Chuunibyou – 02

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I’m probably going to be swimming against the current with this show.

[URW]_Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai!_-_02_[720p][EB39C0D3].mkv_snapshot_00.26_[2012.10.11_23.28.11]My instant reaction after the second episode of Chuunibyou is about the same as the first: that this is a very good execution of a series that isn’t my cup of tea.  Some have compared it to Denpa Onna, a series I liked but didn’t love, but there’s one huge difference – that show had Miyu Irino as the male lead.  Among the issues I have with this series is getting past just how ridiculous Fukuyama Jun’s voice sounds coming out of Yuuta’s character design.  This is one area where KyoAni’s religious devotion to their own orthodoxy really bothers me, though it doesn’t seem to present a problem commercially if past history is any judge.

[URW]_Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai!_-_02_[720p][EB39C0D3].mkv_snapshot_02.50_[2012.10.11_23.29.26]I do see the Denpa Onna comparison, though Chuunibyou is certainly more frenetic in overall tone.  It certainly isn’t a bad series – I laughed sometimes during the episode, and while I don’t find the visuals especially stellar by KyoAni standards they’re Godly by almost anyone else’s.  I especially liked the scene where Yuuta let his inner geek escape when he saw the swag in Takanashi’s room, embarrassing him in front of lost cat seeker Tsuyuri Kumin (Asakura Azumi).  It was FukuJun’s best work in the first two episodes and gets to what should make this series appealing and only occasionally (for me) does, the struggle of the boy to escape the “Dark Flame Master” who’s actually a big part of his true nature. 

[URW]_Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai!_-_02_[720p][EB39C0D3].mkv_snapshot_03.35_[2012.10.11_23.30.11]There’s something in that which should be identifiable and resonant with anyone who is or has been a teenager, especially one with a penchant for nerdly habits.  But somehow Chuunibyou often leaves me cold, and Yuuta’s navel-gazing feels inauthentic.  There’s also a strong tendency to lapse into what feels like showing off to me – KyoAni falling back on the over-the-top cuteness that they know they do better than anyone else, and have the bank statements to prove it.  I’m not sure whether the problem is that they’re trying too hard here or not hard enough, or even if there’s any problem at all apart from my own preferences in anime.  But on balance, the central premise isn’t resonating with me in practice as well as it did on paper.  As to Rikka, I’m not quite sure what I think of her yet.  She’s the funniest thing in the series and the most irritating at the same time – I sort of like the fact that the character is completely invested in her delusional worldview, but just the same if I had her as a neighbor I’d want to move as far away as possible.  As for her big sister Touka (Sendai Eri) she comes off as pretty damn unlikeable in this episode – though she certainly has reason to be a little irritable considering who she’s living with. 

Maybe something will click in the next couple of eps, because this is a series I really want to like. It feels as if there’s something meaningful and clever at the heart of it, but right now it’s not connecting with me.  Let’s see how things look after next week.

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Guardian Enzo

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40 comments

  1. V
    Vanth
    October 11, 2012 at 3:49 pm
    Reply

    I'm totally with you on this one. I too think they're trying too hard with the 'delusional' jokes, and like you, I as well couldn't really warm up to Rikka's older sister.

    And your last line pretty much sums up my thoughts.

  2. A
    Anonymous
    October 11, 2012 at 5:34 pm
    Reply

    There's some dirt on your nose. You might want to clean it off.

  3. V
    Vanth
    October 11, 2012 at 6:01 pm
    Reply

    Oh look, a butthurt Anon. How original.

  4. V
    Vanth
    October 11, 2012 at 6:21 pm
    Reply

    Did you guys see how I shot that guy down? Please praise me and validate my existence!

  5. A
    Aquifina
    October 11, 2012 at 10:00 pm
    Reply

    Yes, you exist! Seriously, though, I have no idea what the point of that anonymous comment was.

  6. admin
    October 11, 2012 at 11:00 pm
    Reply

    I've long thought about disabling anonymous comments, but I like giving the maximum number of people the chance to participate. There are times I definitely wonder if it's worth it.

