Overhyped, But I Do Like How the Story Progressed | Y3V4 Full Review

Added: 2026-06-04

[00:00:00]Volume four of the third-year arc is finally released. And just [music] as expected, this volume is quite controversial and divides the readers into a few different reactions. Some readers loved it, some others don't care, and the rest simply have a mixed opinion. And whether you like it or not, this volume indeed has a few negative aspects that cannot be ignored. Let's start with the most controversial one, which is I know Koji throwing away his victory to save Hyori. This one particular scene is quite uncomfortable to read because after everything that Anooji has done, giving up because of love sounds totally out of his character. Or maybe it's better to say that his choice feels really forced as if the writer no longer knows how to make Anooji lose.

[00:00:43]As a very intelligent character in a story full of smart characters, we should have expected Anooji to lose by finally getting outsmarted either by Coenji or the combined effort of everyone. So giving up because of love is definitely a very lazy way that obviously would make a lot of readers angry. Not to mention that the method is also pretty dumb which is Rwin simply ordering Hiiori to lose and Hi just accepts it without any resistance. Ruin sacrificing one of his best students already sounds dumb. And even if he had already prepared 20 million just in case I know Kogi didn't budge, he still wouldn't be able to get the first place and would lose 20 million along with his reputation. However, the same case doesn't apply to Inokoji. Even though he threw away his victory, [music] there are probably a few greater reasons behind his action.

[00:01:32]In his scene with Hiiori, I know Koji made it clear that he only acts for himself and he wanted to learn about the unfamiliar feeling inside him, which is a pretty valid reason for Anooji.

[00:01:43]However, if you look at everyone reaction to his action, what I knowji has done surprisingly brings a lot of interesting development.

[00:01:51]For example, the way his new classmates saw him will undoubtedly change. After the last three volumes showed us how Anooji was accepted as the leader and they followed his every command, I know Koji always led them toward victory.

[00:02:04]However, with his questionable actions and their last position on the newest exam, the opposition will eventually arise inside Anooji's class.

[00:02:13]Just like Morishida, more people will start to think that Anooji is a spy from class A. And if I know Koji cannot give them a good answer, his opinion or even his position as their leader will be ignored and they will start thinking for themselves. This is probably a weird theory, but judging by Anoo Koji's goal, he probably will be happy if his own class starts to become more independent and not solely dependent on him. I know Koji who carried the whole class has been a problem ever since he was still in Horikita's class. And you can also see how his new class seems very hopeless without him in the previous volume. So his class becoming more independent is actually beneficial for Inoji. Not to mention that if you look at the newest class point, there are only around 300 class points between the highest and lowest class. So I know Koji's new classmates could try [music] to fight on their own for a while. Even if I know Koji eventually becomes their leader again at the end.

[00:03:08]Speaking of class points, if only I know Koji's group wins first place and I know Koji gets the most token rewards in this exam, his class will immediately become class A and Ichino says class becomes class C. Since I am pretty sure I know Koji already thinks about this, maybe another reason why he chose to lose is because he doesn't want the competition to end this early. By getting last place and falling into class D, the cooperation with Ichino says class will still continue. And Horikita's class could still take a breath despite [music] losing Shinahara. With more than half a year still left in their third year, even 300 class points doesn't seem to be a really big gap to close. So, if I know Koju really wants an equal battle to last as long as possible, losing in this exam is actually the right choice.

[00:03:55]To put it simply, by purposely losing in this exam, I know Cody gives himself a chance to learn about love, a chance for his new class to develop, a hope for Riwin to win, a time for Horikita to prepare against him, and lastly, he gives another purpose for Ichinoi.

[00:04:11]It's been theorized for a long time that Ichino will start targeting Hiori. And the last part of this new volume finally gives us a clear confirmation that Ichinoa wants to get rid of her so she can stand beside Anooji. If Inoo Koji knew about this, which of course he did, hopeully admitting that he loves Hiori will lead Ichino set to attack Ruin's class, forcing them to level up before eventually fighting Inooji in the end.

[00:04:34]It also came to my attention that the special attention that Inooji gives to Koshida in this exam will also most likely reach Ichino's ears. So by developing his relationship with more women, Anooji actually leads their class to a disaster called Ichinoi, which means that there will be another challenge for both Horikita and Ryuin to face.

