Line #27 Fridge/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar


1	'''As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy]]. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
2
3	!!FridgeBrilliance
4	* In Chapter 44, Kaguya is suddenly called in by her father to the Shinomiya family's main household all the way in Kyoto, who not only barely acknowledges her presence, but also orders her servants to stop her from going to watch fireworks with her friends. At first glance, this seems to {{establish\|ingCharacterMoment}} how much of an authoritarian {{Jerkass}} Gan'an is and how little agency Kaguya has over her own life, but it would take almost ''200'' chapters for the manga to finally hint at the likely reason for her father's actions those days: Chapter 241 reveals that Gan'an has been SecretlyDying for a long while. This suggests that Kaguya was called in to Kyoto because her father's health took a sudden turn for the worse, prompting him to call for his daughter in order to see her one last time... only to recover before her arrival, then maintain his image by not allowing her to see him up close lest she deduce that something is amiss. Furthermore, the servants were likely ordered to keep Kaguya around just in case he relapsed for real.
5	* In Chapter 51, Fujiwara does a fortune telling that describes a person's personality based on their gender and birthday. When Fujiwara tries the test on herself, she is told that she symbolizes dedication and kindness. Kaguya is very confused to hear this, as in her opinion that doesn't fit Fujiwara at all. However, ''Ishigami has the same birthday'', and he is definitely one of the kindest people in the series, [[MeaningfulName as his name indicates]]. While Ishigami is later told a different fortune telling that accurately describes him as a symbol of "misfortune and sacrifice", and that he should think before acting, Fujiwara's fortune telling also fits him well.
6	* In chapter 55, Kaguya coldly tells off two girls who try to convince her not to tutor Ishigami. Of course, Kaguya knows the truth about Ishigami's suspension due to the Student Council's investigation, but this is also likely personal: having been the subject of unflattering rumors herself, Kaguya ''detests'' gossip, and is thus sympathetic to Ishigami's plight.
7	* In chapter 74, which temporarily turns the setting into a shoujo manga parody, Kaguya is described as an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent, despite coming from an exceptionally elite background even by the standards of the prestigious Shuchi'in academy. This does not only parody the StockShoujoHeroine, but also foreshadows [[IJustWantToBeNormal her wish for an ordinary romance]].
8	* Ishigami claimed that he can see 5-6 % of a person's true personality just with eye-contact. Some Ishigami-specific chapters are titled "And thus, Yu Ishigami closed his eyes", referring to Ishigami shutting the world out. As a result, everyone around him appears to be TheFaceless, even Shirogane and Kaguya in Chapter 88, when he sees Otomo again. Shirogane's GetAHoldOfYourselfMan gets him out of his HeroicBSOD and he can see Shirogane's face again, and after barely losing the race (and expecting to be hated by his team), Tsubame and the rest cheer him up. Thus, when he finally opens his eyes to the rest and sees their faces, he can see that they are good people. This is a major part of Ishigami's CharacterDevelopment, as no other chapter was titled "Yu Ishigami closed his eyes" again.
9	* Iino's HorribleJudgeOfCharacter towards Fujiwara by seeing her as a competent figure while the other student council members as otherwise is obviously like how most politicians were seen as competent on paper. Mind you, what was the occupation of Fujiwara's grandfather, father and uncle again? Also, Iino being biased towards Fujiwara is not unlike real life cases of KangarooCourt and judges infamously swinging to a politician's favor.
10	* Kashiwagi accepted the necklace gift Tsubasa bought for her despite being seen as tacky by the Student Council girls. This necklace was suggested to him by Maki, who thought that it would get them to break up but fails. The reason why [[SpringtimeForHitler it works on the opposite way]] is because Kashiwagi was known to copy Maki a lot in the past, so ''anything'' that the latter prefers is acceptable to the former.
11	* In chapter 117 bonus, Miko is revealed to have less than half of the muscle potential of any other Student Council member. So how comes Ishigami never gets the upper hand during their many quarrels? He never did hit Miko as strong as he could, and never will.
12	* A sleep-addled Kaguya ranks Ishigami as her second favorite member of the Student Council and Fujiwara as the third. While this is initially a heartwarming sign of how her relationship with Ishigami has evolved, it's also a sign of how her relationship with Fujiwara is becoming increasingly strained due to the latter's behavior. This situation would only get worse as the series progressed.
13	* Of course Dr. Tanuma of all people would be the one to check on Shirogane when he's hospitalized in Chapter 147. Aside from being the Shinomiya's private doctor, he treated Kaguya in Chapter 79 where he was also shown the picture of her crush, Shirogane from her phone when the girl tried to deny her feelings for Shirogane. As soon as Shirogane was admitted to the hospital, it wasn't that hard for him to put two and two together, eventually using his authority in the hospital to personally treat said patient.
