Classroom Of The Elite: The 14 Most Intelligent Characters In The Anime, Ranked (2024)

Classroom of the Elite is a unique title within the psychological anime genre. The anime is set in Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, a meritocratic academy where students have to make a name for themselves using their intellectual prowess. Starring in this anime are intelligent characters who have pulled off shocking feats using their wits.

In an academy where ranking is important, students must devise strategies to climb to the top. Although there are exceptions, like the nonchalant protagonist of the series, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, who chooses to observe the academy’s activities from a non-participatory standpoint. Regardless, the anime is still a competitive one with formidable characters. With this in mind, which characters in Classroom of the Elite anime can fans wholeheartedly call the most intelligent?

Updated August 12, 2024, by Emedo Destiny: The Classroom of the Elite has earned more than a fair share of its accolades from its brilliant display of the concept of wit and intelligence, and rightly so. Premised on academic and all-round excellence, the series weaves intellectual ability into every aspect of its narrative, and through its characters, it displays unconventional applications of brainpower. The series boasts a stellar cast of characters, all of whom engage in intellectually stimulating altercations in a bid to take centerstage at the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, where the series is set. These characters give their all to change their status in an academy operating solely on intellectual currency. Among them are characters with even more sinister ambitions only achievable through unmatched wit. In regards to these characters, here are the series’ most outstanding.

This article contains spoilers from the Classroom of the Elite light novels

14 Mio Ibuki

Class 1-C

• Anime Debut: Episode 01
• Age: 17
• Occupation: Student Class Representative

Mio Ibuki is a member of Class 1-C, and outside of class activities, is a lone act who tries her best to isolate herself from the rest of her class. Hugely distrustful and wary of others, Mio is also capable of deception.

However, she has an aversion to violence despite being a capable fighter. As a student, Mio possesses outstanding academic and physical abilities, as she is one of the most intelligent students in her class. Capable of multiple martial arts styles, Mio is a formidable fighter with high adaptability and the ability to switch fighting styles to outwit her opponents seamlessly.

13 Horikita Suzune

Class 1-D

• Anime Debut: Episode 01
• Age: 16
• Occupation: Student Class Representative

Horikita Suzune is one of the main characters of Classroom of the Elite and is a member of Class D. In the first season of the show, Horikita maintained a haughty personality while shunning most of her classmates as incapable of helping her achieve her goal of reaching Class A. Although Horikita isn't as intelligent as most characters on this list, she is still among the smartest characters in the anime.

One of her biggest feats in the intelligence department was outsmarting Kikyo Kushida in a deal that seemed like Kushida had overwhelmingly high odds of winning. It is difficult to measure Horikita's intelligence reach since most of her plans are hinged on Ayanokoji's advice. Regardless, she's smart enough to hold her own grounds in a battle of wits.

12 f*cka Kiryuin

Class 2-B

• Anime Debut: N/A
• Age: 18
• Occupation: Student

f*cka Kiryuin is a student of Class 2-B in the series. Confident in her abilities, f*cka is self-assured to the point that she draws comparisons to Koenji Rokusuke of Class 1-D, and this is also due to the fact she never does anything that has no personal benefit, which implies a rough relationship with her class.

However, her physical qualities are not are only strong points as she is the only student who has an A+ plus ranking in both academics and physical abilities, which implies her high level of mental acuity. In addition, her latent potential in these aspects is one that rival even the best of the lot.

11 Katsuragi Kohei

Class 1-A

• Anime Debut: Episode 01
• Age: 16
• Occupation: Student Class Representative

Katsuragi Kohei is one of the two central individuals of Class A, the other being Arisu Sakanayagi, one of the smartest characters in the series. These two characters are responsible for the power tussle in Class A. In season one of Classroom of the Elite, Katsuragi came up with a brilliant strategy to guarantee Class A’s win in the island test.

However, due to Ayanokoji's interference, his plan didn't go the way he "planned." Similar to most characters in Classroom of the Elite, Katsuragi is extremely cunning; however, he lacks the cold-heartedness present in characters like Ayanokoji and Arisu, which makes them terrifying.

10 Koenji Rokusuke

Class 1-D

• Anime Debut: Episode 01
• Age: 17
• Occupation: Student

In the first season of the anime, Koenji Rokusuke was largely portrayed as a self-absorbed character who only cared about his desires and appearances. This didn’t change in the second season, but it revealed his intelligence in the Cruise Ship Test. Due to his strategies, he managed to figure out the VIP identities and conclude the test successfully way before others.

Unlike Ayanokoji, Koenji doesn’t hide his intelligence; however, his selfish behavior cloaks most students from seeing his true worth.

9 Ichinose Honami

Class 1-B

• Anime Debut: Episode 01
• Age: 17
• Occupation: Student Class Representative

In most anime, there is always that one character that seems to be without ‘flaws’ and is loved by every character. This description is a perfect fit for Ichinose Honami. Ichinose is the representative of Class 1-B; she leads her classmates with a firm but kind personality. Undoubtedly, Ichinose is one of the smartest characters in the series, and her intelligence was shown more in season 2.

In the Cruise Ship test, she was able to see through Ayanokoji’s bluff, and even though Ayanokoji predicted this outcome, it showed her incredible perceptiveness. However, beneath all of Ichinose's smiles, is she hiding something dark? If this turns out to be the case, it will make the series even more interesting.

8 Ryuen Kakeru

Class 1-C

• Anime Debut: Episode 01
• Age: 17
• Occupation: Student Class Representative\

Ryuen is one of the antagonists in Classroom of the Elite and is well-known for using underhanded tactics to get what he wants. As Class C’s representative, Ryuen also aims at reaching Class A. To do this, he will not hesitate to execute any foul plan as long his tracks are covered. When he was first revealed in the anime’s first season, Ryuen was portrayed as a mere thug-like character.

