Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai Ren – 03
Rikka practices for the 2014 SaiMoe tournament…
I guess you need a new character in a second season of a show? That’s generally what happens, but the quality of those characters is sometimes up for debate. So how was the new addition to Chu2koi this week?
Magical Girl Introduction
The store-bought wand takes away, I think.
As D-Lan pointed out from last week, we had a stalker stalking the stalkers, and this time she actually shows up at school. Yes, she was meeting Rikka last week, but this week, we finally meet Satone Shichimiya (voiced by Juri Nagatsuma, who also did Hazuki in Koe de Oshigoto), the girl who inspired Yuuta’s Chuunibyou back in middle school. And Satone really does have it bad, arguably as far gone as Rikka (or maybe even more) and calling herself ‘Sophia-chan, the Magical Devil Girl’.
Mahou Shoujo Cosplay Interruptus
So of course when Satone crashes Rikka and Yuuta’s school and calls out Rikka over the PA, she and Rikka immediately get into a battle which is evenly matched. Another good battle from KyoAni, this one ends in a draw when Yuuta interrupts them. And of course, she lives just upstairs from Yuuta and Rikka, in Rikka’s old apartment (convenient coincidence that…). And her parents work late so she comes over for dinner and gets the full story behind Rikka and Yuuta.
Threat or Catalyst?
Warning! Danger Will Robinson! Overload Imminent!
So is Satone a threat to Rikka and Yuuta’s relationship? Or is she someone who will push them closer? Despite Rikka’s worries about her, the real result seems to be the latter. Satone seems to support Rikka going out with Yuuta, and even supports Rikka’s persona. In short, it seems like she’s more interested in having a friend with chuunibyou than an enemy. She even teaches Rikka and Yuuta a new trick (her old trick with Yuuta) about touching noses. And she gets him to ‘revise their contract’, with Yuuta promising Rikka that he won’t get close to any other girls but her.
d’awwwwwww
But is Yuuta starting to feel some pressure to be even closer to Rikka? He certainly had a nice dream about her, and even if he tries to deny that’s what he wants to do, I’m sure part of him does want to do that. See his blushing when he nuzzles noses with Rikka? His happiness at that? He really does want to get closer to her. Of course, I doubt this anime will take it too far, I’ll even be surprised if there’s a kiss between the two of them this season.
This could have gotten a lot more embarrassing with Rikka in his room…
A feeling of dread, huh? Are they going to have something bad happen with these kids? It’s hard to imagine what it is, but Shinka’s sure going on the full court press to find something out. And can Kumin actually get a power up sometime and be more of a chuunibyou friend? Or will she always just kind of be that extra person hanging out and having fun?
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
Man will it be something if the production staff had the balls to allow Yuuta and Rikka take their relationship to THAT level. Hey anime, Teenage couples having sex is a normal thing. I mean chu2koi seems to have a sort of confidence about it so who knows; perhaps they might go that far and the anime fandom will freak out
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t know if their relationship will actually progress that far in the time span of the show, so the question of whether they’d show it or not isn’t going to come up. I do kind of wish there was maybe a bit more of a continuum to teenage intimacy in anime, tho. Too often it’s a binary jump from first kissing to all the way. Two recent shows seem to have broken this a little, tho: White Album 2, with Haruki and Setsuna (and then went back to immediately in the sack with Haruki and Kazusa, although that might be excusable), and Sakura Trick with Haruka and Yuu making out.
I think it would be good if there were some obvious second base / third base progression between Yuuta and Rikka before “close the door and hit a home run.”
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
Exactly; i mean its cute and all when anime makes its characters all modest about love and stuff but every now and then id like a romcom to portray a teenage relationship just a bit more realistically with the continuum one would expect from a teenage romance. I think that’s what this season of chu2koi plans to explore tho so im down to see what kyoani is planning with this season’s run.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
The level of chuuni Rikka would achieve at third base would be of such potential embarrassment, I couldn’t even gauge the moe scale probabilities.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
If both people aren’t into the roleplaying, it can really kill the mood…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
With Rikka that would be quite the feat to keep up….
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I can only imagine what doing the hanky-panky would be like in their heads. Will they be shouting secret moves and charging up beams?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Well, she’s already in the lead for telling Yuuta that she wants to “give rise” the the Black Flame Dragon….
