Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai S2 – 02, 03

OP Sequence

OP: 「DADDY! DADDY! DO!」by (Masayuki Suzuki ft. Airi Suzuki)

Episode 2

Episode 3

Sorry for the tardiness in covering Kaguya-sama’s second and third episodes. There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes but that doesn’t mean I’m not as invested in this show as I am in Listeners or Yesterday wo Utatte. So let’s get to it!

Episode 2

「”かぐや様は聞き出したい / かぐや様は贈りたい / 藤原千花は確かめたい」 (Kaguya-sama wa Kikidashitai / Kaguya-sama wa Okuritai / Fujiwara Chika wa Tashikametai)
“Kaguya Wants to Know / Kaguya Wants to Give a Gift / Chika Fujiwara Wants to Confirm It”

It’s two days before Shirogane’s birthday and Kaguya wants her plan to go off without a hitch. Oh, young love.

Kaguya steps into the shopping district with Chika, her younger sister Moeha, and Shirogane’s sister Kei. They had planned to do this over the summer holiday but ended up rescheduling to this day, which luckily happens to be only two days before the president’s birthday. As she would, Kaguya plans on finding out exactly what Kei’s brother likes so she can find the perfect present, but Moeha and Chika are of no help to her plan.

Aside from finding out Moeha is insane, this short story offered some insight into Shirogane and Kei’s home life as well as Kei’s personality. Kaguya finds so many similarities between Kei and Shirogane, she has a hard time differentiating them, even claiming that it feels as though she’s on a date with the president himself. That’s a little scary if you ask me. I would not want to think about my partner’s sister like that. She very much stands out as her own person.

However, overall, the girls spent the time getting to know one another and becoming friends. Rather than achieving the goal of finding the right present for Shirogane, the outcome meant Kaguya found a new friend in Kei. Although, from Kei’s perspective, it almost seems like she’s into Kaguya romantically, possibly becoming her older brother’s rival.

When Shirogane’s birthday arrives, Kaguya is met with a huge dilemma. For one, she went overboard with making him a birthday cake and she can’t find the courage to give it to him. Something I really love about this series is how they depict inner thoughts and arguments. We all have different sides of ourselves that come up when we’re met with a difficult situation. “Should I or shouldn’t I? What if?” And Kaguya’s multiple personalities accurately represented that crossroads we’re often met with. In this case, they were of no help with one exception: reminding her that they are all part of her. I was surprised to see how shocked she was at confronting her emotions for the president.

I think the cutest thing about this short bout was when she finally took it upon herself to give him a slice, as well as his gift, and walk out in a hurry where trusted Hayasaka was waiting to ease her anxiety. She’s always there, isn’t she? Even when she’s not.

And finally, the third short threw us right back into Shirogane vs Kaguya’s war. She uses all of her efforts around his birthday as a way to trap him into admitting he wanted to spend his birthday alone with her. But for every attack, he has a counter. For every trap set, he has a safety net. And the back and forth finally leaves Kaguya squirming like a little girl, with no out, until Ishigami steps in and does what he does best: makes Chika feel horrible for being the only one who didn’t know about Shirogane’s birthday. The battle comes to an end with the final blow landing on Fujiwara, the poor girl.

In the end, though, Kaguya made strides. She put the president first for a few days which made both of them happy. Through all these ‘wars’, the two of them only fall more and more in love with one another. Her efforts do not go unnoticed by Shirogane, and neither does his. Especially in the next episode.

Episode 3

「白銀御行は見上げたい / 第67期生徒会 / かぐや様は呼びたくない」 (Shirogane Miyuki wa Mikamigetai / Dai 67-ki Seitokai / Kaguya-sama wa Yobitakunai)
“Miyuki Shirogane Wants to Gaze at the Moon / The 67th Student Council / Kaguya Doesn’t Want to Say It”

I know what this third episode is doing. It’s roping us in with all the feels, giving us a little inch of lovin’ before yanking the rug right from under us and slapping reality back into our faces. It’s a ‘neutral’ episode depicting the student council time together during a moon gazing evening and when they say ‘goodbye’ to the student council as a whole at the end of the school year.

In the first part of the episode, Shirogane takes us by surprise entirely. I thought he finally overcame his pride and was exercising his charms over Kaguya. In reality, it turned out he was completely enamored by the moon and oblivious to the words and actions he shared with Kaguya (in the moment at least). It’s unlike the series to offer us such intimacy between our two ‘rivals’ at the beginning of the season. But this moment they shared together set the tone for how we, as viewers, would perceive the arrival of the end of the student council.

The fact that they had recently experienced such a romantic scene together made it all the heavier to watch as Chika, Ishigami, Shirogane, and Kaguya bid farewell to the student council room, uncertain of the year to come. Even though there was less back and forth between Shirogane and Kaguya in this episode compared to the previous one, the comedy wasn’t any less.

I can barely remember when and how because it happens so often, but I let out a few more belly laughs throughout the episode, startling my poor dog who was fast asleep next to me. Overall, the episode was endearing.

The possibility of Shirogane not being student council president shook not only me, Chika and Ishigami, but Kaguya to her core as well. Something I really valued in her was that she decided not to ask Shirogane to take on the role again. She showed some level of maturity and selflessness by holding back, knowing he’d worked his entire year away with school, work, and the student council combined. He’d already received his letter of recommendation, so why go through it all again? I was disappointed that she did eventually give in. Love over matter I guess.

However, it turns out he was waiting for just that. Shirogane had already filled out the form, but he wouldn’t take the leap unless he was needed. And with that declaration, almost of love, Kaguya pushed him over the edge.

But it won’t be as easy as it seems. There’s someone else in the running. Who? We have yet to meet them but I expect there to be a new battle in the works in the coming episode.

 

ED Sequence

ED: (Kaze ni Fukarete) by (Haruka Fukuhara)