Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai - Ep. 1 Review
This show was recommended to me on Reddit, so I decided to give it a go despite the odd name. I am actually quite impressed, and am enjoying it. Here is a quick rundown:
Puberty Syndrome—a rumored, mysterious syndrome that only affects those in their puberty. For example, a bunny girl suddenly appeared in front of Sakuta Azusagawa. The bunny girl’s real identity is Mai Sakurajima, a teenage celebrity who is currently an inactive high school senior. For some reason, her charming figure does not reflect in the eyes of others. In the course of revealing the mystery behind this phenomenon, Sakuta begins to explore his feelings towards Mai. Set in a city where the skies and seas shine, Sakuta unfolds the meaning behind his bizarre encounters on women with the said syndrome.
In this episode, we learn about the characters. Sakuta Azusagawa is the main character here, and seen as a ‘loser’ because of an incident he was in which sent him and three other students to hospital. One day, Sukuta sees Mai Sakurajima in a bunny girl outfit at school, and he is the only one that can see her. As the episode goes on, the watcher finds out that Mai used to be a popular TV star, but stopped acting to focus on her studies. Sakuta is able to eventually talk with Mai when he goes home, where Mai reveals that she is going slowly invisible to more and more people. Whilst Mai is afraid that Sakuta won’t believe her, he reveals that his younger sister was involved in a strange situation where online bullying turned into real wounds. He belives that these mysterious phenomenon were caused by what is called ‘adolescent syndrome’, something that has been in the news as a sort of conspiracy theory, and decides to investigate further in order to help his sister and Mai.
This is one of the first ‘romance’ animes that I’ve watched, however there wasn’t too much in the first episode (I am not a fan of romance TV shows and movies). The first episode of this anime was really promising, and I want to watch more of it.
Firstly, the title of this anime is really stupid. I don’t know why they called it this, and it did put me off the anime at first. I got the impression from the cover photo and the title that this would be some trashy fan service show, and was glad when I finally took the plunge that it wasn’t. However, once you get past the terrible title, and the cover art, the anime is actually quite entertaining. The show turns into a serious drama, with an interesting and unique plot center. The characters are engaging and have personality, and you grow to like them as the show goes on. Unlike some animes that I have watched, where the characters are empty, Sakuta and Mai are engaging characters.
One thing that I found odd about the show was how obsessed all the other students were with their popularity and their social status. Kind of reminds me of the Nosedive episode in Black Mirror. In addition, Sakuta can come across like a bit of a jerk at times because of his interactions with a few of the people in his school.
Overall, I enjoyed the show. The chemistry between Sakuta and Mai works well, and is well put forward as something that is natural. The show revolves around something interesting and a thing that I haven’t seen before, so it’s interesting to see where it will go. I like the characters, the premise, and look forward to what the show has to offer.