Kaguya-sama: Love Is War ~ Ultra Romantic Episode 6

This episode felt like it was crammed with A LOT of content and did feel a tad rushed at times. However, I won’t lie that I had to pause the episode several times because I was just laughing so hard. This series really hits me hard with its comedy and visual gags. You can clearly tell this series was made with so much love and I appreciate that level of commitment to the jokes.

I feel like we haven’t been getting as much of Kaguya lately. Especially since her development through out the second season has been feeling pretty stagnant compared to Shirogane and Ishigami. So I’m glad that we’re delving back into her character a little more. I feel really bad that not only did none of her parents show up for her guidance counseling, but she seems to believe she can’t do anything except what her parents tell her to do. Which explains why she seemed so cold and emotionless when she first met Shirogane. And thinking back on things, she doesn’t really have any sort of passion or hobby that she truly seems to enjoy.

I have a lot of mixed feelings towards Hayasaka’s situation with her mom. On one hand, it’s really sad that she seems to believe that her mom has no interest in her. But then on the other, it’s really sweet to see her light up over seeing her mom. Though maybe it’s just a face that Hayasaka puts on to try and protect herself and not be disappointed since her mom does seem quite busy. But I can tell that the two share a very genuine and close bond with Hayasaka acting quite clingy towards her mom, a very big contrast to how she usually is. Which is honestly really cute. This seems to pose as quite the contrast for Kaguya. Especially from the first season, we witnessed first hand how cold Kaguya’s father is to her so it’s not surprising that he wouldn’t come to the parent and child conference. Which is probably why she seemed jealous of Hayasaka and her mom’s close relationship. Not to mention, we haven’t even heard a mention of Kaguya’s mom yet. Unless I’m forgetting about it if it was just a brief mention.

But my gosh, did I laugh super hard at the segment with Shirogane papa. Not gonna lie, he came off as SUPER creepy at times and is just incredibly intrusive. Though he does want the best for his son and is always doing things with his kids in mind, even if they come across as… odd for a lack of a better word. Which is another example of a contrast to how Kaguya’s parents treat her as they seem to be almost nonexistent in her life aside from just acknowledging her existence. But then the hilarity just gets bumped up to eleven with the addition of Hayasaka’s mom. I don’t know what it was, but Shirgane’s papa and Hayasaka’s mom just barging into the room after being called in just SENT me. I replayed it several times all the while cackling like a crazy person lol. They definitely were the ultimate combo that just had Kaguya in exasperation.

After all that hilarity, things got serious real fast when Shirogane declared he would be studying abroad at Stanford. Which puts a time limit to when Shirogane can confess. Though it does seem to motivate him to ACTUALLY confess himself. Which completely goes against his mindset in season 1. But we’ve seen him slowly start to shift his perspective, especially in this season. Three seasons and he FINALLY decides to take this “will they, won’t they” plot into his own hands just shows the development he’s gone through. I think it’s also important to note that Shirogane and Kaguya’s battles of wit haven’t been happening quite as often as they used to. Now, they’re just acting like shy kids with crushes on each other who don’t know how to properly convey their feelings. Which is a step in the right direction, even if it doesn’t really go anywhere this episode. But progress is still progress.

I just burst out laughing when it took like 30 seconds for Shirogane’s offer to really process in Kaguya’s mind. Since this whole mind game thing started, she has been going along with their usual flow and when Shirogane asked her out in a roundabout way, it threw her off. The animation and cuts were just 10/10 and I couldn’t help but laugh at Kaguya’s expense. And it is interesting to note that Kaguya doesn’t seem as hyper-focused on Shirogane’s potential confession as she used to. Which shows the step forward in their relationship and how they’ve been slowly moving away with trying to force the other to confess first. Though I do feel like the next step for them is to be more genuine with each other and show each other their real selves. Since it still feels like they’re putting up walls and facades around each other.

While they seem to have stopped the tom-foolery of trying to force a confession out of the other, they are still beating around the bush about their feelings. But I have to give them credit for at least TRYING to be more direct even if it still ended up failing in the end. But goodness, just watching them try and draw the courage to ask the other out gave me second-hand embarrassment for them because my gosh they are so dumb. And as soon as Shirogane pleaded to Ishigami to somehow give him the courage to ask Kaguya out, I knew this man was about to come in here and unintentionally crush his soul. And as soon as Iino walked in, I knew their courage was gonna get knocked down a few more pegs only to be completely snuffed out by the end. Though I admit how they ended up losing just had me laughing with Ishigami  high-fiving Shirogane’s raised hand. And of course they had a good time, they always have a good time together XD. But a most unfortunate defeat since it wasn’t even their fault this time. Better luck next time I guess.

And then we have the final segment where Shirogane is desperately trying to figure out his positive traits all the while Chika and Iino constantly dog pile on how he isn’t appealing as a man. Which on one hand, RUDE. But Shirogane did ask for their opinions. Though Chika didn’t have to lay in on him as hard as she did. I do agree that Shirogane needs to really take himself into perspective, but I don’t agree with just listing out every single one of his flaws. So I’m glad that Kaguya was able to provide him with a positive perspective. All the while showing him that she accepts everything about him despite his flaws.

While this episode felt a bit too fast and clunky at times, it still left me in tears from how hard I was laughing. The last segment just had me rolling in laughter and probably the part where I had the pause the most because I was laughing so much. Like that part where it shows the staticy background to show determination or realization, I laughed so hard when it cut to showing it around him from far away and how it was just around his head. The fast paced jokes and visual gags ascended me and it was overall just entertaining. Definitely not as good as the previous episode, but my gosh it was still hilarious. There were some very important groundwork done in this episode that I’m sure will be quite important for the characters’ progression later down the line or will even addressed in the next episode. Especially now that both Shirogane and Kaguya are trying to be more straightfoward with each other with their feelings.