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Just imagining that makes me want to facepalm and blush at the same time.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
…or make fan work…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I think KyoAnim would be more concerned with the Broadcast Act freakin’ out. They have just as many dogmatic watchdog groups as the States have, and are probably just as boorish.
“Here in the US, we are so schizoid and deeply opposed to government censorship that we insist on having unaccountable private parties to do it instead.”
— Bill Cole
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
We want H-scene! We want H-scene! HCGS! HCGS!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
A petition will be needed to do so. Hehehe…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Saturn Girl is a bit of both opportunist and threat. She observes that Rikka and Yuuta are a real deal, but methinks she is willing to see it fall apart a bit, and come in like a kite (not the thing you play with on a windy day, mind you).
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 110 comments
well at least now meet red hair girl yet oh chuu-level between her & rika yea it more to come.
do we really need another jun fuku cross-dress give MM! is one thing yet other series aka green TRAP from ixion but this just for the chuu ha fun.
& oh nose to nose contact now that something you don’t see everyday.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
All they need to do is get a few mm closer.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Nose nuzzling is something that carries a different level of intimacy than kissing. It’s something a lot like Rikka and Yuuta’s pinky-holding: It has extra meaning because it’s something more rare, even if it’s objectively less contact. This is somewhat diminished by the fact that Yuuta and Satone also did it, but it’s something that Yuuta is comfortable with, where he wouldn’t be comfortable actually kissing Rikka.
I would bet that that’s how they’ll have their first kiss, tho, when someone misses, whether on purpose or a true accident. Although I’d just *squee* in delight if it was a conscious choice, that while they were touching noses they both just turned so slightly and went for a real sincere loving kiss. (don’t try to imagine a 43 year old man going “*squee!!!!*”, you probably wouldn’t like the mental image. Although skylion has probably already experienced this. 😉 ).
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
If one of them misses, they’ll probably just head-butt. And then KyoAni will laugh it off.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Actually, speaking from experience, nose nuzzling is not something you can go into haphazardly. You pay more attention than you do with a kiss, cause it really hurts more to squash your nose. And you don’t want to get her nose in your eye or anything.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
If you love someone, you’ll take a nose to the eye.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
That’s why you go megane.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
But you’d prefer not to. A little bit of attention goes a long way.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
That may be for you. But it’s not like Yuuta and Rikka are experience in any way.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
As if this show doesn’t have enough of the cute element already.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Tell you what, If I go squee for the first kiss, I’ll re-enact it on video and post it!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Ahhh!! It burns!!!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Crosses, holy water, sunlight, middle aged man squee. I’m armed.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, that’s really good information to have.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Which subtitles do you like for watching Chuunibyou?
Personally, I prefer the subtitles by either the Coomisubs or UTW group. The only downside is that you have to download direct, and there are often RL delays.
Crunchyroll subs are the fastest, but their wording just isn’t as nice as the 2 above groups.
What does everyone think?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t mind Crunchyroll’s subs, that’s where I watch the show first. My second / third go through are generally with the FFF / UTW version because it’s easier to pause and skip around and that’s when I’m writing my article and taking screenshots.
I don’t really know if there’s much quality gap between CR and the major sub groups. There are definitely different metaphors used, but that’s just stylistic choice most of the time. I will say that I certainly wish CR would get a more interesting font…
And let’s not go into the horror that is the signs on the Wake Up Girls! episode this week on CR. I’m guessing that they just don’t have the control over where the lines go.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
GOMG yes, I posted to my G+ page about the state of WUG typesetting this week.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think it really might be beyond their control as to what they can actually do with the lines, beyond a factor of time and effort. It’s possible that the subtitling routines built into their player are just not that flexible.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Yes! WUG was horrendous. You know you’re doing something wrong when you run out of space for dialogue due to signs and have to shove it smack dab in the center of the screen. Really, perhaps some of the fansubbers should get jobs at CR and help them out.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I feel the same way you do about CR, with the additional gripe that the typesetting and timing have been off for the entire current run.
I have a preference for UTW, as I feel Commie will just troll sub me for gits and shiggles, and who has the time really.
For those interested in pure idiocy, Third Place subs are doing a complete joke/sh!t sub track. It rather wallows well and long in the 4chan /a/ channel triune of foul language/foul taste/foul mood, but can be quite inspired at times.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I am never interested in joke tracks. Ever. I have very limited patience for even trolling. I have much better things to do than suffer other people being unpleasant.
