Kaguya-sama: Love is War is based on the manga series of the same name. This anime adaptation is comprised of twelve episodes. It stars a pair of main protagonists. The first is the titular Shinomiya Kaguya. She is a rich heir, intelligent and beautiful. She comes from a high class family and thus has a lot of pride. She’s introduced as outwardly cold and calculating but portrayed inside as really innocent and at times, nave. The other is Shirogane Miyuki who is almost the male version of Kaguya. He’s handsome, clever but he isn’t rich.
Miyuki and Kaguya are in love but neither of them wants to confess since this is seen as a weakness and dent to their pride. Thus, the whole series has them strategizing and creating events to force the other to confess or at least show some form of affection that suggests that they are more than just friends. Episodes are structured with several segments that depict their various battles. Despite the segmented approach, there is a clear passage of time and character development. Each segment ends with a determination to state who had won that round. Actions and reactions are highly exaggerated which his often so over the top that it is funny. Hearing their inside thoughts on what they think the other is thinking, and then creating a counter, is amusing.
Both Miyuki and Kaguya are part of the student council thus that is where most of their battles are waged. They are often foiled by the third member, Fujiwara Chika, who is clueless about what is actually happening. Chika is usually the one that provides an out for the stalemates that often happen. That being said, she is also usually the one that screws up the moment when results are just about to occur. The student council the perfect combination of characters. We get the oblivious one and the one that’s a shut in and scared of social interaction. Kaguya’s treatment and impression of them are perfectly in character.
Surprisingly, Kaguya-sama: Love is War is good from the very beginning. The humor works and you quickly get a gist of the characters’ personalities and what is currently going on. While some of its content strays into predictable and well-trodden territory (such as a character thinking their “first time” means something else), it still manages to somehow make it really funny. Weaved into its jokes are a few heavy sexual references. There is a risk of having the anime feel immature due to this but the writers have handled it well and didn’t cross that line.
The series has a stellar ability to turn even the most mundane of events or overused tropes such as the meaning and potential romantic implications of sharing an umbrella into an epic battle between Miyuki and Kaguya. A key trend is how even the simplest thing will turn into a competition. Whoever asks first is seen to have conceded, like exchanging information on the messaging app Line. As neither wants to look like they have compromised, misunderstandings often happen. They think the other looks cute in their outfit or they love their idea but will struggle to hide their true reactions or feelings. As a result, the other often misunderstands it as something like contempt or a disgusted smirk.
Hidden away here and there are true gems of cleverness. Kaguya will try to psyche Miyuki out by deliberately leaving the details vague enough to hint at something. Miyuki will almost fall into the trap and manages to step away. These scenes are significant since it illustrates how Miyuki truly understands Kaguya and they each actually do really like the other.
The series constantly shows that neither character is perfect but they complement each other well. The characters have obvious and ridiculous weaknesses such as being abysmal at sports and the deadpan reactions of other characters are what seal the deal. As the episodes go on, it starts to focus more and more on revealing what makes the characters who they are. Kaguya makes a big deal out of the littlest things but this is because of her inexperience with the world from being pampered and looked after all her life. She is shown to be very naive and clueless at technology at times which is surprising. Over the course of the series, her character does turn from the colder calculating person to a more typical lovestruck female protagonist. Consequently, the rivalry and competition between Miyuki and Kaguya loses its seriousness and becomes more slapstick.
The second half constantly hovers between being sweet at how close the pair gets together to funny where they just keep trying out different methods and plots but failing to elicit the response they wanted. It throws out all the stops in the last episode. It concludes with a touching storyline that truly builds on what we understand of Kaguya and her actual feelings. This is perfectly accompanied with excellent music.
Despite all the positives, you can see the shortcuts in animation. There are examples from being almost exclusively set in the student council room to statics scenes when characters are talking. However, the writing is so on point, the characters so charming and the pacing so well managed that you can easily overlook that.
Overall, Kaguya-sama: Love at War is a fantastic slice-of-life romantic comedy. The premise strikes a great balance between unique and weird. The characters are lovable and the scenarios presented are funny, relatable and just so damn addictive. Twelve episodes is definitely nowhere near enough, you’d want to spend even more time to see how Kaguya and Miyuki’s relationship will progress.
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