(they aren't really spoilers if you already watched the anime, there are just some extra details from the manga that I don't go too in depth about)
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TL;DR: I thought the show was amazing, having recently begun reading some manga I decided to read this to see the differences between the source and adaptation. I give it a whopping 9.999999/10 because of some very minute issues I have, but if you enjoyed the anime, you will be BLOWN AWAY by this manga. For perspective, I originally scored the show at a 10, after reading the source I might have to bump that down to an 8, maybe even a 7, because of how amazing the original story is. It blows the adaptation completely out of the water and into orbit.
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I found the anime adaptation for this story while going through the recommendations page for https://myanimelist.net/anime/37450/Seishun_Buta_Yarou_wa_Bunny_Girl_Senpai_no_Yume_wo_Minai?q=seishun&cat=anime . I could not have picked a better show from that list. I won't go on about the show, but there was something about it that made me just want a deeper look into the story like no other anime had done for me. After finishing the show, I was left happy, but not satisfied. After a few days pass since watching something, I usually forget everything about it and all of the details are lost, but this stuck with me in the back of my head. Since I have recently taken the step into manga with "Gakkougurashi!," it was easier for me to get into this one, so I did.
Wow. That's really all I have to say. As I said previously, upon finishing the show I was happy with it. After reading the manga, the show pales in comparison to the original work. I almost have no words.
For starters, the manga introduces and consistently deals with more characters than the anime does, which makes it feel like Yuuko and all of these ghost stories are more of a school-wide phenomenon rather than it just being within an isolated group, bringing more life to the story. Not all of these characters are really fully fleshed out, but the art alone manages to convey their personalities in a way I've rarely seen in anything else, not to mention almost all of the dialogue is incredibly well written, and in a way that feels like these characters, although we don't see it, are still incredibly complex(except for that one newspaper club guy he kinda makes me zzzzzz).
The arcs in the manga are longer, touch on more points in the story, and explain everything far better than the show did. The whole "Seven School Wonders" thing doesn't even exist in the show, it's just Teiichi trying to figure out Yuuko's past. Basically everything in the manga that requires the introduction of a new character just... doesn't happen in the anime? Ultimately this cuts out some interaction between "Clean Yuuko" and "Shadow Yuuko," on top of there not being an incredibly important scene involving Kirie's grandmother and Yuuko.
If you are coming from the anime, it should be safe to read past this point but I would still recommend just reading the manga, it genuinely is far better than the show in almost every imaginable way
STOP HERE AND READ THE MANGA IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!!!!! SPOILERS!!!!
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The ending of the manga gave me what I desperately wanted out of the anime, for Yuuko to return and instead of being attached to the school, be attached to Teiichi instead. This is the only way they could have ended the story that would leave me satisfied(especially with that scene in the classroom with the wedding dress that was so cute omg), everything that was different in the manga made the experience so much better that I can't put it into words. I'm so incredibly happy that we got a full explanation of the ritual, and the relationship Yuuko had with her sister, because the anime was really lacking in that department. The development of Yuuko's sister is also done well. Instead of being some random character we're introduced to 3/4's of the way through the story, we can see her interacting with Kirie every once in a while, and her arc as a character is entirely different and more directly involved with the rest of the main cast. "Shadow Yuuko" not being an entirely malevolent being also helps you empathize with her to a greater degree. I do have to say, though, "Clean Yuuko"'s arc is, in my opinion, done much better in the anime. That is the only reason this isn't a 10/10 for me. It might be a little unfair to be comparing the two instead of seeing them as two different entities(especially with how much the anime changes the story), but oh well. In the anime we get to see a lot more raw moments with Yuuko that aren't shown nearly as much in the manga, leading me to believe that most of my attachment to Yuuko as a character comes from the show rather than the source material. Everything except for that one singular gripe is absolutely SPECTACULAR. The dialogue is written well, the art is incredible even when you can obviously tell the artist was rushing because of deadlines. The characters are great, although I wish we got to see Okonogi have an experience with Yuuko instead of forever being unable to interact with her, and the overarching story is well executed until the very end. I REALLY wish I could give it like a 9.9999999/10 because I loved everything the whole way through except for those minor changes to Yuuko.
Sorry this might feel all over the place and whatever, I'm not really that great at expressing how I feel about something that affects me so much, especially when this magnificent piece of PEAK literature is so fresh in my mind. Thanks for reading anyways<3
