u/DefinitionJunior2051

This tier list is extremely biased and reflects my personal opinion, not how well-written or important each character is. Some background characters or characters with barely any screen time are ranked high simply because I like their design, personality, concept, or the little we've seen of them. That doesn't mean I think they're as developed, relevant, or impactful to the story as the fan-favorite or major characters. This is a ranking of how I feel about the characters, not an objective evaluation of their writing.

Papasawa → Even the combined power of Hoshinomiya, Mika, Yukitsu, and Yamauchi can't beat this dude. He doesn't have an established appearance, so I gave him one (my Spore Galactic Adventures Walrus Thing).

Yoshida & Shimazaki → They are Akito. They are both normal dudes who are in love with someone who loves Koji. I don't care much about them, but there is nothing bad about them either. B Tier.

Nene Mori → She beat Kobashi? Unacceptable. And with 69 points? Good thing Kiyotaka put her in her place in V4. Go to the Abyss.

Asuka → Did the series really need another girl in love with Koji? Probably not. But all that spy and observer mumbo-jumbo is genuinely intriguing. I wonder who the other spies are. Could be anyone! I feel like No-Bark Noonan...

Morishita → "Who sent you? I ain't talking. They tried to get me to talk before, but I didn't say nothing. And I don't aim to now, by gum. Best I could tell, anyways, since when he came up to me, he was invisible. Had himself a blunderbuss that would rotate and shoot bullets real fast from a backpack. Never seen nothing like it. But I only saw one chupacabra, so I guess the other fella had to be invisible too. Only more invisible than the other one. They got people everywhere, always listening." *Speaking of No-Bark Noonan, I think Morishita, with all the spy mumbo-jumbo going on, could play a similar role. Since she knows about Tsukishiro and Nanase, Shiraishi might mean that by "taking care of them," he is referring to people following her and stuff. I think a scenario where Morishita actually becomes paranoid and people just come up to speak to her, only for her to go, *"Who sent you?"* would be hilarious. Or she could be the mastermind that she is and assemble an Ayanokoji Avengers Love Hexagon Super Team. So we would have Hiyori, Honami, Kei, Suzune, Haruka, and Kikyo VS Shiraishi and the Shirogane spies in a big super student battle.

Matsushita → You're exposed now. I believe in you. Show everyone the monster you've been hiding all this time. From the Abyss to the Kamuro Tier. One of the top best comebacks of all time.

Kei & Suzune → Hug, B, and Marry

Haruka → It's clear that her primary goal isn't to graduate from Class A, but to protect her friends. I respect that. I hope she doesn't make a romantic move on Koji, even if Hiyori is out of the picture. It'd make unnecessary drama. Uhhhh... go in S Tier. Please don't disappoint me, Buffed Ami Kawashima.

Hirata → Now that this dude is getting interesting, he will get expelled. My intuition tells me that. My intuition is terrible, though, and that gives me hope.

Ike → So there is a great quote by Andy Warhol: *"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."* As media becomes more powerful, more ordinary people will briefly become the center of public attention and then be forgotten. Social media made the idea even more relevant. Someone can be completely unknown at 10:00 AM, post something that goes viral at noon, and have millions of people talking about them by the evening. Then, a few days later, something else happens and everyone moves on. What does that have to do with Ike? Absolutely nothing. To the five wonderful people who actually read my yappings, I have a statement. I'd never waste my time talking about that DGNRT.

Yada Sumi → Three years without seeing anything and still not expelled. Wow. Kamuro Tier.

Amasawa → She's for sale... Hug Tier immediately.

Soushi Miyamoto → He got a shotgun. Good job. He must be important if he got trusted with a shotgun. C Tier.

Reo → The second-best girl in Ryuuen's class.

Kiyotaka → Satsuki Tachibana. Not the mutated hybrid of Satsuki Shinohara and Akane Tachibana, but the girl from Watari-kun's ****** Is About to Collapse. I did not like her, but I liked her conclusion. I thought that would be the case for Kiyotaka. But Y3 proved me wrong. I genuinely like him now. I still don't like his four-class war plan. I find it uninteresting. If you like it, I'm happy for you. I kiss you on the forehead. I will be nice and put him at the Top this time.

Mika → She offered a new perspective on how I see Kiyotaka. Before, he was the Ayanogod of the White Room. Now he is the Ayanogod of the White Room who also has a cuckoo bird father, was sold by the worst mother possible, and his name. Kiyotaka... I'd change my name if I were in his shoes.

Yuki → Yuki is actually Sakurako. I don't actually believe that. But it would be quite the twist. 

Shiro → Depends on the kanji, but Shiro can mean white. So he is White from the White Room. So if Walter White is his father, he is White White from the White Room. Someone please tell me I ain't the only one who finds this funny.

