Seishun Buta Yarou Series (Rascal Does Not Dream)

One day, in the library where Sakuta Azusagawa studies, he runs into an unexpected sight: a beautiful high school girl in a bunny outfit. She turns out to be Mai Sakurajima, a famous former actress and fellow student at Minegahara High. His surprise at seeing Mai wear such risqué attire in the library, however, is nothing compared to the shocking realization that he is the only one who can see her!

Reminded of an event from his past, Sakuta offers to help Mai discover the reason behind her invisibility. Despite their initially contentious relationship, the two quickly become close: Mai and Sakuta learn to appreciate each other, and their friendship turns into a budding romance. This further fuels their determination to solve Mai's dilemma.

While the investigation progresses, Sakuta attributes Mai's situation to an urban legend known as Adolescence Syndrome: strange phenomena occurring in youth, unexplained by science and often dismissed as delusion. With few promising results, Mai's predicament worsens to the point where being unseen is the least of her worries. Can Sakuta and Mai solve the mystery of her Adolescence Syndrome before she disappears completely?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Seishun Buta Yarou Series has been published in English as Rascal Does Not Dream series by Yen Press under the Yen On imprint since April 28, 2020.

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Alternative version:	Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai, Seishun Buta Yarou wa Petit Devil Kouhai no Yume wo Minai, Seishun Buta Yarou wa Logical Witch no Yume wo Minai, Seishun Buta Yarou wa Orusuban Imouto no Yume wo Minai, Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai
Spin-off:	6-koma Manga: Aobuta
Adaptation:	Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai, Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai, Seishun Buta Yarou wa Randoseru Girl no Yume wo Minai, Seishun Buta Yarou: Daigakusei-hen, Seishun Buta Yarou wa Odekake Sister no Yume wo Minai

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Characters

Sakurajima, Mai

Main

Azusagawa, Sakuta

Main

Futaba, Rio

Supporting

Koga, Tomoe

Supporting

Azusagawa, Kaede

Supporting

Makinohara, Shouko

Supporting

Toyohama, Nodoka

Supporting

Kunimi, Yuuma

Supporting

Kamisato, Saki

Supporting

Hanawa, Ryouko

Supporting

Reviews

Nov 25, 2020

BStrifeSword114

Recommended

Preliminary (17/? eps)

I have read through volume 3, and this review will be based on that.

The basic premise of the series is straightforward. A guy goes around solving supernatural problems, which always involves a girl. At first glance, this may strike you as nothing but ecchi fan service and harem trash. Reading the clickbait title and synopsis made me believe the same thing, at first.

Thankfully, it's anything but.

Combining relatable character drama, numerous heartwarming and wholesome character moments, along with the colorfully witty banter, this series was an unexpected gem. It does it's romance and drama better than most.

The drama is easy to sympathize with on many levels. ... Everyone is familiar with someone (or yourself) having a sibling complex- living up to the standards of your more successful sibling. Or anxiety problems stemming from failure and/or bullying- everyone gets bullied at some point in their life. Or wanting to do something unpopular- and yet you don't want to risk being cast aside by your social group. The list goes on. This series is filled with people with these relatable problems, and how they overcome it.

Additionally, despite there being a lot of girls, somehow this series manages to avoid turning into harem. Before the end of Volume 1, the protagonist Sakuta is already committed romantically to one girl. None of the other women introduced have romantic interest in him (one other does at first, but that disappears by the conclusion of the same chapter. It is never brought up or mentioned again).

But the biggest reason is the dialogue and banter between the characters. You'll laugh a lot, and it will remind you of all the things you and your friends from high school and college used to talk and tease each other about. This is especially true with the female lead and the male lead. I can't stress this enough.

Mai, the female lead, guards most of what she really thinks and can be off-putting at times. This is because she's a child actress who is used to people only being nice to her because they want something. Sakuta, on the other hand, is a crass and blunt lech who says whatever's on his mind with no filter whatsoever. And yet these two characters who are almost complete opposites of each other have fantastic chemistry. Their banter is clever and real. It makes every moment that they're together a pure joy.

Of course, it's not without it's flaws. There is no overarching plot, which may bother some. Rather, the series is very interpersonal, making each book primarily a character driven experience instead of a plot driven one. 'Quantum mechanics' as an explanation for the supernatural stuff is usually just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo (thankfully, the supernatural elements exist mostly as a backdrop reason to bring the characters together). The art is merely okay; it could definitely be better.

Overall however, this is a great series. It's one of my favorites, which I think says a lot, as someone who does not like much of what he reads. It's heartwarming and wholesome, the drama is relatable, the romance is sweet and endearing, and the witty banter is realistic. You'll laugh, shed a tear, and your heart will grow several sizes from all of the touching moments.

Highly recommended to all fans of romance and character drama.

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Jan 27, 2019

LCA_Glue

Recommended

Preliminary (3/? eps)

After watching the anime adaptation and absolutely loving it, I felt like rewatching it because it was so good. But I'm not the type of person who really enjoys seeing the same things repeatedly. So instead, I came to read the novel. Honestly, I was not disappointed at all. So far, it has given me all of the same emotion (if not more) than the anime has. I believe that the story really has a way that keeps you hooked... and I've been caught. I love the characters personalities, I think that this author has done an outstanding job of developing each and every character, ...

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Mar 2, 2024

unrealgentleman

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (1/? eps)

Very well executed first 7 volumes which flounders thereafter.

This is a story about a man called Sakuta. He is not relevant to the series and is rather featureless, the story's main appeal is rather its use of mystery. Its ability to connect disparate events that are extended over its incredibly long first arc over its 7 volumes. Sakuta meets a mysterious high school student at a point where he's at his lowest. He applies to her school hoping to find her and she's not there. That's basically it.

Unlike most light novels, the main conceit is not fully dealt with for several volumes. It lingers in ...

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Light Novel Series 'Seishun Buta Yarou' Concludes with 15th Volume

The official X (formerly Twitter) account of Dengeki Bunko announced on Friday that Hajime Kamoshida's Seishun Buta Yarou (Rascal Does Not Dream) light novel se...read more

Apr 5, 1:21 PM by Hyperion_PS | Discuss (8 comments)

'Seishun Buta Yarou' Light Novel's 'Daigakusei-hen' Gets Anime

During a screening of the Seishun Buta Yarou wa Randoseru Girl no Yume wo Minai (Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid) anime movie on Monday, a sequel anime was a...read more

Dec 4, 2023 3:26 PM by Vindstot | Discuss (8 comments)

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LN readers, how does the story continue on? Rinji- - Dec 12, 2018	30 replies	by abj314 »» Apr 8, 1:41 PM
Will publish the final 2 Volumes in August and October 2024 ARK-13 - Apr 4	2 replies	by Zimmu »» Apr 8, 8:30 AM
Rank all the volumes of the Light Novel Eternal_Magnanim - Dec 18, 2023	5 replies	by Dayraven »» Jan 6, 2:23 AM
Poll: Seishun Buta Yarou Series Chapter 27 Discussion Phaetons_Folly - Oct 5, 2023	1 replies	by Thewatcher_22 »» Oct 5, 2023 3:02 PM
Poll: Seishun Buta Yarou Series Chapter 24 Discussion Phaetons_Folly - Oct 4, 2023	1 replies	by KnightTimaeus »» Oct 4, 2023 9:11 PM

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