MSU Reviews #0001: Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

"kaguya-sama" is anime sans anime—the platonic Eastern cartoon you can find out there. if it must be described, it is best described as a blend of "Death Note" and "Spy x Family," wherein at least 65% of the dialogues are actually internal monologues, and another 15% can be attributed to a nagging narration voiceover that is essentially identical to other unnamed narrator "characters." the premise is simple: get the other to confess in exceedingly roundabout means—the classic "will they or won't they" formula in extremis.

the characters themselves are not worth mentioning by name. the two lead characters are essentially identical, aside from their sex; if anything, they are just permutations of one another. two other distinct personalities and traits are needed to truly distinguish them, hence their inclusion as side characters. the various scenarios, antics, and plotlines are similarly not noteworthy. the content of the show is actually inconsequential to discussing what it really represents stylistically—the bulk of its style (visual style aside, which is essentially pure representation and not actually worth discussing) is actually structural. the vast majority of the series episodes are not episodes in the traditional sense but rather 8-minute segments arranged in what appears to be chronological order. however, the justification for such a chronology is dubious, as a sense of linear progression through the episodes is shaky at best. it is far more akin to a "Spongebob Squarepants" or a "Courage The Cowardly Dog". rarely does anything occur to upset the status quo, because if such a cataclysmic event were to happen, the series would reach its ending far sooner than anticipated. each segment ends with a reset, resolving any tension between the two leads almost as soon as it arises.

this format, combined with the series' central premise as i've described, functions exactly how you’d expect it to in practice. the value of the show is found thusly, as pure amusement finding familiar characters in novel scenarios. however it is this very functioning of the series that handicaps any drama that does arise. for example, in the final two episodes, a lead character, in a moment of desperation, cherishes the time spent with her dear friends—yet nothing occurred in the series proper between these actors in the truest sense of pathos. the series can only insist such to the viewer.

i don't have a way to justify "kaguya-sama." frankly, i do not really care to find one. at the end of the day you are left not with a complete thought, but a single word: why?