As one of the funniest modern comedies in anime, Kaguya-sama: Love is War employs a lot of creative gags and absurd situations. The setup for the whole show is just one large, elaborate joke. Shinomiya and Shirogane cannot admit their love for each other, so they resort to petty mind games. It is a game of chicken where the loser is whoever admits their feelings first. Sincerity is poison, and posture is everything.
However, there are moments in this show that take things way too far. The characters get a bit too unhinged and start saying, thinking, and doing very wild things. While it is part of the humor, from the perspective of characters in the show, these actions and thoughts are pretty mean.
10 Ishigami Defames Those Who Wear Boxer Briefs
It is one thing to prefer briefs, and it is another to slander those who wear boxer briefs. Ishigami, in a fit of passion, chooses to do the latter. After Fujiwara and Shinomiya catch him changing his pants in the student council room, they press him on his choice of underwear.
According to Ishigami, only people who are blatant flirts and constantly sleep around wear boxer briefs. He is so passionate about a cause he does not believe in. Once the segment is over, he buys his own set of boxer briefs. He protests for briefs and attaches negative moral sentiments to a piece of clothing but cannot stand by his convictions.
9 Hayasaka Is Made To Live Different Lives All The Time
Hayasaka is denied the normal joys of a teenager. Her relationship with Shinomiya is equal parts genuine loyalty and servitude. She is not just Shinomiya's valet, but her confidant, adviser, friend, and fixer. To maintain this relationship, Hayasaka has to take up multiple facades.
In school, she is a perky sociable girl. At home, she is the accommodating valet. With Shirogane, she is a flirty beauty. In front of Fujiwara, she is the butler savant. There is never any room for Hayasaka to just be herself. She is put into situations of constant duplicity. Her interactions with Shirogane slowly free her from her binds, but it is clear that she is repressed.
8 Kaguya Encourages Toxic Behaviors In Relationships
Kashiwagi doubts her boyfriend's loyalty and vents to Shinomiya and Iino. Immediately, Kaguya takes her side, agreeing that Tanuma's actions must mean he is a cheater. She supports Kashiwagi's stalking, even as far as to say it is sensible to hire a private investigator to keep track of Tanuma.
When Iino speaks up as the voice of caution and moderation, she is instantly shut down by the other two. Even tho misunderstandings in anime can become dangerous fast, no reason would reach the two. When it comes to love, especially possession, these two are extremely terrifying.
7 Iino Wants To Enforce Extreme Moral Standards And Buzzcuts
Iino is the fun police. There is no getting around it. She believes the school is full of immoral and undisciplined people. As a member of the Public Morals Committee, she holds herself to a high standard and expects others to follow. When she runs for student council president, her platform is very strict.
She wants to regulate school attires, regulate hairstyles, and prohibit cell phones within school grounds. Her righteousness is a self-isolating curse that keeps most people from befriending her. However, she still deserves to be treated compassionately. In the end, it works out since she joins the student council with a more lax outlook.
6 Shirogane Traumatizes Fujiwara With His Ineptitude
Chika Fujiwara does not have an easy job. While she is the bubbly secretary of the student council, her more pressing job is raising Shirogane. For some reason, she seems to be the main person in charge of improving Shirogane's shortcomings, like his inability to sing or play volleyball.
It would not be that bad if Shirogane's ineptitude was bearable. He is terrifyingly bad at these things. When he sings or raps, the sound destroys Fujiwara's brain. She endures all of that to help him. The anime is far too cruel to Fujiwara.
5 Shinomiya Routinely Terrorizes Ishigami On Purpose
Shinomiya is the queen of threatening stares. There is an air of genuine menace whenever she does it. The foul poison in her seeps out, ready to corrode anything it touches. That's how Ishigami sees her, at least. He is thoroughly scared of her. For one reason or another, he catches her ire. Sometimes, there are legitimate grounds for it. Other times, she just wants to keep him in line.
To keep him from resigning as treasurer, she veils her threats as gags or harmless gestures. Only the two of them are aware of how serious she is. Even when she helps him, it is partially motivated by her quest to keep him from leaving the student council.
4 Shinomiya Thinks Fujiwara Is Subhuman
Shinomiya and Fujiwara are best friends. They address each other by their first names, and they have been together since they were kids. Shirogane's presence throws a wrench into that dynamic. Without being aware of it, Fujiwara angers Shinomiya whenever she gets too cozy with Shirogane or his sister.
She calls her the meanest things and looks down on her as if she is not human. There are a lot of projected insecurities that crop up whenever Fujiwara bonds with the student council president. Their friendship should be made of tougher materials, but Shinomiya's love is a scary thing.
3 Ishigami Disrespects Fujiwara And Shinomiya Behind Their Backs
Thinking he is alone with Shirogane, Ishigami starts going off on the sizes of his fellow council members' chests. They show up just as he mentions them by name, blissfully unaware of the threats standing right behind him.
Retribution does come. Fujiwara folds a paper fan and smacks his head over and over. The scene is short, but it is a cold reminder of what people should not say about others. While forceful, Ishigami learns his lesson.
2 Hayasaka And Shinomiya Mess With Shirogane's Morning Coffee
Hayasaka breaks into school in the dead of night dressed like a spy and overcomes the security systems for a nefarious purpose: to change Shirogane's coffee to decaf. While this seems like a harmless gesture, the point was to knock Shirogane out. He is a chronically tired man who can only function due to the aid of morning coffee. That spike in caffeine is what keeps Shirogane up. Without it, he is dead asleep.
This is exactly what Shinomiya wanted. She tasks Hayasaka to do the dirty work, so she can get away with measuring his body without him knowing. While that might seem harmless, it is still purposefully knocking someone out. There are thousands of other ways to trick Shirogane without having him unconscious.
1 Shirogane Subjects Hayasaka To His Rapping
Hayasaka was not prepared for Shirogane's wrath. She thought she could strike back against Shinomiya by making Shirogane fall for her, but she led herself down a path of pain. In her hubris, she never considered if Shirogane was decent at karaoke. Prior to this moment, only Fujiwara was aware of how monstrously bad Shirogane's pitch and rhythm were.
However, Shirogane should have known better. He knew that he sucked at many non-academic activities. He should've asked for Fujiwara's input before revealing it to an unwitting bystander like Hayasaka.