Kaguya-sama: Love is War is the first manga I read after watching the anime. When season 2 finished airing, I needed more; I was going through Kaguya withdrawal. So I read, and read, and read… Until a certain event began to unfold. I knew something big was coming; the status quo was about to change. Two characters met on a rooftop, and I put the book down. If what I thought was happening was, indeed, happening, I wanted to wait for it. I wanted to see it animated by A-1 Pictures.

And boy, am I glad I waited.

Season 3 of Kaguya-sama: Love is War is just as excellent as the first two, if not better. It’s strengthened by the character developments in seasons one and two, and takes everything that’s already been established to a whole other level. From rap battles to unintentional confessions of love between supporting characters, and even a glimpse at the moment Kaguya and Miyuki first fell for each other, this show does not miss. In fact, I’m pretty sure that it cannot miss at this point. The characters have taken the plot to places I never thought we’d go, and I’m 100% here for it.

Normally, at this point, I would talk about my favourite episodes or stories from this season, but it’s too difficult to pick favourites. However, I will touch on some of the highlights for me:

• The very first story of the season, Miko Iino Wants to Be Soothed, was the story I was looking forward to the most in terms of adaptation from the manga. A lot of the side stories tend to get overlooked as the season goes on, but this one cracked me up so much!
• The rap battle episode was fire! When I first read those chapters, I knew it was going to be something special in the anime.
• I love how much character development Ishigami has been getting. He’s the sleeper hit of the season.
• Shout out to the haunted house recording episode for actually using binaural audio! That was a neat touch.
• The whole culture festival arc was spectacular. I loved every second of it. The way it eventually tied all the way back to the election arc in season 2 was the icing on the cake for me.
• Shirogane the absolute CHAD in the culture festival! When he said he was going to do it as a man, he wasn't lying.

The whole finale left me with warm, fuzzy feelings. It revealed so much about our main characters, how their motivations might not completely be about their pride. For as much as I enjoyed getting my Kaguya-sama fix when I started reading the manga, I think I will try my best to stay away from the manga for a while. Don’t get me wrong, the manga is incredible. But the anime takes 10 out of 10 material and elevates it impossibly higher.

And I'm gonna need a spin-off anime that covers the bonkers story the ED tells. Like, pronto.