Classroom Of The Elite features some of the smartest characters in the anime world. The story takes place within a school that exclusively admits Japan’s top academic elite, offering them social status and a direct line to all the country’s future privileges. Naturally, the students engage themselves in a battle of supremacy and fight for the top ranks.
Most of these students try to conceal their true personalities. To get ahead in such a competitive environment, many are willing to backstab one another. Even you may have missed seeing through the disguise of these characters. And it’s not merely about being book-smarts; strategic thinking, manipulation skills, and resourcefulness are just as important to surpass all.
This article contains spoilers from Classroom Of The Elite light novels
10 Sakurako Tsubaki
Sakurarko Tsubaki makes her debut in the 2nd Year Arc as a student from class 1-C. Currently, in the LN, there are a lot of mysteries and plot twists built around her. She keeps things to herself and only speaks when necessary. Sakurako manipulates others from behind the scenes to achieve her goals.
Interestingly, Ayanokoji also shares these traits, which led many fans to speculate that she might be his sister. However, her grades do not seem to be as impressive as hers; they’re all between C and D. It’s possible that she’s intentionally downplaying her academic skills to avoid drawing all the attention.
9 Miyabi Nagumo
Nagumo made his debut in Classroom of the Elite Season 2 as the newly appointed Student Council President. He is a student from Class A, and as such, he already has the tag of a smart student. Compared to Manabu, he has more of a ruthless aura around him.
Nagumo loves to rule over the student body as an absolute authority and is not one to tolerate opposition. While he possesses impressive planning and execution skills, much of his success can be attributed to his dominant position within Class A.
8 Kakeru Ryuuen
In the anime, Ryuuen has achieved some of the greatest feats against Ayanokoji. While he may not be as academically bright as others on this list, Ryuuen has proven that success on the battlefield requires much more than raw intelligence. During the Deserted Island Special Test, he almost managed to snag all the points for Class C.
Even though Ryuuen plays dirty, it takes a considerable amount of strategic thinking to go up against someone as formidable as Ayanokoji. Sure, Ryuuen got totally owned in Season 2, but don’t count him out just yet – he’s making a big comeback in the upcoming seasons.
7 Fuuka Kiryuuin
In Volume 16 of the light novel, Fuuka Kiryuuin officially makes her entrance as a Class 3-B student. Although she is from class B, she can well outperform any class A student in academics. Even Arisu falls short in comparison, which is quite impressive.
She doesn’t run after ranks and is just happy in whichever class she is in. Unlike Ruuyen, it didn’t take long enough for Kiryuuin to recognize Ayanokoji’s peculiarity. Ruuyen almost took two seasons to figure out that Ayanokoji was the one sabotaging his plans.
6 Manabu Horikita
Manabu is a student who stands out from the rest. He holds himself to a strict moral code and is a role model to many of his peers. It goes without saying that he was a far better president than Nagumo could ever hope to be.
Though they don’t quite agree on each other’s approaches, even Nagumo acknowledges Manabu’s leadership skills. Manabu is neither a WR student nor does he resort to unethical tactics to succeed. This may put him at a disadvantage against Nagumo, but given an equal opportunity, Manabu will naturally outshine him.
5 Arisu Sakayanagi
Arisu is actually the daughter of the chairman of Advanced Nurturing High School. She’s got one aim, and that is to defeat Ayanokoji someday. In both the anime and the light novels, she has been successful in devising counter strategies to destroy anyone who bets against her.
She also knows Ayanokoji’s secret and makes him admit in Volume 10 that if they played multiple games of chess, she could have a chance at winning. However, strictly limiting her intelligence to a billboard game would be unfair, as she’s currently leading the charge as the class-A representative.
4 Ichika Amasawa
White Room students are often considered to be more talented than natural geniuses like Arisu, and Ichika is a prime example of this fact. In the light novel, she is one of the newest characters to enter the fray as a class 1-A student. Ichika’s talent lies in her excellent communication and social skills.
Even Ayanokoji, who is a former White Room student himself, struggles in this area. Ichika’s ability to create convincing facades in order to achieve her goals is downright impressive. She’s, furthermore, a pro at deductive reasoning and assisted Ayanokoji in the Inhabited Island Exam.
3 Takuya Yagami
Yagami is the smartest 5th-generation WR student and probably only second to Ayanokoji. Even Ichika is afraid of messing with him. In fact, Yagami has beaten her countless times in the WR. He also has a “dark passenger” kind of side to him, which Kushida could relate to.
He’s got great acting skills, just like Ichika, but according to Ayanokoji, it’s on another level that is impossible to match for even a WR student. Throughout the Second Year Arc, Yagami has schemed plans to expel Ayanokoji, which, however, wasn’t fruitful. But he’s still managed to surprise Ayanokoji with some of his clever tactics.
2 Rokusuke Koenji
Non-WR students “do” have what it takes to surpass them – At least, that’s the entire point of the series. Eventually, someone will come up on the top and take the throne from Ayanokoji, and it will be from Advanced Nurturing High School itself.
One of the potential candidates for this top spot is Koenji. He’s very unpredictable, and even Ayanokoji has a hard time figuring out his real motives. In the Deserted Island Special Test, he even correctly hinted who the VIP was. In Volumes 4 & 8, likewise, Koenji did some impressive stunts that make it clear he’s got what it takes to be the best.
1 Kiyotaka Ayanokoji
Ayanokoji is the go-to guy for any kind of rivalry. He’s shown us time and time again just how smart he is, from manipulating Horikita like a toy to kicking Yagami out of the picture. As the main character of the series, he definitely has some edge over others.
That’s why imagining another student can outsmart him is hard. However, it’s his end goal – to prove to his father that the WR learning model is inferior. For now, Ayanokoji still deserves the top spot. Even though he might not have proven his skills on paper, he’s the ultimate mastermind of the entire series.
