10 Second Anime - Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren - Episode 12 [END]

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren - Episode 12 [END]

Kisses and kittens. Rikka wants to take their relationship to the next level: Smoochies! Look for much bashfulness in this last episode.

Ah, what a relaxing comedic episode for the season finale. No more sad tears, no more tension over loves lost, but back to young, inexperienced love. With all the meta talk over deepening contracts involving delusional magic over the past 9 episodes, we're back to good old fashioned girls talk in the public bath, and just plain Googling "Kiss Boy's Feelings." We have a bit of concern over Chimera, who seems to be wanting to stay in one spot. She's looking awfully plump, maybe they've been feeding her too much?

School has started up again after the long summer break, and we have some more first day of school jokes with Shinka trying on a new persona, which also doesn't last long, and the usual with not recognizing Isshiki. Isshiki got way tan working at that water park. He also picked up a love interest! But he's too loyal to Kumin. Besides, I don't think these two are compatible.

Since we are talking about "leveled up" contracts, but without the delusional magic, that means we get more of Rikka's number one fan Kazari being as blunt as ever. Apparently, because Rikka wants to do "something" to level up, but doesn't know what, she's been avoiding Yuuta. Dekomori and Shinka have a normal conversation, for them, with Satone about what could be wrong. Satone wonders if it's just that Rikka wants to be more physically affectionate as a sign of their new and improved lovers' contract. W-what kind of indecent thoughts are you having Fake Summer!??!

No, no, just a kiss, a kiss, explains Satone. Oh, so that's what you meant. Heheh. Well, it's time for girls talk at the bath house, but what is Yuuta doing tagging along? And why is Isshiki there too? The girls get their talk on, while Isshiki has to explain who Chihiro is. No! Isshiki's heart belongs to Kumin, not some dude he met at the water park!

The girls hash out what Rikka wants from Yuuta in the bath, but she's still too bashful to make herself clear. I'll mention two things (okay, four things): Rikka is "worth mentioning" but Dekomori is "teeny." Kumin adds "dyno-mite!" and "pretty!" Bath episode, obligatory... After the bath, they get more specific. But first, conquer the milk!

It's that easy! Come on, you can do it, Dekomori. Okay, maybe not yet. Rikka is frustrated because she and Yuuta are supposed to have this deeper contract, but he's been treating her like a kid to get her homework done and get out of bed at a reasonable time. There's been no lovey-dovey mood in the house since the night of the previous episode. Frustrating!

Rikka asks for their help to set the mood for a first kiss. Now you're talking their language. Getting Yuuta over to the romantic spot is the easy part. Getting Rikka there, and making sure she stays there, is why she needs backup.

Yuuta shows up, Rikka throws some reflexive defense mechanisms over her shyness, but then the cutesy overload begins. We get some nice flashbacks from the previous season and this season, building to some reassuring looks, and kyaa! Age appropriate kisses on the cheek. Rikka is happy. Yuuta is happy. Rikka is ready for more. But suddenly!

Kittens not kisses! Chimera was pregnant, and just gave birth to 6 kittens. Talk about taking relationships to the next level. They've now got 7 cats at home, and they need to go see them. The other girls are a little outraged. All that work, and they almost got them to their first kiss, and now they have to worry about kittens. Ah well, the mood is broken, and in a fitting metaphor for this season, Yuuta and Rikka run home hand in hand with four girls happily following after them.

Final Thoughts: A very fun second season for Chuunibyou. The first season had the dark overlay of getting over the death of a parent, but this one covered the turbulent emotions of just growing up and falling in love, complicated by very active imaginations. This time around, the real life problems were not so serious, letting us have more time to spend with our characters in more trivial settings. Even if nothing seemed to be happening, there was still movement in our main characters' development. Yuuta, growing up and beginning to notice and appreciate others' feelings, began to integrate his past delusions for the sake of his girlfriend. He's taking a much more adult view of his childish play-acting, and realizing it's not all that embarrassing, and still can be fun. Rikka still has some work cut out for her, but she's the true vehicle for the title of the show. She may have 8th grader syndrome, but she's still a young girl who wants to be in love. She may take elaborate routes to display her seriousness over her love for Yuuta, but it's not all that different from how a quiet introverted girl may assemble a book of poems or decorate a special place for a date. You just have to add in Evil Lords, Black Shields, and super powers, but each little thing can have a meaning.

Introducing an old flame was a great way of moving both our characters forward. Yuuta had to revisit the past a little, and Rikka had to take Satone's circumstances as a warning and a guide to what she'll be dealing with in choosing love over delusions. That Rikka took the complementary integration route to Yuuta's was neat symmetry. They haven't met in the middle yet, but both their development points there now.

We've got plenty of room to explore the other characters as well. With Yuuta and Rikka on a safe path (for now), subsequent seasons can cover Shinka and Dekomori's stories. With Shinka being pure class this entire season, I hope we get to see more of her story in the future. That story should have something to do with her present-day big-sister-annoying-little-sister relationship with Dekomori. And Kumin doesn't need to change at all, just stay her sleepy self.

Overall, a very satisfying installment of our Chuunibyou story.