Kaguya has fallen deeply in love with Miyuki Shirogane — the esteemed Student Council President of Shuchi’in Academy.

When she learned of his upcoming departure to study abroad, she was devastated! That is why she said “Yes” to him when he asked her whether she can accompany him to Stanford University!

But will she really? Does she have the guts to completely deny her family’s wishes for her to stay, live, and marry in Japan?

Season 2 of the anime may have ended a while back, but the manga is only heating up! And with Season 3 around the corner, there’s no time to waste!

So, dear fans, allow me to enlighten your minds on this “love dramatic” series that is almost coming to a close!

Will Kaguya to Stanford University with Miyuki?

Kaguya said “Yes” to Miyuki and answered that she will accompany him to Stanford University. This is not a surprise as many fans can see how she is head over heels in love with her boyfriend!

But Kaguya retracted her promise to Miyuki in Chapter 209: “Dreams”. She explained to him that she loves him very much. But she must withdraw her Stanford application if she wants to keep him safe from her elder half-brothers’ wraths.

When she answered Miyuki during his romantic rooftop “proposal”, she answered without hesitation.

But she wasn’t thinking clearly because she did not consider how one of her elder half-brothers, Oko, would think if she were to fly abroad and study in a prestigious university!

Nor did she consider the potential danger and threat her other deranged elder half-brother, Un’yo, would bring to Miyuki and Ai Hayasaka (Kaguya’s former servant and now true friend) during the school trip (see “Class Trip Arc”)!

Note that Oko is Kaguya’s first half-brother; he is the prideful eldest son of the Shinomiya family.

Oko is also the current potential successor and current benefactor of the Shinomiya family’s traditional patriarchal hierarchy — a hierarchy where men are more esteemed because women acquire less education, obtain subpar careers, inherit less fortune, and so on.

Meanwhile, Un’yo is Kaguya’s third half-brother; he is a liar. He attempted to kidnap and hostage Ai Hayasaka during the class trip. He took her so she can be coerced to spill secrets about Kaguya’s life.

And as many fans know, Ai has been a live-in servant since she and Kaguya were 7-years old. She monitors Kaguya’s daily life and has been relaying her whereabouts to Oko for decades.

Kaguya’s life is classified information that Un’yo has been targeting so he can get at the upper ranks.

If he can kidnap Ai Hayasaka and force her to loosen her lips by locking her up, Kaguya and the Shinomiya wealth are one step away from his grasp! He could become the true successor to the Shinomiya conglomerate instead of his half-brother, Oko.

Kaguya did not think of the threat that Oko and Un’yo can bring to her beloved and Ai. After all, she could only see Miyuki and his love dramatic proposal during the cultural festival (which is why she agreed to apply to Stanford University in the first place).

What does Kaguya’s family think of Miyuki?

The Shinomiya family hates anyone stepping in their boundaries. Therefore, even if the family has not seen nor met Miyuki yet, they’d likely demean him in front of Kaguya! No doubt about it.

With their status and power, the Shinomiya family wouldn’t even show the slightest respect to Miyuki even if he gets invited to Kaguya’s home at the family estate!

Kaguya’s elder half-brothers and father are too high and mighty. They might not even look at Miyuki in the eye! That’s how despicable they look at men whom they did not arrange a marriage with Kaguya.

And because of Kaguya’s carelessness and reckless actions, Oko found out his younger half-sister’s plans to attend a foreign university!

He threatened Kaguya (who now feels imprisoned at the palm of his elder half-brother’s hands) saying:

“If you become smarter than the potential husband we choose for you through an arranged marriage, the Shinomiya conglomerate and the family would look bad! We’d get in trouble, and we’ll blame you for it, Kaguya!”

And even when Oko seems “approving” of Miyuki and seems “kind” to Ai Hayasaka’s rebellion during the class trip, he implied that it’s all for “Kaguya’s sake” (so she would develop an “iron fist”):

“Flirt and play around with your beloved’s heart as much as you want. After all, I fool around with many women when I was your age. You may even treat your maid as you see fit. The Hayasakas are all my pawns at the end of the day! Gan’an, our father, may turn a blind eye to your foolish actions. But know this: I rarely compromise when I’m this “kind”. So, decide wisely!”

With a looming family forbidding Kaguya of her own free will, it’s no wonder she didn’t hesitate to turn Miyuki and his offer down.

On one hand, Kaguya simply loves Miyuki, which is why she’s gonna go with him. On the other, she might have only answered “Yes” to him just so she can flee from the terrible shackles and binds of her family!

For all we know, she might have used her Stanford University application as an excuse to free herself from a gloomy and dark future that her family is setting up for her.

But now that Kaguya has rescinded her Stanford University application, it all becomes clear: she wanted Miyuki to be liberated from the terrible future she’s heading to.

During this heartfelt conversation, she also admitted to him that the Shinomiya Group conglomerate caused the downfall of the corporation that Miyuki’s father formerly managed (this was also mentioned in Chapter 209: “Dreams”).

As fans know all too well, Miyuki’s dad was a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a corporation that the Shirogane family once owned.

You heard that right! Miyuki did not live with poverty all his life because his family was formerly rich, and his dad was an ex-CEO!

But the Shinomiya conglomerate took down that corporation, causing Miyuki’s mom to undergo depression and leave her family for good.

Kaguya doesn’t want Miyuki to be tangled with the Shinomiya conglomerate’s battle for power, influence, prestige, and wealth. Her family already caused them suffering in the past, and she doesn’t want something like that to be repeated onto the Shirogane household again.

Kaguya still loves Miyuki despite everything that has happened. That’s why she is spending as much time as she wants with him by sleeping with him in the Shirogane household’s new apartment for 2 months or more.

After all, they are 3^rd-year students — they are in their last year of high school. Even if she’s not accompanying him to Stanford University, she’ll sleep with him at his apartment from time to time, meet him at school again, and spend many fun dates together! She’ll cherish the moments she has with him before they are geographically separated.

How will Kaguya accompany Miyuki?

Kaguya might not accompany Miyuki right away when he goes to Stanford. But with status, money, and influence, she’ll likely get herself on a private air jet and fly to the Americas.

However, all of this will only happen after she wins a battle against the Shinomiya conglomerate.

First, she must free herself from Oko’s grasp. Then, she must help Ai Hayasaka and her mom so they can be completely free from Oko’s servitude.

Those tasks are tall orders, but she must fight if she wants to earn her freedom and help her friends earn theirs too!

Fans remain clueless about how Kaguya’s battle with her family will turn out. But one thing’s for sure: she withdrew her Stanford application because she loves Miyuki and Ai.

If she wanted to escape from the Shinomiya family’s grasp, she must “do battle on the inside”: she must acquire information internally and use those against her frightening family!

It might be a long shot, but it’s worth a try if it means ending this internal conflict between herself and her blood ties with the Shinomiya family and the Shinomiya conglomerate.

No matter how the series ends, mangaka Aka Akasaka has taken his fans for a wild ride! It’s been a fun journey to see Kaguya, Miyuki, Chika, Yu, and Miko fight for love and with love for 6+ wholesome years!

About Kaguya-sama

Kaguya sama wa Kokurasetai is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Aka Akasaka.

It began serialization in Shueisha’s Miracle Jump in May 2015 and was transferred to Weekly Young Jump in March 2016.

It follows student council president, Miyuki Shirogane, and vice-president, Kaguya Shinomiya, who appear to be the perfect couple.

Kaguya is the daughter of a wealthy conglomerate family, and Miyuki is the top student at the school and well-known across the prefecture.

Although they like each other, they are too proud to confess their love as they believe whoever does so first would lose.

The story follows their many schemes to see the other one fall and declare their passions first! As of April 2021, the manga had over 15 million copies in print.