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Chunn season 1 is one of the greatest rom-coms ever made (well, romcom with drama sprinkled in it, so its not fully a romcom). It has amazing directing of each episode (especially season 1), great progress, and a nice conclusion with the movie. Every character is lovely, so no complaints. All the girls are beauties.
Only "negative" is that even though the male MC is fun to follow around, I dont see myself adding him to my favorite characters list (I just cant explain it, like something was missing.. If I had to guess, im not really a fan of moe-looking male characters in romance). But still, hes a cool dude to follow around.
Kumin became new Wicked Eye. She is not as cute at it as Rikka though. Kumin was better when she was napping all the time, its so cute.
On the other hand it is only natural that it would be Kumin, who would fill the void of Rikka's absence and keep searching for Eternal Horizon. I always knew that despite not looking like it, she is the most capable of them all. Kumin is Jack of all trades and a a Swiss Army Knife of all things you might need from woman. She can be anything. However CC is a Swiss Army Knife with more functions than Kumin.
However in Chunibyo Kumin is best at maintaining a balance between normal-ness and being interesting, whcih makes her my kind of likable. She does not try to make mess like Dekomori and wreck everything, neither is she tries to be 'normal' like Nibutani. She is just doing her cute thing peacefully and discreetly.
Rikka too has some good qualities compare to Kumin. Rikka is more stylish with her black and purple outfits, frilly skirts and stockings. Her outfits are both magical and surreal and therefore sexy. I always like it when girls dress like they are not from this world, but stylish, gentle and girly at the same time. Some others can go overboard with some shock monster outfit which will not look good. However Rikka's style does work well.
Though Kumin's all white outfits are cute in their own way. They make her look like a bride material, white is a color you can write and paint on very easily. So you can paint and adjust Kumin to your liking.
Also Rikka is more pigeon toed compare to Kumin. Also I like how small she is, her tiny hands are compare to those of Dark Flame Master, just so adorable, also that totally reminds me of Shirley. Also she has cute eyepatch, eyepatch makes her more adorable, like she is slightly vounded. Finally she can cutely hold her head and say that it hurts as she cry, but she still comes back to to guy who did this to her like a Stockholm Syndrome girl
Yuuta sisters do not get much screen time, but they the older one is likable enough I think.
The other girls are not good.
Dekomori is just too much of a chaos to be viable waifu material. I cannot trust her to not make mess of things. I much prefer logical opposition to society compare to action for action sake.
Fake Forest on the other hand goes too far in the other direction of 'being normal'. Loyalty to 'rules of society' will conflict with loyalty towards me and my rules. Girls must obey my rules alone.
Priestess of the Overseers is worse than even Fake Forest, not even dog collar on her neck can redeem her.
A little final note:
Girls have to be surreal, like they are from another world or something. I want the kind of magical pixie girl or an angel girl, who can make my life a pure undiluted paradise.
I cannot get along with girl who likes this current messy and ugly reality and does not want to change it into a paradise for me.
Vanishment This World.
More on the anime itself.
Yuuta friends ended up surprisingly helpful and loyal. They did helped them out to get together instead of using this opportunity to snatch Yuuta for themselves like most of the 'friends' I know IRL are. (I know that some of them are this duplicitous and will not test the rest of them). Summer Forest in particular redeemed herself in the last episode somewhat, though she sitll fucked up that other guy.
In fact loyalty of fiends the most unrealistic part of the show.
Another thing is that I much rather liked to think of Eternal Horison as some kind of paradise or a new brilliant technological breakthrough. I much dislike the interpretation that it just turned out to be an issue with death of Rikka's father.
On a final sad note I would like to add that it seems that people here thing I am Chuunibyou or something, which is truly sad as I am not.
Perfect timing for this anime I guess. What the hell am I doing w my life? Could have learnt something interesting, but I'm still trying to walk the path that is not mine.
The closet thing i've had 6th grade syndrome where me and my 2 friends just messed around our own imagination at lunch, I just Iwas in blacks ops orTask force 141 fighting with zombies
This anime is so emotional to me.
