中二病でも恋がしたい！戀/ Chu-2 byo demo KOI ga shitai! Ren
Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren 07 anime review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Rikka and Yuuta begin their day together on the school trip while Nibutani’s group (sans Rikka) explore Kagoshima. Sanae returns Nibutai’s call regarding the Mori Summer website, but claims to know nothing of the matter. Meanwhile, Yuuta suggests a trip to the Sakurajima volcano across the bay, which meets with Rikka’s approval. However, when they spot the lost Satone, things change. Rikka is ready to do “battle” with Satone, but goes with Yuuta to help Satone first find her lost purse. After finding it, they discover a monkey has also found it, so to get it back, Yuuta and Satone do a maneuver they did in middle school to get her stuffed animal back from a dog.

After getting the purse back from the monkey, it chases them quite some distance, where they end up in a deep ditch. When Rikka finally catches up and sees Satone give Yuuta a game token, she thinks the worst and flees, where she’s then seen by Nibutani’s group, who have a chat with her. After seeing Satone safely to a bus stop, Yuuta goes to look for Rikka. Satone calls Kuzuha with a question, then sends a mail with a map to Rikka. After Rikka leaves, Nibutani calls Yuuta to scold him for treating Rikka poorly by going all out for Satone. Kuzuha then calls Yuuta, demanding to know what he is doing.

Rikka meets Satone at a platform by the bay where cargo ships are. Satone isn’t there to battle, but to talk, even getting permission to address Yuuta as Yuusha (Hero). Satone tells Rikka of how she started falling for Yuuta in middle school, but as she did, she found her desire to continue the chuunibyou fantasies lessened. One evening with Yuuta on a chuunibyou outing, she made a choice to sacrifice her feelings for Yuuta in order not to lose her chuunibyou persona. Rikka asks about the token. Satone says Yuuta appears to have forgotten about it. With that, Satone leaves as Yuuta arrives, having been sent there by a mail from Satone.

Meanwhile, Sanae checks into the website mentioned by Nibutani, deciding to see if the owner of the site is the real Mori Summer. When the site’s owner responds to her, Sanae is shocked by the answer to her question. Back in Kagoshima, Yuuta and Rikka for a walk near the bay. Yuuta apologizes, but Rikka says she should apologize for doubting him. Yuuta gives Rikka a new parasol to replace the one she had, which was getting worn, as well as a necklace. Rikka recalls Satone’s words, and asks Yuuta if he thinks he can achieve Guerzoniansus one day. Yuuta doesn’t know, but isn’t opposed to the idea of something like Dark Flame Dragon being within him. After teasing Yuuta for releasing Dark Flames, Rikka tells Yuuta she loves (likes) him.

Thoughts/Review:

Ah, Rikka has never been more cute than she was at the end of this episode, saying “suki” for the first time. While not “dai suki” or “aishiteru”, it is still a big step for Rikka to acknowledge her feelings for Yuuta outside of a chuunibyou framework.

I felt badly for Satone in this episode.  Seeing her falling for Yuuta in the flashbacks was heartbreaking in a way as she clearly wanted to step away from the childish chuunibyou stuff and be with Yuuta on a more mature level. But, in the name of love, she chose to abandon that and stay firm in the chuunibyou lifestyle.

With Rikka having become jealous of Satone in this episode, along with her having that letter in Yuuta’s old notebook (which I presume is from Satone), I think the first plot of this series has finally formed.  Rikka will have to make her own choice — abandon the chuunibyou life and become a normal girlfriend for Yuuta, or remain in the chuunibyou life, where she may never advance with Yuuta.

Yuuta has been pretty tolerant of the whole chuunibyou thing, so I suspect that in the end, we’ll see some advancement in Yuuta’s and Rikka’s relationship, but not a total abandonment of the chuunibyou life.

Speaking of Yuuta, I loved the gifts he bought for Rikka. In her current state, these were perfect, especially the new parasol. ^_^

I mentioned what I think the first plot of this series is. I think the second plot is the Mori Summers plot. As I said last episode, I did not think for a moment that Sanae made that website even though Nibutani believed it. It is still an outlandish theory, but I think the mystery girl I mentioned will be behind it. (I can’t imagine Satone being behind it, but that’s a possibility as well.) Here too, I think Nibutani will have a decision to make regarding her own chuunibyou past and present as she has to deal with this person claiming to be Mori Summer.

It was more evident in the previous series, but ultimately, I think the whole chuunibyou escapism is to flee loneliness. Certainly, that was the case for Rikka in the last series. I figured that was the case for Sanae as well, despite her being an ojousama in terms of wealth. Her first conversation with Nibutani bore that out. Sanae is lonely, and though she has Rikka for a friend, her sisterly relationship with Nibutani has come to mean a great deal to her as well, thus her disappointment at the context of Nibutani’s call.

Satone, Nibutani, and Yuuta were all lonely people, Satone possibly more so than any of the other characters. Yuuta less so because of Rikka and his friendships with the members of the club as well as his family. Nibutani has been the seeming rock of the group, but I sense that even with her having more friends to hang out with, the only ones she feels a true connection with are the gang in the club, including Sanae. But even there, because she’s taken on the role as the rock of the group (helping with Rikka’s and Yuuta’s relationship), she too is lonely, thus her slippage into chuunibyou moments.

Regardless, this was another sweet and enjoyable episode, even if there were elements of sadness around the edges. I can’t wait to see what happens next. ^_^