However, as the season advanced and revealed his formidable plan to win the island test, Ryuen's intelligence became more apparent. In the recent season, fans finally got to see Ryuen's true devious and cunning nature, making him one of the few characters that top this list.

7 Miyabi Nagumo

Class 2-A

• Anime Debut: Season 2 Episode 06
• Age: N/A
• Occupation: Student Council Vice-President

One of the new changes in season 2 of Classroom of the Elite featured was the change in Student Council president from Horikita Manabu to Miyabi Nagumo. Since his swearing-in, much hasn't been revealed about Miyabi; however, the light novels are more than enough to discover the depths of the character Miyabi.

Miyabi Nagumo is similar to Ryuen in that he uses underhanded tactics to achieve everything he wants. Miyabi considers Manabu his rival even though the feeling isn't mutual, from Manabu's perspective. Hopefully, fans will get a good look at Miyabi's personality in the next season.

6 Tsubasa Nanase

Class 1-D

• Anime Debut: N/A
• Age: 16
• Occupation: Student

One of the six freshmen introduced at the start of the 2nd Year, Tsubasa had the second-highest score from the OAA evaluation, being edged only slightly by Takuya Yagami with a point. She is depicted to be polite, calm, and welcoming but also confident, and she has a strong aversion to violence, although she is capable of it.

As a student, Tsubasa is balanced in every required aspect with impressive physical and academic evaluations. An allusion to her physical capabilities is her taking a hit from Ichika, who is highly rated for her physical capabilities.

However, in terms of ability, f*cka is rightly confident as she is the only one to have an A+ ranking in both Academics and Physical Abilities, a feat as rare as it is difficult. The full extent of her abilities, however, is still unknown.

5 Amasawa Ichika

Class 1-A

• Anime Debut: N/A
• Age: 16
• Occupation: Student

Amasawa Ichika is as confident as she is smart. Being one of the few raised in the White Room alongside Ayanokoji and Takuya Yagami, Ichika’s wits speak for themselves. Ichika has a rather precocious personality, which has seen her regarded as smug and condescending. Ichika, however, like Ayanokoji, deliberately keeps a lid on the full extent of her capabilities and is not interested in too much attention.

Very satisfied with indulging herself with whimsical wishes, Ichika veils a much sinister personality. In contrast to her appearance, Ichika possesses outstanding physical and academic abilities. Her understanding of advanced mathematics is on par with Ayanokoji's, even when he’s serious, which is way ahead of even the brightest students at the school. Beyond academics, Ichika possesses a great understanding of martial arts, is proficient at multiple, and is more than a capable fighter.

4 Horikita Manabu

Class 3-A

• Anime Debut: Episode 01
• Age: 19
• Occupation: Student Council President

Excluding the members of Class 1, Manabu is the most intelligent character in Classroom of the Elite. He was Student Council president of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School before leaving the post for Miyabi Nagumo.

Manabu is a well-rounded student that excels in all aspects of academics and even non-academic areas. Apart from his intellectual prowess, Manabu is also incredibly perspective. From just a few encounters he had with Ayanokoji, he was able to sense that the protagonist was more than he seemed. Also, Manabu is the elder brother of Suzune, who adores him and would do anything to get his approval.

3 Arisu Sakanayagi

Class 1-A

• Anime Debut: Episode 01
• Age: 16
• Occupation: Student Class Representative

Arisu Sakanayagi is the representative of Class A, who rose to the position after dethroning Katsuragi Kohei. Arisu has been revealed a few times in the anime, but the most important details about her aren't on screen yet. However, in episode 10 of the second season, the Chairman of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School mentioned that she was his daughter.

Arisu and Ayanokoji have met in the past, but Ayanokoji has no memories of their past encounters, even though Arisu clearly remembers them. Arisu's main goal is to beat Ayanokoji to prove that natural geniuses will always surpass learned geniuses. Arisu is one of the few characters that knows Ayanokoji's connection to the White Room, which is why she is obsessed with surpassing him.

2 Takuya Yagami

Class 1-B

• Anime Debut: N/A
• Age: N/A
• Occupation: Student

A student of Class 1-B, Takuya is also one of the few former members of the White Room at the academy. Takuya’s involvement with the White Room is an allusion to his intellectual capabilities, and this is shown multiple times in the series as he had the overall highest score in the OAA evaluation, which marked his introduction to the series.

Highly ambitious, Takuya is also one of the most dangerous characters due to his obsession with getting rid of Ayanokoji, which he displayed during his planned encounter with Kikyo Kushida. Even more impressive was his memorization of the backgrounds and information of 156 other students and that of their immediate families and friends.

1 Kiyotaka Ayanokoji

Class 1-D

• Anime Debut: Episode 01
• Age: 17
• Occupation: Student

Ayanokoji is the nonchalant antihero protagonist of Classroom of the Elite. Despite being extremely intelligent, Ayanokoji desires to keep his intellectual prowess a secret from everyone. However, a few characters are still aware of his capabilities, some more than others.

Even though he is a member of Class D, Ayanokoji is not concerned with Class D’s goal to reach Class A. As a result of being raised in the White Room, Ayanokoji’s intellectual capabilities far exceeds any character in Classroom of the Elite. However, this also altered his mental state, causing him to view humans as nothing but tools to help him achieve his goals. However, despite Ayanokoji’s downsides, he is irrefutably the smartest character in Classroom of the Elite.

Classroom of the Elite

Psychological

Thriller

Release Date

July 12, 2017

Studio

Lerche

Japanese Title

Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoush*tsu e

Based On

Light Novel

Creator

Shōgo Kinugasa

Number of Episodes

38

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll