Kadokawa revealed this past Saturday that the highly anticipated third season of the anime "Classroom of the Elite" is set to debut on January 3. The premiere is scheduled to air first on the AT-X channel at 10:30 p.m. (local time) before subsequent broadcasts on Tokyo MX, BS NTV, Sun TV, TV Aichi, and KBS Kyoto.
Originally slated for 2023, this installment experienced a delay due to "various circumstances." Crunchyroll will handle the simultaneous streaming with the Japanese broadcast.
The second season, which premiered in July 2022, was also streamed by Crunchyroll under the title "Classroom of the Elite II."
The directors of the first season, Seiji Kishi and Hiroyuki Hashimoto, have returned as chief directors, with Yoshihito Nishōji (known for his work on the opening sequence of the first season and other projects such as "Maji de Otaku na English! Ribbon-chan: Eigo de Tatakau Mahō Shōjo" and "Seven Senses of the Re’Union") being credited as the director from Lerche. Hayato Kazano, script supervisor from the first season, will also oversee the series' scripts, and Kazuaki Morita will once again be in charge of character design.
The first season, which premiered in July 2017, was streamed by Crunchyroll, with Funimation handling the English dubbing. The upcoming seasons will fully adapt the first-year student arc of the original story.
Crunchyroll describes the plot of the first season, which follows Kiyotaka Ayanokoji enrolling in the prestigious Koudo Ikusei High School in Tokyo, an institution where it's expected that 100% of students go on to university or find employment. However, he ends up in Class 1-D, filled with problematic students, and discovers a peculiar school system that awards students points every month, with a cash value of 100,000 yen, fostering a laissez-faire approach allowing talking, sleeping, and even sabotage during class. A month later, Ayanokoji and his classmates uncover the truth behind the system.
The original light novel series began with the first volume published by Kadokawa in May 2015, and Seven Seas will be responsible for releasing both the novels and their manga adaptation in English. Additionally, the light novels "The Classroom of the Elite: Year 2" serve as a sequel to the main series, and Seven Seas will also release these sequel novels in English.
