[Random32]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I very much beg to differ. You're applying a degree of realism to this show, and to Rikka's character, that's simply out of place, in my opinion.

The series has taken a severe turn toward realistic since it's start.

And one of the things it says is that Rikka having her funky club is no bigger deal than the Food Research Club in Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate or the Classics Club in Hyouka or any other of the numerous half-nonsensical clubs in various anime shows. These clubs are frequently set up for little reason other than to allow friends to goof off in an organized setting. And keep in mind that Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate and Hyouka could get pretty dramatic/serious at times too.

1. Neither of them have "dealing with reality" as a major theme. "Accepting reality" has been discussed extensively, and the fact that their club is not productive is not something that gets mentioned once and brushed aside.
2. Clubs that don't do anything are common in anime. It's a nice happy fluffy fantasy. This is a series that deals a fair bit with reconciling reality with fantasy.

With those two in mind. May I suggest that, like how reality is crashing down on Rikka, reality is crashing down on Chuu2.

What about the fact that chuunibyou was ultimately the catalyst for Rikka and Yuuta's relationship? As long as Rika and Yuuta are together as girlfriend/boyfriend, their relationship will itself serve as a "nagging reminder" of chuunibyou. Do we want a young couple to look back with regret and shame at what ultimately brought them together?

I don't think they should look back with shame. I think they should look bac sorta like how some people look back at The Soviet Union with "He who does not miss the USSR has no heart, he who wants it back has no brain."

So unless Rikka and Yuuta intend to separate from each other, I think it would be highly beneficial (if not imperative) for Rikka's chuunibyou to, in a sense, be reformed into something that she can continue to take enjoyment from.

I don't think "reforming" is the right way to say it. "Reject and later bring it back just for fun" is better. She has to accept reality fully.

Also, that aside, would she take enjoyment from it though? It's a coping mechanism that is closely related to family problems and her dead father. She has fun, but would she enjoy it later, or would it be a pretty nasty reminder?

I don't think that Rikka should deny her chuunibyou past, and nor do I think that Rikka should deny chuunibyou itself because it's a key, central element for many of her closest friendships and relationships.

While I don't really see why she should deny her chuunibyou past, she has to reject her chuunibyou and accept reality. If she continues her chuunibyou antics, it shouldn't be more than roleplay distinct from her personal reality.

I disagree. It would move as long as Rikka was able to converse normally with them. Again, it's not this either/or extreme that you seem to be promoting. There's a more balanced way to go about this.

To converse normally, either she has to fake accepting reality to them (bad), or accept reality. There isn't really a way around accepting reality.

Yuuta's not insane. He never was. I doubt that Mori Summer was insane. So saying that chuunibyou is downright insane is just silly, in my view.

Yuuta's or Shinka's probably weren't insanity, but Rikka rejected and actively ran away from reality, not just acted like it wasn't real.

Going around pretending to be a Jedi or a Ninja or something isn't insane. It's actually quite fun, but believing that you are a Jedi or a Ninja is a problem.

The magnitude it was at was a problem, yes. We all seem to agree that Rikka needed an "off switch". Where we differ is that I think it's fine, and perhaps even healthy, if Rikka turns that switch back "on" from time-to-time, whereas you seem to think that Rikka should press the "off" switch, and leave the lights out forever.

She needs to turn her delusions off forever. Doesn't mean that she has to stop acting weird forever.

Well, if that "turn chuunibyou off forever" is the impression this anime wants to give us, then this is one bizarre way of trying to convey it. The way this episode portrays current Rikka certainly doesn't support that impression much.

I disagree.

I don't see anything against turning her delusions off forever, what I see is against turning her delusional activity off forever, i.e., she should still have fun pretending, but it should be pretending. No where am I getting the vibe that Rikka should keep honestly searching of her father and running away from reality.