Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Neil Lumbard September 22, 2023

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions is an action-packed anime series. Created by Torako, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions features original character designs by Nozomi Ousaka. Produced by Nagaharu Ohashi (Liz and the Blue Bird, A Silent Voice), Shigeru Saitō (High School DxD, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid), and Shinichi Nakamura (Amagami SS, Clannad), Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions was originally on Japanese television as broadcast on Animax, BS Animax, Nippon BS Broadcasting Corporation, KBS Kyoto, Sun TV, Tokyo MX, and Aichi Television Broadcasting. Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions has animation production by Kyoto Animation (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid). Featuring voice-performances by Jun Fukuyama and Maaya Uchida, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions is fun for the target audience.

Yūta Togashi (Jun Fukuyama) is no ordinary person. Unlike some of his peers, Yūta has a rare condition that puts him apart from the pack. The condition is known as chunibyo. The rare condition causes a person to have their own fantasies where the person with the condition is given super powers.

An unexpectedly strange phenomenon, Yūta attempts to put it all behind him and go to school. An interesting development causes more commotion, though. The girl he knows at school, Rikka Takanashi (Maaya Uchida), is known as a chuni too and wonders if the pair are destined to be together as adoring soulmates. Despite both of them being in their own strange worlds, the tale is far from over for the two classmates. What will happen next?

The character designs by Kazumi Ikeda (Clannad, Myriad Colors Phantom World) add to the fun of the production. The design work is creative and engaging aesthetically. The designs certainly stand out – providing something creative for the production. Fans who enjoy sleek design work will be quite pleased.

The animation is an essential part of the series and one of the main reasons the anime became a hit with audiences. The animation features art direction by Mutsuo Shinohara (Liz and the Blue Bird, A Silent Voice). The chief animation direction by Kazumi Ikeda (Myriad Colors Phantom World, Sound! Euphonium: Ensemble Contest Arc) is essential to the production as well. With stylish art, the production flourishes with the sleek aesthetic enhancing the tone of the series – fun and breezy.

The cinematography by Rin Yamamoto (Tamako Market, K-ON!) provides a compelling sense of style that compliments the animation and the work of the animation team. The cinematography has lush style and the vivid photography certainly adds some extra dimensionality to the production. With an impressive talent like Yamamoto involved, the cinematography adds a lot to the series – fans will most certainly appreciate.

The score composed by Nijine (Baka and Test - Summon the Beasts, Hatsukoi Limited) adds some decent background music to the production. Though the score doesn’t make as big of an impression as some of the best anime scores around, the music still works well for the action elements of the series. The music certainly fits the action beats and brings the tempo.

Written by Jukki Hanada (Princess Jellyfish, Sound! Euphonium), Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions is aimed at fans of genre fare. Hanana certainly enjoys the sandbox and fans of the series will find the collection something nice to have. Hanada adds charm for the characters and this helps make the production work well for the audience.

Directed by Tatsuya Ishihara (Clannad, Sound! Euphonium), Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions is an anime series with some fun elements. Anime fans should find some charm in the style of the series direction. The style has some vibrant and creative aspects – Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions might just be the antidote some anime fans are looking for.

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The Blu-ray presentation on the release is excellent and there is a lot to appreciate about the video quality for the series. A presentation with quality encoding, the high bit-rate encoding provides good line art and detail in the animation. The color reproduction is excellent overall. The background animation looks crisp, clean, and stylish.

For series fans looking to own the best possible presentation of the series, the Blu-ray provides the best option. It is always a wonderful feeling to own the best possible presentation of a series or film and this release provides that to fans. Even in the digital streaming era we live in now (with some series audiences opting for streaming platforms instead), the Blu-ray disc provides a much better viewing experience with higher bit-rates and higher quality encoding methods. For videophiles looking to have the best quality, the release provides a great option for viewers.

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio on the release is excellent sounding. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and engaging. The Japanese audio sound mix sounds impressive with a clear sense of scale for the vocals and the soundtrack. The sound direction by Yota Tsuruoka (The Big O, Broken Blade) is well reproduced and the style enhances the production. For audiophiles looking for the best in sound quality, Blu-ray provides something that can't be beat by streaming platforms. Fans who cherish the best in sound quality (such as those with high-end A/V receivers, equipment, and speakers) should certainly cherish the superior sound presentation provided.

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release is a comprehensive collection including the complete season one, season two, 2 OVA episodes, and 2 theatrical feature films in one boxed-set package. The release also includes an assortment of shorts.

Bonus Features –

Disc 2:

Chuni-Shorts: Play All (HD, 22:40) –

Volleyball

The Wicked Lord Shingan – The Dawning

My Big Brother

I'm Making Meat and Potato Stew!

Sleeping After School Beauty

Dekomori VS Nibutani

Japanese Promos

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:31)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:31)

OVA – Glimmering… Slapstick Christmas (HD, 25:07)

Disc 4:

Extra Episode: The Rikka Wars – Apocalypse of the Wicked Lord Shingan Reborn (HD, 25:07)

Chunibyo Lite:

Lite 1 – Kotatsumuri (HD, 3:32)

Lite 2 – The disease commonly known as "monomorai" or "mebachiko" or "meibo" (HD, 4:16)

Lite 3 – Wicked Lord Shingan – Storm Chapter (HD, 4:29)

Lite 4 – Dekomori VS Nibutani 2 (HD, 4:10)

Lite 5 – My Brother 3 – Camping Chapter (HD, 4:39)

Lite 6 – Summoning an Archangel (HD, 4:50)

Chunibyo Lite: Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:34)

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Theatrical Features:

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Rikka Version (HD, 1:31:47) as presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.

Additional Features:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:43)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 3:07)

Japanese Previews (HD, 2:53)

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Lite: "My Brother 2" (HD, 6:10)

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Lite: Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:39)

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions the Movie: Take On Me (HD, 1:36:09) as presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.

Additional Features:

Japanese Promo Videos (HD, 2:50)

Kotatsu Photo Session Shorts –

~A Parting… Dark Memoria~ (HD, 5:22)

~Mind Erosion… from an Alternate Dimension~ (HD, 5:21)

~A New… Photogenicer!~ (HD, 5:46)

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:47)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 6:14)

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions provides fans a lot of fun content with this extensive "Ultimate Collection" containing Season 1, Season 2, 2 OVAs, 2 movies, short films, and additional on-disc supplements. Audiences looking for a feature-packed extensive package will find this release enormously enticing. It is an excellent "all-in-one" collection for uber fans to add to their Blu-ray repertoire. The Blu-ray release provides impressive high-definition video and quality lossless audio alongside additional bonus features. Fans of Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions should consider it well worth owning. Recommended.