Even though the characters a pretty unique. I don't love them... or really like them. I hate Nubitani, the protagonist isn't unique or lovable. Rikka's dialogue all serious and blondy are annoying. Blondy is super unique but I don't like her, nor hate her. I only like the sleepy senpai.
The entertainment in this anime is very boring, annoying and stupid and very rarely funny.
I love Rikka when she's normal and not annoying with her 8th grader syndrome.
The personality and Yuuta's mother is really cute, (ep 1, 5,
I only love Yuuta's 8th grader syndrome, his is the coolest with his deep voice.
Episode 5 mostly in the middle and ending of the episode, is a great example of what I like. Serious, mature, slice of life and a tiny drama.
After episode 4 thats where the anime becomes great. Drama situations and love.
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Protagonist, brown hair, gold eyes, cute.
Unique personality heroine main character, very cute and moe in her own way. Very kiddish in her own way.
Her eyepatch doesn't mean anything, she just wears an eye contact and her eyes are fine.
Even his mom is cute with her pouting in Episode 1.
I LOVE how they're so comfortable with each other.
I don't like the "beauty" girl, typical most beautiful girl shit...
I like the fact that everyone is starting their high school.
Its funny how Rikka makes her life so exagerated like a fantasy. And her imagination and the anime makes such a simpel thing like Her Big Sister being pissed and adventure of action, lol. Entertaining I guess. A 9 or 8 so far.
The exagerated dialogue and 8th grader syndrome is kinda annoying and boring but sometimes its cute.
I'm feeling a 7 now, its not that great at all and kinda gets worse maybe so far.
Nibutani-san is actually a bitch with an attitude who actually had the 8th grader syndrome too and only joined the club to burn a book that has her embarassing past (Episode 4).
............. pfff, I hate her now, that Nibutani. And I won't care about her character development. Annoying popular girl, now to real bitch, I hate both her fake and real side.
I love how Sanae "Dekomori" is used as a character to make things clear of how Rikka feels and wants in episode 11.
[Episode 3:] They form a club.
[Episode 6:] Isshiki character development, loved this episode!
[Episode 7:] Conflict START! Rikka's past, father died three years ago.
[Episode 8:] I love how the anime gives us an obvious hint that Rikka likes Yuuta.
[Episode 10:] They confess to each other.
[Episode 11:] Rikka's sister moves out. Rikka now living with her mother, and stopped the 8th grader syndrome.
[Episode 12:] Dekomori stops the 8th grader syndrome too. Rikka lied about coming back. Rikka is depressed about being normal.
Yuuta comes to get Rikka back. She actually saw him before when he had his 8th grader syndrome and she loved it so she copied it. Everyone is back to normal and they help Rikka and Yuuta out.
The narrator makes it clear that its okay to be fucked up in the past or now because its always gonna be you and theres nothing wrong with it because we are born ourselves and die ourselves.
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GREAT ANIME! Everything was done for a purpose, from the start to finish to give a message till the end, with entertainment and romance. I personally loved it in episode 6 to its ending.
I could give it a 10 because it was a great story, with a great theme and final message. But because it wasn't fun in the first 6 episodes I could give it a 9, even though it was all ment for the story and ending.
But for my taste I loved it except in the beginning, so I'll give it a 9.
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At first it felt like an 8, then it was a 7. All the way to 10 and the given score, 9.
emotional ending but to be honest i wish rikka would be "normal" instead of trying to forcefully act like it or act as if she was someone else. she can be normal and still think that stuff is cool without having a fake personality.
from my first watch i had given this a 6 but ill raise it to 7. would be 8 without twintail idiot
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emotional ending but to be honest i wish rikka would be "normal" instead of trying to forcefully act like it or act as if she was someone else. she can be normal and still think that stuff is cool without having a fake personality.
from my first watch i had given this a 6 but ill raise it to 7. would be 8 without twintail idiot
@HiljainenSipuli
In the ep 11 discussion I said it's better to move on. And then ep 12 did what it did. WHY? I really just loved how it was progressing in ep 11 but now I don't know how I feel. I think I agree with you that it would be better for her to be normal but yet after seeing how the final episode ended I'm at a loss. I still have to give this a 9 because it was really good overall as an anime.
