100% college admissions and graduate employment rate. It is an institute specially created by the Japanese government to educate those who will be entrusted with the future of the country. Each month students are given points worth 100,000 yen which they are free to spend as they see fit. But this is an extremely meritocratic school, based on the supremacy of the best. And who shouldn’t excel…?!
Publication date: 12/14/2022
Price: €13.00
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Classroom of the Elite Limited Edition 1
I know it’s sudden, but I’d like to ask you a question. Are all people the same? Tokyo Higher Education School boasts a 100% college admissions and graduate employment rate. It is an institute specially created by the Japanese government to educate those who will be entrusted with the future of the country. Each month students are given points worth 100,000 yen which they are free to spend as they see fit. But this is an extremely meritocratic school, based on the supremacy of the best. And who shouldn’t excel…?! [Contiene volume 1, sovraccoperta variant, 3 cartoline patinate e 1 cartolina in PVC trasparente]
Publication date: 12/14/2022
Price: €13.00
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Classroom of the Elite: first impressions of the light novel