Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Ultra Romantic

*Potential spoilers below

Love is complicated, scary, fleeting, but certainly not war. For Kaguya and Miyuki, though, it is. For months upon months, they have played this game where whoever confesses first loses, having lots of fun along the way, but when faced with a time constraint, was all this “war” a waste of time? Love doesn’t always wait for us, people come and go, and that’s why people must take advantage of every opportunity to be with those they love.

Watching this third season of Kaguya-sama was like watching the last act of a play, or listening to the last verse of a song. It felt ... like at the end of this cour, something momentous would happen, and the characters would step away from the status quo, starting potentially a new journey in their lives.

I have to credit mangaka Aka Akasaka’s brilliant storytelling and hysterical comedy in the original work, but I can’t give enough credit to the wonderful work of A-1 Pictures, the animators, and all the staff working on this passion project. The anime brings the manga to life so well, with adaptations shattering all expectations. For example, that rap sequence in Episode 5 this season was one of the best single anime episodes I have ever witnessed, with references that made me shocked. Throughout the series, we’ve seen so many different references, such as the Monogatari series, Dragon Ball, and even Western culture references like A-Ha’s “Take On Me”, and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Once again, I cannot give enough credit to the staff for coming up with this type of modern masterpiece. What I find most impressive is director Shinichi Omata’s grasp of modern society. He has done his research on what kind of comedy works in this day and age, and it’s not always situational comedy, it’s comedy that harnesses works from other mediums other than anime, which is such a creative spin that borders on comedic genius. Comedy is subjective, and it’s possible that not everyone enjoys this comedy, but for me, it couldn’t have been much better and funnier.

My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20

STORY: 22.5/25

The continuation of the antics of the student council. The continuation of Kaguya and Miyuki’s relationship. Similarly to previous seasons, each episode is divided into skits, but this season is a bit less episodic than the rest, because the meat of the season lies in last few episodes focusing on the cultural festival.

I never can get too much of Kaguya and Miyuki’s mind games, and there is no shortage of that this season. It’s not all the same as the previous seasons though, because there are some important developments, and near the end of the school year, Miyuki gets accepted into Stanford University, a renowned school in the United States. That would mean he would be separated from the student council earlier than expected.

The underlying reasons of these mind games and why they never confessed is simple. One, it is scary. Two, they thought they had all the time in the world. When we are in a good place in our lives, with little time constraint, it’s hard to leave the status quo. In fact, it’s scary leaving a comfortable place in our lives. For Kaguya and Miyuki, it would have been comfortable and fun to play their mind games forever, but each person has their own lives and ambitions, and when there is a time constraint, they had to act upon their feelings and get it all out there. It’s really a tale that depicts the different sides of every person, the playful side, the childish side, but also the mature side. It’s a pretty relatable story of one’s growth in high school.

A side story, and one I was very invested in watching, was Ishigami’s story with Tsubame. Ishigami has been one of my favourite characters since the first season, and he has a very intriguing personality, delivering cynical lines now for fantastic comedic relief. Tsubame is the leader of the Cheer club and the organizer for the cultural festival, so naturally, she was pretty popular amongst the students. Ishigami doesn’t come off as a very confident person, so a relationship with him and Tsubame didn’t seem very possible at first, but Ishigami, with some help from Kaguya, was able to take action in search of a date with her. The funny thing about all this, is that this is hypocrisy to the highest degree, in that she’s telling Ishigami to go forward with his ambitions, but she doesn’t want to confess to Miyuki herself. It was honestly very entertaining to watch the twists and turns of this relationship play out.

Overall, there was a lot of development this season for a few characters, not just the main couple, which was a good take on the romcom genre, allowing many characters to shine.

ART: 9.6/10

As I mentioned, this is a passion project made with a lot of love. The animation is vibrant, and always adds to the comedy. It’s a visual feast always, with chaotic animation every episode. I would also love to shout out Vercreek, an 18 year old animator who was the key animator for the Episode 5 ED “My Nonfiction”, which was such eye candy. The regular ED was also very good and colourful, with yet more references, this time, to Kaguya-Hime, and Starship Troopers! Sasuga A-1 Pictures!

MUSIC: 9.5/10

Masayuki Suzuki had yet another wonderful opening in “Giri Giri”, though I do prefer the previous two openings. You can’t have Kaguya-sama without Suzuki though. The two endings were wonderful musically as well, especially “My Nonfiction”, which took rap elements and k-pop elements in a visually appealing ending. The OST is also great, as always.

CHARACTERS: 19.5/20

The main cast of characters bounce off each other very well, for great comedy. The voice actors do a great job, and I bet they had a lot of fun while doing the lines. Aoi Koga is such a great voice actor for Kaguya, killing it yet again, with her excellent range, balancing her dark side and shy side so well! I’ve talked about the characters a lot already, and it’s no surprise that I like every single one of them. I’ll just go over some of the characters I found interesting, besides Kaguya, Miyuki, and Ishigami.

Let’s start with everyone’s favourite comedic character, Chika! I noticed her somewhat lack of screen time in the cultural festival arc, and that made sense, since she’s more of a comedic character. Her running gag this season, similarly to previous seasons, is her being Miyuki’s teacher for many things, and getting PTSD from those experiences. Every time, that type of comedic bit is great, though I think they overly used it this season. Her bubbly personality was still a joy to see.

Next, we have a new character, Maki Shijo. I admit, I found her kind of annoying at first, but her friendship with Ishigami was why I ended up liking her. She has her problems with romance, but she’s able to use that to help Ishigami in his pursuit of romance. She was a wholesome character to watch, and had some great moments.

Lastly, let’s talk about Iino. Her “healing music” made for one of the funniest comedic moments of the season, as it was just so weird, but in a funny way. Her sensitivity to indecency made for an obstacle at times, so maybe she’s the “fan-service police”? Because of her, the fan-service in the show was limited? That’s how I like to see her as.

Great cast of characters that made for awesome comedic moments, while having their own character development in the process.

ENJOYMENT: 15/15

Had so much fun with this series, as I usually do with Kaguya-sama. Always was invested, so I was frustrated with the cliffhangers, but that’s a sign the show made me excited.

THEMATIC EXECUTION: 19.7/20

Basically, all the excellent animation and musical themes helped coalesce the production, and establish drama and suspense. Director Omata’s cinematography and grasp of modern culture and the human condition made for excellent comedy. The romance felt as well paced as ever, never forced.

OVERALL: 95.8/100

Kaguya-sama has been a work of pure love, and it has always been made with great passion. I love works of art like this show that doesn’t rely or flashiness or fight scenes to create suspense, but just relatable romance tales that keep me engaged and excited all the way through. I found that when there was a great episode, I always smiled throughout the end credits, and honestly, this show made my day sometimes. It’s one of the most fun I’ve had with an anime ever, and if anyone ever wants a funny romcom to watch, or even if they’ve never watched anime, this would be near the top of the list for me to recommend. I haven’t poured my heart out this much writing a review, and that’s a testimony to how good this show is. I feel blessed to have been part of this 12 week journey, and to be able to share all my thoughts to you. If you’ve read everything, I truly appreciate it.

