“Classroom of the Elite” is a Japanese psychological thriller light novel series written by Shōgo Kinugasa and illustrated by Shunsaku Tomose. The plot of this story revolves around the perspective of our protagonist, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, and his involvement with the special school and people he encounters.

In this story, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji enters a school established by the Japanese government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School. This school gives their students a high degree of freedom in order to closely mimic real life so that they may nurture the generation of people that will support the country in the future. Upon entering this school, the students are separated into different classes, A through D, with “A” being the “best” class and “D” being the worst. Ayanokōji is placed in “D” class and is labeled as a defective product. 

Ayanokōji’s character is described as an indifferent, quiet boy who doesn’t know how to interact with the people around him and wants to live his life as quietly as possible. After meeting a girl in his class, Suzune Horikita, he is implored to help her achieve the status of A class through the special point system in the story. As the story goes on, we see the special skills Ayanokōji possesses and the backstory on how he is revealed to be the “perfect” human through his physical prowess and high intelligence.

I was first introduced to these novels through the anime that was created to help promote the light novels. This story covers the different philosophies, schemes, and skills that all the characters have and it is such an intriguing read. As of now, the story has 18 volumes and is still ongoing. I really recommend these novels as the plot is fascinating to read and it makes one want to read more. If you aren’t a big reader then I recommend you watch the anime, which goes by the same title. The anime only covers the first three volumes of the series, but it helps show the intriguing plot this story revolves around. 

Viewing platforms like Crunchyroll have the anime, and the English translations for the novels can be found online or can be purchased off of Amazon.