Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Kaguya Shinomiya
かぐや様は告らせたい ～天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦～
(Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai – Tensai-tachi no Ren'ai Zunōsen)
Genre
Manga
Written byAka Akasaka
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintYoung Jump Comics
Magazine
  • Miracle Jump
  • (May 19, 2015 – January 19, 2016)
  • Weekly Young Jump
  • (March 24, 2016 – November 2, 2022)
DemographicSeinen
Original runMay 19, 2015 – November 2, 2022
Volumes28
Manga
Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Dōjin-ban
Written byShinta Sakayama
Published byShueisha
ImprintYoung Jump Comics
MagazineTonari no Young Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original runJune 14, 2018 – June 25, 2020
Volumes4
Manga
Kaguya-sama o Kataritai
Written byG3 Ida
Published byShueisha
ImprintYoung Jump Comics
MagazineWeekly Young Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original runJuly 26, 2018 – November 2, 2022
Volumes8
Anime
Live-action films

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (Japanese: かぐや様は告らせたい ～天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦～, Hepburn: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Ren'ai Zunōsen, lit. "Lady Kaguya Wants to Make Him Confess: The Geniuses' War of Hearts and Minds") is a Japanese romantic comedy manga series written and illustrated by Aka Akasaka. It was first serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Miracle Jump from May 2015 to January 2016, and later transferred to Weekly Young Jump, where it ran from March 2016 to November 2022. Its chapters were collected in 28 tankōbon volumes. In North America, the manga is licensed in English by Viz Media.

An anime television series adaptation, produced by A-1 Pictures, aired in 2019. It was followed by a second season aired in 2020, an original video animation (OVA) episode released in 2021, and a third season aired in 2022. An anime film, titled The First Kiss That Never Ends, premiered in theaters in December 2022. A live-action film adaptation, directed by Hayato Kawai, was released in September 2019.

By December 2022, the manga had over 22 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series. In 2020, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War won the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category.

Premise

In the senior high school division of Shuchiin Academy, student council president Miyuki Shirogane and vice president Kaguya Shinomiya appear to be a perfect match. Kaguya is the daughter of a wealthy conglomerate family, and Miyuki is the top student at the school and well known across the prefecture. Although they like each other, they are too proud to confess their love, as they believe whoever does so first would "lose" in their relationship. The story follows their many schemes to make the other one confess or at least show signs of affection.

Halfway through the series, they manage to confess to each other. From there, focus shifts on how they advance their relationship and deal with remaining obstacles. The presence and complexity of several other characters notably increases over time as well.

Production

Conception

Akasaka was writing the manga Instant Bullets for Weekly Young Jump and wanted to come up with another series. In an interview on Livedoor News, Akasaka said the original plot for Kaguya-sama was more of a fantasy and game of death, but his editor wanted something more mainstream and, at the time, Young Jump did not have a casual romcom series. It was Akasaka's first manga in the romcom genre.[4]

Akasaka set the series in high school as it was a time when he did not have much experience with dating and romance himself. He was thinking of high school relationships while smoking some food, and came up with the concept of wanting to reclaim some of his emotions of his youth in a fantasy. He envisioned "two tsunderes who like each other having battles of the mind". He thought that was a very common concept, but was surprised to find that readers were telling him that his premise was innovative. Also at first, he wanted to do more intellectual battles like Death Note but the theme changed more to "clashing of romantic emotions". He has also cited School Rumble as an influence on his work.[5]

Character design

The characters' names were derived from the monogatari The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (better known outside of Japan as The Tale of Princess Kaguya). Akasaka stated that he has long liked princess stories and that Kaguya-hime, the main character from the aforementioned monogatari, was one of the most famous princess stories. In developing the characters, he said that Kaguya and Miyuki initially have the same personality and thought process, like twins, which made their exposition to the reader easier to understand. He then developed more divergence between the two. Other characters were developed in the same manner, starting as shallow and template-like, but being filled with realistic feelings and drawn from the author's and his acquaintances' personal experience. He especially liked contrasting characters whose internal personalities differ from their external portrayal.[4]

Development and themes

In developing a chapter or story, Akasaka would think about emotions first and then write about experiencing the emotions, such as what Kaguya would feel if she were jealous. He would then arrange the characters and events around that emotion. When he thinks of some emotion that he hasn't developed into a story yet, he writes it on a sticky note or notebook to be used later.[4]

Akasaka said that he originally wanted to make a manga that would help office ladies relax, but since he is an otaku, it seems to follow in that. He also believes the manga is more about providing the reader with something exciting and conveying meaningful messages about human relationships rather than to showcase a number of character gags and reactions.[4] Akasaka said that Miyuki and Kaguya's becoming third-year students marks the second half of the story.[4][6] When asked about the ending, he said he does not know whether he will go with the bad ending as with Kaguya-hime, but wouldn't mind if it did. He also considered giving each character a curtain call chapter like they do in the dating sims, eventually deciding to do this.[4]