Just to be clear, this is a series that deserves the title of ‘Modern Classic’

Even before the release of the 3rd Season, Kaguya-Sama had already dominated the anime scene. If you’re an anime fan, you probably already encountered Kaguya-Sama in one way or another on social media. Having some of the best comedy, drama and animation in the medium, Kaguya-Sama is one of the pillars of the Slice of Life genre. And with the release of Kaguya-Sama: Love is War - Ultra Romantic, the series has developed into and embodied the pinnacle of RomCom Slice of Life. Having two seasons of build up, the ... hype levels of Ultra Romantic is on another level. We finally got to witness the climax of a once in a lifetime romance story and it did not disappoint.

‘The one who confesses their love first loses!’

From the beginning, Kaguya-Sama had always centred itself around this theme. It cleverly painted a narrative that to confess, to genuinely open up to another is a sign of weakness, a sign of a loser. In this sense, Love can most definitely be seen as a battlefield, where both parties try their hardest to maintain their dominance in the relationship. Love is war, an arena you can’t afford to compromise or you lose. Yet as the series progresses, it is made abundantly clear that the true narrative of the story was something else, something far more meaningful.

To me, Kaguya-Sama has and will always be about a story of subtle genuinity and the beauty of relationships. In a show full of dirty schemes and foul play, the characters display glimpses of genuine empathy for one another on rare occasions. These occasions are given greater weight knowing what our main cast of characters are like. They are prideful, arrogant, and sometimes even belittle the ones close to them simply because things do not go their way. Yet despite everything, they would always be there for one another when it counts. Arcs like Ishigami’s redemption and Kaguya’s grief over the loss of her phone are ever so meaningful for this reason. Because despite the slanders they throw at their friends, you can always count on them to throw aside everything to support someone they truly care about. The show manages to balance genuinity in a way that comes off as neither unrealistic nor cringe. It immaculately portrays the behaviour of teenagers in a fictional world and how subtle genuinity is displayed in real life. In my opinion, Kaguya-Sama is truly a master at its craft of capturing the essence and beauty of genuinity.

Season 3 continued to perfectly capture the beauty of relationships. Be it friendship, romance, family relationships, the show fleshes out all sorts of interesting dynamics and makes them compelling. One of my personal favourites would have to be the relationship between Kaguya and Ishigami. From one glance, their characters and personalities seemed incompatible with each other. Kaguya was strict and arrogant whereas Ishigami was lazy and lacked confidence. Yet their contradicting personalities only served to compel each other to become better versions of themselves. Interacting with Ishigami allowed Kaguya to subconsciously grow to be more open and caring, whilst Ishigami grew to become more motivated and confident in himself. The character dynamics in this show is truly brilliant. Our main duo, Kaguya and Shirogane had some of the best character developments that climaxed in a beautiful 1 hour long spectacle.

Comedy wise, the series continued to maintain its high standard humour and I would argue it got even better. With the increase in different character dynamics and relationships, new humour was born as a result, a prime example being Maki Shijo and her dynamics with Ishigami and Shirogane. Chika continues to be the chaos element of the series and I absolutely love every second of her on screen. Her mother and son dynamic with Shirogane continues to be an ongoing joke in the series but it never loses its charm. The rap episode was by far my favourite comedic episode of the whole series thus far. Not only was the rap actually fire, it had the perfect combination of comedy, dynamic animation and direction. With all these elements in place, it truly is challenging to go one episode without laughing.

With regards to animation and soundtracks, A-1 Pictures absolutely nailed it. The passion that the studio has for Kaguya-Sama is truly on a different level. Ultra Romantic easily surpasses its predecessors in this category, with an overall improvement in animation fluidity, style and direction. The series itself also repeatedly references other popular franchises, like Dragon Ball Super and Shawshank Redemption which just adds further enjoyment to the show. The production quality is truly insane when considering the special ending A-1 Pictures made solely for the rap episode. ‘My Non Fiction’ is the definition of a banger with epic lyrics to match with the gorgeous animation. Fun fact, the speical ED was animated by an 18 year old animator named “vercreek’’ who storyboarded, directed and did key animation by himself, showcasing insane levels of talent for his age. The over the top soundtracks also add on to the overall experience of the show. From low melodies that tug at your heartstring to epic bombastic soundtracks to pump you up, these tracks either capture or elevate the intensity of the moment. I cannot imagine the series without either of these fantastic elements. Thank you A1 Pictures for once again doing a perfect job at animating this amazing series <3

Kaguya-Sama will forever be one of my favourites of all time. The characters are endearing and compelling, the narratives are well written and meaningful. The comedy makes you laugh along with the characters, the down to earth moments connect you to them, transcending the screen for just a moment. Having read ahead in the manga, the show itself never ceased to amaze me. Watching the anime provides a completely different experience to reading the manga. The emotions I harboured whilst reading the manga were amplified several times by the brilliant voice actors and animated sequences.

I will forever remember Episode 12 due to the sheer amount of emotions I felt throughout. The ending was the culmination of everything that came before, everything I loved about the series and more. The ending was nothing less of a spectacle, the peak of RomCom, and I couldn't have asked for a better ending than the one we received. Everything felt worth it, everything felt right. As I see it, Kaguya-Sama will continue to be the apex of Slice of Life and the standard for other shows to reach.

It truly is a modern classic.

**This review contains some meaty spoilers**

Season 1 was good

Season 2 was great

But Season 3 was Ultra Average or Cliched


Ehh...
...
One of those letdowns I’ve experienced when I mostly watched romantic comedies when I truly let my guard down, and most people said that this will surpass the previous seasons. Mostly said this season will be peak among the rest and they suddenly made the anime only jumped into the hype train, and if their expectations will surpass it. Most of them will say that this is the best. And some of them will say (including me), same (or not) flick like the rest.

As much as I hate to say this, especially I’m a long time fan of this show…

I am already imagined that the ending would be 2 possible scenarios: There will be a confession in the last episode or, by default, they never confess their love to each other (misunderstanding in other words). At the end, I was right, because the last scenario happened in the first part of the season.

I couldn’t emphasize this enough, but the story is just the same. When you watched the first two seasons, the formula or flow of the show is just the same as the others. It goes like this; introduction of the characters, most of the number episodes are full of slapstick comedy fillers that are not irrelevant to the plot, and some sudden serious moments in the last few episodes. I thought this season will be different but it followed the same formula that I mentioned earlier. To be frank, this season is boring, compared to the other seasons. I know it’s mainly a troll comedy but it’s a romance too. I was annoyed with this kind of formula because I don’t know when this show is going to be serious at some point. I don’t know why the author started to pulled those side characters, as they are irrelevant to the main plot. I think he wanted to splitting his attention onto numerous side characters giving us several different generic romances at the same time. Mostly the developments will happen in the last few episodes and it’s lacking, as I expected this season would become grand since manga readers overhyped this. Come on, it’s the third season already. It suffocated me for some reason and the flow of the story is the same all over and over again. I wonder why the chapters from the manga are extremely long because the story has fillers and is mostly stretched out.

