Recap: Rikka’s extreme chuunibyou has been distracting her from her schoolwork with math being a particularly difficult subject. She receives an ultimatum: pass her next math exam or the Black Magic Nap Society will be disbanded!

Jel’s Thoughts: I’m guessing this episode must mark the end of the first novel, which is not much of a stretch considering the “To Be Continued…” popping up in the final scene. Assuming that’s the case this was a great ending, or maybe more accurately a great beginning. It was the perfect time for a little emotional sucker punch (a staple of KyoAni shows these days) to keep Chuunibyou from being just another wacky club comedy, and I’d say it was very effective.

Before I get all serious though, I do have to mention the funny stuff. The fact that Dekomori now solely exists to goad on Nibutani is just glorious, especially after our opinion of Little Miss Bad Hair Clip was intentionally soured last week. I loved it when even Kumin got in on the action, rolling and napping her way out of Nibutani’s futile attempts to get some kind of control over the situation. Basically I love seeing Nibutani get trolled and I don’t see how that will stop being funny anytime soon.

Of course the real highlight of the episode was expanding Yuuta’s relationship with Rikka. It was pretty heartbreaking to see Rikka break character long enough to ask for help, both with her math and the loneliness that no doubt has a lot do with her state of mind. Sure they cranked the moe meter to 11, but in this case it was actually appropriate. How could Yuuta possibly NOT help her after she told him how she felt? It all culminated in one the sweetest, most adorable scenes I’ve seen in a good long while. You’d have to be pretty cold and dead inside to not feel anything when Rikka sends her “thank you” message at the end of the episode.

There’s quite a bit I want say about the theme and message of Chuunibyou but I’m going to let them finish telling their story before I get too much into it. It was touched on rather specifically when Kumin was handing out advice at the pool: why are Yuuta and Nibutani in such a rush to forget about their chuunibyou days? What’s wrong with having fun and enjoying the things you like? Maybe that’s not the deepest of life’s questions but I think it’s something we all struggle to understand in our teenage years. It’s certainly a lot more fun to think about wrapped up in a package as entertaining as this series has been so far.

Dragonzigg’s Thoughts: To evolve beyond being simply a one-joke show Chuunibyou needed to develop some depth and thankfully that’s what it does in this excellent episode. The laughs are still there of course, but they’re made all the better by our increasing emotional connection to the characters. I’ve not been a fan of Sanae up to now, but positioning her as an arch-enemy to Nibutani is perfect. They make a great double act together and provide a lot of the comic spark of this episode. It’s also nice to see Kumin get a little more screen time after her absence last week.  I also loved Yuuta’s mum’s shameless desire to spy on her son, in contrast to his sister’s disinterest.

Really though this one is all about the growing affection between Yuuta and Rikka, and the way they’re moving closer to each other.  Rikka’s admission that she doesn’t really need to tell anyone if she changes her email is an incredibly touching insight into her old life, and a beautifully understated way of highlighting her loneliness without just coming out and saying it. It also gives extra weight to her desire to keep the circle together. Not for the first time I wonder if her continuing delusionality (she’s well past eight grade after all) is as much a defence mechanism against the harshness of the real world.  Yuuta’s decision to help her with her work is hardly the most original plot device in the world, but it’s executed well in typical Kyoani fashion and is definitely worth it for the payoff of him briefly lapsing into Dark Flame Master mode. It’s a funny scene but it also has a more important purpose, to show that Yuuta is a little less embarassed about his chuunibyou past and even willing to channel it back briefly for a good bit of fun. As Jel pointed out, Kumin’s musing that you shouldn’t be in such a rush to abandon something fun seems to be the message they’re building to here, and that’s one I can definitely get behind, especially if it continues to be told as sweetly as this.