Hi, readers. It has been a while I've talked about Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai anime in a while. Well, you can read my general reviews for season 1 from
here, and season 2 from
here. Oh yeah, I've mentioned this before, it is that I will not give ratings without doing my usual review FIRST.
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| Season 1 of Chuunibyou... |
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| Season 2 of Chuunibyou... |
I'm not too sure on whether to post a SPOILER ALERT warning or NOT, BUT I'll do it anyway. Let's go, shall we? We will start off with Chuunibyou Season 1, which is just titled Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
WARNING:-
SPOILER ALERT!!! If you haven't watched it and plan to watch it without anyone being the spoiler, please DON'T CONTINUE READING!!!
P.S. If you want to be spoiled, well, go ahead and read it. You have been warned.
Chuunibyou Demo Koi Shitai (Season 1)
OK, the
first season of Chuunibyou, I'd reviewed it before. So, here I'll give my ratings. OK, before we go into the next section and if you had watched this anime, you should have heard of the Japanese term, Chuunibyou (in Japanese, 中二病), which literally translates as the second year of middle school sickness. OK, weird, right?
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| Chuunibyou poster |
Story (Rating: 10 out of 10)
This story starts off with the typical, 'The main character meets someone and had his or her life changed forever. Almost every...No, EVERY story starts in the same manner as this so I won't say that this story is the same old thing. IN FACT, this story is a pretty fresh because of the idea of the main lead that has chuunibyou (in Japanese, 中二病), which is basically a fancy Japanese term for a delusional teen (which somewhat explains the weird literal translation of this term. Why the second year of middle school? Don't ask me). I really appreciate that there is a narrator that explains the word, chuunibyou at the start of the first season. It helps the viewers who are not familiar with the concept and meaning of chuunibyou to understand it and proceed onto focusing on the storyline rather than watching it confused.
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| The Chuunibyou introduction video... |
As for the flow and pacing of the story, for me, it was well done. From the two main lead, Yuuta and Rikka, meeting each other until they start to fall in love with each other. Well, there is a dose of comedy as it involves a funny scene with the characters involved. Oh yeah, there are also multiple scenes involving Rikka's imagined fights versus real-life 'fight' during the confrontations, mostly against Rikka's older sister.
Art and Animation (Rating: 10 out of 10)
Well, in term of art and animation of this anime, hm...I would say pretty standard, consistent and solid, on the same level as the majority of the anime nowadays. BUT there is a catch. Remember about the 'fighting' scene that I've mentioned earlier? I would say this...it looked AWESOME!
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| The 'fighting' scene |
Although I, as a viewer knows that the power unleashed and the kickass fight during the confrontation is just Rikka's imagination, BUT that is STILL awesome to watch and at the same time, quite hilarious if you think about it. It really shows the contrast between imagination and the real world. This contrast aids the viewers to understand the world of a delusional teen or maybe a better term, chuunibyou as compared to the world of normal people.
Sound and Music (Rating 10 out of 10)
OK, regarding the BGM (short for background music), there is nothing much I could say. I say that the music matched well with the scene involved. For example, the scene involving Yuuta and Rikka in the infirmary room. It changes from mysterious to funny, and well, the music emphasises them very well.
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| No, seriously, no, that's not the truth, right? |
As for the OP and ED songs, I love both of them. The opening song (or OP song), Sparkling Daydream by ZAQ fits well with the story's romantic but yet of a light nature. The ending song, Inside Identity by ZAQ (in the anime, it is sung by the voice actors although it is made by ZAQ) is one of my favourite songs at that time when I first watched it. The song portrays the inner thoughts of Rikka as a chuunibyou and as someone searching her own identity.
Characters (Rating: 10 out of 10)
As for the characters, the character development of the main casts are great, and EVEN the side character that was involved fit well into the comedic dynamic of the show. Well, I would talk about some of the characters real quick.
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| Togashi Yuuta |
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| Takanashi Rikka...normally |
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| Dekomori...preparing for the 'fight' between herself and Rikka |
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| Kumin...as usual afternoon napping... |
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| Nibutani... |
First, Yuuta, a former chuunibyou and Rikka's campaign strategist...just joking. Yuuta is a former chuunibyou, yes, but definitely, someone who somehow gets involved with Rikka through certain circumstances. Rikka, you should know by now that she is a chuunibyou and becomes incredibly involved with Yuuta's normal life. Dekomori, a chuunibyou, an assistant to Rikka to defeat 'evil', and a HUGE FAN of Nibutani's chuunibyou character, Mori Summer (a wordplay and pronunciation play on Nibutani's given name, Shinka). Nibutani is a former chuunibyou hate people who bring up her chuunibyou past (which Dekomori often did) and sometimes, revert back to her chuunibyou self for a while at times. Kumin, the group's senpai (or senior) loves to sleep and is kind of dreamy person.
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| Yuuta sister, Kuzuha |
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| Yuuta sister, Yumeha |
Well, all of them doing things together is sometimes a funny thing to watch. The development of the side characters is basically non-existent as the development of the characters is mainly focused on the two main characters, Rikka and Yuuta, and also the character who are in their circle.
Enjoyment (Rating: 10 out of 10)
Well, in this section, I NEED to ask myself, "Did I enjoy watching it or had to force myself to watch it?" Well, let's get the drum rolling! (Sound of drum rolling...)
