Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: First Kiss wa Owaranai

This review is spoiler-free.

For reference, this is my favourite manga arc of all time, so I expected a lot from it. Sadly, it is also the classic case of a manga arc which isn't long enough for a 13 episodes batch, but at the same time not short enough for 90 minutes movie. This movie adapts from chapter 136 to 161, a nightmare for any studio trying to tackle the issue since there's a lot that needs to be cut.

Even without prior knowledge of the manga, I believe you will feel that the pace is a bit rushed. Scenes flow very quickly, but the movie ... also knows what scenes are most important and takes its time to faithfully adapt them. Since the story was divided into a main plot and a sub plot, A1 simply cut the sub plot and will most likely come back to it in Season 4. The cut content is barely noticeable aside from one specific scene where A1 couldn't do much better.

I truly believe they did all they could given the limited air time and I can only thank them for doing such a difficult and ungrateful job. Let's hope we get a re-cut when Season 4 is finished so that we can have a complete experience.

As for the story, it hit so close to home that it would be difficult for me to give it an objective rating. I relate so much to Muyki's mentality and this arc shaped the man I am now. I do believe that everyone can relate to the main characters and that many of you will be deeply moved by their struggles.

The animation was very good, but nothing ressembling movie quality. It is more like a short season released on the silver screen before TV.

Progressively, the series has struggled with maintaining certain elements of its original novelty act, and the need for change or evolution is unavoidable, but the story is also obligated to excite in other ways either to compensate or justify itself. The humor has undergone a radical redirection in approach over time, which frankly falls extremely flat in this film during major confrontational moments. In particular, Kaguya's internal monologues are simply idiotic, and the necessary discourse should have been framed alternatively, perhaps even separated from silly comedic caricatures. The genuine substance behind all the shenanigans, however, harbors long-awaited satisfaction, especially in witnessing the reversal in dynamics ... between the leads and their suppressed emotions. Character development in this series stagnated for a long period until this point, so it's vital that the depth of the personalities in question is addressed rationally. One could argue, this segment of the narrative fabricates the severity of internal trauma that wasn't previously foreshadowed, although there would be no better opportunity to do such other than right before their relationship is officialized. In its conclusion, the final messages are rewarding even if the road to these realizations was rough, managing to finally settle the primary conflicts sparked at the beginning of an elaborate romantic puzzle.

This arc is essentially an extended addition to season three, not a moviegoer experience, and the absence of a cinematic feel tells us the feature release was purely promotional. It's difficult to appreciate the film as a tasteful product for fans given there is no upscale in quality or structure, rather the directing shows a noticeable downgrade alongside intertitle overkill. Omata's steady hand decreases the visual quirks and risks that experimented with the execution of comedic content, mainly opting for more exaggerated body language, albeit there are a few animation styles, just not anything visually new. The gags are fine when the outcome isn't telegraphed, and the rapid-fire dialogue disguises some of my gripes. It's quite obvious that material and details have been trimmed for the adaptation, sidelining multiple members of the cast. Nonetheless, the bulk of romantic endeavors is generally as promised, subtly concatenating the bittersweet reality of time dwindling. Production values are no different than in previous seasons, and Suzuki's songwriting is a little redundant, but the opening and ending are both passable, specifically the latter is more fitting. First Kiss wa Owaranai is condensed and overdramatic, yet the charm of youth still has reasonable watch value.

After completing "Kaguya-sama: Love is War - Ultra Romantic", known also as Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 3, I decided to drop the series. Not that I didn't like through and through. I thought it was okay. I just ceased to be interested in this show enough to continue watching. And yet, months later, after hearing so many times utterly positive opinions about that one arc featured in the movie this spoiler-free review is about, I decided to pick it up and see for myself. It wasn't a wise decision and I sincerely admit I fell into the trap set up by extremely devoted fans ... overhyping their favourite manga's anime adaptation as if it was 8th Wonder of the World.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: First Kiss wa Owaranai fails so hard as a movie. That's the biggest con of it. It's more like a mix of several stories put together, with one or two themes receiving more attention than the others, but not as huge to leave an impression of this movie being actually a movie. Episodic version of this movie is somewhat bearable, even if it feels so much like a set of four special episodes, serving as an extension of the previous season. But hey, this version was created later, no? If I decide to review a movie, I need to treat it as such, because the show that's being reviewed was intended at first to be experienced in that particular format. As I said earlier, this movie fails in encapsulating pretty much most of the elements you'd expect to see while watching a movie.

As for production quality, it was decent. The previous anime adaptations presented already pleasant quality. The movie was no different in this aspect. One would point out that it should've received better animation, because movies, due to various reasons, tend to have animation representing a higher level than regular TV series. That's true, however, TV series already looked alright and all previous seasons were mostly carried by fancy direction and vibrant colours used in the art style. I think it'd be necessary for a movie to go a different route for the sake of being different and going somehow against technical tropes already enjoyed by the majority of Kaguya-sama anime fans.

With similar quality to the previous Kaguya-sama franchise's anime installments come as much positive, as negative things. This movie had everything I disliked about Season 1. Repetitive corny jokes; characters yelling and squeaking most of the time while talking with each other; narrator ruining the flow of this movie even during its objectively best scenes. Yes, I know these elements appear in Seasons 1-3 as well, but at least they present bigger variety and hmm... mature? I think it's a good way to word it. The same joke evolving over the time is alright, but devolution of it, in consequence, resulting in the decrease of overall comedy quality, is something I'm really not a fan of.

So, in conclusion, I did not enjoy watching this movie. It's sad to say, but "The First Kiss That Never Ends" can't be really perceived as a good movie by viewers like me. I'm not a manga reader and I didn't like the previous seasons that much. I expected to watch at least a decent, solid, proper movie. Too bad my expectations weren't met, and I think that as long as you are not a devoted fan of this series, your experience has rather a huge chance to be most likely similar. Maybe a little better, maybe a little worse, but still underwhelming by a huge margin. With having everything written earlier in mind, I just can't recommend it. Not for people who are not devoted fans of this franchise, or who simply wanted to see a cute movie sequel to a series they were once watching. That being said, if you are already a huge fan of this franchise, dear reader, which is of course fine, then I think there's a huge chance that you're gonna actually like it. No matter whether you will decide to watch it in the original, movie format, or in the episodic one. Sadly, I'm not a huge fan of Kaguya-sama series. Not a hater as well. I'm just a regular enjoyer of this series. And I just wanted to see a good movie.