[00:04:56]And now let's talk about the exam as a whole because I really believe the execution of this exam cannot live up to the hype from trial reading and synopsis. For starters, the rules of the exam are really complicated with a lot of aspects to exploit and a lot of possible ways to manipulate class points to a certain extent. However, despite having a lot of penalties and restrictions, the new volume barely even touched half of the rules and went straight to the drama that only focused on Koji's group. This is not the first time Kinugasa made very complicated rules just to deliver a really plain exam, but this exam had been hyped up a lot ever since the end of the previous volume. So, it is just natural to feel disappointed.

[00:05:38]Instead of becoming an exam where students could compete and show their capability, this new exam feels like a simple plot device to deliver drama between Shinahara and Kushida. To make it worse, since almost the entire volume only focused on Anokoji's group, we don't even see how Ichino Saharika and Ruin actually compete and create a strategy to exploit the rules. So, all of those complicated rules feel really wasted. I don't say this is a bad exam, but with all the concepts and how big the rewards are, this exam should have been able to deliver more than just Shinahara's expulsion. They could have shown how free classes united to exclude Aino Koji, or they could have even made all classes lose a huge amount of class points, but all we got is just Kushida begging on her knees, which actually isn't really bad.

[00:06:27]And now let's talk about the whole conflict with Ika and Shinahara. Because if I need to be honest, I am pretty sure Kinugasa fumbled Iki's character. Ika was first introduced as a background character who got quite a lot of spotlight but quickly lost his screen time when more characters got introduced. However, he got [music] a decent amount of development even as a side character. He was the first one to ever ask to hang out as a friend. And even though he avoided him after the sports festival, it's just normal for a high schooler to feel jealous. Iggy's biggest development happened in the uninhabited island exam where Anooji helped him find a way to save Shinahara.

[00:07:05]And I later asked Inoji to accompany him to meet Kyua. So when Aka said that he isn't really friends with Anooji in volume 9.5, it keeps striking me as some kind of bad writing.

[00:07:17]Maybe I just forgets things easily. Or maybe he just cannot understand Koji, but I do believe he doesn't hold any negative feelings toward him. And then came the transfer class. Rumors about Inoji expelling Yamochi started to spread and added to how Anokoji treated him without care. Iki's attitude toward him was actually justifiable. The same thing could [music] be said about Shinahara. She hates Kushida, but Kushida's acting that turns everyone to protect her is really annoying if you look at it from Shinahara's perspective.

[00:07:48]Since she already knew how Kushida on the inside, not letting her become the representative is actually a wise choice. However, I know Koji and the others keep provoking her and praising Kushida. So, she fights back with the only method she [music] can, which is cornering Kushida or even expelling her if possible.

[00:08:06]This new volume finally show us the real consequence of volume 5 secondyear arc and Kushida finally got what she deserved for mocking Shinahara. However, [music] just like how he expelled Sakura, I know Koji didn't deliver justice but just pursued the outcome that he wanted. Shinahara has a reason to expel Kushida if she wanted to. But this story is not about which character represents justice, but which character holds the most power. I know Koji prefers Kushida. So no matter how dangerous or evil she is, he decides to keep her because that will bring more benefit to him. The way he kept provoking Shinahara without a good reason is honestly the reason why I cannot hate Shinahari even when she makes Kushida Dogaza because all of her actions are actually understandable.

[00:08:53]Overall, the whole volume really portrays and Shinahara as the bad guys.

[00:08:57]Even though if you look at it from their perspective, I know Koji is the real villain just like he always does. Ika who droll when Kushida offering her body is a bit disturbing to see but still it's not Iiki's fault because a lot of people still believe in the devil even when they know her true face. Speaking of Kushida, the way she starts to show a bit of her true personality in front of everyone reminds me a lot of Harikita back in volume 5 second year arc.

[00:09:22]Harikita said that [music] Koshida would be a crucial asset for them to reach class A. But in this volume she directly helped Anokoji to expel Shinahara. So the entire Harikita's speech back then started to bite her in the ass.

