Anime: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren k5g2y

Much more than a pseudo Isekai RomCom! A life lesson! 103z23

4x3a1s

One of the best series I have seen in the comedy and romance genre (RomCom)!

"Chuunibyou" is a syndrome that leads young people to fantasize and strongly believe that the fantastic worlds they create and that their imaginary superpowers are real. Most series that deal with these themes, portray them as actually real, separate from reality or constituting a different reality in another world or another dimension (as in Isekai genre series). This series doesn't. This series makes the characters who suffer from this syndrome ("Chuunibyou") interact with the real-world, causing hilarious situations, as the rest of the people in the real-world find those fantastical behaviors strange, bizarre and ridiculous. It's in this balance between delirium and reality that the humor of this series is based on. And this is why some reviews I have read say that the series is based on awkward situations. I personally don't find them as awkward as much as I find them cute and beautiful, since they portray a wonderful phase of our life, full of faith and hope. This is, by the way, one of the lessons of the series: not to lose the childlike spirit and the child in us (I the cliché).

The love is introduced in the series through the relationship between a character who suffers from "Chuunibyou" and another who has suffered in the past, but is currently ashamed of that phase. But love also happens between the main characters' friendship relationships (the schoolmates) and even between the "Priestess" (Rikka's older sister - the main character), Rikka's family and Rikka herself.

Throughout the series, several scenes serve as a pretext for some deep reflections on life, on what it means to grow up and mature, as well as reflections on psychological realities present not only in young people but in all human beings.

The design and animation is excellent. Well-defined characters with consistent personalities, and good conceptual design with imaginative backdrops and backgrounds, make this series worth being watched.

Review
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! (Chuunibyou) was a show that tackled serious stuff with a cuteness that was not only unfit, but even disrespectful to what it looked like. You could enjoy it with a blank mind or by just accepting it was downright nonsense even if it was set in a modern-day world with student that mimicked real ones. Anyway, it had its strengths and the formula was at least refreshing to the school-club formula common to all KyoAni shows and light novels around.

One important thing about the first season though, was that it was finished. It brought everying to conclusion, it decided to keep on with the mental disorders and told the audience people should stick with their vivid imagination even if it means insanity. So why the hell is there a second season? Something was missing? There was plot holes to fill? Nope.

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1. The formula is not renewed
   Chuunibyou brings in this second season basically only more of the same. As I mentioned in my review of the first part, the ending simply backpedals to the start of the whole concept, so here we once again have people with mental disorders acting normally, starting their second year in highschool and yet to be noticed by the outer world and judged due to their bizarre public behavior.
   
   The budget is there, but not the ideas
   The skyhigh budget is on, the beauty of the show is even bigger, especially because this second season give more focus to the change of atmosphere when the chuunibyou kicks in and there is some imaginary fight going on.
   
   However, the writing team certainly wasted whatever they had in their sleeves with the first season. The formula got old, because character progression reseted you start a season with yet more scenes about Yuuta trying to cope with Rika's insanity while being ashamed of his past, and every possible joke about it feels weaker and repetitive by now. The charm is gone, and the strong comedy point of the first season now is just a ocasional thing.
   
   It tries to develop the cast with a focus on romance
   The first season had a bunch of crazy teens with one-dimensional personalities. This second season tries to spice things up, timidly approaches Rika's disorder as her stupid romance with Yuuta "evolves" (seriously, what a lazy excuse for a romance, I felt completely uncomfortable with the weirdness, laziness, and downright boring couple), and it dedicate a bit more to the other girls of the club.
   
   Although Dekomori and Kumin remain strictly limited to their one-line dialogue, there is an interesting development with Nibutani, proving she is the only person in this show who, at many points, see the chuunibyou as the mental disorder it is. She can be the saving point of the cast this time around, but she alone can't do much to give fun to a formula who lasted for only twelve episodes or so.
   

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Comments
Chuunibyou was funny. I was enraged by how it tackled with a serious concept with a childish approach, but the nonsense had its charm as well. Sadly, it finished the first season in a terrible way. Producing a second season upon that ending proved to be even a greater mistake, mainly because it forced the show to go back to its very first episodes and repeat a formula that was only fun because it was not exhausted. Although there is comical value in this second season, it is worn out and not as impactful as before.

