Chuunibyou – 11

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It seems only fitting that there’s no middle path to be found in Chuunibyou.

[URW]_Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai!_-_11_[720p][C31B6869].mkv_snapshot_00.19_[2012.12.16_09.36.59]It would be wrong of me to criticize this episode of Chuunibyou for being heavy-handed, because this series has never postured towards having a light touch in anything it does.  When it was a comedy it was balls-to-the-wall insane, when it was a romance it was full of “I love you” confessions and on-stage ones, and when it became a drama it fell back on dead parents and sad songs sung by bonfires.  Chuunibyou does everything it does the fullest, without reservations, burning itself out in one cour like a meteor streaking across my computer screen.

[URW]_Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai!_-_11_[720p][C31B6869].mkv_snapshot_00.24_[2012.12.16_09.37.04]So now as it enters its final phase, the inevitable tallying up of just what chuunibyou stands for and the role it should play in life, it’s only right that we should see everything play out in black and white.  Just as Chuunibyou only has one gear, when Rikka turns the “small-c chuunibyou” off the tap doesn’t even drip – when that contact lens comes out, she’s as straight as an arrow.  This is presented in what I what normally call overly sentimental terms, complete with long emotional outbursts from Dekomori, soaring sting soundtracks and Nibutani assuming a sort of “wise elder” role more or less out of nowhere – but I don’t think any other terms would have suited the series.  That’s just how large-C Chuunibyou rolls.

[URW]_Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai!_-_11_[720p][C31B6869].mkv_snapshot_00.55_[2012.12.16_09.37.35]This episode, for certain, is where the show bangs its head against reality, hard.  The truth is that the imagination isn’t something that can be turned on and off like a faucet – not in a 50 year-old salaryman or grandmother, and certainly not in a 16 year-old high school student.  Nor should it be, which is rather the point – but again, both the show’s nature and its premise make a middle-ground an elusive goal.  The circumstances surrounding Rikka’s father make for quite the dilemma, both for her and perhaps even more for Yuuta.  He’s the one trying to do right by her, to support her – and after all, she’s done what he’s more or less been pushing her to do since day one.  And no matter what your opinion of chuunibyou is, I don’t think it’s right or healthy that Rikka should deny her father’s passing – one way or the other, she needs to accept it before she can move on.  So when she told Yuuta her mother asked her to visit his grave, my instant reaction was that no matter what else you believe, that’s something she should do.  It’s only right.

[URW]_Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai!_-_11_[720p][C31B6869].mkv_snapshot_04.15_[2012.12.16_09.40.47]The dilemma, of course, is that Yuuta – and we – can see that a certain light has gone out in Rikka along with the Tyrant’s Eye.  Whether it’s the acceptance of the harsh reality of her family situation or the loss of the fun crutch she’s been leaning on, she’s definitely diminished in spirit – and that’s hard on Yuuta too, who blames himself for it even as he intellectually defends it.  That’s the hard question – is this diminishment of spirit an inevitable part of growing up, a compromise we make to enter the world of adulthood?  In truth I do think a middle-ground exists.  I watch anime and read “Game of Thrones”, but I don’t role-play fantasy scenarios under the professed belief that they’re actually true.  And more straight-laced adults than me watch TV dramas or read romance novels and exercise their fantasy life in their own way.  Life has to be bigger than what we see in front of us, or we go crazy – it’s the blessing and curse of being human, the product of the imagination that evolution or God or whatever you choose to believe has bestowed upon the human race.

[URW]_Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai!_-_11_[720p][C31B6869].mkv_snapshot_04.54_[2012.12.16_09.41.26]But how do you explain that to a confused first-year high-schooler who’s just given up a fantasy alter-ego she relied on for years?  In many ways Yuuta, as someone who’s made a similar journey, is better equipped to be Rikka’s spirit guide than most – but he’s a kid too.  I’m not wholly on-board with the use of Dekomori as the major dramatic device to try and nudge this plot forward, because she’s such an absurd character that it’s hard to see her desperate flailing to keep Rikka from growing up as anything other than pathetic and a bit of a distraction.  But I do like the fact that Chuunibyou is tackling this head-on, and I remain curious as to how it will resolve its position in the end. 

