LogFAQs > #968805196

74. Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions
https://myanimelist.net/anime/14741/Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai
Fall 2012 (12 episodes), Winter 2014 (12 episodes) plus 2 OVAs and 1 movie
My Score: 7/10, MAL Score: 7.72/10 S1, 7.55/10 S2
Best Characters: Takanashi Rikka, Shichimiya Satone

My Rikka figure: https://imgur.com/IcNnwj8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7xLVyz9bg4

Premise: Togashi Yuuta hopes he can leave the embarrassment of his chunibyo delusions behind and get a fresh start in high school. Unfortunately, his new upstairs neighbor is Takanashi Rikka, a girl whose Wicked Eye persona is going to turn Yuutas normal life upside down.

The Good: Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions is a romantic comedy, though it excels more at comedy than romance. Yuuta wants to leave his delusions behind, but Rikka drags him into a group where theres no avoiding chunibyo shenanigans. Its fun seeing Yuuta writhe in embarrassment. Its fun watching Nibutani and Dekomori feud over Morisummer. And Rikka is almost always funny. Whether its an epic (imagined) battle against the Priestess (her sister), or the little hurt noise she makes at the end when she gets smacked with a powerful weapon (a utensil), Rikka is cute and hilarious. While the humor is my favorite thing about this, I also like how it frequently becomes heartfelt. I have some problems with the romance angle, as Ill cover in the bad section as well as the spoiler character write-ups, but there are still a lot of great moments here. It examines things like what it means to be with someone, and the reasons why a person might embrace chunibyo delusions in the first place.

The Bad: I wasnt a huge fan of the finale movie. Examining why made me realize that the problems had been there all along, and it was just the fact that none of the characters had addressed them by now that became impossible to ignore. Rikka and Yuuta are both seemingly incapable of figuring things out for themselves. That means their friends are almost always present, either tagging along or observing from a distance. Having the cast together works for jokes. It just hampers the growth of their romantic relationship, in my opinion, when theyre almost never left alone. It bothered me a bit in the first and second seasons. Then the finale movie was a confused mess.

Overall: Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions is a solid romantic comedy about how an overactive imagination can add spice to everyday life. The characters have several fun dynamics with each other, leading to lots of great jokes. Then sometimes it would become serious and heartfelt, which I enjoyed too. The second season also added Shichimiya Satone, who was another amazing character.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/5/5/AAcDcBAADyqj.jpg

CHARACTER: Shichimiya Satone (Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions)
https://myanimelist.net/character/65867/Satone_Shichimiya
Voiced by: Nagatsuma Juri
TOP 100 RANK: 55th

SPOILERS FOR LOVE, CHUNIBYO, & OTHER DELUSIONS

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMoEMbkM-eU

Introduced in the second season, Shichimiya Satone was Yuutas friend in middle school. Like Rikka, she became enamored by his chunibyo persona and wholeheartedly embraced the delusions. Once she began falling in love with him, though, Satone felt the chunibyo slip away. Faced with a choice, and not wanting to risk losing what she already had with Yuuta, Satone suppressed her feelings and pledged to remain a magical devil girl forever.

After reuniting with Yuuta in high school, though, Satone realizes she may not have needed to choose between love and chunibyo. After all, Rikka manages to have both. Satone shows a knack for introspection, but it still takes most of the season for her to accept that she still has feelings for Yuuta. She wonders what mightve happened if she made different decisions back then. I love how she never attempts to sabotage Yuuta and Rikkas relationship. Satone tries to get over these feelings for her own sake. She also remains a staunch ally to Rikka, often offering her advice or mentorship in the form of chunibyo battles. Being so mature is rare for a high schooler, let alone one who believes theyre a magical devil girl.

The video I linked is one of my favorite scenes in Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions. Satone talks with Yuuta in order to get over her feelings for him. Her heart breaks more and more the longer they talk, all without him realizing why. Still, Satone makes it through. She gets over him. Then Yuuta brings her an umbrella for the rain and Satone realizes she isnt over him at all. Its heartbreaking yet realistic. For a character type who couldve dragged everything down with an unnecessary love triangle or brought a bunch of melodrama, Satone elevated the second season with her heartfelt arc instead. She was also just a really fun character overall, having a lot of the same chunibyo quirks as Rikka.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/5/6/AAcDcBAADyqk.jpg

CHARACTER: Takanashi Rikka (Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions)
https://myanimelist.net/character/65865/Rikka_Takanashi
Voiced by: Uchida Maaya
TOP 100 RANK: 17th

SPOILERS FOR LOVE, CHUNIBYO, & OTHER DELUSIONS

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5LfIJxvJs4

Starting from the moment she needed Yuutas help to climb down a rope, Takanashi Rikka was the star of Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions. There are countless gags where her chunibyo carries a scene, like when she uses her power to open train doors (which are automatic) or how she has a calculator taped to her apartment door and pretends to input a code to enter. Rikkas voice acting is excellent too. It works for bombastic declarations as well as for the cute noises she makes whenever she gets smacked for being a crazy person. It also works really well when shes being vulnerable, and Rikka often is because large parts of the story delve into her growth and trauma.

Rikkas character has a lot of heart. The first season examines why she created her persona in the first place. After the death of her father, she needed the make-believe to feel like she could still reach him. Even after Yuuta helps her get over that and they start dating, Rikka holds onto her Wicked Eye just to keep life interesting. The series often asked if she could have both love and chunibyo. It asked it one too many times, in my opinion. The movie was a bad retread of the story from the second season. Still, I appreciated the conclusion it reached. She could fall in love without having to grow up first. What does growing up mean, anyway? Id argue Rikka is more mature than someone like Nibutani who denies a part of herself in order to be normal.

I got annoyed in the movie at how little Rikka and Yuutas relationship progressed. They kissed after years of dating, big whoop. I cant blame Rikka for the writers not knowing how to write a relationship, though. She was always a fun character, even during the subpar movie. I really liked how, in the second season, she dedicates a lot of offscreen time to tracking down where Yuuta had buried a magical coin, in his younger days. It doesnt have any actual powers, and given her character development Rikka almost certainly knows that. Still, she loves Yuuta, and this is just the best way she can think of to show it. This anime wasnt perfect. It examined the same questions too often, the progress in their romance was glacial, and the movie kind of sucked. When I think about Rikka tracking down those coins, though, I remember why I liked this story despite its flaws. Rikka helps spice up Yuuta's life, and its clear how much they care about each other in their own way.