Kaguya-sama Love Is War Series Review

Love is a war that you win by losing. Pride and egoism are cruel things to have when it comes to romance, and when love is turned into a game of ‘who will be the one to confess first’, feelings and emotions make you look weak. Kaguya-sama Love is War explores this concept in a cute yet hilarious way. The series’s biggest strength, besides the fantastic narration and directing, is probably the fact that is a rom-com series addressed to a mature audience since the characters try to outwit each other with the power of logic and psychology and not with the same usual tropes.

Synopsis

Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya are the President and Vice President of the renowned Shuchiin Academy’s Student Council. Both of them are considered top elite students: Miyuki is respected by his peers for his brilliant mind, and Kaguya, the eldest daughter of the wealthy Shinomiya family, excels in everything. Everyone thinks that they would make the perfect couple and even though both have feelings for each other, they are too proud to admit it. Believing that the one who confesses first will be looked down upon and humiliated, a game of love begins between the two. Both are equally determined to get out of it as the winner of the battlefield.

Plot & Story

Kaguya-sama Love is War is such a well-written show with amazing comedic timing and great chemistry between the characters. At the beginning we get to witness various short stories that introduce the characters and the circumstances to us with the ‘main’ cast being Shirogane, Shinomiya, Fujiwara, Ishigami, and Hayasaka. As the plot progresses, the dynamic between them gets more and more interesting and even more hilarious. It’s a show that hits you hard with its comedy even when it’s not intended to be funny.

Kaguya-sama Love is War is directed in a very refreshing way. We basically see interactions between the characters as well as intense monologues that play inside the heads of the main cast. It is very interesting to see how the characters think of themselves and how they appear to others in real life. Thinking of strategies to make the other confess, intriguing mind games, daydreaming about all kinds of scenarios as well as the overly dramatic reactions to everything that is going on, especially from Kaguya, will definitely entertain you. Chika’s character is also worth highlighting. She might look like an airheaded extra that is there just for the sake of ruining or helping out the interaction between the main couple, but she is much more than that. She is very intelligent and is able to emotionally manipulate Kaguya in the biggest part of the show in order to make things go her way, which makes her awesome yet kind of creepy at the same time (at some point, she wanted to go to Mount Osore which is believed in Japanese mythology to be one of the gates to the underworld).

Another thing that is used so well in this show, is the narrator. He attributes a lot to the story without being monotonous or tedious. He presents primary reasoning for many of the situations that the characters go though and manages to make the plot continuation more solid, but what really charmed me about him was the fact that his personality comes out as well. He was shocked when Ishigami tries to hang himself and sometimes he even mocks the situation that just occurred. That gives him such an original persona and he is essential for the story. I think that’s brilliant.

To sum it up, it’s an entertaining story with the cast being a bunch of weirdoes that just compliment and work so well together.

Art & Music

If I could describe the production of this anime in one word, that would be magnificent. The animation, the directing, the narration, the voice acting, the music; honestly, it doesn’t lack quality in any of its aspects. Starting with the directing, Shinichi Omata did an amazing job here. He has his own style and vision when it comes to directing and it seems that he likes to be endearing with trying out new things, and that’s awesome. He has a very stylized way of working with backgrounds and camera movements especially in the scenes where the characters are deep in their overthinking monologues. I have no idea what kind of budget they had for Kaguya-sama Love is War, but together with A-1 Pictures, the director worked miracles in so many scenes. The ending sequence of Chika dancing and singing during the third episode BLEW ME AWAY. I have never seen the use of rotoscoping working so well in an anime ever in my life. The opening sequence was really nice as well. There was some kind of James Bond feel to it.

The voice acting and the music of the anime were so good. All the voice actors worked really well with their characters but I think Kaguya’s voice actress, Aoi Koga, deserves so much recognition after this, considering that it was one of her first big roles. She definitely delivered such variation and quality in Kaguya’s reactions. And last but not least, ‘Love Dramatic’ by Masayuki Suzuki is stuck in my head for the last three months and it’s not going away anytime soon. Oh love me Mister, Oh Mister!

Themes & Trivia

Some fun facts:

– The announcement for the anime came out the same week as Chapter 100.

– It’s one of the most popular romance manga in the world, having sold over 3.5 million copies before the anime even aired, despite lacking the fanservice and harem elements that seem to be overtaking the genre.

– The series was originally going to be published as IQ (愛求 Aikyuu lit. Love Seeking / Love Longing) in Japan.

Comments

I can’t stop praising this anime. It was the most pleasant surprise of the season. It has been a while since I saw an anime so good I wouldn’t find anything bad to write about it. It’s funny, cute, interesting, and well produced. Sure, it might not be for everyone, especially not for people who hate seeing two main characters equivocating around confessing their feelings for each other, but honestly, its skits and the lovable characters will make you cherish it for a very long time.

How cute.

Plus:

Amazing direction and animation
Refreshing narration and awesome voice acting
Great character cast
Character relationship progress
Hilarious comedy

Minus:

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The minuses of this anime are so miniscule I will not even bother mentioning them.

Kaguya-sama Love is war is an entertaining anime with fantastic comedy elements. It is a cute story with thought-out mind games and lovely characters, and the most refreshing romance anime you have seen in a while.