Classroom of the Elite #9

Volume 9 of Syougo Kinugasa's school-strategy series delivers another quietly charged cover from artist Yuyu Ichino, with character designs by Tomoseshunsaku — a blonde girl in a blue uniform and red bow stands in guarded, arms-crossed composure while a dark-haired boy in a red jacket turns his back to her on what appears to be an outdoor terrace, a city skyline stretching out behind them. The tension between the two figures — close in proximity yet pointedly not looking at each other — captures exactly the understated social maneuvering that makes this series so compelling. A silhouette banner of the wider cast along the top reminds readers that the web of rivalries at this elite school runs much deeper than any two students.