Bunny Girl Senpai

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai or Seishun Buta Yaro. It is an anime that came out a few years ago but one that I have only just recently binged. It's based on a light novel written by Hajime Kamoshida. He's the same author who wrote the Pet Girl of Sakurasou. Take that however you will but I didn't quite like that anime. I did not go in with low expectations however as I knew about Bunny Girl Senpai's reputation among fans.

The anime runs for 13 episodes and it even has a movie! I had no idea until I started. It seems to be the norm now what with Demon Slayer's upcoming movie after only just one season. I'm not complaining since a lot of people only ever associate anime movies with Ghibli films and if you know me, you know that I am very critical of the Ghibli films. I dislike some of them but I'd be crucified alive if I were to announce that publicly (this doesn't count!)

The premise is pretty straightforward though apparently quite misleading to some. Sakuta Azusagawa (our MC) meets Mai Sakurajima, a teenage actress and fellow senpai at his school in a bunny girl outfit one day at a public library. Apparently, no one else can see her there except him. Sakuta knows this as 'Adolescence Syndrome' or 'Puberty Syndrome' and decides to help her solve this issue. He will later meet other forms of this syndrome manifesting in other women and it sounds like the start of a stereotypical harem am I right?

Thankfully not. This anime is legitimately good. Praise be to the animation, writing, dialogue and pseudo-science. I know a lot of people hate that they're throwing science into the whole thing cause 'it's not accurate' but unless most of us anime viewers are actually quantum mechanics majors, I don't see why people are throwing a hissy fit about this. The plot flows exceptionally well and the character interactions are fun. If they want to play with science and fantasy then fine. More power to them. At least there ain't a laugh track attached to it.

Truthfully, I only have good things to say about it. Sure, I can nitpick but I don't think I'll do it this time around. However, I do have one more very important topic to discuss. I'll be lightly treading on spoilers here because it's necessary as I want to address the comparisons most people are talking about when it comes to this anime.

Most people are quoting it's similarities to Oregairu and Monogatari. You see this being thrown around everywhere and while some have rebuked it, most have not. Since I've watched both those series and actually really liked both of them, I'll give my opinion on the matter.

Firstly, the comparison with Oregairu is pretty one dimensional. Sakuta and Hachiman have similar pessimistic viewpoints and are equally cynical about high school life. They both view society as a shallow, fragile construct by the general populace. This is primarily focused on their student lives. While they say that, they go on to contradict their notions by describing the very same construct as unchanging and damn near impenetrable. Therefore, both make no effort to invoke any change into their lives simply because they believe it cannot be changed and people cannot be convinced of such a change.

Of course, they both grow out of that pessimistic mindset but that's where the comparison ends. I don't think I can properly push for another comparison without stretching the imagination a little.

Now when it comes to Monogatari, that's where things get a little suspect. Sakuta and Koyomi have a drive to selflessly help others, they both become a couple with the first girl they save (Mai and Hitagi), both girlfriends abuse them on a daily basis, they continue to save more girls, they handle mysterious issues plaguing the victims in the guise of some fantasy concept (Adolescence Syndrome and Aberrations), they have a genius friend explaining the odd happenings to them in a semi-cryptic manner (Rio and Meme), and they regularly engage in snappy dialogue with every character in the show.

There's a wide range to draw from here. Some would say that it is a blatant copy of the Monogatari series albeit a little watered down but I would say it's its own entity that is heavily inspired by Monogatari. I do agree that Nisio Isin writes better but this shouldn't discredit Bunny Girl Senpai from being great in its own right.

Bunny Girl Senpai tends to take societal issues (in a high school) and project them as Adolescent Syndrome. Sakuta helping them get through it is akin to helping them get past whatever emotional hurdle they're facing at the stage of their life. It's usually entirely external as the projection of society against that character's particular issue is the main drive towards the Adolescent Syndrome's awakening.

In Monogatari, most problems tend to be internal and thereby leading to characters seeking or coming across external entities (aberrations) that then cause the issues. Koyomi usually tries to help them out but the issue is usually resolved without his direct interference.

So yes, while the similarities do exist, the main issues of each show are rather different. Moreover, the characters play off each other very differently and for animes heavy on the dialogue, that's pretty darn divisive.

I would highly advice to go into this anime without the existing expectations of matching either Oregairu or Monogatari. Bunny Girl Senpai is its own thing and I highly recommend it regardless of whether or not you prefer or did not prefer the other animes.