A lot of anime fans who pick up Classroom of the Elite may be wondering whether or not the series has romance. After all, some anime sites have it labeled with the romance tag. Well to be short, no the anime does not feature any true romance but it does have romantic elements. In fact, Ayanokoji does not seem capable of creating a true connection with another individual (let alone a romantic one). But there are definitely classmates who have romantic feelings for him. We’ll go into a little more detail below but be warned there are spoilers from seasons 1 and 2 of the anime.
**WARNING SPOILERS BELOW**
There are multiple girls in the anime that have romantic feelings toward Ayanokoji. Before we go into them, keep in mind the Classroom of the Elite anime story differs from the manga in major ways. This article is written based on the Anime and was published after episode 7 of the second season.
Romance Between Horikita and Ayanokoji
To start we have to discuss Horikita. In the manga, her relationship with Ayanokoji doesn’t really have any romantic elements but in the Anime, it’s a different story. Season 1 features clear romantic moments where Horikita is flustered, blushes, and seems uncharacteristically lost for words. Ayanokoji does not reciprocate these emotions at all. As we all know, his expression never seems to falter. In the second season, the romantic tension between the two of them is essentially eliminated. All in all, although they spend an extraordinary amount of time scheming together, there isn’t anything truly romantic between them. By the second season, they seem to have become simply business partners.
Romance Between Karuizawa and Ayanokoji
After watching Classroom of the Elite Season 2 Episode 7 (click here for a summary of that episode) it’s clear that Karuizawa has romantic feelings for Ayanokoji. While we do summarize her actions in that episode reaction (which you can find here) we’ll also break down Karuizawa’s relationship with Ayanokoji here. To truly understand Karuizawa’s feelings you need to start from the beginning of her interactions with Ayanokoji. It all starts during the Cruise Ship Special Test. During this exam, three female students approach Karuizawa and begin to bully her because of how she treated one of their classmates. Ayanokoji comes to her rescue when he records the interaction and gives the recording to Karuizawa. She’s able to use that recording to threaten the three females. During this interaction, Ayanokoji promises to protect Karuizawa as long as she follows his directions. Fast forward to episode 7, Karuizawa becomes visibly jealous anytime Ayanokoji interacts with other females. She also contacts Ayanokoji late at night to ensure he isn’t interested in any other girls. It’s evident from her behavior that she has romantic feelings for him.
Romance Between Sato Maya and Ayanokoji
There are also other students who demonstrate romantic feelings for Ayanokoji. The first is Sato Maya. She essentially confesses her feelings to Ayanokoji directly. Apparently, she became infatuated with Ayanokoji following his stellar performance at the Sports Festival. This all happened in episode 7 and we’re still waiting for the relationship to develop.
Romance Between Kushida and Ayanokoji
There is also Kushida. It seemed like she may have had romantic feelings for Ayanokoji during the first season. She seemed to become jealous of the fact that Ayanokoji spent so much alone time with Horikita. Furthermore, she always became overjoyed when Ayanokoji would ask her to do something or spend time with her. Finally, while the two of them were on the cruise ship, she stopped Ayanokoji and seemed like she wanted to confess something before deciding better of it. Although it appeared like she may have had a crush on Ayanokoji during the first season, during the second season she is more focused on getting Horikita and Ayanokoji expelled.
Romance Between Sakura Airi and Ayanokoji
Sakura is the pink-haired undercover idol who shyly watches Ayanokoji in Class D. It seems like she developed feelings for Ayanokoji after he offered to help her with a stalker. He also offered her useful advice that helped her feel somewhat more confident. Finally, Sakura is an extremely shy girl who has trouble interacting with her classmates. She’s one of the few students who intuitively sees through Kushida’s friendly facade. Yet, she trusts Ayanokoji because she can tell he doesn’t evaluate her for her body. During the school cruise, Sakura practices confessing her feelings to Ayanokoji but never goes through with admitting them.
Romance Between Ichinose and Ayanokoji
The final girl that possibly has romantic feelings for Ayanokoji is Ichinose. During the first season, she goes to considerable lengths to help Ayanokoji even though they had really just met. Furthermore, she asks Ayanokoji to pretend to be her boyfriend to ward off an unwanted advance. This demonstrates how much she trusts him. Finally, she lets him in on her biggest secret: she wants to buy her way into Class A with private points rather than achieve it with her entire class. This hints at the fact she may believe that Class D will be able to climb all the way to the top position. Why else would she entrust such crucial information to a student from another class? Although she has an extremely friendly personality with nearly every student, it is clear that Ichinose has a very deep trust in Ayanokoji.
Conclusion
Even though I started this article by saying there isn’t any true romance in Classroom of the Elite, I guess there is. Even though it is one-sided, numerous girls in Classroom of the Elite harbor romantic feelings for Ayanokoji. So to finally answer the question: Does Classroom of the Elite have romance? The answer is yes. Now, will Ayanokoji get into a truly committed relationship? Unlikely. But I guess we’ll have to just continue watching to find out.
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