One of the most peculiar character archetypes within anime is the "chuunibyo," or someone who suffers from "Eighth Grade Syndrome." Basically, they refer to characters who never grew out of their childhood make-believe phases in order to make themselves feel more important or powerful than they really are.
Chuunibyo live in their own fantasy worlds, not unlike how Don Quixote thought he was a knight errant from the books he loved. From the way they act to how they dress, chuunibyo characters really stick out, even in a medium like anime.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
10 Cowboy Bebop — Cowboy Andy Was The Anime's Truest Cowboy
The hilarious irony of the quintessentially 90s Cowboy Bebop is that despite what its title implies, it doesn't star a cowboy. The legendary bounty hunter Cowboy Andy fixed this by literally riding a stallion into action. Cowboy Andy is a chuunibyo in the anime's rustic future, but instead of anime, he fixated on old cowboy movies.
With six-shooters and his own Western theme on his hips, Cowboy Andy saw himself as the last upright lawman in an uncivilized frontier. Despite his delusions, Cowboy Andy was actually a capable bounty hunter. After he lost to Spike Spiegel, Andy conceded that Spike was the true cowboy and remade himself into the samurai Miyamoto Musashi.
9 Wasteful Days Of High School Girls — Minami Yamamoto Was Nicknamed "Yamai" For A Reason
The biggest problem that the cast of Wasteful Days Of High School Girls has is that life is really boring, and no one suffered from this more than Yami did. Despite her age, Minami still indulged in childish fantasies, like claiming that she's secretly a dark dragon who's totally friends with mages from another world.
It's for this reason that Minami has been nicknamed "Yamai" by her schoolmates, since the word roughly translates to "crazy." Yamai did little to help her case, as she struggled academically, often contradicted her own made-up lore, and delved deeper into her fantasies instead of socializing with the "normal humans" who were her classmates.
8 My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU— Yoshiteru Zaimokuza Lived In His Own Light Novel
The only person more unpopular than the abysmally cynical Hachiman Hikigaya was Yoshiteru - a chuunibyo whose imagination is as big and towering as his build. In fact, he's literally the largest character in My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU. Yoshiteru is a harmless chuunibyo, but he tends to get on everyone's nerves.
Yoshiteru's dreams of becoming a light novel writer, and he's basically a character from one of his own stories. From the way he dresses to his specific expertise in Japanese history and pop culture lore, Yoshiteru is practically more character than man. That said, he's arguably more personable than the hopelessly pessimistic Hachiman, who he considers his best friend.
7 Love, Chuunibyo & Other Delusions — Rikka Takanashi Harnessed The Evil Eye For Tragic Reasons
Rikka is possibly the most popular and famous anime chuunibyo, but something those who only know her for the finger-twirling memes are oblivious to are the reasons why she acted the way she did. To wit, Rikka embraced her fantasies of being a sorceress who harbors the Wicked Eye to reject the reality in where her father died.
Even after accepting this hard truth, Rikka stayed as eccentric as ever. As far as Rikka was concerned, her imagination was the real deal. Not only did she have magic, but she was also friends with mages like The Dark Flame Master (aka. her love interest, Yuuta) who fought The Bureau and its high priestess (aka. her overbearing older sister, Touka).
6 Steins;Gate — Rintaro Okabe Became A Mad Scientist For His Friend's Sake
With his verbose speeches, bombastic laugh, and flowing lab coat, Rintaro looked exactly like a mad scientist from a cheesy B-movie. Thing is, this was all an act Rintaro was aware of. Despite his ridiculous chuunibyo side, Rintaro's grip on reality was so firm that even he was surprised when he accidentally turned a microwave oven into a time machine.
Rintaro only did this to cheer up his childhood friend, Mayuri Shiina, who struggled to accept the death of her grandmother. As the mad scientist Hououin Kyouma, Rintaro held Mayuri "hostage" to find a cure for her sadness. Rintaro played the role for almost a decade and, fortunately, it helped Mayuri get through some hard times.
5 School-Live! — Yuki Takeya Coped With The Zombie Apocalypse Through Escapism
School-Live! is what would happen if a chuunibyo were stuck in a horror anime. Yuki may not have been reenacting something she saw in anime that she liked, but she lived in her own fantasy as any chuunibyo would. Specifically, she was a bubbly slice-of-life protagonist trapped in a zombie apocalypse.
Most of Yuki's playful scenarios (especially her conversations with her favorite teacher, Megu-nee) occurred in her mind, which was her defense mechanism against reality's horrors. While her org mates dealt with survival concerns and enabled her fantasies for the time being, Yuki continued to live like she was in a moé anime.
4 Digimon Adventure 02 — The Digimon Emperor Was An Edgy Teenager's Idea Of A Dictator
The Digimon Emperor (or Ken Ichijouji) is as corny and juvenile as his title implies, as seen in his overuse of the word "Dark" and his goal of reshaping the Digital World to his desires. His greatest creation, Kimeramon, even looked like something a fanboy drew. That said, there's tragedy behind Digimon Adventure 02's eccentric villain.
Ken blamed himself for the accidental death of his older brother Sam, and he based his Digimon Emperor persona on Sam's best traits as a tribute of sorts. With the power of the Dark Spores, Ken was able to control a chaotic world while lashing out on it with impunity - things he only wished he could do in the real world.
3 SSSS.Gridman — Akane Shinjo Became A Tokusatsu Villain In The Computer World
At first glance, Akane was just a typical anime villainess, from her purple hair to her impossibly perfect physique. The reason for that is because the Akane seen in SSSS.Gridman is the real (read: live-action) Akane's idealized anime avatar. Basically, Gridman's anime reboot was Akane's chuunibyo delusions brought to life by Alexis Kerib.
In the Computer World, Akane was her class' most popular girl and the main villain of a typical kaiju show. A popular fan theory also posited that Rikka Takarada is Akane's normal "boring" self, since she resembled the human Akane. If true, it would explain Akane and Rikka's tense rivalry. Ironically, Rikka had the happier life in the Computer World.
2 Samurai Flamenco — Masayoshi Hazama Was A Superhero In His Mind & In Reality
Bored of his mundane life, Masayoshi turned to his love of sentai heroes to become the crime-fighting hero Samurai Flamenco. Problem is, Masayoshi lived in the real world, where an adult chuunibyo beating up petty criminals is a weird novelty at best and a public nuisance at worst. At least, that's how things were in the anime's first arc.
Halfway through, Samurai Flamenco and the Flamenrangers fought the real galactic villain faction From Beyond, and Masayoshi even met The Will Of The Universe, the closest thing to God in the series. The Will revealed that the anime's events were Masayoshi's desires made real, and it was only possible thanks to his invoking of the galactic prayer "Flamenco."
1 The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya — Haruhi's Powers Made Her Chuunibyo Fantasies A Reality
She may not look like a stereotypical chuunibyo, but Haruhi has the mindset. If not for her subconscious godhood, Haruhi was essentially a chuunibyo who wanted to befriend otherwise make-believe aliens, time-travelers, espers, and more. With her reality-warping powers, Haruhi unknowingly fulfilled her wish when she formed the SOS Brigade.
Haruhi's quest for the fantastic was driven by her desperation to live an exciting life no matter what, and her powers turned these flights of fancy into the real thing. It's also been implied that the only reason why the current reality is as otherworldly as it is was because Haruhi rebooted the world three years prior after getting bored of it.
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