Last updated: 1 November 2026
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is a romantic comedy anime by A-1 Pictures about two proud student-council leaders who refuse to confess first. It has 37 TV episodes across three seasons (2019–2022), plus an OVA, the film The First Kiss That Never Ends and a 2025 TV special. A final film has been announced to conclude the story.
About Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane are the top students at the elite Shuchiin Academy, and both are in love with the other. But their pride makes them see love as a battle: the one who confesses first loses. Kaguya is the vice-president and heiress of the powerful Shinomiya family; Miyuki is the hard-working student council president who earned his place from outside the wealthy elite. Together with secretary Chika Fujiwara, treasurer Yu Ishigami and maid Ai Hayasaka, their meetings turn into clever mind games over the smallest things, a movie ticket, an umbrella, a lunchbox. Over three TV seasons (2019–2022), one OVA and the film The First Kiss That Never Ends, the 'war' slowly becomes a real romance, and the jokes often turn into some of the most moving scenes in modern anime. A TV special, The Stairway to Adulthood, aired in December 2025, and a concluding film has been announced to finish the main story on screen.
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is a TV anime from 2019, first released in Winter 2019. It belongs to the Comedy and Romance genres and is listed as a completed series. The summary above is written by the AnimeYug team in our own words.
Official Trailer
Story & Plot
At Shuchiin Academy, where Japan's richest and most talented families send their children, student council president Miyuki Shirogane and vice-president Kaguya Shinomiya are widely seen as the perfect couple. There is only one problem: neither will confess. In their world, confessing first means losing, so every shared umbrella, school trip and cup of tea becomes a battlefield of tricks, traps and overthinking. Secretary Chika Fujiwara cheerfully ruins every plan, treasurer Yu Ishigami suffers in silence, and Kaguya's attendant Ai Hayasaka runs schemes from the shadows while questioning her own life of service.
Season by season the war changes its players. Across sports festivals, elections, birthdays and a firework-less summer, the council grows from comic opponents into a real family, and the feelings they hide become impossible to contain. The story builds to the school festival, a confession under firework balloons, and a first kiss that never ends, before a closing chapter brings this generation of the council towards adulthood.
Story Arcs & Episode Guide
The Kaguya-sama: Love Is War anime is split into story sagas. Here is every saga in order, with its episodes and years.
| Arc | Episodes | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 1–12 | 2019 | The love war begins, mind games over tickets, umbrellas and a firework they never saw |
| Season 2 | 13–24 | 2020 | Ishigami's sports festival and Miyuki's birthday push everyone's hearts closer |
| Season 3: Ultra Romantic | 25–37 | 2022 | The school festival builds to the confession and the first kiss |
| The First Kiss That Never Ends | Film | 2022 | The night after the kiss: Kaguya and Miyuki face what comes next |
| The Stairway to Adulthood | TV Special | 2025 | A special episode looking back at Kaguya's school days from ten years later |
Why Watch Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
- Every tiny moment becomes a hilarious battle of wits, narrated like a sports final.
- Chika Fujiwara's chaos energy: her episode 3 dance ending became a global meme.
- Under the comedy sits one of anime's most honest stories about pride, loneliness and first love.
- Yu Ishigami's arc is widely praised as one of the best side-character stories in romance anime.
- All the openings are love songs by Masayuki Suzuki, the 'King of Love Songs'.
Who Is It For?
Kaguya-sama is a school romantic comedy made for teens and adults. The humour is mostly clean, with some innuendo and fanservice moments (mainly in the OVA), and the later seasons deal honestly with family pressure, self-worth and growing up.
Main Characters
View all characters →
Voice Actors
The Japanese voices behind the main characters of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War.
- Kaguya ShinomiyaVice-president; heiress of the Shinomiya GroupJapanese voiceAoi Koga
- Miyuki ShiroganeStudent council president; top student by pure effortJapanese voiceMakoto Furukawa
- Chika FujiwaraSecretary; cheerful agent of chaosJapanese voiceKonomi Kohara
- Yu IshigamiTreasurer; gloomy gamer with a hidden pastJapanese voiceRyōta Suzuki
- Ai HayasakaKaguya's attendant and partner in schemesJapanese voiceYumiri Hanamori
- Miko IinoAuditor; strict, earnest rule-enforcerJapanese voiceMiyu Tomita
- Kei ShiroganeMiyuki's younger sister; runs the family budgetJapanese voiceSayumi Suzushiro
- Nagisa KashiwagiStudent in a real relationship; Kaguya's love adviserJapanese voiceMomo Asakura
- Tsubasa TanumaNagisa's boyfriend; always asking Miyuki for adviceJapanese voiceTaku Yashiro
- Maki ShijoShijo family member stuck in a one-sided loveJapanese voiceKana Ichinose
- Mikado ShijoMaki's twin; a genius rival from another schoolJapanese voiceSeiichirō Yamashita
- Papa ShiroganeMiyuki and Kei's eccentric unemployed fatherJapanese voiceTakehito Koyasu
Staff & Production
- Original Creator
- Aka Akasaka
- Animation Studio
- A-1 Pictures
- Series Director
- Mamoru Hatakeyama
- Series Composition
- Yasuhiro Nakanishi
- Character Design
- Yūko Yahiro
- Music
- Kei Haneoka
Manga & Source Material
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is based on Aka Akasaka's manga, which ran in Shueisha's Miracle Jump and then Weekly Young Jump. The anime's first three seasons and the film adapt the story up to around chapter 151, with later material covered by the 2025 special.
- Written and illustrated by Aka Akasaka
- Serialised in Miracle Jump from May 2015, then Weekly Young Jump from March 2016 to 2 November 2022
- 281 chapters collected in 28 volumes. The manga is complete
- More than 22 million copies in circulation by December 2022
- Akasaka's next series, Oshi no Ko, shares the same creator, and he also conceived the announced final anime film's story
Music
Every opening theme is sung by Masayuki Suzuki, the 'King of Love Songs', each time with a different guest singer, a running tradition of the series. The special ending 'Chikatto Chika Chikaa' in Season 1 episode 3, performed by Chika's voice actress Konomi Kohara, became a viral hit of its own.
Opening Themes
- “Love Dramatic”by Masayuki Suzuki feat. Rikka IharaSeason 1 opening (2019)
- “Daddy! Daddy! Do!”by Masayuki Suzuki feat. Airi SuzukiSeason 2 opening (2020)
- “GIRI GIRI”by Masayuki Suzuki feat. SuuSeason 3 opening (2022)
- “Abunai Kioku”by Masayuki Suzuki feat. Aoi KogaCurrentThe Stairway to Adulthood special opening (2025)
Ending Themes
- “Sentimental Crisis”by halcaSeason 1 ending (2019)
- “Kaze ni Fukarete”by Haruka FukuharaSeason 2 ending (2020)
- “Heart wa Oteage”by Airi SuzukiSeason 3 ending (2022)
- “Aka to Ao (RED AND BLUE)”by Aoi KogaCurrentThe Stairway to Adulthood special ending (2025)
Series Timeline
- 2015
Aka Akasaka's Kaguya-sama manga begins in Miracle Jump, moving to Weekly Young Jump the next year.
- 2019
Season 1 of the anime airs from January to March.
- 2020
Season 2 airs from April to June.
- 2021
The 3-episode OVA is released with manga volume 22 on 19 May.
- 2022
Season 3, Ultra Romantic, airs from April to June; the film The First Kiss That Never Ends opens on 17 December; the manga ends after 281 chapters.
- 2025
The TV special The Stairway to Adulthood airs on 31 December, and a final chapter film is announced.
Quick Answers
Is Kaguya-sama: Love Is War finished?
Yes. Kaguya-sama: Love Is War has finished airing, so you can watch the complete story from start to end without waiting for new episodes.
What genre is Kaguya-sama: Love Is War?
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is a Comedy and Romance anime. You can browse more titles like it on our Comedy anime page.
When did Kaguya-sama: Love Is War release?
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War first released in Winter 2019. It is a TV series.
How many episodes does Kaguya-sama: Love Is War have?
The TV series has 37 episodes: 12 in Season 1 (2019), 12 in Season 2 (2020) and 13 in Season 3, Ultra Romantic (2022). There is also a 3-episode OVA (2021), the film The First Kiss That Never Ends (2022) and the TV special The Stairway to Adulthood (31 December 2025).
Will there be a Kaguya-sama Season 4?
No fourth TV season has been announced. Instead, the story continues on screen: the special The Stairway to Adulthood aired on 31 December 2025, and a final chapter film with an original story concept by creator Aka Akasaka has been announced to conclude the main story. Its release date is not yet known.
Is the Kaguya-sama manga finished?
Yes. Aka Akasaka's manga ended on 2 November 2022 with 281 chapters collected in 28 volumes. Sales passed 22 million copies in circulation by December 2022.
Do I need to watch the Kaguya-sama OVA?
No. It is optional fun. The 2021 OVA bundles three comedy episodes (a swimsuit story, a found manga story and a cooking battle) with volume 22 of the manga. The main story runs through the TV seasons and the film.
Watch Order
Here is the release order for Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and the series connected to it. Start at step 1 and work your way down.
- 1Kaguya-sama: Love Is WarSeason 1 (2019): this series; the love war begins. 12 episodes.
- 2Kaguya-sama: Love Is War?Season 2 (2020): Ishigami's festival and Miyuki's birthday. 12 episodes.
- 3Kaguya-sama: Love Is War OVAOVA (2021): three optional comedy episodes bundled with manga volume 22.
- 4Kaguya-sama: Love Is War -Ultra Romantic-Season 3 (2022): the school festival and the confession. 13 episodes.
- 5Kaguya-sama: Love Is War -The First Kiss That Never Ends-Film (2022): the night after the kiss. Later also aired on TV in four episodes.
- 6Kaguya-sama: Love Is War -The Stairway to Adulthood-TV special (31 December 2025): Kaguya looks back at her school days, ten years on.
- 7Kaguya-sama: Love Is War | Final Chapter filmAnnounced film: an original story concept by Aka Akasaka to conclude the main story; release date not yet announced.
Where to Watch
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is officially available to stream on these platforms:
Streaming availability changes often and differs by country. Please check the platform in your region.