Going to the “filler episodes” that I mentioned before, it’s… average. Not unlike the previous seasons, that full of surprises. The quality of the comedy was degraded, since the dialogues are the same as in the previous seasons, and the jokes were overused and felt forced. It’s like they were trying hard to be funny like before but not anymore. The expressions, the punchlines, the vibe, and many more are like from the previous seasons. The segments are still the same but from different situations. The aftermath punchlines from the games were quite more predictable than I expected. In short, the comedy in this show is repetitive as fuck. I think only 100% die-hard fans of this show and new to comedy can laugh to these. The only thing that surprised me was the rap segment. I mean it’s from the same segment when Mama Chika teaches her son, Shirogane to improve his talents and skills. But, the unexpected actual rap battle between the characters was surprising.

As for the “serious romance” that was lacking, due to the lack of episodes for the serious moments, the festival arc was very generic and annoying. It’s like a minimalized version of Rent-A-Girlfriend that Kaguya couldn’t confess to Shirogane, even him, each other due to unexpected reasons. Remember when Shirogane invited Kaguya to enjoy the festival? She thought that if the students see them together, there will be rumors that they are dating. It’s just one of those Kaguya’s habits from the previous seasons, just to intimidate Shirogane. But, so it’s not a right, and is it bad for Shirogane to enjoy the festival too? One of the reasons why I don’t get Kaguya’s motives at all. If I may remember, those two or three episodes of the festival arc, led to a cheesy and predictable “serious moment”, where Shirogane will leave the school to study abroad, that lasted just 1 or 2 episodes. Again, this is the third time that they used the same formula from the previous seasons. That last episode lasted an hour and it was pretty rushed than the manga. The pacing was fast, I think and they condensed those 10-15 chapters, I think into an hour, heck it’s 45 mins if you exclude the commercials. At the part where this mysterious thief showed up, I predicted that was one of Shirogane's schemes. Well, the legend of giving hearts was the catalyst for Shirogane to come up with a plan to confess to Kaguya. I don’t know if is it just me because I watched too many romance shows and films, and this kind of scheme was pretty obvious. The dialogues were half-baked and didn’t reach the point of the “serious” moment. It’s pretty cringe to be exact. I really hate the forced drama in this show. Of all the seasons I've watched, the drama in this season was all over the place. It shouldn't be here in the first place because there's no room in this show for a drama. It didn't made fucking sense at all. The strengths of this show were in its hilarious and unique premise, but it excelled as a comedy that satirized romance tropes, not as an actual romance. From being a unique school comedy to an unfocused mess of a generic school romance anime. And heck, this is one of those failed attempts of romance. The part when Shirogane invited Kaguya to join him at Standford was pretty obvious. I mean they are both geniuses for fuck sake so there’s no way that it’ll not happen. They didn’t confess to each other at the end, and the whole thing ended with a ridonkeylous kiss. And the bad thing was, they censored it for no fucking reason. Remember, a kiss has different meanings. Overall, all the “serious” stuff, in the end, was cliched, forced, half-baked, and predictable. It was a beautiful moment, but still a generic melodramatic romance. If you want a truly romcom anime that ended with a romantic kiss, go and watch Maid-sama. It's more of a romcom than this.

The characters are still the same. For this season, they developed due to their inspiration for their crushes. The main characters, Shirogane and Kaguya, were pretty developed. They set aside their pride to conceal their feelings and fought with each other if who’s the one would confess first. As for the other characters, they are still funny, likable, and absurd as ever, and that’s it. They are still the same as the previous seasons.

As for the animation, it’s still the same and nothing to be expected about. I’ve seen some panels and scenes where the quality degraded. I know that the charm from the manga was different from the anime because the expressions from the manga were dark and well expressed than the anime. As for the sound, it is also still the same. Although I had problems with the OP. The OP from this season was pretty weak and I like from the previous seasons better. The ED was okay, nothing to be surprised about. The music was still forgettable in the end.

Overall, this season was pretty weak than the previous. Honestly, I enjoyed a few of the segments, but the rest were pretty the same. I had a few laughs from some parts of many segments from this season, but I expected something greater quality of the jokes than the previous. The previous seasons are still superior compared to this season. I set my expectations high that this will be different, but in the end, hope seemed to be lost. The serious development was good but honestly, the whole thing could be better. Even if the jokes from this show are new and executed well, it’s still a hit-or-missed comedy in the end.

For some reason, The “Ultra Romantic” from its title was very misleading. The whole season isn’t ultra-romantic and it should never be.

Story: 5/10
Animation: 7/10
Characters: 6/10
Sound: 6/10
Entertainment factor (Comedy: 3/5, Romance: 2/5): 5/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Score: 6/10

“My heart has surrendered” -Airi Suzuki

With each passing season, Kaguya-sama has remained one of the absolute best anime of this past half-decade. As a comedy, it is uproarious, however, part of why it succeeds so above and beyond is due to being one of the most visually inventive and passionately-driven manga adaptations, perhaps ever. A-1 Pictures’ current flagship non-SAO title is a three-time triumph, with this latest series pushing everything to new heights while ratcheting up so much of last season’s drama to create one of the most electrifying binging experiences this side of Mawaru Penguindrum!

For the 5th time in a row, it bears repeating ... that Shinichi Omata (or Mamoru Hatakeyama) is among the best TV anime directors of our time. It cannot be understated how spectacular and versatile he is. Anyone who has seen the masterpiece that is Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu can attest to how stunningly presented the show’s drama is while giving each season their own feel that matches the content within. However, he and his team have proven time and again how spectacular they are at comedy. Exaggerated facial expressions, optical illusion backgrounds, aspect ratio manipulation, striking changes in color and texture to dramatize every single frame that merits such amplification, and inventive transitions all carry over and then some. Not only does this current season have some of the best examples yet, the editing even beyond those transitions is top notch. Episode 1’s arm-wrestling scenario is the perfect example, utilizing the beat of “We Will Rock You” by Queen at the mention of an immovable object akin to a rock during competition, and weaponizing the opening beats of S2’s OP as the explanation of Kaguya’s archery skills boosting her strength replicates the first second or so of said OP…ON LOOP!

The sheer passion and vision on display continues to elevate an already solid production to heights far beyond the vast majority of the studio’s output. It is difficult to do justice in text. The closest one might come would be to highlight the drawing count for the main ED of the season being around 2000 when the average episode can range from 3-4K or even 5K drawings. Keep even further in mind that S2 had a full-blown shoujo manga look adopted for part of one of its sketches, and that it’s been so handily surpassed that the first scene of this season puts a spin on the final, show-stopping ending minutes of that of the previous season’s school-crumbling and ensemble-flailing finale while matching its vibrance and creativity pound for pound. Finally, keep in mind that only the first two episodes were discussed, and that the show consistently keeps up with its baseline standard of quality and even outdoes itself on numerous occasions by its legendary conclusion. Even as resources dwindle at points, their solutions continue to provide insane and diverse visuals through out of the box thinking in ways never seen previously. Not many anime have the balls to just showcase their source material’s panels like this show does, after all. Even if it didn’t have all of that going for it, the show’s vibrant and expressive facial expressions combined with how frequently fluid it is would still keep it well above average.

