I'll talk first about the technical aspects of Chuunibyou, as they're arguably the most objective. A lot has been made, at least in the west, about how 'Kyoani's shows all look the same'. The complaint has also been made about Chuunibyou looking similar to K-ON!. However, this is wrong. Chuunibyou and Kyoani have quite distinctive art styles, no doubt due to the fact that the character designers are two different people (Kazumi Ikeda compared to K-ON!'s Yukiko Horiguchi). Kyoani's regular fantastic animation quality is not absent here, with fluid animation and a lack of any undetailed frames in the foreground throughout the entirety of the show. The animation budget and talent is especially shown off during the episodic fight scene, where Kyoani really brings the 'magic' of the scene to life with a stunning amount of frames and effects. Almost makes one wonder what may become of Kyoani producing a proper action anime in the modern era (not having done so since Full Metal Panic).
The sound is unremarkable but unsurprisingly solid. Both the OP and ED are catchy, and the music used from scene to scene always captures the mood capably. None of the OST tracks particularly stood out as excellent, though, but none of them were poor or overused enough to get on my nerves either.
I'll try and combine both character and story because both of these are inherently linked. I'll also do my best to avoid any spoilers. Initially, the 'story' of Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! was about Yuuta trying to overcome his past sufferings of his "chuunibyou" (or 'adolescent delusions of grandeur syndrome'), which caused him to be the "Dark Flame Master" in middle school, going so far as to commute to a highschool quite far away from where he lives in order to start anew. This hope of his is shattered, however, when he meets a girl named Rikka who is suffering quite badly from this chuunibyou condition and seems to be fascinated with Yuuta and hiss being the Dark Flame Master. As one would expect, this leads to a very humorous series of events, and more characters are introduced such as Sanae Dekomori (a current sufferer) and Shinka Nibutani (a girl who, like Yuuta, is trying to leave her Chuuni past behind and lead a normal highschool life).
The series continues to be mostly comedic, slowly introducing the different characters and developing their personalities and relationships. It soon develops into a romantic comedy as such relationships blossom, especially between the main characters of Yuuta and Rikka. However, it isn't long after this that the series begins to lose sight of its direction in more ways than one. Let me start off with saying that I am not adverse to drama in romance, in fact most of the time drama is what keeps such a show interesting and worth watching. However, drama can sometimes be handled in a very poor way, and such is the case with Chuunibyou. In the last three episodes of Chuunibyou, the plot and momentum of the show is very poorly done. Bad plot devices, mindnumbing cliches uncharacteristic of the show and characters acting very out of character spoil what once was one of my favourite shows currently airing. I won't go into detail about exactly what I disliked about it, because it would be spoiling, but I will say that KyoAni are trying to take a leaf out of the Jun Maeda book of melodrama, and it just isn't working for them. Not to mention the ending provides no real romantic closure for any of the characters other than Yuuta and Rikka (and even their romantic ending is handled in a way that didn't exactly excite), and little to no explanation of certain things shown after the credits rolled. They could be setting up for a second season, but with a poor ending like that I'm not sure that I'll be watching.
All in all, Chuunibyou is still a good show. However, the lack of delicate balance between comedy and romance in the latter portion of the show and poor handling of drama detract from what was a very strong first half. My score would have been higher if it had stayed a pure romantic comedy, or if the concluding episodes had been more satisfying/better handled.
Overall, a 7/10, and a recommendation for anyone who enjoys comedy, romance, or perhaps just a little taste of their old adolescent delusions of grandeur.
