Classroom of the Elite (2017)

[ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ]

Season 1

Director: Seiji Kishimoto, Hiroyuki Hashimoto
Studio: Lerche
Starring: Shoya Chiba, Akari Kito, Yurika Kubo
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
At the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School, students compete against each other in a start system where merit determines ranking.

Impressions:
I missed this on its initial run, but the release of the second season prompted me to go back and check this out. I had some idea of how things would go just based on the title. If you've seen Kakegurui, this has a similar vibe, though instead of high-stakes gambling we have high-stakes ordinary school events and petty teenage interpersonal politics. As I understand it, the acid-tongued and standoffish female lead Horikita wasn't as prominent in the original source, but here she makes a good contrast with the deadpan male lead Ayanokoji. One of the big elements is people being two-faced (with Horikita being a notable exception), and as we start to explore Ayanokoji's hidden depths, things really start to get interesting. All the chessmaster plays are fun, but the aforementioned petty teenage interpersonal politics can be grating. Overall, however, I enjoyed it and would recommend giving it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It