Love Is A Battlefield: "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" Volume 1 Review

There are times when falling in love is the simple part. Getting to actually confess said love might end up being the real problem. This concept is explored in "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" the newest manga from Aka Akasaka, brought to us in English by our friends at VIZ Media! Let's take a look at what sort of hijinks one can get into when trying to get someone to confess their love!

It's the beginning of the review and this is usually where I talk about the plot, but I wonder if I could really fill up an entire section describing it. Short and simple, the story follows Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane the Vice President and President of Shuchin Academy's Student Council respectively. They are the shining stars of the school and while they appear cold and aloof to everyone on campus, the entire school sees them as the perfect couple, potentially at least. As chance would have it the duo are actually pretty well in love with each other but their pride keeps them from admitting it to each other. Six months of waiting for the other to confess their love finally brings them to the point where the two are resorting to trapping the other into asking the other out. From here on the manga doesn't really have a plot per se but is instead made up of individual "battles" where a "winner" is chosen at the end. The "winners" never really come out on top though as each chapter ends with the two at pretty much the exact point where they started. While this seems like it would get old really fast I must admit that as a concept I never tired of the chapters and this setup allowed for some very humorous scenarios. Since there isn't too much to talk about plot-wise, let's move onto the characters.

Talking about the characters in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is actually a very easy process as there are really only three that get anything resembling long amounts of screen time.. Besides our embattled duo of Kaguya and Miyuki there is one more that needs to be discussed. Enter Chika Fujiwara, the secretary of the Student Council. Chika serves as a balance to the two and innocently acts as both a catalyst and a roadblock depending on the chapter. I initially thought she might prove to be some sort of romantic rival but, besides one passing reference to it in a chapter, this was not the case. Not much is told about her background (Except that apparently her and Kaguya have had sleepovers and the like in the past.) but I found her the most likeable in this story, perhaps because she is quite a bit more down to Earth than the other two. I really wish I could talk more about the characteristics of the other two, but there isn't a whole lot to tell. Miyuki is literally never seen outside of his school uniform and is apparently one of the smartest people in Japan, a fact that is often repeated. It's revealed that he can't swim and is scared of bugs, but beyond that we don't learn to much about him. I was expecting a payoff to the revelation that he went to a weekend date in his school uniform (Perhaps a revelation that his family is poor.) but there wasn't anything of the sort. Perhaps more will be revealed about him in future chapters. Kaguya, on the other hand, comes from a super rich family that is among the elite of the elite in Japan. We do get a little more character on her part as she is sometimes seen rebelling against her sheltered lifestyle in an attempt to find a sort of "normal" happiness. Perhaps this desire is what sparks her interest in Miyuki, but it's never fully addressed. While characterization is fairly week all around I got the feeling that this first volume favored Kaguya over Miyuki in terms of characterization and screen time. She of course is the title character, but I occasionally wanted to see more of Miyuki's thought processes here and there.

Let's move onto art a bit. Perhaps because the series doesn't have a whole lot going on in terms of variety of characters the main trio all have great designs. Kaguya and Chika's designs are especially well-done and Miyuki doesn't sport that "everyman" look that a lot of male manga protagonists are often stuck with. Backgrounds and the like are also nicely executed and nothing ever struck me as bland even if the settings themselves weren't too unique. On the odd occasion that we get to see a different character they too often looked unique and made me hope that they'd get a repeat appearance later on down the road. Perhaps this is eventually the case, but I should say that none of these extra characters make any sort of repeat appearance. The opening chapter even has some color pages which is something I often complain about when they're omitted. Basically the art here is excellent and is probably this manga's strongest point.

It might seem that this manga is pretty hollow if you're following my descriptions so far, but that wouldn't do Kaguya-sama: Love Is War proper justice. There is something here that kept me reading every chapter even though I knew that the overall plot wasn't actually going to advance all that much. What the story lacks in terms of variety it makes up in heart and some genuinely funny and/or touching moments. The chapter regarding the trio's lunches was very well-done and it displayed some of the flaws inherent in Kaguya's thought process that saw her on a pedestal above everyone else. The scene where the two might actually go out on a date to the movies is played out well and provides more than its share of funny moments. Even the first chapter is well-done and we get to know exactly what Chika's role in this will be in just a few pages. While this isn't exactly the deepest story out there it definitely isn't shallow and I was kept completely entertained and read this entire volume in one sitting.

Now you might wonder if this one is for you and that honestly depends on what kind of story you're looking for. If you want a well-written dramatic romance then you want to look elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you want something fun, quirky, and cute then pick up Kaguya-sama: Love is War. You won't regret it!

-Kaz

​For more information on Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and for a free preview:
www.viz.com/kaguya-sama-love-is-war

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OVERALL RATING: A

Pros:
+Surprisingly good use of a simple plot device.
+There are only three characters to get to know and they're all likeable.
+Genuinely touching and funny.
+Great character designs and art.

Cons:
-Even though well-executed, the central premise is very thin.
-Future volumes of the series might need more characters to spice things up.
-Many of the chapters seem fairly interchangeable.

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Note: This item was provided to us by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This fact does not affect the outcome of the review in any way