Review: Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions! REN, Episode 8: The False… Mori Summer [Or “Holy Spirit Mother”]

Screenshot taken from: http://www.crunchyroll.com/love-chunibyo-other-delusions-heart-throb-/episode-8-the-false-mori-summer-or-holy-spirit-mother-648795?t=1280&p720=1

Review:

Nibutani episode, go! Well, maybe character-specific episodes would appeal to me more if I’d been with these characters longer. In any event, this episode follows the plot thread that was started during the school trip episodes, when Nibutani found out about the Mori Summer web site. Now that Yuta and Rikka have grown closer (I would have been happy with more awkward relationship cuteness, though), it’s time to settle the score here.

With all that said, I’m not sure how to feel about this episode. The fake Mori Summer is a creep, which, granted, isn’t treated like it’s okay, but there is a lot of occult imagery in this episode, including a scene where several characters are sitting around a table with a pentagram on it. Nibutani claims it helps locate things or something. Granted, it ultimately does nothing, but it still has the look of an actual occult ritual, and that is not okay. More on that, though, in the Christian Perspective.

So content wise, yes, this episode is a bit discomforting in some aspects, particularly in regards to the occult symbology. Outside of that, there are some amusing aspects, including Nibutani’s complete embarassment over the things she used to do when she went around pretending to be (or perhaps believing herself to be) Mori Summer. We can thank Sophia for that. At the very least, the characters seem to realize that all of this is in their imaginations (or at least, the really fake, fake Summer does, as she comments that she has the greater power of imagination). The fact that all of the other characters seem to be able to see what’s going on in the delusions makes me wonder if they share the delusion or what, but at that point I’m just over-thinking a show. It would be interesting to see a cross-section of what is actually happening when they’re imagining these epic battles, though.

A Christian Perspective:

Ugh, this episode…. Part of my reasoning/justification/what have you with the pentagrams and stuff was that at least it was all make believe. This episode, though, had to go and include Nibutani actually performing an occult ritual where she sits around a table with a few other characters. The table has a pentagram drawn on it, and candles are lit around it. Supposedly, it’s to locate something. Granted, nothing actually happens, and I probably could just wave this away as a case of, “Well, they didn’t glorify the occult by making it look like it had any power”, but how much should I–or any Christian who desires to be discerning, for that matter–wave away and excuse before we stop? Now, does this kind of stuff open up our minds to accepting the occult and allowing Satan in? Honestly, I don’t know. For those who have previous ties to the occult, I would definitely think so, and advise they stay away (although I would suggest not even watching this show at that point). For the rest of us? Honestly, I don’t know. I like Chunibyo more than I dislike it, but this kind of stuff leaves me unsure of whether I should actually continue watching it. There are, of course, other instances of occult items, particularly pentagrams, throughout the episode.

The other thing, too, is that there is some mild yuri (or, perhaps, shoujo-ai) content in this episode. The fake Mori Summer, for example, is after Deko, and yes, in that way. She tries to kiss Dekomori, she makes a comment about Dekomori’s “thingies” being as cute as a baby’s, and she is shown chewing on Deko’s ear. There is another scene, too, where it is revealed that Deko and Nibutani have apparently kissed in the past, although they insist that it was an accident. Both characters are blushing in the scene, though, so I’m not sure what the implications here are, and I don’t know anything about the incident itself. I assume it happened in the first season.

My other issue is the title, or rather subtitle, of “Holy Spirit Mother”. Granted, I doubt they’re referring to the Holy Spirit, but it still sounds wrong…

Of course, there is also an imaginary battle in this episode, although that hardly seems worth mentioning in light of the other stuff. Despite all of this, I still do want to finish this series, although I’m questioning my previous intention to go back and watch the first season. Christian viewers, what are your thoughts? Am I over-thinking this? Or should I drop this?

Content Guide:

Language: None

Alcohol/Drug Use: None

Nudity/Sex/Fanservice: The fake Mori Summer tries to kiss Dekomori, off-screen she makes a comment that Deko’s “thingies” are as cute as a baby’s (don’t ask me what the “thingies” are), and she is shown chewing on Deko’s ear;

Violence: A character is yanked up by the shirt and then tossed; the same character is later tossed again; a character is knocked to the ground; two characters engage in an imaginary battle where they fight with magic; the fighting sends characters flying around; a character intervenes with a giant hammer

Blood/Gore: None

Other: Pentagram on the clubroom floor; the “Mabinogion” (or however it’s spelled) is referred to as “scripture”–specifically, the statement is scripture of the Mabinogion (sp?); Nibtuani is shown to have a number of occult items, including a tarot card, cards with a pentagram on the back, and a book with a pentagram on the cover; Nibutani, Yuta, Rikka, and Kumin are shown sitting around a table–the table has a pentagram on the top of it, and candles are lit around it; characters are using magic in an imaginary battle; the fake Mori Summer is apparently into girls; apparently, Nibutani and Dekomori kissed in the past (though it is supposedly an accident), and they are blushing as they argue (hopefully this isn’t going down the path of being yuri)