Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: First Kiss wa Owaranai

After their first kiss, Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane are left unsure where their relationship stands. The troubling uncertainty of whether they could be considered an official couple unleashes newfound problems as both Kaguya and Shirogane struggle to sort out their feelings.

While the lovestruck student council officers fret, the Christmas season rolls around, and romance is in the air. In the face of widespread tenderness, Kaguya and Shirogane must endure their affectionate battle of wits once more. Should they reconcile their feelings for one another, they may find themselves within reach of what they have both been longing for so long: true love.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shinomiya, Kaguya Main

Koga, Aoi Japanese

Shirogane, Miyuki Main

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

Ishigami, Yuu Supporting

Suzuki, Ryouta Japanese

Fujiwara, Chika Supporting

Kohara, Konomi Japanese

Hayasaka, Ai Supporting

Hanamori, Yumiri Japanese

Iino, Miko Supporting

Tomita, Miyu Japanese

Shirogane, Kei Supporting

Suzushiro, Sayumi Japanese

Shirogane, Father Supporting

Koyasu, Takehito Japanese

Narrator Supporting

Aoyama, Yutaka Japanese

Shijou, Maki Supporting

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Hatakeyama, Mamoru Director, Storyboard

Aketagawa, Jin Sound Director

Kitamura, Shoutarou Episode Director, Storyboard

Obara, Masakazu Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Mar 16, 2025

BernieWu0812

Recommended

68/100

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War -The First Kiss That Never Ends develops the characters better than the show could do across three seasons. It dives deeper into who Kaguya and Shirogane really are, not just the lovey dovey, over-the-top versions we usually see, but two people hiding behind their masks. The show has the opportunity to really explore what love means to them and why they both feel the need to be the first to confess, but it never fully does. The movie at least tackles the first part, especially with Kaguya, how she wants Shirogane to take the kiss and what that means for her. ... But the reasoning behind Shirogane's obsession with confession still feels underexplored.

It also helps that the movie takes its time with these moments. The Christmas setting and the quieter atmosphere give everything more weight, making it feel less like a battle of wits and more like an actual relationship developing. The comedy is still here, but the emotional beats hit harder because of how much more vulnerable the characters are allowed to be. It makes you wish the show had slowed down like this more often instead of always focusing on the next mind game which gets boring after a while.

At the end of it all, behind the mind games, neither of them really wants to win. All they seek is something normal, something real, something ordinary.

P.S I also wanted to see more of Ishigami and Tsubame, but that's just me. In the end, though, this movie is about Shirogane and Kaguya

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 22, 2024

QuakAtak2

Mixed Feelings

More of a review for the show overall. Love is War starts off good, with an enjoyable formula, but not one that should kept being milked over and over again. But that's pretty much what happens, episode after episode. One season of narrowly missed confession or any real progress works. But 3.5 seasons of that same thing happening gets stale, and it gets old.

To take a romcom I actually enjoyed, Horimiya, works well in part because even within the span of a single season, the relationship actually progresses while Love is War is stuck trying to pull off the same bit 3 seasons later.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Dec 17, 2023

Adnash

Not Recommended

Funny

After completing "Kaguya-sama: Love is War - Ultra Romantic", known also as Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 3, I decided to drop the series. Not that I didn't like through and through. I thought it was okay. I just ceased to be interested in this show enough to continue watching. And yet, months later, after hearing so many times utterly positive opinions about that one arc featured in the movie this spoiler-free review is about, I decided to pick it up and see for myself. It wasn't a wise decision and I sincerely admit I fell into the trap set up by extremely devoted fans ... overhyping their favourite manga's anime adaptation as if it was 8th Wonder of the World.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: First Kiss wa Owaranai fails so hard as a movie. That's the biggest con of it. It's more like a mix of several stories put together, with one or two themes receiving more attention than the others, but not as huge to leave an impression of this movie being actually a movie. Episodic version of this movie is somewhat bearable, even if it feels so much like a set of four special episodes, serving as an extension of the previous season. But hey, this version was created later, no? If I decide to review a movie, I need to treat it as such, because the show that's being reviewed was intended at first to be experienced in that particular format. As I said earlier, this movie fails in encapsulating pretty much most of the elements you'd expect to see while watching a movie.

As for production quality, it was decent. The previous anime adaptations presented already pleasant quality. The movie was no different in this aspect. One would point out that it should've received better animation, because movies, due to various reasons, tend to have animation representing a higher level than regular TV series. That's true, however, TV series already looked alright and all previous seasons were mostly carried by fancy direction and vibrant colours used in the art style. I think it'd be necessary for a movie to go a different route for the sake of being different and going somehow against technical tropes already enjoyed by the majority of Kaguya-sama anime fans.

With similar quality to the previous Kaguya-sama franchise's anime installments come as much positive, as negative things. This movie had everything I disliked about Season 1. Repetitive corny jokes; characters yelling and squeaking most of the time while talking with each other; narrator ruining the flow of this movie even during its objectively best scenes. Yes, I know these elements appear in Seasons 1-3 as well, but at least they present bigger variety and hmm... mature? I think it's a good way to word it. The same joke evolving over the time is alright, but devolution of it, in consequence, resulting in the decrease of overall comedy quality, is something I'm really not a fan of.

So, in conclusion, I did not enjoy watching this movie. It's sad to say, but "The First Kiss That Never Ends" can't be really perceived as a good movie by viewers like me. I'm not a manga reader and I didn't like the previous seasons that much. I expected to watch at least a decent, solid, proper movie. Too bad my expectations weren't met, and I think that as long as you are not a devoted fan of this series, your experience has rather a huge chance to be most likely similar. Maybe a little better, maybe a little worse, but still underwhelming by a huge margin. With having everything written earlier in mind, I just can't recommend it. Not for people who are not devoted fans of this franchise, or who simply wanted to see a cute movie sequel to a series they were once watching. That being said, if you are already a huge fan of this franchise, dear reader, which is of course fine, then I think there's a huge chance that you're gonna actually like it. No matter whether you will decide to watch it in the original, movie format, or in the episodic one. Sadly, I'm not a huge fan of Kaguya-sama series. Not a hater as well. I'm just a regular enjoyer of this series. And I just wanted to see a good movie.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	Poll: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: First Kiss wa Owaranai Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Usopp8000 - Dec 18, 2022	236 replies	by GT1Studios »» Apr 16, 6:13 AM
	Petition for Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 4 3033 - Mar 30	40 replies	by Shadow12340976 »» Apr 6, 8:08 AM
	For those who are waiting for Season 4 ( 1 2 ) emryuu - Aug 25, 2024	54 replies	by Shadow12340976 »» Apr 6, 8:07 AM
	So is there gonna be any new season after this Rnonsenseguy - Apr 2, 2023	21 replies	by Shadow12340976 »» Apr 6, 5:36 AM
	Will there be another season?? u-Anand__ - Jul 3, 2023	30 replies	by Shadow12340976 »» Apr 6, 5:36 AM