Takanashi Rikka Kai: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Movie

If you're reading this, then I'm going to blindly assume that you've at least seen the first season of the Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai TV-series, and if you haven't you should go do so this very second as you should definitely not try watching this movie otherwise.

As the synopsis states, Takanashi Rikka Kai is simply a recap of the first season of the TV-series, however it is (naturally) shorted down immensely and also mostly seen from Rikka's perspective this time around. Most of the side stories are cut off, and the movie focuses almost solely on the relationship development between Yuuta and Rikka, which ... in the end is the most important part of the story, however in the very rushed format that the movie version has it definitely didn't come out as good in comparison in the end. Then again I guess that is somewhat to be expected when it comes to recap movies.


That is not quite all there is to it however (almost though), as you can roughly divide this film into three parts:

The first 10 minutes consist entirely of new content which tries to showcase just how good the "Chuuni-fights" will look when enhanced with modern day cinema-quality CGs (on top of KyoAni's typically high production values), as well as being just the good old Chuunibyou comedy and everything else that comes along with it.

The second part is basically the story itself which covers maybe 75% of the playtime, and it is pretty much simply what I stated earlier. If you've got a crystal clear recollection of the events of the first season of the TV-series you will notice some minor changes every so often regarding the spoken lines, music and shorter scenes but 95% of it is material you've already seen in the original anime airing.

Finally the third part covering roughly the final 10 minutes of the movie is partially an epilogue to the story thus far, and also a bit of a preview/teaser for the second season of the TV-series, which at the time this movie had its subs released had already started airing almost 2 months prior so most likely there won't be anything in the final part that will be news to you either if you're a fan of the series.


As a final verdict then, would I consider Takanashi Rikka Kai worth watching?
If you're a fan of the series, then yes I would recommend you to at least try it out. No, it is not as good as the TV-series, nor is there a whole lot of material that you won't already have seen but hey it's still Chuunibyou, and you can never go wrong with that.
If you're someone who merely thought the TV-series was alright but nothing spectacular, then I would probably recommend you to watch the first 10 minutes of it, as that was the only *really* new segment and since I'm going by the assumption that whomever reads this has already seen at least the first season, then with that taken into account the opening part was quite frankly the best part of the entire movie.

Overall, this is definitely not the best way to properly enjoy the Chuunibyou franchise, but if you're just looking for some additional icing on the cake, you need not look any further than this.

As the summary said, this is a recap movie. Which is actually pretty weird. Considering, why did they bother to make a full-length movie just for a recap of season 1? My best guess is, this movie consists 3 parts which shortly describe: a recap of season one, an epilogue of season one, and as a early prologue of season 2. All the main plot elements are served in this half and a hour movie, with a lot of cut towards the secondary plot/subplot, like "Isshiki's heroic moments" for instance.

This type of execution is not all that strange actually since Stand Alone Complex did ... just the same thing... twice. So, it is best to enjoy this movie as a sort of nostalgia rather than watching all 12 eps long of season 1. New elements do exist. Like a new footage during the prologue and epilogue. A new opening and ending and a bit of after-credit.

What you want to expect from this movie is, top notch animation, delicious sound direction and voice acting, top notch animation, and a bit of reminiscent of how sweet the Chuuni romance from season 1. Did I say animation twice? Well, because all the nuance which brought the show alive are mostly from this department. They also a bit condensing some of the unnecessary elements which helps a lot in enhancing the enjoyment. I found myself quite enjoying it during some of the scenes, and not so much in the other (this a recap, duh).

So, there is not much to tell from a recap. But if you enjoying the first season and want to be reminded why you liked the first season, Takanashi Rikka Kai: Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shita! Movie might help lead you to the world of season one without troubling you to marathon the whole season again.

