I recently purchased the Limited Edition of 'Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions' released by Sentai Filmworks and I must say it is one of the best LE's that I have ever bought. Not only does it contain all 12 episodes, the OVA, and some shorts on both Blu Ray and DVD, it also includes the following:
14 Postcards
7 Art Boards
1 Holographic Card
1 Linticular Card
3 Stickers
152 page Art Book
Keychain
Rikka's Eyepatch
Wallet Chain
You can get all of this for $77.99 on Rightstuf.com. The box that contains all these goodies is gorgeous to look at as well.
But what about the series itself? Read on to find out my opinion on this series.
Story
Chunibyo is a Japanese term that can be translated as "middle school second year syndrome" or "eighth grade syndrome" and refers to those people that have delusions about themselves being better than others or having some special power or ability.
This anime focuses on Yuta Togashi who spent his middle school years believing he was the Dark Flame Master and as a result, he spent that time alone. Now he is about to begin high school and would very much like to leave those embarrassing days behind him. He chooses a high school that that no one from his middle school would choose in hopes of having a normal life.
As he begins school, he meet several people including Makoto Issihki, a normal looking guy that befriends him almost immediately, Shinka Nibutani, the popular cheerleader that seems to have an interest in him, and Rikka Takanashi, who still suffers from chunibyo and has become almost obsessed with him.
Rikka wears a medical eyepatch and bandages around her left arm and believes that she possesses the "Wiked Eye" which is just a gold colored contact in the eye beneath her eye patch. Not only does she play out her delusions to Yuta in front of the other classsmates, but she recently moved in with her older sister in the apartment above Yuta.
The story mainly revolves around Yuta and Rikka's relationship which continues to grow throughout the series. Yuta, being a recovering chunibyo, sympathies with Rikka, but will hanging out with her cause him to revert back into his delusions or will he be able to convince her to become normal?
There is plenty of comedy to go around and I found myself laughing quite a bit throughout the twelve episodes. I especially liked the over-the-top delusional fight scenes that had each character casting magic while wielding over-sized weapons. In the middle of the battles, the scene would switch to what was really happening, which usually consisted of Rikka swinging around her umbrella and her sister hitting her with a ladle.
The story also got emotional towards the end as you find out how Rikka's delusions are connected to what she's gone through in the past and her coming to terms with her feelings for Yuta.
I really liked the story because I feel we all have been into some things or acted a certain way during our lives that we are embarrassed about now. That allows us to relate to what these characters are going through.
Characters:
This is where this anime really shines. Each character was unique, lovable, and really complimented each other. I will tell a little about each character below:
Yuta Togashi: As mentioned above, Yuta spent his middle school days calling himself the Dark Flame Master which isolated him from his schoolmates. As he enters high school, he puts his embarrassing past behind him and goes to a new school.
Rikka Takanashi: Rikka still suffers from chunibyo even though she is now in high school. She believes she possesses the "Wicked Eye" and is shy around most people. She recently moved in an apartment directly above Yuta's with her big sister who works as a chef. She is a bit shy around most people but really connects with Yuta, which he finds unpleasant at first since he is striving for a normal life.
Shinka Nibutani: Shinka is a popular cheerleader who all the guy's in Yuta's class have an eye on. She and Yuta have a brief encounter on the way to their first day of school. Upon arrival, Yuta is excited to see that they are in the same class. She begins to take interest in Yuta but not for the reasons you would expect...
Kumin Tsuyuri: Kumin is an upperclassman who is first introduced after Yuta and Rikka find a stray cat and they attempt to find the owner. It turns out that the cat is not the one the Kumin has lost. Later, when Rikka is wanting to form a new club at school, she and Yuta set up a booth to try to gain members. Kumin has a booth beside them looking for members for her 'napping' club. When they realize that they both will not gain any members, they decide to combine their clubs. Throughout the series, she can be seen napping in many different places.
Makoto Isshiki: Makoto sits behind Yuta in class and strikes up a conversation with him the first day. At first, Yuta looks up to Makoto as a 'cool kid' but eventually finds out that he has insecurities and weaknesses just like everyone else. Makoto spends his time checking out the girls in the class and even participates in a ranking done by the male students to determine which girl is the prettiest.
Sanae Dekomori: Dekomori is a middle school student who suffers from chunibyo and believes Rikka is her master. She has long twin tails in her hair that she uses as her weapon, when she isn't tripping over them. She comes from a wealthy family and is highly energetic and protective of Rikka. She is also obsessed with the online blog of someone named 'Morisummer' and carries a book containing these writings.
Toka Takanashi: Rikka's older sister who works as a chef at a fine restaurant. She is usually seen as an enemy in Rikka's delusions but she reaches out to Yuta for help in dealing with Rikka. She is often seen carrying a ladle that she uses to hit Rikka, Yuta, or whoever else gets in her way.
Animation:
Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) prove once again that they are masters of animation. The character art was phenomenal and I never really noticed any drop in quality throughout the series. The animation was smooth and the character's faces and gestures perfectly conveyed the appropriate emotions.
The attention to detail was also fantastic. There are several scenes where things are going on in the background and it seemed that just as much attention was paid animating those as what was in the foreground.
Final Thoughts:
After watching this series, I can honestly say that it is now one of my top 10 anime. It was one that you want to continue watching after each episode ends and you feel a hinge of sadness when the credits roll after the final episode. Luckily, the second season is available on Crunchyroll and I look forward to checking it out soon.
If you are looking for a new anime to watch and haven't seen this one, I highly recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment