Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend - Light Novel

 Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend (青春ブタ野郎はディアフレンドの夢を見ない) is the fifteenth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keji.  The fifteenth and final volume was originally release in 2024 and in English in 2026. 

     The following synopsis may spoil some aspects of the first fourteen novels in the Rascal Does Not Dream series, if you do not want to ruin those stories stop reading until you have.  

Book Fourteen: Rascal Does Not Dream of His Girlfriend here! 

    Sakuta does the only thing he can think of to cure Mai from thinking she's Kirishma Touko...have Miori Mito take her place during the debut concert in Yokohama.  Even though she believes in her heart she is Kirishima, Mai agrees to the plan and Miori takes her place on stage, singing the final song that Touko ever penned.  But this time instead of allowing it to fade off after the well known lyrics, the song continues and reverses course, giving a new, hopeful meaning to the lyrics.  With this new material unleashed on the world, the spell if broken and Mai realizes that she is truly just herself.  But Sakuta can't breathe a sigh of relief just yet.  Mai appears to be the only one back to normal.  Ikumi from the other world contacts him and has him meet with a strange person dressing in a large bunny costume...hm from the other world.  They warn him that everything is his fault, that Miori's adolescent syndrome was something different.  He, Sakuta, is the reason everyone around him appears to be having his idealized versions of their lives, including both versions of Kaede.  He is the observer, causing these oddities to linger and exist.  He needs to change his perspective in order to correct the world and return those misplaced to their right realities.

    The following day, his twentieth birthday, he and Mai travel to school together.  As the head towards their classes he spots Miori...all by herself.  This strikes him as off, given how quickly her identity was revealed from the footage of her performing as Kirishia Touka the previous night.  As he approaches her, his fears are confirmed when she expresses gratitude over being seen.  She is suffering from the same thing Mai did when he first met her.  Mai doesn't see Miori and bluntly tells Sakuta that he needs to solve his issues because she wants them to both be able to see the same thing.  She wants him to grown up and leave adolescent syndrome behind.  Desperate to keep Mai and the world he knows he struggles with how to undo the damage he has done.  He understands he is no longer a child and needs to leave childish things behind but the idea that much of what he's experienced in the past three of four years, even going as far back as middle school, not being real....scares him.   He knows he needs to face the reality of an adult and move beyond adolescent syndrome but he doesn't want to lose the people he has and the memories he's built with them to evaporate in the process.  As he is officially an adult now he needs to face the adult world and take the mistakes and regrets with him if he is ever to find peace.

    I wasn't sure how this final chapter in Sakuta's story would resolve or what road it would take.  The story does kind of end on a quiet not though, which is a bit of a let down, given how intense some moments in the story have been.  But it isn't bad, just maybe not what I was hoping for.  But I also am not sure what I expected.  I really enjoyed the extensive afterwards that showed the life Sakuta was living about a month after resolving everything.  I feel if that was absent the story might have been disappointing.  Instead it helped frame the entire series into a nice package.  Sakuta, and those around him, those he touched, will go on living their lives to the best they can, leaving behind the world of the child and embracing adulthood.  There is contentment in knowing that everyone will continue their lives, even if they may grow apart as the years roll by.  Whats important is that Sakuta himself found the truths he needed to find to move on with his life and truly enjoy himself.

    I am sad to see it end, but not disappointed.  I can't wait to see the anime adaptation coming later this year in Japan and there is the side story that's pending English release as well!  Farewell friends.
 

First Look at the New Titles for Winter of 2026

 It's that time once again!  A whole new batch of shows to add to the watch list, letting you ignore you're growing pile of shame.  Here are the ones that have piqued my interest...kind of a sparse season for me...hopefully it means I can meaningfully address my pile of shame!

 

Tamon's B-Side

     Utage is a fan girl for the bad boy of a rising boy band called F/ACE, Tamon.  She ends up covering for another woman at the cleaning company she works for and comes face to face with her God.  Unfortunately while not in the spot light he is a gloomy, depressed introvert who struggles constantly with his self image.  Did Utage see something she was never meant to see?

    This is cute and feels a little like The Wallflower.  Utage is a straight up fan girl, almost to the point of dangerous.  What makes this interesting is the drastic switches and twists in the presentation.  Honestly this may be the best show of the season...

The series is being released on Crunchyroll. 

Journal With Witch

    Asa, a sudden orphan, is taken in by her estranged aunt Makio.  Makio is someone who is incompatible with sharing space with other people but could not sit by as their family debated ignoring the girl in the depths of her grief out of being inconvenient.  Both have to navigate each other while dealing with grief in their own way.

    I always appreciate a nice grounded drama centered around realistic human experiences and interactions.  I would like this one to actually have a resolution to its overall plot but I'm not going to hold my breath.

This series is being released on Crunchyroll. 

 

Hana-Kimi

     Mizuki has decided to transfer to a private boy school in Japan in order to get closer to her idol, a high jumper named Izumi.  The problem...she has to pretend to be a boy while attending the school.

    Many of the beats to the first episode made me think of Here is Greenwood.  Its not going to get anywhere near the weirdness and comedy of that series and I am not sure if I can stomach an entire season of Mizuki struggling to hide her secret.  Like its just not realistically possible for the way she is presenting.  But for now, I will keep up with the show until it gives me a reason to stop.

This series is being released on Crunchyroll.

Wash It All Away

    Kinme is an energetic young woman who runs a small cleaning service all by her self in the seaside town of Atami.  (I cheated a little even though it started to hint at it in the first episode) Kinme lost her memory and with nothing else going on she has devoted herself to taking pride in her business.

    I am not sure how I feel about this one, but since its legit a mystery story I think I will have to stick with it in the long run.  The first episode was OK, but it seemed to lack something.  It may just be a really slow burning story, given you gotta work to stretch out a mysterious past thing pretty hard to keep people interested.  But there is a fine line that might be crossed and bury the whole thing in ennui.

This series is being released on Crunchyroll. 

My Hero Academia Vigilantes season 2

    Its been some time since the end of the first season.  Koichi and Pop Step are carrying on, occupied with the continuing work promoting a local department store.  They are about to find themselves smack dab in the middle of the growing effort by the authorities to squash the illegal villina drug distribution ring.

     Season one was fantastic and brought a lot of enjoyment.  Episode 1 of the new season doesn't disappoint.  I wonder how long this side story can go in the somewhat vacuum of the original series concluding.

This series is being released on Crunchyroll. 

You and I are Polar Opposites

     Miyu isn't your typical gyaru, she's studious and internally concerned about how others see her.  She is also madly in love with the quiet nerdy boy in class, Tani.  She is so madly in love with him she finds it difficult to talk to him normally and cherishes every interaction she has with him but struggles to make her feelings known out of her deep insecurity.

    This may be the top romance of the season.  This is the perfect series for those who love the romance portion of Dan Da Dan and want to only focus on that.  I was happily surprised by how wholesome and sweet the first episode of this series was and can't wait to see more!

The series is being released on Cruchyroll.

Oshi no Ko season 3 

    The story picks up six months after he end of season two and B Komachi is moving up in the idol world.  But things are tense between everyone following Aqua's declaration of getting into a legitimate relationship with Akane.

    Its good to be back into this story and at least with the first episode, we are shifting attention.  Season two was primarily focused on Aqua and everything revolving around the stage production but this time we might be getting more with Ruby.  Things look to be getting spicy!

The series is being released on both Hi Dive and Crunchyroll.

Frieren Beyond Journey's End season 2

    Frieren, Fern and Stark are through their ordeal and back on the road, continuing their journey North.  They are entering a land that is beginning to stir again with agitation and conflict. 

    AFter quite a bit of a break we are back with the laid back fantasy series that largely focuses on introspection and personal relationships over action and spectacle.  I was really upset with how the series ended before the pause, wasting so much time on that stupid test arc.  But now we are back on the road and I couldn't be happier.  We shall see how the story progresses from here but I will enjoy it while I can.

The series is being released on Crunchyroll.

A Look Back at TV Anime from 1996

With how impactful 1995 was to the fate of anime moving forward, although not as easy to determine at the time, 1996 didn't have too many important series, let alone ones I bothered to watch.  Here are the very few number of brand new anime for that year that I ingested.

 

After War Gundam X

    The third Gundam TV series not set in the Universal Century, Gundam X tells a grim post war story about desperation.  It didn't fare well at the time of broadcast, resulting in the series being truncated at only 39 episodes and even thirty years later garners little recognition from fans around the world.  This was the second Gundam series I ever watched and the first one I completed.  It's been far too long since I watched it to remember if I even enjoyed it, but the mega beam weapon the X used will always stick with me.

Boys Over Flowers

    One of the seminal shojo and romance manga ever, the anime adaptation is well loved and was the first in a series of adaptations.  Again, its been a super long time since I watched this but I do recall loving the anime when I watched it.  I really need to watch it again and give it a proper review!

Rurouni Kenshin

    Rurouni Kenshin, in light of the original authors criminal problems, has a problematic history now.  It was a generally well received adaptation at the time it aired.  My first exposure to it was getting a VHS tape of TV anime broadcasts from a Japanese pen-pal at the time.  It was a few years later that I got around to watching the fansubs and greatly enjoyed the 4 episode prequel OAV series.  It is currently being remade and I watched the first few episodes but couldn't justify continuing due to the problematic habits of its author and the lower quality of the remake compared to the original 90's version.  As a whole the anime community needs to turn its back on Kenshin and its author.

