Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus - anime

 Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus (青春ブタ野郎はサンタクロースの夢を見ない) is a 13 episode continuation of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novel series by .  The series covers light novels volume 9 through 13 and aired during the Summer of 2025.

    Azusagawa Sakuta has begun his perfect college life with his older girlfriend Sakurajima Mai, one of Japans most beloved actors.  As they enter into adulthood they struggle to escape the complicated world of adolescence.   Right away strange things begin to occur around him, evidence of people he meets suffering from adolescent syndrome, a supernatural manifestation of internal stresses around growing up.  Unlike the issues he dealt with in high school, the new problems he works to solve seem to be centering around a strange woman dressed in a mini skirt Santa outfit calling herself Kirishima Touko.  In the past year, Kirishima has been uploading haunting songs on the internet that have been gaining traction.  Sakuta is the only one who can see the mini skirt Santa, a form of adolescent syndrome he suspects is similar to what Mai went through when they first met.  She tells him that she is handing out presents to everyone around him, various forms of adolescence syndrome, that deeply concern the compassionate Sakuta.

    As Sakuta works through the new cases of stress and uncertainty around the new people he comes into contact with, elements from his past return to warn him of a threat to the most important thing in his life, Mai.   A version of him from a more idyllic reality, warns him that unless he is able to stop Kirishima, Mai is in danger.  As he helps resolve each related adolescent syndrome he digs deeper into the psyche of the mysterious woman who threatens his love and happiness.  Could the unidentifiable songstress have a strong enough jealousy over Mai that she is able to super charge the stresses of those she comes into contact with?  An internet phenomenon around prophetic dreams begins to reveal to extent of the threat to Mai and other around him as he tries to get Kirishima to open up to him about her motivations.

    The 'long awaited' continuation of the Rascal Doesn't Dream franchise does not disappoint.  With the exception of one thing...the bungled release in North America.  The original 12 episode series was followed by three theatrical releases, all of which cover the first eight light novels.  The story is progressive and interconnected and the second and third movies were not available legally for English speaking audiences until a few episodes into the broadcast of the second series.  This means that most audiences, who missed the opportunity over a two day period over a year earlier to see those movies in the theater, were missing vital contextual information.  Events specifically in the third movie directly relate to a lot of the central plot of the Santa Claus series, particularly the existence and Sakuta's interaction with the other version of his world.  Fortunately, those movies were eventually made available for streaming, so people who had not seen them before nor read the light novels, could catch up with what was going on.

     The mistake and issues for English speaking audiences aside, this series does exactly what we should expect.   With out a change to the aesthetics or delivery it flawlessly continues the story of Sakuta and his efforts to help those around him overcome their misgiving and hesitations.  The story does a good job of translating what appears in the light novels, as it has done in the previous adaptations.  The only real complaint is...were not done.  There are still two light novels that needs to be animated and Santa Claus ends in a bit of a cliff hanger.  As we have seen in the past, it will probably be a while for those to more than likely be turned into at least one movie...and then become available for English speaking audiences.  The only resolution is for everyone to at least jump into the light novel series for those last two parts of the story.  Though...its a great idea for fans of the anime to read all of the light novels as there are aspects of the story that are interesting that they had to omit from the anime, for understandable reasons.  For more details on that, check out the series of review on the Rascal Doesn't Dream light novels.  Either way, I am very pleased with the results so far and eagerly await the finale of this story being animated!

The series is available on Crunchyroll. 

Rascal Does Not Dream Of His Girlfriend - light novel

      Rascal Does Not Dream Of His Girlfriend (青春ブタ野郎はガールフレンドの夢を見ない) is the fourteenth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The fourteenth volume was originally release in 2024 and in English in 2025. 

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

Book Thirteen: Rascal Does Not Dream Of Santa Claus here!

