Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
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| Who do you think you are, All Might? |
In the 13th and final episode of Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, upon realizing that the Kaede he had spent the last two years with is gone for good, Sakuta falls into a deep despair. But he is then saved by the older Shoko Makinohara, who takes him home and reads from Kaede's diary to him, where he learns that Kaede was aware that she was getting her old memories and persona back, and thus pushed herself to regain her independence on her own terms and spend time with Sakuta outside the home in order to protect him from regrets. But when Sakuta fails to tell Mai about Shoko's visit, they have a fight and she asks him to leave her alone for the time being. The day is saved, however, thanks to Nodoka's prodding and the convenient timing of Mai's birthday, and Sakuta races across the country to spend time with her, and the two of them make peace with each other. Upon leaving the hospital, Kaede expresses her desire to return to school, and says that she doesn't consider herself to be alone anymore.
I'll be honest, the first time I watched this finale, I was a bit confused and a little annoyed. It felt like a cop out of Shoko and Kaede's stories, and I thought that Mai and Sakuta's ending, while still ultimately satisfying, was a little rushed. But then I watched it again, since I watch all episodes for the roundup twice (little behind the scenes info for you guys), and I understood. The fundamental argument that Bunny Girl Senpai has been making this whole time is encapsulated in this story. No matter how hard you try, it's impossible for everything in life to go the way you want it to. The most important thing in life is how you respond to that unexpected adversity. Sakuta couldn't save everyone, and the Kaede we came to know and love (or tolerate in my case) is now gone. But even still, he moved forward and did the best that he could with the cards he was dealt, and he still managed to do right by Mai and the new Kaede.
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| I feel like there's too much text, so here's a picture of all the girls. |
As for Shoko, well, I think that I figured out what's going on with her upon my second viewing as well. My theory is that the younger version has been subconsciously projecting an older version of herself to Sakuta and others like him as a response to feeling powerless as a small middle schooler unable to help all the people in pain she observes in her day to day life. I believe that Adolescent Syndrome is the literal manifestation of the hidden desires of teenagers who are trying to become their ideal versions of themselves realized in ironic ways. Mai was uncomfortable with her role in the spotlight, which was forced on her by her mother, so she started to literally vanish into the crowd, forgotten by everybody. Kaede internalized the verbal abuse from her classmates and wanted to die, so cuts spontaneously appeared on her body, the trauma of which led to her amnesia. Nodoka was highly jealous of Mai, so she literally became her. Koga suffered from extreme anxiety, so she got trapped in a time loop with unlimited do-overs until she achieved her desired result. Futaba was self conscious and presented an idealized version of herself on social media, so her dual identities became separate physical beings, allowing her to have it both ways. But when it comes to Shoko, her only desire is to help others and make the world a kinder place. This wish is inherently selfless, so the only backlash she experiences is not even being aware of the good she is doing in the first place. And that sort of thing happens all the time in real life. For all you know, just choosing to smile at someone who caught your eye in the street saved that person's life.
I will freely admit that my theory seems to fall apart when you consider Sakuta's experience with Adolescent Syndrome, since he lives freely and has no hidden personal drama being brought to the surface in an ironic manner. But consider this: his version of Adolescent Syndrome manifested itself in a similar way to Kaede's -- cuts appearing on his chest -- immediately after seeing her in her condition. Sakuta is the ultimate big brother. His wish was to take the pain away from Kaede, i.e. "I wish I could take her place," so he experiences the same pain she does. But that sort of martyr complex is pointless and unhelpful, and only creates more problems for everybody. Which is why his time with Shoko was so important: his conversation with her channels his selfless nature in a constructive direction, and he follows her example and pushes himself to be there and listen to everyone he meets from that point on. And he also learns that it's impossible to fix other people's problems for them: all he can do is point them in the right direction.
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| What a legend. |
What else can I say about this show that I haven't already said? I never got what I expected when I watched it, and it was only fitting that the finale surprised me just as much. When I expected a cheap, disposable ecchi show filled with nothing but flat character archetypes and harmless sexy fun, I got an emotinoal and dramatic romance that had a lot to say about the unique stage of being that comes with being a teenager and how even the most positive desires for one's self can be harmful, which argues that, above all else, the most important things in life are to accept yourself for who you are and to be good and kind to everyone you meet. It's bittersweet, adorable, hilarious, and heartfelt all at once, and I am so glad that I got to watch it. It may have had its issues here and there, most prominently putting the main couple to the side several times in service of the individual story arc happening at any given time, but I am confident in saying it more than earned its spot in my best anime of 2018 list.
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| And there's a movie coming! |
And so the weekly roundup ends its first season. Winter 2019 is coming up, and while the lineup sitll isn't technically finalized, since I pick up anime randomly as they catch my interest, and it entirely depends on timing and which streaming platform gets what show, I have a decent idea of some of the shows I want to cover. They don't all come out in the same week, with the earliest shows premiering next Friday, so expect another Double Decker situation where the episode numbers don't line up perfectly, as I'm going to have to take the next week off (unless Hinomaru Sumo comes back. I wish Crunchyroll would communicate these things and I didn't have to scramble anxiously across Google wondering what happened to it). With that in mind, in addition to the eventual return of Run With the Wind and Hinomaru Sumo, I plan on covering:
- The Promised Neverland (Jan 11)
- Boogiepop Never Laughs (Jan 4)
- The Rising of the Shield Hero (Jan 9)
- Dororo (Jan 4)
- Revisions (Jan 10)
- Domestic Girlfriend (Jan 12)
- Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka (Jan 12)
- Girly Air Force (Jan 10)
- W'z (Jan 6)
- The Price of Smiles (Jan 4)
- Pastel Memories (Jan 8)
- Dimension High School (Jan 10)
- Circlet Princess (Jan 8)
That means we're starting the Winter 2019 roundup with 15 shows all together. And that's not all! Upon further reflection, I decided that I was a bit too harsh and arbitrary with my cuts this season. As such, I am limiting myself to one cut per week from this point on, and every show survives the first episode. Yes, that means that there's more work for me in the long run, but at least this way, nobody can possibly accuse me of not giving shows a chance, I'm less likely to have a situation like this where my weekly roundup is limited to only one show, and I'll have more to work with when talking about my worst anime of 2019 list. Not that I picked some of these shows expecting them to be bad or anything. That would be wrong...
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| Me already regretting my rule changes. |
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