14	* In Chapter 149, Moeha quickly sniffs out Kaguya's subtle plan to cheat during the gift exchange lot-drawing by marking Shirogane's chopstick with wax. After a lifetime of playing games with notoriously over-competitive cheater Chika (and being an implied cheater herself, given she coincidentally ends up with Shirogane's gift), it makes sense that Moeha would be hyper-aware of any sort of subterfuge.
15	* Kaguya's lack of disappointment when Shirogane's Christmas gift for her turns out to be an [[ConvenienceStoreGiftShopping expensive Kendama]] makes sense if one were to take account on the fact that she gave him a hand fan for a birthday gift and a stationary set for a Christmas gift. Its one of the signs that all she wanted was a normal life and that said Kendama is a sign of Shirogane trying to be his actual self as well.
16	** Fast forward to chapter 194, we learn that since Shuchi'in's students are all wealthy by default, expensive gifts meant nothing to them. Its possible that Shirogane has no knowledge of this since he just enroll into their high school from the first year and lacks a social circle before he was scouted by the previous President of Student Council.
17	* Kaguya and Kashiwagi dominate the first two places in tying cherry stem with their tongue, according to the bonus page. Doing this means that the person is a good kisser, so is it any wonder that these two are the only girls to be seen kissing their boyfriends up till Chapter 173?
18	* Iino fails outright to tie a cherry stem in Chapter 173, because she tries to force it to move how she wants and bites it in half. [[ControlFreak Forcing people to bend]] is a sign of her immaturity and the [[FatalFlaw reason]] she kept losing every election so far.
19	-->'''[[LoveInterest Ishigami]]:''' That would've been unfortunate if you were actually kissing someone.
20	* In Chapter 188, Fujiwara is called out by Ishigami that she never does anything for him. Fujiwara actually ''did'' do something big for Ishigami, by helping investigate and figure out the truth about Ishigami and Ogino, but she doesn't say anything, as Iino is present and she was sworn into secrecy. Fujiwara is a well-known SecretKeeper, as this was the major reason why she was able to become friends with Kaguya.
21	* In Chapter 190, Iino describes her type of man: He has to be smarter than her, serious and follows all the rules. However, she admits that a type is just a set of preferences and, despite Ishigami apparently not being her type at all, she tells Shirogane that she felt jealous after hearing about Ishigami's date with Tsubame. Keep in mind that in Chapter 114, her previous description of her type of man was different: she wants a prince who understands her, looks after her and helps her [[DamselInDistress when she needs him]]. That's exactly what Ishigami had done (without her knowledge). At the end of the culture festival, Iino begins to see the good things about Ishigami. He shows her the fruits of her labor while she is alone and patrolling, giving her the recognition and affection she is craving for. After the arm-breaking incident during Christmas, they also spend more time together and she sees how understanding and caring Ishigami can be, which just reinforces her already growing feelings for him.
22	** Ishigami could be her ideal if he tried to, so she hates him for not trying.
23	* In the same chapter, Iino mentions to Shirogane that she already knows he and Kaguya are dating. This makes sense, since Iino suspected from the beginning that the two have a relationship, and it's heavily implied that Ishigami saw Kaguya and Shirogane on a date in the mall, so it's not unlikely that Iino saw them, too. Also, her and Ishigami's reaction isn't actually shown when [[SarcasticConfession Kaguya sarcastically confesses]] in Chapter 163 that they are dating. (Note that Kaguya never said that she was joking, it's simply what Fujiwara assumed after Kaguya showed the "You got pranked" sign.)
24	* Chapter 192 reveals a part of Osaragi's past, where it's shown that like Ishigami she was also mocked and bullied by others in school, which made her more introverted and caused her to avert her eyes from others. Even Tsubame initially appeared to be TheFaceless to her, when they talked in middle school. Thinking back to Chapter 85, the first chapter that she narrated, like in Ishigami's chapters, the faces of the students are also blank... except for Ishigami. She only has eyes for Ishigami.
25	* In Chapter 192, there is another parallel between Osaragi and Ishigami, and that is how Tsubame initiated contact with them. Tsubame opens a conversation with Osaragi in middle school the same way she did with Ishigami, and like in Ishigami's case, Tsubame appears to be faceless at the beginning. However, readers by now know she really is GoodAllAlong, and her approaching pariahs like Osaragi and Ishigami, unconcerned by rumors, is really just her trying to reach out and offer them help. As a result, both Ishigami and Osaragi open their eyes to her (though this took Ishigami a bit longer), and Tsubame doesn't appear to be faceless anymore.
26	-->'''Tsubame:''' Hey, you're X from the rumors, right?
27	* As Chapter 192 reveals how Osaragi has feelings for Ishigami and is always watching him closely, how she is exactly one place ahead of him in the exam results is either a weird coincidence or her own way of being close to him.
28	* Kazeno coping with his break-up with Osaragi by getting addicted to idols seems a bit out of nowhere in Chapter 166, but then Chapter 192 reveals that Osaragi is a former child idol. Seems like Kazeno tried to substitute his ex-idol girlfriend with other idols. In other words, while OnTheRebound, he is [[LovingAShadow loving Osaragi's shadow]].
29	* In Chapter 196, Hayasaka joins Shirogane, Ishigami, and Maki for a few games of baseball batting. No longer working for the Shinomiyas, Hayasaka starts to act less formal and befriends Maki. Hayasaka is like a big sister to Kaguya, and Maki is very similar to Kaguya, so it makes a lot of sense that Hayasaka will get along well with Maki, too.
30	* Ishigami fought to preserve Otomo's smile and ultimately ended up in disgrace. It's poetic justice and a sign of growth that even if he didn't get the girl, he preserved the tearful smile of Tsubame (whose personality is noted to be very similar to Otomo's) in a much more mature and less self-sacrificing manner.
31	* Why is Kaguya more sympathetic to Osaragi in the latter's feud with Iino? It's because of her relationship with Hayasaka. Kaguya knows what it's like to have pent-up resentment toward one of your oldest friends, like Hayasaka did toward her. She also knows how difficult it can be to forgive someone, but at the same time, that it's foolish to simply throw away a friendship when it's possible to talk things out. Basically, she understands both sides of the conflict, which is why she's so insistent that Iino try to see things from Osaragi's point of view.
32	* If you stop to think about it, most of the "battles" between Kaguya and Shirogane consists in her setting up an elaborate plan to get him to confess while he has to detect and figure out her plan on the spot and use it to his advantage. That is, if Kaguya is TheChessmaster, then Shirogane's forte is at XanatosSpeedChess. As such, it makes a lot of sense for the confrontation against the Shinomiya family to play out exactly like their games: Kaguya set up several pieces of a plan for her own rescue that she couldn't enact herself with her even more scheming and experienced brothers watching her, [[PowerOfTrust trusting]] Shirogane would recognize said pieces for what they were and use them to come up with a plan of his own.
33	* Why does Shirogane want to be a big-time success to marry Kaguya and impress her family? The last time he asked one of her family members, her father, he rejected him (mostly because she was already arranged to marry, and she somewhat broke up with him.) In his eyes, he needs to have fortune just not to have trouble marrying Kaguya.
34	* The reveal in the climax of the final arc retroactively makes Kaguya's actions link to Miko's near the beginning of it. While the situation concerning the Student Council being in danger if the Shiomiyas ever get to them is real, Miko gets to use the opportunity to have Ishigami protect her and bond with her and to be at her most vulnerable with him. Kaguya admits she excised as much power as she could to ensure that Shirogane saves her, which leads to him confessing and asking her to restart their romantic relationship again; while the situation was similarly dire, she did do the same thing on a much larger scale.
35	* The use of the film, ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' may seem out of place for the anime to pay tribute to but there might be a reason. One of the themes that film tackles on is the usage of media, particularly propaganda. While ''Starship Troopers'' deals with the negative usage of propaganda, ''Kaguya-Sama'' focuses on the positives in which media is used to gain support for the relationship between Shirogane and Kaguya.
36	* To people who have watched the original Japanese version of the anime or read the manga, the narrator in the English dub of the anime doesn't seem to serve that much of a purpose. After all, he completely lacks the serious tone that the Japanese narrator has, thus ruining the joke of the narrator treating every one of Kaguya and Shirogane's schemes like a literal battle. But actually, the English narrator does serve a purpose, though a different one from the Japanese narrator: he's an AudienceSurrogate albeit, one that knows a bit more than we do. Think about it, he laughs and cries and gets frustrated alongside us. He makes the same lampshades we might make while watching the show and often acts like that one guy who talks to the TV as if the characters can hear him.
37	* Shirogane attracting strange and crazy girls might seem like a one-time gag, but it does ring true later on. Moeha might seem friendly, but many consider her a bit psychopathic with her fantasy of Kei. Not to mention Kaguya, who might seem normal, has bad cases of mood swings and yandere thoughts.
38	* In typical romcom anime, the female love interest would be the president of the Student Council, while the male love interest has the lowest job to be with her. However, one of the series' central themes is classism. Even if Shirogane gets the highest position in school, some might still look down on him for being a "commoner." At the same time, even if Kaguya is vice president, her family is so influential that from society's point of view, Shirogane is just an "emperor," while Kaguya is from the "moon."
39	* Why was Kaguya so gung-ho about Iino forgiving Osaragi despite sabotaging her throughout the years? Because she faced a similar situation with Hayasaka but came to forgive her when the latter explained why. Kaguya figured Osaragi did something similar and didn't want Iino and Osaragi's friendship to end without explaining her motive.
40	* Might be strange for some that Kaguya choose a normal life over using her intelligence for something grand. But her story fits her literature counterpart, Princess Kaguya-Hime. Both long for a normal life, and unlike her, Kaguya manages to get that life.
41	* By the final arc, it becomes more and more apparent that Kaguya-Sama is a modern reboot of the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter in a lot of ways:
42	** Kaguya, of course, represent Kaguya-Hime. Both girls are considered from another world, with Kaguya's family being insanely wealthy while Hime's are from the moon. They both long for familial love and a life that is their own.
43	** Shirogane may be based around one of Hime's suitors, he has more connection/importance to that of the Emperor. Both long for Kaguya and tried many methods to win her heart, with Shirogane becoming an ideal version of himself and the Emperor giving Kaguya wealth and gifts. Both of them see their Kaguya as other worldly, someone that is out of their league but try to win her heart.
44	** When Kaguya is taken back to their home, despite wanting to live her life, this is where the story splits. When given gifts to ease their pain, the Emperor had the immortality elixir destroyed cause he didn't want to live in a world without her. But in Shirogane's story, he decides to take the gift (large sums of money) to go to war against Kaguya's family to bring her back. And unlike the Emperor, Shirogane succeeds.
45	* In the StealthSequel ''Manga/OshiNoKo'', it's remarked that idols are liars that pretend to be pure and happy for their fans' sake, with Ai, the very face of the series, even claiming that her lies are how she shows love. [[spoiler:Osagari]] is a former child idol, is subtly lying the entire time, and the way she shows her love for [[spoiler:Ishigami]] is by lying and manipulating to keep [[spoiler:Kazeno]] out of the way.
46	* During an interview, Kaguya claims her archery skills derive from chancing the perfect shot once and repeating the same motions ever since, and the arrow hitting the target is just a consequence. This is ''very'' close to how Kyudo works: differently from its martial predecessor Kyujutsu, Kyudo is ''very'' ritualized and the motions are more important than actually hitting the target, but said motions have been developed in such a way that if done perfectly you ''always'' hit the target. Considering her memory skills and intelligence, Kaguya is well capable of repeating the same motions (or even make variations for specific situations, like when she shot a flaming arrow to lit a bonfire), even when it's clear that, with how much strength any kind of archery requires, she had to train hard and try repeatedly before achieving that perfect shot - though it's possible that she achieved it much earlier than expected.
47
48	!!FridgeHorror
49
50	* From relatively early in the series, it's clear that Kaguya is the victim of [[ParentalNeglect a father and a family who don't give her much attention at all]]. However, it's slowly revealed that this isn't exactly a bad thing, because the Shinomiya family - and particularly Gan'an, her father - [[BigScrewedUpFamily are hinted to be some bad, bad people.]] How terrifying is Gan'an? Kaguya is actually ''relieved'' that she rarely interacts with her father, and she's so stressed out about her father finding out that she agreed to go to America with Shirogane that it triggers a personality switch for several days.
51	** Unyo Shinomiya, Kaguya's older brother, is a deeply unpleasant man who is willing to kidnap and... extract information from Hayasaka in order to get an edge on his older brothers. ''He's also the brother Kaguya dislikes the least''.
52	* Also relating to above, Kaguya's MoodSwinger attitude may be one of the source of comedy in the series, but combined with her self deprecation and subtle suicidal thoughts in Chapter 146 hinted that she is suffering from mental depression, especially given her background of being pressured by the Shinomiya family as a metaphorical prison.
53	* There are two layers of FridgeHorror to Shirogane's obsession with academic success. One is his not unjustified impression that Kaguya only knew he existed because he took the top score from her. The other is his mother abandoning him and his father basically because they weren't successful, only taking his more obviously brilliant sister with her (who soon escaped from her and came back home).
54	* Fujiwara and Shirogane having an odd mother-and-son sort of relationship also takes a whole new meaning after the above reveal. As crappy and verbally abusive as Fujiwara can get at times, she always, ''always'' comes back to help Shirogane improve no matter how inept he is at the current subject. Moreover, Fujiwara started the manga with the utmost respect for Shirogane, but after seeing how flawed he truly is, now treats him only slightly better than Ishigami, which is more or less ''exactly'' what Shirogane expected to happen should Kaguya learn the truth as well. To see his relationship with Fujiwara devolve into this may have vindicated Shirogane's fears about what would happen if he showed his true self to Kaguya.
55	* Osaragi [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in Chapter 189 that Tsubame is more or less the spitting image of Kyoko Otomo, the same girl who caused Ishigami to become a pariah in middle school. In the end, was Ishigami's affection for his senior a genuine one, or a case of LovingAShadow?

Context Fridge / KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar