That was a lie.
What They Say:
“Kaguya Wants Her to Say It / Miyuki Shirogane Can’t Lose / Yu Ishigami Closes His Eyes”
As term-end exams approach, the psychological war between Kaguya and Shirogane in the student council room ramps up. Kaguya is an all-around genius, but her pride is hurt because she hasn’t yet beaten Shirogane when it comes to academics. Meanwhile, when it comes to making an effort, Shirogane is second to no one and as the president of student council, he refuses to let anyone else usurp his position at the head of the class. The two of them lie through their teeth and employ wiles worthy of Machiavelli in an attempt to get ahead of the other. At last, it’s the day of finals, but which of them will the goddess of victory smile upon?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
A new character arrives! She may not be one of the leads, but as Shirogane’s sister, we’re sure to see some more of her in the future. Her role for now is an interesting surrogate for Shirogane in a few ways, as both Kaguya sees her as incredibly cute due to her resemblance immediately and, as is revealed later, she feels some degree of what her brother feels for Kaguya. For most of her appearance, though, Kaguya sees her more as a path to getting to the original Shirogane, with a series of increasingly entertaining fantasies dealing with the possible ways that befriending the little sister, Kei, could lead her to effectively a play marriage with the big brother. The comedic climax of the story comes from Chika’s sudden entrance, as it often does, albeit not because of Chika’s usual characteristics so much as that her own family has given her exactly the connections that Kaguya craves. The most humorous part of this is Kaguya’s immediate switch from thinking the most horrendous things about Chika to seeing her as the most beloved friend a girl could ever ask for. It’s a little extreme for a plan involving several unlikely leaps to land a boy she likes, but I suppose that’s par for the course in this show.
The second part is absolutely the highlight of the episode and, given that the third is essentially a spinoff of it, almost certainly the most important part. This doesn’t deal with romance whatsoever, instead shifting to another aspect of the protagonists’ signature pride. Kaguya is perfect at everything, including academics, so with Shirogane having an equal level of pride but only excelling academically, it’s almost as important that he continue to beat her in that one area to retain his #1 position as it is for him to eventually capture her heart. But despite her advantage in so many other areas, a genius like Kaguya still isn’t content simply remaining #2 to the same person throughout her entire school career. Therefore, the premise of a major school-wide exam is the perfect opportunity for the two to compete with even more vigor than their usual romantic psychological battles.
The comedic core of this sequence is running gag of a character making a public claim immediately followed not by their usual internal monologue but by the narrator declaring this to be an absolute lie and explaining the character’s true thoughts that consistently conflict diametrically with their outer words. This is used to great effect particularly on the two protagonists, but also on the supporting characters in very different ways. Ishigami is basically just a lazy nerd that a lot of viewers can probably relate to, preferring to attend to his video games than his studies, while Chika is conversely not built for deceit whatsoever, introducing a perfect contrast to the group of liars surrounding her. The gag is funny at first, but the repeated use of it is deftly placed to hit the heights of its comic potential without overstaying its welcome and becoming annoying. It’s a truly excellent blend of comedy and tension all around.
Branching off of that story is one that puts Ishigami at the center with Kaguya alongside him. This is a terrifying proposition to Ishigami, and for good reason, as it is immediately made apparent. While scenes of Kaguya being every bit the psychopathic sadist that Ishigami has always seen her continue to prove effective, the meat of the episode sets aside these pretexts and shows a lot of heart, another example of the final piece of an episode focusing on Kaguya sacrificing her own best interests to help someone else, even someone she wouldn’t normally see much sympathy for, like Ishigami. There’s some more humor at the end, but the overall experience does give a new perspective on the results of the exam battle between Kaguya and Shirogane; even with her motivation, there are some things more important to her.
In Summary:
Another excellent episode of Kaguya-sama arrives, with the star of the show actually proving to be the narrator thanks to a stellar running gag in the middle section. That entire segment is top-tier material, and some of the content featuring Shirogane’s sister didn’t quite live up to its potential, but it was another solid showing overall, with not only comedy but a great deal of heart from Kaguya, plus new possibilities thanks to the introduction of another cast member.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
LG Electronics OLED65C7P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick
