Kaguya-sama: Love is War is back again with the zany adventures of the student council. This time with even more hilarious dialogue and adorable moments.
To those unfamiliar with the anime, I’ll be quoting myself here in saying; It follows a prestigious high school and two of its smartest students Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane, who both work for the student council. They have both fallen for each other, and instead of confessing their feelings to one another like ordinary people, they compete to see who confesses first and whoever does, losses. This is all due to their pride and overwhelming ego.
Episode Synopsis
The second season opens with a dramatic James Bond-like sequence with Kaguya’s maid, Hayasaka (who goes to the same school as her) as she helps prevent anybody from entering the student council room to avoid misinterpretation by her peers.
This sequence was not only hilarious and wacky, but also well animated and narrated, giving off the same vibe as the first season. And just like the first season, the second is already filled with wholesome moments, such as when the whole gang decides to play a board game called the “Happy Life Game” suggested Fujiwara as a game of her own creation.
Both Kaguya and Shirogane are reluctant at first, but cave in eventually. This leads to more hilarity as both Shirogane and Kaguya are forced into some more awkward situations that include Marriage, enormous wealth, and pregnancy. This story succeeds in making me laugh multiple times, reminiscent of the previous season.
The third part of the episode, however, resembles the first season more so as it focusses more on the relationship between Kaguya and Shirogane. The episode shows us a scene between the two a year prior to the show and a colder Kaguya having a conversation about Shirogane’s birthday and her reluctance to ever bring it up again.
The episode cuts to the current year, and things have obviously changed. Ever since then, she remembers his birthday clearly and wishes to celebrate it. The rest of the episode then devolves into Kaguya trying to reveal Shirogane’s birthday to the rest of the student council as an excuse to bring it up. This part of the episodes successfully captures the two’s Tsundere tendencies quite well.
Analysis & Final Thoughts
Overall the season’s premiere was as good as expected, and a lot of fans are happy about it so far. I have no strong criticisms on the episode, asides the fact that the first two stories didn’t transition well and can easily confuse some.
With such a strong start to the season, I wonder how far the episodes can go in showcasing these two characters’ stubbornness. Will they finally confess their feelings? Probably not. At least not anytime soon, seeing as this is a romantic comedy anime, and the point is to stretch out character relationships as much as possible.
However, no other anime does this quite as well as Kaguya-sama does. It knows what kind of show it is and even laughs at these clichéd yet exhausting anime tropes, which is what draws a lot of viewers in. And thankfully, that factor still remains so far. This season also emits a higher level of production compared to the first. The animation is as crisp as ever, the soundtrack is amazing and matches the feel of the anime, and the voice acting is still well done.
So far, the season looks great, and I, for one, can’t wait to see more. The next episode of Kaguya-sama: Love is War season two is scheduled for release on April 18th on Funimation.
Are you a fan of Kaguya-sama: Love is War? Have you seen the first episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.