Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai

The challenges we face during our adolescence may be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, though their magnitude in the moment can feel overwhelming. It's no surprise then that media which intensifies these issues through supernatural phenomenon would be popular, since teenage audiences feel as if the weight of their problems is understood. However, does this media actually help its audience to overcome their problems, or is it merely wish fulfillment to escape from them? Seishun Buta Yarou may have something compelling to say about the adolescent experience, but it's unfortunately buried under layers of tropes and cliches.

But of all the elements of the ... show that feel superfluous to the narrative, the protagonist Sakuta sits at the top of the list. Unlike the girls of the show, he doesn't undergo any development over the series, and only exists as the self-insert lens through which we view their arcs. He hardly exists as a character, and his only trait seems to be his tendency for frequent dehumanizing sexual harassment directed at basically every girl he meets. He's presented as the catalyst that instigates the girls' growth, but instead he just comes across as a plot device that knows exactly what to do to solve their problems for them.

Speaking of, each arc of the show is modeled after a classic thought experiment, and wow do I wish they hadn’t done that. Not only do these allusions not add anything to the narrative, but their integration feels completely unnatural. (“Surely you’ve at least heard about the cat in the box, right?” a friend asks the protagonist, nearing the end of the first episode) Seishun Buta Yarou is hardly the first series to have pulled this allusion, but at this point, referencing Schrodinger’s Cat seems like shorthand for a light novel thinking it’s smarter than it is, and I can’t think of anything else that had the audacity to follow it up with “Have you heard of Laplace’s Demon?” three episodes later.

As for the contents of each arc, the conflicts that the girls deal with mostly come off as artificial. Still, even if the substance itself is lacking, I can’t fault the presentation. The animation and vocal delivery is expressive, and it’s also neat how there's some overlap between events that help to make each one feel less like an isolated incident. However, I think that Seishun Buta Yarou’s most compelling asset is how the characters behave outside of the central narrative. Despite everything else, it’s fun to see these characters relax and bounce off of each other. It's a shame that the show's best feature is also its least central.

My feelings towards Seishun Buta Yarou are conflicted. I went into it expecting a cross between Monogatari and Oregairu, and that’s not really what I got. It took a while for me to accept the show for what it actually was, but once I did, I was able to find a genuine emotional core underneath all of the light novelisms. Ironically, I think the more interested you are in this genre, the less likely it is that Seishun Buta Yarou will appeal to you. It leans hard into its genre trappings, and your enjoyment will be largely determined by your tolerance of them. Still, if you're a fan of deadpan loner protagonists, you could do worse.

[5.0/10]
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A blasé boy stands on a bridge, overlooking the ocean. Licentious thoughts pervade his mind, eager to be breathed to life, articulated so nonchalantly to whatever girl latches onto him. The aggressive one; the pariah at school who is spoken about in hushed voices that dart in and out of student’s mouths, settling at the breach between tact and uncivility. The boy views himself as an outsider and relates to this pariah, her plight is his own and due to that, he feels indebted to her. An ethereal toll which he must pay in order to regain a semblance of self-worth. But this outsider--this vagabond--edging ... along her school life eager to not make an impression on anyone, reveals herself as a lost, despondent figure who must retain a steely resolve, as any weakness would be immediately exploited and abused by the ones who have shunned her prior. This absence from reality; this vanished being, incapable of making an impression due to her affliction, is everything the boy needs. And he must save her.

From there, a cascade of style erupts at the audience. A heterogeneous artistic smear across the pragmatic industry, transgressing norms whilst simultaneously accepting them, indulging in them and acquiescing to a standard that is so easy to punch through. A blithely swipe at normativity through the perspective of someone bored, sardonic, and fatigued by the constant battle against the restrictions, yet excited at the notion of being an erudite voice in the sea of retrograde production. What a perspicacious voice; what an apogee of style; what abrasive and caustic, annoying, biting, frames which flash between purpose and nonsense! An artifice of subversion and solipsism and hedonistic virtue.

But enough about Monogatari.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is a Light Novel adaptation by A-1 Studios’ subsidiary, Cloverworks. It attempts to interpret puberty as fantastical phenomena, hinged on emotion and hormones, which causes young adults to be afflicted by peculiar maladies. Similarly to Monogatari, Bunny Girl features a protagonist who is positively flooded with female archetypes. Each one struck by this sickness and each one in desperate need to be saved. And of course, Sakuta, our protagonist, does his best to aid all these poor, helpless, idiosyncratic, feeble, powerless women. More tepid wish-fulfillment than its sources of inspiration, but as a result, far less engaging in general.

It seems as though the writer wanted to create a more mainstream, acceptable product while inhabiting those same ideas which brought so much energy to Monogatari. Instead, the misogyny remains but the interest disappears, as none of the artistic flourishes exist any longer. Shinbo’s eccentric dynamism isn’t there to give the unorthodox structure and profoundly witty and playful dialogue an arena to swell within. It all dissipates into mediocrity. Vibrant, piercing backgrounds turn into CG meshes with myopic gradients. Little to no shading exists at any one time, creating flat, innocuous scenery. An insipid grain of banalness infuses with what’s presented; a lack of portentousness and hedonism which made its inspiration so memorable creates only the mundane.

Bunny Girl lampshades cliché for only so long until it gives in and buckles under the weight of its production. Our ephemeral time spent with these characters feels even shorter once the final credits roll and they become nothing but fleeting thoughts and concepts. Threadbare metaphysics are mentioned to justify the ailments and, unfortunately, this misguided scientific slant is extraordinarily detrimental to any semblance of verisimilitude the series sought to create. The implementation of quantum mechanics was equally groan-worthy, as misunderstood explanations had a negative, ramifying effect on the rest of the series. Considering the definitions provided, we are left in a more frustrated state than we were when the phenomena were just that: phenomena.

Not all is bad in the world of Bunny Girls and obsessive sisters, though, as the first arc did well to ease us into the structure of the series. The relationship between Sakuta and Mai was, if anything, cute. Due to the series’ more restrained approach towards the harem elements which it was inspired by, their relationship could play out convincingly enough as to not feel dissonant from the rest of the show’s tone. And while I wouldn’t classify it as funny, Bunny Girl has enough permeating wit that some of the interactions felt borderline inspired. Long train rides full of stodgy exposition became bearable due to the nature of the script and how it used the prosaic nature of its acerbic characters to its benefit.

I appreciated how Kaede’s (Sakuta’s little sister) story starts in medias res, as we are treated to continuous revelations about what she went through and why exactly she’s such a shut-in cliché. While the explanation isn’t necessarily all too surprising and her arc is floundered by laconic and rushed melodrama, the standouts did particularly well. Sakuta’s care for his little sister created for one of the show’s more deceptively detailed sequences, as it gave us an extended scene where they spend their final moments together before she relapses back into her old self. Her entire arc revolves around her going back to school after her affliction and while she struggled to get there during the day, they sneak into it at night together. It creates for a gripping kenopsia as they creep around the empty schoolyard—one we see many times throughout the series—and peak into her future classroom. The sense of dread hangs loosely in the air, and for once the series’ pithy observations take on a more artistic, expressive existence.

Rascal is an easy watch, and that’s undoubtedly why it’s so popular and well regarded. The emotions are tangible, the plot is accessible, and the characters are smooth enough to digest without any need for interpretation or challenge. That’s not to diminish or belittle the series, but to examine why it isn’t just a facsimile of Monogatari. It sheds the weight of complex structure, characterization, and presentation in favor of a mainstream, safe, and maybe even relatable experience. There is no conniption to be had here; Bunny Girl isn’t heterodox or complicated. It’s essentially puberty: exaggerated, melodramatic, and sweaty, but far easier than what is initially expected.

“Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai” does one thing very well. That is, taking the commonly done and quite stale school drama and turns it into something much more interesting with its usage of ‘Puberty Syndrome’, a supernatural disease that visualizes the characters social issues in a more creative and engaging way.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a lot to praise after that.

On the surface— this show, based of the title and artwork, is not what it seems. But with that being said, it doesn’t make the show better than what it is.

The biggest problem is the characters. Immediately we are presented with the ... main character Sakuta being incredibly brash and quick witted. This makes sense at first, but the show doesn’t waste any time in abusing this. Sakuta constantly comes off as fake, forced, and incredibly out of place. It was clear he was an attempt at a sort of larger than life character, but the writing utterly fails at producing this image. When you compare him to other characters in a similar situation, like Kyon from The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, or Araragi from Monogatari, the world built around them is much more suited for the way they act. In Kyon’s case, he is surrounded by complete weirdos, in every sense of the word. Him being the only normal one, the show was able to execute his “straight man” behavior in a hilariously unique way. In the case of the show more compared to Bunny Girl, Monogatari, the whole world is built on the character interaction being a sort of battle for the high ground. In Bunny Girl, there is no ‘battle for the conversational high ground’. It is just Sakuta imposing his incredible wit and intelligence on everyone else, somehow always having a quote worthy response to any situation. Nobody else is like him or responds with retorts that actually live up to his. The best example is the scene where he gets into a fight with the dudes harassing Tomoe. Not only does he end up winning the fight in the most ridiculously contrived way, but he shouts out a cringey line that nobody seems to care about. The show constantly does this with him. I never cringe when watching anime. This show made me. The other girl characters are mostly just flat and forgettable. I will say that Mai is decently written, but the other girls really never get a chance to stand out in any way. They feel more as just ploys to the narrative, especially Tomoe and Nodoka. This isn’t really a bad thing, but it certainly doesn’t make them memorable.

The writing has seen some criticism in its “pretentious” way of describing the Puberty Syndrome by linking it to the workings of quantum physics. I am not going to pretend like I understand quantum physics in the first place like others have, but I will say that it adds a layer of confusion that didn’t need to be there in the first place. I don’t really want to be lectured an extremely hard concept to grasp fully just to understand why Mai is disappearing. Even people who have praised the show called the quantum physics tie-ins B.S.

The art and character design is very lackluster. Sakuta and his male friend have literally the exact same haircut. The color of his hair is almost identical to Tomoe. There is a random character that looks exactly like Futaba at the end of one of the episodes. Mai and Shouko look way too similar. The school uniforms are just brown and ugly. The art in general is dull and uninspired. Just your typical stuff.

The sound in the show is alright. There are some good piano tracks, although they play one of them all the time, you probably know which one I am referring to. The OP is weird. The actual song they use is great, but the problem is the actual animation that is going on behind it. Random shots and CG crowds is not a good look. The ED is great, and the touch with having the different Seiyuu sing it was nice.

The experience with Bunny Girl Senpai (which the title still doesn’t seemingly have any meaning) is a sort of strange one. It does things nicely, particularly the endings to each arc, but has too many downfalls to become anything more than just mediocre. I really wanted to like this more, because the setting is so easy to watch and enjoy.

It is obvious that this show tries everything it can to become an instant classic, and while that is respectable, it just doesn’t get the job done.

From episodes 1~3 it's a really interesting story and it makes you fall in love with the characters (mostly Bunny Senpai). You know the drill: girl is invisible, boy is the only one able to see her, they start to bond and he somehow wants to (and is able to??) stop the ~curse~ and she's visible again!!

Yes, all of that happens in the lapse of 3 episodes. This anime has 13 episodes. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS IN THE REMAINING 10 EPISODES?!?!?!

I was already kinda skeptical before going to episode 4. I mean, it all moved SO fast... the romance (it was basically: episode 1 they ... meet and find out about her "condition" -> episode 2 they spend the whole time together and trying to figure out how to reverse it/who else is able to see her -> episode 3 everything works out in the end), the resolution itself (it all happened in episode 3 and HONESTLY, it all felt like a series finale), the half-assed explanation as to what this syndrome is... But hey, I figured, I'm still in the beginning.

So in episode 4 they basically reintroduce an extra from episode 1 and they're like "remember that syndrome? this chick has it too, except hers is different" and the male MC is like "welp. guess i gotta help HER out now, then."

See, I didn't like this girl, I thought she was very lukewarm (personality-wise as well as plot-wise). And not just that, but she sort of became the focus for a while. I have a theory that every girl that shows up in the opening will inevitably have the puberty syndrome and alas, the ONLY one able to save them is... yep! MC-kun!

*sigh* this anime seems to be taking the turn I didn't want it to take. I thought it'd be mostly a comedy with some slight angst/drama but, well, apparently it is a HAREM.

So this is definitely not for me. If anyone watches the rest of this and it gets good, feel free to message me to talk about it. Otherwise, I'll just drop it.

Another 2018's fall anime series which i watched based on its popularity and.....it was good..not perfect tho...this anime is made for teenage boys to be honest :D teenagers will love this anime for sure :)))

STORY 8/10 :so story is about a guy who saw his senpai one day running around with bunny outfit running around without anybody noticing her...he is a curious teenage boy so he had to ask about her situation and after that day they hang out together everyday and...falling in love :D there are a lot dramas and jokes tho :))))

ART 7/10 :so art is fine but it doesn't match 2018's visuals...art ... seems a little old like in 2007 or smth but still...its good

SOUND 6/10 :as for the sound i only loved the ending and there is nothing special about soundtracks tbh...

CHARACTER 7/10 :we have two main characters Azusagawa Sakuta and Sakurajima Mai...

Sakuta : a teenage boy interested in girls like other teenage boys(mostly)...he is the very honest yet stupid one here...he says whatever comes to his mind freely like he doesn't care about what others might think about him...he is obviously in love with Mai(his bunny senpai)and does whatever she tells him X)))

Mai: Sakuta 's senpai who was a famous actress but suddenly she stopped working and went to a regular school but one day she noticed that no one recognizes her and then Sakuta suddenly shows up in her life and saves her from this syndrome(they call it a syndrome)

Sakuta has two friends a smart girl and a regular boy...and a younger sister who suffered from this kinda syndrome :D

ENJOYMENT 6/10 :at first i found this anime a little boring but it got interesting after episode 4 or so :)

OVERALL 6/10 :so this bunny girl senpai is actually a GOOD ENOUGH anime...the only warning is that this is not your pure high school story of two people falling for each other...its reality :D it has all kinds of words and expressions...you will see all kinds of teenagers behaviors :D

so if you like watching a cute bunny girl senpai messing around and falling in love...and also a teenage boy doing what he does with a quite interesting story behind them then give this a try :D

Bunny Girl Senpai did not deserve the hype it got. I wasn't even to finish the anime, as every time I watched it, I would just get so overly bored. I would not be able to finish a single episode without looking away, checking my phone, or just plain ignoring everything in it. The first 3 episodes were alright, and captured my attention. But after that it all went downhill. The only good part about this anime was Koga, as she is a very well made character who I think deserved to be the main girl.

As for Mai, she was alright in the beginning. ... After a while though she grew dull. I never really liked her tsundere act she tries to pull off, and I hate how she treats Sakuta with so much disrespect. Now, I think if Koga or one of the other girls had been more in the spotlight, the anime would have been so so so much better. For instance, Koga (despite her basically being a highly disliked character) was truly in love with Sakuta, and was willing to relive the same day over and over, no matter how boring it got, just so she could be with him longer. She cherished him, and didn't take him for granted. She also treated him well, and gave him lots of love. While Mai ended up leaving him for her work (yes, I know puberty syndrome blah blah, she needed to be famous or else she was invisible), Koga stayed there, as did all the other girls with arcs. It highly bothers me how Mai treats him as well. She blows him off all the time, gets mad at him a lot, and basically makes him chase her cause she is oh so special..

Now, the one thing I loovveedd about this anime was the art style. I thought the art was very pastel colored, which happens to be something I adore in anime (like Your lie in April, or Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid..). The art was actually what made me want to watch this, other than the fact that omg there is a bunny girl so hot wowowowow.

A quick thought, I think this anime is similar to Charlotte. But wayyy worse. Charlotte was actually a great anime, and I loved it. It wasn't much about puberty syndrome, but it was about gaining shitty super powers while you're going through puberty. Yet, the characters in Charlotte are soo much better, and the story line there was fantastic! In Bunny Girl Senpai it was dull, and seemed to be the same thing over and over.

This may just be personal preference, as I have friends who just adore this anime and think so highly fo Mai..but I just never was able to enjoy it.

THIS REVIEW DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS !!


What a disappointment, of the same author of Sakurasou in Pet na Kanojo that is a very good work, well developed and brings great messages of life, I thought that would see something similar in Bunny girl, but was totally mistaken.

(Story = 5/10)

The teenage syndrome is the theme that they address throughout the plot, it is quite interesting, the problem is that it is very predictable, besides holes in the script of some parts. The rhythm of the plot is well rushed, especially from the part 1, I feel that the relationship between the protagonist between Mai could be ... more worked out to be more realistic their relationship, especially with the last episode of the part 1, it was something totally unexpected coming of the protagonist so soon. Now the other arcs followed the same thing of part 1, the protagonist asks things to Futaba to know what to do in the problems of each character, so getting predictable, is a hole of script this character, besides the anime does not detail the right issues being very superficial the plot.

(Characters = 5/10)

The characters are all very superficial, I feel they had a good background, but they were not well used, one of the main problems is that they do not seem real, the dubbing affected a lot of what I'm going to talk about, besides they did not have a good time of being well developed for us to care about these characters, one of the characters who suffered most from this was Kaede, even if she was the most superficial character could explore very well the issue of bullyng she suffered. Now the protagonist, I will confess the comedy has worked a few times because of him, is the kind of shameless character, who has good answers certain times, but greatly abused these jokes with the protagonist, getting very dull and losing grace very fast. His actions were very dubious at times, for through his reaction he did not seem to mind much, it was even odd at certain times.

(Art,Animation = 6/10)

The trace is pretty mediocre, sometimes even inconsistent, the character design is pretty bad, there are times when the characters are very identical. The scenery felt good, but nothing much, as well as its animation.

(Sound = 3/10)
The worst thing about Bunny Girl, the ost they play are pretty weak with repetitive piano taps with no impact at all, except that the silence often used in anime was the worst choice. The dubbing was terrible, I feel that the voice actors did not feel like dubbing this anime, I never felt such an empty and superficial character contributing so much to the dubbing badly done, it affected the protagonist very much, his actions, both dramatic ones, as in the jokes that he did, it did not seem real, they were completely empty, some times his voice was sleepy, and without ost, it was almost an invitation for me to sleep.

(Overall = 5/10)

I had to do this review that is very overrated here in MAL, in addition to showing my disappointment that I had with this work that created hype for being the creator of Sakurasou. Overall it was annoying to accompany this show, even with its problems if it was fun would be another experience, now when it gets difficult to watch each episode is complicated.

While I do like the premise of the show, it will always come to me as a replica of The Monogatari Series, which in my opinions is just leagues better than this.

The focus on social issues, especially those that younger people are experiencing, and the way they are represented by different forms of "puberty syndrome" is really good and separates it from the more supernatural absurdity of Monogatari.

I could write a long comparison between the two series and how monogatari does it way better but I won't bore you with it. They are different enough and I give Bunny Girl senpai the credit it deserves ... for being able to pull away from being just another copy of this X show and create an identity of its own, although barely. It still an amazing feat that very few anime series are capable of doing so.

Good show and there is potential for it to be better, but with how the story has been set and the foundation it currently stands in, it's quite limiting. I hope it gets better.

WARNING: This review assumes you have already viewed the series in full.

WARNING 2: This review most certainly WILL BE personally insulting to those who rate this series highly.

You have been warned.


Ah, so I return to viewing and reviewing anime after 2 years or so.
And this series was clearly at the top of my list, based on hype and comparisons to the Monogatari series.

... Where to begin..

This anime made complete sense once I stepped back into the shoes of a teenager.
And I don't mean that I was only able to appreciate this show's profound themes of personal growth by turning back the clock to when I, too, experienced the same struggles as the show's relatable cast.

No, that's something I would say about actually good shows about growing up like FLCL.

What I mean is that, once I dumbed myself back down, it became clear to me what the source was for all of the unequivocal failings of this series, especially in comparison to many shows it is frequently compared to, if not outright draws from. It also explained the hype and controversy over this shallow husk of a series.

If you look at raving reviews of this series, you will find a common thread:
"Based on the title and poster, you may think show seems like a shallow ecchi harem series, but you would be mistaken if that is what you came in for."

Let's run that through the "self-important teenager speak" translator:
"I am able to enjoy shows like this thanks to my superior intellect and taste, unlike you commoners who only watch anime for mecha battles and oppai. You just lack the superior intellect and taste to appreciate a show like this, as I."

Cringe Central.

Let's talk about the various "offerings" of this anime to analyze how shallow and empty it is, and how it sets the trap of appearing as an intelligent, counterculture anime.

First of all, the elephant in the room. The titular Bunny Girl Senpai, and no doubt the main selling point of this show, despite its fans insisting they like it for the deep dialogue about Schroedinger's Cats (we'll get there).
She is basically the ideal girlfriend in the mind of someone who apparently hasn't interacted with real girls much, and bases his expectations of romance based on watching anime romance.
Bunny Girl Senpai comes from a long and prestigious line of popular waifus, including the likes of Kasumigaoka Utaha, Yukino Yukinoshita, and of course, Senjougahara Hitagi herself. Dark hair, darker wit. An actual senpai or has that dynamic. Sardonic and witty. Brain and Beauty. S to the male lead's M. Skyward tsurime eyes. The disproving gaze. The potential for GAP. Ara ara ufufu
Despite the fans' insistence that this show is not about moe girls, the series pushes you to fall in love with Mai-senpai at every turn. "Check out our flagship waifu," the show nags, "she is basically a moe version of Senjougahara!" "And, in case you get bored of her, you might be interested in our selection of: the Science Chick, the Genki Dojikko, the Childhood Friend, the LOLi Imouto, the..." I could go on.

As an undying fan of Monogatari, and as someone who firmly believes that Senjougahara Hitagi is the most genius and game-changing anime character so far in the 21st century, Bunny Girl is really not a Senjougahara clone she was clearly attempted to be. Not even close.
She's actually more comparable to Spice and Wolf's Horo, in that she is the breakout waifu who carries the show's popularity, despite fans' vehement insistence on liking the show for being "deep." And, most notably, the show's creators freely lean on their waifu status to divert attention from poor writing.
She is sharp-tongued and sharp-witted (at least to teenagers) when she needs to be in order to fulfill her duty as a Senjougahara clone and cater to that aspect of the author's fantasy.
This is strategically interspersed with her being inexplicably ingenue and flustered when she needs to be that way in order to pander to her status as a waifu material in the author's fantasies. This is a downright failure on the part of the author to realize that part of what made Senjougahara so appealing to himself and everyone was the very fact that she would never do this. Because no well-written character does this.

