Classroom of the Elite (Light Novel) Vol. 11

ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ [Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e] (Novel) #11

by Syougo Kinugasa, Tomoseshunsaku (Illustrator)

The cutthroat school drama light novels that inspired an anime!



Students of the prestigious Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School are given remarkable freedom--if they can win, barter, or save enough points to work their way up the ranks! Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has landed at the bottom in the scorned Class D, where he meets Horikita Suzune, who's determined to rise up the ladder to Class A. Can they beat the system in a school where cutthroat competition is the name of the game?

Genres: Light Novel, Fiction, School, Manga, Mystery, Drama, Young Adult

445 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2019

About the author

Associated Names:
* Syougo Kinugasa / Shōgo Kinugasa (English)
* 衣笠彰梧 (Japanese)

Reviews

[Mika (Hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

(shortened) StoryGraph review + content warnings
————————————————————

“You’re free to wish for whatever you want. But if you truly desire something, you have to keep fighting for it to the bitter end, to push yourself to your limits.”

I think this quote summarises pretty well the mood and goal for this volume. The new special exam is about team work and also endurance for some students.
This volume is more or less a continuation of the last volume, as the author also originally intended to put both volumes into one single book.

Hirata is still, after the first supplementary special exam, distanced from his class and people around him. Even though he developed negatively it was interesting to see how one's body and emotional state responds to putting the blame of something that was out of your control to yourself. Since I never experienced this for myself before, but saw others having this issue, I felt just like Mei-Yu Wang. She was one of the people who saw Hirata's emotional state and was trying her best to stop him from destroying himself any further. I'm glad that she got mentioned again and wasn't forgotten since I liked her determination to never give up on Hirata no matter how much it changed to the worse. There is definitely a downside to this, which I also agreed with Horikita, but I like the overall idea of an outsider trying to save someone from themselves even if they won't make it easy for the outsider.

If I just look at Hirata's personality for this volume, not the overall personality, I would say it was definitely not good and I really disliked how he pushed Mei-Yu to the ground and in general how he changed from kind and respectful to threatening people if they won't leave him alone and even getting physical aggressive. That also made it all feel ironic to his backstory as to why he feels so guilty, as he acted like the school bullies now too. If Hirata wouldn't have apologised later on, I wouldn't have been able to like him anymore, especially if he would have changed AFTER this volume. So it was essential for him to apologise and change back to his old self (though he made a great development by not being able anymore to make himself feel guilty for things that are out of his control). I definitely won't forgive what he did to Karuizawa (threatening to leak her traumatic past) and Mei-Yu (being disrespectful to her and pushing her to the ground) though.

Back to Mei-Yu, 'cause she isn't a often spotlighted character, so I want to give her more room by writing about her: She is definitely the kind and a bit shy girl, but I like how determined she is to save Hirata from falling deeper into a hole (though I dislike how she is blinded by love). But she is also the type of character you kinda pity a bit 'cause of how much she overdo her kindness. She isn't setting boundaries and is fine with being treated disrespectful as long as she reaches her goals, which I think to be wrong.

“…I don’t want that to happen, no,” said Mii-chan, shaking her head as she thought back to Hirata’s rejection from earlier. “I’d hate for that to happen, but…if hating me makes Hirata-kun feel like he’s not alone anymore, even just a little bit, then that would be a relief. I think…in that case, I’d be okay with him hating me!” she asserted strongly.

But without her Ayanokouji might wouldn't have noticed how severe of an issue Hirata's behaviour was and Hirata wouldn't have been able to come back at all anymore if Ayanokouji realised this too late, so she was a somewhat tool for Ayanokouji too, to find out how low Hirata was at this time.

Horikita changed a lot too and I think it's crazy how fast she learnt to play chess. She just had one week to learn it and most people need years, even a lifetime, to be able to be a good chess player. Regarding how Manabu was disappointed of Suzune: I definitely see why he felt that way, as she wasn't able to develop freely, if she was too dependent on her big brother. I'm glad that this changes now, even if it takes time. Just like Manabu I was surprised to hear Ayanokouji promising that Suzune will develop even further, but I think he did so as he knew her potential before even Manabu had to say it to him. Now I understand the people who say that Suzune would be the final enemy of this (book) series as she has a hidden potential that can only be activated of her by developing more and more and maybe she really is going to go against Ayanokouji since they follow different goals that are working against eachother.

“If Suzune can stop chasing after this illusion she has of me, break her dependence on me, and confront herself honestly, then…”
A gust of spring wind blew past us.
“She will probably surpass me and become someone even you can’t ignore,” said Manabu.

And finally I want to speak about the last round of this volume's special exam. (Unless you already read this volume and being interested in a more analytical point of view, you shouldn't read any further and be finished with my review)
Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi played against eachother, just like planned 'cause they were having a deal. The final round was chess and even though both weren't the players they were the commanders and played after like 10 minutes just against one another and the players just placed the pieces like the commanders told them to. Maybe it's 'cause I have a general fascination with chess but their game was so intense and really exciting to watch. In fact, the longest reading time I had was on this whole chapter just 'cause I re-read most parts again just to be sure I read them correct. I didn't forget the chess scene since I watched the anime, but it felt so different than the anime. The anime rushed everything (not just the chess scene) to be able to have all 11 volumes be completed after 3 anime seasons. This made all scenes therefore more interesting and full of emotions in the light novel, but this chess scene and the aftermath of it was so cool!

As soon as I started playing, I was forced to understand something that made me gasp.
Sakayanagi’s chess skills were incredible. Enough to be genuinely worthy of my respect. I wouldn’t be surprised if she went on to make a name for herself as a professional chess player.

Not only was the chess match in general awesome, but also the interactions between Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi. Since I like Sakayanagi a lot I was glad that she got more appearances this time! She is definitely in some kinda way obsessed with Ayanokouji as she just started playing chess at a young age 'cause of him.

A young boy was playing chess, overwhelming his opponents one after another. Of all of the children I could see through the glass, he was the only one who captured both my gaze and my heart.

“By the way, Father. I was thinking of learning how to play chess…”

The whole interaction between these two characters is just so interesting. I definitely don't see Sakayanagi in being able (or even wanting) to be a couple with Ayanokouji. It could be possible that her obsession with him is due to her loving him, but I think that it's probably more of a power move of her. She sees Ayanokouji as someone that might threaten her position as a leader. Sakayanagi also belives that a genius is born, not made. Her way of choosing specially chess to demonstrate this is a way of her revealing when she first saw Ayanokouji in the white room to him.

“More importantly, though, I can’t imagine that it’s possible to artificially create geniuses.”
A person’s potential is determined the moment they are born. The moment they come into this world. The product of chance. It just so happens to manifest in a variety of ways.
That’s how the human world works. We can’t do anything more than what is coded into our DNA. We awaken to things either through the blood of our ancestors, passed onto us, or through a mutation.
In other words, if you wished to create a genius, then you had no choice but to do it by manipulating DNA. If you were born an ordinary person, then an ordinary person you would stay, no matter how far their tactics went. No matter how privileged your environment, if you weren’t an exceptional learner, you’d never become a genius.

I don't even know how to describe it but I always feel so excited to see Sakayanagi 'cause she is one of my favourite female characters in this story. Also, her interactions with Ayanokouji always felt so tense but also not at the same time. It's just like Sakayanagi said: It feels like being childhood friends. They definitely have a competition going on and something else tense I can't put my finger on, but they also have more lighthearted moments too which is crazy considering that they are actually NOT childhood friends.

Not only had Sakayanagi seen through me, but she was going so far as to help me out. Our little back and forth was bound to have conveyed the overwhelming gap in power between us to the teachers.
Now that we’d worked together to fool the two teachers, I supposed, the special exam could begin.

The craziest part between their relationship is something most media usually don't have as many don't know the difference between kindness and being respectful, or rather that you can be kind but not respectful and viceversa. They are both respectful to eachother, by asking if the other one is feeling alright. For example, when Ayanokouji saw Sakayanagi fall down after Yamauchi didn't look who was in front of him and asking her if she is alright or when he tried to hold onto her when she was about to fall 'cause Tsukishiro kicked her cane away.
Another great example is one that happened in this volume:

“[..]if you carelessly competed against me one-on-one, it would undoubtedly cause the people around you to grow suspicious. I wanted to avoid that. Though the acting director took advantage of it all, in the end…”
Sakayanagi had done her best to consider and accommodate my circumstances when she made her plans for this special exam. That was probably exactly why she was so irritated by Tsukishiro’s interference.

They might interact with eachother respectful and maybe a bit kind sometimes (since they both asked for eachothers wellbeing in the past) but they don't just play out of fun chess but for Sakayanagi to prove something (+ having alone time with Ayanokouji since she always wanted to meet him once more) and for Ayanokouji to keep his secret a secret. Sakayanagi made a deal with Ayanokouji where if he loses the chess match she will reveal his true potential to the whole school, which you can't really call kind, right? But she is a fair person who also offered to quit school if he wins.

