The story is as mentioned above, on some level a "High School Love Story". The first thing I thought after the first episode was "Great, it's another love triangle". That was quickly blown out of the water which was a surprising and fresh change that I was not expecting. (The whole Nibutani character was great, all tsun and no dere). Not to mention how genuinely funny the Anime was. I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times, I generally don't laugh when I'm watching something by myself. The pacing was another stand-out feature, it goes on for as long as it feels it should. It doesn't drag and content in not re-used to fill up time either. The ending is really something as well. The whole thing is worth your time just off that.
The real standout in this entire charade though are the characters. They (by their very nature) are unique and varied. Their interactions with one another are both believable and highly entertaining. That's not to say that they are perfect. Some aspects of nearly all the characters are quite generic, but I feel that those aspects for one are nearly impossible to abolish anyways and two only help to bring out their more quirky side. Speaking of quirky, the whole Middle School Second Year Syndrome thing was brilliant. It's what turned Chuunibyou from something above average to something excellent. Seeing the characters still suffering from it (Dekomori and Rikka) and those in rehab (Nibutani and Yuuta) and their interactions are what made this for me. They were hilarious at points and touching at others. Sometimes both. I especially appreciated the flashbacks and occasional relapses of both Nibutani and Yuuta. (Ahem Mori Summer and the Dark Flame Master respectively).
Other aspects of Chuunibyou were indeed above average, in particular the Art style. I found it to be very polished as well as relevant to the story and character types. But the real standouts are the indeed the story and especially the characters. They make this anime great, spectacular even. I had a blast watching this, the whole way through, and I'm not gonna lie, the end made me shed a few man tears. This would easily make my top anime of 2012. If you have the time (You should, it's only 12 episodes!) and you're in the mood for a good laugh and a quite relevant "moral to the story". In fact, I think the moral to this Anime is incredibly relevant in today's culture. It's not preachy and I don't feel that they leave it open to interpretation either. But it's important nonetheless, it has certainly affected my thinking process since I've watched it. There's something for everybody here.
