DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ComedyKaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensaitachi no Renai Zunousen
MANGA ComedyKaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensaitachi no Renai Zunousen
ANIME ComedyKaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Ultra Romantic
OVA ComedyKaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensaitachi no Renai Zunousen OVA

REVIEWS

• 

  AnimeDweeb

  90/100
  TODAY'S BATTLE RESULT...

  

  "This time, I swear I'll make you say it!"

  Kaguya could not have chosen a better time to make its comeback!

  This year in anime was already off to a slow start in Winter, and the growing pandemic forced plenty of big names to get dropped from Spring’s lineup. Yet against all odds, Love is War (LiW) still hit our screens, even though its freshman outing premiered just a year ago. And the show has continuously cracked me up ever since! LiW S2 is a brilliant sequel, on-par with its entertaining predecessor and with no signs of slowing down. I highly recommend you check out the first season if you haven’t already, it’s a stellar watch on its own right. With that, let’s take a good look at what you can expect from the Student Council’s second outing.

  

  Love is War S1 caught lightning in a bottle with its dramatized premise, gut-busting humor, and creative presentation.

  The initial setup of two intelligent individuals vying for the other’s confession was a fascinating hook. However, I always felt the show really found its footing when it gradually dropped that pretense and had our “smart” leads devolve into lovesick idiots. You’ll be relieved to hear that S2 doesn’t lose this momentum, as it wastes no time in welcoming us back to the OTT hijinks that made the first season so special. This sequel intends to do a lot more than play the same Death Note mind games in the Student Council Room though. If anything, the Prez and his crew are forced to leave their precious room behind! That’s right; Kaguya, Shirogane, Chika and Ishigami have come to the end of their term in the Council.

  Taking our cast outside the confines of their comfort zone, S2 takes the opportunity to expand on its predecessor

  by bringing Shuchi’in Academy to life. The show’s signature brand of comedy goes a long way to make this change work, as do LiW’s diverse ensemble of secondary characters. Fresh new faces and recurring pals (Kei Shirogane and Best Girl Ai Hayasaka are showstoppers in every scene they’re in) get more opportunities to play off our main four, with sketches that feel fresh while not straying far from its winning formula. Another distinct highlight of this season is the looming presence of its arcs. These overarching plotlines, while mostly inconsequential on their own right, add doses of excitement and raise personal stakes for our central characters.

  

  LiW S2 wants to keep you in for the long haul, and it achieves this by steadily developing the goofballs we’ve come to know and love.

  We gotta talk about the main couple’s love battle, and boy do things get taken up a notch! Best Girl Kaguya and “KAICHŌ!” Shirogane continue to be overwhelmed by their feelings for one another, escalating to the point where our once confident masterminds now struggle to maintain composure in the most basic of interactions. Our respectable President throws his calm and collected nature out the window, and the impenetrable Ice Queen is more vulnerable than ever. S2 continues to pile on the tension built up from the prior season’s ending, having me on strings as I anticipate a devastating checkmate.

  Even as the war rages on, that’s far from all the series has to offer;

  the biggest surprises from this season come from how the show dives deeper into its side characters. Sharing the spotlight with our main ship is Yuu Ishigami and newcomer Miko Iino (full thoughts on her below in the spoiler-free “Stray Ramblings” section^). Both of these unique individuals get their times to shine, and I can’t wait to find out what’s in store for those two in the future. Now, if you’re waiting to hear about Best Girl (it’s the third time and counting, I know) Chika… well, there are no words that can adequately capture her awesomeness, is there? As the agent of chaos for most of our sketches in S1, Chika largely takes a step back from that role now that the other cast members are stepping up. But don’t fret just yet, Fujiwara fans; our favorite secretary is still a big part of some sketches and an ever-flowing fountain of memes.

  

  Now all these ambitious ideas sound all fine and dandy, but you may ask if the end result is any good.

  The answer? A resounding YES!

  LiW S2 deftly manages to deliver arguably more laughs than its first season while refusing to hold back on more emotional beats. It may be surprising to hear that Director Shinichi Omata is also the man behind the well-crafted Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu Duology! Although the two shows could not be further apart in tone, he demonstrates his storytelling prowess by absolutely nailing LiW’s comic timing, dramatic tension and cathartic payoffs. Visual presentation in S2 is especially noteworthy, as the animators continue push the envelope with visually-striking art styles and fun references. A keen eye can find several moments where the art and animation drop off, but those didn’t bother us back in S1! LiW more than makes up for any concessions in this department expertly and is a model example for how other shows should manage their art direction. Yet another highlight is every member of the cast delivering god-tier voice acting performances. Aoi Koga brings her A-game in each episode, and let’s not forget Yumiri Hanamori for making “HEY, HEY” Hayasaka the meme of Spring 2020. Speaking of the memes, just wow. S2 is a treasure trove of memorable, hilarious bits.

  The direction, art, voice acting and sound design come together perfectly for some of the most funny moments I’ve had the gut-busting pleasure of experiencing all year.

  

  LiW pretty much checks all the good stuff in my book. The only gripe I have with S2 is that the OP & ED are inferior to last seasons, but that’s just nitpicking by my standards. I’m thrilled that I have been able to enjoy Kaguya to the extent that I have, it has been a highlight for the week whenever I put it on the telly.

  My only concern is, how long can this honeymoon period last?

  Due to the formulaic nature of the show, there’s a chance that future seasons don’t meet the standards of the show we’ve come to love. It’s gonna be a tall order to ask the show to keep the laughs coming as frequently while providing enough progression in the main ship to keep me invested. That being said, the team behind LiW have given me plenty of reasons to back their play for at least a while longer^^. S2 is as sharp as the series has ever been, and I keenly await what’s next in store for the Student Council.

  

  Tl;Dr:

  Love Is War Season 2 has been a blast from start to finish. I can think of few shows that have had me return to my childlike self (kinda like Sick Kaguya), as if I was 7 again and getting up bright and early for Sunday cartoons. 2020 has been a pretty bleak time for a lot of people, myself included. Yet, LiW has shone through the cracks and brightened my days throughout its run. Packing laughs galore and cathartic character beats, S2 is as fun a ride as its predecessor, and I intently anticipate its return. Not just for the outcome of that love battle, but also for the joy of having a Sunday cartoon to look forward to once more. TODAY’S BATTLE RESULT: 9/10~

  STRAY RAMBLINGS:

  • ^Miko Iino is a pretty cool addition to the cast. A first year introduced in the Election Arc, she’s an upstanding student who holds herself and those around her to a high code of conduct. Her role in the show is one that’ll take time to get used to, for both the audience and the rest of the Council. Thankfully the show doesn’t make her out to be a major character we’re forced to like, as in the case of someone like Chloe in The Fairy Oddparents. Instead, her arc speaks for itself and it leaves a positive impression. Once that’s done, she complements the sketches well, playing the straight man occasionally for some good laughs. Miko really is the odd one out in our crew, mostly because everyone else is so distinctly zany! I like how her righteous work ethic makes even the Prez look sloppy by comparison. Again, she’s not an intrusive inclusion to LiW, but I’m pretty curious with how she’ll be incorporated in future sketches and if she’ll bring a more distinct flavor of humor to the table. Looking forward to it!

  

  • ^^That, and I saw a couple of spoilers that give me hope for what’s to come. Taking one for the team ;)
  • We all knew something big was coming when Ep 7 dropped the end credits with 5 mins to go. Massive props to the team for overhauling its art style and committing so hard to the bit! It’s not the best joke the show pulled off, but I definitely respect the grind.

  

  This must be the will of Steins Gate...

  • Speaking of stellar episodes, holy shit no. 11 was heavy. This was the biggest demonstration of those dramatic touches I was talking about. I’m pleasantly surprised people responded so well to the episode, even though it deviated the furthest from the comedic stuff. I certainly loved it to bits myself!
  • Guys, we gotta stay safe while Covid is still about. So whenever you're outside, be sure to:

  

  Practice social distancing, and...