Sakayanagi has in general a rather aggressive approach to deal with her stuff, so that makes me think that even if she is kind sometimes her true intentions can be something else, especially as she is good in guilt-tripping others. She is definitely not the best person one can be and she isn't that kind than some other characters, but nevertheless I like her a lot and think it's interesting to see how she plans her next move. I also like how she never reveals her true plan to anyone and leaves them in the dark. This can obviously be a mistake, but trusting someone that could betray you can be a mistake too. Her approach to solve conflicts is one that shows great power as she prefers to not relay on others but on herself, which always worked (so far).

I can also understand why most people think Sakayanagi is in love with Ayanokouji 'cause of her way of speaking and interacting with him sometimes, but I don't see her as a girl who gets led by emotions but through logical thinking, so that might just be a tactic of her of manipulating him. But it could also possibly be that she just tries to be kind and it comes across as something more romantically for the reader, even if it's not the case. Nevertheless, I rather see her obsessing over Ayanokouji or in general being interested by his true potential than actually being in love with him.

“Earlier, when I talked about the reason why I avoided a one-on-one match with you, I lied.”
She’d said she avoided it out of consideration for me, to keep attention from being focused on me. Now, she retracted that answer.
“To be honest, it’s because I wanted to be with you, Ayanokouji-kun, even if for just one second longer,” said Sakayanagi, offering her right hand to me.
I took it, thinking that she was going for a handshake. But she put her left hand over mine, enveloping it.

She did this to tell him that a warmth of another person is important — implying that she is aware that he never had loving parents or in general someone who showed love and affection to him. By no means she meant to have a close moment with him but rather something important to say which she seemed to hold in since she first saw Ayanokouji in the white room.

“People can come to know warmth by touch. And that is precious. The warmth of another’s skin is by no means a bad thing. Please remember that.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It’s a belated message from me.”
I stood there, still unable to understand what she meant. Sakayanagi slowly let go of my hand and started walking away.

I just feel so overwhelmed by their relationship to eachother as it feels so real, more than any other media I ever consumed. Their consideration to one another and respectful exchanges is something I feel blessed to read about.

“I’m sorry, I’m quite a slow walker.”
“You don’t have to apologize for that.”
She was certainly slow. It was because of her disability, though. And oddly enough, I was grateful for that today.

Finally, I want to mention the very ending of this volume. I can't recall that the anime had this one covered and this is quite disappointing, if I recall correctly, as this was the first time I goosebumps reading this light novel series. It was when Sakayanagi and Ayanokouji decided to play out their chess match once more since the end result of the special exam got manipulated. When they entered the library I immediately felt calm and like the tension before is completely washed away. I also experienced anemoia (feeling nostalgic of something you never experienced yourself) and also xeno (small human interactions which contains powerful emotions and feelings: in this case towards me). Later on when they both walked back to the dorms I also felt kenopsia (the eerie and maybe calm feeling you get when being at a place that is usually full with people but is so empty for this moment).

“I’ve been dying to get to know you. I feel like you’re a childhood friend whom I’ve been chasing for the longest time but haven’t had the chance to actually meet. If we can compete against one another so easily, then I feel like the value of doing so will be diminished,” she replied.
She looked at me and smiled sweetly.

[Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is hyper-interesting. I was literally screaming while reading it.

[Tonatiuh Osuna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simplemente una montaña rusa de emociones, la aparición de ryūen de nuevo me emocionó bastante, me hizo sentir satisfecho y emocionado, porque no podía creer que el personaje simplemente se quedaría así, y cuando sucede la batalla de ajedrez fue un momento bastante tenso, pero seguía teniendo fe en ayanokouji.
Al final me sentí bastante decepcionado y con una sensación de vacío cuando confirmaron que la escuela se había entrometido y que gracias a esto kiyotaka perdiera el combate, pero al momento de seguir la partida con sakayanagi me hizo sentir feliz y satisfecho, los sentimientos que ella tuvo en ese momento fueron transmitidos a mi
La reconciliación de hirata y su amistad con kiyotaka me encantó, como se solucionaron las cosas y tuvieron una buena dirección de los hechos.
Considero este como el mejor volumen de los 11, fue el que más me hizo identificarme con los sentimientos de los personajes, junto con la demostración del verdadero potencial de kiyotaka en el ajedrez.

[kii · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 out of 5 stars

Sakayanagi versus Ayanokouji face-off! OMG. Natural-born genius versus made-genius. It’s certainly an interesting match-up and I especially loved the Chess match. I can’t even comprehend the amount of intelligence that is oozing from these two.

Also, Class B versus Class D was also fun to see! The return of Ryuuen, huh? Even after striking a deal for the supplementary exam, they plotted against each other real quick. Very interesting.

