Kaguya-sama: Love is War is a great example of evolution in a story that feels natural without ever really forgetting its roots. It's also heavily based in character relationships which continuously develop throughout the story.

This manga is a slice of life romcom that starts off with the premise that whoever confesses first in a relationship is the weaker one in it, and will in turn be dominated. Now, step in the student counsel president Sirogane and vice-president Kaguya, who both have feelings for each other but are too prideful to confess, lest they be overtaken by the other one. But they both want to be with each other. So how do they work out this dilemma? By using underhanded tactics to try to get the other one to confess their love of course. I really love the way the story starts off since it is a new and refreshing take on a romcom. These characters are intelligent and they use that to create really elaborate schemes that are really fun to watch unfold. Unfortunately, this beginning premise is only around for the first few dozen chapters until it turns into more traditional romcom territory, adds new characters, explores character histories which take a very serious tone compared to the rest of the stories and eventually starts to wind its way back to the original plot lines revolving around deception. There is actually quite a lot of time exploring the lives of the side characters in the student counsel, which makes the cast seem a whole lot fuller than it initially does.

The characters in this manga and their interactions are what make it so interesting. Each one of them is unique with their own quirks and life philosophies, and the chemistry between any pair of them is really fun to see. It offers a look at multiple sides of each character as they interact with each other that makes them feel well rounded and real. Each one of them faces their own challenges at different times throughout the story and they all have their own goals and ambitions that sometimes clash and sometimes work out well together. Something big that you begin to notice as the story goes on is that the characters start to understand themselves a lot more as the chapters go by. They begin to be more honest with themselves, which in and of itself is a great contrast with the deceptive nature of the first few chapters. They begin to understand that they want things like love more than whatever crazy beliefs they have about it or any obstacles they might see in the way. They begin to look at their own problems and shortcomings in the face and work to solve them. And their honesty towards themselves is really sort of honored in a way by the characters around them who accept them for who they really are. It's really heartwarming to see everyone change and grow to become more mature characters.

It's really hard to talk about Kaguya-sama without mentioning the comedy aspect, since I'd say that it falls more heavily in the com then rom. It's hard to say exactly what type of comedy you should expect, but I'd say that a big portion of it is based around a sort of a difference in expectation with reality, where these rich and talented characters are actually really inept at a lot of basic things, some of it is based on irony, and there are a few more that I can't list off the top of my head. I'd say that there weren't many times I found myself laughing out loud, but a majority of the jokes it had did give a slight chuckle. I'd say that it's not meant for everyone, so you have to check it out for yourself. All that isn't to say that the romance parts of it weren't great though. I really liked a few of the chapters of significant romantic development since the characters get really awkward and cute about it.

Overall Kaguya-sama: Love is War is a funny, romance filled story with characters that can enjoy themselves while also growing in the process. When the story wants to be funny it's funny, when it wants to be serious it's serious and when it wants all cute and romantic it does so in spades. It's a story that grows and changes as you read it, and it won't disappoint.