The students there have the freedom to wear any hairstyle and bring any personal effects they desire. While it's a bit slow to start when it comes to establishing its stakes and a stable of likable characters, once it starts getting into the arguably cruel systemic challenges the school pits against these characters, the whole thing becomes a satisfying battle of wits and cooperation. Meritocratic systems are inherently meant to cause exploitation, but what happens when those exploited fight back against the system itself? The teacher starts the swimming class and eventually instructs the class to compete with each other in a 50m freestyle separated by gender. Even so I found myself curious to see what would happen next and how this misfit class would find its way to work together once the reality of the school set in.

Hirata prompts the next student to introduce himself, and receives some backlash against the idea due to his aggressive nature. Sudō prepares to knock out the student until Honami Ichinose arrives and gets in the middle of the conflict, telling both sides to stop their fighting and threatening to draw over a teacher. At its core, it’s a story about unsympathetic victims who would normally never receive the help or guidance they actually need. I’m glad I picked up the light novels, though, as even the introductory arc had quite a lot to chew on.After talking for a bit they notice the red-haired boy from earlier arguing with the sales clerk due to having forgotten his card. One of the more memorable scenes of volume 2 is when Horikita refuses to accept a reduced punishment for Sudou because she seeks to clear his name completely.

After becoming an adult, he now looks back on school and realises what a limiting environment it was.Kiyotaka realizes he's been caught and admits the scheme while Kushida restates her desire to become friends with Horikita. While all of this is going on, we learn more about the characters, see different sides of them, and observe how they interact with one another.

When I was in high school, guys made comments like that all the time, but it made me uncomfortable then, and it still makes me uncomfortable now.

Even if you weren’t like him yourself, I’m sure you knew someone who struggled to get results in the conventional school system. The two discuss the value of friendship a bit more, with Kushida re-expressing to Kiyotaka her desire to still become friends with everybody.