Kaguya-sama: Love is War vol. 21

There are a lot of great things about this series.  One of the best is how it never forgets about its sense of humor.  There may be points in the story where things take a turn for the dramatic, but there’s always been some kind of fun ridiculousness lurking underneath the drama to remind you that “Kaguya-Sama” is a comedy first and foremost.  Why am I bringing this up now?  Because vol. 21 is where the drama finally overtakes the comedy.

This isn’t as bad a thing as I’m making it out to be.  Rather, it feels like a necessary turn this series had to take at this particular point.  I don’t think that vol. 21 is where “Kaguya-Sama” finally goes full “Cerebus Syndrome.”  It’s just that there are a couple plot threads that reach their climax here while mangaka Aka Akasaka starts setting things up for the beginning of the end.

Before that, it’s time for the third years to graduate.  While plenty of heartfelt goodbyes are had here, one in particular stands out amongst the rest.  That’d be the encounter between Ishigami and Tsubame as the former is finally prepared to give an answer to the latter about whether or not she’ll go out with him.  There’s nothing funny about this as the encounter is presented with all the seriousness you’d expect from a situation where one individual’s happiness is on the line.  As for what Tsubame’s answer is, that’s something you’ll have to read for yourself.  I will say that the encounter is two chapters long and she’s got two answers to give.

I should point out now that none of the drama in this volume is handled badly.  Akasaka treats Ishigami and Tsubame’s encounter with all the respect it deserves while also cranking up the tension in a way that feels more engaging than exhausting.  That holds true for all of the encounters in this volume as it remains a good manga.  It just doesn’t present or value comedy in the way that previous volumes have even when they were bringing the drama.

This isn’t to say that this volume is comedy-free.  It starts making a comeback after the student council gathers in the wake of Ishigami and Tsubame’s encounter, and persists through the next few chapters as Kaguya finally visits Shirogane at his place.  It’s a predictably cute encounter, particularly with Kei’s reactions towards her potential sister-in-law.  We also get some arguably overdue answers in regards to what happened with Shirogane’s mother.  Even though her actions feel unforgivable, you can still feel some empathy towards her in understanding why she did what she did.

Not so with the encounter between Kaguya and her oldest brother who is, quite frankly, monstrous.  He’s a creature of the patriarchy and he knows exactly what’s best for his little sister.  Though he only appears in eleven pages in this volume, they’re enough to mark him as the biggest villain in the series to date.  While it’s reassuring to know that Kaguya plans to fight him, he’s someone who has not only the weight of the Shinomiya Corporation behind him, but also the weight of How Things Have Always Been as well.  It’s a good thing Kaguya is a genius, or else I’d say her plan is doomed from the start.

There’s also the feeling that Akasaka knows that he’s pushing the drama pretty hard in this volume, and wants to balance things out a bit.  It’s the likely reason why we get the third Ramen King story after all this.  Interestingly, it’s actually no less dramatic than anything that has come before in this volume.  The difference is that it’s about a couple characters’ outside reasons for eating and enjoying manga rather than human drama.  With that kind of setup, I can’t help but laugh as I read a line like, “Why did you start making ramen SO FULL OF HATE?!”

Vol. 21 ends with what feels like the natural balance being restored as Kaguya, Shirogane and friends begin their third year at Shuchiin Academy.  Everyone, and mean EVERYONE, is in the same class this year, which should make for even wackier hijinks than before.  We even get a couple new additions to the cast, with one that has a very personal connection to Shirogane himself.  It feels like Akasaka is setting things up for one last round of funny high school stories before the endgame ramps up and the series reaches its finale.  Will there be more drama ahead?  I’m sure of it.  I just hope that the series will continue to bring the funny as it starts its march towards what I hope will be a very satisfying ending.