Summary
One of the most successful romantic comedies in recent anime has to be Aka Akasaka’sKaguya-sama: Love is War, an over-the-top anime centered on two high schoolers who are in love but will under no circumstances be caught showing their true feelings to the other.
The series is extremely popular in Japan and with western audiences, and one of the main reasons for the success ofKaguya-sama: Love is Warlies in the realistic depiction of budding love in the springtime of one’s youth, while being firmly in the realm of hyperbole or parody. How exactly doesKaguya-sama: Love is Warreflect realistic aspects of romantic love during adolescence?
Kaguya-sama Love is War is available for streaming onCrunchyroll.
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The Battlefield
The main dynamic inKaguya-sama: Love is Warlies in the titular character Kaguya Shinomiya’s dynamic with Miyuki Shirogane, who are the Student Council Vice and President of their school, the prestigious Shuchiin Academy. Despite both harboring an intense crush on the other, the series hinges on the psychological warfare they wage against each other in an attempt to confirm the other’s feelings before revealing their own.
The intro scene in the first episode sets up the idea that romantic love, as much as it is a blissful experience, is actually a battlefield; anundeniable power dynamic arisesbetween the involved parties, and invariably, one of them comes out as the “winner”. With this conception of romance seared into the minds of the main duo, Kaguya and Miyuki struggle to find common ground as one tries to force a confession out of the other through intricate tactics, psychological warfare and other tricks, while desperately trying to keep the truth of their own feelings hidden.
Adolescence
As first-year high schoolers, the main characters are barely even 16, and anyone who has been that age and developed romantic feelings for another person can understand the sheer awkwardness of that time in life. The awkwardness and shame of adolescence, coupled together with the intense pride of both characters is the backbone of the comedy in the series. Despite having no romantic experience to speak of, Miyuki ends up offering advice to a fellow student who mistakenly believed him to be good at that kind of thing. There’s also the overwhelming sway of public opinion – as the two most popular kids at school, Kaguya and Miyuki are not only revered by their fellow students but are constantly “shipped”. The idea that they are already an item creates a pervasive pressure for them. On one hand, they are trying very hard to avoid letting their true feelings show, but the boundless encouragement they are getting from the other students regarding the apparent feasibility of their relationship increases the difficulty of their obfuscation.
The other thing that makesKaguya-sama: Love is Warrealistic is therelatability of the characters, particularly when it comes to the difficulty of deciphering another person’s feelings and not having the confidence to risk rejection. There’s also the rush to maturity that adolescents experience as a result of feeling like they are falling behind “normal” developmental and social milestones, even people who are thought to be popular, gifted or beautiful struggle with these elements even if it seems like things are geared for their success in romance.
Miscommunication
A usual tenet of romance anime is the frequency of misunderstanding used as a comedic device.Kaguya-sama: Love is Warleans heavily on this element to create further tension between the main characters. From the outside looking in, it is pretty obvious that they have feelings for each other, and like in most romance anime,Kaguya-sama: Love is Wartakes a long time to confirm what has been known from the beginning. On some level, the fact Kaguya and Miyuki develop these feelings for each other while working on the student council together is one of the series' most realistic depictions of the development of romantic feelings, as it takes a lot of time spent together for a genuine romance to blossom.