  

  Put on a mask at all times.

  • BEST GIRL: My weak heart tells me Kaguya, my 3-IQ brain tells me Chika, my chin-chin tells me Hayasaka. But deep down you and I both know that Ishigami, introvert extraordinaire and Champion of Boxer Briefs, is Best Girl of the season. Ishigami FTW

  

  • With that, my seasonal wrap-up for Spring ’20 has come to its end! Thanks for making it this far, I truly appreciate you stoppin’ by. Check out my other reviews if you like this verbose style of overanalysis, and stay tuned for more to come. Peace~
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• 

  AlucardNoYuuutsu

  30/100
  All in all, this season was repetitive, it outstayed its welcome and it was an unfunny journey all along.

  [Minor "spoilers" might be included here: they're not too important and merely references, just a warning for people who don't want to know absolutely anything]

  Kaguya-sama: Love is War is an anime that came out during Winter 2019 and since then, it has become quite a very popular and well-received series. I'm not going to lie, I liked the first season a lot when it first came out, but my tastes towards anime and things as a whole has changed a lot since that period, in fact I don't like the first season that much anymore, so my negative perspective towards this new one would probably apply to the first season too if I re-watched it. Or perhaps, Kaguya-sama just outstayed its welcome.

  As I said before, I'm not sure I'd like the first season if I re-watched it, but I'm dead sure that it would be more enjoyable than watching this one. Kaguya seemed a lot fresher back in 2019 because it brought a kind of unique way to portray a comical romcom anime, using a "psychological" approach through the two protagonists trying to be confessed to each other without doing it directly. Well, the main problem is that this season brings little to no difference whatsoever, using the same over the top and exaggerated formula, which results in this season being a chore to watch. In fact, I NEVER laughed during this whole season. Not at all. Zero. I chuckled so few times that I can count them on the fingers of one hand. In fact, this repetition might have exposed what was unnoticed to my eyes because of the novelty that I thought was there. The "Huh we're in love but we cannot say it so we're going to do everything stupid" gimmick still remains and it's basically unchanged with the apparent progress in the relationship being just a comical factor. I'm sick of it, because it gets annoying after a while.

  My problem with Kaguya-sama is the fact that it tries SO HARD to be funny in every way possible through supposedly "strange and original" gimmicks. This is the problem: it's overthought to the point of not being funny anymore. An example is its use of a narrator that says "a character is walking" while the anime shows that a characters is, indeed, walking. What's the point when the anime doesn't need any? That's overdoing it and makes it more unfunny than it already is. Additional unfunny and stretched things are the overuse of the so-called "psychological" stuff: over the top mental trips that have no meaning, its use repetition that in some anime is funny but in this case it simply isn't. How many times did Iino Miko walk inside the room and find Kaguya & Shirogane doing misunderstandable things? This reaches to the point where I can predict what's going to happen in a lot of moments and that's a terrible thing for a comic anime that relies on taking the viewer by surprise.

  Another thing I hated in this season is the fact that some moments looked like they were never supposed to be funny. An example is the election moment. What am I supposed to get out of it when it's an anime that's supposed to be comical? The atmosphere was tense for absolutely no reason and made me question: "What the hell is this supposed to be?" - The same goes for some other moments that I'm not going to write about. Anyways: I'm not going to feel like I have to take seriously this one, when it had one moment where Kaguya fainted, they brought her to the hospital, to be visited by a DOCTOR and... HUH it's a "sickness" that makes your heart beat when Shirogane is around. Yeah. When they were talking about it, while I thought "well, this will probably turn out to be some stupid joke too", on the other hand it might've been some serious stuff. Turns out it wasn't, so every time this will happen in the next events, I'm not going to take it seriously, regardless of it being a joke or not and this damages any good intentions that the series might've had to tackle greater themes. Speaking of which, in episode 11 they decided to talk about ISHIGAMI'S DIFFICULT PAST out of the blue, but I'll focus on it in the next section...