There are certain character archetypes, especially so in female anime characters. That is an undeniable, indeed unavoidable, fact, and not necessarily a negative thing either.
What does matter is how well and how sincerely that character is written.
Look at the real big ones, like Rei from NGE and Faye V. from Bebop. They are not at all free of typical anime girl tropes, including blatant fanservice. However, this does not at all lessen the impact and dept of their characters and their influence on subsequent works. This is because their characters are grounded in real life people's characteristics, therefor natural and consistent. They have various flaws that even seem annoying at times, but they are ultimately memorable because they remind us of real people, despite being presented at times as pure fanservice.
I mean, of course, I get that their characters would be ridiculous and unrealistic when literally transferred to reality, but if there really was a person like that in a world like that, they would be realistic and consistent, and therefore interesting people. In BG Senpai, the characters are inconsistent, the world is inconsistent, and put together they are incredibly inconsistent, if rather convenient for the titillation of the authors' (and, by extension, the viewers') fantasy. This fantasy goes something like:
"Effortlessly Cool Messiah Makes All The Girls Swoon, But Lo And Behold, He is CANONICALLY MONOGAMOUS with the obvious and heavily advertised ULTIMATE WAIFU. (and that's still totally deep and intellectual because there's so little visual fanservice and everyone talks so softly EXCEPT THAT ONE SISLOLI OMG)"
Mai-san, or rather, Bunny Girl Senpai, is based on the author's understanding of people as portrayed by various anime waifu tropes, and not at all about how people really are.
Well-written characters, reflecting real people, have a central motive that consistently drives them. It may not be obvious or specific, and it may not be 100% of what's on the character's mind at all times, but it governs their thoughts and actions, as well as their character arcs.
The only "consistent" motive BG Senpai has throughout the series is to be a titillating girlfriend to the male lead, and by extension, the author and the viewers. The rest of her character traits fluctuate wildly depending on whatever the author at the time fantasizes would be the most adorable and romantic situations, again, based on his favorite animes, rather than real people. Naturally, her only real character "arc" or "development" is that she increasingly becomes a more and more ideal waifu to the male lead as the show goes on. That's it.
You would argue that her big motive is to get back to her acting career, and you would be wrong. That wish of hers is only shallowly mentioned throughout the series, whenever it would be convenient to portray the side of her that is professional and admirable. Her actions throughout the series do not reflect this drive consistently, as she seems to be quite content being the ideal waifu to the male lead and the school idol.
She doesn't stand alone as a character, but exists solely to cater to the "ideal girlfriend" fantasy of the male lead, and by extension the author and readers.

Speaking of her relationship with the male lead, it is the most unbelievable and cringey "romance," even considering how unrealistic romance tends to be portrayed in anime.
Their relationship is nothing more than a fulfillment of a fantasy in the author's mind, and by extension, male teenage viewers.
She is a renowned beauty queen and a national celebrity. And yet, she is completely reserved for the male lead. She is a pure virgin with little experience with boys, and apparently has a special, existential, and completely unexplained link with the male lead that all but guarantees his chance with her.
Seriously, did you ever have those fantasies in high school where your crush is a super popular girl and you can't even approach her, but one day an apocalyptic event occurs, only leaving you and her alive on Earth? And, as time passed, you would come to lean on each other more and more, until... yeah.
That is literally how "deep" their relationship is. It's the daydream of someone who's not really met girls in real life and believes that the perfect waifu can be won over in a short conversation that showcases what a unique, edgy, and intelligent guy you are. Then she will see how different you are from all the handsome jocks and rich moviestars around her. "Oh, my love, you are the first one to treat me like a normal girl and tell toilette jokes in front of me. Hold me as I swoon." Please wake the F up.
It's a lazy romance daydream for guys who blame their unpopularity on how they're "too intelligent compared to peers and misunderstood. It's that cringey fantasy about how the perfect girl will somehow be swept off her feet by the sheer display of your intellect and enlightened ways.
There is no "chemistry" between the leads. Senjougahara and freaking Kaiki show more chemistry in 5 seconds of the Okinawa airport scene in Koimonogatari than the entire Bunny Girl Senpai.

And don't get me started on the male lead. I don't even remember his name, so forgettable he was. Continuing with a common theme in this anime, Sakuta (l just looked up his name) is apparently what the author (and, by extension, male teenage viewers) fantasizes himself as. Laid-back and comfortable with himself, apparently a high-school student who doesn't care about what others think of him? Yeah, that's realistic. You just know the author also had no sense of presence back in school, but it's all okay because he's like that because he's okay with it, not, you know, because he's just thoroughly unpopular. He's friendless by CHOICE, alright? And, despite not possessing any notable qualities, or any significant effort to grow as a person, girls are swept off their feet by these spontaneous, grand romantic gestures he occasionally whips out. Seriously, guys, stop daydreaming. That is not how it works, and these big romantic gestures will completely backfire on you and just be cringey as F, at least if you do it like in this show. You are not, and you don't "identify with" this absolutely lazy and featureless character who gets girls to fall for him by virtue of random romantic gestures that, more often than not, actually endanger the girl physically or socially in an exceedingly selfish and reckless urge to show off. Really, go try announcing to the whole school about your undying love for the most popular girl in your school and a national celebrity, 3 days into meeting her. See how that works out. If you really pull that off, and you can document the event to me, I will revise this review to say "This is the epitome of anime, and (insert your name) is a god."

Even Araragi Koyomi, even freaking Hachiman, had realistic, believable reason for being the way they were. Hachiman's character is grudgingly likable and realistic because, after those rather unrealistic and cringey outburst of selfless social suicide by Hachiman, he is shown to be agonizing over the impulsive decision, being embarrassed to death, just like any real person would. And despite him claiming to be a loner by choice, he is clearly seen to be struggling with loneliness and insecurity, JUST LIKE ANY REAL PERSON other than some nobody's pathetic delusion of who they really are. In stark contrast, Sakuta in Bunny Girl Senpai is some kind of Nietzschean ubermensch who doesn't care about how others think of him. He really is a loner BY CHOICE. He is exactly what the author (and, by extension, the teenage viewers) WANT to see themselves as: being loners due to being too intelligent, too deep, too misunderstood, not at all because they are fundamentally unlikable, self-absorbed, and honestly just not popular.

This would go on for pages if I listed off every example of how poorly, and LAZILY written the two main characters and their relationship are. About how the show constantly uses TEH ULTIMATE WAIFU as a get out of jail free card for covering up bad writing. So let's discuss some other characters.

THE SCIENCE GIRL. I'm pretty sure her name is Futaba, but honestly don't care. She is the "science" character of someone who's never interacted with real scientists and only learned science through anime. The scientific concepts she discusses are not real science, but "science" for someone who only learned science through anime. If you really thought the bits about Schroedinger's Cat and LaPlace Demon were "deep" and "intellectual," I feel really bad for you because you are apparently an unpopular daydreamer who ALSO has bad grades. There is really nothing going for you, my friend. At least unpopular nerds who are actually smart get a second chance in college and a third chance in working life.
And I say that not to be mean, but in complete faith that nobody, not even the people who like the show, would be so clueless as to find one iota of scientific, philosophical, or otherwise cognitive stimulation from the "Science Talks with the Science Girl" segments.

