What They Say:
I, Ex-Middle Two Syndrome sufferer (“Chuunibyou”) AKA Yota Togashi and current MTS sufferer Rikka Takanashi, have happily exchanged the vows of truth (we’re going out), and I am enjoying life IRL to the fullest… Or at least, I should be. Yes, I really should be. If it wasn’t for the game-changing appearance of my best friend from my previous middle school, super powerful MTS sufferer Sophia Ring SP Saturn VII AKA Satone Shichimiya! What in the world should I do now?! And thus, the battle of The Devil VS The Evil Eye begins!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the season fully underway, I’d say this is the best thing we’ve got, and while it still hasn’t hit the level of the first season yet, it’s making progress. It may be disappointing that this episode continues to do much of the same as the first season, again putting off the inevitable newcomer for a later date, albeit an obviously very immediate one with the way this episode does end up setting it up. However, it hits on some of the most important notes that the series has, ones that ring true to life in a very successful way despite – or perhaps most importantly because of – the silly fun that the series loves to dedicate so much time to.
It’s another episode that brings the “love” in the title out onto center stage, even to the point that hardly anything else matters in the entire episode. After a wonderfully embarrassing attempt to remake herself for her second year, Shinka is back to her original appearance, and seems to have wisely given up on distancing herself from the “problem” that has pervaded her high school life thus far. It’s actually a very nice but subtle depiction of how close this group of friends has gotten, no matter how antagonistic some may have seemed, to see Shinka comfortably and casually prodding into Yuta and Rikka’s love life, and even taking the initiative to help push it along, in the cute and maybe a little jealous way that single friends tend to do.
So sets up a somewhat typical date episode, in which Rikka’s eccentricities are of course put on full display in every comical opportunity to Yuta’s chagrin, although not as much as would’ve been the case in the previous season, as that was an important part of its ending. This is all plenty amusing in the same way the first episode was, but to a lesser extreme that don’t bring out the laughs quite as heartily. But this is definitely a “romance” episode, as regardless of how much comedy there is throughout, what really matters is what the couple decides on in the end. This also goes well with the ending of the first season, as they come to the conclusion, conveyed via their unique methods, that they shouldn’t attempt to conform to the norms of societal romantic expectations if they contradict what feels natural. It’s a simple message, but one that continues to matter, and becomes even more meaningful as these expectations do continue to permeate romantic relations, and works well with the multiple themes the series has always been about.
In Summary:
Just like Shinka, the main two are at their best when being true to themselves and this episode is all about finding and accepting that. It’s not a particularly eventful episode and only brings up the new character of the season at the end, but it’s good to get that confirmation of how the two are treating their romance before we move into completely new territory. We should care about these characters by now, and like Shinka, it’s hard not to be curious how that side of things is going. Last week I said that this wouldn’t be a season just about exploring this romance after “making the pact” in the first place, but it is an important aspect, and this episode does well with it.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Toshiba Satellite L655-S5191 PSK2CU-1C301U Notebook PC.