Those who enjoyed Chuunibyou may have a bit more of the same, but even they may find themselves hampered by the impossibly boring and slow romance of this season, especially because it is the main focus of the tale. A pity, but expected considering the boring personalities of the main couple even all the way back to the first episodes of the show.

A few years back, Kyoani surprised me with a cute and strangely satisfying story about people who seemed to live in alternate realities. The sequel follows our protagonist, the Dark Flame Master, as he slowly but surely works through being in a relationship with someone whose reality is directly in conflict with the very idea of romance. While Rikka meanders her way through her feelings for Yuuta, a potential rival shows up in the form of Satone, Yuuta's middle school friend and partner in chuunibyou crime. Will this catalyze Rikka and Yuuta's relationship or throw it into disarray?

In general, a vast majority of shows that I have high anticipation for seem to fall short, especially sequels. This kind of fits that bill as it isn't exactly what I was hoping for in the sequel. Yes, you still get the famous Kyoani moe and hilarious reactions from Nibutani but it's the same problem as in Seitokai Yakuindomo Bleep, it's just not fresh anymore. If you liked the original and want more of the same, then this would be a great fit. If you're hoping for developing relationships or interesting character back stories, you're only going to be partly satisfied. Nevertheless, despite not delivering everything that I had hoped for, this sequel is still a pretty decent watch and a good break from more serious shows.

Animation:
The animation style is pretty similar to the original with overly moe characters and occasionally wacky imaginary fight scenes with pretty imaginative and epic backgrounds. We get a new twin-tailed addition to the cast but otherwise everyone is as you'd expect. In summary, expect more of the same of what was in the original.

Sound:
I'm not sure I like the new OP as much as the original, it definitely shares elements but isn't as good of a melody. The ED is likewise not as distinct as the one in the first season. You do get a lot in insert songs as well as the original BGM, which by this point is sounding a little more distinctive. Sadly, there wasn't much innovation in this department.

There's a lot of dialogue in this show and it's handled well. The strong VA cast returns for another silly, ridiculous ride. Since all the original characters are present from the get go, expect a lot more of Dekomori's "death/DESu"s. Juri Nagatsuma is relatively new but does a pretty good job as the new twin-tail.

Story:
At the end of the last season, we faced a massive cliff-hanger/climax where Rikka had to choose her path. Unfortunately, the beginning of the show feels kind of like a reset to all of that. Despite the outrageous fact that Rikka now lives with Yuuta, and that Yuuta's family is MIA in Jakarta, apparently no relationship progress is being made. Furthermore, Rikka's chuunibyou is somehow now stronger than it ever was, to the point where Yuuta sometimes needs to go into "Dark Flame Master" mode to even communicate with Rikka.

There is very little focus in this season as it meanders between random themes such as visiting Dekomori's mansion and entering a napping competition to prevent the club from losing its room. The only real glue this season is Satone, who apparently moves into where Rikka used to live. As her previous relationship with Yuuta becomes clearer, Rikka is finally forced to leave her odd comfort zone. This builds up to a fairly cute climax and conclusion though by no means as intense and cliff-hanger prone as the original show.

So overall is there relationship progress in this sequel? Yes. However, it's relatively sparse and really could have been condensed into just a few episodes. If you're going to watch this, I'd focus instead on the character interactions.

Character:
Speaking of interactions, you can expect a lot of entertainment value out of the relationships in the show. Though sometimes over the top, the Dekomori and Nibutani relationship is pretty funny. Their love-hate relationship is explored in quite some depth and actually has a humorous sub-climax of its own. With Satone, we get a lot more background on the early days of the Dark Flame Master and an additional dosage of potential romantic development. It's kind of goofy though as both Satone and Rikka are challenged with balancing their chuunibyou with their actual feelings.

Value:
Overall this was a good season. Not a great addition to the original but worth it if you liked the original premise. I guess if they were to take away the chuunibyou this would just be an ordinary show, though I think it would have been interesting to show a post-chuunibyou Rikka. Oh well, you'll just have to make do with Nibutani's embarassment and shame.