Eighth-grade syndrome

My quest to collect interesting Japanese words has led me to chūnibyō. In 1999, the comedian Hikaru Ijūin coined the term to describe how middle grade students experience grandiose delusions. It has since started to develop into a derogatory term, as the Internet does. But I wouldn’t be surprised if scientists eventually find out most kids go through this phase.

When I look back at my own middle school years, I can grasp what this term means. I didn’t say anything that might mark me as delusional, but I certainly had strange thoughts that I now recognize as being completely wackadoodle.

At that age, you want to feel special, but you usually don’t have the skills or talent to make that happen. That’s where a grandiose delusion might help.

I’ve written before about persecution, grandiosity, and ego ideal as the main components of most characters, but I think I agree with the chūnibyō observation, and middle grade readers particularly like a grandiose main character.