A1 pictures have come a long way since they produced their first show Big Windup in 2007. Ever since then the studio has produced numerous animes that were based on Light Novels, Video Games, and Manga. Some of their popular works are Sword Art Online, Your Lie in April, Fairy Tail, The Idolm@ters, Black Butler and Anohana. Despite all of that I’ve partially never been a fan of their works because their works seem to suffer from bad execution.
When heard that Kaguya Sama was going to be produced by A1 Pictures I expected it to be another A1 trainwreck filled with pretty colours with no substance, incoherent plot that struggled to make sense and shameless waifu pandering. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case at all. What I got instead is a well written, charming and stylish show that singly handly brought me back to loving modern romcoms again after watching a bunch of mediocre to terrible modern romcoms in the last couple of years.
Character chemistry and comedy structure is the key to Kaguya Sama successes. Before I talk Kaguya Sama successes at character chemistry and comedy structure I will be talking about why many romcoms fail. To me, the most important element for any rom-com is character chemistry.
I’ve seen many rom-com anime crumble down before my eyes just because of the authors/directors failed to understand the importance of character chemistry.
When you have characters talk over each other without letting the other person speak nor having characters be total dipshits to each other for no reason then you got yourself some bullshit on your hand to every other element from romance, love triangles dating and plot twits get negated.
Thankfully Kaguya Sama doesn’t fall in those traps. The characters perfectly bounce with each other whenever its for humour or drama.
It creatively plays with my most hated cliches in anime being pointless misunderstandings. At times the characters may be a jerk to one another but these misunderstandings and jerk moments spice up the psychological elements in the show being the mind games.
Furthermore, these characters truly care and support one another as shown in the character-focused and post mind games segments. It knows how it set up its gags/comedy correctly, and it knows to deliver the punchline effectively. Kaguya Sama understands comedic timing and that aspect along really spices up the already masterful character chemistry in the show.
One of the unique additions of Kaguya Sama is the inclusion of a narrator that either enhance the comedy or plays with the character monologues. That feature alone made Kaguya Sama stand out from other romcoms plot and writing-wise and speaking about the plot.
This show plot is absolutely fantastic. To say that this show plot is well-executed wouldn’t give this show justice at all.
Kaguya Sama is a romcom anime with a unique twist which that’s a battle anime of the minds. Every episode we see Kaguya and Miyuki trying to confess to one another in the most ridiculous and mind screwing ways possible. I found every single battle to be engaging as not only the show is outstandingly well-paced but thanks to the aforementioned brilliant comedy structure the show becomes an unpredictable and hilarious thrill ride that hade me laugh. It’s beautifully paced, the gags never outstay their welcome and most of all this show is stylishly self-aware.
I must applaud the series director Shinichi Omata for taking full advantage for the medium that he is in as he made the anime adaptation the Kaguya Sama the definitive version of the story with fast pacing that synergies well the written story and characters of Kaguya Sama.
Naturally, the driving force for any romcom anime are the characters which once again Kaguya Sama excels.
Kaguya herself is without a question one of the best rom-com leads I have ever seen period, and she’s a fantastic character at that. I loved her dynamic chemistry towards the rest cast. She’s funny, super likeable and overall very dynamic.
On top of being a dynamic and likeable female lead that is fulled of personality, she’s also a very well written character that you can sympathise with. Through the 12 episode run, we learn so much as Kaguya from her been always transported to school instead of walking by herself due to family reasons to how she was a cold and manipulative person who never had any friends before joining the student council.
Running along as my second favorite character is Miyuki Shirogane I originally didn’t care for him in my first watch as I kept on re-watching this show multiple times he began to grow to a point he became not only the most interesting character of the show, but also as become one of my favorite rom-com leads period. Compare to Kaguya he comes from a rather poor background with no royal standings. Despite this he never lets his past overtake his determination.
Just like with Kaguya he gets a lot of character development through character segments. The Kaguya focused ones may be my favourite but the Miyuki focused ones were the most interesting due to them diving to his poor background.
I was a bit scared when I saw Chika because I had a bad experience with comedic refiles in anime mainly because they either outstay they, welcome or exist to screw up the tone with their unfunny and dry humour.
Luckily Chika doesn’t fall into the pitfalls of other comedic relief characters. I would even go as far that she’s one of the best comedic reliefs ever. She’s the Joker playmaker of the show’s brilliant comedy and seeing her mess around with the Kaguya and Miyuki always put a big smile on my face effectively treating them as her playthings of chaos.
She surprisingly gets some character development in the show partially in one episode where she volunteers to help Miyuki at improving his throw for volleyball. That alone really shows the human side of Chika. Even though she the Joker of the show she’s willing to help and support her friends in need.
Oh, by the way, the Chika dance in episode two is one of the most brilliant things, I have seen from the last decade. Seriously whoever came up with the Chika dance should have won an award.
Lastly we the Yu Ishigami. The depressed emo dude who steals the scene everytime he shows up on screen. From he’s over the top antics at his relatable character development in the season which will get expand upon in season 2 Yu adds another layer to the shows great humour. You cannot help but feel bad for him every time he’s on-screen. Yu has a strong character dynamic towards the cast.
There’s not much I can say about the supporting characters because are barely any, to begin with. Other than Kaguya’s personal valet Ai the supporting characters seem to come and go.
For the longest time, I wasn’t a fan of A1 Pictures art style as many of the shows especially the LN adaptations look the same. Yes, there was a few exceptions like Wotaku, Black Butler and Magi but more often or not A1 Pictures have a nasty habit of using the same character models for their shows.
Lucky the visuals staff of A1 Pictures decided to ditch out their generic character model practice in favour of staying very fateful to Aka Akasaka art-style and because of that Kaguya is a beautiful spectacle. From the visual direction, background scenery and character designs A1 Pictures did a fantastic job at bringing Aka Akasaka art-style to life. Add this up to the stylish clean colour palette and striking animation and you end up with a beautifully stylish show. This is A1 Pictures at its best when it comes to presentation and I don’t think it will ever be topped.
The soundtrack of Kaguya Sama is phenomenal. It features a diverse musical score of orchestral, trumpet, violin, piano tracks that give the show atmosphere and tension.
Kaguya Sama soundtrack is made better by the show’s brilliant use of sound effects which perfectly land along with the comedic timing.
The opening and ending themes are fantastic. Not only they were catchy songs in their own, but they are filled with visual flair that perfectly captured the tone of the anime.
Honestly, this show screams passion and effort and the opening and ending themes for Kaguya are no expectation. The voice acting is top all across the board and since this is a psychological rom-com I can tell that the Seiyuus had a blast voicing their respective characters. Best performances go to rising stars Aoi Koga as Kaguya and Konomi Kohara as Chika
There’s currently no English dub from the time of this review but thanks to Funimation recently licencing the series it will get a dub sometime this year. All I can say is please don’t screw it up.
Kaguya Sama is a textbook example of how to do a rom-com anime. It is an anime that filled with passion and soul which many rom-com from the last decade lack. The over the top stylish nature may not certainly be for everyone but if you can pass that then you end with amazingly crafted rom-com that has splendid visuals, superb characters, magnificent character chemistry, and a splendid soundtrack.
If you’re tired of watching mediocre romcom anime from the last decade, I strongly recommend Kaguya Sama Love is War. It’s a fantastic piece that I will gladly remember for a long time and I pray that season 2 will be just as good if not better than season 1.
Is Kaguya Sama anime worth watching?
Love is War is one of the most unforgettable animes ever! The love/rivalry between Shinomiya and Shirogane is a hilarious and entertaining story, and the animation is just incredible! Even the other characters, Fujiwara and Ishigami, are so well fleshed out and they just make me laugh my head off!
Is Love Is War Ultra romantic good?
Overall, Ultra Romantic was a satisfying conclusion to the series, even if the com in rom-com felt a bit off. If you've been putting off completing this series like I had, I highly suggest sitting down with it on a free weekend and having a bit of a laugh.
Why kaguya sama is so popular?
Kaguya-sama steers away from a continuous linear storyline, making each one-shot a character-driven story. The story follows model student council President and Vice President, Shirogane and Shinomiya, in their overarching mission to trick each other into a heartfelt confession of love.
Is Love Is War a good show?
I really do love this show tho and it's probably one of my first recommendations for a romance anime [after Horimiya probably]. So, if you do watch it, I can safely say you will enjoy nearly every second of it. Okay now back to the review. Premise: Love is War!