  7. A
    Aquifina
    October 11, 2012 at 5:19 pm
    Reply

    I think the older sister is obviously exasperated, and willing to engage in the slapstick violence that the series establishes as a norm, but she does give a band-aid to Yuuta after bonking him on the head with a ladle. And I get the impression she asks Yuuta to help, because she knows he's a kindred spirit of sorts for Rikka, and is the best option to do so. Also, Rikka's zanyness has to be at least tolerated by her family members–if her older sister was really mean, she'd simply trash all that stuff in her room to compel her to be normal. She may be frustrated by it, but she's willing to tolerate it, because she *does* care about her, and the antics remain harmless at the end of the day. Indeed, while Yuuta makes clear his annoyance with Rikka's antics, he's pretty tolerant of it in the larger view, walks her to school, lets her spray a squirt gun on him in his room, etc.

    Hyouka this is not–although the hamster scene reminded me of Oreki figuring out mysteries–but the second ep. makes me less fearful this will start to become a forgettable (if gorgeous and moe-laden) harem anime, with an annoyingly dense male lead at its center. There's real chemistry between the main pairing, the satire of various genres of anime definitely strikes a chord, and so far it all-in-all strikes me as moe-laden fun that's gorgeous to watch.

  8. P
    Passerby
    October 11, 2012 at 10:51 pm
    Reply

    I thought the voice recording blackmailing felt awfully convenient and awfully mean spirited (though the content of the recording made me chuckle). You need some deliberate malice to dredge up someone's past like that.

    At the same time, I can at least empathise with Touka. I think she indirectly plays the foil to not the main characters but rather Yuuta's mother. His mum did think Yuuta was cute when he was younger and left him be. He eventually grew out of it. Rikka never did and is now, frankly, dysfunctional. So we have Touka, unwillingly forced into a parental role and exasperated with how to deal with her sister. The tragedy of Touka is that she is actually feeding Rikka's delusions by opposing it. I think a lot of teenagers feel victimised at some point (or like to feel victimised, I suppose) and by embodying "the enemy" Touka validates a lot of what goes on in Rikka's head.

  9. A
    Aquifina
    October 12, 2012 at 11:00 pm
    Reply

    You're of course right–the blackmailing is cruel, according to how the world really works, or a show that follows realistic emotional registers (such as Hyouka). However, there's a certain amount of comedic violence allowed here, whether it be the slapstick violence used by both Yuuta and Touka, or her blackmailing. So I'm not sure malice is really the right way to the intent of the episode. Don't get me wrong–the older I get, the more I prefer the use of realistic emotional registers in anime, but I at least can still enjoy this kind of deliberate silliness.

  10. A
    Anonymous
    October 11, 2012 at 6:01 pm
    Reply

    I love this show; this and Mysterious Girlfriend X are my picks for best shows of the last two or three years with Hyouka getting honorable mention.

    This is funny, endearing, and over the top goofy. I watched this simply because it was Kyoani, but thought the premise looked iffy.
    Glad i watched!

    Mike

  11. H
    Highway
    October 11, 2012 at 8:35 pm
    Reply

    This show's just knocking it out of the park for me. I love all the characters they've introduced, and the thing I think I like the most is that they are all at least fairly tolerant of the central issue of the show. In fact, the least tolerant of them are Touka Takanashi and Yuuta himself (and Touka is mostly just intolerant when Rikka ends up hassling her, like bringing in a cat that she is allergic to). Everyone else we've seen seems to think that Rikka's delusions are at least mildly cool and interesting enough. Heck, Tsuyuri-senpai seems to think that both Yuuta and Rikka are amazing, and can't get enough of them, even if it means getting whacked on the noggin with a flying ladle.

    I really like the way the show is coming together. If this isn't the show made for GE, well, then it's the show that's made for me.

  12. A
    Anonymous
    October 11, 2012 at 9:29 pm
    Reply

    One thing for sure
    This shows is very entertaining and the concept of chuunibyou is very interesting
    And I prefer not to compare the practice with the paper

  13. P
    Passerby
    October 11, 2012 at 10:33 pm
    Reply

    You lost me a bit there in the first paragraph (technically the second, I suppose) with your comment about Fukuyama Jun. What does he have to do with the Kyoani orthodoxy? Sorry if I come off as slow; I just need this explained to me a bit.

  14. admin
    October 11, 2012 at 11:09 pm
    Reply

    They tend to be very resistant to change, and to play it safe. They choose seiyuu they know, directors and writers and character designers who work in house, and themes that are unlikely to annoy their BD-buying fanbase. They did go out and get some new female seiyuu for this series, but FukuJun playing a 16 year-old (especially one who looks 12 in that KyoAni way), for me, is completely silly. He sounds so preposterous that he undercuts any authenticity the MC might have for me.

    Someone mentioned that Sakurai Takahiro said (I think about Sukitte) that he was embarrassed to be playing a kid because he knows he's way too old and sounds that way. He's right but he shouldn't be embarrassed, Zexcs should be – and so should KyoAni here. This certainly isn't a problem they're alone in perpetuating but their unwillingness to go outside the usual suspects is among the most rigid. I understand not everyone cares about seiyuu as much as I do, and the ones that do usually only care about the girls – but we're all wired how we're wired, and this really detrimentally impacts the viewing experience of Chuunibyou for me.

  15. D
    Doddle God
    October 11, 2012 at 11:48 pm
    Reply

    So Enzo, not trying to question on this "FukuJun" playing a 16-year-old that looks like 12-year-old since I generally find it damn silly for grown-ups to trying to play kiddies -sigh, but you know, about 99% of kiddies ARE PLAYED by grown-ups, some over 30+ year olds and most repeated offenders are WOMEN (even KanaHana is 23-year-old and how long can she play 13-year olds? And KanaHana is one of the younger ones and that's saying something).

    Anyway, I digress, if you think this "FukuJun" playing a kiddie is preposterous, then what do you think about him playing a kiddie panda in Polar bear Cafe with a cute voice?? …now I like Polar Bear Cafe show very much, so I try to not think about that sort of things, but… I shudder to imagine the recording sessions.

  16. admin
    October 12, 2012 at 12:02 am
    Reply

    You're missing my point. Shirokuma Café is a very silly (and funny) comedy. I don't think when the main characters are zoo animals we need to worry too much about realism, but that's me. For comedic effect, FukuJun is great.

    The point isn't the age – it's how old the actor sounds. KanaHana can convincingly play a 13 year-old girl (though not as convincingly as a 13 year-old girl). Some women can play teenaged boys with modest authenticity, and some guys in their 20s can. Almost no guys in FukuJun's generation can, yet the industry keeps hauling them out in these roles because it's easier that way.

    I would certainly prefer seeing age-appropriate actors playing these roles, as you see in E7 and Hourou Musuko, and most theatrical films (I can't even imagine Ame to Yuki with adults in those roles). Recognizing that studios will rarely go the extra mile to do that, I would at least prefer a younger adult man or a female seiyuu (like Paku Romi, for example) who can play boys convincingly. Getting old men like FukuJun or Sakuerai Takahiro or Hiro Hiro to do so undermines any attempt to have the character taken seriously (though admittedly that's rarely an issue in Hiro Hiro's case)

  17. P
    Passerby
    October 12, 2012 at 12:58 am
    Reply

    Hmm, I can't say I had any problem with Fukuyama Jun's performance for this part. I personally think his pitch was pretty good for an adolescent part, especially if we take into account that at that age boys tend to have a range. I may just not have the same ear for this sort of thing, though.

    I don't think Kyoto Animation has ever used Fukuyama Jun in any great capacity, so it was actually a fairly refreshing take on a Kyoto Animation male lead. I think the casting was quite appropriate; Fukuyama Jun has experience in both silly and melodramatic roles and when called off to do both he excels at the contrast.

    Also, at the risk of sounding mainstream (oh no!), I'll step up and balance the bill a bit for Kyoto Animation.

    I think one of Kyoto Animation's more commendable traits is their fostering of new talent. There are names I don't recognise in pretty much every show they do. Simply dismissing the fresh cast they bring in is unfairly weighted at best and a rhetorical fallacy at worst.

    As for their in-house tendencies, are you really counting that against Kyoto Animation. I, of course, don't know about your experiences with such things but for the Japanese it seems that quality control is all about doing things in-house. Consider their game studios. In the West, if you want a good game you use the Unreal engine. In Japan, you design your own engine in-house from scratch. Unreal is by far the market leader in technical quality. Yet Japanese gaming studios (let's just pick a big one of a hat, like Square-Enix) invariable want to make their own. It takes a lot of money to even just match Unreal's standard–certainly more than just acquiring an Unreal license but they believe in doing things right by doing it themselves.