Fuck, that was overwhelming, but in all fairness, Kaguya 3 is nothing short of massive. Season 1 largely had its story arc be at the end, being more of an establishing season until episode 10. Season 2 is split between two halves. Meanwhile, this season interweaves and/or concludes several character arcs while slowly building up to one packed story arc. Shirogane and Kaguya’s will they won’t they romance, Hayasaka’s frustrations with Kaguya and budding kinship with Shirogane, Ishigami’s feelings towards Tsubame, the love triangle between Maki and the Kashiwagi & Tanuma couple, and how all of these intersect and build on top of each other. There are so many moving parts this season, on top of other subplots, that it’s by far the most packed season to date. It never stops introducing new hobbies, traits, and curveballs to every single solitary member of the cast, even extremely tertiary or even seemingly one-off characters like Chika’s sister and two of the Four Ramen Kings. Simply put, Kaguya 3 is a Rube Goldberg Machine of romcom subplots and grandiose emotional payoffs. Even simple one-scenario mini-arcs have their own resonant conclusions to them that add to the character of the setting and each individual cast member, weirdly short as some are.

To those who complained for seasons of the seeming lack of progress between Kaguya and Miyuki’s cat & mouse romance, let it be known that amidst a million different aspects, they’re still at the forefront. The adrenaline never slows down, and even when it seems to, a seemingly irrelevant gag will reinforce character traits brought to the forefront to aid this arc like Chika’s complicated yet progressive dickishness towards Shirogane and Ishigami (and everyone) underscoring her care and motherly willingness to see them succeed. After all, every character has their own motivations and subplots that tie into each other and the ultimate push towards Kaguya and Shirogane’s relationship moving more tumultuously than ever.

And in a sea of climaxes, the ending tops everything that has come before as everything clicks into place. Music to one’s ears, is it not?

That being said, Kei Haneoka’s OST for the series is still on par with the previous seasons, offering several new tracks to fit every situation. There are a handful of pieces that are more resonant than ever, adding to the series’ repertoire of solid music. The OP by Masaaki Suzuki, “GIRI GIRI feat Suu” by Masaaki Suzuki, is yet another smooth bop following the same steps as previous seasons. It may be the weakest of the 3 we’ve been presented with, but it’s still another solid song. The ED, meanwhile, was a pleasant surprise compared to the shrill moe type songs of previous seasons. “Heart wa Otage” by Airi Suzuki might be the best song of the entire series, inserts and all. If there was anything that immediately set this season up as a climax, it was this beautiful song filled with finality and love.

That final word really is key to everything, eh? Kaguya-sama is a romcom of epic proportions, with an adaptation that is nothing short of an ingenious, passionate labor of love. Even somewhat stale and intrusive elements like the narrator are backed up with stellar presentation as to be more forgivable, with several shots and sequences that even in isolation can decimate over ¾ of any given seasonal’s visual output. Even the voice acting finds new ways to impress while matching the insane editing and presentation on display. The team’s clever manipulation of audio tracks is almost unheard of in professional Japanese animation, especially to the extent that’s been displayed this season compared to the last. It’s the culmination of coming to love these characters and their ever-expanding web of relationships and quirks. It’s the climax to the very premise laid out at the start of the series. In spite of everything, there appears to be more on the way, so what the hell can top this?! Does it even matter? Perhaps, though ending here would have been fine, too. If we get more of this wonderful cast and their antics, that’s all that matters. Nothing will be the same way after this anyway, and besides…

“My heart has surrendered.”- someone smitten long ago

What’s that meme about insanity? Like how the definition of “insanity” is doing the exact same thing over and over again expecting a different result? I’m not particularly up to date on internet humor, so I may very well be misremembering it, but either way, I’m definitely going insane. The universe keeps trying to tell me no one wants to hear me rag on this show, and I keep refusing to listen. The show is far too beloved at this point, and the only people still watching it are fans who have been watching since season one and now have a vested interest in being ... biased in its favor. Considering how repetitive this show is and how little anything in it has changed, any criticism anyone was ever going to make about it has already been made, and everyone has already decided where they stand. However, for some fucking reason, I just keep trying. I refuse to accept the suggestion that my complaints are as trivial as everyone says they are. For what it’s worth, I promise I’ll be nicer this time. I rewatched the entire series to review this season, and I’ve truly softened up to it over time, if only enough to give it a four.

My previous gripes had always been with how disingenuous the premise was—with how what the series presents is not a recipe for a healthy relationship—but looking back on it, I’ve realized how foolish it must’ve seemed to take the show THAT seriously. I mean, I still stand by everything I’ve said in the past, but it’s not like anyone is legitimately looking toward Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai for tangible relationship advice, so it was stupid of me to tackle it from that perspective in the first place. All people really get out of this show is cute moments and funny jokes, and they’re right to do so, but even then, I think the series still fails to achieve anything even close to the greatness which its mountains of praise would lead one to believe. Anything I could say on this point would be subject to intense subjectivity, as comedy always is, but suffice it to say I find this series to be completely and utterly unfunny, because what are we supposed to be laughing at here? The same jokes we’ve been laughing at—or at least the same jokes that some of us have been laughing at—for three seasons straight?

This show has begun suffering from an issue many long-running manga adaptations suffer from, but an issue which, lately, I think has been best exemplified by Re:Zero. I call it the Otto Effect. The Otto Effect is what happens when a popular show exhausts its original premise and has to expand the scope of its scenarios and characters to unnaturally manufacture something “new” to watch. If you want to see a downright surgical example of this, watch Eromanga Sensei. It begins as a show about two people standing in a room talking, but you can’t really get much milage out of that, can you? So after the first few episodes, the author realizes he can’t keep going with such an uninteresting premise and such shallow main characters, so he confronts the main conflict (the incestuous love story between the step-brother and sister), uses a retarded misunderstanding to put a pin in their relationship so the series has an excuse to not just end there, and then he opens the flood gates, inundating us with new characters and new drama, random arcs with sudden and empty goals, and endless meandering.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai is that: endless meandering. If you like the side characters, then sidelining the main cast and keeping their relationship on hold should be fine, but I kindly ask that you please appreciate that in the eyes of some, this formula just sucks. It still feels like it's dying to be a SHAFT show, but it hasn’t the writing talent nor directorial talent to even warrant the comparison. If I’m going to make one anyway, though, it would be that it feels like one of the later seasons of Monogatari, after Shinbou, Oishi, and even Itamura had all functionally left the project, and it was clear all the books they were adapting at that point were being treated as jokes by NISIOISIN himself. The name “Zoku Owarimonogatari” comes to mind, literally meaning “The End Continued” [insert Attack on Titan: The Final Final Final Season memes here]. It also still seems to think all you need to do to be funny is have one of your characters scream like an autistic light novel protagonist, have your narrator explain what’s happening in an exaggerated voice, or add speed lines and “bazinga!” text on screen.

Speaking of speed lines, by far my biggest issue with the show is how janky and cheap it looks. The first few cuts of the new season are reused animation from season two’s two-year-old finale which itself included reused cuts from season one’s then-one-year-old, now-three-year-old OP. They’ll put in occasional effort for some visual gags, but most of the time, the show just looks shoddy. This is of course everyone’s main gripe with A1 shows. Since they hire on such random people for such sporadic freelance work, they can have an entire episode that looks like shit, but there will be one moment that’s suddenly well-animated. Someone will simply walk across a room or do something with their hands and look really good for a second, and you feel like you’re having a stroke or something. The one thing they actually put serious effort into is those special EDs they do, but even they just make you say, “Oh. That’s cool. Next time, please put that effort into the actual show.” Plus, the cynical bitch in me can’t help but feel like they’re only included for the sake of going viral again à la Chika Dance.

To try to close this review off with some positives and maybe establish a bit of crossover, I’m happy to say that after rewatching the entire series, I’ve managed to come away from the experience with favorite characters, a small handful of memorable jokes, and things I liked. After rewatching season two, for example, I appreciate why so much of the young, male audience identifies with Ishigami so much, and I found myself personally enjoying Iino as an addition to the cast in seasons two and three, because her chemistry with Kaguya seems much more real than Chika’s one-note airhead personality bouncing off Kaguya’s one-note tsundere personality. Generally, I think the issues the show suffers from on paper are more a problem with its sense of humor and its repetitive archetypes than with its actual ideas or dialogue. After all, I do have to admit, after overcoming the old issues I had with the depiction of their relationship, even I can’t deny that, after a few drinks, this shitty looking, unfunny, repetitive slog can actually, sometimes, be kind of endearing. However, to reach back to the Monogatari comparison from earlier, it must be said that when a show takes three seasons to reach the point that another far better written, far better directed, and far better animated show reached in five tightly-paced episodes, one has to wonder—even if they liked the show and were satisfied by the eventual progress—just how much of their time had been wasted.

Thank you for reading.

Ha Ha Ha.

What do you think is better?
Option a: create a movie of 2 and a half hours so that it can have all the necessary drama, storytelling and conclusion.
Option b: Make 13 eps of repulsive garbage until the last few episodes, where basically everything important happens.

It looks like they went with option b. Good job.

To cut the crap this is an ok love story. The art is great and music is decent. Enjoyment was not that good, but still ok. Characters also.
However, wasting of time is 10/10. I think every main title should look up to this. Create as many meaningless episodes just to ... have some form of anticipation, some form of desire.
To just speed up the process, watch the last 3 episodes. They have everything important, and you won't miss much. Thank me later.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Ultra Romantic is a 3rd season of beloved Kaguya-sama series. It is a battle between two characters of who will make who confess their feelings first. It is a interesting idea, with a very OK-ish comedy and romance points. It deserved some quality ratings for the first two seasons as it did. However this drastically changed in this season. In this season, there is no comedy aspect due to complication of the plot itself but also because of the lack of jokes themselves. The romance was also restricted due to it being the last season; something had to happen. So it did. On the last episode as it was supposed to. I don't mind that, on the contrary, I also expected that. But what is not good in this anime that makes it 3/10?

Wasting of time. As I said in my original review, "Make 13 eps of repulsive garbage until the last few episodes, where basically everything important happens.". It is exactly that. The season begins in a new note of "When will he/she confess?", but the expectations are "In the last few episodes". The note that it begun with has literally been overlooked in the first 5 seconds of watching the first episode. After the first 5 seconds, to me, it was just dragging. Dragging the plot, so that we can have some sense of wonder. But with comedy not supporting it it collapsed. Episodes got monotone, repulsive. The later on episodes (11-13) were ok, and worth to watch so that you can finally finish with this dragging.

I dislike my time being wasted, I really do. And, when a familiar series starts to waist my time so that I can just get a ok ending, I am very disappointed. I can't give a higher score for 3 valuable episodes that turned out to be mediocre.

It's sad that such potential came to waste. Not by the nature of it, no. But because it was forced to meet the criteria. I hope you enjoyed it more than I did. I really do. I hope that I am the only one who just can't stand watching the same episode with different flavor. Because, this season is exactly that. Repeating until the very end.

Thank you for your time.

Going into Season 3 of Kaguya-sama I already had high hopes for it to live up to the hype. Both of the previous seasons are 10/10 in my opinion, and I already knew that "you know what" was happening this season from everyone spoiling it in every single Youtube comment section. The expectations for this season was even higher consider that we had to wait TWICE as long between S2/S3 (taking 2 years to make) compared to S1/S2, which was probably because of the pandemic but it was still something to consider as a fan.

So I had no reason to suspect anything would be wrong ... or that this season wouldn't be as enjoyable as I expect from this series.

Unfortunately, Kaguya-sama Season 3 drops the ball hard in terms of what gave the series it's charm.

To get the good out of the way, the animation is still good. They really went the extra mile in certain episodes, and the rest is what you'd expect from the series. Music is still on par, although the opening is probably the weakest of the 3 both in terms of music and visuals but it isn't bad by any means.

Now for the bad...

Kaguya-sama has always nailed it with its comedy. Every single episode in S1 and S2 has me bursting out laughing from how creative and unexpected each joke was. So it brings me no pleasure to say that I barely chuckled throughout Season 3. None of the humor lands, and any attempt at a joke is so sparse now since this season is more focused on the "Storyline" and introducing a bunch of new characters that we've never seen before. It might get a snicker from me every once in a while, but after 24 episodes most of their jokes are either repeats from what they've done before or "Character reacts in a overdramatic way". It just isn't funny and it seems like they've run out of tricks to pull so they resort to trying to tell a dragged out story instead of setting up comedic scenarios to build up actual jokes.

(Vague Spoilers Below)
I'm not going to go through any specific plot point, but like I said before this season is more focused on establishing background characters and less so the main 5 we all know and love. It just feels like a waste because they don't actually develop these characters in any meaningful way. The show states who they are and then constantly repeat whatever cliche they are given before making the audience care about them. I don't even remember any of their names to be quite honest because they were all forgettable. There are exceptions to this, but as a whole focusing on new characters instead of the ones we actually care about was a mistake.

And even our main characters have suddenly turned into the most brainrot versions of themselves. Kaguya will go through a 10 minute monologue about how she will finally put her foot down and do what needs to be done, and then the next episode revert back to that "Boo hoo I want him to confess to me!!!!!!!!!" stick. It was cute when we first saw her, now it's it's unbearable because we already gone through her "Okay, I will finally confess" character development multiple times already. Iino barely does anything in this season, Ishigami goes from being an absolute chad to just a romance foil for Kaguya, Fujiwara barely shows up period and doesn't have her happy-go-lucky personality anymore instead just being straight up stupid at times. Shirogane is the only one that acts like he's supposed to, but he alone can't carry the entire show.

But my biggest complaint is how dragged out this show has become. In the previous seasons, you didn't really care if Shirogane and Kaguya confessed or not. The fun was seeing how the two tried to weasel a confession out of the other, and how their situations often blew up in their face. I personally wasn't ever frustrated when they got close to confessing and then something magical happens to interfere, as long as it was funny and entertaining then it didn't matter. But now that I've said that the show isn't funny anymore, all that we are left with is a painfully long slog till the end to get anything meaningful from this already drawn out game of cat and mouse.

Very often is there zero payoff and without the comedy to make the bait enjoyable, it just becomes around mediocre rom-com where the main characters don't do anything until the very end.

As someone who loved S1 and 2 of this series, Kaguya-Sama Season 3 is a massive disappointment. The comedy is gone. the fun of the "will they/won't they?" is gone. The main characters are gone. And most importantly, the charm is gone.

I hope Season 4 can somehow regain what it lost with this season, but I have zero hopes that the rest of the series will be good again.

3/10

Love is war is a good series, i won't deny that but season 3 kinda just flopped it upside down which is weird because i actually think the story is good, it's just that the execution wasn't perfect. Now season 1 and 2 were both perfect examples on how to balance your characters, the main characters (Shinomiya and Shirogane) are both entertaining and get a lot of screentime in the first 2 seasons, but this is also in season 3, the thing is with the main characters is that the side characters also matter a lot. I don't know why but i feel like the ... side characters got fully blown out of the the entire plot. Chika only really got 1 episode where she was prevalent in and Iino got fully blown out of the series. What about Ishigami though? He got attention, right? Well, yes but in my opinion, not really in the right way. Shinomiya and Shirogane are the main couple in this series but Ishigami now has a crush i guess... There's nothing wrong with having 2 couples in the same series but i don't like how they just randomly switched perspectives and called them 'parts'. Like bro, i just wanna get to the business already. Now onto enjoyment, probably the most important factor into rating an anime, i already mentioned this but the main characters should be supported by the side characters to actually be an entertaining character, if they aren't, 90% of the time the series feels empty and boring since the main characters are most of the show. And that 10% which is actually entertaining is usually very short, liw is also very repetitive, this issue also occurs in the first 2 seasons but i feel like its more prevalent here because the times where it is repetitive is with the 2 main characters. Now to the ending, the ending that made liw gain .20 points and make it tied with fmab, i'm not gonna spoil anything but all i would like to say is that it's a cringefest with very specific things that happens which ruins Kaguya's very specific plan. Personally, i don't like this season but entertainment and comedy is subjective (even though i feel like there was a lot less comedy and a lot more romance in this season). I can see why someone would like this show if they just loved romance but i don't really dig this style right now with Kaguya Sama, yes i do like my romance then and there but i think i would rather watch Squid Girl then oh wow i like this person now lets come up with this extremely specific way to confess to them which gets ruined by a extremely specific way.

Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the first two seasons. I even watched them more than once. I loved all of the jokes and the chemistry between the characters.

I am forced to write this review while the show is still running, because from all of the reviews I have seen I feel like I am the only one who thinks this season is significantly weaker than the previous two. I think so far it is a long way from being a 8-10, but I hope it gets better since there is still a halfway to go.

From the first 6 and a half ... episodes I have seen I think this time the anime just recycles old jokes from previous seasons. In almost every episode is a similarity or a copied joke from seasons prior. These similarities and jokes just aren't very funny or entertaining anymore. I think the whole "Shirogane is bad at something" joke is overplayed at this point. Earlier these back to back jokes hit great but this time they feel overdone.

It also focuses a lot more on other characters instead of the main duo which I don't find very enjoyable or interesting. I think this anime lost it's charm, at least for me.

Lastly, I just want to apologize for my grammar, English isn't my first language and this is my first "review" which I wrote on impulse. :)

I really don't know what all the hype is about and to me it makes absolutely no sense that people are judging this show based on their experience with reading the manga..

To me, this entire show, except for maybe the last 3-4 episodes, just feels like fillers. Little story arcs that end as fast as they have begun. I find this show really bland and boring, the characters do not resonate with me at all, Kaguya is super annoying and the rest of the characters are just really uninteresting and/or forgettable.

I do like myself a good rom-com from time to time, but this is definitely ... not a show I would recommend to people who are looking for a show in this genre.

This show is definitely below mid imo :-)

Season 3 of two people too passive and prideful so each is hoping the other will make the first move.

This joke was wearing thin by season two and the writing got worse and worse with character inconsistency and repeated gags.

Season three is that BUT throw in cringe, out-dated pop culture references and annoying sounds.

The show went from bad to barely watchable. The only reason I'm not lowering the score is because (3) is my lowest for a bad show that is basically harmless and inoffensive.

Plot/Story = 2/10

The writing is so bad now that most episodes are just re-run jokes from season one ... or/and pop culture references. There is an entire episode that is a rap battle ending with (Mom's spaghetti!) Another with an A-ha reference for their song (Take On Me). This isn't a passing reference or one time gag, it's the episode, that's just lazy writing.


Characters = 2/10

Somehow they managed to get worse. For most of the season attention is taken away from the mains and given to Yuu of all people. They even went out of their way to give him not one but multiple love interests and just throwing themselves on him. This author should stay away from social media, it's clear they're easily influenced by public opinion.

Because of lazy writing Miyuki (male MC) went from hardworking honor student to... barely functioning human. There was a gag episode in season one where Chika was teaching him how to play volleyball and it was cute, less cute in season two when it was repeated with singing, down right cringe here when repeated THREE TIMES for various episodes.


Art / Sound = 3/10

This was clearly made in crunch. The budget restrains show and somehow the sound is worse because of the overly exaggerated responses.


Fun Factor = 2/10

This was the worst yet. Cringy, cliched and REALLY bad writing. The one reason I kept watching was because I was on a dare with a friend, that's it! That's how bad this was.


Overall = 3/10

It got got some pity points out of me simply because I think 2/10 is reserved for something offensive or bottom of the barrel. This one was just bad and cringe.
Stop after season 1. No reason to keep going what so ever.

I'm confused, I knew this show was good but what in the hell is it doing with a 9.15? I've seem some recency bias before but this is on a whole another level. Kaguya was a solid 6-7/10 rom com for me so seeing these reviews/ratings caught me off guard. Even when Season 1 and 2 concluded the overhyping wasn't this bad. I see people in the comments calling this the best rom com ever made which baffles me as well. Anyways, lets begin.

Story: 6

The story... exists? This show is definitely more on the character side of the entertainment aspect I'll say that. The story ... itself of Kaguya is pretty 1 dimensional with 2 people trying to make each confess. The series follows an episodic format of comedy skits which is why I question it being called a rom com and not 'mostly comedy with tid bits of romance every couple of episodes' In my opinion this show was pretty much a comedy up until the last 4 episodes of Season 3. And uh, how do I say this nicely? I wasn't exactly on the floor dying of laughter from Kaguya-sama's comedy. This show's comedy was just more lighthearted gags that you smile at and not really... comedy. But yeah the actual romance of this show takes a backseat for pretty much 3 entire seasons. The only time its ever brought up it gets instantly terminated by some comedic relief before it can get serious. So when you have a show that doesn't reveal its romance nearly as much as its comedy and the comedy itself isn't funny, what do you get? Boredom.

Art: 8

Very solid adaptation. The animation is very fluid and you can visually see just how much the people working on the show actually care for it.

Sound: 8

The opening is as good as ever and the sound tracks are great.

Characters: 6

You have a bunch of typical rom com archetypes present in Kaguya and do they do anything different with them? No. You got the big boobed dumb aloof girl, you got the easily flustered MC, you got the flat chested tsundere. Need I continue? The only character in the show that I actually found compelling was Ishigami. He seemed to be the only one in the Student Council Cast that actually developed as a person and didn't stick to the boundaries of his 1 dimensional character archetype. I loved the way he slowly gains confidence and even though life doesn't go his way, he gets a few strokes of luck that slowly develop him into a nicer and more open person. Other than that though the rest of the Student Council are the same exact character as when they were introduced. I said at the beginning of the show that this series is more character driven rather than story and I do think this cast can carry a show. The problem is, is that they can carry a nice solid 6-7/10 rom com that you watch on the weekend to relax... Not a 9.15, highest rated anime, perfect 10's, best rom com of all time type show, ya know? Hopefully once the recency bias of Season 3's conclusion goes away so will the inflation of 10's.

Enjoyment: 6

Like I said before, when the show presents its comedy to be its front runner genre and you don't think that the show is funny, you get boredom as the end result. I don't particularly view comedy in anime as funny if I'm gonna be honest, maybe its because I'm not Japanese and I don't relate to their style of humor. Only a select few shows even get a giggle out of me and it certainly wasn't Kaguya. If this show actually cut the episodic comedy skit bullshit I would've been more hooked to the show. But because of it, I never really took the main romance between Kaguya and Shirogane seriously. And when that romance finally gets serious I still don't take it seriously cause the show itself never did either for 3 whole seasons. They used their romance as the main center of the comedy so I view their whole relationship in a comedic fashion, not romantically. So when they try to make their relationship genuinely romantic.. its an awkward combination lets say that. Overall, I think this show has a good premise for a solid rom com that people watch and then forget about until the next season comes out, not whatever these reviews are saying.

Overall: 6

I've said what I needed to, good show but that's it, just good. Lets keep it at that shall we?

TL;DR: Toradora >

"The first to fall in love loses!"

"If I go out with him, I'll probably fall in love!"

Never before have such pretentious phrases been uttered unironically...wait, this is anime. Never mind, happens all the time.

This season was by and large a massive disappointment. I have always believed 'Love is War' to be an overrated romcom, but nevertheless found the first two seasons serviceably decent. You can check my profile, if you don't believe me: I gave the first two seasons a 6/10. Although drenched in romantic tropes I despise, the comedy was consistent and the execution was at a very high level.

And yet this season falls ... flat on it's face, because it focuses on what has long been the weakest part of the series: it's drama.

Now granted, I have not read the manga (nor will I ever). But why does Kaguya/Shirogane's romance need to be dragged out so incessantly? Three seasons in (that's nearly 15 hours of your life, folks) and it takes until the very end for just the smallest amount of progress in that department. Why drag it out? The drama? The tension? Sorry, but who in their right mind thought these two were never going to get together? There is no tension. For the laughs maybe? The pair's tsundere schtick stopped being funny by the end of season 1. There are literally hundreds of tsundere couples in anime. That is not unique in the slightest.

Then there's this new Tsubame/Ishigami love thing going on. Now again, I have not read the manga. But the instant this Tsubame girl was introduced, I thought "There's no way this is going to work out." And yet that plot element gets dragged on, episode after episode. Just axe it already and stop wasting my time.

These are just a couple examples. When you have these tropey dramatic elements, they better conclude quickly, or I get bored and irritated. The older I get, the more these parts of anime have rubbed me the wrong way.

One of the stronger parts of this series is it's comedy and it's side-characters. The "Shirogane likes Herthaka, but Chika thinks Herthaka is a dude who likes other dudes and thus gives Chika a horny nosebleed" was one that genuinely made me laugh hard. It was a misunderstanding piled on top of another misunderstanding in a creative way that made sense.

But overall there is less comedy in this season, and for the first time I found some of it rather stale. Comedy in this series could be nonsensical at times, but it seems this season double-downed on it. For example, the coin game they play in one of the earlier episodes.

To summarize the coin game bluntly: group is putting coins under a sheet, using heads and tails to answer various questions truthfully ("Do you have a crush?" etc). No one knows who puts what coin under the sheet, and a lie detector is there in case anyone decides to lie.

Shirogane and Kaguya are both intimidated by the lie detector, so they tell the truth with their answers...why? They're both supposed to be super smart, so they should realize how incredibly unreliable those things are right? There's a reason lie detectors aren't generally admissible as evidence in court- they're notoriously unreliable.

Then Shirogane gets out of it anyway, by switching his coin with a 1981 coin in his pocket (because Kaguya was looking at the years of the coins to know who was answering)...how? How did he switch coins without Kaguya noticing? Why does he carry around a 1981 coin so conveniently? The suspension of belief is just too high for it to be either funny or dramatic.

The other part of this show that is one of it's stronger suits are it's side characters. Shirogane/Kaguya are a typical tsundere duo whom I've never much cared for, but I do have a soft spot for some of the others.

Ishigami's dramatic parts are the only good dramatic parts of the series. Even if it is tropey and predictable, I sympathize with his lack of confidence affecting aspects of his life. Just wish the romantic part of this was less predictable and less drawn-out. His comedic bits are on the weaker side too, but that's fine I suppose.

Chika is the show's most consistent comedy, but she's also the only one compeletely lacking in meaningful character development. One of the earlier seasons mentioned she has a family with a political background, which opens the door for soooo many possibilities given her personality. And yet nothing has come of it. Ditto for her younger sister, who was around for a short comedic part.

Hayasaka finally gets some decent character development here. She's cute and funny in a deadpan sort of way. But like Chika, I really wish there was something of more substance; give her a boy to pursue, or a hobby, or important friends...She needs something, anything. The entire point of her short arc at the beginning of this season was that she wanted to live her teenage life, instead of just being relegated to being Kaguya's maid...but then there's nothing. Some may say "wait until season 5" or something. Well, 3 seasons should be plenty. That's nearly 15 hours of show. Pick up the pace.

The art is colorful and gorgeous. The sound is...decent. I think that one track that reminds me of "You spin me round" by Dead or Alive was the best one. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but it got a chuckle out of me every time I heard it. The sub is great, although the english dub is kind of underwhelming unfortunately.

Given how season 3 ends, I'm guessing it's going to double down on the tsundere romantic parts, which is absolutely the weakest part of this show. Thus I'm undecided if I want to continue after this. I can understand why there are so many fans of this- even if it is a tropey romcom, the ideas are executed very well.

Bottom line, if you watched this show's first two seasons primarily for laughs, you may be disappointed with this one like I was. However if you want more ham-handed drama and tsundere, "misunderstanding" romance, you'll probably like this season more.

Yet another overrated show..