This has been an interesting rewatch of this show, almost 10 years after I watched it originally.
In particular, the dramatic arc of these final few episodes has raised a lot of questions which are each very interesting to ponder:
Is everyone right to try to force Rikka to face reality and give up her chuuni ways?
Do her chuuni ways actually hurt anyone, i.e. does it actually matter that she's not facing reality with it?
Was it fair to hide the truth about her father's death from Rikka, then get surprised when she's unable to cope with that reality?
Was it fair for Touka and the mother to basically abdicate responsibility over Rikka's trauma onto Yuuta, someone who himself is not fully emotionally and mentally mature yet?
Ultimately, the answer to the first question is perfectly highlighted by episode 11 clearly showing Rikka suffering with the change and not knowing what to do with herself, as well as Yuuta almost immediately regretting everything after yelling at Dekomori at the station. Sure, both Touka and Yuuta meant well in doing it and thought it was best for her, but it clearly wasn't and it took Yuuta far too long to realise that and make amends. The fact that this idea was wrong is further evidenced by the fact that she isn't able to gain proper closure by visiting his grave, but only by indulging the chuuni by seeing the Unseen Horizon once more.
As for Touka and the mother's role in this situation, I have to say they pretty much failed in their duties as Rikka's family members. They hid her father's deteriorating condition from Rikka until he died - again, for what they viewed as good reasons - only to end up being shocked that Rikka can't accept that reality. Rather than then comforting her and helping her process the trauma - probably a more natural pathway to reduce the chuuni impulses she developed at this time - Rikka's mother basically runs away from the situation and pushes it onto Touka, who decides the best course of action is to try and force the issue.
Once it becomes clear to Touka that this won't work, rather than trying a new approach she basically gives up on helping Rikka and uses guilt-tripping to push the responsibility onto Yuuta before running away to Italy. They basically caused the issue in the first place, but rather than trying to help Rikka through it themselves they decide to push the issue onto someone else, with it ultimately falling to an immature teenage boy to try and deal with. And while I'm sure they do mean well, it ends up coming across moreso as them being ashamed of Rikka not acting "normal" than being actually concerned for her wellbeing and future. AKA, bad parenting and bad sibling-ing. It would be nice to see Yuuta call them out on this at least in some fashion, but that probably won't happen as he had enough of a hard time dealing with it all himself.
All in all, this show holds up remarkably well after all these years, although the second-hand embarrassment was definitely a lot stronger for me now as a 25-year old than it was when I first watched this at 16.
All that drama and endless sermonising was for nothing then. Good to know.
Was disappointed with this, unfortunately. The comedy rarely delivered because of how deliberate it seemed, and the serious moments were just woeful to watch.
The series had its up and downs. I can appreciate its ability to weave multiple facets and themes together although it materialized into somewhat of a rushed product overall. Chuunibyou is something I would not associate myself with, however delusion and overevaluation of situations are things that I went into the series sharing in common. Long post I apologise...
Personally, the 'comedy' leg of the series had me projecting it to be a mediocre and lackluster experience however kyoani does well to sell the spectacle when the chuunibyou action skits superimpose reality, immersing us viewers into the delusional world while sparking our creativity. I have to admit that this initial half was somewhat forgettable and I don't have much else to say. My lack of immersiveness into the whole 'chuunibyou' theme irl undoubtedly contributes to this.
As we transition into the 'dramatic' leg, tension was built appropriately and the story was written well enough to allow us to understand the motives behind Rikka's chuunibyou, thus rendering her antics more justifiable. Furthermore, the discrepancy between those plagued, previously plagued and yet to be plauged by chuunibyou had already been developed maturely enough to understand the dynamics between the cast. Yuuta and Touka's interaction was the first major pivotal moment and their fluctuating connection continued to remain integral to the story. Crucially moreover, we saw a more cohesive relationship between her and Yuuta, resulting from Yuuta attaining previously confidential information. Herein, the facade of delusion is rightly portrayed as an effective repulsion to the idea of acceptance, something in which Yuuta first-handedly endured.