    As for "themes that are unlikely to annoy their BD-buying fanbase"–I'm not sure how to comment on this without sounding offensive. If you're saying that they have a market demographic then that's so generic across all industries that I can't really tell what you're trying to say. If you're saying that it's the same fare every show then it's a point fairly easily rebutted with simple examples like the unusually introspective Hyouka, the absurdist comedy Nichijou, or the infamous and disastrously experimental Endless Eight arc of Haruhi.

    I have no doubt that their works do not have universal appeal–and by all accounts you mainly fall outside their demograph. But I think an objective argument can certainly be made about what they do right.

  18. A
    Anonymous
    October 11, 2012 at 11:14 pm
    Reply

    I'm not totally sold on the characters either, but I do think Chuunibyou will probably become a household KyoAni title at this rate. Like you mentioned in your post, it resonates with anyone who's ever been a teenager, and I've noticed that even though it's only been two weeks, the term 'Chuunibyou' is already commonly being used to describe adolescent delusions. It's filling a lexical gap we didn't realise we even had.

  19. admin
    October 11, 2012 at 11:48 pm
    Reply

    Well, that might be because the term already existed even before the novels (which themselves have existed several years).

    I have no doubt it will sell, though if not inverse, I think the relationship between quality and sales in anime is at least indirect. So far it's lagging Hyouka (which is averaging about 9.5K) by quite a bit in stalker points, but we'll see.

  20. A
    Anonymous
    October 12, 2012 at 2:26 am
    Reply

    I'm aware the word has been around in Japan for a while, but it's pretty much the first time it's become widely known in the English-speaking fandom. Before Chuunibyou, we never really had a word that captured the same effect.

    As for Hyouka, I don't think it's quite right to compare the two series too much. They were obviously created with very different intentions in mind. I agree with you that the relationship between quality and sales is moot.

  21. S
    SQA
    October 12, 2012 at 12:21 am
    Reply

    This is definitely one of those series that has an audience, a fairly big one, but if it's not yours then you're going to be left a bit dry. It's not bad, but a lot of it doesn't necessarily click with me. Though I'll keep watching because some of the jokes just connect well. (Plus, got to love those visuals) So, you're not alone, but it's not quite a "eh, I'm bored" watch. It's just not an "out of the ballpark" series for me; compare it against "Humanity has Declined" where I was getting fidgety for the next episodes.

    On the Denpa Onna similarities, I think people are taking it too far. I'll point straight out that I adore Denpa Onna like few other series, but Denpa Onna is more an exploration of youth (via the SHAFT stylings) and more like K-Pax (the American Movie) than pretty much any other anime works. Erio, in Denpa Onna, has clearly had something go wrong with her head but she's hasn't completely lost it. So it's much more of a story of adjusting back to society. With Chuunibyou, Rikka is clearly a normal girl with an overactive imagination and is a bit obsessive about it. Chunnibyou is much more a comedy with light romance while Denpa Onna falls closer to a "healing" anime approach to high school (with light harem hijinks).

    It's a bit how Black Lagoon and Jormungand are totally different series in style, storytelling and structure, but everyone references them together because Black Lagoon was the only thing that was in the same ballpark. So, Chuunibyou is quite a different series, and I hope it goes well. I am enjoying though not adoring it.

  22. S
    SQA
    October 12, 2012 at 12:22 am
    Reply

    And KyoAni really needs to eventually do a series with actual action shots. They looked REALLY good in ep 2.

  23. P
    Passerby
    October 12, 2012 at 1:03 am
    Reply

    Alas, I think Kyoto Animation's forte has always been, relatively speaking, comedy (compare Fumoffu to Second Raid, Munto to Everything Else). If anything can be considered "showing off" I think it'd be their action sequences (like the one in this episode, or the chase scene in Nichijou).

  24. K
    Kim
    October 12, 2012 at 1:55 am
    Reply

    If these adult males didn't voice teenagers they'd be out of a job real quick considering where the majority of anime series take place.

    I am not watching this series and really have no interest but personally I never had a problem with Jun Fukuyama as a teenager (or Sakurai Takahiro for that matter).

