Chuu2 Ren 9-10
When Shichimiya’s character was initially introduced, it seemed likely that she was there just to create tension between Utah and Rikka. What was interesting, was that she was initially presented with greater emotional intelligence and self awareness than anyone else in the cast, in that she seemed aware of the repercussions of her presence and behaviour. Perhaps expecting that to maintain was wishful thinking on my part but given that, it was acceptable that she be used as a catalyst for progress in Utah and Rikka’s relationship. Fast forward to this pair of episodes, where we see Shichimiya stripped of all that and reduced to a sobbing girly, unable to resist the charm of heroic-caregiver/lover-to-the-mentally-ill Utah. In fairness, the development isn’t out of left field, and is shown to be a re-surfacing of past feelings, rather than a sudden attack from cupid’s arrow. Does that make it anymore interesting though, or just more predictable? Other than reliance on the formulaic, with the hope that “like those other shows but Chuunibyou’d” would be enough to carry the show, I really don’t understand the insistence on squandering every unique opportunity the show had. There’s a strong lack of direction that’s pervaded this entire season. From what I’ve seen, even people who typically enjoy the show weren’t thrilled with the most recent turn of events, so what purpose it serves I don’t know. Let’s introduce a new character, waste her potential and then stomp on her heart for some drama? Alright, sadists.
Then we have Rikka interpreting Utah’s belief in her as encouragement of her delusions, and deciding to renew her faith in the Dark Lord nonsense. Are they trying to position this as her succeeding in being true to herself and her interests while maintaining a romantic relationship, rather than accepting the either/or scenario as presented by Shichimiya? As if “my romantic feelings are making it difficult for me to pretend I’m magic” was a reasonable concern in the first place. That’s what I got from the parts I managed to pay attention to, and again, barely anything has changed.
Toka’s short conversation with Utah at the beach inadvertently encapsulated one of the show’s greatest issues. She expresses both disappointment and relief over the state of his and Rikka’s relationship, and questions his satisfaction with the lack of meaningful progress; a perspective which mirrors my own as a viewer. Given that her relief presumably stems from the fact her little sister is safe, with friends and nothing terrible has happened, where does the leave me, with my lack of familial ties to the events? With just the disappointment.
There’s still 3 episodes remaining, but Rikka could toss her eyepatch and fuck Utah stupid and it wouldn’t save a season that's comfortably limboing under the already low bar set by the first. It would be a start though.
Yuyushiki 10-11
Yuyushiki saves the day. Sort of. This show is fun and pretty comforting as usual. As weird as it is, I find it to be a pretty relatable portrayal of screwing around with friends at school. I even used to do random whiteboard art, though never with wrestling props. It's perhaps a heightened reality in that respect, with a yuri bent to it. That said, I think ignoring the majority of the new cast members that they did a good job introducing was a bit of a mistake. Aikawa shows up briefly in 11, and Mum-sensei in 10, but I think including more people only improves the show in general. I like how Mum manages to feel like an adult, but still contributes to the fun. Again, it's relatable, and reminds me of teachers that put up with/encouraged the stupid ideas me and my friends had in school, instead of being wet blankets constantly.
The production of both these episodes was great. It varied for a couple of episodes there, but it's back on track now. The amount of interesting camera angles they fit in without many set changes is really fun to watch.
Oh shit there's only 1 episode left. I thought there were 2. No ;_;