Yamamura → I am trying to like her, but I can't. Morishita making jokes about her is the best thing, but that's more of a Morishita W than a Yamamura W. My position is still the same. As a stealth suit, she is incredible. As a human? Not so much.

Kaneda → He is different from the others. Akito and Shibata have confirmed other options. And other people like Yoshida and Shiranami have a decent enough appearance to find someone else. But Kaneda... Life is unfair. Hug Tier.

Atsuomi → The only guy in the series who represents the original cuckoo bird word. Fake marriage, yes. But still marriage.

Azuma → What if she is a Shirogane spy and she is trained in the rare art of headbutting? Like, imagine her giving Hosen a headbutt and knocking him out. Forehead of steel.

Kushida → I hate her. But I love her more.

Ibuki → "He who angers you conquers you." — Elizabeth Kenny

Akito → "He who is named Miyake and does not get with a girl named Mio will not know happiness." — Me

Kanzaki → He is hated. But he has Himeno. He has money. He has status. He has a company, and apparently, he is very smart and very athletic. I don't like Kanzaki, but he's got a nice life. Good for you, Kanzaki.

Honami → She looks like Springtrap watching through the hallway in FNAF 3 while she watches Hiyori and Kiyotaka. I want a FNAF fan game named Five Nights at Honami's. Ichinose as a Remnant-Agony-infused Springlock Suit Animatronic. Even though I'd like her more as a Funtime animatronic. With the face plates open. Funtime Ichinose Mimic Honami.

This tier list is extremely biased and reflects my personal opinion, not how well-written or important each character is. Some background characters or characters with barely any screen time are ranked high simply because I like their design, personality, concept, or the little we've seen of them. That doesn't mean I think they're as developed, relevant, or impactful to the story as the fan-favorite or major characters. This is a ranking of how I feel about the characters, not an objective evaluation of their writing.

Warabuchi Rinno → I think she looks like a cat? There's just something off. The only thing I will compliment about her design is her eyes. Everything else about this Abomination is disgusting.

Shiina → Love her. She is probably the only character that her Short Stories are mandatory if you want to understand her. Too little screen time.

Tsukishiro → He genuinely feels intimidating. Kicking Arisu's cane was such a petty, needlessly cruel move that it immediately sold me on him. The build-up to his introduction was excellent.

Nagumo → Like Tsukishiro, he seemed like the perfect antagonist heading into Year 2.

Akito → It's amazing that, in a universe filled with questionable haircuts, White Roomers, Amazons from dense jungles, otaku professors, and Koenji, there are still some completely normal, chill guys like him.

Sotomura → Does having an absurd typing speed improve your... other finger-based skills? I'm asking for scientific purposes.

Chairman Sakayanagi → He's done plenty of questionable things. But he's got money, status, a loving family, and a genius daughter named Arisu. What a lucky bastard.

Nishino → In the anime, Nishino is lying on the ground alongside Yabu, completely exhausted, while Yamashita, a confirmed below-average athlete, is standing there like nothing happened. Does that make Nishino below below-average? I find it funny that out of everything they could put in the background they put that.

Mashima & Sakagami → Teachers who actually do their jobs like they're supposed to. Mind-blowing for this series.

Yabu → If you say her name twice, it sounds like a company name. Yabu Yabu Games. Yabu Yabu Airlines. Yabu Yabubear's Pizza. Yabu Yabu Pharmaceuticals. The possibilities are endless.

Kiyotaka → Unlike many characters where I prefer their Year 1 versions over their later appearances, Ayanokoji is actually the opposite. Year 1 didn't handle him particularly well. When I think of Year 1 Ayanokoji, I mostly remember his comments about girls' bodies, "spread your legs," T.Rex, getting mad at comments about the T.rex, wanting to have peace, Maya, Kei, Haruka, Airi, Honami, Arisu, Hiyori, and Suzune (he is the only guy that she lets touch her even if it's not established she likes him) wanting to get closer to him. The absolute best of him was everything that had to do with Kei. That's it. Even though him and Sakayanagi had good moments, Sakayanagi did most of the lifting while him and Kei seemed like they put in the same effort. Of course, he had other great moments, like his conversation with Manabu at the end of Year 1 and the strategies he devised throughout the special exams. Those deserve credit. That's not why he's in the Abyss, though. He's there because I'd appreciate it if he stopped unintentionally collecting almost every girl in the series and let someone else get a win for once.

Kushida → I'd put her in the Abyss for being such a drama toddler queen. I genuinely thought her secret would be something like dealing drugs at school or accidentally killing someone. The way she acted made it sound that serious. Instead it was... "I told everyone's secrets." Uh... what? Since she's my goddess, though, she gets a free pass to the Kamuro tier.

Inogashira → I never cared about sewing until mandatory military training. We had to sew our own badges and repair our own uniforms, or they'd literally fall apart. Even though some of my worst memories come from that period, some of my best do too. One of them was sewing alongside my fellow soldiers. And apparently I am the only one that felt that way. I ask my former brothers in arms and they don't even remember sewing anything. Anyhow, while I'm far from a professional, I can handle sewing pretty well now. There's always something new to learn, so I'd happily take sewing lessons from Inogashira. Preferably while she's wearing the yellow bikini she was looking at in Season 1, Episode 8. :)

Kinoshita → Assuming she really agreed to let Ryuen stomp on her leg in exchange for points... what else would she be willing to do for enough money? That's honestly kind of creepy.

Arisu → A true Queen. Blackmailing Kamuro was undeniably evil... but stealing for the thrill of it isn't exactly innocent either.

Ibuki → I wonder how her relationship with Ayanokoji would've developed if he wasn't X. Her personality in Year 1 Volume 4.5 just hits differently.

Suzune → I found her to be a good comic relief character. She made me laugh far more than I expected. That "dancing with a mongoose" joke absolutely destroyed me. Then she got her hand stuck in a bottle? I like her. But I can't take her seriously.

Airi → What an absolute beast. I can't even imagine what my mental health would look like after going through what she did. Nothing but respect.

Sudo → I was never particularly invested in him, but I have to admit he's grown tremendously. I'm genuinely impressed. Hopefully his development inspires people both in the anime and in real life.

Yada Sumi → There are millions of hairstyles out there, and somehow she chose the one that blocks her field of vision. Eyesight is for noobs, I guess.

Ryuen → The Dragon Boy. I don't know if it's a hot take or not but Y1 Ryuen was the best. Y2 and Y3 Ryuen will never catch up. Sadly, his early illustrations were bad, but other than that he was intimidating. Talking vile language, especially to Horikita, threatening everyone, stomping on Kinoshita's leg, playing dirty, and bullying Kei—he was terrifying. After he got beat up his intimidating factor didn't completely vanish. But I will never look at him again the way I did. Of course he did make a great comeback but now that we know Kiyotaka is a mastermind genius that can beat anyone it wasn't enough. He is very entertaining. I feel like I should put him in A tier but he is so damn entertaining. S-tier.

Karuizawa → I loved every interaction she had with Ayanokoji. Their relationship took me through every possible emotion. It's a shame her role in Season 1 was given to Horikita instead. Her backstory is undeniably heartbreaking.

Azuma Sana → The most kissable forehead I've seen in fiction.

Onizuka Musashi → Not much chunky boi representation in the series.

Atsuomi → Does he also have a T-Rex, or did Kiyotaka inherit that from his mother? The world may never know.

Ichinose → If we put Ayanokoji aside, she has to be the most popular character this series has produced. Her backstory, though, was weak. Honestly, about as weak as Kushida's. A fourteen-year-old stole a hair clip because she wanted a birthday present for her little sister. Was it wrong? Sure. But... that's it?

Yukimura → All four major COTE websites refer to him by the name his mother gave him—the very name he hates. Poor Yukimura.

Kanzaki → He's important.

Manabe → I've always wondered why Kiyotaka fixated so heavily on Manabe specifically. Rika, Saki, and Yabu bullied Kei too, yet he acted like expelling Manabe alone would make Kei achieve nirvana or something.

Nene → Imagine having an entire group chat dedicated to talking trash about you. That's brutal.

Morofuji → I expected her to have some sort of ongoing relationship with Kei or at least contribute to more drama. Instead... nothing. Pretty disappointing.

Manabu → Beating Suzune isn't wrong. Beating Suzune without inviting Manabu is wrong.

Matsushita → I understand why a White Room superhuman would want to hide his abilities. You, on the other hand, have absolutely no reason to drag your own class down since you even admit you genuinely consider them your friends. So why keep holding them back? Thank goodness Ayanokoji exposed you in Year 3. Time to show what you can really do.

Yamauchi → I honestly thought the Sakura letter incident in Volume 4.5 would finally make him mature. Apparently not. Did Kinu change his mind halfway through writing? Straight to the Abyss. Never come back.

Ichinose Sister → Asking your struggling single mother to buy you a €200 hairpin is certainly... a decision.

Ichinose Mother → I think she overreacted a bit. I understand Japanese society is different from mine, but still. That said, she deserves a lot of credit for raising two children on her own and working overtime just to buy her daughter something she wanted.

Do you play any games where you add or roleplay COTE characters?

Ant by Professional Pest Manager

Pyramid by Vecteezy

Eyes by Shunsaku Tomose