Overall, Season 3 of Classroom of the Elite may be described as “more of the same.” Ultimately, the standard narrative structure persists: Ayanakoji’s class faces a fresh challenge, but he maneuvers behind the scenes to prevail in the end. To prevent things from growing too repetitive, this season tries its best to introduce a few fresh wrinkles to the formula.
The season’s opening arc centers on the division of the class into teams representing the entire grade. This makes it possible to introduce and reintroduce significant individuals from other classes in a natural way. This is also the case with the second arc, which instead of emphasizing Class C’s adventures focuses on Class A’s efforts to ruin Class B through a series of rumors.
The series’ third arc, however, contains the biggest surprise. For the very first time in the episode, Ayanokoji is unable to win in its entirety. The test design dictates that one student will be expelled from Class C, and the class must vote to determine who will go. Not only does Ayanokoji fail miserably to keep the class together, but he also fails miserably to get the one student expelled that he desires—and he can hardly even avoid getting expelled himself.
All of this works to confine Ayanokoji’s personality. He may be unbelievably intelligent and astute, but he is not invincible. His failure is a very serious possibility since he has harmed himself by insisting on leading an average school life (at least on the outside). This heightens the suspense in the show, particularly because the character experiences yet another loss at the conclusion of the season’s fourth and final arc.
The primary goal of this season is to flesh out some of the major characters who, up until now, have been rather mysterious by delving into their pasts to learn more about what drives them. This is what Ichinose, the class B leader, gets done in the second arc. It examines her psychological makeup, her past, and the unhealthy reliance she is beginning to develop on Ayanokoji. In the meantime, Hirata, the public face of Class C, engages in a similar activity in the fourth arc. Having been a class tyrant and a bystander with disastrous consequences in the past, he is mentally destroyed by his inability to maintain Class C’s unity while acting morally. He gains a lot from being compared and contrasted with Ichinose, who also gives both characters a fresh perspective on their past behavior.
Despite all of the season’s positive aspects, there remains one significant problem: its tempo. A true climax does not exist. The entire season builds toward a confrontation between Ayanokoji and Sakayanagi, the lone other student who is aware of Ayanokoji’s identity. Nevertheless, this fight turns into an anti-climax as the main antagonist of the upcoming arc unexpectedly intervenes to sabotage their confrontation. After then, the anime rambles on for a further two episodes, teasing the possibility of a fourth season.
With the exception of its conclusion, this season of Classroom of the Elite is mostly enjoyable and comparable to the first two. It does a terrific job of building tension by pulling Ayanokoji down a couple rungs, and it features some excellent character work. We can only hope for a fourth season.
Volume 11 of Ragna Crimson
Crimson Ragna Effectively wrapping up the manga’s first major arc, Volume 11 captures the achievements and challenges of the work thus far. The fight, a flashback involving Ultimatia and Woltekamui, and the aftermath comprise the three main sections of the volume. Let us take each one by turn.
The actual fight is just as good as we have come to expect from Ragna Crimson. Larger-than-life confrontations between incredibly powerful beings may be argued to be the essence of action fantasy manga. Dragons soar through the skies, and soldiers powered by silverine charge into battle; it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what’s happening at any given instant. Bone-shattering collisions, magical spells, and pyrotechnics abound. Daiki Kobayashi’s artwork never lags, and the action never slows down. It’s amazing how well he can depict high-concept combat—a never-ending procession of pyrotechnic explosions and stubborn yells. The hits land perfectly, and it looks amazing.
There’s a lot of it, which is the same problem as in previous volumes. Theoretically, I adore these fights and the way everything seems in real time. Since it can be difficult to discern what is happening in the real flow of fight, my primary concern is clarity. It’s difficult to imagine what’s happening between panels because we’ve long since moved past the domain of anything like typical conflict between common combatants and the ceaseless din of gigantic creatures unleashing devastating attacks. As the intense action continued, I noticed that my focus strayed even though each shot had an objectively amazing presentation. I eventually lost all sense of it and was left with only the idea that “They had a really big fight.” The effect was diminished by the scope of what was presented, even with impressive technical skill on exhibit. It was similar to listening to an eight-minute guitar solo without a chorus of verse to help break up the larger sections. Although I truly appreciate that mix on a purely visceral level, I am aware that Ragna and Crimson win and Ultimatia and Woltekamui lose. However, a lot of how that happens gets lost in the mix.
Another significant component of this chapter is the flashback involving Woltekamui and Ultimatia. Success in these sequences is critical to the volume’s key emotional beats, as well as several prior character arcs. These flashbacks serve as both a source of knowledge about the personalities of these two individuals and an attempt to underscore the sadness of their defeat. Similar to the action, this is a mixed bag; but, for me, the emotional side leans more negatively than the action parts.
In addition to not finding Ultimatia or Woltekamui to be likable antagonists, I also find their motivations to be uninteresting. These figures strike us right away as murderous, almost supernatural creatures that are wreaking havoc on millions of innocent lives. Similar to previous attempts to give their characterizations more depth, I find that the line “Well, before they did all that magical genocide they were young once!” is ineffective. Moreover, the plan’s external manifestation was straightforward eradication, regardless of how intricate it may have been within. I respect the effort and acknowledge that some may find their backstory more captivating, but in my opinion, that time could have been better spent with characters like Ragna and Crimson.
These memories maintain the same high caliber of visual splendor that we have been accustomed to, at the very least. In addition to Daiki Kobayashi’s mastery of comic book storytelling and flawless artistic rendering, the Ultimatia episodes exhibit remarkable originality. A lot of gloomy artwork conjures up vaguely remembered nightmares or horrifying sights right before morning. Even if I can’t emotionally relate to Ultimatia’s situation, it’s evident how helpless and trapped she feels from the experiences she’s had, and the masterful gory displays let the spectator in on her predicament.
Although the aftermath is brief, there seems to be a lot of room for growth. It appears that Ragna and Crimson have mostly faced up against Ultimatia and Woltekamui thus far. It was obvious that these two were the chiefs of the evil dragons eradicating humanity because of the formidable wall they had to scale created by Woltekamui’s magical and physical might and Ultimatia’s time-stopping abilities. Now that they are gone, it’s unclear where the tale will continue. The motivation is still there, but there are still more dragons to defeat. At least one new, unidentified entity has entered the fray with menacing eyes. But triumph has retreated the obvious path towards a known enemy.
Ragna Crimson Volume 11 maintained the stunning visual design it had from the start, making it a thrilling read even with its clarity issues and my inability to relate to the antagonists. I still want to know what happens in the story.
