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Dec 02 2012

Categories: chuunibyou demo koi ga shitai, episodic review
Tagged: chu-2 byou demo koi ga shitai

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“It smells like Yuuta.”

From 11/17 to 12/1, the largest spike in A-WAR amongst fall 2012 shows is Chu2. Chu2 went from 5.78 to 6.21. Psycho-Pass went from 5.6 to 5.66. From the New World went from 4.36 to 4.45. This to me is not surprising: Chu2 is building up for an emotional payoff, and there will be Endless Eight to pay if it does not head there. The past two episodes have been fantastic developments for Dark Flame Master and Tyrant’s Eye. The show takes a classic anime subject (guy and girl being alone… developing feelings…) and then applies its own twist to it. It’s one thing for Rikka to come to terms with her love for Yuuta, it’s another if that love is conditional on abandoning her delusional world. It’s an interesting dynamic to see as the haremette is struggling against other haremettes or a 100 level dungeon but rather her own self… and understanding of self.

(Second biggest jump? Robotics;Notes from 3.24 to 3.61. It’s a two cours show that is fully-encased with good pedigree. It’s like trying to judge Steins;Gate or Clannad after six episodes… probably not going to be the same rating as after watching all of it. I’m not surprised. I am surprised that young Belldandy is in the show, though.)

“Night is when the Tyrant’s Eye is most active!”

That’s called prepubescent dreams, dear. Anyway, I’ve been seeing a lot of grumblings that Chu2 isn’t successful because preorders for the BD are lackluster, especially compared to other shows this season. This is silly. One, Chu2 is not an established property. It was only published, last year, as two volumes because of Kyoto’s obscure contest that couldn’t even get enough quality (read: non-shitty Moe of the Dead-quality) entries for a competition most years. It’s one thing if Full Metal Panic or K-On! sold poorly, but Chu2 is a risk. (Then again, I’m going to go on a limb and say that the real disappointment is Little Busters. That should have been a slam dunk. It is the Greg Oden of anime.) (And, come on, Girls and Panzer is the Twilight of anime.) Two, the story hits way to close to home. I see a lot of people commenting that they cannot enjoy Chu2 because it does hit too close to him… well… for me, I might have had 8th grade syndrome, but tragedy plus time equals comedy. Always. It’s how humans adapt. Maybe if you’re 16 or 18 watching this, it may sting as you casually hide your Dark Flame Master sword or Mori Summer manifesto, but at 25 or 30? You’re like… mmm… I wonder if there’s a reddit or MAL group dedicated to my 8th grade syndrome? Three, I suspect sales numbers will improve once people watch the series in its entirety. A-WAR is perking up. That’s a good sign.

(Doom and gloom about BD sales always strike me as weird. It’s like complaining about James Harden’s shooting after he misses his first five shots. Dude. Don’t freak out. It’s early. The Beard’s got this.)

Mmmm… I get it. Dekomori is the boke, Rikka is the tsundere (either towards tomatoes or towards delusions, but not to Yuuta), Tsuyuri is moeblob, and Nibutani is the perfect at first glance. (Though I don’t think Tomoyo should be in that category… should be Sanae and her bread.) It’s like the four chords of anime or the five ingredients Taco Bell makes everything from (zomg nacho chalupa burrito with volcano cheese sauce). You have these categories of haremettes? You’re ready to go.

Why does she look like Vega from Street Fighter? Though this is an awesomely simple Halloween or cosplay costume for the ladies. Black dress, claw, eyepatch, bandage, and a “Mmm… this could work…” face. This scene was hilarious just because of how Rikka wanted to play with the toy and incorporate it into her own world… and then the sad look as Yuuta takes it away… you can frame-by-frame see her heart breaking as he takes it away… and then see Yuuta hug the claw like a puppy returning home after being lost in the woods.

“I’d rather fight the final boss without equipment than eat that.”

Best. Line. Ever. I love good tomatoes, but they are next to impossible to get unless you grown them yourself. The ones from grocery stores are typically flavor-less, and even pricey ones from farmer markets or organic places are hit-or-miss. I think if Rikka found a good tomato and sprinkled a bit of salt on it… mmm… delicious.

“Red is dangerous!”

Moonlight day-tos with convenience store food? I think it’s really cute and romantic for them, and it’s even cuter when Rikka is completely obviously to 7-11 food due to her sister being an Iron Chef. Though, to be fair, 7-11 food in Japan is much better than 7-11 food in the US.

First time Rikka does her “Banishment… dis WARULDO!” routine and not go into delusion mode. Is it because her opponent is the big party pooper, Yuuta? Or Kyoto just wanted to show how comically silly Rikka is?

Dekomori needs to be immortalized in The Hawkeye Initiative. Along with Fuko-chan giving out starfishes. Why only pick the sexy ladies drawn in weird contorted shapes? Why not the normal ladies in poses they would actually do because of 8th grade delusion syndrome?

Kyoto’s animation prowess continues to be excellent. I like the mirror-work, the drops of water, and the focus blurring into the next scene.

(Rikka is such a kid sometimes. Then again, she’s first year in high school. She’s a gosh darn freshmen… not exactly pillars of adultiness.)

Small touches like these… my gosh, imagine if Kyoto did a 3 cours version of Sword Art Online instead of A-1 currently going way too fucking fast on it. (And way too fucking slow on Space Bros.)

“I’m already bound to Yuuta by the highest contract. We have no need of a lesser contract such as ‘boyfriend and girlfriend.'”.

“Hijacked by the light music club.”

If only Kyoto had the balls to have had 1980’s Mio walk as part of this parade. Shaft would have done it. No question. And, yeah, Isshiki is basically Sunohara at this point.

Wow, Isshiki’s hair is growing back pretty fast. Too bad he looks like an umpa lumpa now. Though if you told me back in 2009 that Kyoto will eventually turn Lulu and Kira Yamato into the new Tomoya and Sunohara, I would have… believed you. Yep. It doesn’t seem that all implausible since there’s not a lot of male voice actors, and, eventually, they will have to do some sort of slice-of-life harem series for Kyoto.

If she were a more normal girl, she would have been up all night making cryptic yet completely not cryptic Facebook updates as well as continuously hitting refresh on Yuuta’s wall despite the fact that he’s asleep and probably not updating it. (And, if he were, he’d probably just post boring cat pictures, since that’s the kind of guy he is.) Still, a girl smelling the shirt or sheets of a guy she likes… in this day and age… is completely non-creepy right?

When I was watching this, I wrote (in my mental notebook): “Terrible idea. Huge liability lawsuit from having kids climb on a roof that has piss poor railing.”

This scene was fantastic and a great example that this series is not about just fitting in but finding a place to fit in. It’s almost like telling people, “Hey, you’re different, but that’s okay. There’s plenty of people out there like you.” I mean… Yuuta is still trying to have an “ideal” group of friends yet he is hanging out with the misfits. Nibutani, who dropped out of the cheerleading squad, as more or less accepted her fate. Tsuyuri the Awesome doesn’t give a shit, and all she cares about is napping in the best spots possible. Rikka is deciding if she wants to ditch who she is because that’s who Yuuta doesn’t want her to be… but I think, hopefully, in the end, Yuuta and Rikka will realize what makes them special together isn’t their normality.

(Or if we get yet another generic unresolved harem ending, I’ll rage in a blog post worthy of a 16 year old who just saw that Blizzard nerfed his beloved hunter. Steady shot only grants 10% bonus damage instead of 20%?! FUCK YOU!!!)

Saying “I’m still pretty flexible” while holding on a pr0n mag probably isn’t having the result Rikka’s sister thinks it has. Easily misconstrued by horny 15 year old boys. Anyway, can the pr0n mag under bed trope finally die? I’m okay with replacing it with a “Wait, what’s this in your browser history?” or “Why is Grindr installed on your iPhone?” instead of the “I found a dirty magazine under your bed!” They’ve done every possible variation of the joke except for the no-brainer, “Oh, you have a lot of dirty socks under the bed too.” Though I didn’t like how the sister looks at her melonpan and deadpans, “I should be careful around you.”

2013 New Years Resolutions for Anime:

1. No more dirty magazines.
2. People need to start texting each other. The probability that conversation between Nibutani and Rikki outside the bathroom occurs in real life? As realistic as the plot to Psycho-Pass. Realistically, the conversation would happen, just over iMessage.
3. Animate blinking.
4. At least a year hiatus on more Hidamari Sketch.

Final thought: If there is someone you like, but you are afraid to tell them, is it because you are afraid of rejection? Or are you more afraid that the dream (delusion?) will end once you make your move? Is this why Rikka stopped here? Is this why Houtarou never voiced his real feeling?