SEISHUN BUTA YAROU WA BUNNY GIRL SENPAI NO YUME WO MINAI

DESCRIPTION

CAST

NOVEL ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai
MOVIE DramaSeishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai
MANGA ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai
NOVEL ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Petit Devil Kouhai no Yume wo Minai
NOVEL ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Logical Witch no Yume wo Minai
NOVEL ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Siscon Idol no Yume wo Minai
NOVEL ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Orusuban Imouto no Yume wo Minai
MANGA ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Petit Devil Kouhai no Yume wo Minai
MANGA ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Logical Witch no Yume wo Minai
MANGA ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Siscon Idol no Yume wo Minai
MANGA ComedySeishun Buta Yarou wa Orusuban Imouto no Yume wo Minai

REVIEWS

• 

  CaninnTurtle

  97/100
  Bunny Girl Senpai handles the most arduous issues in adolescence: social anxiety and all that comes with it.

  At the start of the season, I most definitely didn't think that Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai would be my favorite show of the fall. And I certainly didn't think that I'd be fighting countless other glowing reviews upon completion like I am now, but such is the way of anime. Good shows like this don't remain unknown for long, even if they don't have a lot of buzz about them going into the season like Bunny Girl Senpai did. I distinctly remember adding Bunny Girl Senpai to my watch list because I heard from someone that it was a lot like Monogatari, which I absolutely adore. However, I found myself not agreeing with the comparison as much as the episodes ticked on. While there are absolutely similarities between the two (a snarky main character, a new girl of the week with new issues, a main love interest for the main character, etc) I found that, while Monogatari was surreal and ethereal in nature, Bunny Girl Senpai was grounded and had a distinct realism to it, as if these issues could be happening to you or your friends, despite their innate supernatural nature. But anyways, on to the meat of the review.

  While I was never absolutely blown away by the animation or art style of Bunny Girl Senpai, I was never really focusing on it enough to notice it being anything worse than good. I actually really fell in love with the character designs in Bunny Girl Senpai more than anything. There was this vague similarity between some characters, but at the same time, every character was unique in a way that you'd never confuse them. At the same time, the color palette of the show was absolutely fantastic for its setting.

  However, If I had to name the technical aspect of the show I loved the most, it would be the sound, more specifically, the music. I've said it before and I'll say it again, music elevates shows from a 9/10 to a 10/10. I mean, I look at the majority of my favorite anime and realize that a huge reason for them being there is because they have phenomenal soundtracks. Bunny Girl Senpai is no different. The OST is fantastic and actually memorable, which really makes me look forward to its eventual release. But more than anything, I loved the opening and endings. All five of the variations of the ending are fantastic, though the Mai version is still my favorite. But, I have to say, the compilation version is probably the best. However, my favorite song in the entire show is easily "Kimi no Sei", the opening. I'll just leave it here, because I feel as if it needs no explanation.

  Favorite Character: Sakuta Azusagawa

  

  Yeah it's a bit of a boring choice, but for me, Sakuta is only choice. So few other characters exist with Sakuta's snark and wit and those that do are, in my opinion, outclassed by Sakuta in certain ways. Not to say that he's a better character than say, Araragi or Hachiman, but I certainly related to Sakuta far more than either of those two. There's just a realism to Sakuta that's hard to match. He's snarky and standoffish, but also a caring friend who would topple mountains for those he cares for. He has a cold exterior, but even he isn't completely without feelings. I think the last arc of the show really drew out the depth in Sakuta’s character for me, all while keeping him consistent with his character. And this isn't even touching on the real strength about Sakuta and Bunny Girl Senpai in general. This strength that I've alluded to is simply the chemistry between Sakuta and the rest of the cast. You have Mai, who is Sakuta's main love interest, who provides us with the cutest relationship in the show, where they banter and flirt back and forth in an extremely endearing way. You also have a myriad of other characters with similar, albeit, less engaging relationships with Sakuta; Futaba, who explains things to Sakuta and essentially, the audience; Kaede, Sakuta's little sister who absolutely adores him but is stuck indoors from trauma; and the list goes on. There's just something so special when this cast of characters interacts. It's captivating even, to listen to those friends go back and forth, constantly evolving their relationships with each other, deepening their bonds and overcoming their problems together.

  If I had to say anything bad about Bunny Girl Senpai, it would be that it never quite reaches the greatness of the first arc again, though Kaede's arc comes closest. And that is by no means a bad thing. It's just that that first arc was so good that it set completely unrealistic expectations for each and every arc and the fact that it almost reaches that mark every time is incredibly impressive. Sure, I was worried about the Koga arc, since it was a little more of a drag, but it certainly rebounded strongly once I had tempered my expectations a little. Seriously. That's all I can think of.

  Anime like Bunny Girl Senpai don't come along too often, maybe once a year or so. For me, Bunny Girl Senpai really struck a chord in me, and I remembered how it was like for me in those tumultuous times, how you felt as if no one could see you or you wished some part of you didn't exist. It's truly a haunting time, one where you usually have to come to terms with those things in time, but to see those issues put under the microscope, to see them visualized, that's hard to handle in some cases. It's this combination of fantastically written characters and deep, thoughtful subject matter that truly makes Bunny Girl Senpai special. It's all these little things in unison that make Bunny Girl Senpai, most likely, my anime of the year.

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• 

  Pockeyramune919

  90/100
  Bunny Girl Senpai is this season's sleeper hit; it's fresh characters help push an engaging coming of age story.

  With a name like Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (or simply Bunny Senpai), this show from the Fall 2018 anime season doesn’t instill much confidence. First, the title’s a sentence title, and whether in Japanese or in English, it’ll take you a while to get it right when searching for it online. When saying it out loud, you’ll just look silly. More damning however, is the fact that the title and promotional visuals naturally lead viewers to assume that Bunny Senpai will be nothing but shamelessly tantalizing ecchi with no substance.

  However, after watching it, I highly recommend this excellent show. Looking past this book’s cover, I found pages upon pages filled with an engaging, well-executed story.

  

  Sakuta Azusagawa is a high school student. He;s somewhat isolated from others due to a mysterious incident that happened sometime prior to the series. One day, he runs into a girl wearing a bunny girl costume— the eponymous bunny girl senpai. Her name is Mai Sakurajima, a famous actor who has suddenly become afflicted with “adolescent syndrome,” a phenomenon that affects adolescents in various ways. In Mai’s case, she cannot be seen by anyone, so she wears the costume in hopes to elicit a reaction. Sakuta is the only one who can see her. Together, they try to solve the mystery of Mai’s adolescent syndrome.

  The first thing I must praise this show for is Mai and Sakuta’s relationship. The show is very fresh and original; a large part of this is thanks to the main characters. Sakuta is snarky, mild-mannered, perverted, and somewhat irreverent. He doesn’t really let anything fluster him, and unlike many MCs in anime, he isn’t ashamed about his sexuality. Overall, I’d describe him as a cynical character (at least in the beginning), yet not to the point where it’s emotionally draining. While some might not like his “don’t-give-two-shits” attitude, I found it hilarious. Admittedly, my love for Sakuta’s character is in large part due to how subversive he is in terms of main characters. It’s just one way that Bunny Girl stands out in the crowd of slice-of-life anime. Due to how well his personality was established, it’s all the more noteworthy and exciting when he acts out of character, such as when he cries.

  Mai is a great counter to Sakuta, matching his snark. Under a somewhat aloof exterior is a sweet, friendly person. I was happy as their relationship progressed because Mai is subversive as well. She isn’t prone to dumb misunderstandings and in general, her actions just felt real. No getting mad at Sakuta for stupid reasons such as him talking to another girl. There are many tropes and cliches in anime, and I’m pleased to say that Bunny Girl senpai doesn’t rely on them...for the most part.

  

  Even structurally, Bunny Girl Senpai sets itself apart. The show doesn’t drag its feet in terms of progressing its character or story, and as a result, no arc overstays its welcome. As a testament to how brisk the show is, episode three is very conclusive and satisfying; feeling like the end of a one-cour show. After this, the arc revolving around Mai and Sakuta comes to an end. However, the creators clearly know what made the first part of the story so engaging, because Mai sticks around. She’s not given as much focus as she once was, but she still is a primary character.

  Each arc focuses on another character dealing with their personal flavor of adolescent syndrome. In each arc, we see the character that the story is focusing on undergo development and ultimately overcome their anxieties, the syndrome disappearing along with their dilemma. The adolescent syndrome is another thing which really makes the show shine. The adolescent syndrome is terrific because it allows viewers to understand what the characters are going through in a unique way.

  While it’s not bad, the character designs are somewhat generic and the OST is quite low-key and sparse. While this would normally hurt the show, Bunny Girl senpai uses these elements to highlight the supernatural adolescent syndrome. Against the backdrop of the art and music which paint the picture of a “normal” world, the adolescence syndrome sticks out. Paradoxically, the art direction of the anime makes it so the adolescence syndrome isn’t depicted as completely farfetched. Together, these attributes characterize adolescence syndrome as a force that is grandiose, yet common — perfect for describing the seemingly insurmountable struggles that youths go through, time and time again.

  

  The adolescent syndrome is just a manifestation of teen anxiety, and as such, it doesn’t require an explanation. There are two reasons it shouldn’t be explained. For one, it loses some of its charm as something you just have to deal with. Two, it would fall apart as soon as you try to explain it. For this reason, I groaned everytime recurring character, Futaba ,would try to explain the occurrences with technobabble. Her attempts at explaining the phenomena didn’t add anything to the show and just bogged it down, trying to explain what can’t really be explained and boring viewers. The only explanation I liked was when she explained Schrodinger's cat, just because it was informative, was actually somewhat relevant to the syndrome at hand, and was easy to follow.

  

  I found Kaede to be another weak part of the show. After so many subversions, it felt like Sakuta’s younger sister, Kaede — with her obsession with her brother and overly cutesy personality — was added to remind viewers that, yes, this is an anime. At the very least, I was glad that she didn’t end up being clingy and jealous, but nevertheless, the referring to herself in third person and the idol worship of her brother schtick got old fast. Luckily, there’s a revelation that makes me appreciate her character more, but hindsight is 20/20.

  While it's a bit unrealistic that an actor gets so chummy with just a random guy, Sakuta and Mai are just too cute for me to care too much.

  While the character in each arc get development, Sakuta himself doesn’t have that big of a character arc. It's there, but it's subtle and I wish we saw him change a bit more.

  There are a few loose ends that aren’t tied, leaving the last episode feeling slightly unsatisfying. Still, there’s a movie coming up, so I’m sure everything will be concluded then.

  And boy, am I glad there will be a movie. With how much I loved this show, at the end of the thirteenth episode, I was clamoring for a second season. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl exceeds expectations and handles anxiety in an engaging way with characters who feel like real people. It is a brilliant coming of age story.

  9/10

  A-

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• 

  spratty

  90/100
  Guy falls in love with a bunny girl and so did I. A story that tackles the hardships of adolescence.

  Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai was not what anyone expected at first glance. I for one, came to see a cute girl in a bunny outfit and I am pretty sure that goes for most of us who decided to watch the show. I expected a harem, ecchi story but instead received a well written, interesting story. The harem setup is there but the show is not a harem at all. Bunny Girl Senpai is entertaining, fun and at the same time tackles mature and realistic situations.

  "Puberty Syndrome- abnormal experiences rumored on the internet to be caused by sensitivity and instability during adolescence". This is what the story in Bunny Girl revolves around. Teens going through the hardships of adolescence but abnormal things occur to them. For some reason I decided to check if it was an actual illness after seeing the first episode so I can assure you it is not an actual illness, just something made up for the plot of the story.

  Story
  The story starts off with Sakuta Azusagawa, a high school student who one day sees a bunny girl at the library appear in front of him. That girl is Mai Sakurajima, Sakuta's upperclassman and popular celebrity actress on hiatus. She is experiencing puberty syndrome and is invisible to most people around her. Sakuta is on a mission to help her overcome the problem that is causing this phenomenon. Mai is not the only one experiencing this. Throughout the story, other girls start appearing with puberty syndrome and Sakuta is the one who helps them.

