The beloved romantic comedy Kaguya-sama: Love is War is making an unexpected return with a new TV special titled Kaguya-Sama: The Stairway to Adulthood. According to the announcement, this new production is being released on December 31st, 2025, in Japan, and was very well received by fans who have been waiting over three years for any type of media to be released since the theatrical film that came out in 2022.There has been a lot of speculation about Kaguya-Sama: The Stairway to Adulthood from people after seeing some trailers and doing some analysis of them, that it appears as though this new special may be skipping around 70-130 chapters of unadapted manga before going straight into an adaptation of the final episode of the manga series.Kaguya Shinomiya as seen in The Stairway to Adulthood (Image Source: A-1 Pictures)This decision would have massive implications for the overall narrative. If they skip all those major plot points, Kaguya-Sama: The Stairway to Adulthood is going to miss out on some pretty important character growth for Ishigami, Iino, and everyone else in the supporting cast. All kinds of conflicts with the Shinomiya family, love interests, and major emotional scenes that really differentiate the story in the second half of the manga might all be cut off.What Content Is Being Skipped in Kaguya-Sama: The Stairway to Adulthood?The promotional poster for Kaguya-Sama: The Stairway to Adulthood hints at a large time jump. Hayasaka has a new hairstyle compared to her last appearance. The positions of Ishigami and Iino relate to events from later in the manga. Airplanes and running Kaguya imagery also connect to the ending of the show.Miyuki Shirogane (Image Source: A-1 Pictures)These elements indicate the special will adapt content from around chapter 270 onwards, and skip about 130 chapters, including the Shinomiya Family War, Christmas Party developments, important relationship growth for Ishigami, Hayasaka's character arc, and the many character development moments during the last year of high school for the main characters.The manga series is about 50% of what was adapted by the anime (140 Chapters in the first three seasons, as well as a film). Although the unadapted chapters equal approximately the same amount of material as those that were adapted, these last chapters do not appear to have any adaptation plan.Critical Story Elements at Risk in Kaguya-Sama: The Stairway to AdulthoodThe potential content cuts for Kaguya-Sama: The Stairway to Adulthood would eliminate several narrative threads that manga readers consider essential. For example, Kaguya's relationship with her family provides a lot of context about the way Kaguya develops her relationships throughout the manga. Removing this arc means losing out on many of the important emotions that Circle of Friends has.Another major development from Ishigami, as he continues developing in the last part of the manga, would also be lost. Ishigami's story will eventually change from being a side character who adds humor to the story to being a character that readers really connect with. His romantic story, as well as the events surrounding the Christmas party, contain major developments."I was stoked when saw new kaguya-sama then was disappointed," one fan upset about the skipped part"I really hope they adapt those arcs as OVAs, or maybe as a one-shot spin off season focusing on Ishigami. Because thats a shame, it was the part of the anime I was looking forward to the most." another fan giging solution for the skipped arcsMixed Reception to Manga's Later ChaptersChika Fujiwara's astonished face (Image Source: A-1 Pictures)Some fans do not agree that the possible skips in the series are a bad thing. Many acknowledge that the second half of the manga had mixed reactions from dedicated fans. Many of the discussions were about how the Shinomiya family war arc was different than the established tone and format of the series.However, many of the critics of the second half of the manga still believe that it should not be completely skipped over. Most people believe that while the later sections of the manga had pacing issues, they also contained a lot of good character moments and comedy that deserved to be adapted into the anime. It would have been better if they had condensed those sections instead of cutting them out entirely.What This Means for Anime-Only ViewersIf the speculation about Kaguya-Sama: The Stairway to Adulthood turns out to be true, then fans who watch only the show will not get the complete story experience. There are a lot of notable character moments that will get cut, as well as numerous comedic scenes that are very entertaining but important to the overall development of the anime's characters and story.Some shared an anecdote about recommending the anime to a friend who sensed something was off even after watching everything available. It's strange how new people coming into things could connect so easily and see many more gaps in existing adaptations. These gaps that exist now are going to be widened even more by Kaguya-sama: The Stairway to Adulthood.For those wanting the complete story, the manga remains the only option. While the anime excelled at bringing the comedy and romance to life through exceptional direction and voice acting, its incomplete adaptation forces interested viewers toward the source material for the full experience.