Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - Episode 10 Discussion / Poll

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Forsaken_Infinity

I don't think Touka was calling Yuuta out in that scene. I took it more as a statement of her PoV. And it is true that it'd be irresponsible on Touka's part to let Rikka continue to act the way she does. I don't see why you would interpret that scene as her chastising Yuuta when she bows her head to the guy seeking his help.

Well, she's bowing her head because she's desperate. Touka is soon no longer going to be in a position to have any real impact on Rikka's life (until Touka returns home, of course).

I don't know how implying that somebody's approach is irresponsible can be anything but a chastisement. Well, perhaps "chastisement" is a bit too strong of a term, but it's a correction at least.

And my position is that Touka really doesn't have much leg to stand on here.

Anyway, it's not that big of a deal. My reaction to it is "eyebrow-raising", nothing that I think is beyond the pale.

As for why Yuuta "yelled" at Rikka, Yuuta already gave us his reason.

Admittedly, I'm just assuming he yelled based on how the scene is framed.

He knew about her family situation etc. Then he got presented with this situation where Rikka's mom comes to him and presents him with STILL WARM bento but Rikka wouldn't acknowledge her. As somebody who cares for Rikka, and as somebody who is more reasonable than her, it was only natural that he would tell Rikka the sensible thing to do after being presented with something like that. It's not like he straight up told her to "grow up" or forced it down her throat with a mean demeanor. He told her to get rid of her eyepatch. The yelling part is more or less going to happen when people who are passionate get into any meaningful debate. It's impossible not to raise your voice a bit when you're dealing with such situation, specially with somebody as stubborn as Rikka. That scene was anything but a copout.

I don't mean it's a copout for Yuuta. I mean it's a copout for this anime.

Whatever Yuuta stated to Rikka in that instance is very important, plot-wise, so I'd like to know what the exact words are.

To me, it's like doing an important fight scene off-camera.

[Warm Mist]

It may be a fundamental part of the plot, but it would probably be an extended version of "Take off the eyepatch" with Rikka making no-answers. That's why they could skip it, which I think was a good decision for the tone of the episode.

If they wanted the couple's fight to entail some other relevant point besides what can be summarized with what Yuuta said, they wouldn't skip it like that.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Warm Mist

It may be a fundamental part of the plot, but it would probably be an extended version of "Take off the eyepatch" with Rikka making no-answers. That's why they could skip it, which I think was a good decision for the tone of the episode.

If they wanted the couple's fight to entail some other relevant point besides what can be summarized with what Yuuta said, they wouldn't skip it like that.

Here's my view here - Yuuta has made a lot of progress with Rikka, but a key to it is that he's the first person to truly understand her and accept her.

Now he's saying something to her that shows (at the very least) that there's a practical limit to how much he'll accept her chuunibyou. So Yuuta is taking a stand that I would think could threaten the bond he's build up with Rikka.

If Yuuta's words have the desired effect, and result in no serious backlash, then I'd like to know how he managed to put this in a way that didn't seriously hurt his bond with Rikka.

On the flip side, if Yuuta's words do result in a backlash, then I'd like to know the specific words that have offended Rikka.


This anime has set up a compelling conflict around the question of "How do you get through to Rikka without severely hurting her/traumatizing her?" We can see that Touka's hard-line "get with reality, Rikka!" approach wasn't working. We can see that Yuuta's "I love and accept you for who you are, Rikka" was working, but it perhaps wasn't shifting her quickly enough out of being a hardcore chuunibyou.

So I'd like to know what specific words struck the right balance.

[ninryu]

Amazing, this episode manage to be both daww and heart-wrenching. The first half of the episode, with Yuuta and Rikka pondering their feeling for each other and finally confess, is full of heart-blowing cuteness. The second half, however, bring the seriousness in again with Rikka's mother returning and Touka trying to convince Yuuta to shake
Rikka back into reality.
Rikka took off her eyepatch and contact lens, what will she do next?

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

...Whatever Yuuta stated to Rikka in that instance is very important, plot-wise, so I'd like to know what the exact words are.

To me, it's like doing an important fight scene off-camera.

Agreed. I'd just like to add that, hopefully (though I'm not holding my breath for a week), we will hear what that "discussion" entailed in the next episode. It didn't look like Yuuta was very pleased with how it went, after the fact.

