Kaguya-sama’s second season is off to a good start after two episodes, but of all the positive signs we’ve gotten thus far, my favorite is that Masayuki Suzuki returned to sing the OP. The man’s voice has a magical quality to it, to the point that even a brassy opening theme like “Daddy! Daddy! Do!” sounds as smooth as silk when he’s on the track. Suzuki is known as the King of Love Songs in Japan, so when each episode of Kaguya-sama opens with his voice, it’s a reminder that underneath all its exaggerated antics, the show has a romantic heart. That’s a reminder I sorely needed this week, since a lot of this episode’s caricaturish behavior rustled my jimmies (I’ll try to dedicate no more than a paragraph to explaining why). On the whole, though, I’m very glad that the show is back, and looking as fresh as ever – hopefully it survives the current wave of TV anime delays and finishes in June as scheduled.
My favorite segment this week was the first one, hands down. I hadn’t remembered last season’s delayed shopping trip until this episode made good on that promise, but my forgetfulness made its appearance that much sweeter. “You may have forgotten, but we didn’t,” seemed to be the show’s message (at least to anime-onlies with poor memories like me). Kaguya-sama has always had that sort of eye for detail, a trait which was plastered all over this chapter. Kei counts the number of newspaper deliveries she’d have to make in order to afford a new blouse, for example, which matches her brother’s money conscious nature. Later on, as Kaguya reflects on her similarities with Shirogane, Kei can be seen drinking canned coffee and speaking a foreign language – two things the President did in season 1. The irony of this story, though, is that for all the overlapping characteristics that Kaguya detects, she fails to spot the most important one: that they both like her quite a bit.
Yes, Kei is already on board the Kaguya train, though her disgust for her older brother means she won’t be supporting the series’ primary ship any time soon. Even if she were into the idea, she wouldn’t vocalize it, being one of the cast’s most reserved characters. Honestly, I wish she would share some of her chill with Chika, whose disappointment at not knowing Shirogane’s birthday threatened to rupture my eardrums this week. While she was given a lot of the best and flashiest moments in the first episode, her contribution to this one was less flashy and more loud. I much prefer Chika as an agent of chaos who inadvertently ruins Kaguya’s power plays, rather than a pawn in her game with the president. “Pawn” is exactly the role she played here, as Kaguya and Shirogane attempted to leverage Chika’s tantrum to get themselves off the hook for indulging in a minor birthday celebration.
The lead-up to that celebration is where I really take issue with this episode, though. I know that Kaguya’s ice queen and idiot personas are a hit with fans of the series, since they codify the more extreme parts of her personality in a simple yet humorous way. The problem that I’m having is that I prefer the show when it’s complex, not when it’s simple. Kaguya’s various trains of thought arguing while perched on her shoulders is fine, but holding a trial in a mental courtroom? To me, that takes away from the courage she had to muster to give Shirogane that slice of birthday cake. I understand that Kaguya has no romantic experience, and is socially stunted to boot, so a visualization like the courtroom can elucidate her unique thought process. But she really likes this guy, and given how hard it is for her to express it, I don’t think that should be trivialized. Kaguya’s vacant expression and baby voice might be a treat for some, but to me, they’re an ill-fitting portrayal of a smart girl’s struggle to be loved.
There’s my sermon for the week. I’m sure Bakaguya will make appearances throughout the remainder of the season, so I’ll likely gloss over those moments in future posts. After all, the show has a lot more to offer than just Kaguya’s story, including two new characters who I spotted in the OP, plus more secondary cast appearances and a bit of arc-based plotting down the road. I doubt I’ll have this much to say about Kaguya-sama every week, but I’m confident that this will be an enjoyable follow-up to one of 2019’s best comedies.
That’s interesting, I personally thought the first segment was the weakest of the episode (though it was still solid), and thought the other two were both great. For me, Kaguya’s internal debate didn’t feel trivializing at all: even if her “idiot form” was played for laughs – which for me was very effective, but then, there’s nothing more subjective than one’s sense of humor – the issues her two “sides” raised (with feelings of love opposed by real-world complications) were genuine, and Kaguya overcoming her doubts both felt like a small triumph and a logical consequence of her development in the first season. So for me, the segment meshed comedy and drama really well, and taking an entirely serious route wouldn’t have been as fitting for what is first of all a comedy series.
And I thought the closing segment was great too. Kaguya planning ahead and using her gift to corner Shirogane was clever, and the resulting mindgames were quite entertaining too, with Ishigami taking up the “agent of chaos” role this time around to great effect and Chika being excellent comic relief.
I get your complaints, though, and if you prefer Kaguya-sama’s serious mode over its comedy (I like both) I can see how the birthday felt like a lost chance.
I get the feeling he isn’t going to like the rest of the comedy coming up later. The drama however is going to go up.
I don’t prefer seriousness to comedy (the early part of S1 that was dedicated to humorous mind games was my favorite), but rather complexity to simplicity. Personifying the clearly-defined aspects of a character’s thought process is a simple tactic, in my mind. It lets the author feed exaggerated perspectives to the audience while avoiding the gray area in between. Can it be funny? Sure, but it’s a lot less effective when the character in question is highly intelligent, or when the underlying emotion of the scene is genuine.
Good point about Ishigami taking up Chika’s role in the last segment. Wish I’d spotted that myself!
I see what you mean, thanks for clarifying. It personally didn’t bother me because, although Kaguya is indeed very intelligent, the show is very clear on the fact that she is also incredibly naive and lacks emotional maturity, so the idea that she is split between her cold and calculating side and her infatuation with Shirogane in such a straightforward manner doesn’t seem all that far-fetched to me. These feelings are new to her, after all, and really are diametrically opposed to the calculated way of thinking that she is so used to.
But it’s true that the trial setting simplifies her emotional conflict for comedic purposes, and I can see how more nuance and complexity could have made this part more effective for you.