I was never an admirer of the romance genre before entering the anime world. Upon watching a sprinkling of romances I harbored a doubt like "Okay after an intense drama, they finally confessed to each other and started dating/got married BUT where is the aftermath? Is everything else a smoothing sail once you have taken the big step?"
Such questions always remained like how are they going to cope with everything and their perspective on this point. While a handful of shows dealt with it maturely, there are tons of shows which failed do so and decided to go with whatever outcome. And that's where Kaguya sama movie hit hard. Being in a relationship certainly affects one's life severely. More so when the relationship is between the prodigy Kaguya Shinomiya and the son of an impecunious family Miyuki Shirogane. On the outside, they were like apples and oranges but beneath the thick mask, they were detested by themselves; always striving to turn over a new leaf.


Kaguya Sama Movie The First Kiss that Never Ends begins with the anime's stronghold comedy genre which is a very love is war-ish way to start. After Kaguya and Miyuki luxuriate their first kiss albeit only for a night, they were stroke down to the harsh reality once again. Consequently, Kaguya's different personas collide with each other resulting in the resurrection of ice Kaguya. The emergence of Ice Kaguya which is more of her real self and the self she loathed the most, was a bolt out of the blue as Miyuki was desperately trying to confront Kaguya. In the beginning, the Ice Kaguya who was perceived as the distant and sadist type was in pursuit of a general thumb rule, that is to force Miyuki to take the initiative. The mental state of a girl in love can be so fickle and irrational, she might be immersed in a trance for eternity, tender feelings of love may become as suffocating and cumbersome as they can be, yet it is challenging as hell to express your desires, thus fondness becomes haughtiness. On top of that, Miyuki's obliviousness to Kaguya's subtle hints did nothing but add fuel to the fire.

Despite that, she couldn't stop her little mind games, eventually to the point where Miyuki lost his consciousness due to excessive stress, also known as extreme lovesickness. Now time for a self-reflection lesson, what if you can discern your troublesome and nasty personality but can neither abandon it nor shoulder it? What if you isolate yourself from others in order to refrain from hurting others, just to realize you are wreaking much more havoc by doing so? Yes, that is the mental state of Kaguya Shinomiya. Although she was making amends, she fell in love and became more open, more amiable, that tragic past is still a burden she must shoulder all the way to the distant, uncertain future and subject herself to its daunting from time to time. But even so, the current Kaguya is the by-product of all those elemental reactions. Whenever you fall for someone, undoubtedly you don't like every aspect of that person, But if that person were to cherish even the worst aspect of a persona, isn't that the quintessential person for you, who will hold you dear, cherish every moment you spend together?

Moving on to Miyuki, I know a lot of people will disagree with me but I found Miyuki's thought process more identical. From the swamp-cleaning incident, Miyuki developed an extreme obsession with Kaguya, impelling his whole high school life to be revolved around her. What is left for him to do? Throwing away his timid self and disguising himself with a nonexistential brave and confident persona, ultimately becoming a man who can stand toe to toe with her. Subsequently selected the president, and accomplished his absolute goal yet there is still discontent in his heart. It is the lingering regret of being unable to make her fall for him with his true self, the feeling of not experiencing anything despite being presented with a generic french kiss. But what else can be done? Even though Kaguya indirectly told her it pains her to see him suffer and insisted him to take it easy, Miyuki is as persistent as ever. He is on an entirely different dimension than Kaguya, barely catching up to her despite trying two or three times more. He is too fragile to be an easygoing type.

And that's exactly where the contrasting personalities confront each other. From a subjective point of view, I believe both of them are fine. To love is to devote oneself to the other, to seek out your own pleasure by ensuring your partner's happiness. That all can be achieved only by completely blending with your partner. The more intimate they are, the less they can hope to be misinterpreted. However what if your destined one is on a whole other height, a near perfect being sought by everyone? Can you expect her to look at you let alone share a relationship together? That feat can be gained by polishing yourself and erasing all your weaknesses albeit on the surface level. Constantly fearing when she might slip out of the grasp. Both of these perspectives depend on how you perceive the term 'love'. Love isn't all about extravagance, kissing and elegantly dressed dates. As long as there is a mutual affection that is not bounded by anything, you can experience it ordinarily without any hurdles.

From an objective view, these perspectives may seem senseless and irrational but isn't love the most stupid and the most wonderful thing at the same time? It is most likely the case when its about high school love. They wander through their own fantasy world, overcome their own hurdles, worry about their own little silly things, take vital steps and envision their own future together. The crucial part is to accept each other including all the flaws. As well as believe in oneself and stick to your ideals while respecting the other party.


In summary, Kaguya Sama Movie is simply phenomenal. It doesn't try to be special since it was one from the very beginning. It provided me with arguably the best drama I have seen in a while. While it concluded on a positive note with the main couple, the progression between Ishigami and Iino was gravely ignored. Not only did they butchered the stairs scene, but they also skipped Tsubame's Christmas party chapters and to add salt to the wound they even showed a flashback of the guest room scene. I hope they won't miss it the next season. Hayasaka was as adorable as ever, despite being my least favorite cast Chika managed to spice things up with her comedic charm. The seiyuus knew what they were doing but I can't help but feel that Aoi Koga just ascended to a new level. I had my faith in A-1 pics as always but they have a bad habit of exceeding my expectations. They managed quality animation throughout the show and cast additional seasonals in places like the hospital scene and the date at the end. However Kaguya Sama was always my number one from the comedic aspect but I think they fell short in this sequel. Of course it was above average but the timing of throwing the comedy was slightly off the mark. Hope they will sort it out in the future. In a word, Kaguya-sama: Love is War -The First Kiss That Never Ends Movie is the epitome of the drama and the romance genre which will increase its influence for quite some time. I had very high expectations for Kaguya same movie and it certainly did meet all the criteria but would have been delighted if they had decided to make a series instead.

Anyway, this is my second review. Since I am not proficient with my words, some things might sound weird and contradicting so I sincerely apologize for it. Thanks for your patience.