Normally, I adore pitting characters together to see who is stronger, better, more beloved, etc. It’s all in good fun and more biased than anything. But today, that isn’t the case. With something like a harem anime, figuring out who the main female heroine is can be harder than you think. Mostly considering how fans of the genre all have their own reasons for picking their waifu of choice, when the plot itself hasn’t indicated if their choice is the true lead. So, who is the ultimate best girl of something like, say, Classroom Of the Elite?

Oh boy, is this a tough question to answer. Since neither the anime nor the light novel for the franchise has been completed yet, it isn’t clear who will end up being the main heroine. If we go by love interest alone, then it’d be still up for debate. The protagonist, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, has both dated and dumped a character before. So, that’s a bust. But if we go by appearance, two girls in Ayanokōji’s acquaintance circle stand out as possible opposite leads.  

But that’s just the problem with a show like Classroom Of the Elite, where it might be marketed as an ecchi but the romance isn’t even the most important focus. The characters are more than just fated soul mates or potential love interests. They have their own ambitions, separate motivations, and goals in life. Not many of them are particularly interested in getting a partner. Especially when you consider how competitive the environment at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School.

But hey, the fans are curious, and we are here to deliver. Welcome to Lore Analysis, where we take a look at some of the most popular stories out right now and analyze their mythos to see where the plot might be headed. There’s always some sort of foreshadowing going on, whether it’s in the subtext or hidden in plain sight. And we take it upon ourselves to search through it all to figure out who, by the end of it all, is going to be the female lead in Classroom Of the Elite.

Karuizawa Kei: The Girlfriend

So, Kei Karuizawa is an obvious option for the main heroine of the franchise. For one thing, she’s one of the only girls that Ayanokōji has dated sincerely and is still with. Then there is her backstory, which is the most fleshed out. But is that enough?

The problem with Kei is that she’s too attached to Ayanokoji, with her entire personality hinging on his approval at first. Sure, she grew up after that, but it was a slow, slow development. One where, again, her character seems to just be Ayanokōji’s support and not her own individual.

Even though she’s smart and someone who shows an indominable will, her character arc just falls too flat for her to be equal to Ayanokōji in terms of character presence.  It’s why personally, I can’t see her as the main heroine of something as cutthroat as Classroom Of the Elite.

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Suzune Horikita: The Rival

I’ll be biased here, I love a character that can gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss. Which almost perfectly describes Suzune Horitaka, aka the first character Ayanokōji ends up interacting with who figures him out.

Suzune is ice-cold, period. She is a serious, intelligent girl who tackles issues in a calculated manner. She is almost always unfazed by threats, appearing near-emotionless when being confronted by others. It’s the distant attitude that makes her so anti-social, but her shrewdness is what provides her with an edge above the rest of her classmates.

Arguably, she’s the only person aside from Ayanokōji who can handle the pressure of being in a situation where everyone around you is either an asset or any enemy. Suzune is the first one to single him out, realize just exactly how much of his true potential he was hiding. And that kind of shrewdness is exactly the kind of energy Ayanokōji needed to push him forward.

Their rivalry is probably the best dynamic out of all of them. Even though it’s becoming clear that Suzune might be harboring some feelings for Ayanokōji, but she hasn’t sacrificed her individuality for it yet.

So, Who Is the Main Heroine?

So, in my thought process, a main heroine can be separate from the main love interest. Like, the two can be different individuals entirely, who hold different purposes in the plot. Here, Ayanokōji is the main lead of Classroom Of the Elite. But his love interest and his main opposite lead are different.

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We already know that there is a spinoff that focuses on Suzune. And it’s her rivalry with Ayanokōji that sets her apart and makes her seem like an integral part of the main plotline independent of a romance subplot. It’s why I believe she is the main female lead of the show!