    Sakuta finds himself in the throng of people heading to the concert in Yokohama that, according to the Dreaming Hashtag, Mai will reveal that she is Kirishima Touko.  While heading to the venue he notices the knapsack version of Mai flitting through the crows and chases after, failing to catch up with her.  Giving up, he heads to the venue, diverting his course to the backstage area where a chance encounter with Mai's manager allows him access to her trailer.  He does his best to ensure that Mai won't do what everyone is expecting her to do.  She assures him its not going to happen and ushers him out so she can finish preparing.  Once out of the backstage area he reconnects with Akagi and they join the massive crown for the performance.  Everything plays out as he dreamed and the bottom falls out from his stomach when Mai takes the stage and performs the Kirishima song.  Against his wishes, Mai goes along with the script and tells the audience that she is the mysterious YouTube singer, completing the Dreaming Hashtag and sending Sakuta into a spiral of confusion and betrayal.

    After the concert he again approaches Mai in her trailer to find out whats going on.  She tells him that everything was a secret from her agency and she is sorry she couldn't tell him sooner.  He leaves, stunned, unwilling to believe it, understanding it to be a lie.  He was unable to stop it from happening and according to the message from the other reality, he fears the worse for his girlfriend.  Returning home, numb, he encounters something even more confusing when the Kaede that greets him is the Kaede from her period of memory loss.  He calls his parents house and when the real Kaede answers real confusion set in for Sakuta.  Both versions of his sister currently exist.

    In the morning, after trying to clear his head, he rushes off to his parents to see for himself is Kaede is there.  On his way to the train station he runs into Nodok and Uzuki who are frustrated by Mai's announcement undercutting their group set to perform at the Budokan.  He doesn't argue too much with this drastic change in their fortunes and heads off.  Once he does, he uses the excuse of having to cover a shift to leave again and heads back to his neighborhood.   At work a conversation with Koga confirms that every aspect of his life has been altered as she talks about going to his college instead of the all girls school she was recommended for.  He knew he needed to track down the real Kirishima Touko before things got too far out of hand.  As if he willed into existence a friend from the past makes a sudden appearance, Shouko, wearing the same high school uniform he first saw her in years earlier.  This was the real Shouko, who is about to begin her high school life.  But she was supposed to be in Okinawa?  

    She informs him that she is healthy enough to move back, as she really wanted to attend the same high school he did.  But she came for a more important matter...she wants to take him to meet Kirishima Touko.  Much to his disappointment, he has to spoil his first trip driving on Shouko instead of Mai as they head on a trip to Touko's home.  After a while Shouko felt compelled to find and connect with the family of the person who's heart was inside of her.  Much to her surprise that person was the Kirishima Touko, meaning that the woman Sakuta has been chasing after this entire time has been dead.  The visit with her mother is tense and somber.  But in the course of looking at her preserved bedroom Sakuta learns a very important clue to understanding what is going on...Touko's best friend has been the one uploading all of her songs online and is closer to him than either of them could ever imagine, now its a matter of confronting them and putting a stop to all of the madness before his future slips away from him.

     The second to last entry into the Rascal Does Not Dream series starts to pull everything together, at least in regards to the college arc and everything revolving around Kirishima Touko.  I keep repeating myself with each volume...but it just gets better with each new one.  SO in theory, the final volume should be the best of the series.  Thats a hell of a task to accomplish.  Anyways, this volume is significant and impactful, echoing across all of the story that has preceded it.  I read this about halfway through the broadcast of the second TV series, Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus.  The series covers light novels 9 through 13 and the story took on a very different tone when with the information learned in volume 14.  In reality not a lot occurs in this volume when it comes to a complex story.  This is all set up for the final show down in the next volume and we get a lot of details out of the way, very important details.  In reality only three things happen.  Mai's announcement, Shokou's confrontation with the Kirishima family and Sakuta's confrontation with the person upholding Touko's memory.

    Volume fifteen has a hige task ahead of its self and I am eager to read it.  I wonder if the story will dive back into unresolved things from the high school arc as it wraps up the college arc.  What sort of release can we expect?  How does the essence of Kirishima Touko play into widespread adolescent syndrome?  The obvious conclusion is the disjointed reality that Sakuta encounters in this volume will become resolved when he tackles the problem at the root, but what will that mean to his world as it comes to its narrative conclusion?  I really love this series, it has grown into a passion of mine and has supplanted some legacy titles for me in importance.  It is what got me to finally dive into light novels and has made me rethink the quality of my beloved Haruhi series.  The emotions have been intense over its course and I may be setting myself up for disappointment if the conclusion does not blow me away.  But...a few months from this writing, I will have my answer.

