Name: Kaguya-sama: A Marxist Analysis
Uploaded: 2019-09-11T10:38:07.000Z
Duration: 14 min 43 s
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Relative clauses (Restrictive vs. nonrestrictive)

Kaguya-sama is a series that's deeply concerned with conflict, in all of its forms.

As the opening narration describes, even romance, that oh-so-sacred space where human beings

can directly connect with one another, is ultimately a battleground, a place of division

where the strong conquer and the weak submit.

This is a very intriguing hook for a romantic comedy, a genre which typically shunts its

power dynamics off to the side, barring those cases where they're used to fulfill the

To pose a romantic relationship as one that bears significant similarities to that of

a master and slave or a boss and worker is a strong statement on the way in which all

aspects of society, including those that tend to be regarded as pure, are mediated by the

general social dynamics which are always present.

The satirical nature of this statement does little to temper the implications which are

present; in fact, it only reinforces them, bringing the work to its fullest conclusion.

What's key to understand is that the show does not portray the leads' error as being

their belief that there are tensions in a relationship, ones indicative of hierarchy

Rather, it posits that conflict is the incorrect way to resolve these contradictions.

Minor spoilers for the manga, though nothing that would ruin the story for you.

Shuuchiin Academy, the stage on which the entire series is set, is no ordinary school,

not even by upper-class private educational standards.

Having stood since the era of aristocracy, it has seen a shift in the mode of production

over time, remaining a space dominated by the elites in spite of that.

In this respect, it reflects the Japanese state itself.

For as many qualitative differences as there may have been, Japan, like Britain and unlike,

say, France, was able to weather the transition to capitalism with the state intact.

The aristocracy may have been abolished, but its sons and daughters often retained their

wealth, and were persuaded to accept the rising robber baron stock into the control room for

Shuuchiin is a battlefield, absolutely, but a tempered one.

As with the state it stands in for, it has many warring interests.

The son of a major fast food chain and the daughter of a weight loss company's CEO

Similarly, the daughter of a major LDP politician wouldn't have the same interests as the

son of the leader of whichever opposition party formed two years ago.

However, there is still a common understanding that, as a class, these people are on the

Intraclass conflict may occur, it is after all a remarkably competitive school where

exam scores are paramount, but at the same time, it can not distract from the fact that

these students are the future rulers of Japan.

To put it in other words, Shuuchiin is a mock battlefield on which the conflicts between

the bourgeoisie can be set, teaching the not-quite-leaders of the nation how they should behave around

their fellow class, leaving open some room for conflict while still ultimately tending

towards the benign antics befitting a comedy.

However, Shuuchiin is not a place which bars all non-bourgeois voices, only one that makes

Shirogane's existence is evidence of this fact; the state is a battleground on which

classes can attempt to assert their interests, even if it is necessarily under the control

of capital as long as it's the dominant mode of production.

Working-class representatives can make it into the state apparatus, even rising to the

top of its ranks with enough strategic know-how.

Similarly, workers who try hard enough, and find enough luck while doing so, have access

For this reason, the Shuuchiin of the 21st century is demonstrably different from its

aristocratic incarnation; the working class is not barred from power as a result of their

ignoble birth, at least not as long as capital avoids a real threat to its very existence,

but through the simple fact that things are so stacked against any given individual not

born into the bourgeois lineage that their ascension is functionally impossible.

The series makes no attempt to hide the fact that things are weighted against those of

Bribery is a common method for getting into the school, and those who haven't attended

for their entire lives, known as “impure” students, are ruthlessly mocked, making up

only 1% of the student body in spite of its official stance as a meritocratic institution.

The class struggle of society at large is just as present here, but with a caveat.

Impure students are totally incapable of toppling the hierarchy of the pures, as they make up

a miniscule amount of the populace, a marked difference from the world as a whole, where

the proletariat far outnumbers the bourgeoisie.

This puts anyone who would want to change things in a precarious position.

Formally, the school is equally open to all who put in effort, but entry is not actually

possible for the vast majority of common people, and in fact, it is actively discouraged by

With this, Kaguya-sama acknowledges the essential nature of the bourgeois state as corrupt at

its core, incapable of being truly won over in spite of its public-facing attempts to

Shirogane poses a unique perspective in this broader system.

His role as the sole “impure” member of the cast, born outside the bourgeois hegemony

that controls the school, is a key one in interpreting how the show believes class dynamics

must be mediated and what the unique classes look like.

Shirogane is, above all else, notable for the degree of work he puts into anything he

His sharp eyes reflect the amount of time he devotes to studying, student council duties,

and working jobs to support his otherwise income-less family.

His presence is indicative of individualist impulses, those which claim that anyone could

make it to the top if they just try hard enough.

Imbalanced as he may be in many fields, Shirogane has gotten where he has in Shuuchiin by applying

himself towards higher positions, something which to most working people would not only

be an unfavorable prospect but an impossible one.

However, him having done this does not cause any structural change in the way the school

He may be an inspiring representative of the “impures” as one of the few student council

presidents to come from that caste, yet as you would expect, there's no discussion

of other “impures” attending on account of this.

The system of bribery and exclusion that occurs at the school does not disappear; even when

running for re-election, there are those who won't vote for him purely due to his emergence

In the battleground that is the bourgeois state, the workers can put forth their hard

working delegates, and yet the system will not fundamentally change through voting and

If anything, Shirogane begins to be subsumed into the attitudes of the rich students who

At the same time, his identity as a part of his own class is clear; he maintains a belief

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Kaguya-sama: A Marxist Analysis

ultimately

essentially

potential

individual