Kagyua-sama: Love is War – The First Kiss that Never Ends

Finale Sequel movie to Kaguya-sama: Love is War – Ultra Romantic

Genre(s): Romance, Comedy, Drama

Age-Appropriateness: 13+ (Mild language, occasional sexual references and crude humor)

Platforms: Crunchyroll

Episodes: One 1 hour 40 min. movie (Four 25 minute episodes on Crunchyroll)

TheAwersome’s Rating: 8.8 / 10 (Same great comedy with added gravity)

Premise: (Spoilers for previous seasons) After their first kiss, Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane are left unsure where their relationship stands. The troubling uncertainty of whether they could be considered an official couple unleashes newfound problems as both Kaguya and Shirogane struggle to sort out their feelings.

While the lovestruck student council officers fret, the Christmas season rolls around, and romance is in the air. In the face of widespread tenderness, Kaguya and Shirogane must endure their affectionate battle of wits once more. Should they reconcile their feelings for one another, they may find themselves within reach of what they have both been longing for so long: true love.

TheAwersome’s Thoughts: As with all movies of a series, there has to be something that sets it apart from just being “a long episode.” We absolutely get that here with a prolonged, cohesive, story arc that plunges deep into the psyches of both Shirogane and Kaguya. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, anime tends to go deeper on exploring true, difficult aspects of love and relationships that go beyond the Hollywood Romcom staple of simple misunderstandings. No, we get deep-seated and deeply held personal beliefs stemming from different lived experiences and trauma, and an investigation of the approach each take to deal with the problems those cause.

And it manages this with a perfect balance of gravity, touching emotion, and gut-busting comedy.

TLDR: An amazing finale that delivers on everything the series is, while being worthy of a full-length movie.

You’ll Likely Enjoy This if You Enjoyed:

• Previous seasons of Kaguya-sama: Love is War
• The character depth of the Quintessential Quintuplets
• The “worthy of a movie” quality of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya and Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl