If someone shits on Kaguya-sama in front of me, I have only one reply for them. “Urusai, baaka!”
Kaguya-sama: Love is War was a great show and one of my favorites of the year 2019. It had an entertaining cast of main characters, a group of just as amusing side characters that made an appearance every now and then, and to freshen things up, a simple yet compelling tale about two geniuses trying to outwit each other in a totally contrasting way to Light and L from Death Note, with top tier comedy to top it all off. It had certain elements that we’d previously seen ... but the overall product of everything it offered was something very unique.
Now, take everything I said above and add a progressive plot, some more characters who’re just as delightful as the ones introduced last season and the previous cast getting development as well as becoming even more charming. All this executed so spectacularly that even the first season that I liked so much pales in comparison. Oh, and also, add sick animation, a captivating OP and OST, and you’ve got what Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 offers.
In short, this season has all of what made the first season great and does it better. To me, Kaguya-sama S2 is almost a perfect Slice of Life/romcom. This season has taken Kaguya-sama to the top echelon of romcom or heck, even SOL anime in general, in my list.
The first season was an introduction to the characters, focusing more on telling the tale in an episodic fashion without a lot of story progression. This season instead, focuses on the plot moving forward. Instead of hilarious episodic stories, we get hysterical episodes with the plot progression every inch of the way. The academic year is about to end so tensions rise during the student council president election as a new foe appears, Shirogane’s family is explored more and Ishigami’s character is fleshed out in the latter half of the season. The anime is not about just making you laugh now. It’s about trying to make you cry before having you burst out laughing, rolling on your couch.
One of the (many) reasons why Kaguya-sama shines over other romcoms is because it’s not afraid of doing where most of them would falter. You want the main protagonist being called a manwhore for multiple episodes? It’s got you covered. You want a Monogatari scene reprised? Gotcha. You want a guy’s father saying how his high school son is still a kid and his hair down there hasn’t even sprouted yet to a girl’s father? Sure, it’s there. You want the female lead to think about all the intricacies of the male’s underpants? Oh, you’ll get that. Point to remember, Kaguya-sama is still rated as PG-13.
Misunderstandings are the source of a lot of comedy and that’s one thing that you’ll find in a lot of romcoms. Kaguya-sama though managed to create amusing moments not in spite of them, but because of them. I could watch entire episodes on the same jokes and still wouldn’t get bored. But no, we don’t get the same joke used over and over. You’ll have tens of new ones every episode.
In this season too, Kaguya continues in her quest to make Miyuki Shirogane confess his love to her. Same goal but the approach has changed. Or rather, evolved. She’s a lot bolder in this season using tricks as well as other people, to be put Shirogane into difficult situations. And sometimes, this puts her in situations that she loves yet fears. This is when, the best girl of the season for me, at least for the first few episodes, Hayasaka Ai comes to her aid. Oh, how I’ve loved every moment of watching her. She shows us a side of her personality that I didn’t think she had. And then turns into another character who’s almost unrecognizable. Frightening!
Now, let’s talk about Miyuki Shirogane. Out of all of the main characters in the series, he’s the least talked about and the most underrated. Ishigami-kun is everyone’s best boy while all the girls are contenders for best girl. But our protagonist just doesn’t get enough love from the fans. To me, he was the hero in this season. And he was the hero to the characters as well. He goes out of his way to help people; people whom he doesn’t know that well, and helping them in a way that wouldn’t really benefit him. When, in the biggest moment of her high school life, Iino Miko faces a problem that’s haunted her all her life, Miyuki comes to the rescue, disregarding the fact that it puts his own reputation and image on the line. When Ishigami can’t deal with his problems, current and past, Miyuki gives him a shoulder to lean on. And of course, he’s always there for Kaguya. His acts of selfless heroism made him the character I most enjoyed watching this season. Of course, the others had their arcs and moments but in all of those, Miyuki was the focal point at the most prominent moments. He’s the hero this world needs but doesn’t deserve. Truly a chad!
The character who got the most development was undoubtedly Ishigami Yu. As I said above, he’s best boy for a ton of fans and for good reason. The Ishigami arc in S2 had been hyped up by the manga readers and although I personally wouldn’t put it on a pedestal over the other arcs in S2 (to me, the entire season was top notch and I can’t put one arc over the other), delving into his past and exploring his character was fantastically handled. We not only get to see why he’s become so afraid of associating with people, but also him overcoming that and recognizing that the people around him are not as awful as he’d thought they’d be. There’s so much room for growth with him and I’m really looking forward to seeing more of the same in the future.
The best aspect of the show? I was in quite a conundrum when I asked myself this question. The season is so well rounded that neither could I think of a real weakness, nor could I find something that I could put over the other aspects that easily. The clean and smooth animation, a deep dive into the characters’ past and personalities, the use of a pretty good OST, Daddy Daddy Doo and everything I’ve mentioned earlier were all so brilliantly executed. Even so, I can’t help but applaud one thing over all of these: the voice acting. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the other facets lacked in comparison. No, no. It’s just that I don’t think I’ve ever come across an anime or a show in general, in which I could so easily make out that the level of voice acting I was experiencing was exemplary.
The Japanese voice acting industry is brimming with talent and we see extraordinary performances from these guys all the time. But the level of voice acting from all of the people involved in Kaguya-sama S2 and the range that they exhibited just made me appreciate that what I was experiencing was the makings of something truly special. I feel that most voice actors are able to show their true talent in a show in which they’re able to convey a multitude of emotions and SOL/romcom have the most freedom in that regard. Some of my other favorite comedy shows have had superb voice acting like Saiki Kusuo, Grand Blue, Great Teacher Onizuka but I felt that the voice acting in Kaguya-sama S2 surpassed all of those. Could it be recency bias? Possible but I still can’t find any that I’ve watched that I can say has an undeniably better voice acting performance than this. The cast for Kaguya-sama is very young. For most of them, Kaguya-sama is like a breakthrough anime through which could take that leap which makes them one of the top names in the industry. And I honestly believe they’ve done that. The ones who impressed me most were Yumiri Hanamori and of course, Aoi Koga, the VAs for Hayasaka and Kaguya respectively. The range of tonal shifts that they displayed is fascinating and a treat to listen to. Just watch a video of them voicing Kaguya and Hayasaka and you’ll understand exactly what I mean.
Kaguya-sama is easily my Anime of the year thus far. And right now, I can only see two anime, both sequels that could potentially take that title this year, for me at least. Oregaieru S3 and Attack on Titan S4, if it does indeed air this year, are the two. And if they manage to surpass or even equal what Kaguya-sama S2 did, then we’re in for something epic. I’ll miss watching Kaguya-sama every week until Season 3 comes out. It was an anime that truly enhanced the source material and turned it into something very, very special.
Alternative Titles Synonyms: Kaguya Wants to be Confessed To: The Geniuses' War of Love and Brains 2nd Season, Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen 2nd Season, Kaguya-sama: Love is War 2nd Season Japanese: かぐや様は告らせたい?~天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦~ Information Type: TV Episodes: 12 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Apr 11, 2020 to Jun 27, 2020 Premiered: Spring 2020 Broadcast: Saturdays at 23:30 (JST) Licensors: Aniplex of America Studios: A-1 Pictures Source: Manga Genre: Comedy Demographic: Seinen Duration: 24 min. per ep. Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older Statistics Score: 8.631 (scored by 863,890 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #772 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #97 Members: 1,345,102 Favorites: 18,808 Available AtResources |
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