  Story and characters? Well... there's not much to talk about. The story is still the same: Kaguya and Shirogane are in love but because the writer said so they're never going to confess until this series stops being profitable and its fans get sick of it (never). As I said before, there's basically no progress in their relationship and everything that happens between them is taken as a joke so... nothing there. I wouldn't mind a dumb nonexistent story if the anime was actually funny, but since it's NOT, well, I'm looking for anything to grab hold of. Characters? Oh well - they haven't changed at all since the last season, they remain the exact same cliches and they're just bounded to their own gags, perhaps they're even more ridiculed: Kaguya doesn't want to confess, Shirogane doesn't want to confess, Chika is Chika, Ishigami is still an incel nerd and isn't the character the makes me laugh out loud anymore, Hayasaka Ai says "haha me secretly crazy am I cool yet am I cool yet", the new "character" Iino Miko is as deep as a glass of water and all we know about her is that she walks inside the room and find Kaguya & Shirogane doing misunderstandable things. As I mentioned before, they decided to talk about ISHIGAMI'S DIFFICULT PAST in episode 11, but what's the point of it being there? The two leads are parodies of themselves, the apparent progress is not taken seriously, so why would an episode about his past make someone a real character? The series is joke-oriented and comical, so it's not like, say, this character is very sad all the time in this drama series and now that we know more about him we can empathize and feel his sadness. No, since the rest of the series is just jokes, the characters are just going to be ridiculous for the rest of the series, so it's completely pointless. The real purpose is just trying to make the series SEEM actually deep behind its comical mask with layers of depressing background. Yeah, seem, because it's just empty, after all.

  The art is cool, nothing that blows my mind but it's definitely not bad too look at. Other than that, of course Kaguya-sama stretches and tries to put random writings, colours and styles of drawing, just to be exaggerated and try to be ridiculous in every aspect possible (Teen Titans GO-core).
  About sound, there is not much to say about it: it's background music to add up to the "atmosphere" and nothing to listen outside of it. OP is sung by the same dude who sung the first one, so it's something I'd never listen to seriously, the ED is nothing out of the ordinary too.
  Well, I don't mind these two aspects that much.

  All in all, this season was repetitive, it outstayed its welcome and it was an unfunny journey all along. Don't think of me as a pretentious guy who wants DEEP PHILOSOPHY in every bit of anime, in fact I really enjoyed other comical anime; what I mean is: when I watch simple non-comical anime with a bit of slice of life, there are plenty of times in which I smile or chuckle, because I don't pretend THAT much, I prefer simple things than "overdone and overthought to the point of unfunny" gags that try too hard.
  Well, it looks like I'm the minority here, since this season has a busted 8.93 mean score.

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• 

  CodeBlazeFate

  87/100
  What could have just been more of the same instead stepped up to deliver an astounding sophomore season

  The first season of Kaguya-sama: Love is War was a breakout success. With its over the top direction and comedy along with its cast of well-rounded characters with amazing chemistry, the show became easily one of A-1 Pictures’ best works. On top of that, it was helmed by an acclaimed director of Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Shinichi Omata. Not only did he return for a second season, but the show would be adapting material manga fans consider to generally be better than what the first 12 episodes covered. With such lofty expectations, it’s difficult to see how a show would really top itself, at least until you see it in action.

  Visually speaking, it’s an absolute oddity. There are moments where the show tries to escape its blander art style and delve more into something different and more appealing, only for most of the show to retain what it had before. The inconsistency between these two styles reminds me of the strange and ever-shifting artwork quality in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig. Said instability may be the weakest aspect of the show’s visuals outside of the inconsistently handled CGI, but if that’s the worst aspect, then the show’s still among the best in the studio’s catalog from a visual perspective. Shinichi Omata and his team have decided to play with the medium even more than last time. Were the optical illusion backgrounds not enough? Then the show will play with aspect ratios and screen filters, even having jokes where a character’s hand gestures affect both the screen size and loudness of the audio. The show will sometimes shift styles entirely for the sake of certain gags, such as when the show obtains a shoujo manga art style or switches to a fighting game perspective. Each new technique the show fiddles around with feels purposeful and for the sake of bolstering the show’s visual gags and overall stellar comedy. The animation itself is even more fluid in the first season as well and the show hasn’t forgotten how to make genuinely gorgeous shots, either.

