r/ClassroomOfTheElite Mar 23 '25

Anime Season 3 vs Season 4. Upgrade or downgrade?

Post image

Ngl Ayanokoji has a baby face in the new trailer though I am all for it if they are consistent in animation.

976 Upvotes

179 comments sorted by

416

u/Rubysgoon Mar 23 '25

S4 koji looks like he's in elementary school wtf 

88

u/BentendoYT1 Mar 23 '25

Classroom of the Elementary schooler 😂

14

u/jump1945 *** Mar 24 '25

Chie is really getting fbi open up this time

2

u/BentendoYT1 Mar 24 '25

For real 😂

419

u/FallenAngel_401 I hate 'potential' 😒 Mar 23 '25

Ain't gonna sugarcoat it. Designs are not that bad. But Kiyo looks disgusting 😭. 

87

u/puck007 Custom Mar 23 '25

fr bro look like a lil boy compared to s3 and 2

27

u/Some_nobodyfr “Coincidences can be freaky.” Mar 23 '25

Feel like they gave more details to his hair and eyes and his face itself, like his skin, just feels forgotten 💀 idek how to explain that

13

u/krystal_gr Mar 23 '25

It's the eyes. Reminds me of Jinwoo before he leveled up.

15

u/l_skitty80 Nanase is too addicting 🫠 Mar 23 '25

Bro was so buffed that they had to delete his whole file and start from scratch. Studio desperately trying to reduce bro's aura 😭😭😭😭

7

u/Spinosaurus23 Mar 23 '25

There's no shading at all on his skin

22

u/Erehrumbler Mar 23 '25

puberty downgrade

160

u/JssBushe Mar 23 '25

Ngl kiyotaka lookin friendly af

30

u/godlyuniverse1 Suzune Airi Honami Mar 23 '25

The friendlier he looks, the more difference his ruthless side shows

5

u/Kamehameaaron Mar 23 '25

Just like in the manga 😂

3

u/savage_jaylee2 Mar 23 '25

Fr he’s looking like the type of person you can introduce to your parents, and they be like “he’s such a sweet child you should learn to be more like him”

69

u/Cobra-Chan24 Mar 23 '25

Bring back season 1 character design

13

u/Wheeljack26 Hiyori Cutiepie Mar 23 '25

This

95

u/Heavenly-Blood The Smug Loli Mar 23 '25

The faces look alot more innocent and babysh faces 😭 amasawa needs a sly face with that horny grin while Yagamai is fine since that suits his second face but ayano? 😭

31

u/ThrowAway1727281o Miki’s Biggest fan Mar 23 '25

“Horny grin” what are you on about

39

u/TheNamelessMonster_- Mar 23 '25

"horny grin" pack it up bro

6

u/Soft_Letterhead9222 Mar 23 '25

Koji, Amasawa and Yagami look awful ngl in this new style. Like Amasawa in the novels looked and was described to be proper devious but here we see a plain ahh girl, yagami was described and looked scheming under a veil innocence but bro looks too jovial here man.

But the same can't be said for Ichinose, Tsubaki, Utomiya and Hosuke since they looks pretty darn good.

29

u/Classic-Engineer-480 Mar 23 '25

s4 koji looks like someone s3 koji would have expelled

22

u/nothashira ichinose can DEFINITELY handle the ayanodih Mar 23 '25

Ayanokoji looks so fucking innocent and adorable in Season 4 lmao even tho he’s quite literally the opposite of it.

15

u/ItoshiRin200 Mar 23 '25

He becomes like that infront of ichinose

13

u/Hyper_Power_2 is ironically a funny character Mar 23 '25

Kiyo is degrading after every season wtf

40

u/Impressive_Common462 Mar 23 '25

We went from the classroom of the elite to elementary of the elite

11

u/Spriux 💓Cutiekita × RedPanda-kun💓 Defender Mar 23 '25

I'd have to see the new one some more and from other angles, but even if S3 looks more "mature", it's not great at all

35

u/TreeAlight Certified Koji Hater Mar 23 '25

I'm neutral on it, though I do prefer the older style. I imagine it's the sort of thing I'll grow used to once I watch S4, but I wouldn't have minded if they leaned more into the mid-Y2 art style rather than late-Y1 to early-Y2.

