By Naudika Williams
At a time, it seemed nothing was more challenging than confessing your feelings to your crush. Kaguya-sama: Love is War- Ultra Romantic is a series that relives those innocent times, even if it has a competitive twist. It’s not surprising this became the number one rated anime on MyAnimeList. These high schoolers are delusional, calculating, and straight-up manipulative to win the war of love. I had quickly consumed the first two seasons before planning my life around the third installment, which is the series finale.
As always, this will be a spoiler-free persuasive article to watch the series if you haven’t already. If you already have seen it, feel free to enjoy it with me as an online buddy.
What do you need to know so far?
Kaguya-sama: Love is War is a romantic comedy. In a school for the ultra-elite, rich, and superior, Student Council President Miyuki Shirogane and Vice President Kaguya Shinomiya are fighting to get the other to confess their love first. In their minds, love is a battlefield and whoever confesses first is the loser. Of course, this doesn’t make anything easy.
The season picks up where season two left off as they navigate the trials of getting each other to confess before the end of the Cultural Festival. Even if these two are proud to a fault, they’re not the Student Council club members developing crushes and affairs as it all leads up to the climatic finale.
If you like jokes based on exaggerated misunderstandings that are taken the furthest stretch of the imagination, every character gets their chance to shine and show off their punchlines. Every episode feels fresh because side characters come to the forefront and develop new, creative character dynamics. Fans will be happy to find out who can rap or some questionable fashion choices, but watching it unfold is worth the watch.
Also, unlike many anime shows, this series doesn’t rely on fan service. It’s definitely got its fair share of crude jokes about sex or boobs, but it refrains from explicitly showing it. The jokes still land, and the characters are still believable with their curiosity about adulthood. Still, I appreciate that I could watch this in a room and not feel bad when someone walks in.
After watching the finale, I knew the series wasn’t completed.
Towards the finale, you might feel thirteen episodes is not enough to end the series. I still had questions and needed more time to see certain characters to flesh out their storylines. It’s not surprising that the manga has over a hundred additional chapters after the events in the anime. However, there will be a movie after the events of the third season. If you’re impatient like me, you can always read the manga. I can certainly promise the humor only expands previous jokes to new heights.
Overall, if you need a comedic series that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this is on the top of my list to recommend. The characters are unique and manage to balance wholesome feelings with comedy. Despite the premature ending, I felt more than satisfied with the finale as a placeholder before the movie. In the battle of love, Kaguya-sama: Love is War- Ultra Romantic easily conquered a place in my heart.
