Highlights

  • Classroom of the Elite is a series focused on manipulation and cunning strategies, where students constantly outsmart each other to achieve their goals.
  • The show features a diverse cast of manipulative characters with different approaches and motivations, who exploit situations and people to further their own goals.

Shogo Kinugasa Classroom of The Elite is known for its intricate web of manipulation and cunning strategies, as the whole point of the series is to set the stage for the students of the individual classes to constantly outsmart the other ones. The various characters employ devious tactics to climb the social ladder and achieve their individual goals.

main and secondary characters
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Ranking the most manipulative characters in the show can be quite subjective, as their approaches, motivations, and goals all differ. Some display their expertise in manipulating situations and some exploit people to further their goals. With that in mind, here are some of the most manipulative characters in the series.

6 Ryuen Kakeru

Brains And Brawn

ryuen kakeru

At first glance, Ryuen might seem like an aggressive stud with a below-average intellectual capacity, but he effectively manipulates people through intimidation and fear, keeping his classmates under his thumb through a blunt and aggressive approach.

He loves causing problems for others, as he did with Sudo Ken and almost succeeded in getting him expelled. He is also smart enough to cover his tracks while carrying out his devious plots. It took a bigger and more intricate plan from Ayanokoji to foil Kakeru’s plan of discovering who the D Class mastermind was.

5 Miyabi Nagumo

Extremely Persuasive and Narcissistic

nagumo miyaboi classroom of the elite

Nagumo is the recently appointed Student Council President elected to succeed Manabu Horikita after his graduation. He rules the school with an iron fist and is suspected by Manabu to be responsible for the expulsion of several students who might have crossed him in one way or another. Persuasion seems to be a strong suit of his, although that only works when it does not involve a potential love interest like some of his attempts to woo women like Horikita.

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He believes people are his toys, and would not think twice before sacrificing them to get one step closer to his goal, putting his extremely narcissistic side on display. He also famously tried to force Honami Ichinose into a relationship with him through an elaborate plan before being thwarted by none other than Ayanokoji.

4 Ichika Amasawa

Fem Fatale

ichika amasawa

Following the introduction in the 2nd Year Arc, Ichika has proven to be quite mischievous and childish in her interactions with people. She also knows how to manipulate people and make them vulnerable, mastering the art of tearing people down mentally, and allowing them to make costly mistakes during crucial times. Her perception and understanding of people is top-tier, allowing her to predict their next course of thought.

The concept of strengths and weaknesses is also one she is familiar with, and she implements it against people to gain their trust and have them follow her orders without giving much thought to it.

3 Kushida Kikyo

Two-Faced Pretender

kikyo kushida

Kushida is well known around the school as someone who tries hard to befriend everyone, but beneath that ruse is a spoiled girl who harbors a dark secret. She secretly despises Suzune even though she publicly tries to make friends with her.

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Only a few characters have experienced the dark side of Kushida, with Ayanokoji’s experience coming with threats of framing him for sexual assault if he told anyone about what he saw that night. She lives on the recognition and clout she gains from her facade and will do anything to ensure that her.

2 Arisu Sakayanagi

Manipulates Situations

arisu sakanayagi

The well-renowned class representative of A Class, Arisu Sakayanagi stands out in many ways, one of them being her views on life and the concept of talent. She believes a person’s ceiling is determined by their genetics from birth, and that those who are blessed with the superior genes will always come out on top.

Seeing Ayanokoji outsmart everyone in the White Room due to the education he received angered her, and she pledged to defeat him and prove to everyone that superior genetics will always prevail over training. Seeing as she is the mastermind behind A Class’ success, her manipulation is not done to control people but rather to manipulate situations.

1 Kiyotaka Ayanokoji

The Genius Of The White Room

Classroom of the Elite S2 featuring Kiyotaka Ayanokoji

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, the titular protagonist of Classroom Of The Elite, is a student who does not like to stand out and intentionally keeps his grades average on purpose to prevent people from taking notice of him. He acts uninterested in everything but secretly analyzes everyone's behavior and decides if they would be a valuable tool or not.

He is without a doubt the most manipulative character in the show, putting in a lot of effort to ensure that he can keep pulling the strings of D Class behind the scenes. Several times, he has put his superior intellect on display against all odds, bending the rules and coming up with solutions no other character would have thought of, manipulating people and situations to arrive at very specific outcomes that he had envisioned.