Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai Ren – 12 [END]

The long shot of Rikka and Yuuta captures the mood perfectly

The second season of Chu2Koi comes to an end, so let’s see what the ending brought and how the series ended up.

 

Going Out with a Whimper, or a Bang?

Arrrrrgh!

Since we finished up the main ‘story’ of the season with last week’s episode, being Rikka trying to awaken the Dark Flame Dragon based on some old chuuni letter that Yuuta wrote, everyone had to figure this week was entirely going to be “will they kiss or won’t they?” And that’s what it turned out to be, with the whole crew of girls trying to get Rikka in a position where she won’t chicken out, at Rikka’s request. She’s pretty deluded about what her ‘lovers contract’ actually means, tho, if she thinks it’ll get Yuuta to quit riding her about her homework or getting up for school.

No grabbing, just grading

We did get to use ‘girls planning time’ as an excuse for a visit to the bath, with attendant commentary on Rikka’s (“Dynamite!”) and Sanae’s (“Tiny”) bust sizes. It was also an excuse to get Makoto a koibito, although it wasn’t who he thought it would be, since Chihiro-kun confessed to him during the summer. It was funny, I guess, but it was also in really bad taste, since Makoto’s words (and his screams) indicate that it wasn’t really completely consensual.

It doesn’t work when you force it, Rikka

But of course, we get a big setup for Rikka to try to kiss Yuuta, full of demands and chuuni, and it’s no surprise that it completely breaks down in her embarrassment. It’s not the kind of thing you can plan. It just happens. Just like their embraces happened, just like holding hands happened, just like Rikka’s kiss on Yuuta’s cheek just happened. And while it was funny seeing Rikka’s body rebel against trying so hard, she’s lucky that Yuuta’s a really patient guy who loves her. And that he’s so good at saying the right thing (although isn’t it one of those things that the right guy for you is usually good at saying the right thing?). But because he’s so good at putting her at ease and not pressuring her, a chance for a kiss actually does come up, after Yuuta’s first kiss on Rikka’s cheek.

It’s much better when it just happens naturally

And just like Shinka says: “Would it kill you to let us see it for once?!?!?!” Of course, the cat has to have kittens (and you knew that was going to happen from the beginning of the episode) and Kuzuha has to call right then. This is anime, after all. So we get kisses on the cheek, but nothing more than a promise of more.

Shinka speaks for everyone watching KyoAni shows

Final Thoughts

There never was much of a chance this show would break much new ground. We knew the characters, we know KyoAni, and we know the story and the limitations that Rikka’s Chuunibyou puts on her. But it was entertaining nonetheless, even if I complained in the early part that we were getting a little too far away from Rikka and Yuuta (and we were, with 3 non-Rikka episodes in a row). But they got back to the main couple, and the second half of the season was nicely done, if a bit predictable and comfortable. And that’s what this show was supposed to be from the very beginning: a comfortable show to watch.

Not letting you get away, that’s what friends are for

And really, the only change from the first season to the second was moving Makoto from Supporting Character Butt Monkey to Distant Character Butt Monkey and bringing in Satone Shichimiya. While Shichimiya wasn’t ever really a ‘rival’ for Rikka as far as Yuuta was concerned, the show did deal with her feelings pretty well, showing a girl who falls back in love with a guy she never really got over before, but she’s missed her chance. It’s nice that they could stay friends, although I’m not sure if that’s really the best thing for her to do, seeing the guy she likes with someone else, although the alternative would to not be friends with the people most like her. Other than that, not a lot of character development anywhere, not a lot of movement in romance, but a nice show to watch.

This rubbed me the wrong way

Technically, the show was still very well animated by Kyoto Animation, although the shine may be wearing off of these battle scenes a bit, given two seasons of this show plus Kyoukai no Kanata using the same style. And we really didn’t have too much in the way of chuuni battles here anyway. I have to classify the OP and ED as ‘disappointing’, in that they don’t make me want to listen to either of them. They’re just songs that play at the beginning and the end of the show. There are some interesting themes in the OP, but they don’t really go together well, and aren’t cohesive at all, while the ED is just outright boring. Part of me wonders if ZAQ has run out of good ideas, but we’ll see about that in the future.

And sending you on to bigger and better things.

Overall, I liked this season, it was a nice watch of a show that you figured you knew what you were getting, and weren’t disappointed to get it. I have to think this is going to be the end of the series, but it was a cute one from start to finish, and a great example of moe KyoAni.