Those last chapters, though. I would like to see what else Mr. Acting Director has in store for Ayanokouji + How and when Chairman Sakayanagi comes back. Ayanokouji senior sure is going through such great lengths to get a hand on his son (experiment?).

Anyway, on to the next.

[Ivana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the last novel of the first year arc and it really wrapped up everything nicely.
Ayanokouji shouldn't be as relateable as he is.

[Edson Junior · Rating 3 out of 5]

After all the anticipation, the final showdown doesn't happen, not really. Disappointing

[avenread · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it until the matchup between Sakayanagi & Ayanokouji. We've been led to believe that there is going to be some sort of showdown between these two... it's been brewing for hundreds of pages. To be brought down to an overly chilched, ambiguously described, and ultimately pointless game of chess.

I have to admit that a lot of my disappointment comes from expecting something that didn't happen. But when we've seen what COULD have happened, Kinugasa-sensei has written much more interesting and compelling moments in the series...

So why not a lower score? Because aside from my disappointment and a rather dull game of chess, the rest of it is pretty good. Kouenji aside [that guy needs a boot to the head].

I am still looking forward to what comes next.

[Gabriel d'Matos · Rating 5 out of 5]

É sempre um prazer de se ler.

[Durian Jaykin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's super frustrating, especially the ending.

[Mithun Sarker · Rating 5 out of 5]

“People can come to know warmth by touch. And that is precious. The warmth of another’s skin is by no means a bad thing. Please remember that.”

Classroom of the Elite Vol. 11
By Syougo Kinugasa

Well, the best volume is so far. This volume has so much drama, character progression, and one overtaking another. Frankly enjoyed reading this volume the most. Reading the leaders outsmarting each other was so good!

The part where Ayanokoji gifts Kei the necklace was funny. I honestly love this ship. The parasite/tool thing works. This section was funny, as well as the interesting perspective of dumbfounded Ayanokoji.

The main event was fabulous. I liked Class D vs. Class B so much. Ryueen finally getting back and fighting against the united class B is magnificent. The difference between his character and Honami's character is day and night, and that's what made it fun to read.

Now, talking about the main showdown, well, it was certainly great. The later part was the best, honestly. The interference by the school or should I just say, Whiteroom staff was interesting, had I not watched the anime, this part would've been mind blowing to certain aspects.

Would love to learn more about the beef between the teachers. There's not enough story for that part. I wish there was. The two homeroom teachers, C( now D ) and B, are certainly entertaining.

9/10

[Viszed (II) · Rating 5 out of 5]

De los mejores volumenes que he leeido hasta ahora, este examen especial entre clases tuvo de todo, lo más importante al final cada clase fue liderada por los autenticos Lideres de clase: Clase A SAKAYANAGI, Clase B ICHINOSE, Clase C AYANOKOUJI, clase D RYUUEN. Siento que ocurrio un hecho historico y los demas estudiantes ni se percataron.

Aunque Ayanokouji estuvo limitado por su política de estar bajo la sombra, fue muy interesante de ver, y ese versus con Sakayanagi en el ajedrez fue épico, me encanto como Horikita y Hashimoto se sorprenden por el nivel de juego de Ayanakouji y Sakayanagi, ¡Hashimoto date cuenta!

Me frustro mucho que por la intervención del director suplente, ante el público Ayanokouji haya perdido contra Sakayanagi, y que ella misma se lo haya creido por un momento, pero lo bueno fue que al final acepto que Ayanokouji es un genio real; aun no me queda claro si lo que siente Sakayanagi por Ayanokouji es amor u obseción, pero mientras este de su lado la estare apoyando.

[Shiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a bit of things happened. Many amazing and "famous" illustrations which im strangely always excited about. This volume mainly focused on Ayanokoji vs Sakyanagi battle. But i also found interesting and enjoyable the things around it like Ayanokoji talking to Hirata. I enjoyed their battle quite a bit and I am a bit of a chess fan myself and I feel like the description of the games was pretty good and not cringy or innacurate. Its a shame tsukishiro intervined i wanted to see Ayanokoji win. I also found Sakayanagi and Ayanokoji interacting quite wholesome and comforting towards the end. Like quite a bit. Definitely hope they will interact more in the future. Also I am quite curious as to how Ryuenn didnt get caught with his dirty tactics. And can we talk about the fact that Ayanokojis class still has no idea of his abilities? Ayanokoji displayed his abillities quite a bit during this exam which honestly suprised me but his class still has no clue.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 11 of Youkoso Jitsuryoku is one of my favorite volumes so far. This volume follows the battle between Sakayanagi and Ayanokouji as they duke it out in this special event based exam where classes pick events to fight each other in such as basketball or chess. We get to see Sakayanagi fight Ayanokouji in chess and it’s really impressive because the people watching state that their playing was as if they were from another world. In the end we found out that the match was rigged by the new head of school because he is trying to get Ayanokouji expelled because his father wants him back to the white room. This was a fun volume because we really got to see our invincible main character face an actual challenge when he played Sakayanagi in chess and we got to see many other surprises such as the revival of Ryuen.

