Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! – 01

中二病でも恋がしたい!/ Chu-2 byo demo KOI ga shitai!
Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! – 01

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01TOGASHI Yuuta is a 1st-year high school student who’s looking to put his embarassing middle school years behind him, where he suffered from “chuunibyou,” deluding himself into thinking he was the Dark Flame Master, complete with a massive toy sword and everything. Packing all of the items he purchased for “Dark Flame Master” and placing them on the balcony to be tossed in the trash, a girl with an eye patch comes repelling down a rope from the apartment above. After helping her secure her footing on the rail, she continues to repel down once Yuuta is distracted by a gust of wind, carrying sakura petals.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01The following morning, Yuuta is excited to attend his first day of high school, where he can reinvent himself as a normal person since his high school is very far from his middle school. At the train station, Yuuta runs into a pretty girl wearing a uniform from his new school. He also encounters the eye-patch girl, who pretends to use a power to open the train doors when the train arrives, stunning Yuuta so that he misses his train. Yuuta manages to get to class, where he meets the guy sitting behind him, Makoto. Yuuta then notices the pretty girl from the train station, whom Makoto identifies as the popular Nibutani. Unfortunately for Yuuta, the eye-patch girl is also in his class, and when she complains of eye pain, he’s tasked with escorting her to the nurse’s station.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01With the nurse out, Yuuta attempts to treat the girl, whom he discovers suffers from chuunibyou, claiming to have the True Eye of the Evil King. She also knows that he used to call himself the Dark Flame Master. She decides to prove her powers by removing her eye patch, revealing a glowing eye. However, it is only a contact lens in her eye, so Yuuta puts drops in her eye after the contact comes out. After class, Makoto invites Yuuta to come grab lunch with him and some others, but their homeroom teacher asks Yuuta to escort the eye-patch girl, named Rikka, home since she lives right above him. She again tries to prove she has powers by choosing the proper soft drink from a vending machine at the train station, which then announces that purchaser has won a free drink.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01Returning home, Yuuta discovers that the movers have dumped Rikka’s stuff in the flat Yuuta lives in with his mom and two younger sisters.  Yuuta reluctantly decides to help Rikka move the stuff to the upstairs apartment, which is where Rikka’s older sister lives. The move done, but Rikka’s sister not home, Rikka ends up eating with Yuuta’s family, where Yuuta’s youngest sister plays with his giant sword. Rikka thinks it would be cool if Yuuta wore it, leading his mom to reveal things that Yuuta used to do. After dinner, Rikka discovers the stuff Yuuta is going to toss.  Seeing her depressed look, Yuuta reluctantly decides he won’t throw his Dark Flame Master stuff away, using the excuse that he could always sell it. This cheers Rikka considerably.

Thoughts/Review:

Since this series isn’t too far along, I figured I’d go ahead and chapter blog it now, despite having three other shows from last season that I need to do. ^_^;

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01

From what little I saw of this series prior to watching, I figured it must be a harem comedy title. Boy have I been wrong so far. It is possible that romance may enter the scene at some point, but that’s clearly not what’s the focus now.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01

I had a hard time relating to Yuuta’s and Rikka’s delusional state (chuunibyou), where they honestly believed they had supernatural powers (or in Rikka’s case, she still believes it). I discussed it a bit with some comrades, who reminded me that kids in America pretend to be Superman or some other super hero.  When I was seven, I wanted to join the rebellion with Luke Skywalker. However, by the time I was twelve, I never thought I had powers or the like, though I did want to write stories where I would be in the role of the hero, who COULD do supernatural or extraordinary things. I couldn’t imagine actually doing things like Yuuta or Rikka have done.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01

I do understand reinventing yourself for a new school though. In high school, I was friendly with both major cliques, but I didn’t belong to either.  So for college, I wanted to be in all the way, and I achieved that, both with the school’s administration, and with my fellow students, especially the female ones. Plus, I was on the staff that showed high school prospects around campus, where I got to meet even more girls. Good times for sure. ^_~

