Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai – Ep. 4

Instead he dreams of Endless Eight Kouhai.

It’s weird to say I’m still in untested water with Bunny Girl Senpai but that is very much the case here. I did end up enjoying Mai’s arc a considerable amount by its conclusion so I suppose it technically passed the three episode rule. Clearly, it must have if I’m watching this fourth episode and writing this post. That said, that arc did wrap up quite nicely and it was hard to imagine there being more story after that, not to mention the spotlight shifting a little away from Best Girl Mai. Some skepticism is a bit warranted here. Of course, if the next arc pans out then I suppose I have a lot less to worry about. And I’ll admit that while it’s too early to assess, Tomoe’s arc seems to be off on a good start.

If there’s one thing I can safely praise about Bunny Girl Senpai, it’s that it has some legitimately strong commentary about adolescent gossip and perception. Tomoe’s dilemma is really easy to relate with, perhaps even more than Mai’s. A popular classmate asks her out and while she isn’t keen about such a prospect, she hesitates to say “No” in fear of what it’ll do to her reputation within the in crowd. I’m sure plenty of people of ran into something like this during high school. Framing the situation around a time loop is remarkably clever reflection of her indecisiveness. If she won’t commit in either way, she might as well be literally stuck in the moment.

The show does a pretty good job justifying Sakuta’s involvement as well. The little rascal is on the cusp of completely earning his bunny girl senpai’s heart but Tomoe’s time loop essentially cock-blocks him. Goodness, it’s Subaru not getting that first date with Emilia all over again. Naturally, he’s going to want to investigate what exactly is going on.

I was a little afraid that Bunny Girl Senpai might prolong the time loop and catch itself in an Endless Eight type of situation. And Lord knows, none of us want to come back something like that. Imagine my surprise and relief then to see the episode stop at the third round. It’s even more interesting that way as what breaks the loop is Sakuta and Tomoe getting mistaken for a couple. Now, the two are forced to maintain the lie out of fear that the loop will resume if Tomoe’s classmate and everyone else realizes that it’s all a big misunderstanding. Of course, Sakuta is perhaps the more reluctant of the two since going along with this plan means he ain’t getting that bunny girl senpai any time soon. Then again, if the lie broke and the loop resumed, he be back at square one anyway.

Actually, maybe he won’t have to worry so much about Mai if the ending is any indication. I certainly hope that Mai caught on what exactly is going on. Having her as an ally would be much more interesting than going the obvious and cliche route of keeping her mad and jealous over a fabricated relationship. Admittedly, I might be saying that because I just want Mai to stay relevant…but really, who doesn’t?

ED: “Fukashigi no Karte” by Tomoe Koga (CV: Nao Touyama)

Honest confession: this ending song has been stuck in my head for weeks now. Someone please help me.

Anyway, I’m glad to see that the staff changed the sequence to now feature Tomoe. It would’ve been really weird to stick with Mai’s version. Chances are, there’s more versions of this sequence down the road.

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Thanks for reading!

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is officially available on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu.

For all of my Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai Episode Reviews, check out the show’s archive page!

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