Since we’re talking about it, I’d like to give a special shoutout to Anime-Koi for doing a really good job with their subs and especially their timing. I know it’s hard work, but doing things like splitting lines to sync more with what’s being said just makes the experience better. If A-K is doing a show, I’ll prefer their subs.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I agree with you on A-K. I think they are doing more CR edits this season that original translation, but seeing as how they have done smashing with timing and fonts, they do earn a preferred spot.
I am a curious curious person, and I can indulge all manner of things to a point. Third Place makes no bones about being a joke, and now that I think of it, the 4chan /a/ wallowing may just be a take that to that channel.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
CR is a if-all-else-fails,use-this choice. I don’t mind waiting for a couple of days for one of my preferred groups to sub it.
Commie is a hit or miss, I feel like they have an A-team and a B-team. The A-team does a stand up job, and the B-team is pure trolling. One thing Commie does great is typesetting however.
And I like honorifics in my subs, so given a choice of good-enough translation quality, I’ll go with the one with honorifics. I’ve watched enough anime that I can recognize common phrases so I use that to guide which group I follow for a particular show.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
One huge benefit to CR is that you don’t need space for it on your hard drive. When you’re watching 30 shows, not having to store 20 of them is good. Also, with MalUpdater2, it can scan either CR *or* MPC without switching settings, and having more on CR means I can leave it there and get more automation.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I don’t really worry to much about drive space, in the past three years, it’s just not an issue.
I looked into MalUpdater and it seems more a bother for someone like me. I don’t like fussing with that sort of automation. The only sort I really use is the LibreOffice connection protocols which save any writing to drive/cloud/and memory stick simultaneously. Besides, it won’t work on a single machine I own, seeing as how I am a Linux user and I don’t use MPC and don’t see the purpose behind the fuss MPC creates. Mplayer is built to the exact same standards as the Kawaii CCCP codex, because they share development teams. The only time it ever fails is when a new font is used, and then it is updated within days.
Not that I would fault anyone for using what they feel they like.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I did try to write that with a non snearing hipster elite tone. I hope it comes off that way.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
On balance, I find MalUpdater2 to be a net gain in tracking what I’m watching. It certainly has some issues (there’s another one that verdantly linked me to, but I forgot it before I could try it), but it’s easy to increment shows and update even if it doesn’t automatically happen.
I personally don’t use CCCP, just using manual installs of MadVR, LAV, xy-vsfilter, and MPC. And I never bother to upgrade anything until it’s broken (something I’ve learned through experience: If it’s not broke, don’t fix it).
But I don’t bother with linux. I tried it once, years ago. It didn’t do anything better for me (actually, at the time, it barely did anything I wanted to do), so I just use Windows.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I just look at tokyotosho when it loads in one of my browser tabs, if I haven’t seen it, and it’s the one I want, I get it.
Linux by itself can be incredibly taxing; but several of the Ubuntu builds are pretty much just like using Windows. Speaking of that OS, Mplayer has a very good version. No need for LAV, xpc whatever, filterydodakababsky thing, etc.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Ah, I also use it for downloads, but I mostly mean for reporting to MAL that I’ve watched something. It updates the episodes as you watch, so it helps keep my list more current, and helps me keep up with so many shows.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I just got my ordered Lenovo g500s Windows 8 touch screen laptop today. I’m going to wait until I get used to it before dual booting it with a Linux/Ubuntu OS. But Mplayer and MPC works on it like a dream. Yeah, just like I thought, the craptop I was using caused all sorts of problems playing back any fansub downloads. There is just so much a 1.2 gHz processor can do.
But Ubuntu will be on this machine sooner rather than later.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Having Satone along is going to make things more than before. If that’s even possible but she’s going to serve as good motivation for Yuuta and Rikka to move forward.
For the longest time, I was under the impression Yuuta developed his chuunibyou on his own. There was no consideration on the possibility he picked it up from someone else. It makes the whole thing seem like a contagion. 😛
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I’ve always been of the impression that there is some Awesome Patient Chuuni Zero out there just passing it around. They could almost be a final boss.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It is. It’s always something inspired by something else. Where would people come up with something that outlandish on their own? Whether it’s from reading books, seeing TV shows, or finding a fellow traveler, it’s a meme, and memes are spread by transmission and mutation, not spontaneous generation.
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
One thing i gotta give this ep props for; it had the best chuuni fight yet out of all the two seasons
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
This one takes second place after the battle with Touka this season.