[KLGChaos]

The problem with Rikka's chuunibyou is that it was more than a distraction, it took over her life, which isn't a good thing. There's nothing wrong with pretending here and there to get your mind of reality-- everyone needs some escapism. Heck, my friends and I roleplay a few times a month with a tabletop RPG. I play video games and read manga because sometimes real life just sucks. But her syndrome went beyond that to the point that it not only affected her (her bad grades for example were due to her not being able to concentrate on the real world), but started to affect those around her, too (her sister wouldn't have been able to fulfill her own dream because she would have had to take care of Rikka).

Expecting her to suddenly snap out of it overnight is definitely asking a lot, but her chuunibyou was going beyond playing pretend to actually becoming a mental illness in my mind-- not the kind where she actually believes the stuff is real, but the trauma of losing her father pushed her to the point that she was trying to escape reality completely instead of facing up to it. There comes a point when it's unhealthy. It was actually affecting her ability to function in normal society to the point that she didn't even know how to hold a conversation properly.

I've never been a huge fan of running away. People deal with trauma every day. It's painful, I know. I've lost family members myself. But hiding in a pretend fantasy world isn't going to change anything-- all it's going to do is make life in the real world harder when you have to come back to it.

What Yuuta said at the end was harsh, but it was the truth.

Rikka can still have fun with her fantasy world, imo, as long as just keeps it as a hobby. Like LARPers do when they go out and role play. Letting it seep into every aspect of her life, though, would just be bad for her in the end. You have to find a balance between escapism and reality-- and you have to be able to distinguish the two.