Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. Such an audacious title is worthy enough, on its own, to catch someone’s attention. However, we should never judge a book by its cover. Well, in this case, we should never judge a television show by its title. Beyond the ludicrous title lies an expertly crafted, thirteen-episode, show that not only invests us in the multitude of characters within a short amount of time but also gives us relatable experiences that may connect deeply within many of us.
The basic premise of the show is a simple, yet complex phenomenon called “adolescence syndrome.” As the name suggests, this strange syndrome occurs during adolescence. However, its complexity is due to the seemingly infinite types of adolescence syndrome that people may experience. This is because of the type of adolescence syndrome that the characters experience is due to their biggest mental and emotional struggle, during adolescence. In reality, adolescence syndrome is a clever, fictional illness, created by the writers to showcase a slew of problems that adolescents may face during their growth to maturity. As I said previously, the show is quite short. It is formatted in five separate arcs that focus on a different character. This allows the show to demonstrate its true strength: character building which in turn creates empathetic stories that resonate with us.
Throughout the show, we are treated to five different cases of adolescence syndrome, and with that, five different characters. Within those five stories, three of them stand out as being extraordinarily impactful to me.
At first, we are greeted by Tomoe Koga. An average adolescent who is just trying to fit into her class. Her problem arises when she is asked out on a date by her classmate Maezawa. Koga, knowing that her friend Rema Kashiba has a crush on Maezawa, couldn’t possibly accept the dating opportunity. If Koga didn’t accept the invitation, she would become shunned by her class. All she ever wanted was to fit in, so as she experiences a moment of panic, her adolescence syndrome occurs. Koga wakes up on the same day, over and over again and is forced to keep on facing this moment of panic no matter what she does. The only way to stop this repetition is to accept or reject Maezawa’s invitation. This applies to many of us throughout adolescence, we are just trying to fit in with our peers and not do anything to make us stand out in a negative light. This desire to conform puts a lot of pressure on us and forces us to think deeply about our decisions. Koga’s story brings in a very realistic scenario that may occur in one of our own lives. Accompanied by the desire to belong also comes a desire to please others. We are often stuck with difficult decisions that stress our desire to please everyone, yet we must move forward and choose the path of least harm.
The story that I resonate the most with is Toyohama Nodoka’s. Her desire to meet the expectations of her famous sister, Mai, is most applicable to me. Nodoka developed somewhat of an inferiority complex, which caused her to switch bodies with her sister to live out her life. As a result of adolescence syndrome. It was revealed that Nodoka had looked up to Mai her entire life and wanted to be her. This story is particularly compelling to siblings as it is very normal for one sibling to envy the other. This is especially true if both siblings are going through adolescence and discovering new hobbies and becoming more mature. In a broader spectrum, this arc demonstrates the fierce competition that adolescents face during their growth. The desire to succeed in school, sports and other extracurricular activities increase the tension in our everyday lives. This battle will have some stronger competitors than others which will undoubtedly create an environment where a feeling of envy will emerge.
As the show comes to an end, we are greeted by Kaede Azusagawa. She is introduced as an adolescent that seems to suffer from agoraphobia. Later, we discover that her agoraphobia was triggered by her adolescence syndrome. Kaede was cyberbullied by her entire class which in turn developed her fear of going outside. Beyond that, it also erased her memory and developed an alter ego version of herself. The memory of being bullied was too painful for Kaede to continue living with so her adolescence syndrome triggered under that immense trauma. This story also brings the desire to conform with others to not stand out. As adolescents, we have the desire to not be alone, to not be considered a loner so that we won’t be targeted by cruel individuals.
What sets Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai apart from other generic Japanese shows, that document the lives of adolescents is the clever use of a strange phenomenon to demonstrate the impact of the struggles that adolescents face. This creates a compelling story that emphasizes the effects rather than just glossing over them in favor of telling just a story. The show also excels in its character presentation. Every character has their own distinct story that is well written and extremely engaging, coupled with experiences that most people can heavily relate to. Typically, shows that attempt to accomplish this become jumbled in their thoughts or become extremely laborsome to watch. For Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, neither of those issues were present.
As adolescents, our main source of stress is our social interactions. The people around us create a sense of competition and pressure as we try to surpass and please them at the same time. Sometimes, the stress of being an adolescent is just too much. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, demonstrates this struggle beautifully. All be it through a title that is still shockingly strange to this day.
