https://images4.alphacoders.com/100/thumb19201002970.jpg The episodic formula tends to get tedious in the long run. Its very unusual to get something that hits all the right notesmaking it challenging to keep it both fresh and unique. Since you need to have a great cast of characters that are likable and have more than enough room for significant development moving forward. The interactions between them should feel natural and mesh well with each other in no way give you this sense that its out of place or inadequately executed. Thats right everything I noted and more Kaguyasama: Love is War surpasses those expectations far above and beyond. The studio A1 Pictures went to every length to make the wellbeloved manga which is already incredible. Even better giving it some damn extraordinary amount of justice in the process. StoryIt follows Shinomiya Kaguya our charming and lovable female lead. She is the vice president of the famous Shuchiin Academy where you will find all kinds of an amusing character. Usually the more famous people attend this academy having made a name for themselves in society. Kaguya is part of the massively influential ShinomiyaZaibatsu. Shes a multitalented genius add on which has no trouble accomplishing anything she sets her mind to for the most part. Except confessing her strong love without turning it into psychological warfare with our main lead Shirogany Miyuki. He is someone who has worked himself from the ground to the top of the mountain and is now considered the top student. In a matter of wealth though he is quite disadvantaged and works many parttime jobs to help his family at home and himself moving forward. You might be asking: but what is the goal or plot for this anime?. Both characters are in love with one another and the purpose is to make the other admit that fact. But whoever confesses first losses or at least is how our lovable main characters see it as. They are proud to do it first. Hence goes to every length to create opportunities to make the other confess to them first. But they always seem to get away in the wittiest and hilarious fashion. It never gets old either. I can assure you that just this one gimmick can amass forth many hilarious and wholesome situations with our cast in different ways. But you would assume that something so simple would become repetitive very fast. Although instead its entertaining all the way through and never lets up the fun. This one of the basis for many things which makes Kaguyasama so unique from other RomCom. On top of that its a psychological characterdriven and relies heavily on our cast. Its not just about Kaguya and Miyuki coming up with all kinds of schemes to come out on top of in different situations. In return leading them ever so closer to confessing their feelings to each other. Its not all rainbow and sunshine. The anime can go into some serious and emotional bits which makes it stand out even more plus making the experience a lot more fulfilling. Yes thats right. It does a most excellent job of developing the cast and remeaning a proper balance at the same time. Besides this anime is more or less for both teenagers and especially the mature audience might be able to appreciate it more. Some of the things it throws at you wont make you think otherwise and the language proves that likewise. Every episode has some nice moment where our cast gets an explored or given growth which can come from any situation you can experience in your everyday life. The standard formula is to expand on it and make our cast learn from it in hilarious ways. It never gets old and always feels fresh and new you really cant help be drawn towards it. Despite the fact its episodic in its core it doesnt feel that way either as mentioned above. Plus If I didnt make it noticeable previously. The comedy is seriously topnotch and never did an episode failed to make me smile or laugh out loud. Comedy is indeed subjective and it does depend on the person. Still I feel like Kaguyasama might not fail you regardless of your preference. As for the pacing it was spoton and never did I think the anime was rushing ahead. As they used everything viable for them to make the experience magnificent. Art and AnimationThe art is so lovely and works well with the vibe of the show and never had any flaws. At least I didnt notice anything significant that stood out. The derp was almost entirely nonexistent and the art always looked terrific and beautifully depicted. A1 Pictures didnt cut any corners showing how much love and care they put in animating this fantastic manga adaptation. They were successfully and accurately able to manipulate the art in any given situation and never failed to make me feel the genuine emotion. It is without a doubt one of the best works if not the best for the studio. After Kaguyasama run I have some profound respect for them and hope they can keep this up for the next anime adaptation they might get their hand on. About animation for a RomCom it has very high production value. Some of the scenes even the minor gets such a massive upgrade and makes for a more meaningful impact. The animator knows what they are doing. Its over the top but make you seriously enjoy yourself and sharpens the