[سلمى · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This light novel absolutely blew me away!
It's easily the best one I've read so far. The story completely captivated me, and the ending of the first-year arc was mind-blowing - I wouldn't have guessed it in a million years when I started reading. It's honestly the most satisfying arc conclusion I've ever encountered (≧▽≦)!

Finishing the entire arc in just a month was no easy feat, but totally worth the challenge. My dedication might have been fueled by pure coffee, but the joy and excitement I felt throughout the journey were incredible. It's so rewarding when a story grips you like that, leaving you wanting more.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tend to go back and forth on this series--in my head--about whether I ought to be annoyed at the schools contrivances or impressed by the general bloodthirstiness or whether I ought to hate our MC for his completely unambitious take.

But in the end, I just find it entertaining. I can ignore some things as long as the rest is fun. And it is fun.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com

[Seblis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the series and vol. 11 is no exception. The thing that bothered me was the chess game described in the latter half. It was supposedly a high-level game, but for the sake of plot twists, it was written chaotically. The description implied that players made mistakes after mistakes while praising them as great players.

To be more precise, the author often writes that the previous move was a genius one, two sentences later describing how it was a huge mistake that led the enemy to gain the advantage. It was done so many times it became tiring.

[Sarul Sakulthong · Rating 5 out of 5]

เล่มนี้เล่าเรื่องการสอบครั้งสุดท้ายของนักเรียนปี 1 ที่ต้องอาศัยความร่วมแรงร่วมใจกันทั้งห้อง ได้เห็นการเติบโตของหลายๆตัวละคร ผู้เขียนค่อยๆ Build up ได้ดีมาก ตลอดเล่มให้ความรู้สึกเหมือนขึ้นรถไฟเหาะที่ค่อยๆไต่ไปจนถึงบนสุดแล้วทิ้งตัวลงมาตามรางพลิกตัวหมุน 2-3 ตลบ มีการพลิกผันหักมุมไปมาตลอดเล่ม เป็นเล่มที่ผมใช้เวลาอ่านจบเร็วมาก สนุกจนไม่อยากวางและไม่อยากให้จบ

[Mohammad Tanveer Hassan Sarker Shishir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally Ayanokouji faces Sakayanagi.The long waited battle began. Who wins!? To know you have to read this novel to the end.
There are so many twists and a satisfying ending.None will be bored reading this.

[Lilith]

WAAHH SO INTENSE OMGG
Tsukishiro's appearance is so iffy this volume i can't even imagine what will happen in their next year.
There was not much going on other than the special test so not that much to say lol.
Ryuuen comeback btw ohhhh

[Jose Vides · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5

La batalla final de primer año! Increíble combate entre Sakayanagi y Ayanokouji que no me dejó respirar. Una bonita forma de terminar el primer año y, por desgracia, la clase C vuelve a pasar a ser la clase D....Ryuun esta de vuelta!

[Remreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

when I thought it couldn't get any better, it did.
I can't say I wasn't pissed when they lost and now they're gonna get back to class D but it only makes sense, also, RYUUEN'S COMEBACK. had been waiting for it. I'm so glad he won.

[Liz Vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

No tengo palabras, supongo que será mi último libro del mes, solo puedo escribir que fue magnífico, me encantó, muchas emociones en este libro. Y sentir esa competencia de mi príncipe contra la doncella fue espectacular, lástima el director... 😵‍💫

[Elisha Reads For U · Rating 5 out of 5]

High stakes!

This is the end of the year exam and Everything was leading up to this! We see suzenne food trapped ayanokoji but also being vulnerable with him in the end of wanting to win. Ryuen makes a comeback which was epic! And overall a great read

Christian content: none.

[autumn]

i really like sakayanagi 🥰🥰

[Xerxes Break · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arisu is the best

[Buo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryueen's involvement wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped it would be.
Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi becoming friends?
Interesting chess match, really had me on my toes

[Lakshit Sen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is marvelous.

[Mohammed Ateeq · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really happy and proud that i know this masterpiece .
Every thing is great in this vol .
The most delightful thing is that you fell the following vols will be more and more interesting.

[TheLorax · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5