Manga Review: Kindergarten Wars — An Elite Kindergarten, An Elite Read
April 10, 2025
Kindergarten Wars is quite the success story. While the manga now has over 100 chapters to its name, it started off as an indie series on Shonen Jump+ with no guarantees regarding its publication. Kindergarten Wars has come a long way off of merit alone.
Sporting good action, good art, and good writing, it's not hard to see why Kindergarten Wars has been able to garner so much support. Its premise is unique and immediately captivating, but it's the character relationships that really shine in this manga. A band of ex-criminals can really make for a surprisingly tight-knit and compelling group. Kindergarten Wars does an excellent job of building up real emotional stakes, and the hard-hitting moments really hit hard.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW — This Kindergarten Wars manga review is based on how the series has developed up until Chapter 104, the most recent chapter available before this article's release. No story spoilers will be mentioned.
Characters: 14/15 — Troubling Pasts And A Pressing Present
Kindergarten Wars focuses primarily on the teachers of Kindergarten Noir, the world's safest kindergarten. What makes Kindergarten Noir so safe is that it depends almost entirely on a workforce comprised of highly skilled, former criminals. You might expect to only see rough and ragged figures out of those ex-criminals, but Kindergarten Wars' characters all have a surprising amount of depth to them.
No character better demonstrates this than Rita, the manga's lead protagonist. Her desperate yearning for love makes for a funny gag, but under that seemingly friendly demeanor is someone completely unrecognizable. Most other important characters share this quality. Their troubled pasts have carved the way for their present, but no one is defined by their past actions. It's a beautiful theme, and that reality plays a big role in how these characters all develop. The close relationships that form through this in Kindergarten Wars really stick with the reader.
Art: 14/15 — Cute Yet Striking
Stuff that looks cute doesn't generally also come off as being cool. You Chiba, however, somehow perfectly blends that line with Kindergarten Wars. There is a very clear mastery of a wide variety of manga techniques, which allows Chiba to effectively convey so many different things. Heartfelt moments, throwaway gags, and action sequences, they all look incredibly natural in the manga's art style. Kindergarten Wars doesn't shy away from gruesome violence either. The manga may have an innocent-looking style, but it has its striking moments that really feel impactful, thanks to the art.
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Story: 12/15 — A Vehicle For The Characters
Kindergarten Wars has distinct story arcs, and they feel genuinely focused. Nothing, to this point, has felt rushed or anything like that. The narrative mostly just serves as a vehicle for developing the characters, but that's what stories are supposed to do. Kindergarten Wars also happens to do that really well. The manga's emotional moments only hit so hard because of how close you get to characters like Luke, Rita, and Doug.
The overarching narrative of Kindergarten Wars may not be all that strong, but it's hard to feel too discontent with that. The manga lives a lot in the present. There's more than enough to keep you preoccupied, from intense action to blooming romances.
The World: 11/15 — A Special Kindergarten
Kindergarten Wars just oozes charm. The art and the writing contribute heavily to that feeling. There's no other manga quite like it, but Kindergarten Wars doesn't actually focus too much on establishing a certain aesthetic. The settings presented, such as Kindergarten Noir, do stand out, but there isn't exactly anything that perfectly defines the series. I guess this is the one, main fault with the weak, overarching narrative. Every story arc has a strong identity, but the plot as a whole doesn't. This doesn't ruin the experience by any means, but readers looking for a distinct atmosphere won't find that in Kindergarten Wars.
