Following another day of work at the cram school, Rio asks Sakuta for some advice. Apparently, one of her students, Toranosuke Kasai (Genki Muro), has worked up the guts to confess to her. Toranosuke has appeared a couple times before this episode and in all of his appearances, the guy acts very flustered around Rio so this development was bound to happen. I kind of figured this would be a one-sided crush however and sure enough, Toranosuke later has a #dreaming worthy dream where Rio turns him down, on the basis that it’s inappropriate for her to date a student.
During a free period at the university, Sakuta sees Touko trying to film some footage for her upcoming music video and offers to be her cameraman, hoping to get some free information from her about Sara’s Puberty Syndrome. A very clever idea though the arrangement ends up being more beneficial for Touko as she claims to have no idea about Sara. Doesn’t seem very Santa-like to forget who you’ve given presents to but it is also possible that Sara really did get Puberty Syndrome independently from Touko’s shenanigans. Before leaving, Touko tells Sakuta to meet up with her again for a livestream she’ll be hosting on Christmas Eve. To recap, this is the same day Sakuta begins his holiday date with Mai and his supposed date with Sara. This guy’s schedule is getting very complicated.
The following day, Sakuta is approached by Toranosuke, who tells him to watch out for Sara. The latter explains that a lot of guys have grown infatuated with Sara, including her former teachers at the cram school, and he worries the same thing might happen to Sakuta. Sakuta asks Toranosuke what his relation is with Sara and he learns that Toranosuke is Sara’s neighbor and childhood friend. Although he is close with Sara and a lot of their friends have treated them like they already are a couple, his crush towards Rio has made him realize that he only views Sara platonically.
After another one of his classes, Sakuta takes Sara to a café to tell her what he’s figured out so far. Sara confirms that she indeed developed Puberty Syndrome after Toranosuke turned her down though she remains vague about how exactly her Puberty Syndrome works. All that Sakuta can infer for now is that it seemingly draws men towards her. Whatever the exact details are, I can see why Sara doesn’t want to be cured. After feeling so disheartened from getting rejected, it is no wonder what she feels reassured that there are now a bunch of guys interested in her. But as Sakuta points out, this situation feels rather shallow. It may give Sara the attention she desires but at the end of the day, it’s nothing more than a high and it’ll never give her a true sense of what love is. This even appears to be reflected by Sara’s actions, even if she isn’t aware of it herself. As Sakuta notes, Sara appears to have a habit of turning people down if they do confess to her, which begs the question if she truly is satisfied with the situation her Puberty Syndrome grants her.
When confronted about this aspect, Sara responds by asking Sakuta how she is supposed to love someone (the phrasing of which may or may not be intentional on Sara’s part). Pretty funny how this is immediately followed up by Sakuta explaining what’s going on to Mai. Mai’s confusion and annoyance as to how this situation is developing is on point. I must say, the fact that Sakuta and Mai are able to talk about the situation with Sara so transparently says a lot about how much they trust each other. The two are then joined by Miori, who I’m sure the show will eventually get around to…right? Anyway, Miori offers her two cents: that Sara might be more in love with the idea of being loved than actually being in love with someone. When asked how Sara’s predicament should be resolved, Miori suggests that Sakuta should let Sara fall in love with him. Good thing Mai left by that point in the conversation. I don’t know if that’s the best idea, it’s certainly a very silly one, but it would explain why Sakuta would later go on a date with Sara as his dream suggests as well as what he does next.
During a one-on-one class two days later, Sakuta goes over some advanced mathematics with Sara and notices a problem too complex for him to explain. Sakuta asks Rio for help and when Rio successfully goes over it, he suggests to Sara that she should switch to Rio’s class in order to improve her chances with her entrance exams. Sara vehemently rejects the idea however, shouting out that she wants Sakuta instead. Sakuta later admits to Rio that he intentionally made Sara angry, hoping that riling her up will give him better insight on her Puberty Syndrome. While he should’ve told Rio ahead of time, getting her help is really smart given Sara’s heartbreak over Toranosuke developing feelings for Rio and not her. I had figured this beforehand but at this point, it feels safe to say that Sara has feelings towards Sakuta, certainly at a subconscious level. Her getting so angry is very telling and I doubt when she says she wants Sakuta, she only means it as her teacher. Assuming this is the case, it’s interesting how it conflicts with her Puberty Syndrome. Like, Sara is able to draw in a lot of guys towards her and yet, the one guy she is interested in shows no interest in her. It really goes to show what Sakuta and Miori say earlier in the episode, that Sara is more in love with the idea of being loved and that’ll inevitably leave her unsatisfied.
In the last scene of the episode, Sakuta continues to struggle to find any information on Touko. Sakuta then notices Takumi looking up their university’s beauty pageant and while Takumi can’t see the previous year’s winner, Sakuta can and it’s a very familiar face. It’s none other than Touko but not only that, the website reveals that her real name is Nene Iwamizawa, who is currently a third-year at the university. I expect the show to resolve Sara’s arc first but nonetheless, it’s pretty big progress for the overarching plot surrounding this show’s “Santa”.
Watch Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus on Crunchyroll
Xenodude Scribbles 