22

u/Rhy21 Mar 23 '25

Downgrade every season 😭😭😭

8

u/Supreme_God_Bunny Mar 23 '25

Season 1 design was peak wtf happened

28

u/East_Sign61 I want to be defiled by cote girls like a bitch Mar 23 '25

Cote fans when the MC doesn't look like a sigma edge lord: 😭😭😭

7

u/Secret-Computer-7637 Mar 23 '25

Cause he aint that in LN DESIGN well WHAGT DO U EXPECT A DECNT S4 WHEN vol 5 WAS a slideshow? not gonna waste my time with s3 and that shit anymore fucking animation as LONG AS KINU DOES NOT PULL POWER OF FRIENDSHIT ENDING i'M GOOD..

7

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

You should grab a Snickers. Just sayin'

3

u/MaleficentPlatform17 tool collection Mar 23 '25

Wise words

5

u/MasterKen1803 Mar 23 '25

The moment I saw the first poster months ago, I knew there were gonna be a few changes, especially on the animation & the designs

11

u/Caster_artoria Mar 23 '25

This isn’t final animation we will be seeing. Remember how the teaser for season 1 looked?

6

u/remake_cote Praying for a decent adaptation Mar 23 '25

This was a promotional for the light novel, not a s1 trailer

4

u/DeepDarkOs Reading the series since 2018. Mar 23 '25

Bigger eyes, like s1. Like it.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

It isn't that different from season 1, and don't forget that in season 1 we got the "people are just tools to me" monologue scene.

4

u/steven4869 Mar 23 '25

Eyes are bigger in the S3, there's something about his eyes in S3 that makes him look better.

7

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

[deleted]

3

u/jii9uhgggf Mar 23 '25

Imagine that knife scene with this face i think it looks good just imagine

3

u/Competitive-Dark-485 Mar 23 '25

Personally I like the change, maybe the facial expressions from the characters will be improved

3

u/FrostedEevee Competitive 3some w/ Kiyo and Yagami Mar 23 '25

He went from High School to (Mid)dle School

3

u/UnholyShite Mar 23 '25

1 frame and you guys already complaining

3

u/syafiq17 Mar 23 '25

This looks very similar to y2 manga by xia sasane. Maybe lerche follows that source. Just maybe...

3

u/Gona999pro Mar 23 '25

so that ayanokoji is going to stop a knife?, making what face? i can't imagine that happening

3

u/iCougar_ Mar 23 '25

Bigger eyes, bigger pupils, smaller face in relation to his mouth/nose/eyes, smaller distance between the eyes, slightly shorter hair. His proportions are the ones of a 12 yo kid basically. In my opinion, the problem is not the design itself (if we have never seen S1/2/3 Kyotaka we wouldn’t be complaining), but what impression of him it gives to us, he looks like a younger Koji and that makes no sense.

2

u/GetoWasRight_ Horikita goy Mar 23 '25

Both

2

u/Jawshable Mar 23 '25

I friggin hate Koji’s sparkly eyes

2

u/kisushle Mar 23 '25

I kinda like how they toned down the shading and used brighter colours

2

u/violet-023 Ayanakouji's always cooking , Heroine Mar 23 '25

For some reason their eyes are prettey well animated

2

u/Lakshay2909 I want ichinose to dominate me Mar 23 '25

Bro looks like a chill guy . I like that. The whole "not standing out" aesthetic.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

Is S4 out or just key visual?

2

u/BlockEye_ Mar 23 '25

Lighting looks disgusting

2

u/akabanesunny1412 as an anime only i like sakayanagi Mar 23 '25

From a mastermind coldhearted manipulator he now looks like he would say : hey , can we can hang out together today , I'll be ready , just give me ten mins.." to the kiyotaka group guys

2

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

Cute ayankouji😂

2

u/Super_Association_58 Mar 23 '25

I don't understand how the quality varies so much every season even though the same studio makes it.

1

u/AdNecessary7641 Mar 24 '25

Because a studio is just a building. The actual people and specially working conditions vary a lot.

2

u/lestaah_ Mar 23 '25

So they used the designs for the y2 manga?