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| Yuuta...ittai... |
OK, well, the verdict is...I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!!!! Yeah, the light-hearted scene, the much more dramatic scene and EVEN the 'fighting' scene is SO ENJOYABLE. It is really something that I would watch as soon as each episode was aired. Well, it was worth it.
Overall (Rating: 10 (10) out of 10)
FOR CHUUNIBYOU SEASON 1, it is a perfect 10 OUT OF 10! For both with or without the Enjoyment factor!!! That is amazing but it won't be this case every time. OK, let's move on.
Chuunibyou Demo Koi Shitai Ren (or Basically Chuunibyou Season 2)
NOW, it's time for the
second season of Chuunibyou, which I'd reviewed it before. Yeah...anyway, there is nothing much I could say here. Let's move on, shall we?
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| Chuunibyou season 2 poster |
Story (Rating: 10 out of 10)
This story continues on from the Chuunibyou movie (Yes, I should've mentioned it on Chuunibyou Season 2 anime review), which is the continuation of Chuunibyou Season 1. I might talk about the movie next time, who knows? Anyway, this story looks like the 'same old thing' at first, BUT THEN another character comes into the scene. Well, you might have noticed it if you'd watched the movie. The entrance of a new character, Shichimiya Satone changes the dynamic of the story. The plot becomes much less certain and much more exciting to watch.
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| Shichimiya...INCOMING!!! |
BUT there is JUST ONE THING. The fact that it was a little bit disappointing to me as there are no SERIOUS, HARDLINE love triangle fights, not even a little bit. BUT, I do like the fact that the new character is supportive of the relationship between the two main casts (Rikka and Yuuta). Just my thoughts. It's not a big deal.
Art and Animation (Rating: 10 out of 10)
In terms of the art and the animation, STILL same old goodness is still there. No need to describe and elaborate on that. Just with a few words, AWESOME, AMAZING and CAPTIVATING.
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| Another 'fighting' scene. This time, Rikka vs Shichimiya. |
Oh yeah, BTW, there was an ongoing meme of ONE particular animation mistake, which was the leg positioning of Rikka at...which part was that again? Never mind, BTW, other than that, it was all nice and well.
Sound and Music (Rating: 8 out of 10)
OK, regarding the BGM (short for background music), there is nothing much I could say. I say that the music matched well with the scene involved. SAME OLD SAME.
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| Season 2 OP screenshot |
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| Season 2 ED screenshot |
BUT for the OP and ED songs, I would say that I liked the ED song better than the OP song. The opening song (or OP song), VOICE by ZAQ fits well with the story's romantic and yet of a light nature but it's not the kind of song that I like. The ending song, Van!shment Th!s World by ZAQ (in the anime, it is sung by the voice actors although it is made by ZAQ) portrays that portrays the inner thoughts of Rikka as a chuunibyou and pretty much 'fighting' against the reality of this world. It's a quite weird song...not really a HUGE fan of it.
Characters (Rating: 10 out of 10)
Well, the dynamics between the previous season characters are still the same, AWESOME! Shichimiya's entrance does pose a 'challenge' to Rikka and Yuuta's relationship. The entrance of the Shichimiya triggers a lot of Rikka's JEALOUSY...JEALOUS!!! There is so much love drama between Yuuta, Rikka and Satone! I really like the old dynamics of the group of characters that I'm used in season 1 to have a slightly different, fresh breath of life.
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| That will trigger someone's anger...This is gonna be bad |
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| Rikka is getting furious... |
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| Rikka is definitely J-E-A-L-O-U-S...JEALOUS!!! |
As for the side characters, SAME OLD SAME. Not much development. Other than Shichimiya, Rikka and Yuuta, there is nothing much I could say.
Enjoyment (Rating: 10 out of 10)
It's here again. I NEED to ask myself AGAIN, "Did I enjoy watching it or had to force myself to watch it?" Well, let's get the drum rolling! (Sound of drum rolling...)
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| Shichimiya and Yuuta singing together...up late in the night |
OK, well, the verdict is...I LOVED IT A LOT!!!!! Yeah, the light-hearted scene, the much more dramatic scene and EVEN the 'fighting' scene is SO ENJOYABLE. It is really something that I would watch as soon as each episode was aired. Well, it was worth it.
Overall (Rating: 9.6 (9.5) out of 10)
Nothing much to say here. As I'd mentioned, it won't be always FULL MARKS, which is 10 out of 10 every time. OK, let's move on. Shall we? I'm about to end this post.
Conclusion
As a FINAL verdict on this anime's two-season run. For season 1, it was REALLY good and thus, the high rating. As for season 2, I would say that maybe I placed my expectation a little too high causing it to have a slightly lower rating. I believe most of Chuunibyou fans can understand this...BUT I would say this: Chuunibyou season 2 HAS WAY done better than MOST anime season 2 and EVEN SOME mainstream movie season 2. So yeah, congrats, KyoAni, YOU HAVE DONE WELL! So yeah, let's end it here. God bless you and hope that you come to visit this blog once again. Bye.
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| Yuuta and Rikka running away from someone somehow... |
Overall Rating (whole anime): 9.8 (9.75)/10
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