Imagine being in a school where every move you make is watched, not just in the classroom but even outside of it. Coming from an all-girls school myself, I know it very well. The rules were strict, especially when it came to interacting with boys. Even at events where boys from other schools were present, we had to follow a strict code—how to sit, how to dress, how to talk—always polite, never show any romance, or there’d be consequences. It might sound like something from medieval times, but that was our reality. Now, Netflix’s new series Chastity High dives into a similar world. It introduces us to Asuran Academy, a school that recently went co-ed after years of separating boys and girls. But with this change came even stricter rules, laid down by a principal Ikushima, who was dead serious about maintaining discipline. No romance, dating, or sexual contact—anywhere, not just on school grounds but even outside. But these are teenagers with raging hormones, and they won’t let these strict rules hold them back. That’s why they started meeting in secret, even in hotels. The rules were so rigid that they started using students as spies, having them report on their friends if they were seen mingling. And the punishment? Expulsion. It’s wild, right? But is this all just about keeping the students focused on academics, or is there something deeper going on? And how long can the students put up with this before they start fighting back? Chastity High promises to explore these questions, so let’s see how it all plays out.
Spoilers Ahead
What was the start of the Love Keeper?
Ichica was one of the students who attended Asuran Academy, a prestigious high-class institution where most of the students came from wealthy families. But Ichica’s situation was different. She was poor, and her father had left the family in debt before running away, which left her and her mother to deal with it. Her mother worked as a maid in different households and also took on jobs at a bar just to scrape together enough money to pay the school fees and debt. Ichica saw all of this and felt devastated, but she had no choice. She knew that attending this school was her only way to achieve her dreams and make something of herself, something she had always wanted. There was another student named Ryogo Maki who also attended that school. Ichica had met Ryogo before when she visited the hospital for her mother’s back pain, while Ryogo was there because his mother had been beaten by his father. Ryogo’s father was the governor, a prestigious man but terrible in character. He used to torture and humiliate his family and despised Ryogo and his mother while he took pride in his elder son, Haruto, who was a teacher at the school. Even though Ryogo was rich, he didn’t want to live in that toxic environment and longed to escape and live on his own. So, even though their financial situations were different, Ichica and Ryogo shared a similar story.
When the school year started, the principal began enforcing strict rules. Obviously, nobody liked it. The students didn’t want their lives to be controlled, and even some of the teachers were against the rules. But nobody dared to stand up to the principal, who made it clear that she wouldn’t force anyone to stay. No one could afford to do that. At first, people didn’t believe she was serious until they saw that students were actually getting expelled whenever the school received secret information about romantic relationships, both inside and outside the school. Once caught, the principal would literally force students to show their private photo galleries. Yes, it was horrible, but sadly, that was the reality. Ichica, of course, was against these rules, but at the same time, her home was being torn apart by debt collectors. Her father had taken out a loan of ten million yen, and the collectors were relentless. Ichica knew this was a high price to pay. So, when she found out about Ryogo mingling with a girl named Ayami, she thought, why not exploit them for her benefit? And she did. She claimed she had information and evidence of their physical and romantic relationship and demanded one million yen to keep quiet. If they didn’t pay, she would leak it to the school. Ryogo wasn’t happy about it, but Ayami paid up to keep her silence. This was the first time Ichica did something like this. Her best friend, Ema Komori, who also went to the school, decided to break up with her boyfriend because the situation at school was escalating. But when she met him for old times’ sake, they decided to be physical one last time. Little did they know that they were being watched, and their photos were taken by a girl named Sawa.
Actually, Sawa’s story is quite sad as she was deeply in love with another girl, Yuzuki, but Yuzuki didn’t feel the same. Sawa was filled with anger and frustration and thought that, if she couldn’t have Yuzuki, no one else should either. So, she leaked Ema’s pictures to the school’s messaging site. The principal, being as ruthless (and honestly creepy) as she was, demanded to see the photos. After seeing them, Ema was expelled from the school. Ichica was obviously devastated. After all, Ema and Ichica had a beautiful connection. They came from similar backgrounds, shared big dreams, and understood each other deeply. But being expelled from school for this reason meant Ema had no chance of getting into any other good school. Her life was essentially over. That’s why Ichica tried to talk to the principal, hoping to change her mind, but the principal wouldn’t listen. Ichica watched as Ema had to leave school and even leave town to escape the shame (and later, Ichica found out that Ema was pregnant). Seeing this, Ichica, despite being part of the school council and the group of watchdogs known as the “Rabbit Hunters,” decided to live by her own rules rather than the school’s. What did she do? She started pretending to be the “Love Keeper,” a girl who knew all the students’ secret affairs. Ichica would sneak into Miss Shinoda’s office, gather information from the computer beforehand, and then offer to keep students’ secrets safe and delete their records for a price—200,000 yen. She did this not only for the money but also for Ema and other students like her, who had big dreams but couldn’t fulfill them because of the school’s ridiculous rules. She told them to leave the money in a station locker room, where she would collect it later to keep her identity safe.
Why did Ryogo and Ichica join forces?