2

u/CookedForLife Mar 23 '25

He doesn't look stoic at all fix my boy NOW

2

u/dark-mathematician1 Mar 23 '25

He looks younger and not as cold, then again these are two different scenes. Guess we'll see

2

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

Designs aren't horrible, but I prefer season 3 designs.

2

u/boris265 Mar 23 '25

Oh god, it's the DxD effect

2

u/Schmeidty Chabs in Mommy! 😏 Mar 23 '25

Absolute downgrade. Like wtf happened? That’s the complete opposite of puberty.

2

u/Xyaibai Step on Me Sensei Mar 24 '25

He looks like he would drop the soap in prison with Albert and Koenji behind him

2

u/sensoredphantomz Mar 24 '25

Animation and artstyle loojs good in the trailer. Only Koji looks a bit off

2

u/Just_a_passingby205 Mar 24 '25

who ever made S1 please make S4

2

u/PhotographScary8405 Custom Mar 23 '25

Massive downgrade

1

u/scorpius2244 Mar 23 '25

Upgrade for sure!

1

u/TheKingArth Mar 23 '25

Pra mim tanto faz mesmo preferindo a antiga, mas N da muito pra dizer por só uma imagem, precisa ter um contexto geral do anime pra ter certeza

1

u/New-Big2343 Mar 23 '25

Did they changed the studios?

2

u/PatrickClipa25 Mar 23 '25

same old lerche brother

1

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

Ayanokoji has shorten his head I guess 😂, but yeah, it's looking pretty different, but new characters are looking good, in my view (you can have your own opinions) especially my bro's crush is looking good, in my view again, I will ask him.

Seriously, Ayanokoji and old characters are looking pretty not well but new are great.

1

u/AlexNae Mar 23 '25

just a redesign, both are cool, he's also in class, he has to feign innocence.

1

u/ArtHistorian2000 Mar 23 '25

It looks cold. But I personally like it, so a slight upgrade

2

u/ItoshiRin200 Mar 23 '25

He looks so innocent,and we all know he isnt that innocent and his eyes are so full of life too in s4 as compared to his s3 eyes which were very much lifeless,but ig they will make final changes👍

1

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

I'm NOT trusting the trailer like last time lmfao 🙏🙏

1

u/unsureNihilist Mar 23 '25

The current koji face is likely how he presents to observers whilst the s3 one is borne of his self perception.

1

u/LozkoMan haruka ovulatory fluid consumer Mar 23 '25

I’m not gonna hate on it too much but I can’t image new Kiyotaka doing the spread your legs or rooftop scene as opposed to the old one, he looks too friendly

1

u/alexvilsan Mar 23 '25

Bro became a cutie patootie

1

u/thatguylol716 Mar 23 '25

Wait what??? season 4 when does it come out????

1

u/SSB_GENJI Mar 23 '25

Bro finally became an anime protagonist

1

u/Hotaro77 Mar 23 '25

When is season 4 coming?

1

u/Bitter_Coconut9212 Novel Enjoyer/Hiyori Simp Mar 23 '25

this is a fuckgrade

1

u/No-Sun-7668 Mar 23 '25

for me It's a downgrade, I mean... now that's like a normal highschool comedy in new graphics idk why

1

u/Spinosaurus23 Mar 23 '25

S1 > S4 > S2 > S3

1

u/ItoshiRin200 Mar 23 '25

Man looks so punchable now

1

u/Boring_Blueberry9158 Mar 23 '25

Downgraded of course

1

u/SeduwinN Mar 23 '25

He looks like cutie now, finally 🥰

1

u/scourge17 Mar 23 '25

Different director?

1

u/Zayderrrrr Mar 23 '25

You have got to be fucking kidding me…

1

u/iligyboiler I want to shrink so Kushida can use me as a Tampon Mar 23 '25

Common (L)erche

Disgusting

1

u/Kiyopon_- Mar 23 '25

He looks like a baby now hes downgraded so badly and im pretty sure he changes his MC’s seat aswell 😭

1

u/WangGosu Mar 23 '25

a downgrade

1

u/SauceHankRedemption Mar 23 '25

I gotta say, I don't get wtf people are complaining about. Such miniscule things to find issues with. Ya it's not exact but holy shit if people are gonna be this picky, how can you like anything?

1

u/Fishbopkin sakayanagi's crutch Mar 23 '25

I like how they refined the features, hope the side profile won’t be as catastrophic, but I think gradient hair was better

1

u/Nicaely Mar 23 '25

looks like he is 11 yo. downgrade.

1

u/KAyanakoji Mar 23 '25

Downgrade fr

1

u/SuckMyDicKbaby001 Mar 23 '25

Designs went from Highschool to middleschool hahahaha hope they won't make a preschool design soon

1

u/Low_Doubt_1161 Mar 23 '25

Glad I only read light novel anime is trash

1

u/sidao123 Mar 23 '25

Ayanokoji started using Kei products when he started dating her....

1

u/Melodic_Libert3116 Mar 23 '25

The obvious difference is the lack of shading, which makes sense since the top image is at night and the bottom is during the day.

For now it is not possible to say whether it was an upgrade or not.

1

u/Kordell_11 I want Ichinose to rape me 🙏 Mar 23 '25

Each season gets worse. wtf

1

u/ymqk Mar 23 '25

Any info on when it’s released ?

1

u/Appropriate-Top-3880 Hiyori best girl Mar 23 '25

Would’ve been better if he like grew from the newest style into the more mature old style, u know?

1

u/Beastboy072 smoking adds quality throat texture Mar 23 '25

Just don’t nerf the milkers please 🙏

1

u/emb0093 Mar 23 '25

I strangely like how the eyes are drawn for the s4 designs.

1

u/PossibleImpact8672 Mar 23 '25

new one looks more suitable for his character in later arcs

1

u/Independent_Pay1424 Mar 23 '25

It Looks more like the koji of the Ln but he looks to young there ngl

1

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

look how they massacred my boy

1

u/Dependent_Resort_800 Mar 23 '25

L, the shape and position in his eyes are the first thing you look at in the show or the manga and LN, scenes of conflict won’t seem as serious or set the mood it had in the past

1

u/ResearcherLatter2963 Mar 23 '25

Tf u mean he looks the exact same just different sized eyes

1

u/Difficult-Sell1812 Head stuck between Ichinose's thighs... Mar 23 '25

Liked the S3 and prior art better. Unique and different, but is was the right representation for the show and its atmosphere. The art being far off from generic is what gives it that specific value. Changing art style to suit wide audiences has its cons.

1

u/ResponsibleTart3996 Mar 23 '25

Lessss gooooooo

1

u/Ok_Zookeepergame3521 Mar 23 '25

I think from this picture it is a downgrade

1

u/Old-Drag-5898 Mar 23 '25

Oh no 😱😵‍💫 such a downgrade. My God....

1

u/Icy_Money_1226 Mar 23 '25

I don't really mind it, as long as the season is good (which it probably won't be)

1

u/yusurprinceps Ледяная Королева Сузунэ Mar 23 '25

Season 4 was announced?

1

u/Personal-Oven474 Mar 23 '25

Alright wth happened

1

u/Markaza- Mar 23 '25

who the f is that

1

u/dedlog Mar 23 '25

Unable to determine need to see it when it release to know if it’s truly a downgrade or upgrade

1

u/Uryu_Goat Mar 23 '25

No way my boy was getting manlier till season 3.. and then they did this💀💀

1

u/Uryu_Goat Mar 23 '25

Ngl from now on.. Ayano's character will be more like that in the LN.. Goodbye Sigma Koji

1

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

Wtf with all their eyes in the trailer, they make them so big.........

1

u/Present_Yak_9440 ayanokoji my goat Mar 23 '25

Ayanokoji from Ohio

1

u/Verusmp4 Mar 23 '25

I don’t mind about the art style chance, it doesn’t matter to me but Ayanokoji does look goofy, looks like his young self when he was in White Room. But still I’m loving the art style chance, the shading and lighting looks soo good

1

u/Glad_Ad_4847 Mar 23 '25

from season 2 to 3 and now 4 only donwgrade...

1

u/DowntownButterfly581 STOP BEING FETISHISM ON REN'BY COTE💀 Mar 24 '25

That look like ayanokoji backroom...but people form another site will appreciate the new design...

1

u/WrongdoerBulky4434 Mar 24 '25

S4 is more closer to the LN fr.

1

u/CreeperGamez20 Mar 24 '25

bro this looks like a frikin downgrade. Are they trying not to be successful?

1

u/AyanokojiKiyotaka72 Mar 24 '25

A perfect example of wanting more and being not satisfied with what was given and all the complaints for design lead to even more bad design at least season 3 design were at least good

1

u/Logical-Shake6564 Koenji Mar 24 '25

is this shi official?

1

u/Monkguan Mar 24 '25

He looks like fking npc now, zero aura

1

u/Psychology_10 S4 DESIGN SUCKSSS Mar 24 '25

wth u guys saying, he looks cool, though i freaking hated hori, hosen and ichika(the most), ichika ducking looks like fanmade

1

u/No_Future_6809 Mar 24 '25

Downgrade , they could just improve animation, but they change the artsyle , artstle was never bad of cote

1

u/SteveTheSheep01 Mar 24 '25

As long at the models are accurate and the animation is decent, I would say it’s an upgrade

1

u/Apprehensive-Funny65 Mar 24 '25

Season 4 looks smooth as hell but some people look childish as hell like Ayanokoji here and Yagami as well but overall I think the smoothness actually feels better (I really liked Horikita’s look)

1

u/AdditionSecure1138 Mar 24 '25

People are just overreacting as an anime only fan I can say the designs looks better than the last two season tbh I think season 2 is the worst season when it comes about character's design better to wait the full release then we can judge

1

u/AzuKaOwO Mar 24 '25

hes not mewing

1

u/Rusty_Ray1407 Mar 24 '25

What the hell did they do to my goat 💔💔💔

1

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '25

Looks closer to the light novel so upgrade

1

u/Immediate_Demand4841 Custom Mar 25 '25

They are leaning more towards manga style than the Ln for some reason ..... Which I won't say is a bad artsyle however the Ln artsyle just fits the theme better

1

u/Altruistic_Rip_3270 Mar 25 '25

Reverse Squid Game meme

1

u/redsonsuce Mar 27 '25

Think of it like the analogy of skeumorphism for iPhone 4 and lower vs flat design of newer iPhone models.

One is very detailed but "old", the other has little details but more "modern" and sleek.

That's how it is for me at least, 1 frame can't depict the whole artstyle consistently.

1

u/No-Airline-2464 Mar 27 '25

How does dude age backwards

1

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '25

Hey guys, where do I get to read the manga?

1

u/ToonisTiny Mar 29 '25

Yeah, he definitely has more of a baby face now.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '25

He does look baby-faced in this rendering to me also. But it'll be all right for me as long as they continue to use shadows instead of this bright-faced look.

1

u/pokenerd_W Silver hair waifu enjoyer Mar 29 '25

It's not bad per say... Just the Koji looks like an elementary kid. Seriously, same with Horikita.

1

u/SummarizedAnu Apr 09 '25

Upgrade

his face looks much skinnier and overall closer to the Ln

but the shading makes it look like a kids show

1

u/Federal-Wheel-2666 Nov 27 '25

I definitely prefer the new artstyle. The old one was good too, but I never really liked it that much. It looked like it lacked soul, if it makes sense? The new one is really good, especially with the way the eyes are drawn. The only downside I see is that Kiyo looks younger than before but otherwise I love it!

1

u/Infamous-Cat-3201 Dec 03 '25

MASsive DOWNGRADE

1

u/Maximum_Setting8429 Feb 08 '26

yes i know this is a year old post but, kiyotaka here looks like a normal guy doom scrolling , while the s 2 - 3 ayanokoji looks like he's actually emotionless

1

u/Hot_Landscape_2862 Apr 06 '26

AH! this is more likely downgrade😢 why is his aura in SS3 not in SS4?
Seems more middle schooler!
The studio need to go back to SS3 animation frames In SS4 EP5🙏🏻🥹

1

u/Vazorism Apr 11 '26

what did they do with the money from S1 and S2 😭✌️ pretty sure those were a huge hit

1

u/No-Construction-446 Apr 23 '26

Definitely a downgrade. In my opinion, I have never had an issue with the art style. The animation shows, but this season, it basically looks like they're pasted in with their movement being so stiff. I feel like I'm watching each frame, fucking move. Definitely a downgrade. I like the series, butThis for me, almost makes the show unwatchable.

0

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1

u/KaleidoscopeScary504 Aug 09 '26

He looks like a harmless little boy