And so ends Chuunibyou, with a warm lesson about love. While the steps you take in order to grow closer are important, the speed at which you take them doesn’t mean you don’t love each other; it’s truly about the time you spend together and the memories you make.
Rikka wants to grow closer to Togashi. In order to do so, she realizes this means stepping up their lover’s contract – something only possible now because she awakened the dark flame dragon in the previous episode. The girl is seeking to reap her harvest, as it were. Can’t blame her!
After a few hilarious misunderstandings with Nibutani and Deko, who seem to have the impression that “taking their contract a step further” means they either already have or plan to, uh, have relations. Obviously this isn’t the case with our beta-ass main character, who could barely even hold hands without melting.
Thankfully, Rikka has great friends who help instill a lot of confidence in her. She asks Togashi to meet her after school under the bridge. After a pep talk from Deko and Sophia (and some mana from the latter), she works up the courage to not run away. Togashi does come, and the two discuss how close they’ve grown in the past year. They couldn’t even hug each other or hold hands a year ago. Now they’ve grown so much closer and done so many things together. Although they never get to kiss, Togashi assures her it will happen when the time is right, and that they should take it slowly. Cute and heartwarming is an understatement. Truly, their love is evident in the time they’ve spent together and the memories they’ve forged in their hearts. Now that’s love.
Thanks, Chuunibyou! I’ll miss you and your whole cast. Come back soon because I already miss you.