  25. B
    Beckett
    October 12, 2012 at 3:28 am
    Reply

    This show is not giving me the same warm fuzzies that Hyouka did, but I think it's solid. I enjoy KyoAni works a little too much though so I may be a biased source.

    I like the sister, as the oldest of 3 in my family I can feel her exasperation lol.

  26. A
    Anonymous
    October 12, 2012 at 3:41 am
    Reply

    I'll be perfectly honest, I really enjoyed this episode, whats not your cup of tea is totally mine, since I like the sort of slapstick nature the series has, if we get something deeper under all this I'd be thrilled, if not, I'd be completely cool with it.

    I should really get a profile here or something…

  27. M
    Margot
    October 12, 2012 at 4:33 am
    Reply

    I can't agree with your belief that KyoAni is resistant to change. In fact, they try something new pretty much every show. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't (Nichijou), and with Chuuni they are doing things a bit differently, such as playing up the slapstick and using a new way of colouring the animation cells. I don't think it's fair to dismiss beautiful animation as just "showing off", because frankly this medium is built around visual appeal, it's a key foundation in the anime structure.

    The thing with Chuu2 is that is VERY VERY relateable to a lot of people. We were all stupid kids once upon a time and did silly uncool things in our youth. This show so far has managed to perfectly capture that gleeful yet painful cringe factor, and it's doing a great job of parodying the entire middle-school second-year syndrome which is a real thing. If you're curious, there's two other types of Chuunibyou: The hipster who gets interested in obscure stuff just to seem more individual, and the fake-tough guy who plays at being a cool delinquent. Occult-style Chuunis are the third pillar, and they themselves have a lot of connection to Japan's postwar cultural growth. You may be familiar with the whole Yamato Nadeshiko, or strong, quiet, demure and attactive traditional Japanese beauty, as a concept. Submissive, calm, in control of the family's affairs? Well thanks to the clash of western culture and a mix of rebellion and influence, Sukeban, or female delinquents came into existence. Then when the market grew further there was even more female empowerment with various flashy fashion trends spreading like wildfire on the pages of magazines like EGG and so forth. This led to the Gyaru culture of independent, flashy females who then influenced other parts of society. This is what led to all the subcultures that currently fill Japan. Then ironically all the 80s and 90s gyaru grew up and are flashy businesswomen who have no time or wish to raise a family!

    Anyway, the point is that in post-war Japan (and also pre-war, look up the Edo nobles and their clothes sometime), Fashion, culture, the way you dress and the way you interact with the world are symbols of rebellion. And not just in the individuality style of the west, in Japan it really does make you special and different, or at least it did for the Sukeban, the Gyaru, and so forth. When a Chuunibyou is created, it's a response to idea of the group and how that impacts on individuality. A naive teenager who wants to hang on to their childlike sense of self in a sea of uniforms, and does so not just by changing their look but by turning themselves into an exaggerated character, one drawn from the manga they read or the shows they watch. It's playing a role, and what KyoAni have done with their exaggerated effects and flashy embellishments is so, so, so true to the chuunibyou itself. It, as a concept is an embodiment of fantasy, escapism, and the freedom to be something larger-than-life.

    It's a wonderful, embarrassing, glorious horrible thing to see.

    And Kyoto Animation are doing it justice.

  28. h
    hoiut
    October 12, 2012 at 8:16 am
    Reply

    "It's a wonderful, embarrassing, glorious horrible thing to see."

    Oh my, agreed to the hilt on that one. Certainly, KyoAni was the right match for this show. Can't imagine some other big names quite pulling it off with the same intimate flourish.

  29. admin
    October 12, 2012 at 12:43 pm
    Reply

    I'm too exhausted to respond to your entire post, but the showing off reference wasn't to the visuals at all (I can't imagine you read any of my Hyouka posts if you thought it was). It's more the preciousness of the tone.

