Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out

Note: This post is considered an episode review and it dives into spoilers for the movie.

Following a four year hiatus, Rascal Does Not Dream returned with two new movies: Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out and Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid in 2023. I ended up watching a fansub of A Sister Venturing Out but funnily enough, Aniplex announced it’s coming to Blu-Ray here in the U.S. on July 17 so those interested in an official release can check that out.

A Sister Venturing Out is a somewhat unusual installment in the Rascal series. It is the first iteration where we revisit an established member of the principal cast. As the title suggests, the focal character in question is Kaede (Yurika Kubo). In the movie, Kaede has to decide on where she wants to go for high school. Her first choice is Minegahara High School, the same school Sakuta (Kaito Ishikawa) attends, though the odds of her getting aren’t terribly high due to the time she lost during middle school. Her counselor, Miwako Tomobe (Aya Endō), advises that she should instead look into online-based school that accommodate for her long-term absence. Sakuta takes Tomobe’s recommendation into consideration but he nevertheless supports Kaede with her decision. He, Mai (Asami Seto), and Nodoka (Maaya Uchida) all decide to help Kaede study for Minegahara’s entrance exam.

Curiously, Puberty/Adolescence Syndrome (seriously, which one is it?) doesn’t play much of a role in A Sister Venturing Out. Kaede isn’t completely cured of the phenomenon but its effects on her only resurface a couple of times in the movie. Out of all the arcs so far in Rascal, this one arguably involves the supernatural the least. It’s a bold direction for the series to take but seeing as this movie is the aftermath to Kaede’s case of Puberty Syndrome in Bunny Girl Senpai, it ought to be more grounded than previous arcs. I can see someone finding the movie boring because of this choice. Me personally, I think the story has established a strong enough cast that they can carry the story on their own.

Apart form Mai, if anyone is going to be the focal character again, Kaede most certainly fits the bill. I was mostly satisfied with her two(ish)-parter in Bunny Girl Senpai but looking back, it felt like more could be done with her arc. For starters, I would’ve liked to see more of the original Kaede, the before and after her personality change. Admittedly, not spending that much time with her makes her reverting back to that personality a huge punch to the gut. Still, it doesn’t feel right for the original Kaede to remain as a stranger to the viewer. She’s one half of the character; she deserves the spotlight as much as her other personality. There is also the relationship between Sakuta (Kaito Ishikawa) and the two versions of Kaede. It was really interesting how he was upset to lose the other Kaede even though he got the original one back. Bunny Girl Senpai did put a bow over it by having Sakuta accept what happened but it could’ve easily explored this sentiment for a bit longer.

Sure enough, these lingering aspects of Kaede’s arc are addressed during the movie. On the day of the exam, Kaede runs into a classmate of hers and that kicks her anxiety into overdrive, causing her to fall ill and run out of time for the test. Sakuta tries to console her but Kaede argues that her other self would’ve completed the exam and she believes that her brother cared more about her other self than her. While gathering Kaede’s belongings, Sakuta finds her old journal and discovers that Kaede wants to attend Minegahara because her other self wrote it down as a goal.

I really like how the movie plays off of the resolution of Bunny Girl Senpai. The other Kaede felt she had to step out of her shell so that she can revert back to her old self, eventually do so in a literal sense. But as we see in the movie, the original Kaede can’t help but compare herself to the other self and think she’s not nearly as persevering as her. In twist of irony, the original Kaede feels stuck in her other self’s shadow, much like her other self felt about her.

This dilemma also ties neatly into Sakuta’s character. Bunny Girl Senpai did have Sakuta come to terms that the other Kaede is gone but evidently in A Sister Venturing Out, he is still is a bit biased. You see this is in how Sakuta treats his sister. Secretly researching online schools shows Sakuta looking out for Kaede but it also comes across as him lacking confidence in her. I don’t know if that’s something he’d do with the other Kaede and even if it was, it says something that he subconsciously decides to treat Kaede the same way as he did before. Of course, once Sakuta realizes this, he course corrects. He tells Kaede upfront what he’s been up to and he stresses that even though he misses the other Kaede, he’s just as happy to have the original one back. And by doing that, Sakuta helps Kaede break out of her cycle of self-doubt.

Not going to lie, I have some mixed feelings about the conclusion. Per Sakuta’s request, Nodoka introduces Kaede to her idol group’s center Uzuki Hirokawa (Sora Amamiya), who happens to attend online classes. After learning about the curriculum, Kaede learns that she has been accepted into Minegahara, due to many students rescinding their application in fear that they wouldn’t get accepted anyway. Even though she technically gets what she wanted, Kaede decides to enroll in an online school. Having worked in remote education during the peak of COVID, I have a very strong opinion about online learning so I find myself asking if this really is the perfect solution for Kaede. I can see it accommodating Kaede’s anxiety but would she grow less anxious if she’s barely interacting with anyone in-person? Bear also in mind that Kaede acts this way because she was bullied online so this solution sends a mixed message to me. That said, I’m not entirely opposed to Kaede opting out of attending Minegahara. It may be what her other self wanted but at the end of the day, she has to decide what’s best for her. She also wouldn’t be happy attending Minegahara on a technicality and chances are, the other Kaede would feel the same way.

It’s neat that Nodoka gets to lend a hand. I feel that most of the girls in the main cast have barely anything to do after their arc. The one exception is Mai and even her prevalence ebbs and flows (case in point, she plays a much smaller role in this movie compared to Dreaming Girl). Nodoka does has a couple of good scenes in Dreaming Girl but she is mostly a passerby in that movie’s plot as opposed to an active participant. At least in this one, she plays a direct role in Kaede’s resolution. I also appreciate the formal introduction of Uzuki. Her rundown of online classes can feel a bit droning but it’s nice to see Nodoka’s idol group expanded upon and Uzuki’s cheery and somewhat airheaded personality is pretty entertaining. It’s also very funny how her situation is ripe for Puberty Syndrome and yet, the phenomenon doesn’t play a role in her backstory and she pretty much overcame her struggle on her own.

There’s a bookend in the movie where Sakuta sees a much younger version of Mai. No explanation is given during the movie but obviously, the purpose of these scenes is to set up the plot of the next movie, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid. I’m frankly a little skeptical here. By the end of Dreaming Girl, every major arc had been resolved and after A Sister Venturing Out, there’s practically no loose ends left for the story to address. This bookend therefore feels like an excuse for the franchise to continue. Hopefully, this is more justified during Knapsack Kid. I’m not necessarily opposed to seeing more anyway.

I do think Dreaming Girl is the peak of the series so far but this isn’t necessarily a point against A Sister Venturing Out. Really, I don’t think the second movie is trying to outdo the first one. Whereas Dreaming Girl felt like a big finale to the story up to that point, this one feels more like an epilogue or an interlude. It’s not a big movie by nature. Its purpose is simply to address some loose ends in the plot and for what it’s worth, it accomplishes that goal terrifically.