  Besides the attractive girls in the show, the concept of puberty syndrome is what kept me watching the show every week. As stated earlier, each of the characters are going through the hardships of adolescence but abnormal things are occurring to them. For example, Mai's effect from puberty syndrome is that she is invisible to nearly everyone around her and forgotten about. This is due to the her being overwhelmed by the show biz and hates that her mother forced her to do things and unconsciously wishes to not be known at all. Tomoe Koga has this effect of repeating the current day she is in and living in a simulated future. This is because she is unhappy with how situations turn out for her. She wants things to go her way, wants to be liked and accepted by everyone and does not want to have a bad reputation. We have all gone through something similar that the characters are going through. Adolescence is one of the most significant points in our lives. We are developing not only physically but psychologically as well. We have a lot going on during this period and I believe the show captures it appropriately. I guess that is why I found it so appealing.

  Character
  In addition to Mai being my favorite character, I really enjoyed Sakuta as well. He is cheeky and smug and makes sarcastic remarks most of the time. Even with all the rumors about him going around school, he doesn't seem to care. Besides all this, Sakuta is a person who sincerely cares about others. Before the events of the story, Sakuta and his sister, Kaede, go through puberty syndrome themselves. Seeing his sister in a bad state made Sakuta feel terrible. At his lowest point, he meets Shoko Makinohara, his first love if I am correct. She is there for Sakuta when he needs support and helps him get through his situation. Shoko is the one who sort of shapes Sakuta into the person he is in the present. He understands what it feels like to be in a situation where you feel almost incapable of doing anything. Just like Shoko was there for him in his time of need, Sakuta wants to be there for his friends who are feeling emotionally unstable. I believe this is what makes Sakuta a great character and that is why I like him as well.

  Music and Animation
  The OST for this anime was nice and the animation was done well. I really liked the character designs for all the girls and that's most likely a reason that I kept watching this show. The dialogue is nothing special but it is really intriguing. Of course, my favorite interaction is between Sakuta and Mai. Their interactions feel authentic. The romance between them is good too. By that, I mean how they behave. It is not over the top. It feels natural. It's not seem cliche crap. I'd like to say it is a pretty good representation of how some relationships actually are. Apart from the fact that Sakuta is with a new girl every other week and Mai does her best not to be bothered by it. Do that in real life and you are getting dumped pretty quickly...Unless you have someone as loyal and understanding as Mai, in which that case you are one lucky person and I envy you for finding true love.

  Concerns
  I have seen people have trouble with the explanations given by Futaba about the abnormal situations the characters face due to puberty syndrome. They say it is nonsense and vague. To those people I would like to say: IT IS AN ANIME. If you really expect an in depth explanation to each phenomenon happening then you really have high standards and probably did not enjoy this anime as much as others. Just go with what they give you. I don't think the exposition is what you should be focusing on in this show. The main focus should be on the characters, their emotions and situation. That is what this anime is about. Adolescence. The exposition is secondary and not as important.

  I have to end with some criticism I believe. I would have liked the story more if the characters didn't just seem to disappear after their stories ended. I kind of completely forgot Koga existed a few episodes after her arc ended. If Futaba had not been important to the story, then I would have forgotten about her too. Each character did have their time to shine and it was done well so it is not that big of a deal. Also the ending did feel sort of open ended and rushed. It felt jammed and I feel like an extra episode or two could have made it better. Apparently a movie is coming out some time in the future so it might answer some questions left unanswered.

  Final Thoughts
  I enjoyed this anime more than I should have and I am guessing that is because of the lack luster summer season. This is probably my favorite anime of the fall season. If you are looking to watch a beautiful girl wander around in a bunny outfit for 13 episodes straight, then this is not the show for you. Believe me, I was also disappointed at the lack of appearances made by my bunny girl waifu. If you are looking for an entertaining show with a good story and a great cast of characters, then yes I do recommend that you watch Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai.

  
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