The Anime Still Doesn't Understand Ayanokoji

Ayanokoji looks emotionless. But that may be the least interesting way to understand him. Volume 0 shows a child who could analyze another person's weakness, yet struggled to understand something as simple as laughter. Years later, one unexpected smile forces him to question his own emotions all over again. So what did the White Room actually do to Kiyotaka Ayanokoji? In this video, we examine his childhood inside the White Room, his relationships with Yuki and Shiro, his emotional development, and a crucial moment with Suzune Horikita in Year 2 Volume 10. The goal is not to argue that Ayanokoji is secretly a normal, kind person underneath everything. It is to separate four things that are often treated as the same: Feeling emotion. Showing emotion. Understanding emotion. Caring about another person. And once those differences become clear, the usual image of the “emotionless genius” starts to fall apart. This also raises a bigger question for the anime adaptation: Showing Ayanokoji with a blank face is easy. Showing the logic behind that blank face is much harder. Spoilers: Classroom of the Elite Volume 0 Classroom of the Elite Year 2 Volume 10 Which moment changed your understanding of Ayanokoji the most: Yuki, Shiro, or the smile he never intended to make? #ClassroomOfTheElite #Ayanokoji #COTE