  30. A
    Aquifina
    October 14, 2012 at 3:26 am
    Reply

    Margot, Thanks for the useful comment on cultural context, which is hard for a US-based viewer to fully comprehend. If you have the time, I do have a question you might be able to answer for curiosity's sake–is there a subculture in Japan concerning firearms, and how does such a thing exist? From what I gather, private firearm ownership in Japan is all but nonexistent, unlike, let's say, the rural US, where it's conceivable to receive a weapon as a bonus for opening a checking account, but I've seen enough references to guns in anime (including Chuunibyou ep. 2) to get the feeling that at least some Japanese boys/young men/adult men [?] are really into firearms. If that's the case, how do they sustain that interest–models? Air guns? Magazines with detailed diagrams? And is there some kind of cultural rebellion going on here against Japan's pacifist constitution and cultural disapproval of gun violence, akin to the subcultures you reference in the post?

  31. K
    Kinny Riddle
    October 12, 2012 at 12:43 pm
    Reply

    I think you might be a bit unfair about Kyo-Ani being resistant to change simply because it's Fukuyama Jun, a "old" name, being chosen as the lead role. Yet you make no mention about Uchida Maaya as Rikka, or a whole slew of unknowns in Nichijou, or that the K-ON girls were virtually anonymous before Kyo-Ani cast them.

    Concerning your gripe about Fukuyama Jun being tasked with playing a high school kid, for starters, he is probably just about the only male seiyuu with the GAR to play Yuuta's delusional alter-ego Dark Flame Master and yet sound convincing and funny at the same time. (Watch the YouTube LITE Episode 3 http://youtu.be/lrcy69XOY7c)

    Second, I noticed turnover of female seiyuus is far larger than male seiyuus, especially in recent years. Maybe it's something to do with the moe and idol seiyuu boom, and the industry feels its main target demographic needs to be satiated with new "cuter voiced" newcomers. OTOH, the Fuujoshi seems to be happy with their batch of male seiyuus.

    This might explain somewhat how Kyo-Ani (or any other studio for that matter) is able to cast newcomers to their female lead roles, but are left with the usual names for the male roles.

  32. admin
    October 12, 2012 at 2:51 pm
    Reply

    Yet you make no mention about Uchida Maaya as Rikka

    They did go out and get some new female seiyuu for this series

  33. A
    Anonymous
    October 12, 2012 at 6:48 pm
    Reply

    About this whole "voice not fitting the bill for certain age groups", although i see where enzo is coming from, i dont think that its absolutely correct to say that older seiyuus dont really make convincing teenagers; truth be told, when going through puberty, men's voices develop an extreme amount of bass that can be comparative to an adults at just the age of 15 since we are talking about realism here. People usually noted that i sounded like an adult when i was only 14 so yea i dont think saying that older seiyuus have trouble playing convincing teenagers is absolutely correct because at the end of the day, the average 16 year old boy who has gone thru puberty sounds no different from a 25-30 old man. In regards to females, their voices dont change that dramatically during puberty so it is easier for them to sound more convincing as a younger female characters.

    I do agree that when the character the seiyuu is playing is like a 12-13 year-old boy and he is being played by a 30 year old man who is making no effort to sound that way, that it can be distracting and that it would be more believable to cast a younger voice actor. I personally hate when female seiyuus voice 15 to 16 year old male character because that is not convincing at all to me; most males DO NOT sound so high-pitched around that age.

    I am one of those who actually preferred the fullmetal alchemist dub (Yes, i do believe its superior to the japanese dub…uhm ENVY's eng dub voice actor is like sooooo BOSS!!!) because ed sounded more like his age, although i have nothing against Romi Paku; regardless of the way i felt about her voice in regards to ed, she has acting chops and delivered the emotions ed experienced through the show very convincingly. Voice acting is more than just the way the character sounds…its also about how well-acted they are..i hope people do not forget that. All in all this is another well-written blog of this ep enzo and you state your opinions very professionally; as per usual..here's to hoping the show actually takes of into some interesting places

  34. P
    Passerby
    October 13, 2012 at 1:02 am
    Reply

    I will note, Enzo, that in your writeup itself you made no mention of new seiyuus, just references to Fukuyama Jun as an example of the Kyoani orthodoxy. This may not have been your intention, but what that paragraph looks like is a big strawman, and can definitely give people the impression of bias.

  35. admin
    October 13, 2012 at 1:48 am
    Reply

    Whatever makes you happy…

  36. K
    Kaioshin Sama
    October 12, 2012 at 6:52 pm
    Reply

    I personally come from far outside the line of what one could consider the Kyoani fandom (and yes they do have their own fandom basically because of the things Enzo mentions about certain expectations that they usually meet), but I actually found this pretty watchable which is more than I can say for anything they've done since probably Haruhi.

