#####This review is spoiler free.

Perhaps the biggest flaw of the romantic-comedy genre, both within and outside of anime, is that they often just aren't funny. Quirky characters and awkward encounters plague the genre as their only feature of comic relief. If tasked with thinking of my own favourite comedy film or show, not one romantic-comedy comes close. This is not to say there isn't gold to be found in the romantic-comedy genre; the recent Horimiya was fantastic - I loved all the characters and the central relationship was adorably compelling, but I wouldn't particularly describe the show as funny.

When tasked with being a romantic-comedy Love is War does not spare a moment being both these things. The show is gut-wrenchingly funny, standing boldly against the adage that comedy doesn't translate for the writing is without flaw. The first season of Love is War masterfully excelled in making mountains from molehills over every possible encounter between Shinomiya and Shirogane, twisting the anxieties of adolescent romance into a psychological minefield. Pushing anything to the most extreme is bound to be absurd, but commentating it like a battle between two foes is simply hilarious. That is to say, the narrator is so funny it hurts.

And yes, the show deploys quirky characters and awkward encounters, but it does so to generate humour, rather than as the joke itself. Fujiwara is weird and silly, but she does this while playing the role of the romantic straight-man. Just as the two are about to reach a psychological impasse, where when must win and one must lose - or rather where one is forced to ask for the other's contact details, a defeat that would obviously reveal that they're in love - Fujiwara steps in, and simply asks for their phone number, drastically and hilariously cutting the tension like a water-balloon bursting on the two characters worked up anxieties.

And just as it is funny the show tells a highly compelling will-they-won't-they romance plot throughout. It's very easy to fuck up a romance plot like this - constantly tantalising the viewer will eventually lead them to impatience and then disenfranchisement. But it just doesn't get old in Love is War because both the of them are paradoxically totally hopeless yet so capable.

In season one, the above formula created a highly compelling and very funny show. Two episodes into the first season I questioned if the same premise could be sustained for a whole twelve episodes and by episode six it proved it could. Season two, however, dials black the battle-like nature of the show just enough to keep it fresh. In it's place, it expands upon the romance. Instead of being a driving factor for the comedy of the show, the romance plot through season two enters into its own life. The first season of 'Love is War' grabs you by the balls, proves itself in its uniqueness and dedication to being a romantic-comedy. And in this first season, I loved watching the two duke it out, happily knowing they'd never get together. But through season two, I just really wanted the two to get together - both of them become so compelling and likeable. The show knows that by season two it has your attention, and with it, it shows you how to make a romantic-comedy. And it damn well succeeds.