Ryogo, desperate to leave the school and escape his father’s control, started posting pictures of himself with other girls as he hoped to get expelled and shatter his father’s ego. But this “Love Keeper” was ruining his plans. So, what did he do? He offered to pay for privacy, just to find out who the Love Keeper was. Instead of money, he placed a tracker in the bag left in the locker. When he saw Ichica taking the bag, and it ended up in her house, Ryogo realized it was her. And without further ado, he cut a deal with Ichica. He wanted to join forces with her and be part of her team to keep this information secret. He explained why, even though he came from a rich family, he needed his own money to go abroad for studies and live life on his own terms. Ichica, who understood all about abusive and distant fathers, decided to let Ryogo join her. Together, they decided to earn money, split it in half, and keep the whole operation secret.
Why did Ichica decide to fight against the rules?
The problem was that, even though Ichica didn’t want this to happen, she started to fall in love with Ryogo as they spent more time together. But she noticed that Ryogo was always talking to this girl named Ayami. Little did she know, Ryogo was trying to warn Ayami because she was in love with his brother, Haruto, who was a teacher at their school. Haruto was a cheater who was playing with both Ayami’s and Miss Shinoda’s feelings. He wanted to marry Miss Shinoda, but at the same time, he didn’t want Ayami, his student, to break up with him. Ayami, being the innocent girl she was, thought that maybe Haruto liked her, only to find out that he was secretly engaged to Miss Shinoda and about to get married. Ryogo revealed this information to her to keep her from being hurt. But as Ryogo kept spending time with Ayami, Ichica grew insecure, frustrated, and hurt.
Meanwhile, Ichica’s childhood friend, Atsusi, who was deeply in love with her and even secretly took pictures of her, found out about the Love Keeper business. He even saved her from being exposed by Sawa and decided to join forces with Ichica too. Seeing that Ryogo’s mind seemed to be elsewhere, and with the school’s strict rules, Ichica decided she no longer needed Ryogo on the team as she had Atsusi. But when she saw Ryogo talking to Ayami again, she ran away. Seeing that, Ryogo realized what she might be thinking, so he went after her and kissed her. It turned out that they both shared similar feelings for each other; it wasn’t one-sided. So, in the end, Ryogo stayed in the Love Keeper group. But guess what? It turned out that it wasn’t just Ichica who had feelings for Ryogo; Ayami also had strong feelings for him. When Ayami saw that Ryogo and Ichica were involved in a romantic relationship, she became agitated and took pictures of them, then leaked those photos. The principal was not only angry about the relationship but also got tips that Ichica might be the Love Keeper.
Ichica was in a tough spot. I’m pretty sure it was Atsushi who leaked that information about her being the Lover Keeper since he was always secretly taking photos of her and had pictures of her taking money from students. So, not only was Ichica threatened with expulsion, but she was also at risk of being reported for extortion. The principal told her that if she revealed the names of the students whose secrets she had kept, she might avoid severe consequences. But Ichica wasn’t going to betray anyone. She realized she had had enough and wasn’t going to be a victim of this cruel system. She had done what she did out of love, not out of malice. So, instead of giving in, she decided to take the case to court to protect herself and others from this unfair system.
What was the verdict of the case?
Ichica had one main intention: to show that romance shouldn’t be treated as a crime. She wanted to prove that the strict rules in the school were unfair and harmful. She made this clear in court. But when the court heard the principal’s side of the story, things took a different turn. The principal shared a painful part of her past. She revealed that when she was a student in her third year, her best friend had died by the riverbank while giving birth to her child alone, after becoming pregnant and wanting to keep this information secret. She felt she had failed to protect her friend, even though she had tried her best. That’s why she was so determined to prevent similar things from happening to her students. After hearing the principal’s perspective and understanding her motives, the court decided to dismiss all the charges against her. They also decided to reinstate the students who had been expelled. The other students who had been kicked out were given the option of coming back to school if they wanted.
The strict no-romance rule was still in place, and many students couldn’t stand it. They felt it was high time to change things and let students make their own decisions and take responsibility for their lives. Although the principal was initially resistant, she eventually had to listen to their opinions. Actually, Ayami felt terrible about what she had done out of anger by exposing Ichica and Ryogo’s relationship. So, she threatened to reveal her own affair with Haruto, a teacher, which could have serious consequences and damage the school’s reputation. The student council, who had once been the “rabbit hunters,” decided to stand against the no-romance rule. They proposed a vote and a petition to abolish it. They believed romance shouldn’t be forbidden and that students should be able to make their own choices. However, many were still against this idea. When the vote was counted, the results showed that most students wanted to keep the no-romance rule. But at least the rabbit hunters group was disbanded, which was a small victory.
In the end, Ryogo went overseas to study, while Ichica stayed behind to prepare for entrance exams to get into a good school and pursue her dreams. She had a new goal: to create a school where even those from poor backgrounds could attend. As for their romance, the future was uncertain. And just when Ichica thought things were settling down, she received a threatening message from someone calling themselves the “Love Killer.” They had photos of her and Ryogo and demanded 500,000 yen to keep them from being leaked. It could be that the same students who wanted to keep the no-romance rule were behind this, or maybe it was Atsushi. Because I think he was clearly jealous and upset because Ichica chose Ryogo over him. This cliffhanger leaves us wondering what will happen next. Maybe we’ll get some answers in the next season of Chastity High.
