Kaguya-sama: Love is War - Volume 6 (Review)
By: EyeSpyeAlex
After the hilarious and heart-pounding adventure that was Kaguya-sama: Love is War Volume 5, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Volume 6! Need to catch up? Check out my review of Volume 5 here!
The story
Volume 6 of Kaguya-sama: Love is War opens with a look into how the rest of the school views Miyuki and Kaguya. Kashiwagi once again goes to Kaguya looking for advice. This time it’s regarding a new design for the Volunteer Club’s poster. Much to her surprise, Kashiwagi catches Miyuki and Kaguya flirting with each other! Things get turned up to 11 when the two student council members start fighting over whether a dog or a cat would look better on the poster. Kaguya votes dog while Miyuki votes cat. Kashiwagi soon realizes that their arguments for the superior choice are thinly veiled decorations of love.
From there, the manga spends a lot of time exploring Kaguya’s and Miyuki’s not-so-hidden feelings for each other, and the ways they both struggle to express those feelings. Kaguya goes overboard trying to plan the perfect birthday present for Miyuki. While shopping with his sister Kei brought the two closer, it didn’t provide her with any insight as to what Miyuki likes. After a battle with her conscience, Kaguya decides to give Miyuki a slice of cake and a Masen Tekken fan. Unfortunately she leaves before she realizes how happy she made him.
The manga delves into this even further when the student council plays a game that Chika created. Similar to Life, Chika’s game has the players exploring different personal and career paths. For Kaguya, this means landing on lots of lucky spaces, launching her small business into a global enterprise. Meanwhile Miyuki marries Chika and has nine kids before getting a divorce. As Kaguya’s business becomes more successful her happiness plummets. This is incredibly important as it shows that deep down Kaguya doesn’t want to be like her family. She’d much rather have a mundane life with the person she loves.
Kaguya’s lack of taking action is not only frustrating for her and Miyuki, but also for Hayasaka. Kaguya, annoyed both with herself and Hayasaka, dares Hayasaka to try and seduce Miyuki in a day. Hayasaka takes her up on the offer and gets straight to work. She pulls out all the stops, but when she asks Miyuki on a date he declines and says he has feelings for someone else.
Things really heat up when Miyuki suggests that the student council should go stargazing. Kaguya does her best to get close to Muyuki which doesn’t take much effort; Miyuki is more than willing to get close to someone who wants to learn more about the stars. The conversation takes a turn when they talk about the folktale of Princess Kaguya. The legend has it that Kaguya gave an elixir of immortality to her lover before she was sent back to the moon. Her lover then dumped the elixir into a fire. Miyuki comments that it’s a dumb story because if it was him he’d never let Kaguya go.
Record scratch. Yup, Miyuki just admitted his feelings to Kaguya without even realizing it. The almost confession is too much for Kaguya, who quickly backs away from him. Miyuki, suddenly realizing what he said, is overcome with embarrassment.
As the manga draws to a close, so does Kaguya’s time on the student council. She, Miyuki, Chika, and Ishigami clean up the student council room before leaving it for the last time. The group goes out to celebrate their accomplishments, but the mood quickly becomes somber. Just as the four prepare to depart, Kaguya suddenly asks Miyuki to run for president again. As soon as the words leave Kaguya’s mouth Miyuki whips out an already completed application. While this volume may be over, Miyuki’s re-election campaign is just beginning!
The Review
Volume 6 of Kaguya-sama: Love is War may be one of the best in the series. The story manages to find the perfect balance between romance and humor, resulting in an entertaining read. I enjoy how the more caring sides of Kaguya and Miyuki are explored. For Kaguya, this is when she helps Ishigami prepare for his exams. For Miyuki, this is his birthday money for Kei. We often don’t see our two protagonists show a sensitive side, so this was really a treat.
Readers are also treated to some hilarious faces made by Kaguya. Her reactions to situations are truly top notch. From reactions to Chika and her sister:
To reactions to Ishigami’s test scores:
Our protagonist truly makes some delightful faces that enhance and highlight the funny moments of the volume. Overall, I highly recommend picking up Volume 6 of Kaguya-sama: Love is War. Fans looking to add this to their manga collection can find out more information on where to purchase here from Viz Media.