Chunibyo refers to a person’s belief that they have supernatural powers. Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions focuses on a high school student (Yuta) who used to be in Chunibyo, his girlfriend who currently is in Chunibyo (Rikka), and their group of friends.
The main plot thread of the episodes is the romance between Yuta, and Rikka. Over the course of the season their relationship grows. Sometimes this is done by Yuta managing to connect with Rikka by looking past her Chunibyo. More often than not they connect when he understands her delusions are the way she processes her feelings, and acts accordingly.
Rikka is not the only character on the show to imagine herself as a supernatural being. Whenever these beliefs are brought up, the show is clear to establish that they are false, but not in a way that is ever cruel. Rikka is not actually in possession of a wicked eye, and Sanae doesn’t really wield Mjolnir. But the feelings behind these beliefs aren’t dismissed. Despite spending most of its time exploring the fantasies of its characters, Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions is primarily about emotional honesty. The show even ends with Rikka stating exactly what it is that she wants out of life.
Because of this Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions is full of touching moments. Be it an old friend of Yuta’s working through her feelings for him, or Sanae being moved to tears by spending time with a girl she idolises. This feeling of emotional honesty means that the show always pulls off its more serious scenes, even when they follow goofier ones, and the show certainly has its shares of goofier moments.
This isn’t a bad thing. When the show is being goofy it does so in a way that is cute. Plots of the episodes include such oddities as napping contests, or the former Chunibyo persona of one of the cast being impersonated.
Love, Chuibyo, and Other Delusions makes use of the fact that it is an anime to show us their imagined fights as we see them, rather than sticking to how they actually happened. These fights are as visually inventive, and as action packed as anything that you will find in a show like Dragon Ball Z.
Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions is the perfect version of what it wants to be. It is a story about fully rounded characters with very sympathetic emotional desires, and the ways in which they pursue those desires. It has the right balance of bizarre, fun moments, and serious, character moments.
LOVE, CHUNIBYO, AND OTHER DELUSIONS / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: TATSUYA ISHIHARA / WRITER: JUKKI HANADA / STARRING: LERALDO ANZALDUA, MARGARET MCDONALD, MAGGIE FLECKNOE, BRITTNEY KARBOWSKI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