On another note, let's take a poll: hands up for anyone in real life who was either 1) the young teenage daughter of a mother who abandoned her, but who came back years later acting like nothing had happened or, 2) the parent of one or more young teenage daughters of a mother who did same? How about you, Klashikari? Is your hand up? Anyone else? Mine is (2 for 2). I know first hand how traumatizing it was for them, how resentful they felt then (and still feel twenty years later), and how detrimental it has been for the long-term relationship with their mother. Get over it in one episode (let alone two years)? Ha ha ha ha ha! What a joke!

[Klashikari]

I witnessed several cases due to my job, and it is all "case by case", so no, not all children that were "abandonned" were all resentful all the time, some didn't care, other simply figured out they were too much of a weight, and there of course some of them who were depressed/angered by it, but that's absolutely not the subject.
IRL non withstanding, Rikka's case is peculiar either way, especially she herself stated she does -not- hate her mother at all. Her grief is very highly placed on the loss of her father that felt too sudden.

Furthermore, I feel it is extremely dubious and misplaced to think that Rikka's mother shows up "as if nothing happened": your premise is faulty from the get go, since she actually feel Rikka doesn't want to see her even now, despite the problem lies -elsewhere-.
So instead of painting characters in a very bad light, at least notice the hints and details the series have shown regarding certain characters you seem to antagonize at all cost.

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

I witnessed several cases due to my job...

Not quite the same as living in the situation day and night for years and years.

Furthermore, I feel it is extremely dubious and misplaced to think that Rikka's mother shows up "as if nothing happened": your premise is faulty from the get go, since she actually feel Rikka doesn't want to see her even now, despite the problem lies -elsewhere-.

Like you, me, and everyone else who watched the episode, Rikka's mom did not know how Rikka would have reacted to her. You and many other people here seem to assume the same thing as Rikka's mom, that Rikka would act in a negative fashion. Nonetheless, she did not give Rikka, or herself, the chance to find out. If you are as well acquainted to these sorts of situations as you claim to be, then you should also realize that, although you may think you may be able to predict what would happen, there is always the chance that you will be wrong, and things will not work out as you imagine. Just like it appears that Rikka has had a change of heart at the end of the episode (one in which probably no on here expected so soon), she very well could have broken down and welcomed the return of her mom. Who knows? I don't. We weren't given the chance to find out.

[Klashikari]

You are just proving my point all along you know: she didn't show up for the hell of it as if nothing has happened, and surely things will be awkward as of now.
Rikka has her own issue to deal with, and so far all her relatives can't do anything about it despite all their efforts (which was already implied that her mother tried apologizing countlessly without any result, and considering her presence, that means she stays in contact with at least Touka).

So instead of thinking nothing has happened, it is the absolute opposite: Rikka's mom is actually bearing her cross, and like many parents after such familial issue, they might lose their confidence as being a parent figure to their child and prefer not to aggravate things.
And because of Rikka's chuuni, it is nearly impossible for them, Touka included, to figure what she is exactly thinking and only someone who has experienced chuunibyou would be able to get close enough to Rikka.
Really, I'm really getting annoyed how some of you think it is easy to talk with Rikka, with a 100% chuunibyou mode all the time, save when she actually opens up (which happened only to 1 single person in the series): being close, blood related, with an authority position doesn't make you suddenly able to understand your own child, especially during their adolescence. Factoring a behaviour like chuunibyou, and you have the best combination of facing against a wall, and that's -no one's fault-.

And no, I never expected Rikka to have a grudge against her mother, especially because of Episode 7. However, I see why her mother is unable to make any move, due the circumstances that are hardly possible to get over. Being a spectator has way too much privileges sometimes.

[Aquifina]

Originally Posted by FredFriendly

On another note, let's take a poll: hands up for anyone in real life who was either 1) the young teenage daughter of a mother who abandoned her, but who came back years later acting like nothing had happened or, 2) the parent of one or more young teenage daughters of a mother who did same? How about you, Klashikari? Is your hand up? Anyone else? Mine is (2 for 2). I know first hand how traumatizing it was for them, how resentful they felt then (and still feel twenty years later), and how detrimental it has been for the long-term relationship with their mother. Get over it in one episode (let alone two years)? Ha ha ha ha ha! What a joke!

Originally Posted by Klashikari

Furthermore, I feel it is extremely dubious and misplaced to think that Rikka's mother shows up "as if nothing happened": your premise is faulty from the get go, since she actually feel Rikka doesn't want to see her even now, despite the problem lies -elsewhere-.
So instead of painting characters in a very bad light, at least notice the hints and details the series have shown regarding certain characters you seem to antagonize at all cost.

The device of the bento, heavy with love and reality, brought by a soft-spoken mother is an obvious flag that this is not a straightforward case of parental abandonment--she could be lying, but we have NO evidence for that. It's clear to me that Rikka is the one refusing to talk to her mother.

Fred, I know you think Yuuta crossed the line, but I don't see how any other explanation than the above makes his behavior plausible--only something as serious as Rikka causing her own estrangement from her only living parent would cause him to reverse himself, assuming Yuuta is not already a punk. But if he is a punk, why has he acted in such a sympathetic way toward Rikka since the episode he realized how lonely Rikka was? One can still think Yuuta in an ideal world would have found a better way to deal with the issue, but I think it's clear that he discovered some information that made him very, very concerned about Rikka's Chuuni, even though he understands quite well the motivations behind it. Otherwise, his character would be so self-contradictory as to be nonsensical.

Finally, regarding real world analogies--while the best anime hits the right emotional registers, this is one series where it's just not helpful to use real world examples about child abandonment. This is a series that, like a lot of anime, shows events that don't normally happen in Japanese society--I find it hard to believe Rikka's behavior would actually be tolerated by her teachers in a real Japanese school. Or that students go around slide kicking each other. Or Kumin is that clueless. Or that every girl in the school seems ridiculously cute. The series exists in its own world, and the question is how do their very human emotions work in the context of the fictional universe.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Aquifina

The device of the bento, heavy with love and reality, brought by a soft-spoken mother is an obvious flag that this is not a straightforward case of parental abandonment...

... Why exactly? If Rikka's mother is guilty of a "straightforward case of parental abandonment", wouldn't it make sense for Rikka's mother to try to make up for that?

Finally, regarding real world analogies--while the best anime hits the right emotional registers, this is one series where it's just not helpful to use real world examples about child abandonment. This is a series that, like a lot of anime, shows events that don't normally happen in Japanese society--I find it hard to believe Rikka's behavior would actually be tolerated by her teachers in a real Japanese school.

To be fair, Rikka's more eccentric behavior seems to be saved for outside of class. And we know that she was at least applying herself to her studies enough to pass everything but Math (until Yuuta helped her with that, so presumably Rikka is now passing everything). So I could see most teachers just rolling with her eccentricities as long as she doesn't act out in class.

Or that students go around slide kicking each other.

The odd bit of horseplay in a real life high school is honestly not that weird.

Or Kumin is that clueless.

What makes you say that Kumin is clueless? Kumin loves sleeping all the time, but that's not the same as "clueless".

Or that every girl in the school seems ridiculously cute.

Really? The unnamed female characters in this school just seem like normal, anime schoolgirls to me. Nothing exceptionally cute.

Honestly, I think you're doing the anime a bit of a disservice. As comedic-centric as its first few episodes have been, it's taken its more serious elements very seriously. I don't think that real world analogies are necessarily out of place here.

[FredFriendly]

Just to reflect on the three assumptions you make:

Originally Posted by Klashikari

...considering her presence, that means she stays in contact with at least Touka...

You don't know that. For all we know, Touka could have asked the grandparents if they would take Rikka back, and they got in touch with mom. I'm not assuming that she has actively stayed in touch with anyone over the last two years.

...Rikka's mom is actually bearing her cross...

Really? She shows up with a bento out of the blue and you know exactly what she's thinking and feeling? What her motivations are? I don't. For all I know, she could have one (or more) of a myriad of personality disorders that affect what she does. The only concrete thing we know of that situation is that she said that she didn't think Rikka would want to see her. Maybe saying that was just a ploy to gain sympathy from Yuuta.

Really, I'm really getting annoyed how some of you think it is easy to talk with Rikka

Who does? Nothing I have read here has indicated that anyone thinks that communicating in a "normal" fashion would be easy with Rikka. Granted, I do admit that I do skip over some posts, but I just can't recall anyone saying that.

[Aquifina]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

... Why exactly? If Rikka's mother is guilty of a "straightforward case of parental abandonment", wouldn't it make sense for Rikka's mother to try to make up for that?

Except we have NO evidence that that's occurred. And as far as I'm concerned, someone who abandons a child at a critical moment isn't going to bother showing up a few years later to mend things with a bento.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

To be fair, Rikka's more eccentric behavior seems to be saved for outside of class. And we know that she was at least applying herself to her studies enough to pass everything but Math (until Yuuta helped her with that, so presumably Rikka is now passing everything). So I could see most teachers just rolling with her eccentricities as long as she doesn't act out in class.

But she does act out at times. Remember her freaking out a girl with her umbrella during the recruiting session? Even the failed attempt at cleaning the pool shows her inability to conform to social expectations.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

The odd bit of horseplay in a real life high school is honestly not that weird.

My point is that the slapstick violence is obviously *unrealistic* for intentional comic reasons.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

What makes you say that Kumin is clueless? Kumin loves sleeping all the time, but that's not the same as "clueless".

You're right, she's not necessarily clueless, but I'm not sure she's a "realistic" character neither (at least at this point). That's not a criticism of the anime, by any means, but another way in which we should see this as a work of fiction, and not as a manual for therapists dealing with traumatized children.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Really? The unnamed female characters in this school just seem like normal, anime schoolgirls to me. Nothing exceptionally cute.

I assume you would agree with me that "normal" in the context of anime is very different from "normal" in the real world, even in Japan? Actually, *especially* in Japan.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Honestly, I think you're doing the anime a bit of a disservice. As comedic-centric as its first few episodes have been, it's taken its more serious elements very seriously. I don't think that real world analogies are necessarily out of place here.

Let me try to explain myself better; I think the series has a very serious and worthy take on issues of fantasy, escapism, and loss, but I do NOT think it's realistic, in the sense that what occurs in the series could occur in the "real world." I actually think realism can be over-rated, which is precisely one of the reasons I watch anime. And other forms of story-telling also use their own particular conventions to get at fundamental emotional truths, even if those conventions are deliberately stylized and artificial. Actually, sometimes they can get at those truths, precisely because of those conventions. This is in no way a criticism. However, this is also the reason why trying to give a clinical diagnosis of Rikka's mental state is just not useful--how could one do such a thing for a fictional character, who we see for 20 minutes a week? Or using too many real world analogies, which by definition don't correspond very well to what we see in the anime.

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by Aquifina

Except we have NO evidence that that's occurred. And as far as I'm concerned, someone who abandons a child at a critical moment isn't going to bother showing up a few years later to mend things with a bento.

Perhaps not with a bento, but with presents. Believe me, it happens.

But she does act out at times....

I think the point here was that the teachers would be bothered if she acted out in class. What happens outside of the classroom is perhaps, like other things that happen on school grounds (smoking, bullying) are ignored unless it becomes a major problem (someone has to go to the hospital, for instance).

My point is that the slapstick violence is obviously *unrealistic* for intentional comic reasons.

True enough, but we don't have to like it.

You're right, she's not necessarily clueless, but I'm not sure she's a "realistic" character neither (at least at this point). That's not a criticism of the anime, by any means, but another way in which we should see this as a work of fiction, and not as a manual for therapists dealing with traumatized children.

I assume you would agree with me that "normal" in the context of anime is very different from "normal" in the real world, even in Japan? Actually, *especially* in Japan.

I'll agree with this though I have no first-hand knowledge of how things are in Japan.

Let me try to explain myself better; I think the series has a very serious and worthy take on issues of fantasy, escapism, and loss, but I do NOT think it's realistic, in the sense that what occurs in the series could occur in the "real world." I actually think realism can be over-rated, which is precisely one of the reasons I watch anime. And other forms of story-telling also use their own particular conventions to get at fundamental emotional truths, even if those conventions are deliberately stylized and artificial. Actually, sometimes they can get at those truths, precisely because of those conventions. This is in no way a criticism. However, this is also the reason why trying to give a clinical diagnosis of Rikka's mental state is just not useful--how could one do such a thing for a fictional character, who we see for 20 minutes a week? Or using too many real world analogies, which by definition don't correspond very well to what we see in the anime.