Rascal Does Not Dream Of Santa Claus - light novel

     Rascal Does Not Dream Of Santa Claus (青春ブタ野郎はサンタクロースの夢を見ない) is the thirteenth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The thirteenth volume was originally release in 2024 and in English in 2024. 

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

Book Twelve: Rascal Does Not Dream of His Student here!

 

    Sakuta finds himself at a concert, the crowd swelling with anticipation after a surprise appearance by Mai.  She announces to the gathered throng that she is the mysterious Kirishima Touko and she and the band kick into one of Touko's songs.  The entire event spirals Sakuta into a state of confusion and he flees the venue, reaching for a cell phone to call Akagi Ikumi.  After asking her to meet him in Yokohama did her realize he was in the middle of a very realistic dream.  He wakes up to find himself still in the hot spring inn he and Mai are visiting during Christmas.  Sakuta tells her all of the details of his dream, concerned for what it may mean.  He is keeping Touko's warning about imminent danger to Mai in the foreground while he combs over the details.  It is only after Mai gets a call from her manager about making an appearance at the same festival he dreamed about that he begins to think about the dreaming hashtag and how this may be prophetic.

    Sakuta soon finds out he was not the only one that dreamed about being at the concert and Mail claiming to be the elusive internet songstress.  There is so much buzz around other people having it and the dreaming hash tag that the news even covers the subject, bringing a lot of public scrutiny on Mai and the possibility of her being Touko.  Sakuta meets with Akagi to talk about his dream, seeing he called her in it.  To his partial surprise what she dreamed that night was her side of the events, further causing him to question if this was really seeing into the future or not.  Much to her displeasure, she is now involved in his investigation.  First step, talk with the real Kirishima Touko.

    In early January he his junior and coworker, Koga, pulled him aside to talk abot the dreaming hashtag and everything surrounding Mai.  She didn't experience the concert event, instead she told him about how Mai was badly injured at an event earlier in the year where she was made police chief for the day.  The accident lead to her being in a coma for a prolonged period of time.  Even more concerned about Mai's safety, with a potentially understood event that put her in danger, he redoubled his effort to reconnect with Touko...but how does one go about looking for a woman who nobody can see and doesn't exactly like being seen when she doesn't want to be?  She came looking for him.  After classes resumed at his college she pulled him out of one of his lectures to ask him to accompany her on a date.  He decides its in his best interest as he can the time of having her attention to pressure her about her real identity and what the dreaming hashtag has to do with the danger to Mai. 

    The date ends up being a shopping trip as she seems to randomly wander through the area using him as her personal assistant.  He and Akagi have been doing some investigating and have learned that prior to Mai attending college, the woman who claims to be Touko was an aspiring model who maintained a healthy internet presence.  The conclusion they draw is her self esteem was obliterated by the arrival of a the most loved young woman in her vicinity.  Sakuta believes the danger to his girlfriend is related to Touko wishing to regain the spotlight and restore herself to visible status.  During the date Sakuta learns that someone close to him knew her very well prior to their life as college students.  Armed with this knowledge he bets on that person to be the key to unlock her 'adolescent syndrome' and keep Mai safe at the same time.

    Unlike the high school arc of the story, the college arc has kept Kirishima Touko as the primary focus for all of the problems surrounding Sakuta.  This volume dives deep into the antagonist herself and see's Sakuta tapping into resources he hasn't leaned on before.  While we are still dealing with a version of 'adolescent syndrome' we have dealt with in two prior occasions, the scope and gravity around Touko's invisibility does not feel like retread territory.  There is even a brief return to Koga's problems year ago with her ability to dream up simulations of the future.  Everything is starting to coalesce around the central threat that is the mysterious Touko and the problems that generate around her, causing Sakuta various levels of mental anguish.  We are edging closer to the conclusion of this fantastic series and all of the cows are coming home to roost and with two more volumes until the conclusion, the story is growing stronger.  The hardest part now is waiting for the next volume to come out...at least we have the return of the series to TV in 2025!  I may have said this with the past few novels, but this one may have been the best so far.  With each addition the story grows in quality and enjoyment.