THE POPULAR ATHELETIC FRIEND. I don't even vaguely remember his name, and honestly it would have made zero difference if he was introduced as "token popular friend -kun." Literally the only reason for his existence is to establish that Sakuta is indeed "unpopular by choice." He CAN easily hang out with the cool kids, if he wanted to, but he DECIDES not to because he is already at peace with his spot in the teenage social tapestry.

Notice a trend here? Every character and every interaction in this show exists to further facilitate the author's (and, by extension, the teenage viewers') fantasy of being this cool, suave, naturally charismatic guy, who is too intellectual and mature to play the social game, NOT, let me remind you again and again, because they simply lack the qualities that make popular people popular.

I could go on and on about the failings of this show, but I am surprised by how long it's already gotten just from the few examples off the top of my head.

Ugh, actually, let's do just one more, since it's a biggie:
Kaede the "I'm not a loli imouto" (more like LOLimouto)
Bros, this is NOT how you write a character arc.
First, there is no argument against the fact that her character's sole purpose is to pander to the loli little sister fantasy in the author's mind.
I already hear the outrage: 'But no, she has a tragic back story as the victim of the Adolescence Syndrome."
First of all, if you want to portray a sympathetic little girl sadly afflicted with a mental disorder, you DON'T nicely package that "mental disorder" in a kawaii panda outfit and market it to the siscons, with direct explicit incest tease lines thrown in. Aww, the poor girl has cancer; let's dress her up and blow up our Instragram. For the majority of the show, Kaede is NOT portrayed as a poor trouble little girl whose childlike mannerisms are the result of a tragic incident.
No, she is either a fetish bait for people who are into siscon/lolicon. And for people who are not into that, she is basically a Jar Jar Binks who speaks several times louder than every other character in an annoying and unrealistic baby girl speak, while not contributing anything to the story.
There is no foreshadowing or plot-relevant mention that her Syndrome is causing her to behave in this unrealistic, annoying manner. You are apparently supposed to just roll with it and see her as an adorable object of your sisconic love, until the very end, when oh, apparently that part of her dies, and we have a moment of silence for the passing of the imaginary 2-year old lolibait.
The only reason I found her character unsettling and disturbing was because it was actually unsettling and disturbing, NOT because the show hinted at the dark origins of her current state. Come on, bros, this is fiction writing 101, and if you didn't notice gaping holes like this, then honestly my only expectation is that you are gullible and you fell for this show's trap hook, line, and sinker. The lazy writers of this show shaped your thoughts with sickly sweet romance with BUNNY GIRL SENPAI and made you subconsciously forgive every bit of lazy writing that should have annoyed you.
Kaede-chan is not a realistic, deep representation of.. whatever she was supposed to represent. She is another convenient PROP to further gratify the author's (and, by extension, the teenage viewers') fantasy of having a cute, obedient little sister.

Frankly, this is how I see this anime happening:

1. Author - OMG how good was Bakemonogatari. Ima write a fanfic, except Senjougahara is going to be more moe and they will be more lovey dovey~!
2. Investors - Dude, I hear SHAFT execs still wipe their butt with Bakemonogatari money. Let's do a cheap imitation of it. Hey, look this LN's basically got the formula down.
3. Fans - YES pretty girl! And she's witty, so I don't seem shallow!

Let me hastily wrap up this review because more discussion will only go back to the same point:

This is a shallow anime and a shallow trap for those who mistakenly think they have better taste and that they are misunderstood by their peers, when the truth is that they are actually dismissed and ignored by their peers. It is a 13-minute long masturbation session by the author fantasizing about winning over perfect waifus with grand romantic gestures (that require zero actual effort or growth on his part and apparently are without any consequence) and his self-delusion of inherent maturity and depth. The trap is constructed to fool you into thinking there is inherent maturity and depth in the show and that you, the viewer, are specially mature and deep for praising this show, when in reality, it is essentially the dirtiest ecchi only without visual nudity, and just as unrealistic harem anime as those you specifically criticize in order to assert your "good taste" and "superior intellect." You didn't enjoy this show because it was "deep" or it taught you anything meaningful about the human condition. You praise this show because it had a pretty bunny girl senpai in it who caressed and stimulated your deepest, most unrealistic, most shameful fantasies without explicitly showing nudity and sexuality that would have made you feel guilty and shallow and hesitant about praising this anime to others.

Now, if you will excuse me, I must clear the overnight run of this mediocre series by going through Monogatari again, and reveling in how intelligent and self-aware an anime series can really be.

Sometimes I don't understand how specific shows get critically acclaimed, when in reality they fall short - really short!

I was quite hyped to watch "Rascal Does Not Dream of BBQ Grill Senpai", however, the more episodes I finished, the more disappointed I became.

*MILD SPOILERS UP AHEAD*

The whole premise of the show started off quite well - it left an opening for a genuinely interesting plot, with a strong and impactful twist of "fate", just to derail into a meaningless spiral of disconnected events, occurring one after another.
"How's that?" - you might ask - Well..

Our heroines in the show are "sick" - let's use ... that word from here on to describe their "rare and inexplicable Puberty Syndrome", that alienates them from society and is noticed from the beginning with BBQ Grill Senpai. That sickness ultimately drives our main character (MC) to try and save them all. Unfortunately, here's where the problems start.
The most significant one being - there is NO connection between the events. Each heroine gets "sick" randomly but conveniently enough whenever the former "victim" was "cured". Furthermore, the events behind Subject A do not affect any other character - they just occur and disappear - and to try and explain it further, it goes something like this.

Subject A: "Oh, no - I am "sick"
MC: "Don't worry, I'll save you!"
Subject A: "Oh my god!! Thank you! You saved me! I was on the verge of disappearing from this world but you brought me back to it! Let me repay you by becoming a completely spoiled brat with tsundere issues and no character development whatsoever!"

Subject B: "Oh, btw - I am sick as well. But don't worry, it just randomly happened and wasn't caused by the after effects of Subject A or a sinister being. Also, I"m in love with you."
MC: "Sorry, Rem! I love Emilia!"
Subject B: "That's cool, fam. Don't worry."

Subject C: "Yo! Remember when I helped you cure Subject A and B? Ha! Good times!"
MC: "Wait... you too?"
Subject C: "Hell yeah, boi! But don't stress out - it's just another Scooby-Doo mystery with no holistic meaning or connection to former events."
MC: "What do you mean?"
Subject C: "I got sick for the sake of another episode or two, that's all."

You get the point.
"Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai" began as an interesting and refreshing series only to lose its overall meaning and spiral down into a path of mediocrity and zero character development, as I am sure the majority of people who actually watched the anime would agree. Events had no connection to one-another despite its repertoire of characters - they were the only thing consistent as everything else around them just... happened, transforming the series into a show where each episode is on its own and disregards any narrative or plot

Using the 1 - 10 rating system, I would give this show a 6 just for art's sake. However, for me, 5 - Average, sounds just about right.
Don't let that discourage you, though - give it a try if you wish, it might just be your shtick.

Story 4/10

If this story was original it would be one of the best anime I've ever watched. But the thing is... It's stolen. I mean you can get inspired by some stuff but this anime... I could literally tell you what scenes did it steal from which anime. Here you go: last plot, first plot, second plot every single diffrent plot in this anime was copied exactly without changing anything from Haruhi. Now I'm not going to give any spoilers about the anime but it's literally, genuinely same story with Haruhi. But it didn't only stole from Haruhi. It stole from nearly every good anime ... I know this is my first review(I'm writing review this out of anger) so I don't really know how to give examples but you gotta watch to understand. And also there was this fake dumb sciency explanations which didn't make any sense and made the series 10 times boring.

