Manga Review: Kaguya-sama Love is War, Volume 13, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: March 2020

Volumes: 19+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 12. 14.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Ishigami make a confession of love? Who would date someone who is both an emo gamer and a former school pariah…? Meanwhile, someone is ready to confess her love to Shirogane—and it’s not Kaguya! Then Ino sabotages a romantic tour of a haunted house, Shirogane reveals some unexpected nonacademic skills, Kaguya accidentally dispenses good advice and a fortune teller foretells an ominous date for our pride-crossed lovers—no, not that kind of date. Plus heart-themed key rings, cookies, takoyaki and balloons!

But nobody turns down Stanford.

Review:

 

The school festival has finally started, and each class is focusing on their own activities. Kaguya is in a cosplay cafe, where she's idolized before being able to serve and attempt to show her tea-making skills—a surprising point of pride for her.

Chika and Shinomiya are doing balloon animals, which Shinomiya finally figured out how to do. Kaguya tries to trick him into making her a heart, though that doesn't quite go as planned. She also tries to trick him into taking a heart from her, though that also doesn't quite work. Her attempts at confessing her love without actually doing so are a bit too tricky to work, apparently.

Then there's Yu, who inadvertently confesses and doesn't know it, so doesn't understand what everyone else is going through regarding his confession. It's a debacle that he's created, and it's still unclear whether it's a good or a bad thing. I'm rooting for him, though.

Kaguya is thrown a twist at the end of the volume, but this series is still going strong, so I don't know if they're going to be doing any real confessing any time soon or not.

This series started with them treating confessing as a challenge and a competition. Now it's somehow formed into trying to trick the other person into loving them without ever acknowledging it. Trying to spend as much time together as a couple without anyone saying the words. I kind of like the change it has taken.

 

 

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama Love is War, Volume 12, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2020

Volumes: 18+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 11. 13.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Shirogane ever admit to his insignificant but seemingly infinite lack of nonacademic talents? And what of the other student council members? Are any of them willing to see themselves objectively? Then it’s time for the school cultural festival, which harkens back to a legend of ancient personal sacrifice that inspires the present-day students…symbolically, at least. Plus, a student council arm wrestling competition, balloon animals and a flashback episode to Shirogane’s first awkward weeks as an outsider at Shuchiin High.

Cosplay makes the woman.

Review:

Now that graduation is getting closer, Kaguya and Miyuki are forming different perspectives on their relationship. Kaguya is still just beginning to understand her real feelings, and still trying to goad Miyuki into confessing or asking her out. But Miyuki, on the other hand, has accepted his feelings and is suddenly reacting very different from how Kaguya expects. Suddenly he's just agreeing with her teasing, and she doesn't know how to deal with it.

At the end of the volume we get a surprising new insight into how these two got in this position, how they first met when they started as freshmen. But before that, we see Miyuki and Kaguya attempting to push their relationship forward, only to be met with outside forces interfering, or even their own fears interfering. Like when they start flirting and Kaguya shows him a few costume options for her class' cafe. And when Miyuki starts questioning how other people view him.

Then there are a few chapters outside of them. Ishigami and Miko try helping out with the festival committee, and we again see how Ishigami can be quite outgoing in certain circumstances. And when Miyuki has troubles with balloon animals, and Chika has flashbacks from teaching him. These are some of my favorite moments, honestly. Including when she forces the group to have a thumb war because Ishigami insults her, and it doesn't quite turn in her favor.

This is a lot of fun. I thought the series was wrapping up soon, but apparently not. It's still going strong.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama Love is War, Volume 11, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2019

Volumes: 17+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 10. 12.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Miyuki and Kaguya help Yu escape the aggro of all his female classmates, let alone win the favor of the girl he’s crushing on? Then, it’s Miyuki who is teaching Chika a new skill for a change. Kaguya faces the temptations and pitfalls of her new smartphone and social media. Hayasaka takes on yet another secret identity. And the student council’s parents cross paths at school conferences to decide where their children will attend college.

When you make plans, the gods laugh.

Review:

There's a brief respite in this volume, as exams are coming up. Everyone has to keep up their good composure, but they're all freaking out in their own ways, working hard to get a good score. That's brief, though, as Kaguya is still figuring out how to work her new texting system. The group starts spending more time together, so Miyuki wants to learn to rap. And then we discover just how many personas Ai has created in order to keep her identity a secret from Kaguya's friends, and there's some confusion and mixing of worlds there.

It seems to be hinting that the series might be ending soon. As the year is coming closer to an end, and they all have to decide what they're doing after school, Kaguya and Miyuki are going to have to decide what to do about their feelings pretty soon. Aside from that, this is still a lot of fun. I really like Ai's character, and I appreciate that the stories are running together more and creating bigger plot lines.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama Love is War, Volume 10, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2019

Volumes: 16+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 9. 11.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Hayasaka prove to Kaguya that she can win Miyuki’s heart after all…while singing karaoke? Then the student council engages in some competitive cooking. Yu tries to spare Miko the embarrassment of the others discovering that she likes to listen to sexy voice actors whisper sweet nothings. And Kaguya declines to participate in a group date involving Miyuki—with a predictable impact on her mental stability.

At some point, you’ve got to upgrade your phone.

Review:

Somewhere along the way in this series, Kaguya and Shirogane have kind of accepted their feelings for each other. They're still worried about what the other will think if they confess this, but a lot of their trials now involve trying to make the other person think about them or react to them. They still want the other to confess first, but it's clearly because they're too afraid to do it themselves.

So far, Kaguya has figured out a trick to make herself not react to Shirogane. And poor Shirogane has to deal with Ai punishing Kaguya through him.

There's a few big chapters for Kaguya in this volume. She has to see Shirogane with other girls, she loses her precious photos when she gets a new phone, and we get to see how terrible of a girlfriend she could be regarding boundaries. We also get a fun cooking-competition parody episode in this one—as Chika thinks she's a smart food critic.

This is a really fun series. It's nice to see where the characters have gone so far and where they'll be pushed to next.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama Love is War, Volume 9, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 2019

Volumes: 16+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 8. 10.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Chika agree to train genius Miyuki one more time to make up for yet another of his surprising deficiencies? Then, Miyuki’s sister and father meddle in his (mostly hypothetical) love life. Are they too soon or too late? Rumors that plague Ishigami have serious personal and academic consequences. The much-anticipated, much-dreaded Sports Day finally arrives! And Chika dreams up a new game for the student council to play together—with literally explosive results.

Who cares what other people think?

Review:

Kaguya is having a hard time with her feelings of love, as her heart goes crazy and she thinks she must be dying. So she's trying to find ways to cope, including finding rituals to calm her mind.

In this volume is also the sports festival. This includes some competitions and odd miscommunication. We get to meet Shirogane's father, and Chika's father and sister. This explains some things, and creates some issues for Kaguya.

In a surprising serious-ish plot, we find out some of Ishigami's history, what led to him being on the student council and why people seem to have a misunderstanding of his character. His new understanding of it and coping with his new reality after it all, leads to him opening his eyes to the world again. It's an oddly sweet plot, and I think will give Ishigami more to work for. He's finally starting to see the people around him.

This is a fun series, and I'm glad it's expanding the plot lines a bit more. 

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama Love is War, Volume 8, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2019

Volumes: 16+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 7. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Miyuki’s hormones keep him loyal to Kaguya or lead him astray? Meanwhile, Miko is interpreting everything she observes in the student council as risqué. Then, a shojo manga makes everyone romance crazy. Somebody actually, finally asks somebody out! And Kaguya and Miyuki accidentally get locked inside a room together…

Lovesick: figure of speech or actual ailment?

Review:

Now that Miko Ino is part of the student council, she gets to settle in with the cast and find her place. And the others aren't setting a great impression.

She's still too strict, and somehow idolizes Chika. Chika in turn tries to make her loosen up, get her to relax some of her uptightness. But then there's all this talk of love, and she's starting to think Miyuki is a sexual deviant. She's beginning to think this student council isn't the place for her. When she talks to her best friend about it all, that changes her opinion completely, and now she might be on Yu's side, actually.

Some of the plots between Miyuki and Kaguya are getting a little tiring, mainly because I think I want some progress. Plus, the chapter where they got trapped in the gym closet—it would have made more sense if they'd worried the other person thought they'd fixed this up themselves, as opposed to assuming the other one had done it.

But I do still enjoy the craziness of this series, and I like the addition of Miko Ino. She's an interesting character to me.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama Love is War, Volume 7, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: March 2019

Volumes: 15+

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 6. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first...?!

Will Miyuki get reelected as student council president? Is newcomer Miko Ino going to be serious competition…or a school laughingstock? Then, Kaguya and Miyuki draw each other in art class (results may vary). Yu wants to do the right thing. Miyuki catches up on sleep, which has an unexpected effect on his attractiveness to women—especially Kaguya. And Kaguya anxiously awaits a certain invitation.

Does underwear make the man?

Review:

This volume contains the student council campaign arc. The student council is open for re-election, and Kaguya has persuaded Shirogane to run for president again. All of this is mainly because Kaguya doesn't want their time together to end, and she doesn't know what excuse they would have for spending time together outside of the council. Shirogane already has a pretty good reputation and background as president, so it would take some good competition for him to lose. It's up for debate whether Miko Ino is that good of competition.

I rather liked how this plot developed and concluded. The conclusion had little doubt, really, but Miko made some good conflict. Despite her very strict views, she does have good intentions, and it's actually pretty easy to like her.

By the end of the volume, things have mostly gone back to normal, it seems. I'm excited to see what this expansion of characters adds to the series.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama Love is War, Volume 6, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2019

Volumes: 14+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Kaguya figure out what Miyuki wants for his birthday plus present him with the perfect cake? Is treasurer Yu flunking out of school and beyond help…or can the person he fears most get him back on track? Then, the romantic Autumn Moon Viewing Festival leads to some stellar night moves. The student council plays a role-playing game in which at least one member doesn’t get to play out their fantasy. Ai assumes an alter ego to prove she can get Miyuki to fall in love with her in just one day. And Miyuki’s time as student council president is up!

We play many roles in life.

Review:

Pretty much all of the problems in this series is because the characters overthink everything. Kaguya and Miyuki both want something, but want the other person to admit it first, and thus they overthink everything they say, and everything the other person says, and how to react and what reaction that will cause. It's gone so far beyond a game between them at this point, I think.

There are some light chapters in the beginning, including a girls' day out, and some conflict/helpful studying between Kaguya and Ishigami. And also Ai pushes Kaguya regarding how little progress she's made with Miyuki. But then it's time for a new student council to take over, as they're going on to becoming third years. Which means they could try again, or there could be new people in their roles.

The reactions and the relationships are a bit ridiculous in this series. It's a lot of fun to follow.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Volume 5, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2018

Volumes: 13+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Kaguya and Miyuki find a way to see each other sooner rather than later over summer vacation? And is tweeting really an effective way to communicate with your crush?

Then, Kaguya’s overprotective staff try to prevent her from going to the fireworks festival with the rest of the student council, Miyuki and Kaguya both try to find a way to enroll in the same elective class and someone tries to celebrate someone else’s birthday with style!

Some people believe the stars determine your compatibility.

Review:

It's summer vacation. And while Kaguya and Miyuki have shared their phone numbers, and potentially made plans, they both still refuse to be the first to make contact. They're essentially in the same position: miserable because the other person won't text them.

We get a surprising amount of vulnerability in this volume. All Kaguya wants to do is see the fireworks with her friends, and yet her family turns out to be very strict regarding her whereabouts. Miyuki does something spur-of-the-moment for the first time, in an attempt to make her wish come true. It's very sweet, and should be a momentous occasion as they're actually honest about something with each other—but, of course, instead they end up worrying and regretting everything.

After summer vacation, a new school year starts. They get new electives, and get to catch up with their classmates. Poor Chika gets tortured again, as Miyuki needs her help overcoming a weakness of his—and he admits that Chika is the only one he can show his weaknesses to. Though probably not in the way that Chika takes that statement.

It looks like Miyuki's birthday is coming upon us, and it should be interesting how Kaguya decides to show affection while pretending she's superior.

This is really a great series. I'm rather hooked now, and hope that they figure themselves out at some point. In the mean time, though, I enjoy discovering more out about Chika, and seeing how Yu gets scarred and insulted even more.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Volume 4, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2018

Volumes: 11+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Kaguya and Miyuki outsmart a psychological test designed to reveal their true feelings? Is spoon feeding each other cake the way to each other’s hearts?

Also, Miyuki visits Kaguya’s home for the first time, but she is too sick to enjoy it. Kaguya tries to befriend Miyuki’s little sister, but Chika has beaten her to the punch. And summer vacation arrives, but the student council still hasn’t agreed on a destination.

Summer vacation is more fun with friends.

Review:

There are a few episodic chapters in this volume still—and really, all of them have very singular plots—but then the story expands to continuous plots. Firstly, we see Chika trying to play a game, and then she's tricked into teaching Shirogane again, much to her detriment. But then a storm mess-up leads into Kaguya getting sick, and then we get to see her unguarded for the first time. Shirogane visits her, and for the first time, she's sweet and vulnerable. She vaguely remembers what happened when he visited, which leads to her wondering if he did anything compromising to her—and she's really more upset that he didn't.

After all of that, Kaguya gets to meet Shirogane's little sister. And finally, it looks like we'll be getting a vacation plot line in the next one. I can only imagine there'll be more crazy thoughts there.

This series has really grown on me, and now I just enjoy it so much. It's so ridiculous, in such a sweet way.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Volume 3, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 2018

Volumes: 11+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will Kaguya and Miyuki share the shelter of an umbrella in a storm? Is carrying a knife dripping with blood proof that Kaguya is trying to kill a member of the student council? How will Kaguya react when Chika introduces her to potty humor?

Then, Chika must intervene when Miyuki dispenses bad advice on a topic he knows nothing about, Miyuki tries to develop his kinesthetic intelligence and Kaguya and her personal assistant play a practical joke on Miyuki that has dire consequences.

Caffeine is required drinking.

Review:

When this series drops the dramatic, horror pretense, and just explores the conflict of pride and real feelings, of romance, is when it blooms.

We meet a couple new characters in this volume. Kaguya's bodyguard gets some attention, and we meet the student council treasurer, Yu. We meet him as he attempts to resign, because he believes that Kaguya is planning to kill him. His worries are very warranted, and cause quite a lot of humor.

As we explore the romance, and the feelings grow inside Kaguya and Shirogane, we get to see the innocence and truly sweet intentions that they have, behind all of the facade and pride.

One of the key moments in this volume, though—when Kaguya and Chika discover a dirty shojo manga, and we discover how dirty Chika can be. She really is my kind of character. I just get her.

This series has grown on me a lot since I started it, so I'm excited to read the next one.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Volume 2, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2018

Volumes: 11+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two high school geniuses scheme to get the other to confess their love first.

Two geniuses. Two brains. Two hearts. One battle. Who will confess their love first…?!

Will a mysterious love letter to Kaguya make Miyuki jealous? Is drinking from a coffee cup with Kaguya’s lipstick on the rim a virtual kiss? How will Miyuki react when Kaguya says she’s “done it” before?

Then, Miyuki’s phobia is revealed, the VP of Shuchiin Academy’s sister school in France displays epic Gallic rudeness and the student council tries on some costumes…

Nobody can resist cat ears.

Review:

There are moments in this series, where it tries to make the premise seem so dark and dramatic, and those moments just do not work for me. Thankfully, those moments only seem to happen at the very beginning of the volume, in the set-up. It lasted longer in the first volume, and this one starts in the same format, but then it drifts into the more silly stand-offs that this series is better at.

Kaguya and Miyuki are both rather full of themselves, very cocky and think they're above everyone else, and so they both refuse to admit their weaknesses to each other. As the story progresses, we're starting to see their actual feelings growing. Kaguya's crush on Miyuki is growing, much as Miyuki is finding her more and more appealing. It's a fight between their own pride and their feelings for each other. And so far, neither is winning.

In this volume, we see them attempt to make each other jealous. They almost share an indirect kiss. Kaguya is forced to consider her growing crush when she gives another girl relationship advice. They exchange phone numbers, and struggle on how to communicate first. When they try cosplaying, they come to see how cute cat ears can be.

While these struggles are growing on me, I still think that Chika is my favorite. She really can't see the tension between them, aside from when they glare from trying so hard to conceal their excitement. Seeing her dressed up as Sherlock Holmes was adorable. And honestly, seeing Kaguya get annoyed with her at times, annoys me. How dare she not see how great Chika is? (Even if Chika is quite bad at reading a room, and probably at keeping a secret.)

This series is odd and serious in a silly way, and it's growing on me. This volume was better than the first.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Volume 1, by Aka Akasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: March 2018

Volumes: 9+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

All’s fair when love is war!

Two prideful geniuses locked in battle. Who will make the first misstep and in doing so…confess their love?

Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane are two geniuses who stand atop their prestigious academy’s student council, making them the elite among elite. But it’s lonely at the top and each has fallen for the other. There’s just one huge problem standing in the way of lovey-dovey bliss—they’re both too prideful to be the first to confess their romantic feelings and thus become the “loser” in the competition of love! And so begins their daily schemes to force the other to confess first!

Review:

Given the look of the cover, and the title, I expected this to be a darker, possibly psychological, shonen series. But it's... not.

The first couple chapters are a little rough, a little rushed. But after that, it gets more into a flow.

We're quickly introduced to Kaguya and Miyuki, the student council president and vice president. They're admired and looked up to by everyone, seemingly untouchable. Miyuki is rather full of himself, and Kaguya is a bit stuck up. After a bit we meet Chika, the student council secretary, who's bubbly and a bit oblivious.

Each chapter is short and comedic, based around the competition and misunderstandings between Kaguya and Miyuki. Usually they're trying to outplay the other, to make the other confess to a weakness, the other to confess something and thus taking the higher hand themselves. Sometimes one is competing without the other even knowing it.

I will admit that it grew on me by the end of the volume. Chika is my favorite character so far, but I also like how oblivious rich Kaguya can be of the real world.

While this was not at all what I expected, I did have fun reading this volume by the end.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!