  Kei Haneoka’s music has not faltered much, either. There are not too many new standout tracks this season, but the few there are take a less comedic approach, such as “close attendant” and the track “birthday” which has a more grandiose and emotional feel to it. That singular track is perhaps a personal favorite for the entire series up to that point. The OST at times has a more emotion-driven feel to it, which fits the direction the season takes. The gag “opening” sequence in the shoujo gag from episode 7 is also one of the show’s multiple vocal tracks which are all good in their own right. Lastly, w I am no fan of the ED, the OP, “DADDY! DADDY! DO!” by Masayuki Suzuki feat. Airi Suzuki is a fun, jazzy bop that rivals that of the first season.

  With the audiovisuals out of the way, it’s time to get down to what makes season 2 a somewhat different beast than its equally funny predecessor. Outside of the last 2 episodes, the first season of Kaguya-sama was more about establishing its characters and their dynamics while planting the seeds for things to come. Meanwhile, this second season can basically be split into 2 arcs with one overarching story of Kaguya and Shirogane’s awkward romance cat and mouse games remaining a constant. The first half of the season is about newcomer Miko Lino and the rivalry she develops against Miyuki Shirogane during the student elections of the new school year. She’s a surprisingly endearing new addition to the cast as an absolute hardass dork, though she certainly cannot compete with the main 4. The second half focuses on the sports festival and what our main leads do to prepare for and conquer it while Miko integrates into the main cast lineup. One thread tying these two together is Ishigami, the dark horse from last season. He effectively comes into the forefront for the bulk of the season with a compelling character arc that puts everything about him and how certain characters react to him into perspective. If season 1 didn’t establish him as a personal favorite of mine, then these 12 episodes most certainly have.

  This isn’t to say the rest of the cast doesn’t pull their weight. The series has always been incredible at continually expanding on its characters and their dynamics. Kaguya’s progression towards being increasingly vulnerable and adorkable when it comes to her cat and mouse romance with manwhore Shirogane is as priceless as Shirogane’s arcs with her or how the show spotlights more times he has to be brought down to learn something new. Chika, who usually teaches him these things at the cost of her own physical and mental health, has been relegated to more of a dark horse position this time as her agent of chaos moments have been dialed back. Seeing her get more violent and frustrated is also an absolute joy to witness. Even outside of these characters, Ai Hayasaka’s growing frustration and humiliation over Kaguya’s embarrassing behavior regarding Shirogane is wonderful to witness. Other characters such as Tsubame and Shirogane’s dad have their own moments to shine as well whenever Shirogane’s and Ishigami’s arcs come to the forefront. It’s safe to say that by the time the inevitable season 3 rolls around, the show will have established quite the ever-expanding ensemble cast. Of course, some of their humorous antics would not be the same without the over the top voice acting and outstanding directing present, but it’s clear that Shinichi Omata and his team are working with a manga that really has a way with writing both main and side characters.

  It’s not hard to see why fans of the source feel that the series gets better over time. Not only did this season put into perspective a lot of the character dynamics and gags from season 1, it also amped up its bombastic presentation from both a visual and voice acting perspective. What could have just been more of the same instead stepped up to deliver an astounding sophomore season of perhaps my favorite anime comedy at the time of writing. Its sweetest and most heartfelt moments are even more endearing and powerful than before while the chaotic, over the top comedy remains rock-solid for those who liked it beforehand. Can the narrator sometimes overexplain things when he’s at his best when riffing on the main cast? Absolutely. Is the pacing a bit weird at times with there being more chapters and gags put into each episode? Perhaps. However, that’s not enough to derail top-tier writing or uproarious presentation. Here’s to a third season in 2021 where the show will vie for the title of AOTY for 3 years in a row. The quaint finale cannot be the end.

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