Classroom of the Elite II

Episode 11

I find myself surprisingly torn on this week's episode of Classroom of the Elite. I love the idea of an episode following around the villain rather than the protagonist. Up until this point, the glimpses we've gotten of Ryuen have shown him to be driven, ruthless, and always in control. He maintains order in his class through extreme acts of violence but isn't afraid to suffer physical discomfort himself to attain his goals. Even more disturbing, he has the ability to see what motivates others and use that information to gain leverage over them.

Unfortunately, spending this whole episode with Ryuen actually makes him feel less intimidating—and that's not exactly what you should be aiming for as you head into the climax of the season. Rather than a calculating mastermind, Ryuen seems to be groping in the dark. He's fixated on bringing the hidden Class-D strategist into the open yet never mentions what good that would do—how it would further his plans. At the moment, he looks like a dog chasing cars—unsure of what he'd do if he caught one.

It's hard not to see Ryuen confronting Koenji in broad daylight—in front of a crowd with members from different classes—as a dumb move. However, while it makes him less threatening overall, it is a great scene as far as his character development is concerned. It gives us our first real peak into Ryuen's mind; It shows us that, at his core, he's a coward. After all, Ryuen attempts to bully Koenji—accosts him, breaks his mirror, and threatens to give him a gang-style beatdown at a later date. However, Koenji isn't even slightly phased. Delusional or not, Koenji believes he is physically capable of overcoming Ryuen and his goons if it comes to it. So, without his greatest weapon—the threat of violence—to back him up, Ryuen has no choice but to back down (though not before throwing a kick at Class-A's Sakayanagi to try and save face).

It's likely for this reason he goes so far over the top with his following attack on Karuizawa. He wasn't able to gain any control over Koenji so he's out to completely break the helpless girl. It's partially to show his minions he's still in control, partly to strike at the Class-D mastermind, and partly to keep his own inner fear in check.

The thing here is that Ryuen has done something monumentally stupid. In order to literally waterboard Karuizawa, he has created an area isolated from the general populous and completely off the grid. Now, he thinks he is safe because he has some serious muscle backing him up—that when the mastermind arrives, he'll have the upper hand both physically and mentally. Ryuen can't imagine the Class-D mastermind being better than him in every way—his ego won't allow it.

Unfortunately, we, as viewers know that Ayanokoji is just that. Basically, Ryuen has set up the perfect situation to have Ayanokoji simply walk in and beat the ever-loving-crap out of all of them—and face zero repercussions. And while something like that would no doubt be cathartic, it doesn't leave us feeling much in the way of dramatic tension heading into the last two episodes.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• There's one thing Ryuen and Ayanokoji share—an overinflated ego.

• Honestly, I don't need to see kids getting waterboarded in my anime.

• I am not looking forward to next week where I fully expect Karuizawa to be brutally tortured for 22-minutes.

• Remember, this is all taking place in a school—and that the adults passively support this Lord of the Flies BS.

• The TL;DR on Koenji? He's a narcissist.

Classroom of the Elite II is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.