This is a story about a couple of Japanese high school students, one of whom experiences ‘ 8th grade syndrome’ (the belief that they are a supernatural being), while the other used to and is trying to get away from it.

It is a retelling of the first season of Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions! ostensibly repeated through the eyes of Rika. This turns out to have little (if any) impact on the plot. There aren’t more segments set in the characters’ imagination, and the movie doesn’t give much insight into what she thinks about what is going on around her or at least no more than the show would have done. Despite the title, the focus character is Yuta.

The other chief failing is that it doesn’t really work as a movie. Scenes jump from one to the next with little reasoning. Sometimes the transitions work on a narrative level, but most of the time, the movie is a jumble from one half told scene to the next. It would be more accurate to describe this as a highlight reel; a way for people who like the show to watch its best moments in a condensed amount of time. In that regard, it might have served as a quick introduction to the show for people unfamiliar with it, but too much of it is either rushed through or skipped entirely for it to be a complete story in its own right.

This film version just doesn’t work without the series it is based on, and that begs the question of what it brings to the table by existing.

There are the usual special features that can be expected from such a release, though. The most noteworthy addition to this release is one of the episodes of Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions! Lite. It gives a glimpse at what Yuta was like before he tried to distance himself from his ‘8th grade syndrome’. It has a short run time, but it does its job of fleshing out the character with some backstory.

As a movie, we can only truly recommend this to the diehard fans of the series who want to see everything that comes along. It doesn’t work as an introduction, and apart from some new animation, it doesn’t bring anything to the table that an older fan won’t have seen by watching the original show. You might want to watch it to relive the anime’s highlights, but there is little to no reason to go out and buy it.

Extras: Clean Opening Animation/ Clean Closing Animation/ Japanese Previews/ Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions! Lite: My Brother 2/ Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions! Lite Clean Closing Animation/ Also Available from Sentai Filmworks

LOVE, CHUNIBYO AND OTHER DELUSIONS! THE MOVIE: RIKKA VERSION/ CERT: 12/ DIRECTOR: TATSUYA ISHIHARA / SCREENPLAY: JUKKI HANADA / STARRING: DAVID WALD, MARGARET MACDONALD, BRITTNEY KARBOWSKI, MAGGIE FLECKNOE, EMILY NEEVES / RELEASE DATE: JULY 30TH