Eighth Grade Syndrome

As always, I’m late to the party.

Just finished watching Chuunibyou. From the five people who talk to me on Twitter, I gathered that the general reaction to this show was either “bad drama, bad bad” or “it was decent.” One of my favorite shows, Kannagi, was ruined by its unnecessarily dramatic ending, so I went into the last few episodes of Chuunibyou a bit hesitant.

I thought the ending laid the moral of the story on really thick. Some narrator came in and actually said the take-home message. I also think that a lot of the plot points leading up to the ending were way overboard… Kumin appearing with a message from Rikka, for one.

But come on, guys. That was nothing short of fantastic.

The flashy “fantastic power” chuunibyou was just detached enough from reality for me to both stay interested and to relate to my own past. It’s a metaphor for childhood, dreams, and ambition, so as I watch Rikka proudly boasting that her Wicked Eye is the strongest, I see myself shouting into the microphone that I’d change the world. I did that, you know. I really wanted to make some ground-breaking discovery in physics that would change everything. And I still do.

So even if I never believed I was the Dark Flame Master, I still wished I could fly. I wished I could be an astronaut, or the President, or the next Albert Einstein. Doesn’t everybody?

Chuunibyou really hit home for me on this front. Maybe the appeal is different for a society of businessmen and office ladies. Maybe it’s supposed to be a call to arms in a worn out society of boring adults. Or maybe it’s supposed to inspire young viewers to carpe diem and whatnot. Or maybe it’s just telling the greatest vanilla romance in a setting that anybody can relate to.

In any case, 10/10, would watch again.