History Main / Chuunibyou

* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Uto Nakaji takes the KnowNothingKnowItAll route by pretending to be a WanderingMinstrel. She’s a DreadfulMusician, and her attempts at philosophy only confuse the people she talks to and amount to little more than {{Ice Cream Koan}}s. She temporarily dips into Evil Eye territory when PlayingDrunk.

* ''Webcomic/BlackHole2019'' has Chani, who started out as a typical example of the "evil eye" archetype. However, her belief that she had magical powers was so strong that she actually ended up manifesting her own magic, eventually leading to her becoming Diana's apprentice.

* Kyōtarō Ichikawa from ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'' (An ''actual'' middle schooler) sits in the back of the classroom reading gory horror novels and fantasizing about murdering his classmates, deeming himself to be a disturbed individual who's "messed up in the head". It's clear he'd never actually act on these impulses, though, as outside of his delusions he's a ShrinkingViolet who hates to see people upset. [[{{Prequel}} Episode Zero]] shows this trait to be [[spoiler: a coping mechanism built up through his first year in middle school to deal with his isolation, low self-esteem, and FreakinessShame towards his genuine interest in non-fiction books about murderers.]]

** Omori himself is something of a [[ADarkerMe darker, idealized]] version of Sunny that the boy assumes in his fantasies. He is everything Sunny is not: a strong leader to his friends, a powerful combatant (focused on [[KnifeNut knife combat]] for that extra edge bonus), quick-witted and vicious (implied by some of his moves, like Taunt, Trick and Exploit), [[TheDeterminator determined]] ("Omori will not succumb!"), capable of simply slashing through any threat he faces, and always able to overcome his fears when it matters. Things get dicey when it becomes clear that [[spoiler:Sunny using Omori to run away from his real-life traumas is a deeply unhealthy coping mechanism, that causes Sunny to wallow in denial and, once that's no longer an option, to seriously contemplate (and possibly commit, depending on the ending you get) [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]].]]

* Mikhael from ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'' demands other people call him "The Maverick", has declared Kel to be his rival, and throws out quotes about his "true power" and "final form" as if he were a character from Dragonball Z. In reality, he's a delinquent in a mundane setting, everybody aside from the even younger Angel finds his behavior strange and embarassing, and the worst he can do in battle is inflict attack debuffs.

** The one to kick off the chuuni traditions in Gensoukyou is Remilia Scarlet, who's always trying to come off as dark, sinister, mysterious and immeasurably powerful. Bit of an unusual example considering the fact that Remilia actually really is an immensely powerful, 500-year-old vampire with quite a bit of leverage in the setting... Regardless, she's still very prone to hyping herself and her vampiric abilities up to levels that not even she can ever reasonably live up to, complete with [[GiverOfLameNames trying way too hard when]] [[CallingYourAttacks naming her attacks,]] and the fact she's a [[ImmortalImmaturity perpetual 10-year-old child]] serves to further underscore her chuuni complex. This is such a big part of her character, in fact, that she even tends to slip into bragging about her vampiric powers in {{AU Fic}}s where she's a regular human. Then there's also the matter of her supposed signature ability, the so-called "[[WindsOfDestinyChange manipulation of fate]]", which seems to be a lot less potent than it sounds and than Remilia makes it out to be. According to her sister, Remilia outright made it up to make it sound like she's [[IMeantToDoThat always in control of the situation]] [[ILetYouWin and that any losses she takes]] are part of some [[XanatosGambit complicated plan]] that does not really exist. [[UnreliableExpositor If Flandre is right]], that would make Remilia chuuni '''down to coming up with fake magical powers for herself''' even though she does have very real magical powers.

* A famous Western example of chuunibyou is ''ComicBook/KickAss'', in which Dave Lizewski (a.k.a. Kick-Ass), a sixteen-year-old high school student, decides to become a real-life superhero, despite having little-to-no fighting skills or training, and no superpowers. He assumes the superhero role by fashioning a costume from a wetsuit bought on Website/{{Ebay}}, inspiring dozens of teenagers like him to become superheroes like him (and eventually supervillains too). The twist is, with help of actual vigilantes Big Daddy and Hit Girl (Hit Girl is in fact an inversion of the trope, since she is an actual hyper-capable assassin who happens to be a ten year old girl), he [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] and becomes an actual hero, and even ends up leading a superhero team, fighting supervillains and even pulls off the dinner scene from ComicBook/BatmanYearOne.

* Kyōtarō Ichikawa from ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'' (An ''actual'' middle schooler) sits in the back of the classroom reading gory horror novels and fantasizing about murdering his classmates, deeming himself to be disturbed individual who's "messed up in the head". It's clear he'd never actually act on these impulses, though, as outside of his delusions he's a ShrinkingViolet who hates to see people upset. [[{{Prequel}} Episode Zero]] shows this trait to be [[spoiler: a coping mechanism built up through his first year in middle school to deal with his isolation, low self-esteem, and FreakinessShame towards his genuine interest in non-fiction books about murderers.]]

* Kyōtarō Ichikawa from ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'' sits in the back of the classroom reading gory horror novels and fantasizing about murdering his classmates, deeming himself to be disturbed individual who's "messed up in the head". It's clear he'd never actually act on these impulses, though, as outside of his delusions he's a ShrinkingViolet who hates to see people upset. [[{{Prequel}} Episode Zero]] shows this trait to be [[spoiler: a coping mechanism built up through his first year in middle school to deal with his isolation, low self-esteem, and FreakinessShame towards his genuine interest in non-fiction books about murderers.]]

* Kyōtarō Ichikawa from ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'' sits in the back of the classroom reading gory horror novels and fantasizing about murdering his classmates. It's clear he'd never actually act on these impulses, though, as outside of his delusions he's a ShrinkingViolet who hates to see people upset.

* ''Literature/ChivalryOfAFailedKnight'': Rinna Kazamatsuri is a member of the {{Shinigami}}, a C-Range Blazer... and a chuunibyou, who even [[ShoutOut referenced]] [[Literature/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions Rikka Takanashi]] having an EyepatchOfPower to "seal her powers".

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Fumikage Tokoyami is a mixture of all types, being quiet and reserved but with ColdHam tendencies, owning several gothic memorabilia that he is somewhat embarrassed about and having actual CastingAShadow powers. Also, his name translates something like “unsavory shadow eternal darkness.” He’s a steadfast hero, he just has a dramatic streak.

*** Squall is a more downplayed example, in that his disaffected stoicism doesn't immediately come across as childish, but anyone who has spent any time around him sees it for what it is; a desperate attempt to appear too cool for this.

* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] with [[CloudCuckooLander Lotton the Wizard]] from ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', who's considerably older than most examples of this trope (in his 20s at least). While he doesn't claim to have any supernatural powers, he tries to act like a [[ForGreatJustice hero of justice]], dresses in a BadassLongCoat and CoolShades which he [[SunglassesAtNight even wears at night]] (although admittedly he's not the only character to do so), tries to {{Dual Wield|ing}} Mauser C96s (despite never even getting to fire them) and is more concerned with making a "cool" entrance and posing dramatically while delivering [[InTheNameOfTheMoon bombastic speeches]] than actually being a proper gunman- while he technically ''is'' a hired gun rather than just pretending to be one, he's ''terrible at it''. On the other hand, he does seem to have ''two'' special powers that make him stand out in this otherwise gritty series- firstly a surprisingly degree of GenreSavvy that makes him pretty much the only person in [[WretchedHive Roanapur]] who wears a bullet-proof vest (letting him survive his initial encounter with [[ActionGirl Revy]]) and in another instance a metal groin protector (that saves his balls when [[DarkActionGirl Roberta]] [[GroinAttack kicks them]] hard enough to ''dent it''), and secondly he seems to have [[BornLucky almost supernatural luck]] that makes him the series' most unlikely ActionSurvivor. He still [[WrongGenreSavvy acts like he's in a totally different series]], but he's generally considered harmless, which in Roanapur is practically an achievment in itself. However, he's possibly a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of this trope if you're in the camp that thinks he's actually genuinely mentally ill.

* The Soldier from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' is a western case of this. Having been wanting to take the fight to ThoseWackyNazis, Mister Jane Doe tried signing up with the United States Army only to be denied enlistment. So he took matters into his own hands to build his own weapons and purchase a ticket to Europe to go kill the Nazis on his own terms after wandering around and finally finding Poland and rewarding himself with Medals that he designed. He didn't stop his Nazi-Killing Spree until 1949 when he learnt that WWII had already ended years ago. Though this doesn't stop the hot-blooded Eaglelander from being that much of a nuisance to the rest of his Team, [[CloudCuckooLander often getting historical figures wrong or attributing America as the greatest thing on Earth.]] [[spoiler:The Web Comics reveal that most of this later stuff is due to Soldier being lead poisoned after spending the last decade drinking the contaminated water in 2Fort.]]

* One of the [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Magical Girls]] in ''VideoGame/MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory'', Rui Mizuki, is one on top of being an actual magical being who believes herself to be the reincarnation of a legendary overlord from thousand of years ago. She is aware that these traits are considered embarrassing and wishes for more friends who appreciated them for what they are, or just friends in general. Despite these traits, her wish was not particularly 'Chunni', while she did consider one, her actual wish [[KindheartedCatLover was to restore her cat's eyesight.]]

* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Uto Nakaji takes the KnowNothingKnowItAll route by pretending to be a WanderingMinstrel. She’s a DreadfulMusician, and her attempts at philosophy only confuse the people she talks to and amount to little more than {{Ice Cream Koan}}s.

** There's Jeanne d'Arc (Alter)'s Berserker self from ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder''. Her character gimmick is that she's pretty much chuunibyou personified. Using German (despite being nominally French) because it's "cool", to the point of carrying around a dictionary? Check. Using katana despite being nominally French? Check. Having three swords despite using two of them in all of one command card? Check. Fashionable Asymmetry because it's cool? Check. Extremely overdone lines upon defeat in battle and swearing to come back next time? Ooooh, check.

** Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama can be seen as an inversion. He legitimately has incredibly strong PsychicPowers, but he doesn't see this as a big deal, due to how he wants to improve himself in more mundane areas of his life and how he's internalized the idea that being an esper doesn't automatically make him better or more special than everyone else. ** The series also contains a plenty of espers who are straight examples of the trope to serve as {{Foil}}s to Mob, including several [[SuperSupremacist Claw members]] (such as Ishiguro, who wears a [[GasMaskLongcoat gas mask]] and uses a voice changer for no reason but to make himself look cooler, Yuusuke, who wears a [[SharpDressedMan business suit]] at all times and specializes in turning literal toys into lethal weapons, and Muraki, who wears a cape with ShouldersOfDoom that probably make it hard to enter rooms). The fact that these people tend to be misguided at best and outright evil at worst serves to drive home the series' main {{Aesop}} that being stronger or cooler than other people doesn't necessarily make you '''better''' than they are.
** Mob's mentor Reigen is a weird example. He is a mundane man pretending to be a powerful esper, and while this is not outwardly done for RuleOfCool purposes (he is a ConMan), the amount of dramatic flair he puts into his "[[CallingYourAttacks special techniques]]", even when not trying to impress clients, makes it clear he's enjoying the job perhaps more than he should, and it's strongly implied that [[IJustWantToBeSpecial feeling special]] is the real reason a talented person like him chose the path of the PhonyPsychic. He is treated more sympathetically than the hostile Claw espers since, despite not being what he claims to be, he still feels a genuine desire to help his clients, even if it's just by placebo effect, and most importantly, he doesn't feel the desire to tear other people down in order to feel better about himself.

* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Uto Nakaji takes the KnowNothingKnowItAll route by pretending to be a WanderingMinstrel. She’s a DreadfulMusician, and her attempts at philosophy only confuse the people she talks to and amount to little more than IceCreamKoans.

Keep in mind though that if the characters act like this but they really are the things they're acting out (like someone with actual super powers going over the top with their behavior) it's automatically a DownplayedTrope which may even go into AscendedFanboy territory as it's obviously not pretend if they can do those things for real.