English Dub Review: Classroom of the Elite “Genius Lives Only One Story Above Madness”

This show needs to die.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Classroom of the Elite season 1 clocks in its finale in “Genius Lives Only One Story Above Madness.” During its predecessor “What People Commonly call Fate is Mostly their Own Stupidity,” featured some solid infighting, and despite the cliche characters was a bizarre though fun romp.

But “Genius Lives Only One Story Above Madness” sort of goes off the deep end. There’s a lot of politics in this entry. First, Ayanokoji gets Suzune to withdraw from the test because of her illness. At the culmination of the island stay, several relationships and pacts come to light. It’s a maze of intentional deception and, yet again, feels like a game of Clue. Or, rather, like the film Clue, albeit not intentionally funny, though comedic in its ridiculousness.

Our Take

Unfortunately, many of the same problems persist. Classroom of the Elite is chock full of tropes and features dreadfully cliche characters. It’s tough to get behind a show where none of the characters are likable or relatable. Character design is mediocre at best, though the eyes are beautiful.

Luckily, the soundtrack is solid and the environments glisten with gorgeous animation. Where Classroom of the Elite really goes off the rails though it in Ayanokoji’s depiction at the culmination of the episode. Despite remaining the protagonist, he’s pushed beyond the brink of redemption. Ultimately, it’s as fitting an episode as ever, concluding with characters morphing into even more unlikeable ones.