Characters 6/10

Again if these characters and their problems were original I would give it a 10. But it's stolen. I don't want to give spoilers but the writer really got a lot of "inspiration" from many animes. To name a few: Monogatari, Steins;Gate.... You may say "characters can be alike just because they do things similar they don't have to be same." but I say just watch it and see it with your eyes. And btw I find this main character guy really relateable but that doesn't change the fact that he's a mix of Kyon from Haruhi, Araragi from Monogatari, Hachiman from Oregairu. Well at least more than 1 characters were involved.

Art 7/10

Art was nice. Nothing fancy, nothing crappy either. It was good.

Sound 7/10

Musics weren't so bad too. They weren't too good either but it was good.

Enjoyment 8/10

After all I said about this anime being a copy of multiple animes, it was actually really good. My dude stole it but he didn't messed thing up. It was quite fun except the last episodes. Still, it felt like rewatching Haruhi but I'd like to rewatch Haruhi. Comedy aspect of it was nice too.

Overall 6/10

I would definetly give this anime 9/10 if it was original. So, would I recommend this anime? Yes. It was decent. You know, it was actually remarkable. But that doesn't change the fact that this anime is not original.

Anime is an incredibly incestuous medium. Whether that’s good or bad is more up for debate, but I think it’s fairly obvious to everyone that anime borrows heavily from itself. It has its own series of in-jokes and references, its own tropes that it keeps going back to and trying to subvert, its own way of cannibalizing its peers for ideas, story beats, and character archetypes. Every anime is its own thing, yet every anime also owes much of its makeup to the stories it draws from, and part of the fun of getting sucked into hardcore anime fandom is becoming acquainted with this strange ... new language in how the medium references itself and uses your pre-established knowledge of its styles and tropes to influence your perception of every new iteration. All that being said, though, while I’ve gotten remarkably used to anime’s self-referential tendencies in my admittedly brief time as an anime fan, I don’t think I’ve ever before seen an anime that so clearly screams “Compare me to something you’ve already seen” as Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. And unfortunately, that’s not entirely to its benefit.

Admittedly, it might not be entirely fair of me to tie my opinion of this show so closely to its most obvious inspiration. After all, every story deserves to be judged on its own merits, and it’s how the pieces come together in the end that has far more importance than what pieces are used in the first place. But man, is it hard to pry my impressions of Bunny Girl Senpai away from the Monogatari series, because it’s copying that storied franchise’s playbook so obviously and directly that comparing the two feels almost inevitable. Like Monogatari, Bunny Girl Senpai takes place in a slightly skewed version of our world where people speak in a mix of obscure references, tangled wordplay, and rapid-fire snarky quips that gives every conversation the impression of a writer perhaps a little too pleased with his genius. Like Monogatari, the conflicts center around supernatural afflictions that all have some thematic purpose for the characters they afflict, though in this case it’s more directly focused on the struggles of modern adolescence and based on quantum mechanics over symbolic linguistics. Like Monogatari, our protagonist Sakuta is a misanthropic loner who gets swept up in helping various girls solve their afflictions by coming to terms with some aspect of themselves that the afflictions represent, adding them to an ever-growing sort-of-but-not-quite-harem of supporting characters. Hell, even the archetypes the girls fall into feel directly cribbed from Monogatari: the tsundere-adjacent main girl who officially enters a relationship with the main guy at the end of the second arc, the abrasive loli type, the braniac who looks hot in glasses, the cute little sister, you get the idea. If there was ever a piece of media I could accuse of just copy-pasting what it’s ripping off, it would be this show.

Again, though, taking obvious direction from a previous story isn’t inherently a bad thing. Plenty of classic stories from across the world build on previously established ideas and themes, putting their own unique spin on familiar territory to great effect. Hell, Monogatari itself was steeped in anime culture and the tropes we’ve come to expect from it. And truth be told, Bunny Girl Senpai does a fine job of capturing the ballistic wit of its parent series. Sakuta, his girlfriend Mai, and all the rest are full of no shortage of funny one-liners and creative potshots, weaving dense webs of dialogue through the most inane comments. The actual problems the girls face are very well thought-out, reflecting the struggles teenagers actually face today in terms of social pressure, the increased lack of privacy thanks to social media, trying to live up to expectations you’re not sure you can fulfill, cyberbullying, and more. I also appreciate the clearheadedness of some of its narrative choices. Mai is decidedly Sakuta’s girlfriend by the end of the second arc, and that is never throws into question by any of the other girls he interacts with. The little sister Kaede has a clear crush on Sakuta, but the show never pretends there’s actually any sexual tension between them, or that Sakuta isn’t comfortable handling her advances in a mature, non-fetishistic way. If nothing else, that’s one thing Bunny Girl can wave in Monogatari’s face any day of the week.

But therein lies the problem as well; as chaotically broken as Monogatari could be at points, it was also one of the most brazen, audacious, and all-around brave franchises I can remember. It took huge chances at pretty much every turn, and while that means its failures could be massive, its more-frequent successes remain to this day some of my favorite moments out of anime. Bunny Girl just doesn’t have that same level of balls-to-the-wall bravery to set it apart in the same way. As an example, there’s a scene in the first episode where Sakuta’s verbally sparring with an abrasive girl, and he quips “are you on your period?”, to which the girl descends into flustered anger and is unable to manage a proper retort before storming off. It’s... honestly kind of lazy writing, and it’s not the last time the show hits such easy, obvious beats in place of its more creative snark. Can you imagine how this scene would’ve played out in Monogatari? Would Araragi’s instense verbal fire ever cough up a hairball as lazily misogynistic as a period comment? Even if he did, would Senjougahara, Mayoi, Kanbaru, or any of the rest respond by flusteredly walking away? Or would they punch back with a flurry of emasculating puns that spiraled into a completely unhinged back-and-forth as both characters sought to conquer the other in a whirling game of words? Hell, even when Araragi admits to groping Mayoi in one of the worst running jokes ever, at least Mayoi doesn’t take that shit lying down and immediately jumps up his ass with all the spitfire a bratty elementary schooler can produce. That kind of unhinged mania is why that franchise became popular and important enough that Bunny Girl was created to emulate it in the first place, and it just doesn’t feel as fresh or challenging or courageous.

Perhaps I am being a little unfair. Bunny Girl Senpai isn’t a bad show by any means, and I enjoyed watching it a lot. But the fact is, I can’t think of any aspect of this show that I don’t compare negatively to its own senpai. The animation is solid and nicely fluid, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Monogatari’s bonkers vision of an art-deco dreamworld. The dialogue is quippy and enjoyable, but not nearly as much as Nisioisin’s stream-of-consciousness million-thoughts-a-minute insanity. The main couple is cute, but I’m always comparing them in my mind to what is still my favorite fictional romance ever. Bunny Girl Senpai’s only real crime is one of not measuring up to what it asks you to measure it up against, and that is incredibly disappointing. On its own merits, though, it’s a smart and swift-footed exploration of relatable teenage angst, and there are far worse ways to get your fix of overly verbose character archetypes making mincemeat of the Japanese language.

All of the suspiciously convenient plot devices and countless Ex Machina's really rustled my jimmies. I mean I don't come in to any anime expecting to be an accurate representation of life, but this one went a bit overboard. I believe this anime is best enjoyed if you just don't put too much thought in to it. You won't realize the absurdity of it and just enjoy the mediocre ride.

You accidentally fell in the beach? Better go to the hospital.

You ran around in the rain for like 4 minutes? Better go to the damn hospital.

Oh thank you 16 year old classmate with an IQ ... of 260 accurately explaining all of my situation with quantum physics and other stuff that normal 16 year olds know.

