After a slow but eventful summer vacation, Shuchiin Academy’s second term is now starting in full force. As August transitions into September, Miyuki Shirogane’s birthday looms ever closer, leaving Kaguya Shinomiya in a serious predicament as to how to celebrate it. Furthermore, the tenure of the school’s 67th student council is coming to an end. Due to the council members being in different classes, the only time Kaguya and Miyuki have to be together will soon disappear, putting all of their cunning plans at risk. Sherman, Jennifer (January 22, 2020). "Aoashi, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, More Win 65th Shogakukan Manga Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021 . Retrieved January 22, 2020. MJでスタート. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). May 19, 2015. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018 . Retrieved May 15, 2018. On Kaguya's words, Ai switches Miyuki's coffee for a decaffeinated version, causing him to fall asleep; to Kaguya's chagrin, he sleeps on her shoulder, causing her to ask Ai to prevent anyone from entering the Student Council room. Nagisa's boyfriend approaches Miyuki and Yu for further romantic advice, though the two—later joined by Kaguya and Chika—watch in disbelief when the couple begin engaging in suggestive acts. The Student Council plays a board game created by Chika. With Miyuki's birthday on the horizon, Kaguya tries to coerce him into publicly revealing the date via horoscopes.

Kaguya-sama begins in a very direct way; the whole idea of the show, everything about Miyuki and Kaguya, and their relationship is thrown at us through a narrator. There is no build up of their relationship, we are

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Halfway through the series, they manage to confess to each other. From there, focus shifts on how they advance their relationship and deal with remaining obstacles. The presence and complexity of several other characters notably increases over time as well. I’ll give it to A1, the animation is great, the osts are good and the stylistic presentation is visually impressive enough for you to overlook most scenes taking place in one location. The opening visuals are creative, however the opening song is cheesy and the ending is forgettable. Sherman, Jennifer (August 27, 2017). "Gaku Kuze's Uramichi Oniisan, Aka Akasaka's Kaguya-sama: Love is War Win Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021 . Retrieved September 19, 2020. Not because these type of scenarios don’t happen throughout the show, but more so because I’m not entirely sure that it is accurate to describe the characters as “prideful” or even “geniuses”; and that might be the biggest issue the show has. Aka Akasaka launched the series in the June issue of Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Miracle Jump on May 19, 2015. [7] The series' last chapter in Miracle Jump was published on January 19, 2016. [8] The manga was then switched to the publisher's Weekly Young Jump magazine on March 24, 2016. [9] [10] A special chapter ran in the debut issue of Young Jump Gold on May 18, 2017. [11] The series finished on November 2, 2022. [12] [13] Shueisha has collected its 281 individual chapters into twenty-eight individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on March 18, 2016, and the last on December 19, 2022. [14] [15]

Mateo, Alex (March 10, 2022). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Anime Season 3's Trailer Reveals April 8 Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022 . Retrieved March 10, 2022. As with many rom-coms, it needs to have male characters that aren’t just alpha males like Shirogane. This is where Yu Ishigami comes in. Having an inferiority complex, he doesn’t have nearly as much as pride in himself as Shirogane. Unlike him, Ishigami isn’t a real genius but he tries hard in things that interests him. The more I watched his character interactions, the more I realized how real he is compared to the others. He can be rather relatable for his social status and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the anime needed someone like him too. That being said, outside of these characters, there’s only a small handful that gets spotlights such as Shirogane’s sister. There are occasional side characters that reinforces the themes of love in the show but these often don’t greatly influence the show’s plot. With everything being said, I think watching Kaguya-sama takes an open mind to accept what this show offers while also enjoying what you may not often find in rom-coms. Tai, Anita (October 23, 2023). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Oshi no Ko Manga Both Get Novels". Anime News Network . Retrieved October 23, 2023. told they are in love and we are immediately expected to care. As a result, I found it difficult to ever form a sort of solid connection with the characters, to ‘root’ for their romance, to think their ridiculous antics were always funny. Miyuki and Kaguya have little chemistry. It feels like I am missing something. With more care given to the characters, this show really could have been something special. Ah yes, Chika Fujiwara. If there’s anyone in this show that could set off more reactions, it’s her. She’s like the catalyst for Kaguya’s mood swings in particular when interacting with Shirogane. Jealousy is easily shown on Kaguya’s face in early episodes and that’s thanks to her personality. In general, Chika is known to be disruptive to the school council. Whether she’s conscious about it or not, she often sets off absurd moments in the show because of her unpredictability. However, I think Chika’s presence in the show should be appreciated for exactly what she is. In fact, I categorize Chika as somewhat of anti-thesis of the main characters. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind and is very open about being herself. This is very different compared to Ai Hayasaka, Kaguya’s valet. Hayasaka takes on several personalities that can be hard to distinguish the real her. While being a supporting character, I find her role in the show important for being supportive of Kaguya.

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Aka Akasaka is somewhat of a new author in the manga world. Prior to this series, their only work I was familiar with is Sayonara Piano Sonata. When Kaguya-sama began serializing, I knew there was something special about this series with the way it introduced its story

Almost every time someone talks to me about a romantic comedy, they'd would mention how well the romance is delivered. Then along came this show called Kaguya-sama: Love is War that goes beyond than just being a romantic comedy. In a landscape dominated by recent isekai shows, there’s a need for fresh air. Kaguya-sama managed be just that. The manga won the third Next Manga Award in the comics division for manga published in print book format in 2017. [30] In 2020, along with Aoashi, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War won the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category. [31] [32] [33] On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War ranked 50th. [34] Nippon News 24 (in Japanese). Nippon Television. April 19, 2021. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021 . Retrieved December 15, 2021. The characters are a bunch of troupes who receive no character development: Kaguya is a rich, childish, pampered tsundere with barely any endearing qualities. Chika is the cute ditsy airhead, Ishigami is the depressed emo okatu that fans relate to calling him "our guy". He's easily the worst character because of how one dimensional he is and all his jokes being so predictable e.g. "oh no, Kaguya is going to kill me! I'm going home President!". The president is the hardworking and studious guy. He’s the best of the main cast in my opinion. He's the most interesting, relatable and got varied comedy. Mateo, Alex (October 26, 2022). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Manga Ends on November 2". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022 . Retrieved October 27, 2022.

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Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 5, 2017). "Shueisha Launches New Young Jump Gold Magazine on May 18". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020 . Retrieved May 15, 2018. Famitsu (in Japanese). October 25, 2020. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021 . Retrieved February 21, 2021. Mateo, Alex (June 5, 2020). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Dōjin-ban Spinoff Manga Ends This Month". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021 . Retrieved June 5, 2020.