[URW]_Chuunibyou_demo_Koi_ga_Shitai!_-_11_[720p][C31B6869].mkv_snapshot_05.31_[2012.12.16_09.50.57]I think the most elegant and subtle scenes in the episode – though admittedly a bit melodramatic – were Touka’s apology to Yuuta and Rikka and Yuuta packing up her room in preparation for her mother’s arrival.  Rikka says “I don’t know what I can and can’t keep”, and that line as much as any in the series reaches a kind of profundity.  It sums up the nature of the chuunibyou paradox as well as it possibly can be in a single sentence – that’s the question we all wrestle with at one time or another (and maybe another) time in our lives.  I suppose the answer is different for everyone – as for Rikka and  Chuunibyou, I’m hopeful that it can draft one that escapes the traps of sentimentality and predictability and sheds real light on the experience.  Based on the first 11 episodes, I’m cautiously optimistic.

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10 comments

  1. W
    Wally
    December 16, 2012 at 2:16 am
    Reply

    Well on the other hand, It would be "totally right" of me to criticize this episode of Chuunibyou for being full of drama queens Hyperventilating. Forced melodrama? check.
    Tear-shouting fits? check.
    Laughable teenage angst that only the more mediocre Japanese anime can do? check.
    the worst of all, turning the show into this without much development, if at all as in a flip of coin? check.
    Good god. It's as if the world just ended and every puppies and kittens were slowly needled to death, the way these drama queens Hyperventilating. Why do these Japanese anime writers FEEL they must do these fake-out teary hissy-fitful of shouting of episode for every darn comedy show is beyond me. It's freaking obligatory these day, it seems. Could it be that because japanese society being so reserved and they just had to let some steam out indirectly by shouting&bawling like this?

  2. A
    Anonymous
    December 16, 2012 at 2:55 am
    Reply

    Well, its more or less always been that way in Japanese anime. You'll always have your shows like Chunnibyou where they go all out and then you'll have those excellent shows shows like Shin Sekai Yori, where the mood can be overwhelming, but knows restraint and how seriously it should take itself.

  3. A
    Anonymous
    December 16, 2012 at 2:58 am
    Reply

    With Chunnibyou, it more or less has always been an all out effort on the overwhelming front and it is sticking to it, which makes it better then most shows of its ilk. I'm under no illusion that this is an excellent show, but I do think it is a show that deserves some praise.

  4. M
    Micah
    December 16, 2012 at 4:15 am
    Reply

    Go back to /a/, Wally

    I'm still holding out for a decent ending, and I would be lying if I said I kept a straight face during the concluding scene.

    What I'm mostly curious about is how long GE mulled over this controversial episode and post since it's Saturday evening here in the United States.

  5. admin
    December 16, 2012 at 8:43 am
    Reply

    Yeah, the food poisoning, 15 other shows I blog and finals on Friday had nothing to do with it.

  6. M
    Micah
    December 16, 2012 at 10:24 am
    Reply

    Just saying, you chose to post your regular line-up of shows on and around Friday with Chuunibyou being the only significant delay. I'm sure that you have an image that you like to maintain when faced with a tight rope episode like this one.

  7. admin
    December 16, 2012 at 11:23 am
    Reply

    Seriously, you really need to get a life.

  8. T
    Thatguy3331
    December 16, 2012 at 4:46 am
    Reply

    I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought they were sort of pushing it by using Dekomori as a means to exert more drama, but I'd be lying if I said I kept a straight face through out the episode. The main focus here is Rikka getting used to reality and what that finally means for her, I thought that portion of it was rather nice and I can't wait to see its conclusion.

    Its kind of hard for me to juggle though which one is better in Kyoani works this year: this or Hyouka. Chuu2 certianly is more direct in its character momments and is more all over the place, however I really liked Hyouka's subtly especially in the second half of the series.

  9. admin
    December 16, 2012 at 8:44 am
    Reply

    I don't know, maybe I'm guilty of lowering my standards a bit too much with an ep like this one. But Chuunibyou is what it is, you know? I'm not going to get mad at a fish because it can't drive a car.

    But that said, Hyouka >>>>> Chuunibyou. Sorry, but in my book that's t-bone and chuck steak.

  10. H
    Highway
    December 16, 2012 at 10:30 pm
    Reply

    My impression was that the driving force for Rikka's full shutoff of everything chuunibyou was Yuuta. Every time she questioned what she should do, every time she wondered if being amazed or fun or if she could keep something cool, she looked to Yuuta for guidance, and every time he took it in the direction of seriousness. Even as he started to realize that it was too much, that she was losing what was a large part of herself, he still couldn't make a different choice. Whether it was because he felt an obligation to Touka, or because he thought it was better for Rikka (something he obviously came to realize was not true), he still made those choices with Rikka's trust.

    I think it comes down to Yuuta still isn't sure what kind of balance there should be between living one way or the other, while everyone else seems to be able to make that correct assessment (even Sanae, whose home life seems very ordinary girl-ish).

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