I don't know whether to commend the storyline or not. On one hand, it's borderline plagiarism to the Monogatari series with not as much breasts. On the other hand, it still was enjoyable. The character arcs throughout the story were really well executed, Kaede's arc even left me a bit misty eyed.

The character's were a bit lack luster in this show Kaede being an exception . If you weren't a Dues Ex Machina, like the literal guardian angel in the anime, or a convenient plot device like the literal kid genius who rivals Albert Einstein you were just there to accommodate the pretty lame MC.

It was a pretty cheeky anime and had its cheeky, heart warming moments. You really shouldn't think about too hard. I suggest watching the first 3 episodes and the last 2 episodes with more intent than the other ones. You could really watch the rest on auto pilot, dub perhaps while your about to fall asleep.

Came for the Bunny Girl, stayed for the Panda Girl.

Bunny girl Senpai is an anime which heavily depends on his well made MCs and the anime fanbase's lust for waifus to rise above other mediocre Shojos.
The story: mediocre, especially if you consider only 3 out 5 arcs are useful for the story. The plot revolves around Sakuta's life, which is spiced up by bizarre encounters with many paranormal events called "Adolescence Syndrome". That's it.

The art: Nothing noteworthy. No great animation, no stunning art style, just a meh. Sounds: meh.

Characters: This is where bunny girl gained attention, listen here boyz: The MC is NOT DENSE. He knows what girl she likes and actually ... becomes his boyfriend after the first arc! Hell, even her girlfriend is well characterized, with pros and cons! Such a risky move in an industry based on blue-balling the fanbase with stereotyped waifus and generic harems.

If you'd like to see this anime I recommend watching only Mai's, Futaba's and Kaebe's arcs, the other characters are useless. Also don't watch the movie. It's bad.

if i could have scored this series twice.
for each episode individually.
or just for half a season.

this series would get a 8.5/10
for the first half.
and then 3/10
for the second half.

you see this series had a great story and a very nice concept.
... the first 3-4 episode where great.
it showed promise of a nice romance.
with a nice backstory for both the mc.

then a new rival came out.
a new girl that need to be saved.
as always our cool mc saves the day, and now its a love triangle.
around the half.

then after that guess what?
you guessed it.
Yep another girl got problem and MC saves the day.
and now its a HAREM

and then he saves his sister
and now its a fucking incest.

the romance was dead at the middle of the series.
and so is my love for this series.
its just became a generic t**s*.

all the character in this show.
is to show off.
how cool is the mc is.

that it.

in any case.
for those reasons.

till ep 5-6
this show does deserve 8.5
this is why it got its score.

but after the mid point
it deserve at best 5-4

so

characters 3/10
story 6/10 (first half 9/10 and second half 2/10)
art sound/ decent nothing special.
enjoyment -
i watched 6 episodes in a day got to sleep.
next evening was about to continue and it was completly tr**h
like what happened?

overall 6/10

What can I say, another anime with a unique premise that jumps happily and quickly on the harem band-wagon...enough said... Seriously, once you get past the gimmick, their isn't much else here.

The anime has strongly written dialogue but that strength is used poorly, covering up the major holes of lack-luster plot, uninteresting or poorly utilized characters and themes which rely sourly on the interesting concepts.

Honestly, if you want something similar, I recommend something like Hyouka, sure the dialogue isn't well written but the story and characters are much more engaging. Another, to a lesser extent, Kokoro Connect, good premise(s), engaging characters in a somewhat ... clear and comprehensive plot.

The main problem with this show is its lazy writing. It attempts to make some analogies with quantum physics and existentialism on the plot development but fails completely, to the point everything seems extremely forced and unconvincing. The core of the plot, which is the "adolescence syndrome" is in fact an interesting concept, as it depicts how society perceives you and how you perceive yourself. The problem is that this isn't explored at all throughout the series, as it lefts everything poorly explained, and it gets worse after the first half of the anime, as the plot feels very disconnected from its original idea. Main ... characters don't have enough carisma, and secondary ones have even less, yet the anime dedicates entire episodes to them, it's hard to understand.
Well, at least you could say the ending theme is nice.

Bunny Senpai, commonly know as Bunny Senpai, because who honestly pronounces the whole title, is one of the diamonds among other anime. The premise isn't very "premising" I'll admit, but just give it a chance. I mean, you get to see an unsociable dude kick some chick's ass - nice equiality moment right there, deny the common trope with overly loving sister, stand up for a girl, get more girls' attention, get a harem? Hold on, get a harem? No, don't leave! It's made out to be really unique and interesting show despite the protagonist getting all the girls.
A lot of people compare this to ... Monogatari series. So.... on one hand we have a show with a dialogue on whole new level combined with less ordinary camera angles and overall animation, and on the other hand a simple show without anything new thrown in it, forgettable plot and naturally boring cast. But fret not, Bunny Girl can fix that and to compensate, it stuffs some girl into a bunny suit and gives her some sort of syndrome or mystical supernatural condition. Perfect!
Then again, if that wasn't enough, you can always check out protagonist's sister in a furry panda suit. She won't get called out for being a furry, because she never leaves the house, so don't worry, she's safe.
So the cast is composed of the main character, a righteous cynical outcast - as per usual - who doesn't use phones, and his harem; girl who is apparently isolated in school despite being popular - very serious matter, also relatable. Then the girl who the protagonist kicked in the butt, the scientist girl who's protagonist's friend and the sister. You can rest assured, that all those characters are deeply in love with the protagonist even if they don't show it.
And that's it. The plot? Solving some sort of puberty syndrom mystery that serves to keep the show going somewhere, while 90% of it is filled with exchanging effortless flirting innuendos between the protagonist and his girlfriend. Voila! Another masterpiece of 2018.

I had actually planned on writing out a review Bunny Girl Senpai last year after I first saw the show, but for a number of reasons, I didn't want to. I know this show has its fair share of haters, and a pretty sizeable fanbase, but I am in no means writing this review to take a side, much less piss off the fans of the show. I didn't dislike it, but the truth of the matter is, from an objective standpoint, there really isn't much going for this show one way or the other. For that reason, even after rewatching the show to prepare ... for this review, I had a really hard time retaining my attention and unlike most of my reviews, this will be spoiler free.

Bunny Girl Senpai is a a very well known anime. If you haven't seen it, you've probably heard of it. The show itself is a high school romcom with supernatural elements added in for dramatic flair. Most people that pass on the show do so largely because of the cover, which as you all know depicts a high school girl in a skimpy bunny girl costume, assuming the show is full of fanservice, ecchi moments, and raunchy scenarios. That’s hardly the case.

So, if you're thinking about watching the show, but because you aren't a fan of ecchi, sexually-charged fan service, you just haven't pulled the trigger on it-- Please, don't pass on the show for that reason. There really isn't much fanservice here. That said, there may be other reasons for which one might want to pass on the show, because after watching it through all the way myself, I honestly would have preferred to spend my time either watching another anime or doing something else.

THE GOOD:

The best elements of Bunny Girl Senpai are the music, the art, and the general sound design. The art style in and of itself is solid, if a bit unoriginal, but the quality of the artwork and animation is very good. This shouldn't be surprising given CloverWorks' track record for quality animation, especially in the last five years, but it's still worthy of note.

The music is decent. Nothing spectacular, and the sound design itself is solid as I have already mentioned.

The supernatural aspect of the show's story is the key element to the story. In addition to the typical anime romcom formula, the show adds another layer to the story in the form of Puberty Syndrome, a disease of unexplained origins that relies largely upon poorly researched, watered-down, cliff notes version of quantum biophysics. The disease takes many shapes and forms depending on the issues of an individual and it reacts differently under difference situations and is observed differently by others. If you are familiar with quantum physics in general, the concept I am describing is not unfamiliar to you.