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01

As to the episode itself, I had a hard time dealing with Yuuta’s berating and hand chopping Rikka. No doubt, it is the “don’t beat up on the girl” aspect, made worse by the fact that Rikka cowers when he does this, or otherwise looks depressed. Granted, she perks up quick, but still, I don’t much care for that aspect.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01

To be honest, I had hoped that Rikka might actually have some sort of supernatural power, just to blow Yuuta’s mind. That could have been an interesting tale as well, but the one being told is fine too.  I do wonder where all of this is leading though.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01

I’m going to try to rapid-watch the next few episodes, assuming my schedule allows.  See you then.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - 01
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10 Responses to “Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! – 01”

  1. ChronoReverse says:

    This was my comment after the first episode:
    “I don’t quite understand this show yet but it’ll be my moeblob show of the season I guess.”

    It has quickly evolved to be my favorite show of this season (beside Jojo anyway) with the next couple of episodes. Hoping it’ll end strong too =)

    • AstroNerdBoy says:

      I guess it shows how out of it I am, but “moeblog” was a new term for me. ^_^; Then again, since I’m not on boards and such discussing these things, I suppose it isn’t surprising. ^_^;

  2. Anonymous says:

    I thought I wouldn’t like this anime so I didn’t give it a watch. However, I somehow got to watching it( I was probably procrastinating on hw >.>). Boy was I surprised by how much I liked this anime. I guess it can be considered a “moeblob” anime, but it isn’t overbearingly so. I heard some people complaining about Rikka abuse, but I think it’s just a comedic, friendly gesture on Yuuta’s part. On the side note, I didn’t know Astro was such a lady killer..Thought I had a comrade, guess not >.>

    • AstroNerdBoy says:

      In college, I pretty much avoided any sign of nerdity and was me, but somewhat different. It was here that I experienced that phase in a young man’s life where one finds oneself the target of an unusual amount of female interest (from girls of all types).

      Today is another story completely. *lol*

  3. tomtom92 says:

    I live in american and most of the kids through 7-12 or maybe even alittle more did imagine stuff like KA…ME…HA…ME…You know the rest.

    • AstroNerdBoy says:

      Heh! I never watched anything Dragon Ball (did read a bit of the original manga), but shockingly enough, I knew where you were going (though I did look it up just to make sure).

  4. arimareiji says:

    I definitely feel you on the Rikka abuse being overdone, even if it was just part of the tsukkomi-boke routine that they’re doing. But at least to me, it seemed like this was part of an overall theme of “This is how X actually plays out in real life” where X is a common trope of anime… she genuinely winces when hit, and even whimpers that it hurts.

    It’s kind of ironic, though… A friend of mine had the same reaction (too much hitting the girl) to Haiyore! Nyaruko-chan, to the point he gave up on it. I dunno, maybe it’s a Japanese thing that enduring abuse makes you cuter, in the same way being clumsy makes you cuter?

    • AstroNerdBoy says:

      In Haiyore! Nyarlko-san, Nyarlko wasn’t a young girl despite her appearance. She is a powerful entity that can assume other forms, thus although the fork jokes were a bit overdone, it didn’t bother me as much because within the scope of the series, Nyarlko could kill or otherwise harm Mahiro on a whim.

      Rikka, on the other hand, looks like she couldn’t hurt a fly, even though she imagines herself to be a Nanoha-like mage. So her getting abused, even within the scope of the tsukkomi-boke routine, bothers me.

      As to whether these things makes one cuter, I don’t know. One of the early definitions of the term “moe” came from Akamatsu-sensei, who described such a female character as being one whom the audience would have great empathy for and would want to do a lot to protect from harm. I’m guessing that is in play to an extent here.

  5. AnimeLover0223 says:

    This helped a lot. Thank you! I’m really excited to start watching now. ^-^

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