Went out with a moral lesson and an emotional ride.
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! is one of those shows that I began watching without a clue on what it truly is. I was expecting a comedy show revolving around the main character, Rikka and her chuuni antics. Since the name of the show has the word “Koi” (Love) in it, so when I saw Yuuta being the male lead of the show, immediately I ship them together, since episode one.
I wasn’t that far off, at least for the first half of the show, where comedy is its main driving force, and its aim is to introduce us to the other main characters, bringing us to light about their school life. It is all and well, until the second half kicks in.
Damn, I was totally caught in surprise there.
We are then enlightened by the hard truths about Rikka’s chuuni, I was laughing for six episodes then suddenly I found myself teary-eyed for the remaining six. Rikka suddenly became a character that we all sympathize with, her dark past gradually unfold as we are shown the reason why the relationship between Rikka and the rest of her family members is so poor since episode two. Without spoiling much, the second half is all about Rikka facing herself and her own dark past, with the help of Yuuta, of course.
Drama swiftly follows, and the show ends with a strong resolution, albeit it is quite an ass-pull, the narrator wraps up the show in a pretty sweet manner explaining the details of the chuunibyou syndrome.
Speaking of the presentation itself, KyoAni, I believe, would be the best studio to adapt such a story. Often times the comedy presented is pretty simple, yet with its vivid delivery it often led to a very satisfying experience. Is this KyoAni’s first attempt in producing action scenes? I am not too sure myself, but I must say they did a really good job on it. Seeing Rikka and Sanae wielding weapons larger than Gut’s Dragon Slayer really laughed my ass off on several occasions.
For the sounds themselves, the seiyuus pretty much brought out the personalities and emotions of each character well, not much to complain here. An honorable mention to the OP song, Sparkling Daydream, which started off wishy-washy then escalated to an emotional and strong chorus, truly fitting of the overall pacing of the show. The ED? I am not particularly fond of it, so I will pass on that.
Characters? Ultimately this is Rikka’s and Yuuta’s show, and the others are pretty much side characters. They do blend in well with the duo and provide good support beneficial to the show.
Final verdict? This show barely edges out to the score of 8 for me. It has decent moments of quality here and there, but the final ass-pull ending is indeed a letdown. Still, for those who is looking for a show of nice comedy but with some plot to boot as well, give Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! a try.
