With all the mystery that plagues the plot of Classroom Of The Elite, it’s not surprising that some people create some wild theories for the backgrounds of the more mysterious characters. In that regard, Koenji being a White Room resident is one of the less far-fetched ones. I mean, when you get down to it, he’s the only one that can rival Ayanokoji, an actual White Room graduate, in both skills and intellect.

But is that enough to think that Rokusuke Koenji has had the same experience as Kiyotaka Ayanokoji? That Koenji is somehow from the White Room as well? Well, no. Koenji is a lot of things, but a tortured kid that went through unethical experimental courses is not one of them. Koenji comes from a long line of successful people, as is on par for the Rokusuke Corporation. It’s just likely that he had amazing tutors and mentors growing up that aided his education. 

But it’s not hard to see where the comparisons stem from. After all, Koenji has shown the same aptitude and cunning that Ayanokoji has, albeit with a far more distasteful attitude. After him, Koenji is probably the best of what Class D has to offer. But that wasn’t because he was gaslit by his own dad into participating in a possibly fatal training program, now was it? Still, let’s discuss the possibility of Koenji being from the White Room in another round of Lore Analysis!

Koenji: A Hidden Card In The Author’s Arsenal? 

The first impression we get of Koenji is that he is a Gigachad in a world of rich nerds. But also that he himself is a rich nerd. Like, just because he’s a weightlifter who constantly betrays his own classmates, doesn’t mean he lacks the brains to back up the brawns. 

Because that’s essentially it, isn’t it? Koenji is a jock that is almost predictable in his nature. He doesn’t consider the other students of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School as competition, he doesn’t even consider them friends. They are just mere peasants for him to climb over because, well, he’s always been on top. That’s just how it is when you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth. 

However, the catch is that we don’t understand Koenji’s purpose in Classroom Of The Elite beyond being a polarizing figure. At first, he’s cartoonishly antagonistic, throwing his classmates under the bus just so he can get ahead. But if that’s all he was, a traitor, it would be predictable. Here, Koenji is anything but. His intelligence is on par with some of the more higher ranking classes, even being called a ‘threat’ by members of Class-B. 

Koenji has regularly shown that his abilities aren’t just for show. He can go toe to toe with someone like Ayanokoji without breaking a sweat, pass midterms solely on his own memorization of the material and make calculated guesses that actually pay off. And all of that is likely a result of his tutelage as the kid of one of the richest corporations around. 

At the same time, it’s like Koenji is a wildcard that the author is banking on. Because really, we don’t know his motivations and yet, he feels too important to just be a shallow roadblock in Ayanokoji’s way.

The White Room Isn’t For The Faint Of Heart

So, even before we could discuss whether Koenji is from the White Room or not, it’s important to acknowledge what the White Room actually is. Some 20 years ago, the White Room was founded by Professor Atsumi Ayanokoji to be the ultimate training institute. The regimen for said training, however, was intense. 

The White Room aims to teach young children by removing things from their lives that it deems ‘necessary’. So, like, basic human development that requires actual fun for kids to grow? That’s a distraction they can’t afford, apparently. The students are kept isolated from the generations before them, ensuring complete detachment from the outside world. They are taught from birth to disregard any emotions and focus on efficiency, to be better and better. They are basically raised to be tools. 

But that’s also why Ayanokoji escaped in the first place.He was the only person to ever reach the impossible target that the White Room has set out to achieve. The others? Well, they were left ‘unfit to deal with the outside world’. And no sane person would put their child through something like that, especially not the possible heir to the Rokusuke empire. 

This is why it’s hard to see Koenji personally having any connection to the White Room. But at the same time, his character is intriguing, because what does he actually want? Well, only time will tell!