Ah, but some of us have way too much free time and like the sound of our own voice.

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by FredFriendly

You don't know that. For all we know, Touka could have asked the grandparents if they would take Rikka back, and they got in touch with mom. I'm not assuming that she has actively stayed in touch with anyone over the last two years.

So, her mom conveniently shows up and tries to get in touch with Rikka, right after Touka has been contacted by the italian branch of her work place? And just when she could be sent to her grandparents place instead? And weirdly enough, Touka did use the weird "left" and not "disappeared/abandonned us", but surely the latter still cut ties with them nevertheless?

Really? She shows up with a bento out of the blue and you know exactly what she's thinking and feeling? What her motivations are? I don't. For all I know, she could have one (or more) of a myriad of personality disorders that affect what she does. The only concrete thing we know of that situation is that she said that she didn't think Rikka would want to see her. Maybe saying that was just a ploy to gain sympathy from Yuuta.

Because you can easely link her facial expressions, aka her concerns, from the flashbacks and what she expressed towards Yuuta in this episode.
But if even that warrants "all we know, it could be a ploy!", then we can basically doubt -everyone's feelings- in there. It is just getting ridiculous. I find it funny you doubt her mother's emotions there, while you were quick to call Yuuta "violent" despite just seeing him raising his voice and holding Rikka's hand.

Who does? Nothing I have read here has indicated that anyone thinks that communicating in a "normal" fashion would be easy with Rikka. Granted, I do admit that I do skip over some posts, but I just can't recall anyone saying that.

The fact you believe her chuunibyou isn't a severe problem, and the fact it was implied by several posts Rikka's family didn't try hard enough and were quick to give up sure give the impression there is an implication that "chuunibyou isn't any big deal".
It is just a major problem that wears down Rikka's relative endurance, which is why I mentioned that they are also affected by Rikka's state, as it is obviously heartwrenching to have a relative like that, but just impossible to get through of their shell.

[Goggen]

Originally Posted by Aquifina

Except we have NO evidence that that's occurred.

There are certainly strong indications. We know two things for sure:

1) At some point soon after the death of her father, Rikka started to resist talking to her mother.
2) Mom left Rikka and Touka with their paternal grandparents after dad's death (Touka says this in episode 7).

On the second point, we don't know why or under what circumstances she left, or if she went somewhere out of reach of her daughters. The only fact is, she did leave them. That sounds like abandonment to me. And if she had a good reason to leave (which there's no reason to assume, as of yet) it would surely still feel like abandonment for Rikka in her fragile emotional state at the time.

On the first point, it is assumed mom lost Rikka's trust because she didn't tell her of dad's illness, resulting in her shock when he died which is the root of the trauma she's still carrying. And if mom then abandoned her, it only makes sense that Rikka would grow more emotionally distant and resist even harder on mom's subsequent attempts to reach out. Why would she open up to someone who, in her mind, has hurt her repeatedly (if unintentionally)?

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by Goggen

There are certainly strong indications. We know two things for sure:

1) At some point soon after the death of her father, Rikka started to resist talking to her mother.
2) Mom left Rikka and Touka with their paternal grandparents after dad's death (Touka says this in episode 7).

On the second point, we don't know why or under what circumstances she left, or if she went somewhere out of reach of her daughters. The only fact is, she did leave them. That sounds like abandonment to me. And if she had a good reason to leave (which there's no reason to assume, as of yet) it would surely still feel like abandonment for Rikka in her fragile emotional state at the time.

On the first point, it is assumed mom lost Rikka's trust because she didn't tell her of dad's illness, resulting in her shock when he died which is the root of the trauma she's still carrying. And if mom then abandoned her, it only makes sense that Rikka would grow more emotionally distant and resist even harder on mom's subsequent attempts to reach out. Why would she open up to someone who, in her mind, has hurt her repeatedly (if unintentionally)?

Well said! I particularly agree that if mom had an acceptable reason for leaving not having anything to do with Rikka or her husband's death, such as a job or. well, I can't think of anything else right off the bat, Rikka could still feel like her mother had abandoned her. Combined with making her live with her grandparents, with what appears to be utter disdain for Rikka by her grandfather, it wouldn't be surprising that she would thus feel even more resentment towards her mom.

[Forsaken_Infinity]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Well, she's bowing her head because she's desperate. Touka is soon no longer going to be in a position to have any real impact on Rikka's life (until Touka returns home, of course).

I don't know how implying that somebody's approach is irresponsible can be anything but a chastisement. Well, perhaps "chastisement" is a bit too strong of a term, but it's a correction at least.

And my position is that Touka really doesn't have much leg to stand on here.

Anyway, it's not that big of a deal. My reaction to it is "eyebrow-raising", nothing that I think is beyond the pale.

You didn't get what I meant. In my view, Touka didn't call Yuuta irresponsible at all. That line was more of a declaration of her point of view. It would be irresponsible of her, not Yuuta, not anybody else, but her, to let her sister continue to be like that. Other than that, she admitted how Yuuta's approach was better at getting through to Rikka and her bowing her head was not just brought about by desperation but also by a sincere desire to help her sister imho.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I don't mean it's a copout for Yuuta. I mean it's a copout for this anime.

Whatever Yuuta stated to Rikka in that instance is very important, plot-wise, so I'd like to know what the exact words are.

To me, it's like doing an important fight scene off-camera.

To me, it's more like an artistic choice. Leaving important details for the viewers to fill in can have interesting effects. For one, it forces them to think of the issue which involves them better. Arguably, that makes things feel more personal and the emotional effects become stronger. For another, when done well, as I believe it was here, leaving important things for the viewers to fill in actually highlights the importance than reduce it. It's one of the best ways to deal with a highly pivotal scene imo, as long as it's use is restricted and handled with utmost care.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Forsaken_Infinity

You didn't get what I meant. In my view, Touka didn't call Yuuta irresponsible at all. That line was more of a declaration of her point of view. It would be irresponsible of her, not Yuuta, not anybody else, but her, to let her sister continue to be like that.

That's an interesting interpretation, but it's hardly intuitive.

Touka made the comment to Yuuta for a reason. She wanted to influence his actions. She wanted him to feel like he was acting irresponsibly... and sure enough, that was the exact impact her words had on him.

I don't begrudge Touka her opinions, but she can be rather forceful and insistent on them, imo. Frankly, I think there's times Rikka would have been better off if Touka had left well enough alone.

Other than that, she admitted how Yuuta's approach was better at getting through to Rikka and her bowing her head was not just brought about by desperation but also by a sincere desire to help her sister imho.

Sure. I think the two go hand-in-hand.

To me, it's more like an artistic choice. Leaving important details for the viewers to fill in can have interesting effects.

Insofar as the very theme of the work doesn't depend on it.

But this work obviously surrounds the concept of Chuunibyou, and raises questions as to how much of it is too much, and how much of it should be viewed as tolerable (if not perhaps even beneficial).

Touka takes a hard-line stance against chuunibyou, and encourages the (now) more moderate Yuuta to similarly take a hard-line stance against it.

This has become the central conflict of the anime, which ties into what the work as a whole revolves around. The resolution of that conflict isn't something that should be left largely or entirely to viewer interpretation, imo.

To me, that's a copout. It honestly feels a bit cheap, like the writer has created a tricky philosophical quandary that is so tricky that he himself doesn't want to take a stand on it.


So if we never learn what Yuuta said to Rikka, I will personally find that disappointing.

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

To me, that's a clear-cut copout. It honestly feels a bit cheap, like the writer has created a tricky philosophical quandary that is so tricky that he himself doesn't want to take a stand on it.

Gotta agree. Considering that the most "interesting effects" is that there have been more than one (if not heated), and very different interpretations of the same, silent few seconds of that scene, the anime staff has failed to provide the viewers with a clear-cut vision of what happened, and why Rikka removed her eyepatch.

So if we never learn what Yuuta said to Rikka, I will personally find that disappointing.

Exactly this is what I meant to say over in the Episode 11 thread earlier. But I would also add that the time-skip was also a bit of a cop-out. We see Rikka removing her eye-patch at the end of one episode and then, at the beginning of the next, it's three weeks later and we've got no clue as to what has happened in between. All we get are random bits of Yuuta's point of view which, frankly, I'm neither interested in, nor do I trust to give me an accurate assessment of what has actually happened.