    I've always found Kyoani has had a habit of coming off as more than a little pretentious when it comes to their franchises that I find to be pretty much specifically targeted at a particular crowd with particular interests with very little content that I think should be considered especially praise worthy by my own personal standards save for their animation prowess. Maybe it's not them though and just how the fanbase has historically behaved towards dissidents and IMO overstated the literary merits and "genius" of their shows but I've always found Kyoani shows to carry a pretty insufferable atmosphere and that the writers seem to be overconfident in their material at times for something that if I'm being honest doesn't look to have a universal appeal and as a result have usually dropped their shows pretty early on.

    Anyway I digress, for a change it feels like none of the above is really the case (at least so far) and that Kyoani are simply embracing the concept of mindless fun first here with no aura of pretension or blatant pandering attached and for whatever reason this kind of just makes things work a little better for me with this one. That and I can go on the internet these days and breath without immediately having whatever the latest Kyoani series is crammed down my throat and told that I HAVE To love it or my opinion is meaningless. It might seem silly, but people have no die how much of a difference that makes in their shows being approachable and me wanting to actually bother with them and to discuss them when it feels like I'm allowed to have my own opinion on them that isn't 100% glowing and full of praise.

    Again though returning to the show itself, it's content is nothing that I feel especially sets the world on fire, but it's not taking itself too seriously and just seems to flow better than their usual comedy fare which I've felt tended to be broken up too much into unrelated skits that either you get or don't and move on to the next. This is as many people have already said is generally relatable and focused enough on it's concept of delusional teenagers to just sort of click a little better for someone like me that is again not immediately pre-disposed to loving everything the studio puts out and in fact has a very poor history with it and it's fanbase. That said I'm not sure where I'll be with it a few episodes from now as I find it very comparable to another show I tried in Haganai which started amusingly enough but quickly wore out it's welcome as the concept of eccentric characters having crazy fantasies about themselves and each other grew stale. I'm not sure how long Rikka and her delusional fantasies, her sassy sister, and Yuuta's lusty fantasies surrounding his classmates are going to be able to maintain my interest, but this as I said is about the best Kyoani has done by me in ages and the fact that I'm even finding it watchable at all is something I can add to the lists of triumphs that this season has had in spades so far.

  37. P
    Passerby
    October 13, 2012 at 1:10 am
    Reply

    Not to get in the way of your self-apologia, but let's talk Hyouka. It'd be fun.

    Or maybe not, because it'd be hijacking this little forum. But Enzo says some good things about it, and you two may be similar.

  38. admin
    October 13, 2012 at 1:50 am
    Reply

    It's funny you should mention that, because it still feels very much to me as if the reflexive vitriol against any statement that dares to criticize KyoAni still very much exists, and as it applies to Chuuibyou too. Just my two cents.

  39. K
    Kaioshin Sama
    October 13, 2012 at 4:51 am
    Reply

    lol I at least don't have to listen to how much this or that series would be that much better if Kyoani did it as much anymore. If you think Little Busters is the only case it used to happen a lot more often and there wasn't nearly as much of a push back. There also seems to be more of a general respect amongst the Kyoani followers for the fact that series not by Kyoto Animation are perfectly capable of being well animated and that not all anime need or for that matter oought to be and look like precisely like those produced by Kyoto Animation. If that were the case obviously anime would stagnate rather quickly creatively, but I used to see a lot of these sorts of arguments being presented a lot more proactively.

    The fact that I'm even able to have this conversation I think proves that. I am at least able to have a real discussion about their shows nowadays.

  40. A
    Anonymous
    October 13, 2012 at 6:53 am
    Reply

    As fun as this show is (chuunibyou) i wish kyoani would branch out and do other projects; their superb animation is wasted on so many of their boring moe-blob shoes that its kind of infuriating. I truly believe that technically speaking; in terms of animation, no other japanese animating company matches them (ok so production i.g and bones are also contenders for that glory); they have a certain grasp of fluidity and detail that is truly unique to them; almost like a japanese disney film. They need to do something else like continue adapting fullmetal panic or work on something more serious.

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