Kaguya-Sama Love Is War Episode 7 Review
This might be a terminal case for this anime as Kaguya-Sama Love is War pushes another three skits our way and for once not one of them really stuck with me. While I’m not the biggest comedy fan and the premise of this one didn’t do much for me, each episode has given me something to enjoy, some exchange of dialogue or character moment that has hit its mark sufficiently to leave me with an overall pleasant feeling at the end of the episode.
That is until we get to episode 7. I’m teetering very close to deciding to simply drop Kaguya-Sama however there’s already another episode out so I’ll watch that before making a final decision. The main point being that 8 episodes in I’m unlikely to drop it regardless of what it does though this one is fast becoming the show I’m only really watching just to finish it.
What was wrong with episode 7? Nothing really. Visually it is every bit as impressive as every other episode. I still have no complaints at all about the presentation of this anime, or the sound for that matter. These are some real production positives.
Yet as I watch Shirogane given advice about hand-holding, hear an argument about club funding followed by a joke about a guy being overheard commenting on girls’ breast sizes followed by one of the girls smacking him around the head repeatedly with a fan that she took the time to fold, and it all gets capped with a run-on weiner joke that just gets run straight into the ground, I found almost zero reasons to laugh or even smile at this episode.
The Fujiwara moment with the fan could have been amusing. I was kind of reminded of Kaname in Full Metal Panic and her often repeated joke of slapping Sousuke with a fan at school when he did something really out there. But in those cases it was generally a well timed single smack and then the story progressed and moved on. Fujiwara’s careful folding and taping of the paper was a nice touch to the joke, showing her commitment to really landing one on the guy, but then the repeated swattings just proved that repetition does not always make a joke work better. It all just dragged it out, robbing the moment of comedic timing through a general lack of restraint.
As for the rest, it just isn’t the kind of thing I find overly amusing so mostly I just kind of watched and waited for the next skit hoping it would improve and then each skit seemed to get more worn than the last. I get some people are really enjoying this, and as I said, from a production point of view there’s almost no faulting it, but for me it just isn’t working and episode 7 more or less highlighted everything I dislike about the show.
Kaguya-Sama Love is War Episode 8 Review
Right, so episode 8 of Kaguya-Sama Love is War kind of picks things up a little bit from episode 7. While the first story of Shirogane’s sister showing up is kind of average, though she is pretty cute, the following stories of Shinomiya and Shirogane competing at the exams and then Shinomiya helping Ishigami passing his exams are both reasonably entertaining with some fairly good character moments scatted throughout.
That said, for once it felt like the build up was neglected. As Shinomiya and Shirogane both pretend not to be concerned with studying last minute for exams and play down how hard they are working, it kind of felt like this could have gone further as the two both secretly prepared for battle. The end result is amusing enough, with a nice exchange between the characters, but lacks any real bite.
The stand out story belongs to Ishigami as Shinomiya ‘helps’ him prepare for exams. Again, Shinomiya gets her best character moments when Shirogane is entirely absent and it was nice seeing her in this more natural role rather than in the usual antagonistic one. If we had more moments like this one and the one where she helped the girl walk to school, I’d probably enjoy her character a great deal more.
So yes, episode 8 has saved this from hitting my dropped list but realistically I’m still very much finding it pretty hit and miss in terms of a viewing experience.
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HATSUNE MIKU SYMPHONY 2018-2019 ORCHESTRA LIVE CD
- 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.
I have no problem dropping anime mid-season. LIfe is too short to watch bad anime.
True and while I will drop stuff I’m finding completely unwatchable, stuff that has some potential good points or might get better I find harder to drop.
Ah man, I’m still wrestling myself from defending because for this part of the story,it IS WHAT IT IS.
Stick by it!
It’s a shame you aren’t really enjoying this anime. For me tho, I haven’t even thought of watching it till all the hype it has produced in the community. I picked it up for that reason and it turned out to be one of my absolute favorites of the season.
It is a very well produced show so if it is more your kind of thing then it will definitely be entertaining to watch.
Yes the production values as well really make it stand out for me.
First negative review I’ve seen on these episodes. Most people I’ve read from seem to think the show gets stronger every week
Yes, lots of people are enjoying it. This isn’t my kind of show in the first place and I only really committed to it because of the hype pre-season, but really it just isn’t working for me and episode 7 was particularly dull.
I don’t disagree. It’s definitely tailored for a certain type of comedy fan. Each joke is very hit or miss for me. I really like Kaguya’s character though
I like her character when she isn’t directly opposing Shirogane. So when she took the walk to school and helped the other girl find her way and even episode 8 where she helped Ishigami study. Both of those moments made her character feel more like a genuine character.