Media

Manga

Aka Akasaka launched the series in the June issue of Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Miracle Jump on May 19, 2015.[7] The series' last chapter in Miracle Jump was published on January 19, 2016.[8] The manga was then switched to the publisher's Weekly Young Jump magazine on March 24, 2016.[9][10] A special chapter ran in the debut issue of Young Jump Gold on May 18, 2017.[11] On April 23, 2020, a new manga series, Oshi no Ko, written by Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari, started its serialization in the same magazine, leading to two manga series created by Akasaka being serialized simultaneously.[12][13] The series finished on November 2, 2022.[14][15] Shueisha has collected its 281 individual chapters into twenty-eight individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on March 18, 2016, and the last on December 19, 2022.[16][17]

North American publisher Viz Media announced their license to the series during their panel at San Diego Comic-Con International on July 20, 2017.[10]

A spin-off manga by Shinta Sakayama, titled Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Dōjin-ban (かぐや様は告らせたい 同人版, transl. "Lady Kaguya Wants to Make Him Confess – Dōjin Edition"), was launched on Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website on June 14, 2018, and it was serialized on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.[18] The spin-off finished on June 25, 2020.[19] Shueisha released four tankōbon volumes between December 19, 2018, and July 17, 2020.[20]

A yonkoma spin-off, written by G3 Ida and titled Kaguya-sama o Kataritai (かぐや様を語りたい, transl. "We Want to Talk About Kaguya"), was serialized in Weekly Young Jump from July 26, 2018, to November 2, 2022.[15] The yonkoma focuses on two newspaper/press club girls, Karen Kino and Erika Kose, who idolize Kaguya and the gang but have no clue what really goes on inside the student council.[18] Shueisha released the first collected tankōbon volume on March 19, 2019, and the eight and last on December 19, 2022.[21][22]

Anime

A 12-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by A-1 Pictures, aired in 2019.[23] It was followed by a 12-episode second season, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War?, broadcast in 2020;[24] an original video animation (OVA) episode released in 2021;[25] and a 13-episode third season, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – Ultra Romantic, broadcast in 2022.[26] A follow-up film, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – The First Kiss That Never Ends, also premiered in 2022.[27]

Live-action film

The live-action film adaptation premiered on September 6, 2019. Sho Hirano was announced for the role of Miyuki Shirogane, and Kanna Hashimoto was announced for the role of Kaguya Shinomiya. Hayato Kawai directed the film, Yūichi Tokunaga wrote the screenplay, and principal photography was conducted in March to April 2019.[28]

A sequel, Kaguya-sama Final: Love Is War was announced on January 6, 2021. It premiered in Japanese cinemas on August 20, 2021. Hirano, Hashimoto, Nana Asakawa, and Hayato Sano, actors of Kaguya Shinomiya, Miyuki Shirogane, Chika Fujiwara and Yu Ishigami respectively, returned to reprise their roles.[29][30]

Novel

A spin-off novel written by Jūichirō Hitsujiyama, titled Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensaitachi no Renai Jinrosen, was released on November 17, 2023.[31]

Reception

The manga won the third Next Manga Award in the comics division for manga published in print book format in 2017.[32] In 2020, along with Aoashi, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War won the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category.[33][34][35] On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War ranked 50th.[36]

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War had over 6.5 million copies in circulation by April 2019;[37] over 8.5 million copies by October 2019;[38] over 9 million copies in circulation by December 2019;[39] over 13 million copies in circulation by October 2020;[40] over 15 million copies in circulation by April 2021;[41] over 19 million copies in circulation by October 2022;[42] and over 22 million copies in circulation by December 2022.[43] It was the ninth-best-selling manga in 2019, with over 4 million copies sold.[44]

