This review will be split between multiple sections. Be warned. This is not spoiler free. Considering that this will mainly be made up of spoilers I advise you, if you haven't watched it yet to click off now.
This review will be split between multiple sections:
Characters: Kaguya-sama somehow made the idea of Tsundere vs Tsundere psychological battle between a billionaire and a commoner into a well-developed romance between two very complex and realistic characters and we're not even into the most character-driven arc of the series!
Kaguya Shinomiya is a sheltered rich girl who wishes for a normal romance. She, at first, comes off as rather a proud person who could even be considered slightly irritating to the viewer as she shows nothing but a cold demeanour at first but then you start to warm up to her and just see how complex but also relatable, she is. She cannot confess to President, not because she is too proud to, which is what we think of at first, but for a more relatable reason. Throughout the series we've seen her be so sure that Shirogane's in love with her but, as her chance to confess draws closer, her true feelings come to light. She's absolutely afraid that Shirogane only sees her as a friend, that she's unlovable due to how she used to act. This fear of rejection is something so relatable to so many people that it makes Kaguya far more likeable as to see a girl so far from reality, sheltered by her family from all, having an experience so down to earth is, well, just good. I can't really put into words. Basically, she's just great. One of the best female protagonists in a romcom I've ever seen. I haven't even talked about one of my favourite scenes where she tells Hayasaca that she can't tell Shirogane to stay instead of going to Stanford as she's seen how hard he's worked for it which really makes her stand out as an exemplary character. Usually, you would expect the love interest to try to convince the male protagonist to not go away but Kaguya doesn't, showing just how much she loves him.
Next, we have Miyuki Shirogane, and boy, do I have quite a bit to say about him. He's my favourite protagonist of all time. People tend to say that Nasa is the chaddest romcom protagonist for marrying a girl after he asked her out but Shirogane is in a league of his own. His admiration, and eventual love, for Shinomiya stemmed from her having the qualities that he wished he had. There's a bit more to it but I don't wish to spoil the manga (though it'll probably be shown in the upcoming movie). He's essentially dirt to the other students at the academy as he's a scholarship student who barely got in but he works incredibly hard just to be recognised by Shinomiya. He challenges her to get the highest score in the exams to get her attention and then becomes Student President just to be able to stand beside her but even then he still doesn't consider himself as her equal. He has to work so hard just to stand beside her natural genius. He cannot confess to her, not out of pride, but out of his inferiority complex. He believes that if he confesses they will not be on equal complex and she would just drift farther and farther out of his reach. His quest to become Kaguya's equal also changed him drastically. Beforehand, he would have just drifted through the academy but after meeting Kaguya he becomes far more proactive. He helps Ishigami with his situation in honestly one of the coolest scenes ever, helps Miko Iino, his rival for president, get her points across to the audience and then helps Hayasaca confront Kaguya. This barely even scratches the surface of what he does in the manga. He's just so well written and so believable as a character you just can't help but like him.
And then there were three. Chika Fujiwara. She's not really that complex of a character nor is she especially interesting. We get a bit of stuff in the manga but she's not as well developed as the other characters which suits her just fine as her only role in the plot is to be, as it was put in the first episode, 'Chaos Theory'. There's honestly not a lot to say about her to be honest. She's mainly just there to put obstacles in both Shirogane and Kaguya's plans which does make for some hilarious episodes. The obvious stand out moments are her 'mother Chika' roles where she helps Shirogane learn to do basic tasks.
Yu Ishigami is probably the most popular male character from the show due to season 2 and for a good reason. He's just so damn relatable. His arc in honestly incredible. He first comes off as slight self insert character but grows so much it's unbelievable. His backstory is well written and shows exactly why he is how he is now. He's like if the self-insert harem protagonist deserved the harem through his own efforts and not because pure fate made him bump into random incredibly pretty girls who had no logical reason to like him, I am of course talking about him, Tsubame and Iino. What's so funny about this is that he doesn't even realise the love triangle he's in. It's not called Dual Confessions Arc just because of Kaguya and Shirogane but also because he unknowingly confesses to two girls at the same time. It may be slightly obvious who wins ( though the fandom was still split between Tsubame and Iino) but boy, is the journey worth it.
And speak of the Devil, it's Miko Iino. She's a person who loves rules and abhors rule-breakers and her primary objective to achieve justice and you could just say that's the end of it. Her character arc is just to learn to have more fun yada yada yada but nope. It's far deeper than that. Her love for justice comes from the neglect she has from her parents who are barely around with her father being a judge and her mother helping out in third world countries. Instead of coming the conclusion that she has bad parents who have no clue how to have a good work-life balance, she instead wishes that if everyone just followed the rules her parents wouldn't be away for so long. Her relationship with Ishigami is also her main thing going on with her in the plot. Both have helped each other out without the other knowing with Iino protesting any mention of his expulsion and Ishigami doing small things like ripping post-it-notes off her back and possibly giving her the pressed flower to encourage her and yet they do not admit this to other. Instead they fight like cats and dogs which is rather enjoyable as it's pretty obvious how they'll end up.
10/10
Plot:
Ah yes, the plot. A lot of Kaguya-sama can just be considered self-contained episodes with no real connection to the other apart from the major arcs until you have a closer look at them. They often show how a character has developed and their relationships with others has developed. The plot itself, in the anime that is, can be separated into three major arcs: The fireworks arc, the sports festival arc and the culture festival arc with a few mini arcs (like the rap arc) sprinkled here and there and it doesn't really stand out if you just look at it like that. Fireworks, sports festival and culture festival are very standard tropes in romcoms but Kaguya-sama uses them excellently to create very character-driven arcs instead just 'perhaps MC and FMC get slightly closer' or a confession fake out like you might see in other romcoms. In essence, plot=good.
10/10
Art:
The show looks nice and that's pretty much just it. They clearly pumped most of the budget into the final episodes but the previous ones still look incredible. They even decided to redraw manga panels instead of just ripping them straight from the manga which shows just how much effort went into the show. You can really tell how much the staff enjoys making Kaguya-sama. I should also mention they kind of like to brag with the ending visuals. The Chika dance in season 1 just felt like flexing and the rap in season 3 was animated by one person. One! Talk about talent.
9.5/10 (some scenes looked slightly odd to me)
Music:
Masayuki Suzuki always makes banger opening and the endings of the show also slap. The general music of the show is just great, especially during the kiss. Wow, was that scene magical. The use of music also adds to the comedy as the over-the-top melancholy used with Ishigami really makes the scene far funnier that it should be and the subtle references such as 'Take on me' are unnecessary but, again, show how much the staff loves the show.
10/10
Enjoyment:
Pure bliss. All I can really say. It's already a 10/10 for me but I seriously cannot wait for movie as the arc it's adapting is seriously one of the best arcs I've ever seen. If you thought manga readers were hyping season 3 just wait until it gets closer to movie. Just. Wow. I've never been as in love with a show as I have been with Kaguya-sama
15/10
Overall, it it's a 10.9/10 according to my calculator but I must settle for the lesser 10/10 for probably one of, if not THE best romcom of our generation. I can't see how any other romcom can top this and it's a real contender for anime of the year if Spy x Family doesn't win it out of pure hype (though it's still great in its own right).
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