Kaguya-sama Love is War vol.1 (Manga Review)

By: I.Am.No.Man

Summary

Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki attend the prestigious Shuchiin Academy. They are the top of their class, President and Vice President, the most studious, ingenuous, and creative amongst the students considered the best of the best. The beautiful, intense Kaguya comes from a rich, business savvy family, while the quiet Miyuki Shirogane excels in his studies in every way. They are a perfect match for each other, and everyone seems to think so, except for Kaguya and Miyuki.Kaguya comes from a wealthy, luxurious lifestyle of leisure. She demands the best from herself and everyone around her. She finds her classmate, student President Miyuki, a step below her on the social status, and though she finds him appealing, knows she could never bring him home to her family.Miyuki knows the value of studying and hard work and has proven time and time again that he is a giant among men. He is, at first, intimidated by the intense presence of Kaguya, but begins to view her as a beautiful, complex puzzle that must be solved.Though they have more brains between them than the rest of their school combined, they are both supremely novice at the intricacies of courtship and love. To these two young student, love is war and whoever is the first to confess their love is the loser. Once they are both aware that they have a crush, everything changes. Simple every day interactions are over-analyzed, and everything becomes a game of wits. The tensions rise, and their interactions escalate bringing them closer and closer to the moment one of them will break and confess their love. 

Review

I loved this manga. I loved it! I thought for sure I was going to have to slog through an overly emotional, cheesy, exaggerated story of unrequited high school love. But this manga played out more like an intense one-on-one game of wits between two hyper-intelligent opponents. The scenes flowed together nearly flawlessly and kept me turning pages. The author plays into the satiric nature of the story and doesn’t shy away from going over the top to really hit a punchline.The character development is so on point. I feel like I instantly knew the personalities of the three main characters and loved each of their distinct quirks and mannerisms. The intensity and passion in each interaction between Kaguya and Miyuki is satisfyingly juxtaposed with the more clueless, easy going, carefree Fujiwara.The humor and satire is what really makes this story shine. The sexual tension between the two finds a way to sneak into every interaction they have. One of my favorite scenes was the lunch break, when Kaguya literally pines over Miyuki’s sausage and Kaguya offers her oyster in exchange for a bite.

I would definitely recommend picking up this manga if you’re interested in a light, humorous, engaging read. I can’t wait to see how much longer Kaguya and Miyuki can keep up this game of war.Want to read Kaguya-sama Love is War? Find it online here!Viz Media provided us with a digital copy of this manga in exchange for a fair review.