Aura: Marjúinkóga saigo no tatakai

Oh, if it weren't for that ending... if only the ending had been different, my rating might have been one, maybe even two stars higher. But alas, what can you do? When the creators abruptly conclude a captivating, realistically portrayed, and atmospherically beautiful tale of school bullying, its aftermath, and its resolution with a contrived and overly optimistic ending, it's difficult to overlook. Such an ending causes the main characters to appear foolish, forces emotions onto the audience, and promotes the belief that a collection of tired clichés and a single kiss can miraculously solve all the problems and put an end to bullying. Given these circumstances, it's impossible for me to give it a higher rating. It's truly a shame because, apart from a slightly heavy-handed beginning, the show was quite decent up until that point. The audiovisual experience was well-crafted, enhancing the overall appeal. However, the ending tarnished my overall impression. I can only speculate that the creators encountered a roadblock in the screenplay and simply didn't know how to progress the story. Their solution appeared to be, "Well, we're already over an hour into this, so let's just wrap it up. Let's insert a dramatic scene, pull at the heartstrings, and hope for the best. The audience will forgive us." Unfortunately, it didn't work, and I, for one, cannot forgive them. The inclusion of Ryoko's family background as a backstory felt forced, added more for the sake of it rather than contributing meaningfully to the narrative. The rooftop scene left me incredulous, and the behavior of the class teacher was equally frustrating. The subplot involving the mean-spirited classmates fizzled out without any real resolution, and the overwhelmingly positive ending overshadowed most of the positive aspects I had previously appreciated. It's an immense disappointment, considering the wasted potential of the show. I'll likely lament this for quite some time. Regrettably, I can only give it a strong two-star rating in the end. (28/01/2015)

This movie offers practically nothing surprising or new for someone who has seen a certain series about Chunibyo. "Dark Flame Master" was replaced by "Light Fang," and Rikka was replaced by "researcher" Ryouko; however, other than that, there was nothing really new. The overall storyline and outcome are so similar to the anime series that I just have to temper my enthusiasm here. Still, I liked the animation and the soundtrack a lot, and I still enjoy all these narratives concerning people who do not want to put up with reality and how it binds us, so they just prefer to create their own. Plus, the battle between reality and illusion was perhaps a little more interestingly presented in this movie. The subplot about bullying and its emphasis made it feel much deeper, more interesting, and more real than the narrative of the anime series mentioned above. The Chunibyo anime series was more fun; there was not much fun here. However, the question remains whether that is an advantage or a disadvantage concerning a subject matter like this. All in all, I definitely found it interesting, and considering the fact that the "happy upbeat ending" worked for me, I cannot award it a bad rating. 8/10. (06/12/2015)