Why that long prologue? Simple: Kaguya sama love is war is currently part of the 2nd group discussion and I'm one of those who consider this series is good in spite of critical flaws here and there.
Starting with the most obvious aspect: the animation begs to be compared with Shaft works! The director of Kaguya sama worked in Arakawa under the Bridge (which I can't recommend it enough) and this style of animation fits unexpectedly well to show us how the usually calm council room is nothing but a mine field for our MCs. Some neck tilting here and there and there you have it. In terms of production they polished as much as they could the raw, basic style of the source material (sorry Akasaka). However the consistency of this art begins to fade in some episodes which makes me feel a little bit disappointed because until episode 8 the animation and art style were excellent. Putting aside the vibrant opening Love dramatic, I wasn't very enthusiastic with the OST, a bit basic and dull sometimes. The main ending is decent, and even though I dislike Chika dance, the animation was the most fluid in the entire series.
Now that the technical baggage was put aside: why I consider this romcom good? Simple: it tried to follow the path of actually good romances of before, especially Kare Kano and even though it wasn't as good as the aforementioned anime it has it's own charms
The premise already bought a lot of people: the main characters are already sure that they have a crush on each other so the only thing left is "when the hell are these 2 going to make a move?" And they only want to force the other to make such move. Inner monologues of their mind games and dynamic animation go together to give the spectator some action in a genre where you'd rather expect a little Tsundere kicking the MC and the comedy is actually pretty self aware of romcom cliches (like Gintama mocking action shounen or Konosuba kick the shit out of RPGs and Isekais). The structure of each chapter being between 5-6 minutes of different situations helps more than it's given credit for in order to let the spectator have a couple seconds to relax otherwise this
Both characters are supposed to be the smartest people at school, but when someone is in love the intelligence drops a bit, especially when giving advice to newcomers (I'll speak of them soon). Like every romcom, they have to work out the nonsense and control their massive egos, which they actually are starting to do in almost compelling ways. Fortunately the manga shows us how these egos were born and raised by different circumstances, but the anime hasn't reached this yet so it's understandable if people were let down waiting for more of their backgrounds (especially Miyuki). This chemistry starts with an "ok" to "why you like this person, again?" ending with "oh, I can see it now!", nothing vomit inducing like in harem stuff, Otome stuff or God forbid, NISEKOI!
As I said before, the self awareness in the series is accurate enough through the presentation of Hayasaka, the maid and Ishigami, the "favorite" of the author. Starting as the punching bag and ending as a closer friend of the main couple and retroactively through his relationship with them both parts show and develop more traits. Each time this guy appears is not wasted time, I promise!
Pros being said I have 3 large problems with this series that were in the manga too.
1) Kashiwagi and her BF. Using not one but 2 characters as plot device and compare them with Kaguya and Miyuki would be fine if they hadn't begun like they did! Also they are more of a contrivance
2) Chika Fujiwara. This is the main element of chaos in the series that appears right a the moment where someone would think the war is over. It's funny the first 2 times but after the 3rd one I was immediately tired. Even though her issues with best emo Ishigami (Spoiler: they won't be together, fortunately) are enjoyable from my perspective, I'm just not into her character in general, though I understand she's the main reason why this anime had this popularity
These problems are nothing against
3) The narrator. Exposition is stupid, and so is this. The only times this narrator worked were in 2 gags, other than those this unknown narrator in 3rd person is my biggest problem with the series. It doesn't allow to enjoy the actual mind games or how the plans of the main couple are blown out. Had this narrator never existed in first place, perhaps I would have genuinely loved the anime.
In conclusion: is this another generic romcom? No. The self awareness and development of events and main characters are good enough and the animation helps in great ways to surpass the cons Kaguya sama has. If you are into romance anime, then I can say this is for you. If you felt disappointed with melodramatic high school romances with japanese comedy focused on fanservice, this also has fun with this trope too!
PS:Today's results.... good Romcom genre has returned!
