Definition
To begin with, let's understand what chuuni means in English.
is an anime character (or person) who likes manga, anime or games, and ends up pretending (or actually thinking) they have super-powers. They fantasize they fight alone against super-secret global criminal organizations aiming for world domination, and so on, because they have become influenced by fiction and shounen manga
Sometimes, a chuuni will even claim their powers can't be controlled, or that they're being targeted, so it's incredibly dangerous for "normal people" to stay around them, which is why they'd rather be alone (although this is just an excuse for having no friends because nobody wants to hang around the weirdo).
Normally, a chuuni character will attempt to look lame cool by showing off the following features:
- Bandages sealing some unworldly demon within their right/left arm which may go crazy who knows when.
- An eye-patch sealing their "evil eye" (jakigan 邪気眼) which let's them see evil things normal people can't see.
- A magic world, which is either lost forever and beyond hope of recovery, or invisible, or just not very magic at all.
- Epic cool-sounding names for their super-powers, secret techniques, and evil-fighting organizations, all of which literally nobody has ever heard of and make absolutely no sense (JUSTICE KNIGHTS OF... THUNDERRRRRRRRR!!!)
Now, here are two important things to consider.
First, a chuuni often doesn't have any special powers or fights evil or anything, despite their claims. They're just trying to look cool by copying what they saw on a manga, anime, game. The problem is, as them and other kids get older, it stops being cool (if it ever were) and starts looking lame.
Second, aisan otaku オタク . Anis someone who spends a lot of time in their hobby (reading manga, watching anime, etc.). In Japan, manga and anime are everyday things, every kid can read or watch, it's common. Just because you read, like, one manga, Naruto, for example, and start saying you can dothat doesn't make you an, that just makes you a
Examples
Kanji
So that's what chuuni is in English, but what about chuuni in Japanese?
In order to understand what the word means, let's start by deciphering the kanji of chuuni 中二.
- chuu 中
Middle. - ni 二
Two.
So... "middle"... and the
So... "middle"... and the Japanese number two. Middle 2. Okay...
That helped nothing.
What does middle two mean?! Did I translate it wrong? Am I missing something here?! Well, actually, yeah.
The term中二 is an abbreviation of an school year . It refers to:
- chuugaku ninen 中学二年
Middle school second year.
Eighth grade. (Japanese elementary has 6 years)
Alright, so now we know that chuuni means "middle school second year," which makes absolutely no sense at all. When you call a character a chuuni, are you saying they're a "year"? What? If you intended to call him a student, the correct word would be:
- chuugaku ninensei 中学二年生
Middle school second year student.
Eighth grade student.
What exactly is going on here? I mean, even if chuuni means second year student (and not the actual year), what is that supposed to mean? Are all second year students chuuni??? Is chuuni just a way to say someone is in the eighth grade?!
Of course not.
What is missing here is this:
- byou 病
Sickness. Illness. Syndrome.
Added to what we had before:
- chuunibyou 中二病
Middle school second year syndrome.
Eighth grade syndrome.
OOOOoooooh...!!!
BUT WAIT, WHAT???!
Chuuni vs. Chuunibyou
When people, in English, say the word chuuni, they don't mean "eighth grade," even though that's what chuuni means in Japanese. When they say chuuni, they mean chuunibyou.
The word chuuni in English is equivalent to the word chuunibyou in Japanese. Why do people say chuuni instead of chuunibyou? I don't know. I guess it's because it's shorter? The point is: the word you want to know about is chuunibyou, not chuuni.
It's very simple, really. It's just the western fans screwing up with the Japanese words.When people, in English, say the word, they don't mean "eighth grade," even though that's whatmeans in Japanese. When they say, they meanThe wordin English is equivalent to the wordin Japanese. Why do people sayinstead of? I don't know. I guess it's because it's shorter? The point is: the word you want to know about is, not
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! 中二病でも恋がしたい！, "I want to love despite having middle school second year syndrome" to see how the word chuunibyou is used)Second Year Middle School Syndrome
The horrible disease known as "second year middle school syndrome," or chuunibyou in Japan, was named like this because of the demographic most affected by its abominable symptoms: middle school second year students.
Now you might be asking: how is that even possible? Is there really a syndrome that targets specifically second year students of a middle school? Are viruses and bacteria becoming socially aware?!
Well, no. I mean, maybe. But that's not the case here.
Internet Slang
The term chuunibyou is an internet slang in Japan, it's not an actual medical term. It simply implies that it's a condition that should be cured (a syndrome, disease), and it generally has nothing to do with the mental health of the chuuni in question.
Why Second Year?
The reason it's called second year middle school syndrome (or eighth grade syndrome) is pretty obvious: that school year maps to the age of 13–14 years old, the very middle of puberty.
Why is that important? Because of what chuunibyou really is about.
The Real Problem
If you only watch anime and read manga, you might think chuunibyou is like kids trying to LARP, or maybe missing friends to play D&D, but what's not what chuunibyou is.That's because anime chuunibyou is based on Real Life™ chuunibyou. And nothing in real life is as pretty as the downplayed anime version of it.
In the case of chuunibyou, it's not really about dressing up in fantasy costumes, pretending to be host of a demon, and claiming to have dark super powers and be able to save the world. That's just a way it manifests. The core issue here is that there's a teenager trying really hard to get attention.
That's right: chuunibyou is a self-identity through puberty problem.
Real Chuunibyou
Children who go get chuunibyou want to be special and unique. Different. And, obviously, they are not. But they want to be. Because who doesn't? So they start pretending they are a thing they are not, do things they do not, and even like things they don't like really, all in an effort to look better than your average Joe, to the average Joe's.Obviously, pretending to fight evil is an extreme example of chuunibyou. Children who read manga and watch anime end up figuring out that since the fictional protagonists are so cool and superior, if they pretend to be like the fictional characters they'll end up being cool and superior. It's really stupid if you think about it, but for the chuunibyou it makes sense.
Examples
Other less extreme examples of chuunibyou include pretty much anything a teenager would do to "look different" from your average person in order to get attention. The degree of this varies, the way it's done varies. Sometimes, a chuunibyou will even look down on everyone who is average."You, a normie, listens to pop music, pretty much trash. I, a chuunibyou, listen only to obscure bands, which are much better than your bands. Until they become popular. Then I'll say they suck and sounded better before."
The bandages chuunibyou wear and eye-patches, they are not there for no reason. Thankfully, nobody is injured, but somebody will ask: "what happened? Did you get hurt? Did you break your arm? Is your eye okay?" It's just a way of getting attention. (this is like a far less crazy version of jishou-gata yandere)
Because chuunibyou keep doing stuff that's annoying and weird to get attention, it's no mystery they end up alone. Maybe they were alone before and started doing this stuff to try to get friends. Who knows? The point is they won't back down. Instead of accepting it doesn't work and changing to fit in, the chuunibyou only worsens. The teenager will start claiming he doesn't care that others ignore him and couldn't care less for the opinions and friendship of normies.
Adult Chuunibyou
So, basically, chuunibyou is about trying too hard to be different. So hard you do stuff that doesn't make any sense in an effort to appear interesting or changed, and so hard you won't admit it doesn't work. Surely, this term is used only toward teenagers, but, unfortunately, adults have chuunibyou too. It's just that we don't call it that.There are many chuunibyou adults who'll start doing stuff to appear different in their social circles. They'll start a weird vegan diet. Or doing crossfit. Or vaping. Or smoking weed. All for no reason other than standing out. (of course there are those who do these things because they want to, they have actual preferences, but with chuunibyou's they only care for the appearances.)
So that's what a chuuni and what chuunibyou means in Japanese.
If you only watch anime and read manga, you might thinkis like kids trying to, or maybe missing friends to play, but what's not whatis.That's because animeis based on Real Life™. And nothing in real life is as pretty as the downplayed anime version of it.In the case of, it's not really about dressing up in fantasy costumes, pretending to be host of a demon, and claiming to have dark super powers and be able to save the world. That's just a way it manifests. The core issue here is that there's a teenager trying really hard to get attention.That's right:is a self-identity through puberty problem.Children who go getwant to be special and unique. Different. And, obviously, they are not. But they want to be. Because who doesn't? So they start pretending they are a thing they are not, do things they do not, and even like things they don't like really, all in an effort to look better than your average Joe, to the average Joe's.Obviously, pretending to fight evil is an extreme example of. Children who read manga and watch anime end up figuring out that since the fictional protagonists are so cool and superior, if they pretend to be like the fictional characters they'll end up being cool and superior. It's really stupid if you think about it, but for theit makes sense.Other less extreme examples ofinclude pretty much anything a teenager would do to "look different" from your average person in order to get attention. The degree of this varies, the way it's done varies. Sometimes, awill even look down on everyone who is average."You, a normie, listens to pop music, pretty much trash. I, a, listen only to obscure bands, which are much better than your bands. Until they become popular. Then I'll say they suck and sounded better before."The bandageswear and eye-patches, they are not there for no reason. Thankfully, nobody is injured, but somebody will ask: "what happened? Did you get hurt? Did you break your arm? Is your eye okay?" It's just a way of getting attention. (this is like a far less crazy version ofBecausekeep doing stuff that's annoying and weird to get attention, it's no mystery they end up alone. Maybe they were alone before and started doing this stuff to try to get friends. Who knows? The point is they won't back down. Instead of accepting it doesn't work and changing to fit in, theonly worsens. The teenager will start claiming he doesn't care that others ignore him and couldn't care less for the opinions and friendship of normies.So, basically,is about trying too hard to be different. So hard you do stuff that doesn't make any sense in an effort to appear interesting or changed, and so hard you won't admit it doesn't work. Surely, this term is used only toward teenagers, but, unfortunately, adults havetoo. It's just that we don't call it that.There are manyadults who'll start doing stuff to appear different in their social circles. They'll start a weird vegan diet. Or doing crossfit. Or vaping. Or smoking weed. All for no reason other than standing out. (of course there are those who do these things because they want to, they have actual preferences, but with's they only care for the appearances.)So that's what aand whatmeans in Japanese.
What's a...? A miserable pile of secrets!!! There are people out there who are, and because such people exist, there are characters in anime who are alsojust like real people. But what doesmean? And what doesmean in Japanese? And what's the difference betweenan?!(just watch中二病でも恋がしたい！, "I want to love despite having middle school second year syndrome" to see how the wordis used)
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