[00:09:35]As you can see, instead of contributing, Kushida could even become their worst enemy to graduate as class A. She could become a spy for Anoo Koji. And if she starts to show her true self in front of everyone in the school, just like what she did in this volume, her greatest weapon will lose its power and Kushida will just become another student who is good at study. Saving Kushida has damaged Horikita's reputation quite a lot. So if the class found out Kushida took a part in expelling Shinhara or if Kushida later damaged the class even further, Harikita could say goodbye to her leadership. Whether she like it or not, Kushida is her responsibility. So every action that Kushida takes from here will heavily affect Horikita.

[00:10:17]However, Kushida's choice to be more honest with herself is actually refreshing to see. We have seen a lot of Kushida's monologues where she starts to get tired of her fake personality and this volume finally push her off the cliff. How Ibuki kicked her and finally gave her the courage she needed is quite a surprise but a welcome one because Ibuki is the type who never cares about people's opinions. So it makes a lot of sense for her to knock Kushida from her little theater. Kushida and Ibuki's relationship is what you call a friend of my friend. So looking at them playing around without Horikita between them is perfect for strengthening the bond between them. I think Ibuki's empty head and carelessness are what finally give Kushida the final push to be more honest. Because even if Ibuki is hated and dumb, Kushida truly enjoys the moment she spent with her.

[00:11:06]And now let's talk about I know Koji's and Hi's relationship. Because even though the method is lazy, there is something about Hiori that doesn't feel right if you think about it. sacrificing herself is not the problem because the real issue is how she doesn't seem to mind dragging with her. If you think about it, Hi literally asks Anokoji to throw away his position as the class leader for the sake of Ryuen. And that is not something a maiden in love usually does. By accepting Rywen's order, Hi literally put Inoji in a lot of trouble. And if Ryuen keeps using her like that, that is no different than Hi simply taking advantage of Inooji.

[00:11:44]Since we have seen a lot of good-natured characters turn evil in this story, we need to prepare that Hi might not be as innocent as she looks. There is actually one side story that hinted at that possibility. So, if Hiori actually chose to manipulate Inoji's feelings for her own benefit, that will be an insane turning point for both Yori and Anooji.

[00:12:04]You probably didn't notice, but I know Koji's tactic in this volume is a bit different compared to his usual strategy. Instead of a clever analysis and exploiting the rules, I know Koji took a more emotional approach such as rage baiting Shinahara or creating uncertainty for his classmates. He plays with people's emotions and eventually lose because of his own emotions.

[00:12:27]This approach of I know Kojis is honestly interesting to see because since emotion is something that is unfamiliar for him. I know Koji playing on those fields could mean that he wants to learn more on how to use it or is purposely holding back since he no longer has competition. However, I know Koji also ended up swallowed by it and since emotion often goes out of control, this could be a really bad news for the readers. If I know Koji throwing victory because he loves Hiori already caused a lot of outrage, there will be no telling how far Inoji would go to play with his own emotions. Maybe in the future Hi will start demanding something strange and we will see Anooji act more and more out of his character. Something that the usual Inoji will never do could happen just because wants to test how far his heart will react.

[00:13:14]The key to this development will lie on Hiori. If she were actually a good girl who loved Anooji, she would try to fight back against Ruen if Riwen were planning to bring harm on Inoji. But if she is not, maybe Anooji would finally learn about heartbreak in the most cruel way possible. It's just a possibility. But since we already saw what Anooji is willing to do for that love experience, maybe he will play along and dive deeper into his uncertain feelings. There is no telling if this development would become a good thing or not. But we as the reader better be ready if the power of love or the power of friendship will comes out more often.

[00:13:51]And now let's talk about the other characters moment [music] which honestly barely get any attention in this volume.

[00:13:58]This volume surprisingly brings a lot of focus back to Anokojian like the third year volume so far and Horikita or the other class leaders only appear in the beginning and at the end. It's honestly really disappointing that we don't get any scenes about how Horikita and Ichinoa handling their exam [music] because this is the first time we've seen them together ever since the annihilation in the previous final special exam. [music] And yet, we didn't get to see how they are planning to push each other down or cooperate to achieve the best result. The same thing could be said about Riwen. The only thing he did was just ordering Hi to get expelled, and we didn't even get to see his internal conflict before he made up his mind.

[00:14:37]This is another thing that needs to be criticized about this special exam.