This isn't a "retelling from Rikka's perspective" this is literally just scenes replayed from the anime, some of which Rikka wasn't around for. When I read this was from her perspective I really liked the idea, thinking it would feature more scenes that took place before the show when she saw Yuuta the first time and her thoughts on their relationship throughout the show, but I got my hopes up thinking that was the case as is not. I'm not sure who this movie is for, if you've never seen the show then this shortened version doesn't give you full satisfaction you would get from ... just watching the show, if you have seen the show then its just an hour of flashbacks. If you've seen it then watch the opening scene and skip to the last half hour. That being said the last bit was pretty heartwarming, would have been better as an OVA.

REALITY, BE RENT! SYNAPSE, BREAK! VANISHMENT, THIS, WORLD!!! If that doesn't give you an indication on what this review is about, I don't really know what will. Before we get into the actual review, I want to do a little vocabulary lesson just in case some people don't understand a phrase that will come up later.

Unneedingly epic: When something or someone becomes extraordinary to that point that it is not necessary, other than to make the current idea or scene more impressive than it actually is.

This review is about Takanashi Rikka Kai: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Movie. ... A movie about a series, that I love so much for a strange reason. Let's begin.

Story: (6.92/10): Considering the fact that the previous statement above says that I love this series a lot, anyone would question why I put this story rating so low. To put it simply, the movie is basically all recap. Like many series' that get a movie dedicated to itself, Chuunibyou gets a recap movie rather than one that has an original plot or separate story to its parent story. Personally, I don't feel like that's bad, since they did show for the recap scenes, memorable Chuunibyou scenes that I remember fondly and loved, but seeing them again in a slideshow made me a little disappointed, considering the fact that the movie was from Rikka's POV, and it didn't seem that different from Yuuta's original POV in the actual series. It was all basically a bunch of scenes that focused on Rikka more, put together.

While it's true that the majority of the movie had just recap, there was a good chunk of the movie that was completely original, and that made it feel a little bit more worthwhile to watch. The first 10 minutes is a rather interesting and enjoyable wedding ceremony (you read that right), and the final couple scenes were transitional scenes to explain the (at the time of this review) airing second season, and what happened, so the story could start.

For these original scenes themselves, we get the basic Chuunibyou elements, which is: sweet, adorable character interactions, and the almighty unneedingly epic scenes that everyone enjoys, but questions, probably.

All in all, the story was decent enough for me to watch through the whole movie, and seeing some of the more heartfelt and genius moments of Chuunibyou made me smile and say, "OH! I remember that!"

Characters (7.11/10): There's no character development whatsoever. It's a recap movie, so they're pretty much the same, except for Satone, who gets a debut at the end. Sorry this section is so short. There's not really much to say since they're basically the same characters, and it's recap of already progressed developments.

Art and Sound (7.89/10): The art looks the same as it does in the series, as the actual scenes themselves were basically copy pasted, which is basically the nice light colored palette and jewel-like eyes that Kyoto-ani has perfected over the years.

The soundtrack for the movie has its own original OST and ED, which actually sound rather nice and perfect for the series. I don't believe it's as memorable as the OST of its predecessor, (since that one is still stuck in my head), but it's still nice to listen to nonetheless.

Personal Enjoyment (7.43/10): As I have stated before, I love Chuunibyou as a series. So when the movie was announced, I was ecstatic, seeing as how the series was going to be told from Rikka's POV, and there would be new scenes. I expected wayyyy too much. I though that the whole movie would be new content with a few recycled scenes added in. Turns out it was the other way around.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the movie, since they put in basically all of the more memorable Chuunibyou scenes, as well as the unneedingly epic fight scenes that make this series what it is. But I felt like I wanted a little bit more, like the actual thing was lacking something. In the end, I was still able to watch a decent movie that I had anticipated for a while, and I felt kind of relieved to know exactly what happened between the first season and the second season, (since here in the U.S., the movie was released in subs halfway through the second season airing.) Well, that's all the time I have, the Phantom Avenger must now shed this otaku form, and wander in the darkness to reap souls for his POWER and MIGHT!! AHAHAHA!!! Yeah, I have Chuunibyou. Later.

Overall Score: (7.15/10)

This movie markets itself as the story of "Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions" but through the eyes (eye) of the series' heroine, Rikka Takanashi. For fans of the series, they may hear this concept like I did and think the following:

"Oh, that sounds awesome! We can see things we've never seen before in the story and see multiple moments from the series remade to be more fantastical and unrealistic to fit into Rikka's Chunibyo."

But instead of doing something cool like that, this movie is just the bare basics of the "Love, Chunibiyo" story to be counted as a recap. Like a cake without any of ... the frosting or the flavoring. Honestly outside of a admittedly really great opening scene and a new ending scene, this movie has nothing of worth to offer. This movie for 95% of itself, doesn't have the soul of the original series and that is obvious with the story obviously feeling like just a random splicing of scenes from the show together that you could find on youtube.

I don't get how this movie has such a high rating, this movie is "Love, Chunibyo" without any of the charm or love the main series and sequel film have. So it doesn't even work as an entry point for new fans.

In the end, skip this movie. Just watch season 1 of the show, then look up the opening scene and ending scene of the movie on youtube and watch that. Then watch season 2, and then the Take on Me Movie because they are really good also. Besides that also check out the shorts, because they are also better then this movie. And boom, you did it! You just saved your self an hour of your time.

Takanashi Rikka Kai: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Movie (2013)

Although it is as good as the first season it was also completely unrequired. I never understand why studios think you need this sort of thing. Let's continue new content or let's do a recap with some new scenes? How about just new content.

The story is just from Rikka's point of view apparently which is difficult to see since most of it is rehashed. You do get some new scenes but they are not great. It would have been better to have done bloopers perhaps or another OVA. I don't know to be honest.

The ... art is the same as before, as is the sound. Characters are shown as if you have never seen them before.

The 'movie' is not bad but just pointless if you have seen the first season. If you have seen season 1 then come here for a few extra scenes. If you have only seen this then watch season 1 for a massive influx of new content for you and a storyline that makes more sense or just be lazy and only watch this and move onto the next set of content.

5/10, Not bad just pointless.

This movie is a summery of the first season of the anime. It works great for specific purposes. If you haven't watched the first season, don't watch it. It doesn't serve as a substitute for watching the anime and it doesn't work as a standalone product. If you just watched the first season, honestly I'd recommend skipping it and going straight into the OVA (slapstick noel) or the second season. What this movie does do well is serve as, well, a recap for season 1. If it's been a while since you watched the first season and you want a quick refresher before getting back ... into the show, this is absolutely the movie for you. The little prologues and epilogues serve as a nice little frame to the recap and add a little extra fun character interaction, but I think other reviews have put a bit too much stock in them. It's not like the movie is split into 3 parts with the prologue and epilogue being the first and third part and the recap in the middle, because the new content is quite short and inconsequential. This movie is 90% recap, >10% new stuff. The new content is clearly where the budget went, the animation is quite well done. None of it is critical to the story, if you enjoy the comedy of the CGI fight scenes from the show you'll enjoy the prologue, and the little epilogue is pretty fun and lighthearted, but again, very short and inconsequential. There is a ~30 second after credits scene that sets up season 2, but you really aren't going to miss anything by not seeing it. I enjoyed this movie as a nice refresher before jumping back into the series, as it had been a couple months since I watched the first season and I wanted to start watching the second. Overall, I liked it, but I definitely would have found it tedious to watch had I seen it right after the first season, and had I never seen the first season, there isn't enough context to the recap scenes to understand whats going on. I wish they'd included a little bit of the other side stories, as I don't feel entirely refreshed on where the characters all stand with each other at the end of season 1, but overall it got me excited to jump back into the series.

First time viewers of Chuunibyou should not watch this unless if they have already seen season 1. Almost the whole film is pretty much just a recap of the first season, even got to the point of reusing almost every scene. The reason why first time viewers shouldn't watch this is because, again, it's merely just a recap and won't show every episode. I personally think that the only important scene of the film is the ending, since it's more of like an epilogue and closes off season 1. Of course, you don't have to watch the film since it's optional and it's fine if ... you want to skip it.