Name: You know it seems the more we talk about it, it only makes it worse to live without it...
Item: Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Take on Me
Rating: 80
Author: Whom

Waifra

You know it seems the more we talk about it, it only makes it worse to live without it... · Waifora

Spoiler, click to view

They played a really dangerous game with this one. The idea of "growing out" of chuunibyou is something which has the power to completely fuck up everything that the series up until that point had stood for, something that if you've made it this far in the series, you're likely attached to. Chuunibyou stands out precisely because it takes a hardline stance on becoming serious, down-to-earth, and growing up: it rejects the necessity of them.

Despite the dangerous territory, this movie takes the step and decides to tackle the questions of "growing up" head-on. Does love and long-term commitment require one to grow up? Are you still the same person? Will the people around you still love you? Needless to say, this had me on edge. I loved it the whole ride through, but there was a growing weight on me as I worried: would they fuck it up? Luckily, they don't at all, and it feels like a natural extension of the series. There was never any doubt that Yuuta and Rikka would be in love no matter how she turned out, but for a while it honestly looked like the movie would hold the position that being in a long term relationship means Rikka will have to "grow up," or at least that she'd be better off that way. Luckily, it instead says that it's okay to grow out of your chuunibyou...or it's okay to stay like that forever if you feel like it.

This all wraps up and defeats one impression that I never got, but that I can see one taking away from the series beforehand: That having chuunibyou and acting like a child is better than how others think and act, and that everyone else is just stuffy and not embracing their true selves. This film makes it exceedingly clear that the characters with chuunibyou, without it, and those stuck in-between are all right to act as they feel like. It's okay to change, and it's certain that you will in some form, and that's okay. In the context of a story also strictly about how it's okay not to change, that's a beautiful message. It's probably a bit of an unnecessary point to make, but to take the risk to go there in a movie that's otherwise a celebratory crowd-pleaser for fans is a move deserving of respect.

While I prefer the purer approach of the second season, which focuses almost entirely on the beauty of embracing your chuunibyou, something that's a lot more of a pressing issue (after all, no one in real life is expecting you to keep acting like you did in middle school!), this is a worthy followup and I appreciated the opportunity to sit with these characters again. The humor's on point, and it's an adorable heart-swelling ride the whole way through.

It's a joy, really.