“Don’t you feel uncomfortable sitting next to someone you hate?”
This is what she said did not want Kushida in the study group with others since she is saying it in Kushida pov of the situation since this is why Suzune is more wary around Kushida and kept it vague here.
“Don’t worry about it. I just want to get into the higher-ranked classes together with everyone else. That’s why I did it, and why I agreed to help with the study group. I’ll help you again any time.” Smiling, Kushida grabbed her bag and stood.
“Wait. There’s just one thing I want to confirm,” Horikita said.
“Confirm?”
“If you say that you’ll continue working with me for the sake of our class, then I need to be sure of something.”
Horikita looked straight at Kushida, who was still wearing that dazzling smile.
“You hate me, don’t you?”
“Hey, hey…” I’d wondered what she wanted to ask, but that was ridiculously unexpected.
“Why do you think that?” Kushida asked.
“You’re not answering my question because it’s true. Right?”
“Ha ha, you got me.” She shouldered her bag and lowered her hands. Kushida faced Horikita without losing her smile. “That’s right. I really hate you.”
She answered clearly, making no attempt to hide it. She was direct.
This is when Suzune confront to confirm Kushida hatred for her way after the study group and before midterms started in general, it's around chapter 10 of Y1V1.
“Way back at the start of our first semester, I saw you trying to convince Kouenji-kun to give up his seat on the bus. To be completely honest, I didn’t recognize you. But immediately afterward, I remembered.” - Y1V5
“I remembered her after the first-semester study group. My junior high was an enormous school with over a thousand students. I was never in the same class as Kushida-san,” said Horikita. “I didn’t know her.” - Y1V6
I think the analysis of Horikita's potential is interesting, and I agree that if she ever defeats Ayanokoji, it won't be because she suddenly becomes smarter or physically superior to him. Her leadership, relationships and ability to bring people together will probably be extremely important.
But here we go again with the idea that Ayanokoji will lose because he represents individualism while Horikita represents teamwork. That's the part I don't understand.
Ayanokoji himself is one of the main reasons Horikita learned the importance of relying on others in the first place. Early Horikita was actually far more individualistic: isolated, arrogant, unwilling to depend on her classmates and convinced she could handle things largely by herself. Ayanokoji repeatedly pushed her away from that mentality and taught her that she couldn't lead a class alone.
Ayanokoji may be emotionally isolated, but that doesn't mean he doesn't understand teamwork. He constantly uses other people's strengths, delegates, manipulates groups and puts the right people in the right situations. He understands perfectly well that one person can't do everything.
So if Horikita eventually defeats him through teamwork, I can accept that. What I don't understand is how that would prove Ayanokoji's supposed "individualistic philosophy" wrong when he already understands the value of cooperation and helped Horikita understand it herself.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read the entire analysis and for leaving such a thoughtful comment. You're absolutely right, Ayanokoji isn't an ignorant hermit.
He perfectly understands the value of teamwork, delegates, manages groups, and was, in fact, the one who drew Horikita out of his initial individualistic shell. Your point there is impeccable. However, I think the difference between their philosophies lies in how they relate to those people.
It's true that Ayanokoji uses teamwork, but he does so from a purely utilitarian and cold perspective.
For him, people are pieces/tools/cogs that are used, evaluated, studied, and if they cease to be useful or become a hindrance, they are discarded without a shred of remorse (this is the philosophy taught in the White Room, from which he longs to escape). His "teamwork" remains an extension of individualism in my opinion; after all, he's the sole mastermind controlling the pieces from the top, essentially alone.
On the other hand, what Horikita learns (and goes beyond what Ayanokoji taught her) is how to build genuine connections where people aren't disposable. When she decides to integrate Kushida, forgive or understand Sudo's outbursts, or forge a real friendship with Ibuki, she's paying a genuine emotional price. She's not just moving pieces on a board.
That's why I believe there is indeed a clash of philosophies.
Ayanokoji demonstrates that an individual treating everyone as a tool can reach the top brilliantly, but in complete isolation.
On the contrary, if Horikita manages to defeat him using a network of real people who support her out of loyalty and mutual growth, it wouldn't demonstrate that the sum of genuine wills surpasses the cold, calculating individualism that considers humans as mere objects. (Disney final ahh)
What I'm trying to say with all this talk is that Ayanokoji taught Horikita how to survive in the ANHS, but Horikita took that a step further by transforming those teachings into an unbreakable community, something that the WR 4 generation that raised Kiyotaka (the one that dictates his life and his way of being) will never be able to foresee or replicate.
In that way, she "defeated" the White Room and him (The best product) and demonstrated that meritocracy is not the way society should be run and found the "answer."
I actually agree with this clarification much more than with the way I originally understood your argument. Framing it as genuine human connections vs. purely instrumental relationships makes much more sense to me than simply teamwork vs. individualism.
