Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Otona e no Kaidan

A bittersweet feeling. While I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite manga moments animated that I never thought I’d get to see, the decision to skip almost half the story was quite sad and disappointing. The idea of ending with an original movie supervised by Aka Akasaka himself doesn’t completely displease me. While I don’t think the manga’s ending is as bad as some other fans do, I do believe it had the potential to be better, and I think the movie is a good opportunity to give the main couple and the supporting characters an even better conclusion. Ignoring the fact that they skipped all the original material, these special episodes are quite good and funny, and a good reminder of how well-made this anime is. When it comes to romance and comedy, I think it’s still the best anime in its genre. On the other hand, these special chapters also show us that if they had decided to make a fourth season, adapting many other memorable moments from the rest of the manga, it would have been a narrative success and wouldn’t have been a failure or boring, as some fans thought. Although the “love is war” premise comes to an end after the movie “The First Kiss That Never Ends,” I think they still had enough material to deliver a high-quality story full of moments that fans would have loved to see. That’s why fans’ frustration and annoyance with this decision are understandable: on the one hand, those who read the manga and wanted to see these moments animated (like me), and on the other, the anime-only fans, many of whom will never know the details of the original story. If you’re an anime-only fan and you’re still craving more romantic interactions between the protagonists, as well as the resolution of other characters’ subplots, I highly recommend giving the manga a try. I believe the latest movie covered up to chapter 144 of the manga, but you can always check for yourself. It’s one of the few manga I’ve taken the time to read, and I can say it was a worthwhile experience. Now that it seems several chapters won’t be adapted into the anime, you have the perfect excuse to give it a try. They’ve already made the decision to skip all that material; you may or may not like it—most likely you won’t, and justifiably so—but as cruel and sad as it sounds, it could have ended up even worse off and had everything wrapped up in this special, it being the end of the complete story. I’ll have faith that the final movie will give us a conclusion worthy of one of the best rom-coms in history, and if not, well, we’ll just have to settle for the manga’s ending. A sad day for fans of this anime, but a window of hope remains open. They better don't disappoint us with that movie... I really hope so.

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War -Stairway to Adulthood- is a two-episode TV special following up on the events of the movie where we finally get to see Kaguya and Miyuki doing actual relationship stuff before he departs for America, and it is just as sweet, wacky, and romantic as I was hoping for. Watching these two dorks twist themselves into knots over the most minute of details is just as entertaining as it has been since episode one, yet, at the same time, there is something very normal and ordinary about their romantic progression, serving as a stark contrast to the often over-the-top circumstances they are usually rooted in, conveying that even events they see as major steps towards adulthood can still feel comfortable and part of a natural progression without rigid guidelines. Between the effortlessly hilarious chemistry amongst the main cast and the brilliantly inventive presentation, there is never a shortage of laughs and goofs to be had here. Mamoru Hatakeyama has proven to be a master of visual variety when it comes to delivery of humor, yet his conveyance of the tenderness of young love and the intimate acceptance these two find in each other also managed to sear itself into my eyes with just as much ravishing beauty. That said, I won’t deny that I was hoping for a bit more from this one just in terms of volume of content, and it’s starting to feel like a lot of the less crucial manga chapters are being skipped over in favor of reaching a conclusion, with most characters aside from Kaguya and Miyuki receiving very little focus in this entry. I have not read the manga so I can’t say this definitively, but it certainly feels like we’re in a sprint to the finish, especially with the final entry being announced as a movie and not a TV series. Then again, perhaps it’s just my longing to stay immersed in this story for as long as possible. Young love can’t stay young forever, and all stories eventually reach their conclusions, so I hope this one gets an absolute banger when the time comes.

~ Taking place after the events of the 2022 Kaguya movie, Stairway to Adulthood fast-tracks the final 120 chapters of the manga. Manga readers (like myself) will be disappointed by how absurdly rushed this conclusion feels, while anime readers may struggle to emotionally connect with its story (if they're able to connect with it at all). ~ Because the special is afforded only two episodes (or 60 minutes total), there's no time for any meaningful setups or payoffs, making the story feel even more abrupt than it already is. ~ The framing device feels cheap, used primarily as a way to dump exposition for the story arcs that we don't have time to see. + To its credit, the Kaguya production team haven't lost their mojo, and the animation and voice acting are easily able to hit the right comedic notes. + At the end, there's a brief teaser for a future Kaguya movie with an all-original story by manga author Aka Akasaka, so I suppose there's that to look forward to. = There's no universe in which anyone would consider this a satisfying conclusion to the Kaguya-sama: Love is War anime, but the announcement of a new movie makes it abundantly clear that this TV special was made more as a business decision than a creative one. With Oshi no Ko finally finished and Renai Daikou cancelled, Aka Akasaka is now in-between projects, which offers him the perfect opportunity to write the screenplay and storyboard of a movie. A-1 Pictures likely wanted to capitalize on this timing given the financial success of the first movie, but the obvious downside is they've effectively spoiled the rest of the manga for anime-only viewers. Even if they decide to go back and adapt the rest of the manga properly, the effect of this stunt is permanent. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it can't be put back in. My advice to anime-only watchers: at this point, just read the manga. You will derive more closure from reading it in full than by watching this special before waiting on the upcoming movie. For me, I can enjoy Stairway to Adulthood just as some bonus Kaguya material, but I can't in good conscience say this was a good adaptation of the source material (even if I understand the impetus behind the decision). I can only hope that A-1 Pictures returns to adapt the rest of the manga at a later time, especially since they've left so much of the manga's best material on the cutting room floor.

