Kaguya-sama: Love Is War

Kaguya Shinomiya (四宮 かぐや, Shinomiya Kaguya)

Voiced by: Aoi Koga[2]

The titular character of the series, Kaguya is the vice president of Shuchiin Academy's student council. She is known for her beauty, intelligence and wealth, her family owning one of the largest business conglomerates in Japan.^{Ch. 1} Due to being born into a high-class family, the manner Kaguya was raised caused her to be prideful, cold and calculating; but underneath her personality traits, she is really an innocent, kind and fair-minded teenage girl at heart. Her social status and upbringing also causes her emotional suffering due to loneliness and isolation. In spite of her intelligence and resources, she is surprisingly inept at utilizing social media and digital technology (although she excels at older, analog methods of input such as typewriter). She is also quite naïve when it comes to romance and sexuality, and had to be taught how to utilize fashion and femininity to her advantage. To make Miyuki confess his love directly or indirectly, she usually plans ahead to tilt the circumstances in her favour. Apart from engaging in student council work, she is in the Archery club.^{Ch. 28}

Miyuki Shirogane (白銀 御行, Shirogane Miyuki)

Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa[2]

Miyuki is the student council president of Shuchiin Academy.^{Ch. 1} He is famed for being the top student of the school who has also placed second overall in national mock exams, attributed to his studying all the time, hence his messy hair, dark circles around his eyes, and glaring look.^{Ch. 4} Like Kaguya, he is inexperienced with romance and relationships. Miyuki struggles with physical sports involving skills and has a paralyzing fear of bugs, especially cockroaches.^{Ch. 7, 15} Because his father, formerly a factory owner, ^{Ch. 83} is unemployed and his mother -- who left the family when he was a child -- does not support them, he and his younger sister Kei often take part-time jobs. A running gag in the series is how he always imagines Kaguya looking down on him and saying "How cute." (お可愛いこと, Okawaii koto), and refrains to confess his feelings for her in fear of being rejected in such way.

Chika Fujiwara (藤原 千花, Fujiwara Chika)

Voiced by: Konomi Kohara[3]

Chika is the student council secretary of Shuchiin Academy. She is a very cheerful and friendly girl with fair skin, shoulder-length silver hair (light pink in the anime adaptation), busty chest (compared to Kaguya's), and blue eyes; she wears a black bow on her bangs. She appears clueless to the romantic scheming between Kaguya and Miyuki, but has been friends with Kaguya since junior high.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 7 profile, Ch. 20} She comes from a notable political family: her great-grandfather was a prime minister, her uncle is a government official, and her mother is a diplomat. She is the second of three sisters in her family.^{Vol. 4} Her father is fairly strict, screening her from reading racy material such as shojo manga or playing video games. She also has a dog named Pesu.^{Ch. 8}

Chika's hobbies include German strategy board games, puzzles, and "subculture" (non-mainstream) activities.^{Ch. 7 profile} At school she is a member of the traditional games club, which plays tabletop games,^{Ch. 28} and she is also gifted in music, having won piano competitions when she was younger, and directing the class song.^{Ch. 33} There are several stories where Chika has intensively coached Miyuki in skills that he lacks, such as volleyball, singing, overcoming squeamishness, and traditional dancing. After each session, she vows not to teach him anymore, but succumbs to his pleas that call her a dependable friend or the only one who can help.^{Ch. 23, 33, 49, 84} Ai Hayasaka considers her a formidable rival due to her unpredictable behavior.^{Ch. 29} Academically she ranks in the middle of her class; her grades have dropped because of all the time she spends dealing with Miyuki and Kaguya.^{Ch. 30}

Yū Ishigami (石上 優, Ishigami Yū)

Voiced by: Ryōta Suzuki[3]

Yu is Shuchiin Academy's student council treasurer and an underclassman to the other members.^{Ch. 24} He is a dark-haired boy with an emo-looking haircut with bangs covering one of his eyes. The second son of a small toy manufacturer, he only attended school because his father forced him to, and was a truant until Miyuki recruited him to be treasurer. He usually keeps to himself and wears headphones while playing video games out of his portable game console, however, he is a keen observer of people, noticing things that other do not wish to reveal, but occasionally getting in trouble for pointing out those things.^{Ch. 28, profile} He is afraid Kaguya might kill him because Kaguya tends to give him threatening glares and comments.^{Vol. 3} Chika will also occasionally beat him up for making inappropriate comments.^{Vol. 3}

As the story goes on, Yu becomes more open with the council, particularly with Kaguya who begins to enjoy his presence as a junior, as he's shown to be very honest and sincere of others to the point where he will damage his own reputation in order to save others from being hurt. A background story reveals that in junior high, he tried to protect a classmate from her potentially abusive boyfriend, but got suspended and was then shunned by her and his classmates. When Yu randomly joins the cheer squad, Miyuki is able to figure out his back story and supports him. He overcomes the trauma of seeing the girl again.^{Ch. 85-90} He starts to like Tsubame, his senior and the vice-captain of the cheer squad. During the school festival, he casually gives Tsubame a heart-shaped gift, but is unaware that it symbolized that he was confessing to her. Despite his confession to her being rejected, he resolves to better himself so that she can come to like him.^{Ch. 155-156}

Miko Ino (伊井野 ミコ, Iino Miko)

Voiced by: Miyu Tomita[4]

Miko is a first-year student and a classmate of Yu. A member of the discipline committee, she first appears at the end of Miyuki's first student council term, where she runs as a competing candidate for the next student council president. She wishes to impose more orderly and proper behavior on the students, with rules such as: making guys have crew cuts, having girls wear long skirts, and forbidding relationships. Despite being outspoken and strongly opinionated, she is very shy and fearful of public speaking. She is only able to speak her mind at the candidate speeches when Miyuki changes the situation into a one-on-one conversation and debate. Although she loses the election, she gets a sizable number of votes; her peers, who had made fun of her previous pathetic turnouts, begin to respect and admire her. She then joins the student council as an auditing officer.^{Vol. 7}

Miko comes from a family of skilled attorneys. Academically she is at the top of her class. She admires Chika for her music skills as a pianist, but loathes Yu for being lazy and not taking schoolwork seriously. She occasionally thinks of Miyuki and Kaguya to be a massive playboy or sadistically evil respectively, as she has often caught them in inappropriate romantic situations.^{Vol. 7} She listens to messages that boost her self-esteem.^{Ch. 95} She supports Yu in his pursuit of Tsubame as a girlfriend, but realizes she has harbored feelings for him.^{Ch. 190}

Ai Hayasaka (早坂 愛, Hayasaka Ai)

Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori[3]

Ai is Kaguya's personal assistant and childhood friend; her father is Kaguya's godfather, and her mother was Kaguya's wet-nurse. The two girls were raised together until the age of two, when Kaguya was moved to the Shinomiya main house; on their reunion aged seven, their official master/servant relationship was established.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 29 profile} Her family has been serving the Shinomiyas for generations; once prominent and rivaling the Shinomiyas, they were subsequently absorbed into the Shinomiya family in recognition of their fine bloodline.^{Ch. 19} She has short strawberry blond hair and is one-quarter Irish.^{Ch. 29 profile} At school, she acts like a popular fashionable girl who wears her skirt short, a loose collar, fancy nails, and accessories, all of which push the dress code.^{Ch. 25, 29} She keeps her association with Kaguya a secret from Miyuki and Chika. When Miyuki visits, she dresses as a maid named Smithee A. Herthaka (スミシー・A・ハーサカ, Sumishī A hāsaka),^{Ch. 35},^{Ep. 9} who attends an all-girls school and who flirts with Miyuki.^{Ch. 58} When Chika visits, she dresses as a male butler. Ai is more socially aware than Kaguya, and can be calculative at times, but is also very sensitive as she too longs for a normal high school life and a boyfriend, which results in her teasing Kaguya frequently.^{Ch. 42} She eventually tells Miyuki who she really is and becomes his friend, while teasing Kaguya that friendship is the first step to a relationship.^{Ch. 108} She later resigns from her position as assistant, revealing that she had been working for Kaguya's brother all these years to keep tabs on Kaguya. When Kaguya forgives her, she returns to the school and they can now interact as equals.^{Ch. 179-187}

Kashiwagi's boyfriend (Tsubasa) (柏木の彼氏 (翼), Kashiwagi no kareshi (Tsubasa))

Voiced by: Taku Yashiro[5]

Tsubasa Tanuma (田沼 翼, Tanuma Tsubasa),^{Ch. 180} initially known merely as Kashiwagi's boyfriend,[5] is a classmate who regularly asks Miyuki for love advice near the beginning of the series. When Miyuki recommends he boldly confess to Kashiwagi, he does so, and they become a couple. He is the son of a hospital director. His cluelessness about sharing details about his successful relationship annoys the council members.^{Ch. 48}

Nagisa Kashiwagi (柏木 渚, Kashiwagi Nagisa)

Voiced by: Momo Asakura[5]

Nagisa is a classmate who occasionally asks Kaguya about what to do in her relationships.^{Ch. 16, 48} She has short dark hair and wears a double-banded hairpin on one side. Early in the series, she is confessed to by a classmate, and ends up accepting.^{Ch. 6} The daughter in a wealthy shipbuilding family,[6] she academically ranks in the top ten of the class.^{Ch. 30} She later observes that perhaps Kaguya and Miyuki do like each other.^{Ch. 52} Nagisa exhibits many girlfriend behaviors such as talking a lot, being moody, or even jealousy to the point where she hires a private detective to spy on her boyfriend to see if he is having an affair, later making up with him by being very physically bold and passionate, and later sexually active.^{Ch. 76, 96} She is one of the few people that Kaguya confides in when she faces romantic issues, and vice versa.

Kei Shirogane (白銀 圭, Shirogane Kei)

Voiced by: Sayumi Suzushiro[5]

Kei is Miyuki's little sister who is the student council treasurer in the junior high school. Kaguya admires her because she is much like her brother as she is fairly serious; that being with her is like being with Miyuki.^{Ch. 39, 52} She is rebellious when it comes to interacting with her brother, finding him to be annoying and not fashionable, but still cares for him and ensures that he presents a good image when he is in front of her classmates. She is good friends with the Fujiwaras both her classmate Moeha, and Chika. Despite not interacting with Kaguya much, Kei tries to get to know Kaguya better and is happy when she makes little breakthroughs.^{Ch. 52}

Moeha Fujiwara (藤原 萌葉, Fujiwara Moeha)

Voiced by: Ari Ozawa

Moeha is Chika's little sister who is in junior high.^{Ch. 39, 52} She is the student council vice-president at the junior high. She admires Miyuki as well and hopes to confess someday. She has a habit of voicing dark ideas, which unnerve Kaguya a great deal.^{Ch. 52}

Kobachi Osaragi (大仏 こばち, Osaragi Kobachi)

Voiced by: Rina Hidaka[4]

Kobachi is Miko's classmate with the glasses and a member of the disciplinary committee.^{Ch. 85} She has been looking after Miko for over 10 years, in a very literal sense due to Miko's gullible nature.^{Ch. 103} She later starts to date the Captain of the Cheer Club. Her parents were television celebrities, and she was on her way to becoming a child star until scandal hit her family, and thus she has kept a low profile since middle school.^{Ch. 192}

Tsubame Koyasu (子安 つばめ, Koyasu Tsubame)

Voiced by: Haruka Fukuhara

Tsubame is a third-year student who is vice-captain of the cheer squad and a rhythmic gymnast. She is very popular. She encourages Yu in the cheering activities. Later on Yu inadvertently confesses to her, much to her and everyone else's shock. While she initially intends to reject him gently, Kaguya convinces her to think on it, and learn more about Yu before deciding. She decides to respond to his confession later, without realizing that he does not even know he has confessed; and eventually turns him down.^{Ch. 156} She is the daughter of a restaurateur and bartender.^{Ch. 154}

Maki Shijo (四条 眞妃, Shijō Maki)

Voiced by: Kana Ichinose

Maki is a classmate and friend of Nagisa. She has short hair styled in short pigtails. She is friends with Nagisa and is secretly jealous of Nagisa's relationship with her boyfriend, as she too liked Kashiwagi's Boyfriend, but could not confess before. As a branch member of the Shinomiya clan, she is Kaguya's second cousin twice removed so she sometimes refers to Kaguya as "Auntie," much to Kaguya's despise. Their coldness towards each other is suggested to be due to tensions between the main family and branch families.^{Ch. 98} Miyuki and Yu observe she acts very tsundere (cold on the outside but wanting to be affectionate), and similar to Kaguya in personality.^{Ch. 98} She declares Yu and Miyuki as her friends, due to their support in helping her process her failed romance, much to Kaguya's horror (since it would mean that Miyuki has another female friend).^{Ch. 109}

Karen Kino (紀 かれん, Kino Karen) and Erika Kose (巨瀬 エリカ, Kose Erika)

Voiced by: Madoka Asahina (Karen) Ayaka Asai (Erika)

Kaguya's schoolmates in the mass media club who are the subject of the spinoff series Kaguya-sama o Kataritai. They idolize the student council but have no real clue what they do. Karen has light brown straight hair and is the daughter of the CEO of a major publishing company; She spends a great deal of time fantasizing about Miyuki and Kaguya along with writing fan-manga about them, which she has only shown to a few select people.^{Ch. 12} Erika has black hair styled in a ponytail and the daughter of a family that makes miso.^{Ch. 15} Erika's obsession is completely focused on Kaguya.

Aka Akasaka launched the series in the June issue of Shueisha's Miracle Jump magazine on May 19, 2015.[7] The series last chapter in Miracle Jump was published in its February 2016 issue on January 19, 2016.[8] The manga was then switched to the publisher's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump on March 24, 2016.[9][10] A special chapter ran in the debut issue of Young Jump Gold on May 18, 2017.[11]

North American publisher Viz Media announced their license to the series during their panel at San Diego Comic-Con International on July 20, 2017.[10]

A spinoff manga by Shinta Sakayama, titled Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Dōjin-ban (かぐや様は告らせたい 同人版, transl. "Kaguya Wants to be Confessed to - Dōjin Edition"), launched on Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website on June 14, 2018, and is serialized on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.[12] A yonkoma spinoff, written by G3 Ida and titled Kaguya-sama o Kataritai (かぐや様を語りたい, transl. "We Want to Talk About Kaguya"), launched in Young Jump on July 26, 2018. The yonkoma focuses on two newspaper/press club girls who idolize Kaguya and the gang but have no clue what really goes on inside the student council.[12]

An anime television series adaptation was announced by Shueisha on June 1, 2018.[13] The series is directed by Shinichi Omata under the pseudonym Mamoru Hatakeyama and written by Yasuhiro Nakanishi, with animation by A-1 Pictures. Yuuko Yahiro is providing the character designs, while Jin Aketagawa is the sound director. Kei Haneoka is composing the series' music.[14] The series aired from January 12 to March 30, 2019, broadcasting on MBS, Tokyo MX, BS11, Gunma TV, Tochigi TV, Chukyo TV, and TV Niigata.[14][15] The series ran for 12 episodes.[16] Masayuki Suzuki, Rikka Ihara, and Yoshiki Mizuno performs the series' opening song "Love Dramatic feat. Ihara Rikka", while Halca performs the series' ending theme song "Sentimental Crisis".[3][17] Aniplex of America have acquired the series in North America, and streamed the series on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and FunimationNow.[18] In Australia and New Zealand, AnimeLab simulcasted the series within the region.[19]

A second season titled Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai? Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunōsen. was announced on October 19, 2019. The staff and cast are returning to reprise their roles.[20] It premiered on April 11, 2020 on the Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, Tochigi TV, BS11, Abema TV service, MBS and TV Niigata. The second season will feature Kaguya's character song "Kotae Awase" and a key visual with the new characters Miko and Osaragi as they join the returning main characters of the series.[21] Suzuki returned to perform the season's opening theme "Daddy! Daddy Do!" with Airi Suzuki, while Haruka Fukuhara's "Kaze ni Fukarete" ("Blown by the Wind") was used as the ending.[22] The season received its world premiere prior to Japanese broadcast at Anime Festival Sydney on March 8, 2020.[23] Funimation acquired exclusive streaming rights for the season in late March; the company will also release an English dub for both seasons.[24]

The film premiered in Japan on September 6, 2019. Sho Hirano was announced for the role of Miyuki Shirogane, and Kanna Hashimoto was announced for the role of Kaguya Shinomiya. Hayato Kawai directed the film, Yūichi Tokunaga wrote the screenplay, and principal photography was conducted in March to April 2019.[25]