Classroom of the Elite: Is Arisu Good or Evil? Explaining the Villain’s Motivations!

The third season of Classroom of the Elite is finally starting, and we on Fiction Horizon will be covering the anime but also talking about some other concepts and characters from the series as we are going to explain some burning questions about the series. This article is going to be dedicated to a specific character, as we are going to talk about her and reveal his overall role in the story of Classroom of the Elite. We all know who Arisu Sakayanagi is and we know that she is the “villain” of the series. But is she evil or not? This article will explain that aspect of her character properly.

Arisu’s story is layered, but more or less clear

Arisu Sakayanagi is an important character in Classroom of the Elite and can be considered to be the primary villain of the first year due to her specific and special rivalry with Ayanokoji. She is best known for being the leader of Class A and the faction bearing her name. She needs to use a cane to walk, which suggests that she has a disability, which is later revealed to be congenital heart disease. She seems to know a lot about the school’s S system and rules, and she is regarded as exceptionally brilliant. Alongside Ayanokoji, Ryūen and she also have a fierce rivalry. She finds it humorous but ineffective when other classes try to outshine them in exams and competitions.

She was revealed to be aware of the existence of the “White Room” in the fifth volume of the novel series, and it was also hinted that she was acquainted with Kiyotaka because they had met there eight years and 243 days prior. Thus, Arisu is aware of his actual potential. Her main motivation is to be the leader and for everyone to acknowledge her as the most superior student in the school, which drives her to be the best, as well as to manipulate those around her to achieve her plans.

Arisu is aware of her superiority, and while that doesn’t make her a bad person, her behavior does

The final evaluation of whether Arisu is a bad person or not completely comes down to how she behaves towards the people around her. She is definitely the “villain” of the series (considering what a “villain” in the context of Classroom of the Elite is), but we’ve seen that this doesn’t have to mean much when this series is concerned. This is why it is necessary to discuss Arisu’s role from a different perspective.

As we’ve said, Arisu doesn’t necessarily have an evil personality; she doesn’t want to see people get hurt, but she is superior and she is aware of that, which makes her a narcissist, and while that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, she doesn’t really try to not act like one towards others. Arisu thinks she is the best and her behavior is such that she wants everyone else to acknowledge that as well. This is why she always gets angry when she is perceived as a “little girl” (because of her looks). She holds a grudge and has a vindictive personality, which also doesn’t help her case much.

She is also manipulative and tends to toy with people, sometimes for her personal gain, and at other times because it is fun for her. All of this is important if you want to understand her position in the story and her role overall. Arisu is not a bad person per se, she just wants to be the best, but her behavior towards other people, as well as how she treats them, makes her a bad person. So yes, we can conclude that she is a bad person after all.

But, as we’ve said, it’s not evil for evil’s sake, as there is a lot of honor in her behavior, which was best seen through her rivalry with Ayanokoji, which was one of the most important elements of the first year series.

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