Once upon a time this was my favorite manga of all time. The pinnacle of distractions and entertainment with its charismatic characters lovable especially for the modern generation, comedy which never ceases to spring up joyous laughter inside me, romantic narrative putting me at the edge of my seat whilst still enjoying the wild rollercoaster ride and so much more.

I remember bingeing the heck out of this from mid to late May of last year during one of the heights of the pandemic, aka the heights of loneliness when it was creeping strongest. It was the most accessible companion for those few weeks to instantly put my spirits downside up, that as I was nearing the latest chapter I viscerally dreaded the inevitable day that I'd have to wait for chapters to be released, and after a few months when I'd eventually let it all stack for a year until it completed. Despite that dread, I never forgot the sheer stimulating experience that was reading Kaguya-sama: Love is War granting me comfort and escapism, yet which, sadly, did not last for long.

During those times I marveled at the prosperous amount of care and love imbued in each and every character of the cast. There were dedicated arcs not only for the main characters; it extended and tangled so intricately the stories of the side characters, such that it allowed the characteristics of character relationships to be manifold, making for plentiful opportunities for interesting chemistries to explode within the reach of Shuchiin Academy.

In a rom-com series most especially, the characters are the core essence of the story. True enough, Love is War's cast successfully colorized every moment of stupidity they've brought unto themselves. The humor was always played so masterfully, pretty much reminiscent of Gintama, but definitely with its very own special charm. What made me give it such a high score before was Akasaka's ability to place every character--and I mean that with no exaggeration--in the position and with the surefire ability to be the most hilarious comedian within the boundaries of the story. And that is a very notable skill worthy to be recognized in an author!

Moving on to the romance plot hinged on the battle of wits, for the most part it made for one of the most diabetic romance I've ever felt. It peaked during the school festival arc. Kaguya and Miyuki were still the stupid and prideful people for a time after that, and that gave me mixed feelings, for the thought of it just felt so dragging, like everything was all for waste. It was smoothed over however during the Ice Queen arc (if my memory didn't fail me), and with the comedy that came with this aftermath quality as ever nonetheless, until both Miyuki and Kaguya finally did the deed (the utter shock I had man). Those were the good times. But I believe it was around that when I paused and let it stack, when we finally got into the whole power struggle of the Shinomiyas.

Before going into that, I'd just like to bring to light some of the best moments I've remembered from the manga. Chika and Hayasaka's rap was hilarious despite just being in text-and-image form. I clearly remembered being expectant of the two's VA's ability to elevate these moments twofold when it would be adapted as an anime. Hayasaka's arc made for an nuclear burst of pathos. I was really rooting for a happy ending for Ishigami, I mean I always wanted the best for my man, but his arc with Tsubame almost had me bawling with his rejection. Maki and Nagisa and her boyfriend (I forgot his name) never cease to make me roll on the floor. Papa Shirogane is literally the best character if we're being honest. Him being a YouTuber put me to literal death. Everything about Kaguya was charismatic enough to make me so attracted to her that she once made it within my 30 most favorite characters of all time. Miyuki's backstory was most vivid in particular. His pure hardwork to rise from plain to genius still inspires me to this day, especially now when I was reminded of his character journey as I continued picking this up again. In the end, he became my most favorite character of the cast with Kaguya in close second, just because of everything he was, is and became; he is written more resonant to me and to the whole story itself, standing as the motivational outlier in an elite academy, being a commoner yet a consistent top-achiever and the Shuchiin Academy Student Council President to boot. I could never understand why many other people prefer other characters such as Chika, Ishigami, and Hayasaka, but perhaps it just goes to show what the majority were focusing as they were experiencing Love is War. In that sense, Miyuki seems quite underrated.

With that out of the way, I'll go more on the way the latter part of the story went, with the power struggle of the Shinomiyas. To reiterate, Love is War's strength went on the characters as the driving force of everything, and automatically plot became quite secondary and heavily dependent on the cast's charm. While there were benefits to this during the rather unserious parts of everyday life as high school students, to me it quite backfired when we were suddenly launched in such a grand scale of conflict held in unfamiliar grounds to the readers. We had glimpses of this yes, but the tone of the story always seems to brush this problem off until Hayasaka's turn to be concentrated on. And even after that, the problem with the Shinomiyas didn't seem much like a problem at all.

So in a thematic sense, this whole arc does not seem to hold up to the soul of Love is War. It felt more like an unplanned pithole meant to fulfill narrative requirements in creating an encompassing conflict. While it did succeed in improving Kaguya's character, Aka failed in making it a substantial engine to move us as we reach the end of the story, being a conclusive arc and all.

Truth be told, I did not care much about all this issue. This was not what I signed up for in the years of tuning into Love is War. It is terribly hard to piece a regular rom-com slice of life with a struggle against societal superpowers together, especially since the premise was very, very solid and successful as we look at the first three seasons of the anime. Utilizing the "battle of wits" concept to make masterplans to pit high schoolers against Shinomiya authorities in an attempt to overthrow them was stirring in paper. But it really felt like we've glossed over the details so fast. Or better yet, the structure itself didn't make for the flexibility of the premise to be executed viably with maximal effectivity. All this, and my own change in my perception of media storytelling in part, made for a rather pale experience reading the journey to the ending.

Despite the fading potency it invoked within me, Kaguya-sama: Love is War still remains an important manga series for me, taking at the spot of my most beloved manga in the past. There's also that I haven't read enough manga yet back then (well even now still), but it doesn't undermine the series' quality, with its rich set of characters and the powerful emotional applications along with it in terms of humor, romance, and the bonds of friendship.

Love is War is a story of overcoming struggles and improving oneself, shining truly bright as one sheds off their false personas and finding genuine connections in truth and in naturality. It is a kind of war that spans years and years: the spotlight in the battlefield of youth. And to permit oneself the freedom from the shackles of expectations and doubts, and partaking in the holy cornucopia that is healthy relationships with other people is perhaps one of the exhibitions in this manga. One needs to use then the fountain of strength coming from friendships and authenticity, never letting it fade away as one climbs up the steps of adulthood. In youth, one needs to take power from. It is most appropriate then that Kaguya aspires to become a photographer, capturing every beautiful moment with her own hands.

Despite her excellent memory, she laments her lack of power when it comes to socialization. Yet it was in the student council she found strength to overcome that long-lasting war within herself. Her talents notwithstanding, she chose to actualize the beauty of life in the form of art. What a poetic character conclusion truly unexpected of her character.

I still like Love is War, no matter how indifferent I've become as compared to a year ago. Perhaps, I really have no strong attachment with it anymore, the signs surfacing when I didn't really have a bombastic experience watching season 3 of the anime, quite arguably the peak of the story. In spite of all this, Love is War served significance to my life, and obviously in many, many others as well. To this, I'm grateful of Aka Akasaka's creation.