Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai (Movie)

Some of you might be thinking that yesterday was MCM. So why isn't there an MCM special post today? Well, it's because for the first time ever I'm attending MCM on the Sunday so when this post publishes, I'll be happily strolling through the Excel hall. However, fear not! As when I get back I will be sure to tell you all about it! For now, please enjoy this review.

I'm not a fan of reviewing sequels because it's not different to reviewing a second season and it's only interesting to people who have already watched the show. However, you may remember that two years ago (I've really been blogging for a long time) I reviewed the original anime series of Chuunibyou demo Koi da Shitai. But I think it's all right when the the sequel is in a different medium! Seeing how a series is interrupted into a movie is a completely different experience to seeing it as an anime, and I did do this before with the K-On movie! So hopefully you will enjoy this review even if you haven't the anime (which you really should watch!).

Then again, this movie is not strictly speaking a sequel. It's full title is Takanashi Rikka Kai: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!, and technically it's a retelling. So I am forced to re-state the plot of Chuunibyou.

Chuunibyou is a term used to describe the awkward face some children go through in 8th grade, in extreme cases it refers to the belief that you are actually magical and go around casting spells to fight off imagined evils. In the case of Rikka Takanashi, Chuunibyou is more than just a phase and she moves to high school still completely believing in her 'Tyrants Eye'. Yuuta Togashi on the other hand, is has left his alter ego of 'Dark Flame Master' and intends to live his life as a regular high schooler. But Rikka finds out about his secret past and won't let him keep it a secret! She forces him to join a her club with their senpai who wants to nap all the time, their seemingly perfect class rep and Rikka's 'servant' who is every bit as eccentric as her master. As Yuuta and Rikka spend more time together they slowly find more of each other's admirable qualities but things do not go smoothly as Rikka's chuunibyou causes problems with her family and the solution is never straight forward.

Here's my problem: it's been marketed as a retelling from Rikka's perspective with new elements. So I was expecting to see a lot of things that I've already seen, but I was really looking forward to new elements. Days in the club which didn't happen in the anime or extra detail into scenes that did happen. However, none of this happened! Now, I could be mistaken, after all, it was two years ago that I watched the anime, but it seemed to me that the only new bits where added right at the beginning and right at the end. The main content of the movie was just cut and paste from the anime. It disgusts me actually, because they aren't even trying to hide the fact that they are treating the franchise as a cash cow even when this movie had so much potential! 

See they missed out on a really good opportunity because Rikka is unlike any other female lead I've ever encountered: she has Chuunibyou, she see even the mundane things in an exciting way! So, why isn't that in the movie? Why isn't the movie full of fantasy elements? They could of made the whole movie in the style of Rikka's thoughts. But instead they just recycle the scenes from the anime.

Also, the Movie is actually a flash back. After a super cute dream sequence where Rikka fantasizes about getting married to Yuuta (which is easily the best scene in the entire movie!) the other members ask her how she met Yuuta in the most awkwardly scripted scene in the history of anime. This simple question is answered with an uninterrupted account of the anime. There are so many things wrong with this idea that I don't even know where to start! Obviously the fact that they asked her how they met but the film shows all the way up to when the two start dating is annoying. But even more annoying is the fact that she's telling them things that they were there for! Also the fact that they didn't have any interruptions in the flashback is just lazy writing! Whats more, the flashback is barely even acknowledged at the end. 

Finally, even the production - which is basically just cut and paste - is poor! Lots of it is very choppy and almost nonsensical because of how much they've had to cut out. But the scene which I really can't not forgive them for is when they decided to have a few minutes of anime playing silently in the background alongside an uninteresting instrumental tune. It was like a quickly made youtube video or one of those really bad trailers where they forget to tell you what the anime is actually about. I was totally gobsmacked because not only did it completely disrupt their already shaky pace but it was also clearly a way for the lazy writers of this movie to fill in a few extra minutes.

I think it's pretty clear from everything I've said that I am really disappointed in this movie. I could tell you about how lovely the characters are and how awesome the animation and I could go on and on about how much I adore the story. But that's all from the anime. That's the problem here, I loved the anime, as did many others and the producers have just exploited that love by making an unnecessary movie whilst spending as little money as possible assuming that all the Chuunibyou fans wouldn't hesitate to watch it. I really can't express how devistated I am by the quality of this movie. I was so excited to see it was made into a movie even when I read that it's a retelling because there's nothing wrong with a good retelling. This, on the other hand, has plenty of things wrong with it. I don't care how much you loved the anime, I promise you, you will not love the movie! 

Pie:

(I was thinking about making a '0 pie' just for this movie!)