The story itself is essentially about a high school boy (the male protagonist) who constantly finds himself thrown into the lives of other people who are suffering from the effects of PS, trying to reverse the damages and undo the disease itself. It's a neat idea for a story and the romantic plotline is cute and devoid of lots of the typical tropes you'd find in beta romance stories, which was both surprising and refreshing.

THE BAD:

The worst element of the show is the dialogue. Keep in mind that the show is a "romantic comedy," which implies both romance and comedy. The romance is definitely there. The problem? There really isn't any comedy at all. I can't remember a single joke from the show, much less a time where I ever cracked a smiled or felt the humor from a sarcastic comment, ironic encounter, or witty rejoinder. A lot of the "humor" is largely situational-- usually cliche and stereotypical-- and none of it is funny and none of the characters themselves even smiled during the shows rare, supposedly funny situations.

The character's two main protagonists, Mai and Sakuta, who the audience is supposed to connect with and desire to fall in love, show little to no emotion throughout much of the show's runtime, even during many scenes or moments when it calls for it (there are exceptions). Much of the shows minor characters, such as Rio, Tomoe, and Saki have the same glaring issue. And the characters that DO show emotion, such as Sakuta's little sister Kaede, also happen to be the worst characters here.

The one positive element that came from the issues is this: Because real, raw emotion is so rare, when any of the characters do have moments of genuine weakness, relief, or any other form of an emotional reaction, there is a lot more meaning behind the reaction and moment, and it's a lot easier to connect with the characters as a result. Many of the shows emotional, climactic moments would not have as much weight as they do if not for the fact. For that reason, these moments also happen to be the shows best. Add this to the list of pros...

The characters themselves are mostly alright, but some of the shows minor characters, such as Kaede and Nodoka are subpar at best. Kaede is a stereotypical extroverted, high energy kawaii Imouto who has unrequited love for her brother (kind of). Her character is pure incest bait. There's little else to Kaede, even when she becomes a bigger part of the story later on. Nodoka is Mai's, the female protagonist's, sister. She dreams of being in an idol band because she wants to be like her sister whom she looks up to... that's about it. This actually serves as the catalyst for her PS episode.

Overall, the story is bland, largely because of the weak dialogue, but also because of some pacing issues, structural issues with the narrative, and the typical cliches and tropes you'd expect from a shounen, romcom anime. Also related to this particular issue is that there wasn’t really any real driving force behind any of the story arcs themselves. Other than Kaede, Rio, and Nodoka, there isn't any purpose behind the male protagonist’s involvement to help anyone else, other than he’s just a really good guy. The protagonist has said before he doesn't care about helping people he doesn’t know, so why does he? It's because the story demands it and nothing else. That's bad storytelling. And the problem with Nodoka and Kaede's story arcs is that, even though it makes sense why the protagonist would want to help them out, they are the some of the show's worst characters, so it's hard to become invested in a story arc that directly involves the growth and development of these characters. If I had to put the story into one sentence, it would be this: a guy solves a bunch of girls' problems for them.

While the supernatural elements do add an extra layer to the story that is sorely needed, the problem with it is that it is incredibly shallow. The scientific theories it uses were very clearly poorly researched prior to the writing of the story and nobody should take any part of it seriously.

The show has a number of the same overused, done-to-death cliches you see in every anime nowadays. Incest bait, waifu bait, harem bait, kawaii idol band, an overly emotional confession scene in front of the entire school (kind of. It’s more of a remembrance than an actual confession, but it’s function is identical), a female love interest who's constantly belittling the male love interest,
etc. There are admittedly some fanservice moments, but nothing particularly egregious or offensive. The worst ecchi moment isn't even a miniskirt or panty shot, it's a bunch of idol band members performing a skit for their virgin, betacuck audience in which one member "forgot" her panties, blushes, and gets embarrassed to arouse everyone. Nothing in the show is new. You've seen it done before in other shows and other anime especially, only it's a lot more bland and a hell of a lot less interesting for the most part.

CONCLUSION:

At the end of the day, there really isn't much to Bunny Girl Senpai that's worthy of mentioning, bad or good, aside from the really good artwork and animation. The music is fine, the sound design is pretty decent, and it has some good character moments with a sleuth of minor negatives that are barely worth talking about. If I were to describe the show in one word, it would be “shallow.”

The characters are bland, largely because of the weak, emotionless dialogue, and it completely undercuts what should have been a pretty decent, if unoriginal story. It has good ideas, but doesn't execute them well. The story has some structural issues and the pacing is off at times.

If you don't mind cliche romance fluff and the typical anime tropes, you might find enjoyment in the shows quality animation, supernatural elements, and romantic plotline, but if you're looking for something truly grand or original, this probably isn't going to be the show for you.

I wanted to like the show, but I honestly felt like I wasted my time. Bunny Girl Senpai just wasn't that interesting to begin with.

SHORT VERSION:

- The Story: 5/10
- The Art: 8/10
- The Sound: 6/10
- The Characters: 4/10
- The Enjoyment (Subjective): 4/10
- Overall: 5/10

Let me preface this by saying that I find it kinda funny how the synopsis on here (plus the bunny girl concept) led me to believe this was going to be some lighthearted anime and the title/art obviously made me think the bunny outfit was a big focus. Let's just say that you should be prepared for an anime that takes itself pretty seriously and there are probably a total of 3 minutes of bunny girl. That didn't bother me, but I could see where people would be a bit frustrated.

I think the plot of this anime and the multiple cases of Puberty Syndrome that ... are in it are interesting. A person's unpleasant emotions and insecurities manifest themselves as real life, physical supernatural occurrences that affect the person and represent the emotions in some way. For example, Mai being invisible to everyone. It's played straight, with the cast trying to find out why it's happening, then the affected needing to confront their weaknesses to stop the weird phenomenon happening to them. Each case is tackled one at a time and given several episodes to flesh out. They might be supernatural tropes you've seen quite a bit, but I liked how they were done.

So why the low score? The writing, namely the protagonist. He EXCLUSIVELY says lewd, vaguely sarcastic lines, but is always monotone and doesn't give off any air of being a jokester. Worse, the other characters always respond to it as if it's banter, which makes his awkward and unnatural lines even more awkward and unnatural. He gets better as the show goes on (and I wish how he was at the end was how he was the whole time), but my god the beginning episodes are absolutely UNBEARABLE because both him and Mai rattle them off at each other but neither reacts. Speaking of, when all Sakuta and Mai have said to each other are monotonous lewd throwaway lines and cheesy "I love you" lines to each other, it doesn't make for a convincing relationship. The one time it felt natural was when Sakuta yelled into his pillow while rolling around after flirting...for less than a second. Other than those, the characters definitely don't talk like high schoolers, especially when Sakuta is telling characters what their problem is (and in the most rude way possible). It kinda takes you out of it.
(Side note: Despite all of the crazy and worrying things happening around him with the other characters, he always has these half-closed eyes that just make him look like he's bored and doesn't care even though he does!)

What prevents Sakuta from dragging this anime into "Bad" for me is the plot, other characters (when they aren't casually responding to the awkward lines), and the fact that Sakuta really does get better later into the anime. The density of the lewd comments starts to thin and they actually start getting a bit funny from time to time. Also, he feels more like he's trying to help instead of going through motions. However, I don't think that makes this anime worth watching, or at least not something to put high on your priority list over other anime that seem like they'd be more enjoyable.