A few years back, Kyoani surprised me with a cute and strangely satisfying story about people who seemed to live in alternate realities. The sequel follows our protagonist, the Dark Flame Master, as he slowly but surely works through being in a relationship with someone whose reality is directly in conflict with the very idea of romance. While Rikka meanders her way through her feelings for Yuuta, a potential rival shows up in the form of Satone, Yuuta's middle school friend and partner in chuunibyou crime. Will this catalyze Rikka and Yuuta's relationship or throw it into disarray?
In general, a vast majority of shows that I have high anticipation for seem to fall short, especially sequels. This kind of fits that bill as it isn't exactly what I was hoping for in the sequel. Yes, you still get the famous Kyoani moe and hilarious reactions from Nibutani but it's the same problem as in Seitokai Yakuindomo Bleep, it's just not fresh anymore. If you liked the original and want more of the same, then this would be a great fit. If you're hoping for developing relationships or interesting character back stories, you're only going to be partly satisfied. Nevertheless, despite not delivering everything that I had hoped for, this sequel is still a pretty decent watch and a good break from more serious shows.
Animation:
The animation style is pretty similar to the original with overly moe characters and occasionally wacky imaginary fight scenes with pretty imaginative and epic backgrounds. We get a new twin-tailed addition to the cast but otherwise everyone is as you'd expect. In summary, expect more of the same of what was in the original.
Sound:
I'm not sure I like the new OP as much as the original, it definitely shares elements but isn't as good of a melody. The ED is likewise not as distinct as the one in the first season. You do get a lot in insert songs as well as the original BGM, which by this point is sounding a little more distinctive. Sadly, there wasn't much innovation in this department.
There's a lot of dialogue in this show and it's handled well. The strong VA cast returns for another silly, ridiculous ride. Since all the original characters are present from the get go, expect a lot more of Dekomori's "death/DESu"s. Juri Nagatsuma is relatively new but does a pretty good job as the new twin-tail.
Story:
At the end of the last season, we faced a massive cliff-hanger/climax where Rikka had to choose her path. Unfortunately, the beginning of the show feels kind of like a reset to all of that. Despite the outrageous fact that Rikka now lives with Yuuta, and that Yuuta's family is MIA in Jakarta, apparently no relationship progress is being made. Furthermore, Rikka's chuunibyou is somehow now stronger than it ever was, to the point where Yuuta sometimes needs to go into "Dark Flame Master" mode to even communicate with Rikka.
There is very little focus in this season as it meanders between random themes such as visiting Dekomori's mansion and entering a napping competition to prevent the club from losing its room. The only real glue this season is Satone, who apparently moves into where Rikka used to live. As her previous relationship with Yuuta becomes clearer, Rikka is finally forced to leave her odd comfort zone. This builds up to a fairly cute climax and conclusion though by no means as intense and cliff-hanger prone as the original show.
So overall is there relationship progress in this sequel? Yes. However, it's relatively sparse and really could have been condensed into just a few episodes. If you're going to watch this, I'd focus instead on the character interactions.
Character:
Speaking of interactions, you can expect a lot of entertainment value out of the relationships in the show. Though sometimes over the top, the Dekomori and Nibutani relationship is pretty funny. Their love-hate relationship is explored in quite some depth and actually has a humorous sub-climax of its own. With Satone, we get a lot more background on the early days of the Dark Flame Master and an additional dosage of potential romantic development. It's kind of goofy though as both Satone and Rikka are challenged with balancing their chuunibyou with their actual feelings.
Value:
Overall this was a good season. Not a great addition to the original but worth it if you liked the original premise. I guess if they were to take away the chuunibyou this would just be an ordinary show, though I think it would have been interesting to show a post-chuunibyou Rikka. Oh well, you'll just have to make do with Nibutani's embarassment and shame.