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network gave the first two volumes of the manga a positive review, calling it "one of the more unique rom-com premises out there". She noted that the second volume was better than the first, indicating development on the part of the author, and commenting that it boded well for the lastingness of the series. She was more ambivalent about the art, saying that it lacked polish and that faces in particular tended to suffer.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Motomayor, Rafael (May 28, 2020). "'Kaguya-sama: Love Is War' is a Hilarious Rom-com That's Also a Brilliant Psychological Action Anime". /Film. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Silverman, Rebecca (May 14, 2018). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War GN 1 & 2 – Review". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Kaguya-sama: Love is War". Funimation. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Aka Akasaka (January 30, 2020). 感情を操り、物語を創る。『かぐや様は告らせたい』赤坂アカが考える"戦略的"漫画論 [Manipulate emotions and create stories. "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai" Akasaka's "strategic" comic theory]. Livedoor News (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Daisuke Okamoto. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ Aka Akasaka (April 20, 2018). 【インタビュー】『かぐや様は告らせたい〜天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦〜』赤坂アカ「毎週、神が降りてくるのを祈ってる。」 ["Interview" "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Ren'ai Zunōsen" Aka Akasaka: "Every week, I pray that God will come down."] (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Misaki Harukawa. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ Aka Akasaka (January 30, 2020). "Aka Akasaka Taiwan Live Interview". Guya.moe (Interview). Interviewed by Xiao A. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2020. translated transcript of Aka Akasaka (January 30, 2020). Kaguya-sama Mangaka (Akasaka Aka) Interview Session in Taiwan (HD). Interviewed by Xiao A. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2020 – via YouTube.
  7. ↑ 自分から告白したら負け？赤坂アカが描く恋愛頭脳戦、MJでスタート. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). May 19, 2015. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  8. ↑ 「うまるちゃん」スピンオフがMJで、平山夢明の「テラフォ」ノベライズも. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 19, 2016. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  9. ↑ どうやって相手に告白させるか？天才同士の恋愛頭脳戦描く赤坂アカのラブコメ. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. March 18, 2016. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Ressler, Karen (July 20, 2017). "Viz Media to Release Black Torch, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga in English". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  11. ↑ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 5, 2017). "Shueisha Launches New Young Jump Gold Magazine on May 18". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  12. ↑ Sherman, Jennifer (April 2, 2020). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War's Aka Akasaka Launches New Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  13. ↑ 赤坂アカが横槍メンゴとのタッグでYJ2作同時連載、芸能界舞台の「【推しの子】」. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 23, 2020. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  14. ↑ Mateo, Alex (October 26, 2022). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Manga Ends on November 2". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  15. 1 2 「かぐや様は告らせたい」7年半の連載に幕！赤坂アカ×えなこ対談やグラビアも. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November 2, 2022. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  16. ↑ かぐや様は告らせたい 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  17. ↑ かぐや様は告らせたい 28 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  18. 1 2 Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 7, 2018). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Manga Gets 2 Spinoff Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  19. ↑ Mateo, Alex (June 5, 2020). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Dōjin-ban Spinoff Manga Ends This Month". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  20. ↑ かぐや様は告らせたい 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2020.

    かぐや様は告らせたい 2 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2020.

    かぐや様は告らせたい 3 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2020.

    かぐや様は告らせたい 4 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.

  21. ↑ かぐや様を語りたい 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  22. ↑ かぐや様を語りたい 8 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  23. ↑ Ressler, Karen (January 12, 2019). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Anime Listed With 12 Episodes". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  24. ↑ Loo, Egan (March 3, 2020). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Anime Season 2's Image Promo Unveils April 11 Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  25. ↑ Loo, Egan (January 28, 2021). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Original Video Anime Reveals 3 Episode Titles, May 19 Release". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  26. ↑ Mateo, Alex (March 10, 2022). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Anime Season 3's Trailer Reveals April 8 Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  27. ↑ Loo, Egan (October 30, 2022). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Anime Film's Teaser Unveils December 17 Opening, Anime NYC Preview". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  28. ↑ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 21, 2019). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War Manga Gets Live-Action Film in September". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  29. ↑ Beltrano, Jei (January 6, 2021). "'Kaguya-sama: Love is War' Season 2 live-action film release date, cast and staff, and more". AniRadio+ | Anime and Manga News, Updates and more. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  30. ↑ "実写映画「かぐや様は告らせたい」続編が8月20日公開、平野紫耀・橋本環奈ら続投（コメントあり）". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  31. ↑ Tai, Anita (October 23, 2023). "Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Oshi no Ko Manga Both Get Novels". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  32. ↑ Sherman, Jennifer (August 27, 2017). "Gaku Kuze's Uramichi Oniisan, Aka Akasaka's Kaguya-sama: Love is War Win Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  33. ↑ Rafael Antonio Pineda (November 22, 2019). "65th Shogakukan Manga Awards' Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  34. ↑ 第65回小学館漫画賞、一般向け部門は「アオアシ」と「かぐや様は告らせたい」が受賞. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 22, 2020. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  35. ↑ Sherman, Jennifer (January 22, 2020). "Aoashi, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, More Win 65th Shogakukan Manga Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  36. ↑ テレビ朝日『国民15万人がガチで投票!漫画総選挙』ランキング結果まとめ！ 栄えある1位に輝く漫画は!?. animate Times (in Japanese). Animate. January 3, 2021. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  37. ↑ 平野紫耀&橋本環奈、クールな表情も脳内はお互いを想う…『かぐや様は告らせたい』ティザービジュアル解禁 (in Japanese). Oricon. April 26, 2019. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  38. ↑ 『かぐや様は告らせたい』TVアニメ第2期の制作が決定!!. Animage+ (in Japanese). October 19, 2019. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  39. ↑ アニメ『かぐや様』2期、2020年4月放送決定！ 第1弾PV公開＆新キャラのキャストも発表. Animage+ (in Japanese). December 22, 2019. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  40. ↑ アニメ『かぐや様は告らせたい』第3期の制作が決定。2021年にOVAが発売. Famitsu (in Japanese). October 25, 2020. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  41. ↑ 『かぐや様は告らせたい』続編はファイナル. Nippon News 24 (in Japanese). Nippon Television. April 19, 2021. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  42. ↑ "シリーズ累計1900万部突破！" (in Japanese). Twitter. October 13, 2022. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  43. ↑ Komatsu, Mikikazu (December 18, 2022). "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War Manga Surpasses 22 Million Copies in Print Worldwide". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  44. ↑ Loo, Egan (November 27, 2019). "Top-Selling Manga in Japan by Series: 2019". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
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