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I just started the anime, but prior to watching I've already read about how
it's a running gag that Chika ruins the plans of either Kaguya or Miyuki or
makes 1 of their battles have a result of draw or even N/A instead of an
outright win/loss.

In the case of the pilot/premiere (specifically [Kaguya Wants to be Stopped,
ch12 of the manga](https://kaguyasama-wa-
kokurasetai.fandom.com/wiki/Chapter_12)), it seems kind of a weird deus ex
machina for what otherwise could've been a win for Kaguya (or at least a
follow up move by Miyuki) that Chika comes and saves the day in preventing
Kaguya from going on the date with the love letter sender:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/emuNr.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/emuNr.png)

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AF2Ff.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AF2Ff.png)

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wkboG.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wkboG.jpg)

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GmudC.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GmudC.jpg)

**Question** : What does Chika care?

And in case someone's going to accuse me like 'It's a joke. Don't you have a
sense of humour?' Well, jokes are based on paradox/contradiction. This is a
very good joke if there's a good reason for Chika's doing this eg Chika knows
about Kaguya's affection for Miyuki or Chika knows Kaguya otherwise isn't
interested in this date.

  * **Update** : I finished s1, and usually there are good reasons why a battle's conclusion is N/A or a draw because of a deus ex machina. This is 1 of the few times I don't see a good reason.


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question
kaguya-sama-love-is-war
Why does Chika care about Kaguya's date in the pilot/premiere?


This is pretty much answered by Chika herself in this episode. What she says
is as follows (emphasis mine):

From the English dub (I'm using brackets to indicate where I'm uncertain what
she's saying, as she's babbling and there are no subtitles. It's close enough
anyway.):

> **I don't want anyone to [come] take you away, Kaguya!** And I don't want
> you to get expelled! Please, don't leave me, I love you more than any
> [boyfriend/boy can]! I love you sooooo much!

From the English subtitles on the Japanese dub:

> **I don't want anyone to have you, Kaguya!** I don't want you expelled! No,
> no, don't go away! I'm crazy about you! I love you!

The expulsion part gets into something not mentioned by the question, namely
that Shirogane threatened to tell a teacher if Kaguya goes on her date. That
in of itself is a reason for Chika to so passionately interfere in this
manner. That isn't all, of course...

So, what does Chika care? It seems straight forward to me. It's perfectly
clear that as Kaguya's close friend, she loves Kaguya. She directly states
that here, and many times elsewhere. For instance, the relationship charts at
the beginning states that Fujiwara "Super totally ✩ loves her ♡", which goes a
long way in describing the depths of her feelings. In this episode, Kaguya
says she's really going to go unless she gets a love confession, and that's
what she gets here from Chika (There's the funny joke we're looking for! The
timing is definitely too perfect for that not to be what the author was going
for.). Even at the beginning of Chika and Kaguya's conversation, Chika is
fidgeting a lot, so she's worrying about it, and she keeps asking Kaguya if
she's really going.

This is not the only time Fujiwara is overprotective of Kaguya when it comes
to relationships. In chapter 113, after saying she got hit on at a school
festival, Fujiwara warns Kaguya, saying,

> **You** should **never** go to their culture festival, Kaguya! You'd really
> get harassed! (Because you're so cute!)

Additionally, Chika has been shown to have a selfish personality. For
instance, when they learn that she and Ishigami share a birthday, she becomes
extremely upset, because she believes this will result in her having a subpar
birthday party. Someone who can use the kind of logic she uses to deduce her
birthday revelry will suffer from sharing the day with someone else can surely
determine what the result will be should Kaguya actually find a boyfriend.
Kaguya's time would be monopolized by this boyfriend, leaving no time for
Chika herself, and this would be a greatly undesirable outcome.

I see questions all the time about why this character or that character has
any sort of invested interest in another character's romances, but they always
strike me as odd, as if there is some belief that romantic relationships are
the only kind of relationships that have importance. Yet, there is nothing
unusual about someone getting jealous of their friend's romantic partners,
particularly if they're as close as Kaguya and Chika. Seeing all the
hilariously selfish stuff I've seen Chika pull in the manga, I can fairly
confidently say she is the kind of person who would get jealous if Kaguya got
a boyfriend and spent less time with her. Though Chika has also shown
incredible selflessness, such as when she's teaching Shirogane. It's thus
difficult to say what she would or wouldn't do. Though here, with the added
motivation of keeping Kaguya from getting expelled, she tries to dissuade her.

This is quite a **heavy spoiler** coming from the end of volume 22, so I
highly recommend not looking at it, however it supports my interpretation of
Chika so well I couldn't help but want to include it.

> From the preview description for volume 23: "Will Miyuki replace Chika in
> Kaguya's heart? When dense Chika belatedly finds out they're dating, she
> certainly thinks so."

> Volume 23 unsurprisingly, has Chika initially being surprised, but very
> accepting and supportive of Kaguya's relationship with Shirogane when Kaguya
> initially tells her about it in _Battle 222: Kaguya Shinomiya's Impossible
> Demand: "Mount Horai's Branch of Pearls"_. Here's a snippet of the
> conversation between Kaguya and Chika, with emphasis being mine here, as it
> supports my initial characterizations of their relationship and how the
> story portrays it:

> "Why didn't you tell me before?!"  
>  "Because... You're special. And now someone else is special to me too. I
> feel like I've **betrayed** you."  
>  "You can have as many special people in your life as you want! I don't
> mind!"

> However, true to her capricious nature and joker role in the story, Chika
> completely flips her position in the next chapter and is very upset by
> Kaguya and Shirogane's relationship. Her irritation initially sparks from
> seeing Miko and Ishigami act like it was obvious Kaguya and Shirogane were
> in love. Here are some highlights from _Battle 223: Chika Fujiwara Won't
> Admit it_. Emphasis is again mine, as some of this pretty much confirms my
> interpretation of the conversation in the pilot as being how the author
> intended it to be interpreted.

> "Arghhhh! What is happening?! I can't take it anymore! You stupid, dumb,
> moronic idiots! I can't accept this relationship! I can't stand this lovey-
> dovey atmosphere either! **My precious Kaguya** has been defiled by
> Shirogane. This is... **cuckoldry**!"  
> ...  
>  "But I will not acknowledge this couple! Kaguya is **mine**!

> When pressed on her change of heart, this is Chika's explanation:

> **Kaguya** : "But when I told you, you said you were happy for me..."  
>  **Chika** : "Changing your mind is a sign of maturity. When I saw you two
> together now and was truly honest with myself, I realized I can't accept
> this. I will crush and destroy your relationship, whatever it takes!"


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answer