This was a perfect segue into the 'love' origins. I for one believe it to be organic and reasonably understandable even as Rikka remained stuck in her chuuni lingo. It made for a unique story and revealed an unusually vulnerable side to Rikka. On the other hand, it was rather hilarious to witness the atrocious failure of Isshiki's romantic progression as a contrast to one that started to blossom. Meanwhile Nibutani's tsundere personality became apparent at this stage, still displaying resentment to Dekomori's antics but composing herself to be something of a guardian to Rikka. With the maturity to assist the people around her in realizing their true feelings, she became more likeable in my books. This stretch of episodes softened us up for what was to come.
Ep 10 and 11 were by far and away the best segment of the series, operating as complementary polarities. The confessions were bound to happen although conventionally so, it took them a while to build up the courage to reveal their feelings. Their tentative approach was cute to watch and the scene was set remarkably. Jarringly, the next Touka/Yuuta interaction would bring about the most impactful crossroads yet. The skepticism and fear that Rikka would stubbornly remain her ill-fated quest arose although who else other than her lovey Yuuta could mirculously diffuse it. Nibutani consoling Yuuta was heartwarming and Rikka's vocal performance at the end signified a coming of age. Everything about this episode I loved.
11 was bittersweet... Rikka's awakening to reality came with its conflicts with Dekomori's relationship plunging into crisis. Watching someone you idolised so dearly abruptly change their demeanour is something I can relate to, provoking unease and denial. Concurrently, Yuuta and Nibutani (former chuunibyou sufferers) understanding the weight of the challenge was enough for us to sense a possible curveball on its way. The mending of Rikka's familial affairs brought me relief but it became evident that the life was sucked out of her and the same enjoyment wasn't being exuded. The ceasing of the society brought upon an emotional response, the unearthly unseen horizon became nothing but a typical urban setting and the final desperate confrontation of Dekomori seemingly hammered the final nail in the coffin in terms of chuunibyou. The passionate voice acting between Sumire and Jun was admirable.
And then we get to episode 12 (my main contention point). Boy, did I wish it was cropped into 10 minutes. So Rikka decided after all to prioritise her family, something I was anticipating. The betrayal of their newfound affection stung deeply. We even got to see Dekomori of all people develop her character after so long. It would have been the perfect resolution to a chaotic high school experience. But noooo, The painstaking cycle of chuunibyou had to begin again didn't it? I wouldn't say it was disastrous but it was close. This 100% soured my impression of this season in isolation. I would rather have it end in tragic circumstances given my opinion that chuunibyou is nothing more than a stain to reality that inevitably leads to disappointment. I will acknowledge the 'Unseen Horizon' seen was visually appealing though.
So I left the series rather soured. It was building up nicely to become a classic tragedy but the ending rubbed me the wrong way and it did take a bit longer than I wanted to delevop into the masterpiece it was promising to be. But wait, I now know there is a sequel. Well I guess it somewhat justifies the ending, I can see how it would be easier to commence from a rejuvinated group of adolescents and after all, chuunibyou is the unique x-factor that allows it to differ from other shows. But as I know the chuunibyou franchise at the moment only having watched s1, I have been bothered to an extent (enough to discuss this openly which I haven't done before) and although I might be in the minority, I'm sure some others have felt the same.
It's a 6/10 for me, would've been 8 without the ending
The entire club are absolute wingman homies, but Kumin is the real MVP.
Expected adorableness with a slight pinch of second-hand embarrassment.
Received adorableness with a truckload of second-hand embarrassment, an umprompted workout for my tear ducts, and a changed outlook on the very idea of being weird. For this show to make my reaction to the Tyrant's Eye go from "lol cringe (but so damn cute)" to never wanting Rikka to ever seal it or her innocence away ever again was absolutely magical. Easily one of my new personal favorites.
Also, Yuuta and Ishiki aren't kidding lmao. Dekomori without her twintails Mjolnir Hammer is beyond cursed.