Oh how fun it is to be back in school, especially if that school has magic, god-slaying, or mech-training in its curriculum. Such is the case with some of the most outlandish schools in anime. To keep things supposedly in check, these kinds of schools have their own student councils, and boy oh boy do they reek of power.
It's a common trope in school anime to feature some of the most ridiculous student councils who play fast and loose not just with the rules of the school but also with the rules of physics and reality. Needless to say, student councils in most anime are overpowered and exaggerated. Here are some of their most prevalent traits across many titles.
8 They're All Beautiful People
For a student council to stand out, they would have to be the cream of the crop among the sea of CGI and clone students. Hence, most student councils in anime schools consist of the prettiest and most handsome out of all the school population. At times, they even lack variety in physical features and have the same frames and bodies.
This was noticeable in anime like Food Wars or Special A. Not only are they some of the smartest (supposedly) in the school, but they also all look like supermodels. The men are either beefed up too much or have impossibly lean physiques while the women are all cup-size C or beyond and have waistlines that rival Jessica Rabbit. Compare that with the student councils in a local high school or a grounded anime and it looks plain unfair.
7 They're All Bullies
This isn't the case for all student councils in all anime— just for some of the most memorable ones. All of the student council members in certain titles seem to be too drunk in power and treat the typical non-council member like plebs. At worst, they gang up on bullying or humiliating some poor introverted loner or even small and nearly-extinct music or ghost-hunting club. Kakegurui has those kinds of people in spades.
In hindsight, this behavior is quite grounded. Having a combination of youth, good looks, and brains is a recipe for a superiority complex even in real-life. However, anime cranks up the fantasy by clumping all of them in the student council. Truth be told, it puts anime student councils in a bad light as most anime fans now see them as arrogant and condescending divas.
6 They Have More Power Than The Admin
It's not just the lower students that the student council loves to bully, but also sometimes the school administration itself. Because in some anime schools, the student council is given a lot more power and control than the admin or even the board members of the school. Suffice to say, they pretty much control the whole school and even have a hand in the policies and the rules.
This is all the more apparent in student councils in anime like Kakegurui or Food Wars. Both of those student councils could kick out their admin anytime or they get to decide everything. One doesn't even need to have gone to a prestigious school to know that this is far from reality. At best, student councils only get to approve some clubs or brainstorm about some school activities.
5 They're Allowed To Kill Or Hurt Anyone
Then there are some of the more extreme student councils such as those in Prison School or Kill la Kill. These councils are apparently immune from the Geneva Convention rules or basic Human Rights parameters as they are allowed to torture and physically harm their students. We're not just talking about childish bullying here either.
In Prison School, for example, all the male students are kept in cells and are worked to their bone. They're tortured if they disobey. It's basically slavery. Meanwhile, Kill la Kill's student council is all about social Darwinism where the strongest get to rule. Granted, that's a school where late-comers can be killed at the gate so it makes the student council authority a bit tame there.
4 They Don't Attend Classes At All
So what exactly does a typical overpowered student council do when they're not killing, bullying, or posing around for their imaginary photographers in their clubhouse? Not much apparently. Because viewers usually won't see student council members attending classes. Whenever they're shown in an anime, it's usually when they're at their tables plotting something or laughing sinisterly in chorus.
Most of them are simply never shown in classes. It appears they don't study as the normal students do. Heck, in some student councils such as the one in Tenjou Tenge, the student council members simply go around the campus beating up lower students or looking for fights. At that point, uniforms and academic classes are just for familiarity.
3 They're Usually All Rich
Again, it's not a generalization but the fact of the matter is that most members of the student council come from filthy rich or elite backgrounds. In some special cases like in Special A, one of them is poor but everywhere else, they are rich socialites with obnoxious amounts of wealth and privilege. Code Geass' student council even flaunts this unapologetically.
There, the student council president hosts frequent events that are all expensive where the students are forced to participate. One time, she even made a mech make a pizza inside the campus as an event. Meanwhile, the student council in Assassination Classroom sees most members as the sons of the school's shareholders. The council president himself is the heir to the school.
2 They're An Army On Their Own
All those trust funds had to go somewhere and can't stay liquid now can they? Hence, some student councils opted to build armies of their own. In Medaka Box which is a school about a student council power struggle, the members are pretty much demigods who can transform and perform all kinds of magical and supernatural abilities.
Kill la Kill also cranks this up to 11 where the students are no match for the student council and they frequently exercise their power and authority against any challenger. And then there are schools like in Horizon In The Middle Of Nowhere that function as surrogate nations. Student councils in such schools thus have the power of army generals. So if they're not an army, then they have an army.
1 They Have No Morals
This is for around half of all the student councils that exist in anime. In the aforementioned titles such as Kakegurui or Tenjou Tenge, or even Prison School, the council members don't have any care about the safety and wellbeing of their students. They are allowed to inflict harm and they very much take advantage of this allowance generously.
To that end, they are built quite differently and don't seem to lose any sleep over their outright evil deeds. This makes them easier to portray as villains, of course, especially in anime where the protagonist is an unconventional rebel. In any case, this is the very antithesis of what a student council should be but thankfully, adherence to realism is never a factor in making an anime enjoyable.