Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

And you thought it's something degenerate.

This is the review of both the anime series and movie.

A naughty title serves as a disguise of a sci-fi yet sad look at ages of growing teens. As part of Erikson's stage of development, Identity vs Role confusion is where teenagers struggle to find out who they are and accept their characteristics. The use of quantum physics and relativity principles were brilliant and reflected the common insecurities that many had to face. Although there is romcom and romance, both the series and movie required audience to figure out the phenomena and then think about the consequences of these insecurities. This led to the main theme of the series, which is to recognize one's own emotions and insecurities and accept them in order to move forward.

The movie did not follow this theme as much, but instead aimed for more drama and emotions using its complicated time travel plot. It took me quite a bit to figure out, but still it was an emotional ride with shocking twists that hit me like a minivan.

The animation was just beautiful. The characters looked great, especially their eyes. Also, the drawings of the surroundings and the ocean scenes were breathtaking.

The interaction between characters were oddly hilarious. The way they talked to each other nonchalantly with innuendos got me cracked up (step on my foot please bunny senpai). The romance between the rascal and the senpai was not overwhelming, but subtle and sweet. The movie served to solidify their strong romance.

Overall, a surprisingly fascinating and emotional anime. Series 8.5/10. Movie 8/10.

At first glance a fun anime, lightly leading to such a troubled adolescence phase. However, looking deeper into the showing situations, using fantasy, reports the reflected feeling of the adolescent, between personality changes and personal rejections, suggest ways to stay healthy in such a complicated phase. Apart from the utterly relevant subject, it also has very well defined features in the forms of beautiful characters. A great anime.

Totally worth it Came here for bunny girls left with depression.

At the start you might feel confused because the writer has a weird way of introducing things but as you progressed and get comfortable with the idea of "Puberty Syndrome" Things starts to get really interesting. This anime has a very interesting turn off events to say the least. It is makes you laugh at the beginning and leaves you crying at the end.

This anime series is centred on Sakuta Azusagawa, a high school student. He has a bad reputation; people believe he was responsible for hospitalising three other students. He tries to live a quiet life but everything changes when he meets Mai Sakurajima, a teenage actress, at the library. There is something very strange; she is wearing a bunny girl costume but nobody appears to notice her; in fact she is surprised that he notices her. When he asks others about her nobody seems to recognise her name despite her fame. It appears that this is a case of what is dubbed 'Adolescence Syndrome'. Sakuta determines to investigate this. Over the course of the series he resolves Mai's problem but she isn't the only person affected; he must investigate other cases, including that of his younger sister who has been suffering from amnesia.

I didn't expect too much of this anime but it turned out to be one of the best I watched this season. There is a solid sense of mystery as Sakuta tries to understand what caused each of the cases of Adolescence Syndrome and resolving it. Each case is quite different so it never feels repetitive. The characters are interesting; particularly Sakuta and Mai but the secondary characters are also fun to watch. The plot line involving his sister is particularly emotional. While to condition is obviously science fiction it gives an insight into relatively ordinary personal concerns. The animation was impressive with good character designs and backgrounds. Overall I'd definitely recommend this series.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.