Classroom of the Elite Season 4: Release details, cast updates and story – Everything you need to know

Classroom Of The Elite is one of the most anticipated anime series globally because of its intense depiction of meritocratic competition and psychological gamesmanship in the elite Advanced Nurturing High School that centers around an enigmatic student named Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and his peers. Season four is eagerly awaited by fans for added intensity from the introduction of new competitors with first-year students, as well as for the mental strain resulting from special exams and the introduction of additional student rivalries; further complex revelations about hidden abilities and deceptions among the students, following up on the explosive season three finale scheduled for April 2026. The next entry into this series will cover the entire first semester of the second year story arc and will continue to provide a unique combination of suspense, intelligence, and high-stakes drama.

Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 4th Season: 2-nensei-hen 1 Gakki, commonly referred to as Classroom of the Elite Season 4, has been confirmed for an April 2026 release. This season starts the second year of the Classroom of the Elite storyline, and as with any release, much anticipation is placed on its premiere date.

An advance screening of the first four episodes is scheduled for March 7, 20,26 and will take place several weebefore to the series’ official release. Further news around its release is anticipated but is unknown at this time.

Once again, Classroom of the Elite Season 4 will be produced by Studio Lerche, continuing the long-standing relationship between the studio and the Classroom of the Elite franchise. International streaming is expected to follow the same process as in past seasons, with the potential for Crunchyroll to simulcast the series. An official confirmation of this or any other streaming service will come shortly following the actual release.

Classroom of the Elite Season 4 Expected Cast

The returning core voice actors include Shōya Chibareturning as Kiyotaka Ayanokōji; Akari Kitō reprising her role as Kei Karuizawa, and Ayana Taketatsu returning as Suzune Horikita. Along with the return of many other major characters-from the previous seasons-who will continue to be relevant in this new academic year of the series, we expect that all of the characters who were majorly part of the story in the first season will also continue to be so are are directly tied together by the lessons learned and experiences gained in the course of completing school and will also have additional opportunities to continue their stories for the next academic year.

As Season Four introduces a large number of new characters to the cast (namely, due to the introduction of many first year students that will play significant roles in Year Two) we suspect that by adding new competitors, potential rivals and unstable elements into the overall cast of soldiers within the school based upon their character development, conditions within the school and relationships among other academic buildings will continue to grow among both students and employees at the school. Similarly, no exits for existing cast members on or from the production have yet to be disclosed.

Classroom of the Elite Season 4 Potential Plot

The new season of the Japanese anime series “Classroom of the Elite” adapts the Year Two arc (first semester) of Shōgo Kinugasa’s light novel series that follows the end of the first year storyline that was covered over the first three seasons. Two different stories are being told: the Year One story (increasingly detailed) and the other exploring the effects of the Year Two continuation at the Advanced Nurturing High School. The returning characters will continue to experience shifting power balances as the new season progresses.

In Season 4, students will be faced with tougher special exams that involve a much more complex pairing system that may cause some students to get expelled this year, in addition to being integrated with another cohort of first-year students. These new students have caused Ayanokōji to be more and more paranoid because they may be related to one of the new first-year students who may be connected to the infamous White Room. Protecting his anonymity has become more important to Ayanokōji now than it ever had been.

The major themes of manipulation, meritocracy, psychological warfare, and hidden objectives will cause them to escalate even further as Ayanokōji’s strategies are refined, and his relationships with other major characters, including Kei and Horikita, continue to develop. Additionally, rather than being reset like in previous seasons, Season 4 builds upon what was established in the previous season and pushes the mind games that have been played between the Ayanokōji and the other characters involved to a higher level of difficulty.