Its diabolical the amount of stuff they're choosing to skip with this ova special. However, the stuff covered is comedy gold and romance at its peak. It makes it very difficult to criticise this adaptation. What it covers is absolutely perfect, but are we really only getting 1% of the rest of the story? It is so poorly cut short that they even skip what is considered the "final arc" of the serious with the adaption. Overall 10+ adaptation for what is covered, but for so little its such a disappointment. My opinion is too heavily lowered knowing manga plot points are so heavily disregarded with this adaptation. A Begrudging 8/10 Highly recommend the manga tenfold if you enjoyed what you saw here.

Let me make this clear: I LOVE Kaguya-Sama!!! I love it to death. I'm probably a top 10 Kaguya-Sama fan on the planet. It's literally my favorite manga and my favorite story ever created. The Mangaka Aka Akasaka also made my second favorite series ever "Oshi No Ko". So this TV-Special hurts me even more. It literally skips around 110 chapters from the beginning of Volume 16 until the middle of volume 27. So it quite literally skips the best part of the manga BY FAR! Yuu's and Miko's holidays, Yuu's conversation with Tsubame and most of the character development happens in these chapters. I heard that Aka Akasaka (the GOAT btw) was making that decision. If that's true, dang Aka, what were you on?? Literally destroying the best Story ever told... But I can't find a single source that really confirms that. And until I do, I will NOT accept slandering my goat. The animation and direction were very good. Not a crazy jump from the the first 3 seasons and the movie but it was really good. The chapters it adapted were questionable though. Why adapt the bold Chika chapter? That literally felt like filler in the manga. Sure it's a fun chapter but nothing of significance happens. But what they adapted they adapted pretty well. Of course nowhere near the manga but it was enjoyable. Nothing different of the first 3 seasons. Very good adaptations but of course not as good as the manga. So it would be way better than a 1/10 in theory. However, every time I think about it, I just get angry af that they didn't adapt the best part of the story. They literally could've made 4 more seasons... I'm just so disappointed that anime onlys will never truly appreciate the greatness that is Kaguya-Sama. Especially because some people have been asking where they should start the manga from the end of the movie. It would theoretically be volume 16 but the Anime skipped many chapters before (which is one of the reasons that the Anime will never be as good as the manga) so I recommend starting the manga at chapter 1. The second Story they told in the Anime is literally the firts chapter of VOLUME 2!! So they skipped like 9 chapters in the beginning. To be fair, the beginning of Kaguya-Sama is kinda episodic so it's not that dramatic. But that is NOT the case with the chapters 152-266 which this special shamelessly skipped

I am creating this review just to say that the love scene between kaguya and shirogane was very well done. Two young hearts coming together in such a lovely and respectable manner. That scene just made me cry. It was one of the best emotional scenes ever in an anime. I know that kaguya sama is meant to be a romcom/funny anime but that romantic scene was such a bliss. Finally the two are together after so many years. Story - Definitely felt rushed. Style - could be better Characters - some felt out of touch I am sure that others will love it.

Despite it skipping 100 chapters worth of content from the manga this as still overall an amazing adaptation of a few memorable chapters. Though the adaptation was good I don't really recommend anyone who was not read the manga to watch this if you actually care about how the story progresses and the characters development. Still it was an adorable and funny glimpse of what happened after the movie, but if you're not a manga reader you might get confused and bombarded with a ton of sudden changes to the character's lives. The jokes were halarious and the animation was smooth for each and every episode. But, even though they skipped a lot of the manga's content I was still happy about getting some of my favorite scenes adapted. Overall it was still again an amazing adaptation of the chapters they actually decided to include. But PLEASE read the manga before you decide to watch this becuase it absolutly spoils the actual story.

This is a Tv special of one of the best rom-coms of recent years. I will rate season 1-3, 8 out of 10. They are all equally good though the finale of season three was the best, and makes it the most memorable. Season 1 had that iconic Chika Fujiwara dance at the end of episode three. All three seasons were very well written and was hilarious. The comedy, I felt, was just different in this anime. I should note even though all the seasons were great, they released a OVA which just didn't live up to the shows standard. I would rate the awful OVA 3/10. Kaguya-sama: Love Is War - Stairway to Adulthood, is a good special. The show had wrapped up perfectly in season three, and there was no need for this but its something for the fans who want to know what happens after the confession. What happens now that they have confessed? The entire comedy formula that existed throughout season 1-3 , does not apply here anymore. And this takes a more serious tone, and hence not as funny as before. But this finally is more like your other romcom anime you are used to. You can watch it if you are a fan and want the whole story. But I don't think its necessary after the finale of season three. No matter what, this is a good Tv special.

This is truly an adaptation for the manga readers. I think its sad that they skipped over so many chapters and arcs just to animate The Final Moment, but I am still happy they did it. In a way it is fanservice, and I am ok with that ! - I would be lying if I said I did not want to see this animated. I also think that the animation is gorgeous!! Theres a couple of shots that are so smoothly animated. It's a big step up from the previous seasons, however I don't think strictly necessary for my enjoyment of the show; at times bit of a budget flex teehee. I'm happy with this finale :))