Kaguya-Sama: Love is War - Volume 5 (Review)
The anime may have just concluded, but we still have the Kaguya-Sama: Love is War manga to enjoy!
The Story
Both Shinomiya and Shirogane have had lackluster summer breaks. The ever proud Shinomiya doesn’t want to admit weakness and text Shirogane first. Meanwhile, Shirogane doesn’t want to initiate the conversation and ask Shinomiya out! This leads both of them to head to the school on the off chance they will bump into the other. Fate is not kind on this day though, and the two miss each other by minutes.
Another opportunity arises when Shinomiya learns about Twitter. With Hayasaka’s help, she is able to set up a Twitter account so she can begin stalking *ahem* following Shirogane. Much to her dismay, Shinomiya finds that Shirogane has a private account, meaning she will need to request to follow him. This proves to be an impossible task, so Shinomiya does the next best thing and makes her account private as well. That way, Shirogane will need to ask her permission to follow her.
Back from her vacation to Egypt, Chika is craving some ramen! In her hunt for the delicious noodles she stumbles upon a smaller ramen shop. Inside she impresses both another patron and the owner with her refined order and use of garlic. Way to go Chika!
Even though Shinomiya hasn’t seen Shirogane once this summer, she still has the fireworks festival to look forward to! That is, until her family forbids her from going. With Hayasaka’s help she breaks out of her room and heads to meet up with everyone at the festival. In a tragic twist of fate, she completely misses the show. Just when all seems lost, Shirogane finds her and drags her and the others into Shinomiya’s car. They head to Chiba to see the fireworks at the Kisarazu festival. In a race against time, the teens emerge from the Aqua line tunnel at the exact moment the fireworks show begins.
This is a defining moment for Shinomiya’s feelings for Shirogane. While the others are enamored with the fireworks, Shinomiya can’t take her eyes off of Shirogane. Suffice it to say, both their actions this evening have ramifications once school starts again. Neither one can stand to face the other, and they quickly fall back into their tsundere habits. Well, nearly fall back. The two realize they want to spend time around each other. This culminates in Shirogane discreetly picking the same elective as Shinomiya. Conversely, Shinomiya begins planning a birthday surprise for Shirogane.
The Review
So, this volume was the cutest heckin’ thing I’ve read in a while. Shirogane’s heroics are just so romantic that even I was swooning! In all seriousness, it is great to see at least one of them make a move to progress their relationship. On top of that, it shows Shirogane really knows Shinomiya more than he lets on. That connection on a deeper level proves this is more than just a schoolboy crush.
Volume 5 of Kaguya-Sama also has some great comedic moments. Despite feeling like filler, Chika’s ramen adventure is hilarious. I also really enjoy Chika’s friendship with Shirogane. Their bromance feels really authentic and is just so incredibly wholesome.
I wish I could find something to critique about this volume, but I can’t. It’s just so good. The roller coaster of emotions I experienced is a ride I never want to get off. I highly recommend checking out this volume of Kaguya-Sama!
Fans looking to add Kaguya-Sama: Love is War Volume 5 to their manga library can find out more information here.