Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 Arc Finale Gets a Big Animation Glow-Up

Japanese fan reactions (excerpted from 280)

• A few years ago people were saying a Season 2 was basically hopeless, and now look — we've made it all the way to a Season 5. I'll wait however long it takes if it means getting it at this quality.

  数年前まで２期絶望的とかいわれてたのに、とうとう5期まで来ちゃったよ 高クオリティで見たいからいつまでも待ちます

  — @My-ui1kd45 likes

• The late 2010s were such a dark age… so many anime, even popular ones, got the kind of bargain-bin budget Classroom of the Elite used to get. Ever since Demon Slayer, a ton of franchises have come back to life on bigger budgets — thank god.

  2010年代後半って暗黒時代すぎるよな…… 人気作品なのによう実みたいな扱いの予算のアニメだらけだったな 鬼滅以降、予算ブーストで息を吹きかえしたコンテンツ多くて助かる

  — @メメントちゃん15 likes

• The animation probably got better because they made pachinko/slot machines off it and the budget went up, lol. Hyped for Season 5 too.

  作画が良くなったのはパチ、スロ化して予算が増えたからだろうな。5期も期待。

  — @ましろ-q5v36 likes

• Haven't read the novels, but the gut-punch scenes gave me chills and the fights looked great! No painful delays either, and at this animation level I'm fully satisfied lol.

  原作読んでないけど、胸糞の描写がゾクゾクするし戦闘描写も良かったです！ 無念の延期とかならなかったし、これくらいの作画で自分は大満足でしたw

  — @マルちゃん-t7e23 likes

• The stuff Season 5 covers is genuinely so good.

  5期の範囲マジで面白いんだよな

  — @群青星12 likes

• In the finale, when those old flashback clips start playing — the animation gap is so huge I couldn't help laughing.

  最終回の過去の映像が流れてくるシーン、作画違いすぎて流石に笑った

  — @T8hp63 likes

• Season 4 went so hard that I'm scared Season 5 snaps back to the broken-animation era… please don't, that part is one of the best scenes in the whole series.

  4期頑張りすぎて5期また作画崩壊時代まで戻るのはやめてほしい... そこがシリーズ屈指の名シーンだからな

  — @LarryBird_twitter20 likes

• That'd be way too much of a nuisance, lol.

  迷惑すぎだろw

  — @クロマニヨン5 likes

• I'm obsessed with this season's soft, hazy art style. I hope Classroom of the Elite keeps looking like this from Season 5 on.

  今期の空気がぼやけたような作画好みすぎた よう実は5期からもこうであってほしいな

  — @thizensu5 likes

• I freaking loved how blurry and atmospheric the fight scenes looked.

  ボヤケた感じの戦闘シーンバチクソ好きでした

  — @user-etopen0 likes

• The animation was definitely more stable, sure, but personally I kind of liked the old look better.

  作画、確かに安定はしてたけど前の方が個人的に好きだった

  — @日本国宝7 likes

• Pacing one light-novel volume across four episodes was a good call. The linework being a bit rough bugged me, but if it moves this much I'm plenty satisfied.

  1冊4話にしたのはよかったですよね。線が雑なのは気になりましたけどこれだけ動いてくれるなら十分満足。

  — @高嶺悠人-d1r2 likes

• The new director who took over from Season 4 was just so good. It really proves an anime's quality comes down to the director and their connections, not the studio. They pulled in heavy hitters from all over, so I've got hope for Season 5 and beyond.

  4期から監督になった野亦監督がとにかく有能だった やっぱアニメのクオリティって制作会社じゃなくて監督と監督の人脈で決まるんだなと 色んなところから大物を引っ張ってきてたんで、5期以降も期待ですね

  — @guchi86391 likes

• This was 'Welcome to the Supremacy of Violence.' Because every single character's master plan boils down to 'corner them and then punch them.'

  『ようこそ暴力至上主義の学園へ』でした。全員の策が「追い詰めて殴る」ですからね。

  — @枕の営業部長111 likes

• Hey, violence is a form of ability too.

  暴力も実力ですから

  — @Kasen-j5y2 likes

• Well, violence is kind of one of the actual themes of the Year 2 arc, so…

  まぁ2年生編は暴力がテーマの一つみたいなものなので……

  — @Dr.管理人7 likes

• On a deserted island where violence is tolerated and you're not fully under surveillance, the 'just beat them into retiring' idea is simple, but honestly it makes sense as a strategy.

  暴力が容認された上に、完全には監視下じゃない無人島という場だと「暴力でリタイア」って考えはシンプルだけど、理解できる要素だと思う。

  — @ポカレタス5 likes

• I've only watched the anime, and I had this image of it being more brain-game stuff, but this time it felt like everything was just straight-up brawling.

  アニメしか見たことないけど、もうちょっと頭使ってたイメージあったけど、今回全部ただのケンカバトルなイメージ

  — @D-vo3pe8 likes

• The acting-chairman literally starting to throw hands made me lose it.

  理事長代理が戦闘し出すのはまじで吹いた

  — @mattari_takumin91 likes

• I thought Tsukishiro was just some random old dude, then he started fighting and I cracked up — and he looked seriously strong, too.