Rascal Does Not Dream Of His Student - light novel

    Rascal Does Not Dream Of His Student  (青春ブタ野郎はマイスチューデントの夢を見ない) is the twelfth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The twelfth volume was originally release in 2022 and in English in 2023. 

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

Book Eleven: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Nightingale review here!

      The strange warning Sakuta received from the alternate world he had been lost in around the time Mai graduated from high school bothered him.  His middle school classmate, Akagi, had delivered a warning from the other world that Mai's life was in danger and that he needed to find the singer Kirishima Touka.  He had already found her though, dressed as a mini-skirt clad Santa.  The problem may be that only he can truly see her, not unlike Mai's adolescent syndrome.  Kirishima had told him before that she was able to impart 'adolescent syndrome' on others and had done so countless times already.  Somehow her ability was connected to a strange urban myth related to hashtags on internet posts and prescient dreams.  Sakuta experienced that himself in the form of the day he gained a new student at his tutoring job.  The events of the tutoring session played out as they had in his dream.  He needed to talk with Kirishima more to understand what was going on and how much of a treat she was to Mai.

    After calling her number for days on end, she finally responded to his messages.  She offered to meet with him on December 2nd, when he was done with his classes, and they would meet and talk.  he hesitated to agree, preferring to do it another day.  When he tried to get out of it, explaining that was Mai's birthday and they had plans, the other woman insisted that this would be his only chance to talk with her.  reluctantly he told Mai that they would have to change their plans.  Much to his surprise she doesn't put up much of a fuss, understanding the complexity of the problem he is trying to solve and that its about her safety first and foremost.  Instead, she adjusts their day a bit and forces him to buy her some jewelry for her birthday, exposing him to a world that celebrities deal with while in public.

   With Mai partially satisfied, Sakuta finishs off his day at school and calls the enigmatic Kirishima to finalize their meeting.  She meets him at the entrance to his college and leads him into a quiet neighborhood where she forces him to buy her tea and cake.  He obliges, understanding he needs to grease the wheel a bit if he intends to get anything out of her...and that no one else really see's her.  During their confirmation he suspects the way she may be imparting 'adolescent syndrome' on others is through the music she uploads to YouTube.  He tests her out to see how much a threat she poses on Mai, but feels the warning is not directed related to actions she may take.  Instead he is concerned with her planning to release a new song on Christmas Eve and what it may trigger if his suspicions are correct.  He rushed home to spend as much time with Mai for hr birthday as possible, only to find four girls singing to a new Kirishima Touka song, dread filled him at the prospect of what this new song meant and its lonely lyrics. When everyone else left he updated Mai on the events earlier.  Mai made him promise to be free to spend time with her on Christmas eve and day, how could he refuse?

     That night he had a vivid and concerning dream about spending Christmas Eve with his new cram school student, Himeji Sara.  His fears of the dream being related to the hashtag are all but confirmed when he encounters Sara and she tells him about having the same exact dream.  In the dream she asks him to promise not to cure her 'adolescent syndrome' which leads to him prying from her that she does in deed suffer from it.  As in the dream, she thinks her syndrome is favorable to her and does not wish to be rid of it.  He isn't so sure and concerned it may be linked to the unknown threat to Mai, he presses her to understand what is going on.  Her condition appears to be stemming from the realization that the boy she grew up with and thought she would spend her life with does not feel for her that way, instead is focused currently on Futaba, who is instructing him at the cram school.  The further he digs the less likely it appears he will be able to keep his promise to spend Christmas with Mai, but he is more concerned with understanding why she is in danger and what, if anything, this growing hashtag tread has to do with it.

