Harsh reality settles in as Yuuta makes the wrong decision that he seriously regrets. Will he do a 180?
OF COURSE! After realizing all the damage he done by doing it too quickly, he forgot about all the aspects that he likes about Rikka. Not only that, making her normal means that he will be separated from her for good and he doesn’t want that.
However, it’s quite surprising how a letter that he wrote when he was the Dark Flame Master made him change his mind all the sudden. This caused some controversy from the viewers as the writers pulled yet another Deus ex Machina. While the end result of him reuniting with Rikka while she regains her 8th Grade Syndrome, but not take complete control of her life is a nice closure, it just felt rushed.
On the other hand, there were some present surprises besides the drama. First is Sanae letting down her hair and acting normal all the sudden. While she looks rather adorable this way, at the same time, she looks like a completely different person. Likewise, Kumin trying to act like Rikka’s Tyrant Eye just looks completely ridiculous. It doesn’t feel natural compared to Sanae, but at least she reveals to Yuuta that he was the one that influenced Rikka’s 8th Grade Syndrome and it didn’t came out of nowhere.
Final Thoughts
While the blogosphere has mixed feelings of the show ranging from extremely negative to positive, I will give my honest reactions to the show. I think Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai was enjoyable. It had a great cast and it did exceptionally well until the halfway mark. After Episode 7, it seems that the production staff got a bit too ambitious when realized that they were running out of time, thus they have to resolve Rikka’s problems. As a result, the melodrama train sped up, making it feel too rushed and out-of-place, especially in a show that had lots of comedy and adorable moments. Not only that, they simply introduced the love element too late and completely changed Rikka’s personality by making her completely normal until the reversal happened.
Overall, does this show deserve a bad grade such as a 5 or a 6 (which is technically a failure under my grading scale)? Absolutely not, but it’s not perfect either. If we compared this show with Hyouka, I felt that Kyoto Animation did a better job with the latter not because the story was very interesting, but it was consistent. Consistency is important as they gradually develop the relationship between Houtarou and Eru instead of rushing it in the last few episodes. If this show had 24 episodes, probably they could have done the drama in a more gradual manner and allow the relationship between Yuuta and Rikka to develop a bit more so that viewers wouldn’t become dissatisfied so quickly. Even so, I think this can be used as an example that Kyoto Animation doesn’t perform at their best when they start adding some original writing and diverge away from the light novel. Perhaps they should leave that stuff to PA Works instead who does a slightly better job at it.
Overall Rating: 8.4/10, B, Good ¶
*takes Sanae home*
It was a nice series, not the best of all time, but really enjoyable. 🙂
It’s understandable although I didn’t go all out and say it’s their worst, but still I enjoyed it despite its flaws.