Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - Light Novel Discussion

[ultimatemegax]

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! (She Has Chuunibyou, But I Want to Love Her!, 中二病でも恋がしたい！) is one of the light novels released by Kyoto Animation under their KA Esuma label. The series is written by Torako and illustrated by Nozomi Ousaka. The original manuscript won an honorable mention in the first Kyoto Animation awards in 2009 and had two novels published in 2011. The series is the first from the Esuma label to be animated by KyoAni.

Characters:

Yuuta Togashi (富樫勇太): A first year high schooler who once suffered from chuunibyou. He overcame his illness as he was studying for high school entrance exams and has "moved on" from chuunibyou. Or so he thought. One day he discovers that he has made a contract with Rikka Takanashi.

Rikka Takanashi (小鳥遊六花): A first year high schooler who is suffering from chuunibyou. Rumor has it that she changed overnight when she was in middle school. She informs Yuuta one day that they have made a contract.

Makato Isshiki (一色誠):Yuuta and Rikka's classmate. As determined as the kanji in his name. Member of the disciplinary council of the school. His number 1 trait: he loves girls. Just check his memo pad to see how much.

Shinka Nibutani (丹生谷森夏): The class representative for Yuuta, Rikka, and Makoto's class. Nicknamed the "Class King" by the guys. Has a build like a model. Rumored to have a sadistic smile.

Yumeha Togashi (富樫夢葉) and Pepapi (ぺぱぴ): Yuuta's younger sister and family dog. Yumeha is a 5th year in elementary school. Pepopi is a Golden Retriever.

Satone Shichimiya (七宮智音): Yuuta's middle school classmate. Apparently, she was the only one to understand him during his chuunibyou phase.

Not Pictured:
Kazari Kannagi (巫部風鈴): A classmate of Yuuta et al. Rumored to hate being called"Windchime" (how her given name is written)
Nanase Tsukumo (九十九七瀬): The homeroom and math teacher for Yuuta's class. The boys call her "Nana-chan."
Novels:

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
Published on June 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-4-9905812-0-6
Yuuta Togashi is living an ordinary high school life. He has good friends, good grades, and no one knows about his dark history. One day he discovers that he is in a contract with Rikka Takanashi, an infected chuunibyou patient. How will the two co-exist?!


Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! 2
Published on December 28, 2011
ISBN: 978-4-9905812-2-0
Yuuta Togashi and Rikka Takanashi are still bound by a contract when, suddenly, an old classmate of Yuuta's appears before them. How will Rikka react when she's encountered with a chuunibyou girl from Yuuta's past?!

This thread was originally created so that discussion of novel-related topics that would spoil anything in the anime could take place. Any topic that has yet to be animated should be discussed in this thread and not any that are in anime-specific threads. It has been confirmed that the first novel will serve as a base for the anime adaptation, so discussion of the second novel (and the new character) should take place here instead of the anime thread(s) at this time.

As of right now, neither of the two novels have been translated into English though fan-translations appear to be in progress. Translations will not be posted directly in this thread, though it will be easy to google them.

To start things off, I'll answer any questions about the series (impressions, style, etc) that I can answer. I don't want to reveal too much to entice people to read the novels for themselves. I've read up to half-way through the second novel, and personally, I feel the second novel is much better written. It's more cohesive and flows immensely better between chapters than the first novel. The first one has a decent overall story, but there's a lot of weird connections between chapters and it doesn't flow that well. It also doesn't help that it's not written well either.

[Kirito]

Looks interesting, I'm going to have a look.

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by Kirito

Looks interesting, I'm going to have a look.

Not mod-approved, but given past conversations, I feel it's alright for me to post a preview. It's the prologue for the first novel. I laughed a lot when I first read it myself.

[Warm Mist]

So when should we expect your release of the translated first novel? I just want to know if it's going to be before the anime airs, no need for specific dates.

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by Shergal

So when should we expect your release of the translated first novel? I just want to know if it's going to be before the anime airs, no need for specific dates.

I'm aiming to get both novels finished by the time the anime broadcasts. The first novel is in editing right now and the second one is halfway translated with 2 months before the show starts. I think that's a safe estimate.

Edit: I just added two characters without character art to the first post. There's a lot of rumors in the first chapter and a lot of name-gags, so prepare yourself. I like Kannagi's "nickname" the best though. Cleverly used. Honestly, she's my favorite character and it upsets me we've not seen her anime design yet.

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by Hyper

So I gather that Yuuta actually play along with Rikka from time to time? Thus what we saw of his Chuunibyou in the PV are not all his past? (Hopefully the answer to that question is not a spoiler.)

This was asked in the anime thread, but I want to answer it here. Yuuta sealed away his chuunibyou when he was near the end of middle school and hid his past from his new classmates. Does that mean he doesn't get urges when Rikka's playing along? It'd be unrealistic if he didn't. That was a big part of him in middle school and to expect him to turn it around in under a year? It won't happen.

As for whether or not he acts on those urges, I won't say as to not get hopes up only to be dashed if he doesn't or to spoil it if he does.

And since I'm posting in here, I'll comment that both novels have been translated. I hope to find an editor who's native language is English to proofread the first novel while I revise the second novel. With luck, both novels should be available publicly soon. (New avatar is Shichimiya, my favorite character from the series. Nyahahaha, I won't lose to anyone!)

[Hyper]

Originally Posted by ultimatemegax

This was asked in the anime thread, but I want to answer it here. Yuuta sealed away his chuunibyou when he was near the end of middle school and hid his past from his new classmates. Does that mean he doesn't get urges when Rikka's playing along? It'd be unrealistic if he didn't. That was a big part of him in middle school and to expect him to turn it around in under a year? It won't happen.

As for whether or not he acts on those urges, I won't say as to not get hopes up only to be dashed if he doesn't or to spoil it if he does.

And since I'm posting in here, I'll comment that both novels have been translated. I hope to find an editor who's native language is English to proofread the first novel while I revise the second novel. With luck, both novels should be available publicly soon. (New avatar is Shichimiya, my favorite character from the series. Nyahahaha, I won't lose to anyone!)

Thanks for your answer (as vague as it is ). And I really looking forward to the translation. Too bad I'm far from being good at English. Hope you find someone soon.

[suntaclaus]

Is Satone suffering from chuunibyou?

[teja208]

Originally Posted by ultimatemegax

And since I'm posting in here, I'll comment that both novels have been translated. I hope to find an editor who's native language is English to proofread the first novel while I revise the second novel. With luck, both novels should be available publicly soon. (New avatar is Shichimiya, my favorite character from the series. Nyahahaha, I won't lose to anyone!)

Best of luck finding compitent editor. I'm looking forward to reading the novel as well after finishing the anime. Personally, I also happen to have taken interest in Satone's character. I love love-rival girl character in romcom because it helps in pushing main heroine to get more aggressive on the main guy. I also like her atire, it really made her standout especially the long scarf which made her look like she had four dangling arms.

Originally Posted by suntaclaus

Is Satone suffering from chuunibyou?

Chuunibyou anime thread opening post should answer your question.

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=109231

You see the ANN article? Appearently, they've taken sypnosis from novel vol. 2 as description which is a "spoiler by mistake" since it was reveiled later anime adaptation will only cover vol. 1.

As for the streight answer, it's a big YES.

[suntaclaus]

teja208, thank you for answer.

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by teja208

Best of luck finding compitent editor. I'm looking forward to reading the novel as well after finishing the anime. Personally, I also happen to have taken interest in Satone's character. I love love-rival girl character in romcom because it helps in pushing main heroine to get more aggressive on the main guy. I also like her atire, it really made her standout especially the long scarf which made her look like she had four dangling arms.

Thanks for your wishes. It's been surprisingly difficult to find someone willing to assist. People love to point out typos and grammatical mistakes, but hardly anyone wants to help when asked. I've got someone working on novel 1 now.

I...have a confession to make. (oops, went into Yuuta mode) Shichimiya is by far my favorite character in the franchise. That's not to say Rikka isn't awesome as well (she really shines in novel 1) but Shichimiya really amazed me in novel 2. I did my best to convey just how wonderful she was. Also, you can't forget the Twin Curls hairstyle:


On an related note, novel 2 has finished revision (terms tend to change throughout the novel, re-wording things that slipped through), and just needs to be edited by someone else. I can't wait to read what everyone thinks about the story.

[teja208]

Originally Posted by ultimatemegax

Thanks for your wishes. It's been surprisingly difficult to find someone willing to assist. People love to point out typos and grammatical mistakes, but hardly anyone wants to help when asked. I've got someone working on novel 1 now.

Actually, I would like to help out myself, but by doing so, I will be spoiling myself by the time anime comes out and I've no intention of doing that. Since I have faith in Kyoani's adaptation, I would like to watch the anime first before reading the novel. so who knows, maybe you should try waiting until anime finish airing. If anime is well recieved, then there will probabily be more people willing to help you with your edit.

[winhlp32]

So I've read approximately half of the first novel (with no plans to continue) and would like to share some thoughts. There are no spoilers, but I hope I can clear some clouds surrounding this mysterious novel and how it relates to the anime.

Spoiler for Text:

- Firstly I have to say having read this much of the novel, watching the anime trailer and seeing the 2ch/twitter reception to the 1st and 2nd episode, I can sort of imagine at which point in the book the anime starts to delve into original material territory, and the answer to that is very early. Ishihara wasn't kidding when he says the anime and novel may end up becoming different works altogether. Anything I say here are based on what I've read in the novel and should not be taken as an end-all-be-all guide to what to expect in the anime adaptation. I suspect most of what I read won't make it into the anime, not without major changes anyway.

- I can tell why Kyoani chose the Key team to work on this adaptation, since the way the character interaction is structured and played out very much reminded me of the first season of Clannad. The manzai routine are also very Key-like, though perhaps not nearly as absurd as some of the comedy Clannad or Little Busters have. The main heroine Rikka herself wouldn't look out of place in a Key game heroine lineup. Ishihara mentioning that Yuuta's family will affect the anime story also makes me think of Nagisa's family in Clannad and the significance they've had in that story.

- On characters: regarding Rikka, depending on how she is portrayed in the anime, I have a feeling within the Western fandom she will be an "acquired taste" character. I personally find her cute, but I can definitely see how people may be irritated by her behavior especially in the beginning. There is also the anime bringing in new characters Sanae and Kumin, which I think will definitely affect how Rikka is seen by the viewers. Besides, I suspect the Western viewers would largely prefer the more "mature" looking woman, which in this anime would be Shinka. All I can say about her so far is that her character was not what I expected her to be like. The protagonist Yuuta operates competently in his role as the male lead, though this far into the novel he has yet to distinguish himself too much from other anime male protagonists. A positive would be that Yuuta himself can be pretty funny as well at times.

- I can see where people saying that the writing needs work are coming from. A lot of the scenarios in the novel are dragged out too long, and I'm often thinking, "just finish talking/eating/studying and move on already!". This is something I'm not too worried about with the anime adaptation. I also thought that parts of the Kotenbu novels were taxing to read, but I really liked it in anime form. Furthermore I'd say Kyoani is right at home with material like chu2koi so I have faith that it would remain consistently entertaining.

- Lastly, how different a work would this be from their latest anime Hyouka? Well, If I could describe the opening episodes of Hyouka anime with three words they would be: Colors, teenagers, and curiosity.
Compare that with the three words to describe what I've read of the chu2koi novels so far: Romance, Chuunibyou, and maths. Overall, I thought what I've read of the novel by itself is interesting but a bit of a chore to read. I also think that the novel material is a endless playground right inside Kyoani's comfort zone (much more so than something like Hyouka) and they should have no problem spinning this into a highly entertaining story. Very much looking forward to the anime.

[Kleeyook]

Hey, may I ask what the hell is "Chuunibyou"?

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by Kleeyook

Hey, may I ask what the hell is "Chuunibyou"?

I'll just quote the novel:

Chuunibyou, which affects people while they go through puberty, isn't something that affects people physically or emotionally. No, it’s a much more pathetic disease. It's the kind that makes people see evil all around them, even when they're in public, and I don't mean something as simple as being in a rebellious phase. For example, someone might think so highly of themselves that they feel possessed of some kind of unique, mysterious power.

Basically, it's people who imagine they have some type of mystical power awakened in them. They're the kind of kids who play superheros, but never grew out of that phase. It's not just in private; these types of people act this way all the time. They truly believe they have powers.

[Kleeyook]

^^ Thanks! ^^

It sounds quite similar to Sorairo... (I forgot the full name).

[YuzurihaAsuna]

I just wanna ask.. I saw this thread and I saw it was tag as romance... Where is the romance? is it between Rikka and Yuuta?

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by YuzurihaAsuna

I just wanna ask.. I saw this thread and I saw it was tag as romance... Where is the romance? is it between Rikka and Yuuta?

In very simple terms, yes. This is why I titled it She Has Chuunibyou, But I Want to Love Her! in my translation.

[ghost013]

In the anime, there were two other girls featured in the opening other than Rikka Takanashi and Shinka Nibutani. Are they anime original? And I don't remember Satone Shichimiya appearing anywhere also.

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by ghost013

In the anime, there were two other girls featured in the opening other than Rikka Takanashi and Shinka Nibutani. Are they anime original? And I don't remember Satone Shichimiya appearing anywhere also.

Yes, Kumin Tsuyuri and Sanae Dekomori are anime-original characters as is Toka Takanashi (Rikka's older sister). Satone Shichimiya appears in the second novel, so she's incredibly unlikely to appear in the anime as they're only using the first novel as a base.