Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War Episode 6 Review
Much like another anime title this season, Kaguya-Sama Love is War opted to use episode 6 to drop another character into the mix. While Ishigami has so far been relatively entertaining, the dropping him into the story and then treating him like he’d always been there was just a bit off and felt like the author was kind of desperate to expand on the basic concept. I wouldn’t have minded a new member of the council recruited, but after introducing Ishigami he’s just literally always in the student council room even though for five episodes he’s been nowhere to be seen.
That’s ultimately a minor problem, but it is a little jarring as they just try and play it like ‘of course he’s always been here’ and you are left wondering just how much he’s overheard if he actually just sits under the desk all the time (which in itself is a weird thing to wonder, and why was he under the desk).
Whichever way, Ishigami adds a new element into the anime which so far has been Shinomiya vs Shirogane with Fujiwara essentially disrupting their battles either through design or happenstance. More importantly, Ishigami has seen Shinomiya without the smiling and perfect mask, which makes you wonder why? Given how often Fujiwara has earned Shinomiya’s ire, why did she only drop her guard with Ishigami and clearly threaten him? It seems like a foolish move considering Ishigami does tell Shirogane, even if he does dismiss it. That potentially could have been game over for Shinomiya right then and there.
I guess I should probably look at the events this episode at some point. They sit in the council room and talk. Bad visual pun. Some fairly solid colour imagery. Terrible personality tests. And then painted nails. Yeah, I think that covers it.
Needless to say, this one still isn’t dazzling me, but unlike the other anime that dumped new characters on us in the mid-season, Ishigami actually does add a lot to the mix of personalities here and the double impact of Ishigami and Fujiwara basically diluting Shinomiya and Shirogane is actually making this much easier watching. I’m not sure that I’m really giving this one much praise in saying that, but despite the plot being pretty shrug worthy I actually did find myself enjoying parts of this episode and the whole thing just kind of flowed along.
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FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES
- Episode 1: A Comedy About A Broken Philosophy on Love and Romance
- Episode 2: The Tools of War – Phones, Vacations and Love Advice
- Episode 3: Solid Visuals, Great Music, Average Most Everything Else
- Episode 4: All’s Fair In Love, War, And Welcoming Parties
- Episode 5: The Battleground of Love Advice, Volleyball and Umbrellas
- Episode 6: It Isn’t Paranoia When She’s Really Threatening To Kill You
- Episode 7 and 8: The Love War Flat-Lined
- Episode 9: Is It Terrible If I Call This Episode ‘The Cold War’?
- Episode 10: Passing the Olive Branch
- Episode 11: No Love, No War, No Real Interest
- Episode 12: Heartfelt Moment Undermined by ‘Humorous’ Conclusion
- Series Review
- Images from: Kaguya Sama: Love Is War. Dir. S Omata. A-1 Pictures. 2019.
Ishigami is an entertaining character, but I agree 100% that you can’t just throw him into the story and expect us to believe he’s always been there. Very weird feeling for me indeed.
Hopefully he continues to be fun as this progresses.
I was on the fence about this show for the first few episodes, but after realizing what it is, and adjusting my expectations I’ve been enjoying it a lot more.