Highlights
- Classroom of the Elite portrays Ayanokoji differently from the animated version.
- The original novel & its sequel will keep readers busy, but try other similar light novels too.
- Six Lying College Students, Is It Tough Being a Friend, and Sakurada Reset are worth reading.
Classroom of the Elite caught on well as a manga and led to a 3-season anime adaptation. However, it started off as a light novel by Shōgo Kinugasa with art by Shunsaku Tomose. It had a few differences from its comic/cartoon counterparts, like the protagonist Ayanokōji being a less aloof but more of a scheming figure.
Classroom Of The Elite: 9 Things Light Novel Readers Know About Ayanokoji
Classroom of the Elite light novel portrays Ayanokoji a bit differently from the character's animated version.
But it was still a psychological thriller where its underperforming students had to struggle to climb up the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School’s ranks. The original light novel, and its sequel, will keep readers busy. But, once they've completed them, they might like to check out these great Classroom of the Elite-esque light novels too.
8 Six Lying College Students
MyAnimeList Score: N/A
- Written by Akinari Asakura.
- Illustrated by Iqura Sugimoto.
- 1 Volume.
- Fan Translations only.
Six Lying College Students hasn’t officially been translated into English yet, but it’s worth tracking down regardless. It’s a psychological thriller with a twist that would suit CotE fans. Particularly ones who’d like something a little more mature, like something with college graduates instead of high schoolers. In this case, the students are competing for a shot at a job with the up-and-coming IT company SpriLinks.
It all starts off normally enough, as the last six applicants are tasked with joining forces and helping each other get a spot at the company. Once they're in, then their task changes. Now they must choose one person out of their group for the job, which causes them to attack each other. Then, finally, they each receive a single letter accusing them of murder. One of them is a killer, but which one is it? Readers will have to check it out to learn the answer.
7 Is It Tough Being a Friend?
MyAnimeList Score: 7.13
- Written by Yasushi Date.
- Illustrated by Benio.
- 10 Volumes, 60 Chapters.
- Fan Translations only.
As serious as some of these entries are, it can get to be a bit much. Some readers might want something more tongue-in-cheek to lighten the mood. It can still have drama, heavy consequences, big reveals, etc., but it wouldn’t hurt to nudge and wink at the audience sometimes. In other words, it could be something like Is It Tough Being a Friend?
Ichirō is the main character, but he’d rather be a side character in life. Someone who supports a bigger, more popular character in the limelight rather than being its sole focus. Luckily, he gets his wish when he befriends Ryūga, a handsome young man who has a mysterious backstory, superpowers, and is popular with the ladies. However, Ichirō soon discovers he’s more significant to his life’s story than he’d like to be.
6 Sakurada Reset
MyAnimeList Score: 7.34
- Written by Kōno Yutaka.
- Illustrated by Yō Shiina.
- 7 Volumes, 37 Chapters.
- Fan Translations only.
CotE may have exploded in popularity, but Sakurada Reset (aka Sagrada Reset) caught fire as well. Thus far, it’s been adapted into two manga, two live-action movies, and an anime series. Then again, it is a sci-fi drama set at a high school in a town (the titular Sakurada) where everyone has superpowers. It’s got enough elements in even proportions to appeal to fans of sci-fi, high school drama, and superhero stories.
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It’s about Kei, a boy with a photographic memory, joining forces with Misora, who can reset time up to 3 days in the past. Since he can still remember the ‘reset’ time, they can handle tricky tasks effectively. As part of the school’s Service Club, they end up performing duties for the Administration Bureau, the organization that runs the town, which ends up having big consequences for them and Sakurada.
5 Heaven’s Memo Pad
MyAnimeList Score: 7.81
- Written by Hikaru Sugii.
- Illustrated by Mei Kishida.
- 9 Volumes, 57 Chapters.
- Fan Translations only.