This one definitely rises above the average romcom anime .The main characters are up to the task ,some of the supported characters are adequate and a few others completely irrelevant .Season 1 and 2 were more than fine and most of the time it felt like the characters were in a battlefield as the title of the show indicates.
I wasn't planning to watch season 3 but then I saw this anime climbing to rank 1 so I thought "Oh something extraordinary must have happened there ,let's watch it".
Well ,nope.
Season 3 is taking place in a full cliched set up ... ,which is fine because we all know what we came here to watch ,what is not fine is the desperate act of the creator to differ from the scenery he made.

That's a fine anime but is undeniably no fit for rank 1.

Love is War is back, and manga readers know that this season is the one to behold.

The first episode starts off with the comedy we've all come to know and love from this series, except it's dialed up and more absurd than we've ever seen it before. Animation is still clean and easy on the eyes as usual, and the unique stylization this show uses is still at play and in full force. The characters, the obvious highlight of this show, are still their interesting selves, and the interactions they have with one another feel natural and remain at ... the top of the genre. The OP is still an absolute banger, with Masayuki Suzuki coming back to deliver a third incredible performance in a row. The season started off incredibly strong, and I cannot wait to see how it ends.

Look how they massacred my boy.

I don't want to talk about it but I will.

I understand why they did what they did but isn't there any other way???

The first episodes I was really hoping for another damn great opening. Like how they did with the first two seasons. But it wasn't in any way great. But I dismissed it, give them a chance. So I did, which only got me disappointed. They focused so much on the story and in exchange the humor was lost. And somehow watching it feels like it's just like all the other anime and not as unique as it once ... was. But I do understand why they did it and somehow it got better by the end but still you can't deny the fact that they messed up somewhere.

A long awaited season. One of the most anticipated anime seasons by most viewers, myself included. The cast of characters remains virtually unchanged. The author's idea must have been exhausted, because a copy of the comedy elements used in previous seasons is presented to us and we are asked to laugh at them.

Unfortunately, they try to keep us entertained by putting the same jokes they have made many times before. Although it is currently the highest rated anime, it cannot even bring an innovation compared to other seasons. The series doesn't even give a reason to watch it other than Ishigami, who is the only ... properly developing character.

Just because it's one of the best things to do technically doesn't mean it was a successful season. While the first episodes are really surprising, everything turns upside down in the sequel. Giving a love confession so late is a terrible move.

Overall: 5,5/10

I will be honest I read the manga already as i was frustrated and too furious to know when the main characters gonna end up together ! So the ending in the anime was expected yet not so ! The ending felt like this is the end of the anime series which is not good at all as now the fun part starts ! Hope it's gets another season ! I am actually excited for it ! The previous two seasons where too Disappointing for me ! The story just focused more on side characters and slice of life ! That is till the third ... season too but finally the romance between main characters proceeded to some extent in this season which i did not expected ! Initially i sticked to this anime because of it's humor which sometimes worked and sometimes don't and the art style too ! But now after the third season my opinion for this anime is high ! Now the story actually became interesting ! So as for me it's - 6.9 stars / 10 stars.. now the side characters are also somewhat interesting ! But the fact that some things i skipped in both manga and anime which i felt unnecessary !

So, Let's start off with the things that i liked. the art is absolutely gorgeous and the animation is buttery smooth, i don't expect anything less from A-1 Pictures i also quite enjoyed the comedy


Oh yeah, the comedy basically carried this season and i would even go as far as to say the comedy and animation carries the entire anime the story, as a romance, is quite lackluster. For some reason the writers decided that it would be a good idea to take on a more serious tone towards the end in an comedy-centric anime, which results in the most ... boring story arc so far.

Before i get any further, allow me to explain what usually happens in a romance anime, a girl and a boy meet, spend some time together, and slowly start to fall in love with each other and we, the audience, fall in love with them. A good romance knows how to keep the audience invested in the main couple, in Love is War, this NEVER happens. We are told in the very first episode that Shirogane and Kaguya love each other and we know for a fact that they will end up together, this results in one of the most boring romances in anime i couldn't careless about what happens between them now and the official love confession and that's why the story arc towards the end in this season is boring (and also why people like ishigami because we are actually invested in his love story)
overall this season was pretty disappointing due to not embracing its comedy as much as the previous seasons have. i give it a 5

THANKS to A-1 Pictures and Mamoru Hatakeyama's team for giving us one of the best adaptations, and thanks to the author for writing one of the best romantic comedies.

On the technical side, everything is absolutely well thought out, from the carefully chosen soundtrack for each scene to the animation and staging of the important scenes. The lighting and shadow effects are probably the most elaborate I've ever seen in an animated series. The series is full of pop culture references and it's absolutely a treat to find them all, from Shawshank Redemption to more obscure things that only fans of 90's Japanese romance series know ... (like "Confess" or「告白」OST). We can also praise the musical and the animation work of the two endings, the second one being the one that follows the incredible episode about the rap of Shirogane (and the other characters too). The first one contains an explicit reference to Starship Troopers. By the way, I come back to the rap episode, it's clearly a perfect example to prove that the staff is enjoying and having fun with this series, they turned a funny but ordinary chapter into an explosive rap duel.

All the characters are finely written. And unlike many comedies, they don't reduce to a character trait with one or two endlessly repetitive gags. Their jokes give real information about the characters, their past, their actual motivations and what they want to become in the future. Of course the humor is in the majority in the series to avoid falling into dramatic stories but nevertheless we understand that many of them have also experienced difficult things in their lives. Ishigami in high school, Kaguya in relation to her family situation, Shirogane comes from a modest family and does everything to be the best in his high school, etc.

The chemistry in this whole cast is incredibly well crafted. The characters are not only connected because they belong to a group, but because they really like and understand each other. There are many scenes of quarrelling but also many scenes of mutual support and complicity. Kaguya who helps Ishigami to work, Shirogane who wants to help Hayasaka to open to the others (excellent foreshadowing of the anime to take note). The secondary characters are not forgotten and allow to add a touch of humor typical of a romantic series. I think in particular of the love triangle with Maki the senpai tsundere so unfortunate not to have declared before.



Concerning the last episodes, I have to mark the SPOILERS!

***SPOILERS***

Obviously, we reach the culmination in this season where it's finally time for Kaguya and Shirogane to step forward and make their declaration. As a huge fan of manga, I was looking forward to this adaptation and once again, Mamoru Hatakeyama's team showed me what a serious adaptation means. This staff knows how to use all the animation techniques to create the perfect adaptation. It's not about following the manga's plot literally, but about using the strengths of the anime medium to deliver the best story.

Since always in Kaguya-sama, the two parts of the romantic relationship are treated equally. Neither character is idealized, their flaws and qualities are pointed out, and neither has a deformed idea of the person they love. It is in this way that during the cultural festival, both characters decide to jump in and end this love war. Ultimately, it is more than satisfying to see that our both characters, despite some reticence to declare their love for each other because of their ego, decide to go ahead and honestly admit how they feel about each other (which is no secret to us).

***SPOILERS END***



I can't tell you more because I wouldn't want to ruin the fabulous experience that me or other Kaguya-sama fans had. Anyway, I hope you will have fun, enjoy (with friends, why not) all the moments this series has to offer.