Classroom of the Elite is on the decline, they say

There is no doubt that "Classroom of the Elite" is one of the most popular franchises of the moment, especially in the world of light novels. However, when we move towards other mediums such as manga adaptation or anime adaptation, the reviews become mixed, to say the least.

The manga adaptation is considered a complete failure by omitting much of the personality of the protagonist Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, especially all of his internal monologues. It was evident that this flaw would carry over to the anime adaptation as well, and the absence of these details ended up leaving Ayanokoji as a cliché anime protagonist.

It makes sense to use cinematic shorthand (turning the written clues in the light novel into visual clues in the anime) to convey that there's something "weird" about Ayanokoji from the get-go. After all, television and soap operas are different mediums, and it would be tedious to include all of their internal monologues. There's also no guarantee that the viewer will have the patience to observe a seemingly nondescript character in this cast of larger-than-life personalities.

These issues have been dragging on since the first season, and the recently concluded third season was no exception. Certainly, "Classroom of the Elite" was from the beginning a light novel almost impossible to adapt to anime, and this is why many fans of the franchise recommend avoiding anime if you are looking for a full experience of Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's journey at the Metropolitan High School for Advanced Education.

And there was no shortage of complaints in the third season, but curiously they were not about the portrayal of the protagonist. In fact, the criticism itself was about how "Classroom of the Elite" went from being a story of mind fighting and strategy to a simple harem story. Or at least that's how it was portrayed on a popular comment forum:

"I was hoping for a head-to-head battle in the third season of Classroom of the Elite, but I was disappointed that it was just a convenient harem story..."

And of course, there was no shortage of comments:

"I was expecting stories like the camp in Season 1 or the cruise in Season Two, what happened?"
"It's like each of the girls are just there to become a tool of the protagonist."
"The designs were better in season two. The story and the production goes from bad to worse, to be honest."
"As long as Sakayanagi-chan keeps showing up, I don't care about the rest."
"Yes, it's almost like a harem, but it also makes friends with men, so I guess it's not too bad."
"At most, one or two romantic interests would be accepted in such a story. But now it's more than five."
"Papa Ayakoji has been teasing us, and the curriculum is a mess."
"Next season they will add another harem. If there is one."
"I want a series of fine books that give Yamauchi-kun an important role in the series."
"There hasn't been an ounce of brain battle elements in this anime since the beginning. It's been a story of 'I'm the strongest protagonist and no one else knows it.'"
"Ayanokoji is a funny guy, so it's no surprise that he chose Suzune Horikita."
"I left the original story at the end of the second year, the story is in decline."
"The most common reason is that the school is very elitist, but it's also very unsafe."