What Is Classroom of the Elite About and Is It Kid Friendly?
Classroom of the Elite is based on a light novel of the same name. The show unfolds in Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. While the school might seem to outsiders like a utopia, but, from a pedagogical perspective, the conditions are actually pretty horrible: Four classes are ranked from A to D and set up against one another, as only the top ones are treated well. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, a Class D student, meets Suzune Horikita, who believes she was placed in Class D by mistake and desires to climb the social ladder into Class A, and the seemingly amicable class idol Kikyou Kushida, who prioritizes friendship over grades. In this scary school, rules are loose, and many students are willing to do anything in their power to rise to a higher ranking, setting themselves against their classmates in a brutally antagonistic spirit. This concept is similar to that of the E Class in the popular Assassination Classroom, and the two anime are even from the same studio. More often than not, anime with students as main characters are perceived as being appropriate for kids, but is this the case with Classroom of the Elite? Keep reading to find out!
What Is the Rating of Classroom of the Elite?
Popular anime database MyAnimeList rates the show as PG-13 which means that it can comfortably be watched by teenagers 13 years old or older. Anime and other media with this rating aren’t considered entirely free of violence or other concepts that are more easily digested by teenagers than by children. These media do not, however, contain too graphic depictions of violence, nor nudity and sexual content, meaning that most teenagers are ok to watch them. If you’re using the TV Parental Guidelines Ratings System, Classroom of the Elite is TV-14 - Parents Strongly Cautioned. This rating means that “This program contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.” Different countries might assess the minimum acceptable age to watch a movie or show differently, so there’s no hard and fast rule. On IMDb, for instance, many countries agree that Classroom of the Elite is ok to watch for anyone aged over 13 or 14, though other countries have a 16+ rating (in some cases self-applied) with others, such as India, considering it 18+.
So, Is Classroom of the Elite Age Appropriate?
Officially speaking, Classroom of the Elite is appropriate for teenagers aged 13 and older, or 14 and older, depending on which system you ask. Of course, age labels are often indicative and ultimately, viewers, or parents of very young viewers, should make their decision regarding what is or isn’t appropriate at a particular time. To help you make this decision, we broke down elements that sometimes concern parents when it comes to anime and other media:
Violence: Classroom of the Elite is not extremely or graphically violent. There is, however, a fair amount of punching and fighting. There is one particular class that is very focused on physical violence Some blood is also shown, occasionally, but this is kept to a minimum and, overall, the violence isn’t particularly upsetting. Sexual Content and Nudity: Classroom of the Elite features some characters in revealing clothes. This is not inappropriate in itself, as said characters are young, and they shouldn’t even be sexualized. Unfortunately, Classroom of the Elite does sexualize the students, particularly the girls, mostly for no reason, as is the case with many similarly-themed anime. Moreover, the anime features a man attacking a girl, so this is a content warning to be aware of. Overall, this is not the worst fanservice we’ve seen in anime, but any teenagers who watch the show must be aware of the issues in its depictions of female characters in particular. Drugs/Alcohol/ Smoking: Drugs and other addictive substances are not featured prominently in Classroom of the Elite.Profanity: Due to its topics, Classroom of the Elite might occasionally contain intense dialogue but apart from a few not-unheard-of swear words here and there, the language of the show isn’t particularly offensive.
All in all, Classroom of the Elite isn’t the most offensive anime of its kind. Some violence is there, but it’s relatively tame, and there’s no extensive substance abuse. The biggest issue for most viewers would be the fan service elements, which might be annoying for some. It’s important that underage viewers getting into anime are aware of compromising or stereotypical depictions and how these could become better. Otherwise, rather than only focusing on the age rating, it’s important that viewers and parents make decisions on a case-by-case basis and that parents are open to dialogue about anything they or their children find disturbing.
