It started with me catching bits and pieces of an episode as my brother watched it (and as I was making food), and it ended with us watching the first eight episodes in a row. I finished the season the next day and immediately moved onto season two. I will have to write a review on that one later, as I have separate thought on that one.

Kaguya-Sama: Love is War is, if nothing else, very binge-able. Since there are three or four mini-stories in each episode, it's so easy to just let the next one play. And it's not because some grand story is unfolding, but because each battle of wits between Kaguya and Miyuki is one little development in the personal story of their ever-growing relationship. Yes, the mind games they play to get a confession from the other are clever and fun, but they're only made impactful by the small tender moments where they briefly open themselves up to the other. Each challenge they hurl at each other actually brings them closer to their realization that this may not need to be be a game after all.

The side characters are excellent, too! Their personalities are very distinct and never go against their established sense of character. Plus, the way they interact with each other shows us the true depth of every character, even if it's a silly situation.

Speaking of the mini-stories, you'd think that each story would be self-contained like an episodic series. While to some degree, it acts like that, it's more like an episodic series that acts like a serialized story. Certain events from previous episodes will be mentioned offhand, or even flashed back to, which makes these short situations feel more like an episode unto themselves. It almost feels like we're getting three episodes per episode, and hey, the more Kaguya-Sama we get, the better.

And this is all without mentioning the opening, which is not only a total bop, but also has some excellent visuals. It perfectly portrays what you can expect to see in the show, as well and showcases the tone and characters. It's certainly in my top ten anime OPs not just for the music, but for how perfect it services the show. The score is fun as well, and the sound design is top notch! It does a great job at using sound effects and music for comedic effect, as well as using filters on the video itself to differentiate between the real world and the silly hypothetical situations these genius kids imagine.

All in all, this is a super fun show that isn't afraid to poke fun at how fun it is. There are silly moments, moments of clever writing, and genuinely sweet character moments. It's more than I could have asked for in a rom-com anime.

And now I apparently have to hot a certain threshold of letters in my review, even though the aforementioned review has over 2,500 characters (300 more than the minimum), so now I'm just padding the end here to see if this will get my review published. Please let this work.