Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2

Episode 1

After a schoolyear-sized break, Kaguya Shinomiya, Miyuki Shirogane, and the rest of the oddballs at Shuchiin Academy return for another round of high-tension, low-stakes psychological warfare. While the two leads' romantic feelings for one another continue to be the driving force behind the various shenanigans, Kaguya-sama: Love is War's second season has thus far functioned as more of an ensemble piece than its freshman season. Whereas the majority of skits used to be built around Kaguya and Miyuki's perpetual battle of the minds, many of season two's initial offerings give supporting players a chance to take center stage and guide the narrative. In fact, the premiere episode features several segments in which Kaguya and Miyuki's game of oneupmanship feels secondary.

None of this is a bad thing, mind you. Comedies built around a single gimmicky premise often get stale quickly, and while the show's first season showed no signs of wearing thin, turning the proceedings into more of a group affair has helped inject the series with some fresh energy. Season one wisely opted to take its time in introducing supporting characters like Ishigami and Hayasaka. Instead of simply plopping them into the mix and forcing them down the viewer's throat, Kaguya-sama gave us these characters in small doses and incorporated them into more stories at a comfortably organic pace until they came to feel like essential parts of the show's world. (Chika, however, was perfect from the get-go.) Of course, meticulous character work and mild tweaks to the core premise wouldn't amount to much if the show weren't as funny as ever. Fortunately, as was the case last season, the vast majority of jokes are incredibly sharp and perfectly-timed. Furthermore, the laughs are delivered in just the right quantity. At no point do the proceedings start to lag, and at no point does the audience feel like it's being bombarded with too many jokes to process.

The season premiere features four solid segments that reintroduce us to the show's small yet intricate world. The first story finds the ever-diligent Hayasaka going to comically absurd lengths to keep outside parties away from the student council room as Kaguya sets her latest scheme in motion. Despite being this week's shortest offering, the segment contains a number of clever gags and features appearances from nearly every member of the main and supporting casts. The unique ways in which Hayasaka prevents the various characters from interfering adeptly illustrate just how familiar she is with their individual quirks and eccentricities. (She's even able to handle Chika, the perpetual agent of chaos, with relative ease.) The choice to begin the show with a segment focused of Hayasaka makes perfect sense. She's one of the few secondary characters who really understands the lengths to which Kaguya will go to triumph over Miyuki. The girl is a chameleon, a bodyguard, and an expert spy all in one. For her efforts to pay off in Kaguya making zero progress is the perfect encapsulation of this show.

In the second segment, the student council—all of whom are inexperienced in matters of physical intimacy—try in vain to determine how far Tsubasa (who's displaying a new devil-may-care attitude) and Nagisa took their relationship over summer vacation. After the gang goes out of their way to spy on the happy couple, Nagisa surprises them by revealing that every assumption they had about their level of intimacy was wrong. In addition to showcasing just how naïve the four main characters are regarding relationships, this segment marks one of the few instances in which a third party effectively punks the entire student council. Given all the intelligence these characters regularly display, it's always entertaining to see them faced with an issue about which they know virtually nothing.

The third story sees the gang playing the Happy Life Game, a board game Chika co-created with the school's tabletop gaming club. Bearing many similarities to The Game of Life, players draw cards and move spaces to determine their education levels, careers, and family lives. True to character, Ishigami inadvertently takes himself out of the game immediately, while Kaguya finds great financial success—but never the spouse she desires. On the flipside, Chika and Miyuki get married and start a family, much to Kaguya's chagrin. Although Kaguya ultimately emerges as the game's winner, she's less than thrilled by her victory and has no desire to play again. The game itself, as well as her general enthusiasm while playing it, are peak Chika. While the game is chaotic and the rules are all over the place, there's still an order to the way things proceed, and a certain level of genuine creativity clearly went into its design. Despite his near-instant death, even Ishigami admits to enjoying the game (but also points out its copious flaws). The uptight Kaguya, as always, makes the perfect foil for Chika's antics.

This segment also helps reestablish the dynamic between the four student council members while providing plenty of hilarious opportunities for overdramatic reactions to the game not leading to a happily-ever-after for Kaguya and Miyuki. Of course, neither can admit that's why they're unhappy, so Chika obliviously celebrates her “marriages” to not just Miyuki, but to Kaguya after her in-game divorce, making the lead duo even more depressed. Ishigami being instantly killed on his first move in the game is another funny gag that emphasizes his role as more of an observer than an active participant in much of the shenanigans in the student council.

In this week's final segment, the student council discusses horoscopes and sign compatibility. With Miyuki's birthday approaching, Kaguya (who pretends not to remember the exact date) is eager to determine the compatibility of their signs. Although he openly disparages horoscopes, Miyuki actually follows them fervently—and since he knows his sign only has a 50 percent compatibility rating with Kaguya's, he refuses to reveal his birthday to her a second time. However, Kaguya interprets this as him wanting to celebrate the big day exclusively with her and sets to work planning a party for just the two of them. While this story contains hints of the leads' trademark mind games, the evasiveness and feigned ignorance don't come across as callous or mean-spirited. Whether this is the result of genuine character growth remains to be seen, but neither party seemed as dead-set on tripping the other up as they once did. Even if the birthday party Kaguya intends to put together is never revisited, it was satisfying to see her so happy, especially since the segment began with a flashback to the joyless Kaguya of old. Interestingly, Ishigami, who lives his life in fear of Kaguya, is repulsed by the cheery demeanor she displays at the end of the episode.

With first-rate comedy, endearing characters, sharp visuals, and attractive animation, Kaguya-sama: Love is War is back in full force. Whether big changes are in the cards or the series sticks to the status quo, it's hard to walk away from this show feeling anything but entertained. If Kaguya-sama is able to maintain this level of quality for the next few months, we should be in for another great season.

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Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 is currently streaming on Funimation.

Amy is an author who has loved anime for over two decades.