A second key visual has been released for the upcoming third season of Classroom of the Elite. Featured in it are Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, Kakeru Ryuen, Suzune Horikita, Kei Karuizawa, Arisu Sakayanagi, and Honami Ichinose.

The first season of the anime premiered back in 2017, while the second season, titled Classroom of the Elite II, premiered last July. Aside from the anime, the light novels, which are published under the MF Bunko J label, have also inspired several manga.

There are also new cast announcements for New Classroom of the Elite 3rd Season Key Visual Released, like:

• Shouya Chiba as Kiyotaka Ayanokoji
• Masaaki Mizunaka as Kakeru Ryuen
• Akari Kitou as Suzune Horikita
• Yurika Kubo as Kikyo Kushida
• Ayana Taketatsu as Kei Karuizawa
• Yurika Kubo as Kikyo Kushida
• Ryouta Oosaka as Yosuke Hirata
• Rina Hidaka as Arisu Sakayanagi
• Nao Touyama as Honami Ichinose

© 衣笠彰梧・KADOKAWA刊／ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ製作委員会

The original first-year arc of the light novels (which will be fully adapted with the anime’s third season) began in 2015 and concluded in 2019 with 11 main volumes and three short story anthologies. The sequel series Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 began in 2020 and released its 10th volume on October 25, 2023. 

Classroom of the Elite 3rd Season is set to premiere in January 2024. It was originally meant to begin airing this year but suffered a delay as a result of “various circumstances.” The anime is based on the KADOKAWA-published light novels written by Shougo Kinugasa and illustrated by Shunsaku Tomose, which Seven Seas Entertainment describes as:

Students of the prestigious Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School are given remarkable freedom—if they can win, barter, or save enough points to work their way up the ranks! Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has landed at the bottom in the scorned Class D, where he meets Horikita Suzune, who’s determined to rise up the ladder to Class A. Can they beat the system in a school where cutthroat competition is the name of the game?