[00:14:41]There is a lot of room for manipulation or betrayal, but everyone [music] only focused on their own group and almost ignored what happened to the others. You can also see how ignorant Inooji about what Harrien will probably do. [music] And this is something that he usually never miss. So, it just confirms the possibility of Inooji actually holding back in this exam. Speaking of Inooji, his little chat with Haruka is genuinely terrifying. on [music] the same level as Horiori. I know Koji already mentioned that he wanted to prepare another way to spy on class A back in volume 2, [music] but he actually did it so fast that Haruka is probably willing to share their VIP names with him. Haruka's attachment to Anokoji honestly needs to be studied because even afterji expelled Sakura without mercy, she kept trying to reminisce about the happiness of their past.

[00:15:30]It's [music] probably love or just a delusion. But Haruka's character could offer a lot of potential conflict since she is not working for Anooji because of blackmail or a 20 million promise.

[00:15:40][music] But a simple emotion called friendship. Just like Anoo Koji finally finding love. Maybe he will start to value friendship if he keeps seeing Haruka unconditionally doing her best to keep him [music] safe. Needless to say, their relationship most likely wouldn't end with a happy ending. But the [snorts] way Anooji would exploit that emotion somehow aligns with what he wanted to do with Hi Yori. Maybe there will be a future where Anooji actually changes [music] and apologizes for everything he did.

[00:16:07]But for now, the future doesn't seem good for Haruka.

[00:16:11]Speaking of confusing relationships, the whole scene between Coenji and Michon actually feels really forced to read. We knew there was something going on between them, but for Coenji to come out and help her right in front of Aokoji made you wonder if Coenji was actually trying to cover his weakness [music] or not. To make it worse, their conversation is also very vague to the point we still have no idea what exactly happened between them. But one thing for sure is Coenji actually cares for her and doesn't want her to be expelled. So the mighty and nonchalant Coenji is finally having a weakness.

[00:16:44]This is quite a welcome surprise because since Coenji doesn't do anything else in this exam, it seems his father's order is not really affecting him that much.

[00:16:52]But the risk of Michon's expulsion actually made him uncomfortable. Once again, this is proof that the story is starting to take a more emotional approach. So don't be surprised if someday Coenji will also throw away his victory just to save Mchan.

[00:17:07]And the last thing we need to talk about is Icha's conversation with Sububasa.

[00:17:11]There are actually a lot of things to talk about. But the most important thing is how Tsubasa was planning to change Koji's heart, so he would reject the white room. I already said that this volume takes a more emotional approach compared to usual. [music] But this conversation somehow confirms that the way this high school story will end is not going to be an intelligence battle, but a more abstract way to help Ano Koji regain a bit of his humanity. [music] Of course, the class battle will still be important, but the final goal of this story is not about who graduates as class A, [music] but about what will happen to Anooji.

[00:17:45]We got more info about the situation outside the school. And even though it's still unclear who, there is someone [music] outside the school who knows about the white room and wants to take it down. However, how to based this much information is actually [music] confusing. She was sent by Tsukishiro to observe Anooji. So if she could get that kind [music] of information that means Suki Shiro is also on her side. It's not weird for Tsukishiro to end up supporting Anooji and there must be more people who are thinking the same thing.

[00:18:14]So it seems Sububas's journey will be focused on how to gain more allies and how to expel Ishigami from school.

[00:18:21]However, how to change Koji's heart will be another level of challenge. We have seen him falling in love. So, it's not entirely impossible for Tibasa to take advantage of Hiiori and make Inoji rethink his future. It's probably not the way most readers want it to be, but at least everyone is now connected.

[00:18:40]How Anooji handles his feelings in the next volume will be crucial to determine how the story will develop. If Inokoji decides to make his relationship with Hiori public and Sububasua somehow hears about Inoji's action in this volume, she will undoubtedly pay special attention to Hiiori and Ishigami who spied on her will also notice that development. It seems everything will start to revolve around Hiiori and the topic about love and emotion will be heavily discussed in the future volume. It will disappoint some readers, but honestly speaking, that is actually the best possible approach the writers could come up with to handle Inoju's character. Let's just hope Kinugasa will eventually find a way to balance love and logic and not turn this series into a dating sims.