Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out - movie

Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out (青春ブタ野郎はおでかけシスターの夢を見ない) is a slice of life super natural drama based on the light novel of the same name by Kamoshide Hajime and MIzoguchii Keeji.  The film had its original theatrical release in Japan in June of 2023.

    The story picks up not to long after the reset experienced at the end of Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl there will be some spoilers if you have not yet seen that movie or the original series, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai.  Things seem to be behind them now, with Shoko's 'adolescent syndrome' resolved.  Even though the future as we understood it was rewritten, the circumstances around all of the characters connecting occurred.  Everything hinged on Shoko forcing a future where the events of her inevitable death would shape both Sakuta and Mai's decisions moving forward.  A pivotal moment was the younger Mai turning down a role in a horror movie, that she was famous for, in favor of a role about a girl living with a terminal heart disease.  The role led to a surge in people signing up to be organ donors, allowing Shoko to receive her much needed heart transplant with out the need for Sakuta or Mai to die.  Shoko recalls all of the previous future versions of her self, which helped her to guide them all into a future where no one suffered because of her.  After encountering her years later for the first time, Sakuta's memories of those other realities manifested in himself.

    Things seem to be going well for everyone, especially with Kaede continuing to improve.  But the school year is almost completed and Kaede is faced with a difficult choice, what to do about attending high school.  Kaede is focused on attending Minegahara  High with her brother, but there are doubts and reservations about her ability to do so.  Even though she has become less of a shut in, it is still difficult for her to be near her peers.  She constantly worries that everyone in public spaces are judging her and when she crosses paths with someone wearing the same uniform as the middle school she is struggling to attend, the old fears and pain return.  Sakuta and her guidance counselor want her to consider an alternative high school, one that would work to shield her from the pressures of fitting in.  While Sakuta researches online schools as an alternative, Kaede pushes herself to prepare for the rigorous Minegaham entrance exam.  The stresses of studying and the fear of having to face a new environment and unknown pressures is taking its toll on her.  The mysterious bruises are returning and her attempts to hide them from Sakuta fail, causing him more concern for her well being.  Kaede is lost, after losing two years of her life to a different version of herself.  The weight of the new people in her life and their perception of her versus the version of her they first met bears down on her decisions as she tries to fulfill that Kaede's final wish.

    As I said in the review of the light novel, this is largely a set up for things to come and doesn't have the major arc progressions like the viewer has come to expect in the different story arcs.  This is also a very short film, clocking in at 70 minutes or so.  When it comes to the earlier arcs, the manifestation of 'adolescent syndrome' in Kaede, built around her stress and worry, is minimal in comparison.  Sakuta doesn't go on the heroic journey to correct her condition like he has in the past, instead the situation is remarkably mundane and resolves in a realistic manner.  The entire arc with Kaede choosing how to proceed in her education is built around her brothers acceptance of who she is and her ability to recognize her comfort level.  It's almost like none of it matters when compared to the passing things that appear in this movie, which lead to important aspects of the college arc.  The introduction of Kirishima Toko and the second member of Sweet Bullet being pulled into the orbit that is Sakuta.

    The idea by the distributors for release this and the third movie, Rascal Does Not Dream of  Knapsack Kid, as a double feature in theaters was the correct move.  This film is too short and doesn't offer a lot by its self to justify the audience paying full ticket price to see.  They would feel cheated.  I wonder how this will end up being packaged on Blu-ray...I suspect as a standalone volume, but it would be better to package both movies together.  But, this is an integral part of the story, even though it fails to be as impactful as everything we have seen so far in the series.  It still has its place in the cannon of this fantastic story and is required viewing by the fan base.  This movie unfortunately emphasis some of the weaknesses of the story over all.  The dialogue is noticeably juvenile and amateurish.  One thing that I have noticed since the beginning, and continued into this movie, is the lack of emotional range in Sakuta and Mai's characters.  I am not sure if its a problem with the voice actors or choices by the script writers/director.  But...they really are too monotone, and this was painfully obvious in this movie given the lack of spectacle.  Its caused me to re-think the series and the simplicity of the dialogue.  It's still a great story, with enjoyable characters that leave a warm feeling in your heart, but I wonder why it feels like the audience is being talked down to now.

At the time of this review the movie has not yet been released streaming or on disk in North America.  It has however been released in both sub and dub formats in theaters for a limited engagement...and it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the dub of the prior episodes/movie will take to come out.