Awakening From A Dream, And Life Goes On

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai Episode 13 Review

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Part of me is a little disappointed with this final episode, and the other part is happy that this anime ended more or less as it started. The tight focus on the characters and their experiences as well as the need to face situations as they are rather than how we’d like them to be carried right through to the end.

However, this arc feels to be one of the least resolved of the series and given this is where it has ended I can’t help but feel a little bit like this wasn’t the solid ending it could be. Future movie announcements or not, it would have been nice for this final episode to have given us a solid resting place. Then again, in terms of character progress it kind of did.

Kaede is awake with her old memories (though missing the two years she’s just lived) and wanting to go back to school and even meet her old friend. Sakuta met up with Shoko again who helped him deal with Kaede’s return. He also finally managed a date with Mai on her birthday. It’s a lot of progress and we leave these characters in a place where they haven’t got to the end of the journey but they are very much moving forward and it is hard to argue that we could have got a more satisfying conclusion.

Actually if I was going to criticise anything, other than the running animation which still isn’t great, it would be Sakuta early in this episode. While his heart-break and confusion were understandable their depiction wasn’t exactly subtle or nuanced and to be honest as he ran wailing it almost became laughable to the point where it jolted me right out of the moment. By the mid-way point of the episode it had managed to draw me back into the drama of the situation but this was perhaps the first time I really struggled to stay with an episode and the emotions it was trying to convey.

However, these are fairly petty complaints of what is an awesome series. I’m looking forward to writing a full series review of this one.

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SEISHUN BUTA YAROU WA BUNNY GIRL SENPAI NO YUME WO MINAI 1/8 SCALE PRE-PAINTED FIGURE: SAKURAJIMA MAI

• Episode 1 – Ignoring the Title This One Seems Actually Interesting
• Episode 2 – When Life Makes you Disappear
• Episode 3 – Snuggle Bunnies
• Episode 4 – Time Loops and Laplace’s Demon
• Episode 5 – The Real Fake
• Episodes 6 + 7 – How To Build a Fascinating Harem Starting With A Bunny Girl
• Episode 8 – Bunny Girl Isn’t About Getting What You Want
• Episode 9 – The Grass Might Look Greener From Your Side of the Fence
• Episode 10 – It’s Simple, It’s Complicated, It’s Like Life
• Episode 11 – The Panda Girl Removes Her Armour
• Episode 12 – A Journey Forward = The You Now Being Abandoned
• Episode 13 – Awakening From A Dream and Life Goes On