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How are people manipulated in society, and why do people manipulate? The answer isn't as complicated as it seems, and Classroom of the Elite is one of the few Anime out there to admit this. People are shallow, and people are selfish. Watching this show it presents itself as an elaborate mind game of manipulation with several layers of nuance, but in all reality, there is no complexity and everyone's plans have holes that can be found and exploited. This show doesn't treat the audience like it's dumb and lay out all the details, but rather gives them bits and pieces of the story and ... trusts them to figure it out on their own, the only problem is that there are people out there who can't put everything together, or at least don't understand that no matter what goes on in the show, every one of the characters are dancing in the palm of one character's hand, that characters being Ayanokoji.
Let's talk about the major reveal at the end of Season 1, that being that Ayanokoji uses everyone as tools and isn't afraid to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Only this wasn't a major reveal, at least not to me. What I took it was, was that it was rather a confirmation of things I had already picked up and put together myself. This is a major problem people have with the show for some reason. Things are revealed and plans fall through and somehow it's underwhelming to them or poorly conceived and not at all clever in any way. Guys relax. This isn't that kind of show. This is a show about Ayonokoji, and if you missed that the show is about the main character, I don't know what to tell you. Naturally things are always going to work out for the main protagonist, and the main protagonist is going to be in the most control throughout the story. This is how protagonists are supposed to work, but we're so used to passive protagonists that when we're given one that actually has full control of his surroundings it's met with a reaction of confused/angry faces.
That leads to another potential problem people have with the show, and that being the fact that not only is Ayanokoji the most intelligent character in the show, but also the strongest. This would make him a Mary Sue (Gary Stu) right? If you missed the point I made in the beginning of this review it show just how much attention you actually pay to details. Ayanokoji is not doing everything he does with pure intentions. If you missed the fact that the show is about Ayanokoji, then you probably also missed the fact that Ayanokoji actually double as both the protagonist and the real antagonist of the show. Everyone is trying to get their own way in the show, and the one thing getting in their way, that they all have in common, is Ayanokoji. You see, Ayanokoji isn't trying to do the right thing, and he isn't trying to help people from the goodness of his heart, those all are just accidents that occur from his desire to control his own environment.
It may seem like Ayanokoji is gaining the affection of the girls in his class so that the show can go full on harem mode, but what is actually going on is that Ayanokoji himself is a black hole that people keep getting sucked into, and because the girls can see just how much control he has, they are naturally drawn to him without realizing that they're becoming tools for him to use in his quest to control his own surroundings. What do you do when you have useful tools? You take care of them. If someone breaks your tools you react and retaliate. What they perceive as genuine affection is something much more demeaning than they realize.
This show is completely built on nuance and subtlety. If you don't understand all the inner workings going on in the show, that's a you problem, not a show problem. I myself looked forward to each episode that dropped each week, but being the uncultured American that I am, chose to watch the entirety of the show dubbed rather than subbed. This show may not be for you, but if you want to rack your brain to take brilliant clues around around you and figure out the details, and see what a protagonist who controls his environment looks like, then this is the show for you.