Kaguya-sama: Love is War vol. 26

Miyuki has the money.  He’s got the plan.  He’s got the friends needed to carry it out.  Now all he needs to do is execute it…  ON HIS BIKE!  Or maybe not since his friends tell him at the start that he should just take a cab to the first stop on his plan to rescue Kayuka since he can afford it.  That first stop is the hospital where her father is staying since he needs the man’s permission if he’s going to marry his daughter.  Even if he does get it, Miyuki is still going to have to deal with Kaguya’s brothers – chief among them the misogynistic Oko – if he wants to save the woman he loves.  Which may be a taller order than he can handle since, in addition to their own strengths, they’re still the scions of one of the most wealthy, powerful, and connected families in Japan.

If you’re wondering how all that’s going to turn out, you’ll get your answer at the end of the volume.  That’s right, the plan to rescue Kaguya is wrapped up a lot quicker than I was expecting it to, especially since the series has two volumes left to go after this.  I don’t think mangaka Aka Akasaka makes any major missteps in doing this, and it’s actually kind of refreshing to see a Jump series take care of business quicker than expected.  Still, you’re left with the feeling that a lot of the drama presented by this situation was snuffed out before it could really catch fire.

A bigger issue is that this volume continues the series’ trend towards actually giving drama a seat at the table instead of kneecapping it with comedy.  There are some good laughs to be had in this volume, from Miyuji, Yu, and Miko finding out the proper way to eat Beyoung to the ONE MAN who could pilot the helicopter, but I still miss the days when the series would put its best dramatic face forward only to gleefully undercut it with some quality silliness.

None of this is to say that vol. 26 is a bad wrap-up of “Kaguya-sama’s” last major storyline.  In fact, it’s probably for the best as this means Akasaka can spend the last two volumes winding things down in an appreciably funny fashion.  Starting with the latest games that Chika is going to have the student council play!