Photo Source: www.bubblews.com
“Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions;Chūnibyō Demo Koi ga Shitai”
When you were younger, did you ever believe you were something more than a mortal human? Did you ever talk differently, or believe that you had magic powers? Did you dress up and run around the house as your very own character? If you answered yes to any of those questions then you more then likely have had “8th Grader Syndrome” or “Chunibyo.” The anime Chūnibyō Demo Koi ga Shitai!- also known as Chū-2 for short- is adorable, yet amazingly good and has captured my heart and hopefully will capture yours as well.
The story follows Yūta Togashi who during junior high school, suffered from “chūnibyō” or 8th grader syndrome. He believed that he possessed supernatural powers and from then on called himself the ‘Dark Flame Master’. Due to his “chūnibyō” many of his classmates pushed themselves away from him, making it difficult for Yūta to make any friends. Yūta decides to start high school off fresh and transfers to a school where no one knows about his embarrassing past. However, Yūta meets a girl named Rikka Takanashi who is suffering from “chūnibyō” of her own. She learns about Yūta’s past and becomes interested in him. As the school year proceeds, Rikka and Yūta become very close friends, and although he finds her to be embarrassing and annoying at times he stands by her. As the plot unfolds many secrets about Rikka before her “chūnibyō” becomes known to Yūta and suddenly he begins to understand why she acts the way she does. Their bond strengthens and Rikka begins to form feelings for Yūta, and Yūta begins to fall for her as well.
Surprising to me, this anime is jam packed with action, adventure, love and drama. The art style is ridiculously cute but at the same time the plot is just ridiculously…well…ridiculous. There are many fighting scenes where viewers get to see what those who have “chūnibyō” are fighting. Each of the characters adds to the plot making it both funny and entertaining. Along with Yūta and Rikka comes their band of friends Shinka Nibutan, Sanae Dekomori, Kumin Tsuyuri and Makoto Isshiki. Their friendship thrives off of the crazy adventure’s Rikka’s delusions cause.
Photo Source: chuuniby.blogspot.com
The first season of this anime was absolutely amazing. I spent many late nights watching and re-watching episodes. The plot during the first season was amazing and I could not wait for the second season to come out. However, when the second season did come out I was thoroughly disappointed. At the end of the first season Rikka and Yūta are in a relationship with each other. It seemed as though the second season would allow this relationship to blossom even more, and with it create more adventures for everyone to go on. This simply was not the case as I sorely found out. During the second season, Yūta is pressured by his friends to start having a sexual relationship with Rikka. I could not believe how stupid the anime got from then on. The first season was different from all the other animes I have watched because it was just so amazingly written, and then the second season came along and writing got sloppy. They added another love interest for Yūta and made things extremely frustrating. In all honesty there really was no real plot, or at least not as a profound one as there was during the first season. The second season mainly consisted of Rikka getting really jealous over Yūta’s new love interest and Yūta’s friend’s pressuring him to take the next step in the relationship. This enrages me because Yūta repeats himself many times saying that he and Rikka have a special relationship where he does not feel the need to take things quickly. He enjoys Rikka the way she is and does not mind that she is not interested in a more romantic relationship just yet. Yet, the friends continue to put pressure on him. Why? That is all I really have to ask is why. The other thing that bothered me is there was an “almost rape” scene during the second season. One of Yūta and Rikka’s friends meets a girl who enjoys hanging out with her a little too much. When things start to get out of hand the new girl tries to molest their friend and even “take her.” It really makes me angry that the writers had nothing better to do then throw random bits of drama into an anime that really did not need it. In any case you could basically watch the first season and be done with the series. The ending to the first season was done very well, and in all honesty would have been a nice place to end things.
Photo Source: www.examiner.com
I would honestly suggest this anime to anyone, but be wary of the second season. If you end up watching the second season and liking what you see then all the better! It just was not my cup of tea. Happy Watching Minna!
~Lilatheen~