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「石上優は生き延びたい / 藤原千花はテストしたい / かぐや様は気づかれたい」 (Ishigami Yū wa Ikinobitai / Fujiwara Chika wa Tesuto-shitai / Kaguya-sama wa Kizukaretai)
“Yu Ishigami Wants to Live / Chika Fujiwara Wants to Test You / Kaguya Wants to Be Noticed”
I am very easily swayed. When I first started watching Kaguya-sama, I really liked the pace of the show and the narrator reminded me of a sports commentator. Around episode two or three, the premise was getting a little tedious and I wanted some variety. As in, can we get some scenes outside the student council office please? But then there was the hilarious ED with Chika and all of a sudden I found myself wanting someone like her in my life. So, week after week, I kept watching because I looked forward to seeing her on screen.
Today’s episode changed it all! Based on last week’s review, I was hoping for some new additions but this was like being thrown into a room full of your favourite foods and not knowing which to taste first. Keep in mind I haven’t read Kaguya-sama so this is like biting into a bean-filled bun without knowing the exact flavour and it turning into a firework explosion in your mouth. Can you tell I’m writing this hungry?
First, we get a solid introduction to student council treasurer Ishigami Yū. I more than welcomed him into my little heart considering I’m big on introverted and socially awkward characters but even more than that, he adds a nice touch of horror to the show. Kaguya’s internal evil just doesn’t really satisfy the palate (I’m still on theme here). His retelling of his trauma is hauntingly amusing to watch and had I been the one he confided in, I’d have reacted the same way when Kaguya entered the room. He’s included in all three chapters, which gave the jokes a little more depth and added texture to the humour.
The first two chapters had me cracking up, but the third chapter spoke to my high school self, and if you watched it, it probably spoke to yours too. Giving a compliment to someone when you’re in high school, especially to the person you have a crush on, is the most difficult thing to do. So when Chika called Ishigami creepy, I felt for him.
But even more, I felt for Kaguya. She tried something new and she wanted the attention but nothing she did in that hilarious ‘notice my nails’ scene seemed to work. She was so sad. At that age, you want someone to notice when you’re trying and give you that compliment. It helps boost confidence for one but also solidifies human connection. In the last scene when she sulked her way off of school grounds, the high school girl inside me just yelled out: “Someone please notice her nails! She’s trying so hard. Please.” I was desperate for her. And when Miyuki came riding towards her on his bike, he wasn’t giving a sliver of hope just to her but to me too. It’s one of the few scenes so far where we see both protagonists attempt to be transparent and real with one another. I like these scenes to be short and infrequent because when they do happen, that little flutter that Kaguya expresses as he rides off into the sunset is the same flutter that gurgles up inside me as I watch. I think I just have a soft spot for romcoms especially when they’re as deliciously well written as this one.
On that note, the only sour point I could think of for this episode is that it didn’t give me what I really wanted: another ED with a performing Chika…
Another ED with Chika? Nay, we need an ED with the true best girl Ishigami!
And here was I, thinking that I was the only one waiting and longing for another Chika’s performance! The first time I saw her made my night, and eased a little my extremely tired body after a weekend of hartd work.
no mention of bestest girl arrival? wow, some heresy going on right here.
Justice for hayasaka!
You’re totally right. Her reveal made me jump right out of my chair. I got sidetracked because of my new crush Ishigami (I mean look at his beautiful eye). I’ll definitely do her justice when she returns!
and Kaguya actually made her play Chika in the mannequin part, which damn near made my sides disappear due to the….erm, nature of their relationship. don’t wanna spoil manga too much 🙂
I’m glad it’s being blogged by someone who hasn’t read the manga – I’m curious to see how one reacts.
I really like Ishigami and am happy he’s finally joined the cast. It’s becoming evident as the show goes on – but our main characters are all just BAKAS despite their smarts and I’m loving their transition into becoming more and more baka as it goes on.
Out of the four members of the student council Yu is the only one that I feel with a skill that is worth anything to the country and council. In fact beside Yu I don’t see the other bodies doing anything that is worth noting on the council. Shirogane-kun tries to anticipate Kaguya, Kaguya-chan tries to anticipate Shirogane, and Fujiwara-chan goofs around and doesn’t do anything important.
https://randomc.net/image/Kaguya%20sama/Kaguya-sama%20wa%20Kokurasetai%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
What I need to continuously remind myself of is that manga devotees like me love all characters unconditionally – we have seen all their sides, their struggles, their victories and defeats, their vulnerable sides, their joy and pain. Therefore, for people like me, seeing nefarious Kaguya is a funny treat. I love her anyway. Anime-only viewers wonder if they’re supposed to like this evil b*tch.
As a rule of thumb: All characters with a given name are multifaceted, good humans. With strengths and weaknesses, but _all_ of them are “good” (the author mentioned that he did this on purpose, to make them more accessible to the readers). And all of them (with the possible exception of Fujiwara) have hidden sides.
Give the story some time until you’ve got to know the entire cast. This is when the show _really_ starts to take off.
The new additions to the cast were very great in this episode. Was wondering how Ishigami would turn out, but it was amusing to see how his character functioned off of battling the social anxiety of interacting with everyone. Most of the cast have their quirks such as Kaguya having a hard time suppressing her feelings, Miyuki feeling terrible about having such a good poker face, and Chika just trying to live her best life while trying to clean up after her friends. But it was good to see how Ishigami’s dynamic works well in relation to their similarly anxious quirks.
I also liked seeing more of Hayasaka as she switches between a popular girl personality and her standard stoic personality. Looking forward to seeing how she factors into the anime’s storylines.
very nice post thanks