Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions has our main protagonist, Yuuta Togashi (a former victim of chuunibyou), also known as "Dark Flame Master", attempt to overcome his embarrassing past and have a normal high school life. However, his plans are broken due to a "pact" forced unto him by the "Wicked Eye", otherwise known as Rikka Takanashi (another chunnibyou victim). The series explores the bizarre relationship between the eccentric girl and the boy running away from his past.

Story and Characters

Every single character in the series is flat, uninteresting, and exists mostly for comedy purposes. This is most notable in the supporting cast. Rikka is the only character that isn't entirely superficial and generic, which is sad considering how terrible her backstory was handled.

Alongside our main couple there are other members of the “Far Eastern Magic Nap Society.” Isshikik is Yuuta's best friend and likes girls. Nibutani is kind of a tsundure but not really, since there is no actual relationship tension between her and Yuuta. Kumin is naive and likes to take naps. Lastly, Sanae Dekomori, she is rich and is Yuuta's servant. There are only small amounts of dialogue which gives us any kind of backstory or insight into these characters.

Let's talk about our main protagonist, Yuuta. His only characteristic that differentiates him from any other generic rom-com is his earlier experience with chuunibyou. He used to act like he was some kind of warrior. Then there is nothing unique about him. He likes to help others, he is kind of awkward, he does decent at school, etc.

Other characters appear throughout the series, including Yuuta's family and Rikka's as well. There is not much to mention about Yuuta's family. Rikka's family is a complicated situation, her sister receives plenty of screen-time but we know little about her. She is a hardworking chef that somewhat cares for her sister (but takes the first opportunity to leave her and work elsewhere). Also she is kind of a yandere. She was the most interesting one out of all the characters in my opinion, simply because it was unclear what her motivations were. I didn't knew if she really cared for Rikka or it was mostly out of a sense of duty. However, this might be an issue on my side and not on the show. Then we have Rikka's grandparents, they are just there to create drama. Rikka's parents are another problem. Her mother is a mystery to the audience, she abandoned her child but later comes back for an "emotional moment". It feels out of place and poorly explained, there is no reason for this to happen, and if there is, why should the audience care?

Lastly, we have Rikka's father, his death is the cause for the chuunibyou. The audience is supposed to sympathize with Rikka and why she is so weird, the way Yuuta does. However, this is executed horribly. First, the lack of self awareness in Rikka makes her a delusional character, not really a troubled one. Furthermore, the reveal is done at such a slow pace (it takes various episodes for any development to occur after Rikka becomes "depressed" is what I mean), that either you see it coming a mile away, or you are confused as to what is happening in the last 4 episodes of the show. Lastly, the flashbacks are done so poorly I never felt like the relationship between Rikka and her father was strong enough to cause her to change so much (we do not even see the face of his father). Maybe an episode long flashback like it was done in Darling in the Franxx (a show with many problems, but the flashback episode was well done at least) would have helped. You may argue that the reason for her chuunibyou is meeting "Dark Flame Master" and falling in love with him and not completely because of her father's death. But she only sees him for like five minutes.

Also might I mention the scene where Kumin (best girl) becomes the "Wicked Eye" was just absurd.

Furthermore, the biggest problem with the series is its lack of a consistent message. Yuuta argues that Rikka's chuunibyou is very important for her personality and her mental health, as it relieves the pain of her father's death. Nibutani also explains how everyone has a little chuunibyou inside and it is unavoidable. However, nothing that happens in the show supports this idea (it doesn't matter if you agree with it or not). Rikka becomes friends with other classmates when she abandons her chuunibyou. Yuuta shows no signs of being worse off than when he was in middle school; he is responsible, friendly, and has no major flaws. Also, Nibutani drops out of the acting club because of the supposed "chuunibyou" in the rest of the members (she is also better off not acting like a weirdo, mainly because she is popular). Sanae is also fine after leaving behind her fantasies.

Another flaw that must not be overlooked, is the lack of character development in Sanae Dekomori. There are "emotional" scenes were she appears to be sad at Rikka not participating in their fantasies. However, she has no reason to be that way, unlike Rikka. This lack of motivation make these "emotional" scenes feel forced and fake.

I still appreciate that the relationship between Rikka and Yuuta went somewhere and we were given closure, unlike most rom-coms.

Animation and Sound

This series definitely has impressive visuals, sound editing, and cinematography. All of these aspects are obviously above average. There were some scenes that looked beautiful and every frame of animation was smooth and looked decent, I never felt like they were "cutting corners" in the animation department. My favorite scene was in the bridge were Sanae confronts Yuuta and RIkka (after RIkka abandoned her delusions) and there is a clash of mental states represented through lightning and colors. The scene were Nibutani takes a crying Sanae out to the hall was pretty impressive as well. The symbolism and imagery used to represent the horizon was pretty well done in my opinion.

The opening and ending were always nice to watch.

The voice acting was nothing impressive, but I didn't felt like I was bothered by the voices either. The music was forgettable and generic. However, the use of sound effects and visual gags was done expertly. I laughed (a lot) at the duck hunt gag were Rikka finds Yuuta's "naughty" magazines.

Conclusion

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions is a generic rom-com with a solid first half and with impressive visuals, but is hurt by its lack of self-awareness (in Rikka mainly), absence of character development, nonsensical message, horrible ending, and terrible backstories.

I really wanted to like this series. After finishing episode 6 I felt like this series would be one of my favorite, However, it failed to deliver any kind of compelling character drama and its comedy soon became stale. This coupled by its contradicting message regarding delusions, made for a show that felt like a pain to watch. It had a lot going for it: cute girls, funny character interactions, and a unique enough premise. But the creators were not able to develop it correctly and now it is just a show that sounded perfect in paper, but is forgettable (at best) in reality.

I know a lot of people enjoyed this show, and I am not here to take away your happiness. I am just here to express my opinions on a show. If anyone would like to discuss (respectfully) anything that I mentioned in my review or their own opinion on the show, feel free to mention me in a forum post.