We don’t deserve Chika.
What They Say:
“Miyuki Shirogane Still Hasn’t Done It / Kaguya Wants to Be Figured Out / Kaguya Wants to Walk”
When Fujiwara glances at an unwholesome magazine confiscated by the headmaster, she notices to her dismay a survey with the question, “When was your ‘first time’?” The magazine claims 34% of high school students have had that experience. Fujiwara calms a startled Shirogane by doubting the veracity of the figure, believing it to be too high, while Kaguya posits, “This percentage seems about right to me,” and freely admits that she has had that experience. Shirogane, who has never been in a romantic situation, is shocked by Kaguya’s admission, but when she sees his reaction, she uses it as an opportunity to stir him up by asking, “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After commenting on the long, repeated introduction in the previous episode of Kaguya-sama, I appreciate the very meta acknowledgment of that in this episode as it literally fast-forwards through the majority of the material, reducing it to mere seconds that highlight the important parts. Yes, this is the kind of series that can do that after all, so I accept the first two episodes repeating all of that material, if only for the sake of this gag.
Then we’re right back into the formula, which isn’t a terrible thing. The first section tries its hand at being a sex comedy more than the series has up to this point. Anime often struggles with this, using the concept of a “sex comedy” as an excuse for fanservice more than actually clever writing. If anything, we’re usually left with jokes that feel like they were written by middle school boys. There’s a little of that here, but it ultimately works better than many by focusing a little less on the idea that anything sexual is inherently funny and more on not only the endless battle between our protagonists but more importantly the incredible level of ignorance brought on by Kaguya’s sheltered upbringing. Making a character like Chika embarrassed from having to talk about sex is a very common anime trope to convey innocent cuteness, as are Kaguya’s obliviousness and reaction, of course, but as a means to diffuse the tension that Kaguya thought she had complete control over, it ends up being quite amusing.
Next, we have a game of 20 Questions in which Shirogane attempts to guess what Kaguya is thinking of, which seems increasingly likely to reveal her feelings for him. It should be obvious from early on that a game that Kaguya sets up would never result in her confessing, so it requires more suspension of disbelief than most of these battles up to now. However, the gun motif in Shirogane’s mind and the growing intensity from both sides as the game progresses make it highly entertaining to watch, and the anticlimax is potent even if we could largely guess it would be something to that effect.
There’s a certain precedent by now for the third part of the episode to break away from the usual constraints a bit, but this one goes to a completely different level. It’s almost entirely focused on Kaguya with virtually no thoughts of Shirogane, it takes place outside of the school setting, and it barely has any comedy, instead providing a tender little story of Kaguya helping out a young girl while exploring her own loneliness brought about by being the “princess” of an exceedingly wealthy empire. Honestly, the comedic segments of this episode happen to be a lot stronger than this one, but I’m glad to see that the series isn’t afraid to spend some time developing its characters as human beings with more nuanced feelings than “I like him/her” even this early on. It could be used to great effect as we get deeper into the series.
That covers the episode proper, but I would be remiss not to mention the ED, as it is not only a new piece this episode but literally the highlight of the episode as a whole. I never went as crazy for “Hare Hare Yukai” as a lot of people did, but I still love a great dancing sequence. Between the lyrics, the vocal performance, and the quality of pure key animation with no CG to speak of, every frame of this minute and a half is masterfully crafted and criminally adorable. Chika is suddenly the best character, and it’s not even for anything in the actual content of the series.
In Summary:
Kaguya-sama continues to be light, somewhat rote fun, but fun nonetheless, and it has plenty of little touches that elevate it beyond standard anime comedy. The most memorable parts may actually be the meta follow-up to the previous episodes’ introduction and the mind-bogglingly perfect ED, but the regular vignettes continue to deliver common tropes in clever and effective ways, with the third one stepping outside of the norm entirely to show that the series can be more than comedy or even romance.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
LG Electronics OLED65C7P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick
