I’m pretty sure that no matter who you are, where you live, and what you’re stature in life is, you’ve once dreamt of the supernatural. You know, like having special powers that set you apart from others, or living in a floating castle in the sky. But of course, regardless of that, there came a time when we all decided to forget such delusions and become a proper part of the society. Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai, otherwise known as Chuu-2, is an anime that focuses on such delusions.
Chuu-2 shows us the story of Yuuta, your everyday, run-of-the-mill, high school teenage boy. Or so he seems. In the past he seems to have been infected with one of the most widespread, embarrassing, and even humiliating disease of all time, and that is Chuunibyou. Chuunibyou is something that every normal person has gone through in his life, and that the delusions that come with the developing of one’s mind during the second year of middle school, and thus the name Chuunibyou. Now, the thing is, each case of Chuunibyou is different from one person to another, and Yuuta happened to have a really bad case of it, making him act out his delusions to the point of going to school in costume fighting enemies that don’t exist. But as with every person, he soon realized what he was doing, and became slightly traumatized with embarrassment. So, after graduating middle school, he decided to put everything behind him, and start fresh in a school where nobody knows of his dark past. Now, here comes Rikka, a person who, even until high school, still has her Chuunibyou. With her discovering Yuuta’s hidden secret, she drags him into all sorts of situations, and so the story begins.
With that short summary of the story, you might be asking “what is so great about this anime?” First off, it is literally one of the funniest anime I’ve ever watched. Everything, from the epic fight scenes that Rikka imagines down to her reactions when Yuuto hits her in the head is just priceless. What’s more is that the jokes they tell not only makes you laugh, but actually hits you right in the face. Chuu-2 shows us what we were when we were young and still unembarrassed with our delusional dreams for the future. It gives you a feeling of nostalgia, like you can almost be certain that back then, you also thought of being a hero of justice or something like that. So to make a long statement short, not only is it funny, you can actually relate to the things that they are doing, or even the way they think.
Another thing is that the plot itself was straightforward. It doesn’t wander around from this to that but just focuses on both Yuuta and Rikka, the two main protagonist of the story. It shows their lives just like any self-respecting slice of life anime does, with a little twist in the middle when the anime starts to pick up speed and transform from a comedy slice of life to a somewhat romantic drama. What is really amazing about it though is that even with that transition, it still managed to stay true to its concept. At the start it was about some high school students with Chuunibyou and in the end, it still was. Even if the transition made it more serious and dramatic, the core concept was still there, and that is about these students trying to let go of their delusions. Lastly, the thing I liked the most about this anime is its conclusive ending. Although this might not be really good because it lowers the chance of Chuu-2 having a second season, it’s still better than leaving us hanging. The ending left no plotholes, and is overall solid, leaving a warm and fluffy feeling after watching the entire series.
Aside from the plot itself, one of the things that make Chuu-2 so great is its characters. Each one of them is them is unique in their own way and is refreshing to watch. Rikka for example, is the main source of the gags in the anime due to her extremely unpredictable nature. She is the kind of character who is usually creates the complications and problems in the plot and is also the love interest of Yuuta. Yuuta on the other hand is more of the straight man who usually solves and stops Rikka from doing embarrassing things. Aside from that he also once had Chuunibyou and called himself “Dark Flame Master”, which caused him to be the center of some gags throughout the anime. Aside from them, there are also a few supporting characters, namely: Dekomori, Rikka’s best friend and apparent servant, Isshiki, Yuuta’s best friend and a source of comic relief in the story, Nibutani, the beautiful class rep. and a school idol who used to have Chuunibyou and called herself Forest Summer, and the last one, Kumin, their sempai who just likes to nap. Now, this is where Chuu-2 really shines. The characters are just perfect for the premise of the story. They’re funny, cute and most of all, relatable. Along with, the character development is also pretty smooth. It can be quite sudden, but it’s not without proper cause and is justifiable.
And of course, there’s always the animation and music. Although having beautiful graphics isn’t really crucial to making a good anime, but damn this anime is really animated really well. Everything was smooth, no inconsistencies as far as I can tell, and is pretty much just eye candy. And those fight scenes. Having been spawned from a Chuunibyou’s imagination, it can be really over the top sometimes, but it’s really good enough to rival those of some shounen anime. But of course, since it was done by KyoAni, which is known for its high quality animations, this is pretty much a given. The music is also just as good. Heck, you can even watch the anime just for the music itself, although I really wouldn’t recommend it. The opening, Sparkling Daydream, is an lively and upbeat song which can pretty much give you a general idea of the comedy and chaos that’s about to ensue later into the episode. The ending, Inside Identity, is more of a j-rock song which is also pretty catchy as well.
So overall, I found Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai as the best comedy/romance anime of 2012 and one of the best of all time. I highly recommend it to everyone, especially to those who have a soft spot for romcoms. But still, regardless of your taste in anime, it’s only 12 episodes long, so it won’t really take much time, so why not give it a try? After all you might come to like it.
So to provide a quick summary for those lazy people who have another serious disease which they commonly abbreviate as TL;DR syndrome, I’ll just list the pros and cons of the anime.
+Funny
+Easily Relatable
+Fairly straightforward but highly entertaining plot
+Conclusive ending
+Stays true to its concept/doesn’t try to be what it isn’t
-Due to the story being straightforward, the plot can be somehow predictable
-If you hate moe, you might not like this
-Can cause hysterical laughter which leads to lightheadedness and stomachaches
~First and foremost, thanks for reading my review. If you have any comments regarding my review or just want to have a discussion, then leave a comment at my page. I will greatly appreciate it. =)~