It can be funny how English terms catch on in other languages. For example, NEET (‘Not in Education, Employment, or Training’) used to be British Government jargon for certain unemployed people. Then it reached Japan, where it became a common phrase in manga, anime, and light novels, like in Heaven’s Memo Pad. AKA God’s Notebook, Notebook of God, and It’s Only the NEET Thing to Do.
Narumi never really got to settle in one place and make friends because his father's work always kept his family on the move. However, things change when he comes across Alice. She’s a hacker genius who spends most of her time in her room. From there, she runs a detective agency where her NEET associates help her solve crimes. When Narumi finds out, he ends up a part of her club, and as a result, her wider investigation against a notorious crime syndicate.
4 The Dark Maidens
Amazon Score: 4/5 Stars.
- Written by Rikako Akiyoshi.
- Illustrated by booota and Kana Ōtsuki.
- 1 Volume, 8 Chapters.
- Available in English via Vertical Inc.
The Dark Maidens ramps things up more quickly than CotE by adding murder to the mix. Itsumi, the most popular and pretty student at St Mary’s Academy, was found dead on the premises. Her Literature Club gathers together a week later to commemorate her, only for things to take a turn as they read out short stories relating their memories of her last moments.
It descends into a morass of arguments and accusations, as each recollection paints one student or another in a bad light. Did one of them kill Itsumi? Was it someone else? Why did they do it in the first place? Did she kill herself? Inspired by the classic samurai movie Rashomon, the story pits these recollections against each other until it approaches something resembling the truth of the matter.
3 Kokoro Connect
MyAnimeList Score: 8.06
- Written by Sadanatsu Anda.
- Illustrated by Yukiko Horiguchi.
- 11 Volumes, 91 Chapters.
- Fan Translations only.
For fans who like CotE’s complex character drama, Kokoro Connect may give them more to chew on. At first glance, it seems like an ordinary high school series about a group of friends. Taichi, Iori, Himeko, Yoshifumi, and Yui are quite different from each other, but together they set up the Cultural Research Club to investigate their shared interest: supernatural phenomena.
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Things get serious when one phenomenon causes them to swap bodies with each other. At first, it’s played for yuks, but it gradually causes tensions to rise as boundaries get crossed and secrets get revealed. It tests their bonds to their breaking point, on top of the other phenomena that flare up while all this is going on. Even so, they must find out what’s causing the body swaps and how to stop it.
2 The Empty Box And Zeroth Maria
MyAnimeList Score: 8.70
- Written by Eiji Mikage.
- Illustrated by Tetsuo.
- 7 Volumes, 40 Chapters.
- Available in English via Yen Press.
If readers want a more surreal take on CotE, they may find it in The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria. This series starts off simply enough, as Kazuki is an ordinary high school student who likes his perfectly ordinary life. Even when he receives a mysterious wish-granting box from a mysterious figure called ‘O,’ he refuses to open it, because he’s fine with how things are.
So, O starts sending boxes to everyone around him, just to see how Kazuki reacts when his life is turned upside down. Then, a new student called Maria Otonashi joins his class. She’s pretty, but lacks social skills, and for some reason vows to “break” Kazuki even though they’ve never met before. Between O’s schemes and Otonashi’s intentions, Kazuki’s life is going to be anything but ordinary.
1 My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected
MyAnimeList Score: 8.77
- Written by Wataru Watari.
- Illustrated by Ponkan.
- 18 Volumes, 168 Chapters.
- Available in English via Yen Press.
If this one looks familiar, it might be because it was adapted into an anime called My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU. Yen Press just went with My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected, a more literal translation of its original Japanese name (Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru, or OreGaIru for short), for its original light novel and manga adaptations. Either way, it shares CotE’s school setting, and has a similar trio as leads.
Only here, the series is about the cynical Hachiman and the cold Yukino being brought together by the cheery Yui as part of the Service Club, where they help other students with their problems. Hachiman's brutal analysis and Yukino's lack of empathy make them seemingly ill-suited for the job, but they manage to make it work. Even so, they still have their own issues to sort out, and a lot to learn about themselves and each other.
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