Ever since Kaguya-sama: Love Is War blasted into the scene with a much needed fresh of breath air back in 2019, it's presence has never not been felt in every anime corner on the internet. The show's high production value and consistent playful animation helped it stand out against its peers, and its characters/voice actors had great chemistry, were highly entertaining, and somewhat relatable, which contributed a lot to the shows enjoyment and popularity. Season two for Kaguya-sama seemed to be a step up in terms of writing quality, with multiple characters getting some much needed character development while still keeping all the qualities and charm it had in its first season. Though the show was starting to become a tad bit predictable, it was still mostly enjoyable and offered an extremely needed break from reality for most people at the time due to massively impactful world events. Kaguya-sama was the "beacon of light" for the romantic comedy genre and with two popular seasons under its belt to cement itself in the anime mainstream, fans patiently waited for what lied in store for the colorful cast of characters that they'd fallen in love with. So, how does season three fare against its previous seasons? Well, for better or for worse, it's more of the same.

After the ending of season two, I wondered to myself, “Where can this show go now?” I enjoyed what the show had offered so far, but I was still hoping for something to happen between the two main leads. Romantic comedies, as the name suggests, has two parts to its story: the romance and the comedy. Usually shows in this genre are too focused on the comedy and forgot to develop the romance. They are usually treated separately and there is often a dissonance between the two aspects. Kaguya-sama is different in this regard as it does tend to blend its romance and comedy quite nicely. The romantic tension between Kaguya and Shirogane doesn’t feel forced, and the comedy lends itself to some character development between the two in certain situations; this is something that’s rare to find in the genre, and it’s the shows best strength. Heading into season three, I was expecting a bit more character development and maybe some sort of a confession towards this end. Well, I kinda got what I wanted but what I did not expect was the drama in this season, which I did not enjoy.

From this point, I’ll admit that I’ve read up the latest chapter of the manga, and I’ve been reading the manga since season two ended. I already knew what to expect in season three, and I was worried how they would handle some of the drama introduced in these span of episodes, mainly the transition from the romantic comedy to romantic drama. Funnily enough, Kaguya-sama’s biggest strength I mentioned earlier is also its biggest weakness. The show’s natural blend of romance and comedy is what makes the show, but because those two are so closely intertwined it leaves no room for anything else. As a result, any drama introduced in this show feels shoehorned in. I do think drama is quite needed for some of these characters to progress, but it feels flimsily implemented and the quality of the show suffers for it. The show needs certain things to happen, but because the show’s identity was so clearly defined in the previous two seasons, it feels like a clash between doing what it’s always done and doing what’s necessary. This is highlighted the most in the very last arc of the show, where the show kept poorly switching between serious and romcom mode. To be specific, the handling of Ishigami’s accidental confession was largely a chore to watch through because as a viewer, you already know what to expect and you know what joke the show will inevitably fall in to. That’s not to say predictability is bad by any means, but in this instance its a detriment to the show. For future seasons, I’d like to some more effort in remedying these scenes as they really brought down the enjoyment of the series for me.

The other main criticism I have for this season is actually what I just mentioned: predictability. This is essentially what I thought of the manga at this point in the story, but it easily applies to anime-only viewers as well. A majority of the season is really more of the same of the previous two seasons, and the formula that essentially made the show is starting to get stale. Similar to Friends or The Office, there are only so many variations you could put on an idea before it starts to get stale. By this point, Kaguya-sama has clearly defined skits and gags that it falls back on to help pad out the show a bit. You have defined character dynamics, and for the most of first two seasons, this was enough to carry the show. I hate to sound like a broken record, but these skits and gags the show likes to fall back on are starting to get repetitive, and the only episode that takes it to new heights was the Chika/Shirogane rap scenario. For a lot of the scenarios, you already know what to expect and it feels monotonous to watch through. It’s a problem Kaguya-sama will have to overcome going forward, but having read the manga it only gets more shaky from here.

Kaguya-sama was a show I looked forward to watching weekly. I was excited to see what these characters would get into, and I loved the chemistry between them. The fun animation and high production value elevated the show further and made me a fan. So as a fan, it hurts me to say that I didn’t enjoy this season too much. Longer running shows usually fall prey to monotony, and unfortunately Kaguya is no exception to this. I’ll stick around for the future, but only in hopes that A-1 can remedy the problems I had with the manga.