Finally got around to continue watching Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus. Early in the Summer season, the other shows I wanted to cover fit in my weekend schedule more so while Rascal interested me the most, I decided to put Rascal on hold. Admittedly, that call ended up being a bit moot; I got very far in the other shows but I still veered off course towards the end of the season. Being a fan of Rascal and having covered this show for so long, I still planned on finishing the Santa Claus season. And well, it’ll be Christmas soon so I may as well catch up now. Something else I want to bring up before I forget is that sometime after my Rascal post, all the of the series’ movies have been added to Crunchyroll. Kind of crazy that there was a period of time where you couldn’t watch the whole series via an official source but at least it’s no longer an issue now.
Episode 2 begins with Sakuta hanging out with Miori and Mai, the latter two having now become friends after attending an English class together. Why exactly Miori is drawn towards our two main characters remains a bit of a mystery but it is amusing to watch her try to be some sort of third wheel with them. The three characters talk about how college students have to concern themselves more about fashion trends, as opposed to high school where wearing the same uniform at least gave a general idea. It sounds random at first but it ends up being a segue back into the current issue at hand: how Uzuki has gone from an airhead to someone who can completely read the room.
Later at the diner, Sakuta discusses with Rio about Uzuki’s presumed case of Puberty Syndrome. I’m only now realizing that these two are no longer going to have their chats in one of the science classrooms, like in Bunny Girl Senpai and the movies. That’s actually going to take some getting used to. The diner potentially being their new meeting spot is a good reuse of the location, however. I like how Rio is a little skeptical of Uzuki getting struck with Puberty Syndrome because Uzuki’s case is probably the least supernatural one in the show so far. If it wasn’t for how suddenly her personality changed, it’d be easy to think she simply is figuring out how to read the room. Rio nevertheless offers her two cents, speculating that the cause of Uzuki’s Puberty Syndrome might actually be a grander occurrence of the phenomenon, where everyone in college is subconsciously trying to fit in and Puberty Syndrome is causing that mindset to spread onto others such as Uzuki. It’s admittedly too early to say but I’m guessing this widespread case will be an impetus for the various arcs that happen this season.
After chatting with Rio, Sakuta meets up with Kaede, who discovers that Uzuki has gone viral after performing a cover of a song by Touko Kirishima for a commercial. The fact that it’s a Kirishima song raises some concern but once again, it appears the character is being saved for later. The following day, Sakuta runs into Uzuki, who is keeping a low profile to avoid getting spotted in public. On their way to the university, Uzuki explains to Sakuta about her dream to have Sweet Bullet perform at the Bukodan. The two also see Ikumi (Aya Yamane) passing out flyers for student volunteer work. I forgot to mention it last episode review but yeah, that random character introduced in Knapsack Kid makes a return in this season. It makes sense that she’d exist in our Sakuta’s timeline but it is pretty peculiar that she’s ended up in the same college as him. Anyway, seeing other students brush off Ikumi and talk behind her back causes Uzuki to realize her insecurities: her initial inability to read the room but also the fact that she has yet to make it big as an idol. We then see Uzuki run into some issues with her idol work. She’s struggling to keep up with practice and while making a typical appearance at a quiz show with Nodoka, she doesn’t act like her usual self.
In between seeing how Uzuki is doing, Sakuta meets a new underclassman of Tomoe’s, Sara Himeji (Konomi Kohara). Sara attends the same cram school Sakuta and Rio works at and she’s apparently looking for a math teacher (which either Sakuta or Rio could fulfill). The character’s introduction is brief but she is mostly likely going to be another major player this season, especially considering it’ll allow the show to better tie the cram school into the plot.
Sometime later, Nodoka informs Sakuta about Uzuki’s struggles at work and she asks him to help Uzuki in any way he can. Funnily enough, Sakuta is able to get right on task when he spots Uzuki on the train and decides to accompany her on an impromptu trip to Misakiguchi. Uzuki explains that she’s there to do some self-discovery and I fully believe on her on that. By this point in the arc, it seems that Uzuki is really torn over what she wants to do. On one hand, Uzuki wants to fulfill her dream as an idol. But on the other, her career hasn’t taken off and she’s becoming tired of getting ridiculed, hence her getting affected by Puberty Syndrome.
Towards the end of the trip, Sakuta takes Uzuki to the Budokan. A bit playful of Sakuta to take Uzuki there after Uzuki thinks she’ll never go there but in all seriousness, it’s a good means to prompt Uzuki into some self-reflection. I kind of expected seeing Budokan to make Uzuki lean more towards sticking with her idol career and therefore be cured of her Puberty Syndrome. It’s lot more interesting then that the sight gives the opposite effect, with Uzuki further questioning her goal and feeling more content with her current self. One particular comment that stands out is Uzuki’s admission that she might not have put much thought into her dream. That helps explain the correlation between her idol career and her Puberty Syndrome. She used to just follow the beat of her drum, hence her airheaded personality. Now that she’s questioning the trajectory of her career, she’s become more insecure about herself, resulting in her also noticing people’s comments about her and developing Puberty Syndrome to better read the room and thereby fit in more.
Before leaving, Uzuki asks Sakuta which version of her he prefers and Sakuta answers that he thinks both versions are great. It’s the kind of response you’d expect from a cheeky bastard such as Sakuta but he does raise a good point. It is actually neat that Uzuki is more mindful of other people’s feelings and not feel ostracized but at the same time, it shouldn’t come at the cost of her no longer doing her own thing. Sakuta then proceeds to call Nodoka for a favor: a ticket to Sweet Bullet’s next concert. I’m not sure what Sakura is planning here but judging from his comment earlier, he probably aims to help Uzuki rectify her two selves, as opposed to picking the new one over the old one.
Watch Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus on Crunchyroll
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