Culture news This actor is so talented! It alone justifies watching this little-known anime
2024 launched around ten days ago and with it the Winter Anime course. The opportunity to continue the Apothecary’s Notebooks, Frieren or even Shangri-La Frontier. It’s also the opportunity to discover adaptations of anticipated manga like Solo Leveling, or Burn the Witch. For my part, it’s above all the opportunity to find one of my favorite voice actors.
Opinion post
This is an opinion post. It is by nature subjective and does not represent the opinion of the JV editorial staff.
The elite of high school students
It’s a bit of my guilty pleasure at the start of the year: Classroom of the Elite resumes with a third season of which the first two episodes have already been broadcast. Despite my general lack of interest in the animated adaptation, I get a certain pleasure from watching the new adventures within Kodo Ikusei High School each week. The establishment is considered the best in its category in Japan by providing students with everything they need: ultra-modern equipment, restaurants and even a shopping mall are available. A kind of paradise in appearance for anyone taking the entrance exam.
This is far from reality since the students are divided into four classes: A, B, C and D. The students in class D are considered outcasts and instantly stigmatized by the other students. However, there is a system allowing them to move up the entire class. You must then cooperate with others, knowing full well that students from other classes are ready for any low blows.
Shouya Chiba – Image credits: AniList.
In this setting, we follow the protagonist Kiyotaka Ayanokoji. Considering himself “negligent” during the entrance exams, he was naturally enrolled in class D. He displays a certain phlegm, does not particularly want to make friends with his classmates and above all does not want to stand out from the others. Something that makes him shine in the spotlight, combined with the incredible performance of his voice actor: it is Shouya Chiba who lends his voice to Ayanokoji. He is often in the supporting role of successful anime (Sigma in Bungou Stray Dogs ; Yudai Imamura in Blue Lock) but sometimes touches on the role of protagonist (Shinei Nouzen in 86; Matsuri Kazamaki Ayakashi Triangle And Haijme Aono by Ao no Orchestra). Someone we’ll be watching especially since it’s who voices Taiki Inomata in the upcoming animated adaptation of Blue Box !
A hero who shines in the shadow of the spotlight
Quite disconcertingly, Shouya Chiba manages to have a monotonous voice as possible which conveys extremely well the idea we have of the character. His voice remains the same whatever the situation or the words used: whether he is embarrassed or uses superlatives, Ayanokoji remains impassive and without emotion. Enough to quickly underline a robot character. It’s limited if this attitude given off by the main character gives rise to comic situations, in opposition to the general tone of the series.. Remember that high school policy provokes students to betray themselves in order not to be expelled… Some would consider this almost unhealthy.
Furthermore, this absence of emotion could be justified. In fact, the anime quickly suggests to us that Ayanokoji is a somewhat special being who could quickly climb the ranks in high school. A kind of omnipotent student who even manages to bully the teachers. But looking, it’s not even the case for other heroes of the genre. There is always a cause that transcends them : Lelouche in Code GeassLight in Death Note…Even Echizen Ryoma of Prince of Tennis follower of “it’s not that yet”, has fun with the competition and has a goal to pursue.
It is thanks, or because depending on the perspective, that I became faithful to Classroom of the Elite. In fact, none of the other characters are endearing (worse, they all display red flags) ; the events are unnecessarily complex and the numerous back and forths combined with the multiple twists and turns make the series difficult to follow. All this without counting the absence of a catchy red thread. We can assume that this is the eventual arrival of Ayanokoji’s class at A level; or learn about its strange origins, but all that is hardly enough, at least for me, to be glued to the back of my couch.
At a time when the third season of Classroom of the Elite is being broadcast on Crunchyroll, only one thing continues to persuade me to watch every Wednesday: the phlegm of the main character, wonderfully conveyed by Shouya Chiba, and if a One day he will be turned upside down.