Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions! Heart Throb: The Day After

I loved the first season of Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions! It was the perfect example of a show that was ‘about something’ without either beating you overhead with the message, or forgetting to have comedy, emotion and a lot of heart. Yet when I started watching this series, I had heard that reception to it’s second outing was more mixed. Still, I wanted to check it out and see for myself, so after the cut let’s take a dive into Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions! Heart Throb!

The pre-internet Tumblr bloggers return!

A few months ago I mentioned that I would like to see a romance anime that takes place after the confession or big plot related moment. Too often shows that have a romance at the forefront tend to end once they character either get together or get married. We just don’t often see what happens to their lives after that, because things just don’t stop once you get over the hump. Live goes on, and people continue to exist. Well with Chu-2′s second season I got just that, and the good and bad that comes from it.

Having watched the series, I can understand and see why people have a lower view of this season than the first. With the plotline of Rikka coming to terms with her father’s death now settled, there is little left for Chu-2 to say. Rikka is still a chunibyo, but she has her friends and their support and love, especially from her boyfriend Yuta. Her sister Toka may still want the best for her, but she remains largely absent through the season, only showing up for the expected beach episode and really doesn’t do much for the plot. And while there is a bit of a story involving newcomer character Satone Shichimiya and her lingering feelings for Yuta, it isn’t enough to carry a full twelve episodes and isn’t given enough weight to feel like it really matters. I won’t lie that by the time we got to the end of the season, I was getting impatient with the series and wondering if anything actually important was going to happen.

Satone’s lingering feelings for Yuta doesn’t have the teeth to carry the second season like other shows might. Hell the entire cast smacks it down quite fast.

Yet despite all of that, for most of the second seasons’ run, I didn’t really care that the show was ‘about nothing’. Like I said at the top, few romance shows actually progress beyond the initial build up of the couple, and those that do often like to mix in drama for the sake of keeping things interesting. Chu-2 doesn’t have that (or doesn’t do it with enough effort to make it matter), and instead just lets the characters live. Watching Rikka, Yuta and the rest of the gang go through their year of school, from competing in a napping tournament, to working at the beach, to going on a school trip. Chu-2’s second outing is full of these moments and thanks to the antics of the cast, each of them work. I found myself chuckling and laughing more than I expected, and even going ‘aww’ when the relationship moments between Yuta and Rikka (as snail-paced developed as they are) do show up.

I have discussed Persona 4 Golden before on this blog. About how the best feature of that story is how well the main cast gels together. Playing that game, you can actually see how they would be friends, how they would hang out and just live their lives. That was the secret sauce of that game, and while Chu-2 doesn’t have the same level of chemistry, there are still elements of that. Just watching the character be themselves, not reacting to a story, but just live is a deeply satisfying experience, even if what happens is pretty much ‘nothing.’ I think there is a deep comfort you can find in that.

Considering most of the cast is ‘anime only’ there is real effort put into making them enjoyable. I can’t imagine this series without them.

Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions! Heart Throb! is a second season whose enjoyment will come from how much you truly love the characters. It has nothing to say, and has nothing to do that really moves the story forward. So if your expecting the continuing chapter to the plot points from the first, you will come up short. However if you like Rikka, Yuta and the rest and can enjoy a show that about them living their lives, then there might be something here you can enjoy. Peaceful series like these are always welcome, and if you can manage your expectations then you might come out having a good time. I don’t know if I’d watch this season again, but I am glad I did. Give it a look yourself and see what you think!

Two seasons and no kiss yet. That movie better have some liplock!