The following contains spoilers for Episode 12 of Classroom Of The Elite Season 2, “Force without wisdom falls of its own weight,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
AsClassroom of the Eliteseason 2 approaches its finale, the story wraps out the current arc in groundbreaking ways. Season 2 started with Ryuen holding a critical eye over Class 1-D, especially after their shocking exploit in theIsland Test arc.Since then, the plot has focused more on the scuffles between Class C & D, with Ryuen trying to unearth the identity of Class D’s mastermind.
To achieve his goal, Ryuen didn’t flinch at resorting to detestable tactics such as putting pressure on Class D members and bullying Karuizawa in a despicable manner. Ironically, at the end of it all, Ryuen finally metClass D’s mastermind; however, the meeting didn’t go the way he planned as it marked his end. With episode 12 featuring the end of one of Class D’s biggest menaces, the path to reaching Class A becomes clearer for the less privileged class.
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Karuizawa’s Resolve
Classroom of the Elite’smost recent episode featured the continuation of Ryuen’s assault on Karuizawa. For a victim of bullying like Karuizawa, the ideal way to ‘deal’ with such situations is to give her assaulters what they want to go scot-free. However, Karuizawa remained steadfast in her decision not to rat out Class D’s mastermind. Although this noble act of hers was driven mostly by sentiments she had developed for Class D and Ayanokoji, it allowed her to break free of the bullying psychology. Bullying is a mental battle as much as it is physical, and it’s not something victims of the act can easily break out of.
While assaulting Karuizawa, Ryuen revealed that Class D’s mastermind set her up. An accurate deduction since Ayanokoji engineered Manabe’s bully attempt on Karuizawa to win her over to his side. However, despite hearing this shocking revelation from Ryuen, Karuizawa refused to reveal the mastermind’s identity. At this point, Karuizawa also knew that if she gave in to Ryuen’s coercion, she might never be able to leave the cycle of bullying. Knowing this, she decided to hold on to her decision.
On the other hand, the episode setting changed briefly to reveal Ayanokoji ditching the hangout with his group. A few minutes later, he set up a brief meeting with Chabashira to let her know what was happening and how he would handle it. Deciding to confront Ryuen, Ayanokoji entered an agreement with Manabu. The deal involved Manabu protecting Class D from the negative consequences that may result from Ayanokoji’s clash with Ryuen on the grounds that Ayanokoji will aid Horikita’s entry into theStudent Council.
Ayanokoji Defeats Ryuen
After devising out a failsafe strategy for the aftermath of the fight, Ayanokoji headed to the building where Karuizawa was being held and declared himself as Class D’s mastermind. At first glance, Ayanokoji’s actions might seem reckless since he waltzed into a buildingfilled with dangerous bullieswhile declaring himself as their prize. Fearlessly, Ayanokoji announced his intentions to rescue Karuizawa, amusing Ryuen, who believed he had the upper hand. However, after Ryuen’s lackeys tried to attack Ayanokoji and discovered they were on the receiving end, Ryuen realized that Ayanokoji was no ordinary person. After Ayanokoji knocks out Ishizaki and Albert after a few clashes, he then reveals his intention all along. Apparently, everything that led down to the scene in episode 12 was engineered by Ayanokoji.
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According to Ayanokoji, he let Ryuen think everything was going according to his plan while he was the real mastermind behind every action Ryuen took. However, hearing this confession from the master manipulator did nothing to unnerve Ryuen. After knocking Ibuki out in a few moves, the real fight between Ayanokoji and Ryuen starts. Surprisingly, Ryuen, who is a natural-born fighter, was able to keep up with Ayanokoji, atrained martial arts practitioner, briefly. The battle, however, was not just physical but also mental. It was to determine who had more control over their emotions.
Ryuen tried and failed to make Ayanokoji experience ‘fear.’ However, making Ryuen experience his baser emotions was all too easy for Ayanokoji. Even while attacking Ryuen, Ayanokoji had a blank look on his face that showed how trivial it was for him to defeat Ryuen. Interestingly, this pushed Ryuen over the edge since he could not understand Ayanokoji’s reaction, and humans fear what they don’t understand. At the end of it all, Ayanokoji knocks Ryuen unconscious and wins both the physical and mental aspects of their battle.
After dealing with Ryuen, Ayanokoji comforted Karuizawa, who was still in shock regarding the experience she just went through. Regardless, one huge benefit resulted from this experience for Karuizawa; she had finally broken free from the mental prison bullying builds. Her resilience and unwillingness to rat out Ayanokoji contributed greatly to this factor, and above all, Ayanokoji renewed his alliance with her. It is still unclear whether Karuizawa will forgive Ayanokoji for using her as bait; however, this development has forged a strong bond between these characters inClassroom of the Elite.
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