I Finally Watched ‘Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl’

I absolutely loved the first season of Bunny Girl Senpai. Deep and complex characters, witty dialogue, gripping drama, Sakurajima Mai, fantastic music, it had it all. A true masterpiece in my opinion.

Despite this, I completely missed the Dreaming Girl movie. I missed the theatrical event, and it didn’t come to streaming for a long time. My options at the time were either piracy or an $80 Blu-Ray on eBay. Not appealing prospects. So I just shrugged it off and moved on.

That is, until about two weeks ago. A new season of anime began, and with it came the long-awaited season two. The cherry on top: Dreaming Girl finally came to streaming. What better time could there be to get caught up?

In case it wasn’t obvious: spoilers ahead.

The film picks up right where season one ended. Sakuta and Mai’s relationship is still going strong. Except for one problem: Sakuta’s old crush, Makinohara. A girl who exists in two places at once. One, a terminally ill child. The other, a healthy and lively college student. As the days tick down towards Christmas, Sakuta must once again unravel the mystery of Puberty Syndrome. But will he be able to pay the price?

I’ll be honest: the story didn’t do that much for me. The conflict felt frustratingly contrived. All Makinohara needs is a heart transplant; you expect me to believe Sakuta and Mai are the only possible donors? The hospital didn’t have any others? There’s not a single heart to spare for this kid across all of Japan? None of the characters even thought to look; they just went straight to leaping in front of trucks! I’m not a doctor, but I find that difficult to believe.

To be fair, there are a lot of incredibly strong moments in the film. While the plot is weak, the characters are strong enough to make up for that. Their personalities are as enjoyable as ever, and the dialogue is still witty and captivating. You could write these characters painting a wall and it would still be gripping.

Then time travel happens. Not even the incredible cast could fix that. I’m sorry, but as soon as my emotional drama became an episode of Doctor Who, I completely checked out.

Animation wise, the movie left something to be desired. It’s on-par with that of the show. Granted, a slice-of-life anime doesn’t need mind-boggling animation. Not even one as weird as Bunny Girl Senpai. Still, for a featured film, I was expecting more. This feels more like an arc of the show rolled into one. Not bad, just disappointing.

I can’t make the same complaint about the music. The score here is every bit as strong as the show. Partly because most of it is from the show. But there are enough original tracks for me to give it a pass.

Overall, I thought ‘Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl‘ was just okay. I think the stories told in the first season were better, but the franchise isn’t hurt by this movie existing. If you love this world and these characters, you’ll probably enjoy it. If nothing else, it’s a great appetizer to prepare you for season two.

Thanks for reading. I hope y’all have a great rest of your day.