Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Kaguya Wants to be Confessed To: The Geniuses' War of Love and Brains

Japanese: かぐや様は告らせたい～天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦～

More titles

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 28

Chapters: 281

Status: Finished

Published: May 19, 2015 to Nov 2, 2022

Genres: Award Winning, Comedy, Romance

Theme: School

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Young Jump

Authors: Akasaka, Aka (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.89¹ (scored by 139,377 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #24²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #24

Members: 283,283

Favorites: 29,265

Available At

Official Site

Resources

Wikipedia

8.89

Ranked #24Popularity #24Members 283,283

MangaYoung JumpAkasaka, Aka (Story & Art)

Add to My List

Volumes: /28

Chapters: /281

Edit
Synopsis

Considered a genius due to having the highest grades in the country, Miyuki Shirogane leads the prestigious Shuchiin Academy's student council as its president, working alongside the beautiful and wealthy vice president Kaguya Shinomiya. The two are often regarded as the perfect couple by students despite them not being in any sort of romantic relationship.

However, the truth is that after spending so much time together, the two have developed feelings for one another; unfortunately, neither is willing to confess, as doing so would be a sign of weakness. With their pride as elite students on the line, Miyuki and Kaguya embark on a quest to do whatever is necessary to get a confession out of the other. Through their daily antics, the battle of love begins!

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit
Background

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen ranked first in the Best Printed Manga category at the third Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Awards in 2017. It won the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category in 2020, along with Ao Ashi.

The series was published in English as Kaguya-sama: Love Is War by VIZ Media under the Shonen Jump imprint from March 6, 2018, to April 2, 2024. It was also published in Spanish by Editorial Ivrea from November 19, 2020, to November 9, 2023; in Brazilian Portuguese by Panini Comics from March 2, 2021, to May 16, 2023; in Polish by Studio JG since July 17, 2020; in French by Pika Édition since March 31, 2021.

Edit

Related Entries

More characters
Characters

Shinomiya, Kaguya

Main

Ishigami, Yuu

Main

Fujiwara, Chika

Main

Shirogane, Miyuki

Main

Iino, Miko

Main

Hayasaka, Ai

Supporting

Shirogane, Kei

Supporting

Shirogane, Father

Supporting

Shijou, Maki

Supporting

Koyasu, Tsubame

Supporting

Reviews

Nov 1, 2022

Uji_Gintoki_Bowl

Recommended

Kaguya-sama: Love is War is the king of romance manga without question. There is simply no other manga of the same genre from which I remember the names of almost every character; from which I’ve both laughed and cried audibly while reading; from which I’ve derived so much happiness from every serialized chapter. What started off as a cute and funny manga with a great premise evolved into a character driven drama with many monumentally emotional character arcs, each of which continue to resonate with me beyond belief.

Though I’ll admit to some personal bias, I would like to point out how deeply invested Aka ... (the mangaka) has made me as a viewer/reader to his characters. There wasn’t a moment in the manga where a character’s pain didn’t translate to my own sadness. There wasn’t a moment when a character’s development after a truly emotional scene didn’t move me to tears (being the crybaby that I am). There was always a laugh to be had with the witty psychological battles and silly bouts between characters. A win for the main cast felt like a win to me. Over these last 250 chapters and 2+ years that I’ve been reading, I feel as though I’ve been through a journey.

Quickly before the nitty-gritty plot things begin, I would like to mention that the visuals for the manga are wonderful, and the sharp style is basically perfect for what the manga is. The character designs and background art are also both awesome. The excellent art has actually even led me to buy some volumes on a whim!

The semantics of plot development can be expressed by dividing the progression into two categories. The first one is the comedy / “Love is War” parts, where our protagonists (and often others as well) engage in a psychological duel to gain an advantage over the other in the confession rat race. This occurs more often towards the beginning of the manga and (in addition to the pure entertainment factor) gives insight to general characterization of the cast and introduces us to big ideas that become important later on. The other is more difficult to define. This category refers to the story arcs where there are larger stakes at play, and a character’s entire basis is on the verge of change. The emotional arcs, the thrilling arcs, and the downright badass arcs all come together under this umbrella to serve some sort of greater purpose in helping characters grow. I honestly think that this is one of the best things about Kaguya-sama.

Character growth is limited not to a single event or person, but extends as far as the story continues. Each and every main character (well…) has some kind of internal conflict underlying their goofy dynamics with the others, and must deal with their values being confronted. In this process, we emotionally invest ourselves in that progression, laughing, anguishing, and loving with them. Though this is not necessarily unique to Kaguya-sama, I believe that as far as I’ve read, Kaguya-sama does it the best.

Now, with all of this praise, one would believe that my assertions warrant a 10/10 score. This is not the case only because of the inevitability of the last arc being too quick. In comparison to the previous character arcs, each warranting hefty praise for what they accomplish as standalone arcs, the final arc of the manga lacks the same structure bent on emotional development, and we feel a sort of “urge to end the story” permeating the chapters. Though, this is understandable, given Aka’s situation with Oshi no Ko. Regardless, the journey from start to finish of Kaguya-sama has gotten me so invested as a reader that its post-finale chapters have left me debilitated to an extent.

With the conclusion of Kaguya-sama’s serialization comes one of the largest punches to the gut that I have ever felt from an anime/manga coming to an end. The final chapters were one of the hardest things for me to read due to my massive attachment to the story. I can’t even express how upset I am, even writing this review. All I can say is that regardless of your stance on romantic comedies, Kaguya-sama: Love is War is a must watch/read. The massive void that I felt at the end of this manga attests to just how much of an impact it has had on me as a reader.

Open

Gift

Nov 3, 2022

_Redo_

Mixed Feelings

The initial appeal of Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen was a funny romcom with great humour, and an interesting premise. I really loved the premise, which was to make the students try to make each other confess. I loved it. However, that was only until chapter 130 or so, the manga took a drama stage. Instead of continuing the relationship, it takes a big dive into garbage writing. The initial appeal had disappeared, and what I had been reading was filled with boring old rom com drama. If it had continued the humorous and romantic relationships, then I would've given Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: ... Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen, a perfect 10/10.

The story is simple. Shirogane and Kaguya, are in the student council. They both have this feeling for each other, and they try to make others confess. I was very interested in this idea. It was much different from your usual romcoms, so I had high expectations, y'know? Chapters 1-130 were a 10/10, no doubt, but straight after that, it gets horrible, as I mentioned before. Everything gets worse and worse. Drama was the thing that I did not want Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen to use. Well, unluckily for me, that happened.

Chapters that stop the drama, continuing the manga from chapter 262 and so on were trying to tie all of the screws that were loose, but it just didn't work out. The initial charm of the series had been gone. The humour was dry and unfunny, and most importantly, the side character's relationships were rushed. We never get a proper story for side character's relationships.

The ending: Horrifying. I absolutely despised the ending. We never get a proper conclusion for Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen, we only have the student council team graduating, that's it. We don't get to see the outcome of everyone's relationships.

The characters? Still likeable. Shirogane & Ishigami are my favourite characters. One positive thing I can say about the drama is that they didn't really change their characters, which was good. I basically liked every character. No characters were unlikeable, except for one of Kaguya's cousins, and her family.

The art is splendid. The coloured pages are awesome. Each panel had been taken the utmost care of. Nothing looked particularly rushed.

A 10/10 wouldn't be enough for my enjoyment. I loved every single chapter of Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen, and was just way too hyped for the next chapter. After chapter 130, things get negative, sadly. I get really bored, as Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen turns from one of the best (if not best) romcom anime, to an absolute garbage dumpster. All of the things that I loved, humour and story, were thrown into the bin.

Seriously though. I've seen so many anime that I loved so much, but just don't reach a good conclusion, or get trash later on. Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen is part of the "wasted potential" anime/manga. I really am disappointed. I don't hate Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen, I'm just disappointed straight after the duel confessions arc.

Open

Gift

Sep 15, 2021

Yangtze12

Not Recommended

Preliminary (230/281 eps)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAIN SPOILERS

When I read the first arc of this manga, I am already imagined that the ending would be 2 possible scenarios: There will be a confession in the last chapter or, by default, they never confess their love to each other. At the end, I was partially right, because the last scenario happened in the first part of the manga. So, what's more have this to offer us? Let's find out. I'm gonna divide this review for each part of the manga:

1. First part: Each arc of this one can be summarized as follows: Our protagonists try to force the other ... side to confess their love, Chika and/or a similar plot device creates a random romantic misunderstanding, both sides try to take advantage of this to win this conflict and in the end none of them do. In order to show you what's wrong with this, I'm gonna take a classic cartoon (Roadrunner vs Coyote), that it has a similar format and episodic mechanic to make the comparison:

a) Objective: In the case of Roadrunner vs Coyote the goal is Coyote catching and eating the Roadrunner in order to survive. Simple premise and makes sense. On the other hand, the goal of this manga is that one of the two protagonists make a love confession. Using common sense, aren't there better ways to make a confession of love? I don't know. Why is always a third person involved in order to advance the plot in each arc? Wouldn't it be better and more interesting to see how the two sides use their wits on their own? No fucking idea.

b) Pretentiousness level: In this manga, they try to present our protagonists as a smart and calculator people because of their strategies. For what reason do they do it? Mystery. Normally, a person is considered smart according to his/her capacity to solve their problems, and, in this case, the main problem is not solved (at least in this first part). It is not like in each arc one of the two sides gets closer to the goal. So they don't have anything smart if you ask me.

c) Bait: In the case of Roadrunner vs Coyote, subtly, the cartoon shows that as long Coyote keep using the ACME brand artifacts, he wouldn't be able to catch the roadrunner. In this manga, the author leaves you hoping that, at some point, one of the two will ending making the confession, being more dishonest in comparisson if you ask me. Despite that the one of the them ended making the confession, this didn't happened in this part, where it was supposed to happen, at least, in the final episode of this format.

As we can see, the mechanics are similar, however, the execution is what makes the difference between them.

2. Second part: The formula, now, in each arc is as follows: Partially remove what supposedly is the original aspect of the manga (comedy), in a attempt to take itself more seriously, take one of the characters of the cast and put the rest out of the scene, make a random and generic story and that's it. Is that really necessary to put out the other characters of the cast in each arc? No fucking idea. There's no need for them to be some kind of middle man in the arcs with romance involved, but they could at least show us some progress in their character development. It is an unnecessary disconnection in the narrative flow and in the character's arc if you ask me. As I mentioned before, the confession between the main characters, indeed, happened, but it was in a storyline that you can find in any other average rom-com. It wouldn't have been better that this confession happened during the most comedic part of the manga? No fucking idea. The reason of why I don't mention the stories of the other characters is because they are irrelevant to the main plot raised here. In other words, they felt like a filler. It was really necessary to make that stories? It wouldn't have better focused more in finish the main story and, after that, go for the other ones? Mystery.

That's it for now. Despite having a good and original idea, the manga ended being a mess up because of a poor execution of the same.

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Romance Where Side Characters Relationship Are Developed Too

by LeturLefr

23 Entries · 7 Restacks

Essential & Elite Manga

by ManicPixieTerror

50 Entries · 172 Restacks

Must Read Manga/Manhwa If You Are Into Reading

by Luffy-56

50 Entries · 3 Restacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

View All

More news
Recent News

North American Anime & Manga Releases for April

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for April. Week 1: April 2 - 8 Anime Releases Black Bullet Complete Collection Blu-ray [2024 Re-re...read more

Apr 2, 2024 12:38 PM by Aiimee | Discuss (1 comment)

North American Anime & Manga Releases for December

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for December. Week 1: December 5 - 11 Anime Releases Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch (incl. Hangya...read more

Dec 28, 2023 8:44 AM by Aiimee | Discuss (3 comments)

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen Chapter 204 Discussion ( 1 2 ) ya_hallo - Oct 12, 2020	89 replies	by QueenAlice07 »» Feb 19, 7:48 AM
Poll: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen Chapter 191 Discussion ( 1 2 ) shanimebib - May 30, 2020	52 replies	by Bohlen_velber »» Feb 13, 3:57 AM
Poll: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen Chapter 110 Discussion joe_g7 - Aug 8, 2018	15 replies	by Ston3_FreeN7 »» Feb 12, 10:07 AM
Poll: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen Chapter 109 Discussion joe_g7 - Aug 8, 2018	5 replies	by Ston3_FreeN7 »» Feb 12, 10:05 AM
Poll: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen Chapter 105 Discussion hrey - Apr 20, 2018	19 replies	by Ston3_FreeN7 »» Feb 11, 9:20 AM

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Related Entries

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai ZunousenKaguya-sama: Love Is War Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

EditSynopsis

EditBackground

Related Entries

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More charactersCharacters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations Recommendations

More newsRecent News

More discussionsRecent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion