LogFAQs > #970910278

(I had already watched S1 of Kaguya and only gave it a 3/10. handsomeboy had hoped the later seasons would turn my opinion around, so watching them was his recommendation.)

BONUS. Kaguya-sama: Love is War
https://myanimelist.net/anime/37999/Kaguya-sama_wa_Kokurasetai__Tensai-tachi_no_Renai_Zunousen
Winter 2019 (12 episodes), Spring 2020 (12 episodes), Spring 2022 (13 episodes)
My Score: TBA, MAL Score: 8.41/10 S1, 8.65/10 S2, 9.07/10 S3
Best Character: Hayasaka Ai
Recommend by: @handsomeboy2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Pb412Bloc

Premise: Student council president Shirogane Miyuki and vice president Shinomiya Kaguya are in love. Both are too proud to confess, however, and they instead scheme to get the other to admit it first.

The Good: I thought the second and third seasons were better than the first. One of my biggest complaints from S1 was that the drama in the last few episodes wasnt my style. S2 and S3 still had drama, but it felt a lot more realistic. It was tied into character personalities or believable misunderstandings, it wasnt just Kaguya's dad being abusive solely to create drama like in S1. I appreciated that. There were also some nice moments in these two seasons! Miko was a good addition to the student council dynamic, and I liked Tsubame. Shirogane's sister and father were fun characters, as was the jealous tsundere Maki. Overall, these two seasons gave me a lot more to enjoy than the first one. However, my favorite things were still aspects that had been there since the beginning. I liked scenarios like when they played the coin truth-telling game and both Shirogane and Kaguya are scheming against each other. The episode where Shirogane learned how to rap was my favorite one of the series. I was also glad that best girl Hayasaka got some more time to shine. These good moments improved my opinion of the show by a measurable amount.

The Bad: Sadly, the main romance between Shirogane and Kaguya still mostly wasn't for me. They had some good moments, though! I loved the episode where they went stargazing and Shirogane was so into astronomy that he forgot all about scheming. He just pulled Kaguya close and started talking about stars, which flustered the hell out of her in a really cute way. It was great seeing Shirogane being so open and genuine in that moment... which confirmed that the premise of the show is my main problem with it. I said in my earlier write-up for S1 that my main reaction to their dilemma was "just admit you like each other you dumb kids", and that didn't change in S2 or S3. There was even a moment where Kaguya herself wondered why she cared so much about not confessing first, and the narrator pointed out that she just destroyed the premise of the show! Sadly, she quickly talked herself back into caring about it again. The Shirogane/Kaguya scheming romance is clearly something that resonated with a lot of people given the show's massive popularity. I just would've preferred if they were more open about it so there could be more cute scenes like the stargazing one. Even by the end of S3, I'm worried they still aren't entirely over the scheming phase of their relationship.

Overall: After watching Kaguya-sama S2 and S3, my opinion of it did rise. I'd probably give it a middling 4/10 now, which honestly isn't a bad ranking from me and is a noticeable improvement from the old 211th 3/10. Still, my main problem is with the show's central premise, and obviously that wasn't going to change. The rare amazing moment, like when they went stargazing and forgot all about their love is war mindgames, made me wish the whole anime could've focused on cute stuff like that. A lot of people really love this show, though, so it's probably good that it didn't cater to me specifically! I can have Snow White with the Red Hair as my optimal anime romance, you guys can have Kaguya, and we can all be happy. Still, thank you for recommending this, handsomeboy! The drama at the end of S1 left a bad taste in my mouth, so left to my own devices it probably would've been a long time before I continued this show. There were enough great moments in S2 and S3 that I'm glad I didn't miss them.