fun by an incredible margin. Sound For starters the voice actors did an excellent job during their roles. This also goes for the side cast and less important ones. How Kaguyas voice actor Koga Aoi was able to change her voice swiftly depending on her characters mood. And It didnt feel off in any way. It was spoton and how quick the change was left me quite damn speechless and impressed. It could be any state ranging from anger sadness happiness and the voice actor never ceased to amuse me with her incredible talents. They all deserve a higher wage no doubt. This is one of the most influential voice actings I have seen in recent years. For the more miscellaneous details like the sound effect the quality was high and didnt feel cheap one bit. The opening song was immensely addictive. At first I started with not finding it impressive but before I knew it I was humming the whole tune in my sleep. I fell in love with it and still listen to it to this day. The ending song is beautiful and is an excellent piece to conclude an episode. My favorite would have to be the special one with Chika Fujiwara singing and dancing adorably. The song is super catchy and the dance was just lovely. Studio Kyoto Animation animated this segment and nailed it no question about it. I adored every piece of music the anime dished out. CharactersNot short a fantastic cast as I had implied many times before. They didnt feel dull or tiring from start to end. I didnt dislike any. Only grew more attached to them as they gained builtup and we learned more of their flaws and charm points. Theres best girl and best boy material alike. No one is wast and is sufficiently fleshed out and you cant help but grow genuinely fond. Its in someways rare in most media or literature but Kaguyasame has even a strong side with main role potential. Although the focus was around them is mild. What we did get was satisfactory and enough to grow a strong connection with them. Of course the character development is also vibrant and realistic in a sense. Its slow yet believable and the pacing is not an issue at least not to me. Something tells me everyone else who enjoyed this anime would agree. Lastly you will find all kinds of amusing and quirky characters in Kaguyasama. Every single of them has a distinct and big personality you cant help get drawn toward them. To give a brief introduction to our beloved cast: Outside of the intelligent combo of Kaguya and Miyuki. You have the charming but at the same time dangerous Chika Fujiwara who is more than meets the eye. If you think she is just innocent and precious you are entirely right. But she can pack a massive blow when you least expect it she is quite a secret savage in other words. Then you have Hayasaka Ai who is the secretary to Kaguya. Some of her more impactful moments are much later on. Still the anime managed to give her a satisfying intro. She is a delightful character who can speak in a charming accent on top of being adorable. Her interactions with Kaguya is entirely wholesome. She helps her in many situations and is a brilliant wingwoman. Lastly for this season you have the otaku Ishigami Yuu with a fragile heart. He is ever so slightly socially awkward around other people. But like Chika hes hiding a secret side of his own which you might get to experience now and then if you are lucky. He is my favorite male in Kaguyasama but Miyuki doesnt fall short either. I wanna give a brief mention to our lovely fiesty little cinnamon roll tsundere Miko Iino shell make her debut in the sequel. I can tell you this. Mikos interactions with the group especially Ishigami are some of my favorites. She is quirky and so hilarious and adds even more comedy substance and emotional elements to the story. The NegativeIn my opinion there was nothing quite negative about the anime adaptation for Kaguyasama. Although the order at the chapter was adapted was kind of random in some cases not counting if it was a miniarc. That said this was hardly that big of an issue. If anything you have a lot more to experience in the source material the anime couldnt get to. Also since its episodic. The only issue would stem from character growthrelated arc. To that end the studio nailed it and I couldnt be happier about this solid adaptation. ConclusionI wholeheartedly recommend this to all fans including newcomers. Its an excellent gateway into the anime world and shows you just how much fun you can get if you decide to convert over. It has high rewatch value and thats rare in short form. Also be sure to check out the source material. Its impressive. One of my favorites manga I am reading at the moment. If you loved the anime you definitely should possible from start and experience everything the anime mightve skipped over. Its always lovely to experience two sides of the same coin you know. Not only that Kaguyasama: Love is War is by itself is one of the best anime adaptation to date which far surpasses many others you see nowadays. I would urge anyone who loves some romance with an overflowing cast filled with charm. And a slight twist to give this a try. I can guarantee for many that it wont disappoint. It certainly did not for me and I had an absolute blast watching this till the end.