Summary
Kaguya-Sama: Love is Waris one of the only romantic comedies to also be classified under the psychological genre. Kaguya-Sama centers around Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya, respectively theStudent Council President and Vice President, who engage in a series of “battles” complete with winners and losers as each try to get the other to show interest and confess first. The tactical component thus provides the “love is war” in the title, and also leads the series to have a surprisingly vulnerable message for romantic comedy.
The second episode of the series provides a solid summary of the themes which make the series so human and haverendered it a rom-com classic. It has three distinct sections. Firstly, Miyuki buys a smartphone and tries to indirectly get Kaguya to share her chat ID.
Afterward, there is Chika, student council secretary, suggesting a spring trip and asks Miyuki and Kaguya to provide a destination; finally,a friend asks Miyuki for love advice, with Kaguya eavesdropping around the corner.
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The Hidden Appeal of Kaguya-Sama
Miyuki and Kaguya Display an Unspoken Truth of Companionship
Kaguya-Samaopenly co-opts shojo elementsand embeds them in a shonen format, yielding a genius depiction of humanity. All relationships involve power and tactics — even those that are more mundane, like a child convincing their mother to prepare a favorite snack, reflect this. With romantic interest, it can be especially exaggerated.
A real battle plays out in each part. When Miyuki notices Kaguya concealed around the corner while he gives love advice, he performs differently. Miyuki and Kaguya suggest destinations that are advantageous to their own efforts to ensure the other’s confession. Miyuki deploys childhood photographs in an effort to pique Kaguya’s interest. These are tactical, purposeful decisions:they are also entirely realistic.
Like not responding to a crush’s text too fast, it reflects the fact that life isn’t a romance anime.
None of this is malicious. Like not responding to a crush’s text too fast, it reflects the fact that life isn’t a romance anime. The lovers swap preferred destinations after insecurity strikes Kaguya and Miyuki remembers bugs scare him. In the end, Chika decides for them: haunted mountains, a compromise that no one enjoys.
Unlike romance tropes like fatefully colliding in a hallway, chance and emotions like pride are impossible to anticipate. In this sense,Kaguya-Samais different.Kaguya-Samasays “love is war”, but what it shows is that knowing anybody, even oneself, is like politics: it always involves an element of management which looks like scheming in the right light.
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For the romance fan, much of the appeal of a series is in watching a couple come together as they face up to challenges and emerge victorious in the end, although there aremany great romance anime with unique identities. On the other hand, the series' romantic focus and comedic tone might be a turn-off for fans of psychological series who prefer heavier stakes than the backdrop of a domestic high school. For such viewers, the fact thatKaguya-Sama’s main coupleisthe challenge might be a major turn-off.
But if one leaves the genre classifications behind, it’s easy to seeKaguya-Samaas a series saying something unique.It shares a universe withOshi no Ko(lauded for the same kind of genre-bending) and offers viewers a philosophical meditation on love and human connection. Using the everyday setting and comedic tone as a vessel to show its ideas at work,Kaguya-Sama: Love is Warbrings a perspective that is rare for the genre.
Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War
Cast
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War is an anime series that follows the psychological warfare between two high-ranking student council members, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya, who refuse to confess their feelings for each other first, believing it would demonstrate weakness. Set in an elite high school, the series blends comedy and romance as the characters engage in elaborate mind games to make the other admit to love.