However, I still have a couple of issues with the conclusion. First, I think you're describing Ayanokoji too much as the person he was conditioned to be by the White Room, rather than the person he's gradually becoming. Especially by Y3V4, I don't think all of his relationships can still be reduced to "useful tool = keep, useless tool = discard." His emotions and personal attachments are already starting to influence his decisions, with Hiyori being an obvious recent example. In other words, he seems to already be moving away from the WR mentality himself.
I also think the opposite happens with Horikita: her relationships are being idealized a little too much. Her class isn't really an "unbreakable community" yet. Koenji himself pointed this out in Y3V2 when he questioned whether the class, even excluding him, had ever truly been united. And Horikita literally had to offer him a large amount of private points to make him cooperate during that exam.
More importantly, I don't think Horikita using people and genuinely caring about them are mutually exclusive. She's a class leader trying to reach Class A. Of course she's going to use Sudo's physical ability, Hirata's social skills, Koenji when she can get his cooperation, etc. That's part of being a leader. The difference from Ayanokoji isn't simply "he uses people, she doesn't." It's more about how far they're willing to instrumentalize people and whether they also value those people beyond their usefulness.
And this is also why I'm not completely convinced that Horikita defeating Ayanokoji would automatically mean she "defeated" his philosophy. Ayanokoji himself wants to escape the White Room's influence, and he's one of the people who actively helped Horikita become the leader she is. If she eventually develops something the White Room couldn't create and uses it to defeat him, wouldn't she partly be giving Ayanokoji exactly the answer he has been looking for?
So I definitely see the philosophical conflict you're describing now, and I think it's much more interesting than simple "teamwork beats individualism." I'm just not convinced yet that Horikita defeating Ayanokoji = Horikita disproving Ayanokoji, because Ayanokoji himself may actually want the White Room's worldview to be proven wrong.
And there's also another possibility that I think shouldn't be dismissed: Ayanokoji might simply win in the end. A lot of these theories seem to start from the assumption that Horikita defeating him is inevitable, when I don't think the story has guaranteed that at all. Kinugasa could choose a much darker conclusion where Ayanokoji develops Horikita and the others as far as possible, genuinely hopes that someone can prove the White Room's philosophy wrong by defeating him... and they still fail. In that case, Ayanokoji would essentially win the battle he wanted to lose, which could be just as meaningful thematically, if not more tragic.
Yes, Kiyo is no longer a robot like he was in the White Room; his relationship with Hiyori and other recent interactions show that he's changing.
But far from contradicting my theory, I think it makes it more interesting. If Ayanokoji is actively seeking a way out and secretly wishes his worldview were wrong, his defeat wouldn't be something forced against his will, but rather the answer he himself longs to find, freeing him from that thorn called WR that prevents him from surrendering to that "ordinary" life.
So Horikita doesn't "destroy" WR's philosophy directly, but becomes the catalyst that shows him there was another viable way to live, one that can change even under that curse.
I also completely agree that Horikita doesn't shy away from manipulating or using others; of course, she exploits Sudo's physical abilities, Hirata's social skills, or takes advantage of loopholes in the rules to manipulate Kōenji to her advantage or to minimize harm to the class. This is how things are done at this school.
I'm not referring to a black-and-white difference of "he uses people and she doesn't," but rather the gray area.
For Ayanokoji, people are inherently disposable; for Horikita, even if she uses them out of necessity, she ends up forging a long-term commitment of mutual trust (as happened with Sudo himself, Kushida, or Ibuki).
Furthermore, wouldn't an ending where Kinugasa decides to let Ayanokoji prepare the ground, genuinely hoping to be defeated to prove that humanity has something more to offer, and yet his crushing victory demonstrates the absolute supremacy of the White Room.?
I don't rule out that scenario at all; in fact, it would give the story a cynical and realistic tone very much in keeping with its essence, especially knowing that COTE will likely have a sequel with the university arc.
Yeah, I think we're actually much closer in our interpretations now. I still think saying that people are inherently disposable to the current Ayanokoji is a bit too absolute, though. That's certainly how the White Room conditioned him to think, but Y3 Ayanokoji is already showing signs that some people have value to him beyond pure usefulness.
One small correction about Koenji as well: I wouldn't really say Horikita has manipulated him. She has negotiated with him, offered incentives and occasionally found ways to obtain his cooperation, but actually manipulating or controlling Koenji is a completely different matter. Koenji is free; he ultimately acts according to his own will and interests, and even Ayanokoji hasn't really been able to control him.
As for the darker ending, that's basically the alternative I had in mind: Ayanokoji prepares everyone hoping someone can eventually prove the White Room isn't absolute, only for him to still win. Winning the battle he actually wanted to lose could be a very interesting and tragic conclusion.
The only thing I wouldn't assume is the university sequel. As far as I know, Kinugasa hasn't confirmed one, and now that he's starting another series, Nibun no Inochi, I think COTE continuing after graduation is even more uncertain. So for now I'd treat both Horikita defeating Ayanokoji and a post-graduation sequel as possibilities rather than predetermined outcomes.
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u/Far_Transition_1599 Aug 24 '26
When doing your own analysis bro 😭 🙏