Slayers

    This is the first anime series I hated...and still hate.  The story is obnoxious, Lina is a terrible main character and Naga and her stupid laugh holds a place of deep hatred in my soul.  I can't understand why this series is so damn popular and beloved.  By the time it came out I already had a distaste for fantasy anime, thanks to the Record of Loduss War...but the foolishness of this series pushed me over the top.  Don't get me wrong, I have a low of stupid anime but this series is just...horrendous.

Those Who Hunt Elves

    Those Who Hunt Elves is a series I have never gotten around to watching but I included it in this list because of the role it played, in conjunction with Evangelion, i establishing the viability of late night anime.  It too was forced in the a shinya time slot and became quite successful in light of that.  I do really need to watch this. 

The Vision of Escaflowne 

    The first time I saw Escaflowne, the best isekai ever in my opinion,  was the showing of it in a side room at Gencon by a group doing video programing, largely playing fansubs.  It was at a time when surround sound was more of a novelty outside of movie theaters and standing at the back of the room when the epic music kicked in was fundamental to my love of this series.  It was a fun fantasy story with mecha added in, cus of course, Sunrise.  Sadly the remake movie that came out at the turn of the century told too different of a story for me to care or enjoy.  The original TV anime will always hold a place in me heart.

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway

 Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (機動戦士ガンダム ハサウェイ) is a theatrical adaptation of the first part of the Hathaway Flash novel series written by Tomino Yushiyuki.  The movie initially premiered in 2021.

    In the Universal Century, year 0105, the Earth Federation has a pretty solid grasp on humanity, after a few decades of constant conflict with the different groups of space colonists looking for independence if not outright dominance.  Though things aren't exactly peaceful for the Federation politicians.  They have been targeted by a newly formed terrorist group called and lead by Mafty Navue Erin.  Hathaway Noa finds himself on a flight to Earth that becomes targeted by the terrorists.  Seeing an opportunity to take action, coordinated with a young military officer, they end up taking out the terrorists and allowing the plane to and safely, with few casualties.  This event brings him to the attention of a strange woman named Gigi.  The young officer, Kenneth, is appreciative of the help from Hathaway and extends the support of his new post in his layover.  Kenneth has been assigned to take over control of a special unit hunting Mafty.  Hathaway finds himself stranded in the city of Davao, awaiting the Federation to conclude their investigation of the incident.  Gigi convinces the authorities to allow them to bunk together in a luxury hotel while they both await their approval to continue their travels.  She to Hong Kong, he to a distant island for studies.

    In reality, Hathaway is Mafty and he found himself aboard the plane in an act of hubris.  Many of its other passengers are his organizations current targets and he wanted to see them before they were assassinated.  Gigi has a keen sense and realizes that the unassuming young man is the most wanted terrorist on the planet.  Before the government can dig too deep into him with in their possession he connects with members of his organization to smuggle him out of the city.  The operation does a good job of causing a distraction but at the last moment he delays his escape, concerned for Gigi's safety and once again finds himself in the hands of the government.  When he finally makes his statement he heads off to regroup with his team...only to have Kenneth suss out his identity and try to stop him from acquiring a new weapon in his war on the Federation.

 

    This story is based on a novel series written by Tomino at the beginning of the 90's.  Without reading that material it is hard to sat what has been altered.  This movie, out of all of the Gundam I have watched, is the least Gundam of anything that exists.  It is a refreshing new entry into the almost half a century old franchise and gives me hope for its future.   The CG is well done and the action sequences are the best we have ever seen in Gundam.  Apparently this is the first project in which the animation team worked with experts to try and determine how a mobile suit would behave on Earth.  End result...spectacular.  My biggest complaint with Gundam in general is that it hasn't done enough to remove the influences of the super sentai/giant robot hero stories that came before it.  This movie does a pretty good job of that and reminded me more of Armored Core than Gundam...I am absolutely here for that!

    This also feels like a really good way for people to get into the franchise as casual viewers.  In reality it doesn't really require knowledge of the past UC series'.  It also helps that this first entry is a trim 90 minutes of action that plays out more like a Hollywood film than anything Tomino has ever slapped his name on.  But without having read the source material its hard to tell how much of this presentation existed in it and how much is an attempt to breathe modernization and perhaps Americanization into the product.  It works, at least in my mind.  I have a general disdain for a lot of the traditional aspects of Gundam in general and this movie removes most of those.  Sadly we still have the stupid rival love triangle garbage.  And most of the stories in the UC end up going hard on the Newtype magical god bullshit near the end of their story...so only time will tell is Hathaway fails me as well.  But the first episode, couldn't ask for anything better.  It's so satisfying.

The movie is available in sub and dub on Netflix.