MiNiSoTaN's Kaguya-Sama: Love is War Review
The main charm that I felt from Kaguya-sama: Love is War derived from it's ever expanding story. The premise of the anime is simple, two high-school students, both on the student council, want the other one to confess their feelings to them. They will do this by just about any means necessary. Although this plot may seem boring or uninteresting to some, believe me, the way it is written will leave you laughing throughout the course of the episode.
Even the simplest things from forgetting an umbrella on a rainy day to giving a piece of cake have been contrived by the two students into getting the other to confess. It's honestly incredible how thorough the writing is with the plans that have been made up. Jumping into this anime I wasn't sure what to expect but from the first episode it sucks you in with its witty humor.
Each episode has smaller mini segments in it. Each of these segments is laid out to be a plan by one student to get the other to confess. At the end of the segment the narrator states if the plan succeeded, failed. This is one of the parts I found to be pretty funny. The beginning shows how well thought out of a plan the character had only for it to be foiled by the smallest factor.
There isn't much more to say about the story beyond this. The formula is a simple one, but the story innovates and experiments with it in several ways to where you never feel bored. Each new episode brings forth new ideas and scenarios that are down right hilarious. The story of Kaguya-sama: Love is War is one that will always entertain you.
Miyuki Shirogane Being the class president, Shirogane is shown to be a hard worker, both in and outside of school. He is alwasy keeping himself busy whether it is through studying or his part time job, it seems like he can never catch his breath. Somehow he allocates time into devising a plan to make his vice-president confess her love to him. In all honesty, I really enjoy Shirogane's character. He is presented to be proud and stoic but once you peel back a layer it shows his true characteristics of worrying and sorrow. Shirogane does an excellent job as the being one of the main protagonists and fits in perfectly with the story.
Kaguya Shinomiya The other half of the main student body, Kaguya is almost the opposite in ever way compared to Shirogane. Where he has close to no money, she has an endless amount. Where he has a small house barely able to afford, she lives in a mansion. Kaguya on the outside to many have a tsundere type of personality, but on the inside she just wants attention from the people she loves. It's quite clear that the author put a lot of time and thinking into how to portray these characters because they both bounce off each other completely. Kaguya is probably my favorite character from the series.
Yuu Ishigami We all have a little Ishigami in us. The loner who would rather be at home, Ishigami is the tech guy of the student council. It seems like he can never really catch a break. He's deathly afraid of Kaguya and always seems to get on Chika's bad side, Ishigami must have some sort of curse on him. His character is quite enjoyable to watch on screen though. He adds a lot of dry humor to the mix and is refreshing in some over exaggerated scenarios.
Chika Fujiwara The biggest meme of 2018. You couldn't go anywhere online without finding Chika somewhere. Whether it be where odd facial expressions, strange remarks, or a remix of the popular Chika Dance, Chika was everywhere. She is a great character on screen too, I never found her to be overly annoying, she was always placed at the correct moment. I (and most would agree) think some of the funniest parts in the anime involve Chika.
Hayasaka, Ai Best Girl. That is all.
The art and animation is one of the shining points I wasn't expecting form this anime. A-1 Pictures always does a great job with their properties and this show is no different. Everything flows well and is fluid, but my main talking point is on the still images.
The faces in Kaguya-sama: Love is War change constantly in the mental monologues of characters. It is a comedic anime after all, they're not really going for realism here, I find it great that they had fun with drawing some hilariously funny stills. This one scene alone has some of my favorite moments
Not much to say about the music. I do adore the opening theme, but beyond that everything is pretty average. This isn't a soundtrack I would go back and listen to on a regular besides beyond the OP. I think it works well within the the dialogue and does its job well, but nothing mind blowing. In a comedic anime like this music is one of the least important aspects, so I don't really blame them too much though.
Overall I really enjoyed this show. I wish we got to see a lot more Hayasaka, but I'm ok to wait until season 2. The plot is simple, but they still find ways to make me laugh. The characters work great with each other, and the animation and art is top notch. If you want a show to make you laugh this is the one for you. Kaguya-sama Love is War is one of the funniest anime I have ever watched.
Favorite Episodes
Ep 1.
Ep 3.
Ep 6.
Ep 9.
Ep 11.
Official Scores
Story: (8/10)
Characters: (8/10)
Art: (9/10)
Music: (7/10)
Personal Enjoyment: (8/10)
FINAL SCORE: (8/10) GREAT
@MiNiSoTaN