Classroom of the Elite Season 3 is a Sports Anime

My favourite reality TV show is MTVs the challenge. I realized during season 3 of classroom of the elite that a large part of why i love the anime is the similarities it has with the challenge. It’s a running competition and it sets up challenges in each arc. Sometimes as groups and sometimes as individuals. Season 3 for the classroom of the elite was particularly exciting from the very first episode. Because it sets up Jeopardy in a way that no other anime can using a cast the size of a senior soccer league. 

Ayanakoji is maybe my favourite psychopath ever depicted in anime; well maybe he’s a close second to light Yagami if only for the lack of scale in his ambitions. He is literally just trying to have some peace in life. The central theme or plot line for season 3 of the classroom of the elite is the battle between Ayanakoji and Sakayanaga of class 1-A. The intrigue is high for the contest because Sakayanaga is one of the few characters that is aware of Ayanakoji’s past and pertinently his involvement with the white room. 

Her father passed onto her an ideal that the experimental whiteroom is inferior to the superior genetics of the noble families. Her class battle then with Ayanakoji extends beyond just a mere contest of wit but a battle of ideals. Each class is like a sports team with almost every player being fleshed out to some degree. Their strengths, their weaknesses and their motivations for the most part are on full display. 

With this extended context and somewhat developed characters, Classroom of the elite scratches the exact same itch as a sports anime and gives me the exact same enjoyment as watching an episode of the challenge. Or even a football match. The class finals felt like watching a champion’s league match and I really like that.