Kaguya-sama: Love is War (2022)
[ใใใๆงใฏๅใใใใ ๏ฝๅคฉๆใใกใฎๆๆ้ ญ่ณๆฆ๏ฝ]
Volume 25
Author/Artist: Aka Akasaka
Publisher: Young Jump Comics
Synopsis:
Shirogane is introduced to Shinomiya's father and learns more about her family circumstances.
Story/Characters:
We see the Shinomiya patriarch is on his last legs, which is a big part of the reason the Shinomiya-Shinjou war has heated up like it has. As we're dealing with the whole Shinomiya family, I'm going to have to start calling Kaguya "Kaguya" to better keep things straight. Anyway, Kaguya is a vital piece in this chess game and as Shirogane is her biggest weakness, he's got a target painted on his back. Enter Hayasaka, who's been assigned as his bodyguard, which is 24-hour gig and means that she's moving in with him. She proposes going with the scenario that she's his new girlfriend. Shiro-Haya shippers might be all for it, but Shirogane doesn't want to go along with it at all. Of course, when they get home, Kei freaks out about it and Hayasaka is having way too much fun with it.
Back at school, the mood is pretty dour. Kaguya's gone, which has Shirogane on the outs and Fujiwara elsewhere as Kaguya is her main reason for being involved with the student council. This leaves just Ishigami and Iino, who circumstances are drawing closer together despite their reluctance. Iino is spooked as she thinks she's being followed (which she is, by some operative either of the Shinomiya or Shijou families), so Ishigami ends up walking her home. With the two of them alone together, it looks like the mood is right and Ishigami thinks about making his move, and then... Well, I'll leave that for the reader to find out.
The next day, Shirogane is eager to hear from Kaguya, but she's already confided in Ishigami her intentions. It should surprise no one that with all the leverage Oukou has on her, Kaguya is moving to break things off, both to protect Shirogane and his family and to play the game of thrones to wrest control of her family from Oukou. We also get to see the secret leverage Kaguya has via a flashback to when she met her father. While Shirogane is reeling from the news, he's paid a visit by Shinomiya #2, Seiryuu. He seems like a square enough person, for a Shinomiya at least, and is there to negotiate the terms of Shirogane's surrender. Our main man makes a move I wasn't expecting. Hayasaka misunderstands at first, but then he reveals his master plan. You remember what Shirogane said about the Kaguya legend way back in the day? He's taken the Elixir of Immortality and is prepared to invade the moon. It turns out that Fujiwara has been using her connections behind the scenes and we also get a handy assist from Maki, who reveals another player in this game. This whole time, Mikado's been playing the long game and Kaguya is the prize. So now it's Shirogane vs. Mikado. I admit to being fooled by the subversion of the setup to their rivalry when I should've known better based on this story's parallels to the Kaguya legend. Anyway, things are getting spicy. Just when I was starting to feel we were running out of steam.
Art:
Hayasaka having fun with Shirogane is pretty good, especially her finishing move. The moments with Ishigami and Iino are really nice, too. There's some occasional wonkiness as we've come to expect, but the art delivers where it counts.
Other:
At the end of each chapter, we get these somewhat cynical passages on love and such. I don't know from whose perspective these are being written, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to respond to it. Maybe there'll be more in the chapters to come.
Conclusion:
I'll admit that I was starting to feel dissatisfied with the direction of the series, but now that the stage has been fully set, I'm all in. I'm curious to see how things play out and I think most readers will agree and want to get this.
Rating:
Own It