The Ayanokoji Cult
Image Source Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the protagonist of the Classroom of the Elite ( COTE ) light novels and anime, has a cult. He has spawned heated debates on internet forums, videos espousing his philosophies, power scaling edits, and guides for people trying to emulate him. To his worshippers, Ayanokoji represents charisma, intelligence, and power. They admire his displays of power, which include flashy mind games and monologues about society. It’s perfectly fine to obsess over a fictional character or to learn from them, but I worry Koji-stans (those who deify Ayanokoji) fail to view him objectively. This is especially problematic when COTE ’s demographic is young men. Many Koji-stans idolize Kiyotaka’s introverted behavior, social alienation, and lack of empathy. The appeal of Ayanokoji is that many COTE fans can relate to his more superficial characteristics. For example, his peers often underestimate him. Koji-stans may misconstrue their meager social presence as social underestim...