Highlights
- Classroom of the Elite season three begins with a mixed training camp, where students must live and work with different classes and earn points.
- The former and current student council presidents, Horikita and Nagumo, have a match that could have major repercussions for the series and the characters involved.
- Sakayanagi sets her sights on Class B and plans to exploit Ichinose's classmates to undermine her leadership and gain an advantage. Meanwhile, Horikita asks Ayanokoji to take down Nagumo as a favor.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Classroom of the Elite, Episode 1, "The Strongest Principle of Growth Lies in the Human Choice," now available to stream on Crunchyroll.
After the second season of the Classroom of the Elite anime series aired in the summer of 2022, the series is finally back. As season two ended with a confrontation between Sakayanagi and Ayanokoji, fans are expecting to see if Sakayanagi would be able to crush Ayanokoji. Moreover, their backstories are to be explored, and more about Ayanokoji’s connection to the White Room should be revealed.
While there is a promised battle between them, fans will have to wait as the Classroom of the Elite season three starts with a mixed training camp. This training camp involves year one to three students, and they would have to live and work with other classes for a week. As the students are split along class year and gender lines, they must earn points, and with Ayanokoji and his classmates now in Class C, a plot unfolds.
Best Anime To Watch If You Love Classroom Of The Elite
These great Anime have similarities to Classroom of the Elite and are highly recommended to fans of the show.
The Mixed Training Camp Starts
The mixed training camp involves students forming small groups with those they wouldn't typically interact with. As a special exam with points awarded based on performance, success is determined by tests on the last day. High-scoring groups receive class and private points, while low-scoring ones risk the expulsion of their leader and a person of the leader’s choosing.
Interestingly, the camp includes students from various grades, expanding competition beyond the usual classes A, B, C, and D. Ryuen is also seen to be scorned by students of the entire grade, possibly because he lost to class D and let them overtake class C, allowing his classmates to become the bottom barrel. However, as Ayanokoji stated in the last episode of the previous season, his class, class C, would only occupy that position for a while and would fall back to being class D. When that happens, would Ryuen resume his responsibilities as leader of the class, or would someone else take over?
A Battle Between The Current And Former Student Council Presidents
As the students begin to arrange themselves, Nagumo Miyabi confronts Horikita Manabu, the former student council president, and declares they have a match, as he wants to see if he has surpassed his predecessor.
Nagumo states that the match will have no penalties and is simply for pride. Other students show interest in this match, as it would be between past and present student council presidents. As Horikita Manabu has always had a somewhat prominent role in the series because of his sister’s obsession with proving herself to him, his winning or losing could severely impact the direction of the series. If Horikita Manabu wins, Nagumo Miyabi would simply be seen as a minor antagonist of his. However, if he loses, many can imagine how Suzune would react to seeing her mighty brother and role model lose right before he leaves the school. Moreover, as seen with the school, losers are highly chastised, and this scorn may spread to Suzune, opening up major plot points.
After the short confrontation between the past and present student council presidents, the students move their things to their rooms, and it is seen that Ayanokoji would have to share his room with nine others. Interestingly, many of Ayanokoji's roommates have had some sort of scuffle or interaction with him in the past.
Horikita and Kushida Talk Shop
Although the males and females are separated, they are allowed to meet at dinner as they dine together. As the space is made for information sharing, many characters take advantage of it to discreetly set plots and get together with their allies.
While Kushida is hell-bent on kicking Horikita out of the school, Horikita manages to coerce her to join her group, a gesture Kushida notes is pointless. With Ayanokoji’s personality, it doesn’t seem like he’d want such a dangerous parasite (Kushida) in his class, messing up his plans. However, even though he has made up his mind to kick Kushida out of the school, he allows Horikita to make attempts. Thankfully, if Kushida manages to pull anything against Horikita, Ayanokoji will be there to protect her; however, it’s high time Horikita loses her naivety and accepts the situation.
Sakayanagi Sets Her Eyes On Class B
As the mixed training camp is underway, the students' daily routine is revealed, and their posture and etiquette while doing certain tasks are well-monitored. Meanwhile, Ichinose is developing strong bonds with her classmates and helping them out. Of course, this is to ensure class B’s survival, as their strong bonds are what make them formidable. Unfortunately, Sakayanagi sets her eyes on Class B, and she reveals to Ayanokoji that while she does intend to crush him, Ichinose comes first. Sakayanagi revealing such important information to Ayanokoji makes many wonder what she expects to accomplish by revealing such information and if this is simply a ploy to get his guard down. Moreover, Sakayanagi plans to get Ichinose’s classmates to lose confidence in her by exploiting their private points with her. While keeping their points with Ichinose symbolizes trust, many wonder why that happened in the first place, as the risks outweigh the potential gains, and Sakayanagi seems to want to exploit it.
Horikita Manabu Asks Ayanokoji To Take Out His Competition
Meanwhile, Ayanokoji secretly meets with Horikita Manabu, who asks Ayanokoji to take down Nagumo as he owes him a favor for cleaning up the Ryuen incident. Manabu also gives Ayanokoji an informant—the student council vice president who’s supposed to be working with Nagumo. While Horikita is sure Nagumo won’t break his promise of involving other students, Ayanokoji seems to have doubts as he states that "Horikita Manabu might lose this one."
Apart from the possibility of the former student council president losing to his competitor, Ayanokoji being suddenly used to face the current student council president would put a big target on his back and reduce the probability of Suzune entering the student council. Risking that, Manabu seems highly confident in Ayanokoji, his informant, or both. However, fans must also consider that the informant may be a double agent. If that happens, then Horikita Manabu would truly be walking a thin line.