Hey, friends! Through Sunday only, you can read the first ten chapters of Kaguya-Sama: Love is War on Viz.com. Perfectly free, no account necessary! So should you?
What is it?
A rom-com.
What’s it about?
Kaguya (aka Main Girl) and Miyuki (aka Main Boy) are the vice-president and president of the student council at a super-elite school. They are both good-looking and super-smart. And naturally, each thinks very well of himself/herself. Each expects the other to fall in love with her/him and to beg for a return of affections. When, however, six months go by without any confessions on either side, they both start to feel a bit desperate and decide they must convince the other to confess love first!
The admittedly-contrived scenario thus sets up a kind of chess game as each tries to influence the other oh so subtly without giving away his or her own position. It’s like the mind games of The Promised Neverland but without the dystopic horror.
Is it any good?
Of the ten chapters I read, the first three were cleverly funny. If you’ve read or watched No Game, No Life, you have an idea of the kind of out-thinking that goes on here. Chapters 4 was a bit uneven, I felt. But with Chapter 5 a rival (girl) is introduced who, though not quite as intellectually smart as Kaguya, is much smoother at personal relationships. The tension works, and kicks off more character and plot development, thus avoiding the pitfalls that We Never Learn fell into. The remaining chapters were more or less solidly entertaining.
What sets Love is War apart from other high school rom-coms (since, you know, there’s already a few of those in the anime and manga world) is first and foremost the lack of coincidence and contrived scenarios that lead to the opportunities for comedy. Once you accept the initial premise (which, though a bit of a stretch, is pretty mundane as far as MAL premises go!), very little feels implausible. Instead of chance (as, again, with We Never Learn), it’s the mind games that create and drive the comic moments.
For example, when the soon-to-be-Rival Girl (who is not yet a rival when first introduced) mentions she won two tickets to a movie and offers them to the Main Couple, my initial impression was, “Well, ok, people do win movie tickets and perhaps give them away. Sure it’s chance, but it’s not like it’s hugely unlikely.” Turns out it wasn’t chance at all. Main Girl had invented the competition, selected Rival Girl as the winner, and used her knowledge of the latter’s psychology to set up the entire scenario!
Should I read it?
If you enjoy watching people who are intellectually smart but people-stupid, trying to navigate between their hormones and fragile egos with mixed success, then this is the series for you! It’s a fun romp that offers something more than just eye-candy and unlikely hijinks. Time will tell whether this trend continues; for now I recommend it if you want a rom-com that has something a bit different to offer.
Remember, you can read it free and legally on Viz, but only for a few more days!
More chapters will be released later, also for free and also available for a limited time, if Viz follows its usual procedures.