  月城ただのおっさんかと思ってたら戦闘しだして笑ったｗｗ しかもかなり強そうだった

  — @さかな_ちんあなご3 likes

• I was on the edge of my seat half-expecting the chairman to pull out some martial-arts ultimate technique ❤

  理事長が無想転生を使うんじゃないかとドキドキした❤

  — @貞潔の魔法使い4 likes

• And then off to the side, Shiba quietly steamrolls senior Kiryuin — lol.

  そして何気に隣の司馬先生の方が鬼龍院先輩を制圧して草

  — @nandakanan19845 likes

• I was watching Ayanokoji and the chairman duke it out, then glanced over and the senior had already lost — I'm dead.

  綾小路と理事長がバトルしてたと思ったら 先輩の方は負けててわろた

  — @user-s8v-e7z84 likes

• Nah, holding her own against Shiba, who outclasses her, makes senior Kiryuin really impressive too. In the novels Ayanokoji even admits he'd have been in deep trouble against both Tsukishiro and Shiba, so she contributed a ton.

  いや、格上の司馬相手に持ちこたえてた鬼龍院先輩もめっちゃすごいけどな。 原作だと綾小路も月城と司馬相手だとヤバかったって言ってるし、めっちゃ貢献してる。

  — @ひんき-a2k42 likes

• The second a Yoko Hikasa-voiced character confidently declared she'd never punched anyone in her life, I knew we were about to get an instant comedic reversal.

  CV日笠陽子で人を殴った経験など無いって自信満々に言った時点でこれ即落ち2コマ展開だなと思いました。

  — @ハムスタ-g3f20 likes

• That deserted-island setting, where they couldn't fully monitor everyone, gave us a string of jaw-dropping fights we'll probably never see again — genuinely gripping.

  監視しきれない無人島ならではのこれからはもう見れないであろう圧巻バトルの連続でまじで見応えあった

  — @お父様1 likes

• I know it's a big ask, but if you haven't read the novels, please at least read Year 2 Volume 5 before Season 5 starts. That tension is something you can only feel in prose.

  わがままだけど原作読んでない人は5期始まるまでに2年生5巻だけでも読んで欲しいね。あの緊張感は活字じゃないと味わえない

  — @POMU-d2v150 likes

• You really, really come to understand just how terrifying Ayanokoji is.

  綾小路の恐ろしさがめちゃくちゃ分かるよね

  — @べんざいてん-j4u6 likes

• Sorry, anime-only fan here — if I want to read the continuation in the novels, do I start from Year 2 arc Volume 5?

  すみませんアニメ勢なのですが、続きを原作で読むとしたら2年生編5巻からでしょうか？

  — @ヒマワリのたねくん3 likes

• From Year 2 arc Volume 4.5, actually. The .5 volumes in this series connect directly to the main story, so I'd recommend not skipping them.

  @ヒ@ヒマワリのたねくん 2年生編4.5巻からですね。よう実の.5巻は普通に地続きなので飛ばさずに読むのをお勧めします

  — @POMU-d2v25 likes

• Year 2 Volume 5, one of the most beloved volumes in the entire series, is finally confirmed for animation — I'm way too excited.

  原作内でも1，2を争う人気の2年生編5巻がいよいよアニメ化決定して楽しみすぎる。

  — @2の4乗20 likes

• Among novel readers it's unanimous — everyone loves that special exam.

  原作勢は満場一致であの特別試験が好き

  — @カピバラ-o9b3 likes

• Season 4 made me actually want to go read the source material — that's a great sign!

  原作を見たいと思わせる4期でとても良かった！

  — @mattari_takumin4 likes

• This was the season where Koenji's sheer competence really stood out.

  高円寺くんの有能さが際立つシーズンでした

  — @johnranten1 likes

• I already liked Amasawa back in the novels, but hearing her with a voice made me love her even more.

  原作の時から天沢好きだったけど声が付いてからより好きになった

  — @YamaD092237 likes

• As a novel reader, it's sad that runtime cuts mean the slice-of-life beats outside the exams and Ayanokoji's inner monologue can't always fit — so to anime-only fans, Hiyori just stays this quirky 'mysterious friend' character forever.

  原作勢だけど尺問題で試験以外の日常の枠とアニメの都合上、綾小路の心理描写を毎回は入れられないせいでアニメ勢からしたらひよりが一生不思議ちゃんなお友達扱いなのが悲しい

  — @ja-o5k7 likes

• I fell behind on this season of Classroom of the Elite because I was busy, but it got more and more gripping toward the end and I binged it no problem lol. Maybe I'll go read the rest in the novels.

  今シーズンのよう実、他で忙しくて見るの出遅れたけど終盤に近づくにつれて面白さが増してって一気見余裕だったw 続き原作読もうかな

  — @りも0 likes

• It was a fun battle anime lol, and the fight animation was a genuine joy. I'm anime-only because I like being surprised by the show, but I'm thinking of buying the whole novel set before next season — wonder how much that'll run me. ❤

  面白いバトルアニメでした笑作画もバトルは本当に楽しまた。 アニメで驚きたいので原作未読勢ですが、次のシーズンまでに全部揃えて 読んでおこうかなって揃えるといくらになるのだろう。❤

  — @ともき君1 likes

• Seriously though — that's the one place you DON'T get to slack off, lol.

  そこは手抜くなw

  — @サジェスト564 likes

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