    Returning to the Rascal Does Not Dream series after many months and reading all of the Suzumiya Haruhi novels really underlined how good the Rascal books and story over all is.  I have been a long time fan of Haruhi but Rascal is really a superior product.  This may be the best book in the college arc so far and makes me with the release schedule for the next volume would speed up.  The plot was consistent, well paced and gave a new version of 'adolescent syndrome' to experience and work through.  Everything since the resolution of Shouko's 'adolescent syndrome' has been building to what will be unveiled in the thirteenth and more than likely fourteenth and final volume in the series.  While awaiting the English version of the next volume to publish we can twitch over getting English versions of the second and third movies...until then...it's just a waiting game.  Maybe I need to reread this great series even though its not completed.

Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Nightingale - light novel

         Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Nightingale (青春ブタ野郎はナイチンゲールの夢を見ない) is the eleventh volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The eleventh volume was originally release in 2020 and in English in 2023.     

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

Book Ten: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Lost Singer review here!

     At the end of the previous volume Sakuta encounters the mysterious singer Kirishima Touko, who claims to have given Uzuki her episode of 'adolescent syndrome' along with many more people across Japan.  She specifically tells him about one person, Akagi Ikumi, of which she has imparted a 'gift' to.  This makes Sakuta uneasy as Ikumi is a girl he went to middle school with and also ran into at the beginning of the year.  She is attending the nursing school at his college but he has not seen her since the entrance ceremony.  As he tries to track her down to discover what is happening, he learns of a strange hashtag floating on the internet tied to prophecies.  People are posting vivid prophetic dreams on the internet using the hashtag.  Sakuta spots Ikumi during Halloween and witnesses her utilize one of these dream hashtags to prevent a young girl from being hurt.

    He finds her at school and is able to confront her about her actions related to the hashtags and her overwhelming sense of justice.  Once her secret is out she experiences a strange attack, something unseen, assaulting her while Sakuta watches in disbelieve.  Through a wager, she encourages Sakuta to dig into their past together to understand why she is putting her own self in danger to save strangers based on vague visions on the internet.  Unfortunately, his memories of middle school are repressed and forgotten, a victim of he and Kaede's initial bout of 'adolescent syndrome'.  He struggles to remember if they had any real interactions beyond being classmates and understands that her over powering self righteous behavior may be the cause of her current turmoil.  Lingering regret over being unwilling or unable to help Sakuta in middle school, when his world was collapsing around him.  But he doesn't think that is the reality of her wager and has to dig deep into his past to grab anything that may shed light on her before she ends up destroying herself..

 

    This volume felt quite short compared to others and the story was very focused.  I wasn't able to fully recognize the truth, but I was partially right.  But by the end, through exposition and dialogue, the reader is well aware of what is going on and the course moving forward is still building to an encounter that will define the overall college arc.  Things are definitely getting interesting as actions taken in past volumes are beginning to ripple into the future of the story.

    This volume puts me in a weird spot.  I am caught up with the English language releases and this was written the day after it was announced that the world of Sakuta is very near its completion, more than likely with volume 14, so it's bitter sweet and frustrating as well.  I will have to wait a few months to review the next volume and also be that much closer to being done with these characters that I have grown so attached to.  Either way, the college arc has proven to be quite strong over its course.  There was some undeniable supernatural activity in this volume but the presence of 'adolescent syndrome' remains an ephemeral thing, opposed to the high school arc where it was front and center.  Its great that the narration continues to check back on the lesser characters, to update the reader on their growth...though we do need to spend more time with Kaede, she's been severely neglected these past few books.

Book Twelve: Rascal Does Not Dream Of His Student review..

Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Lost Singer - light novel

        Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Lost Singer (青春ブタ野郎は迷えるシンガーの夢を見ない) is the tenth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The tenth volume was originally release in 2020 and in English in 2023.

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

Book Nine: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Knapsack Kid review here!

    We find Sakuta well into his first year of college, leaving behind the world of 'adolescent syndrome' in favor of a future with Mai, still Japans more loved young actress.  Even though college works in a more casual fashion than high school, Sakuta still finds himself outside of the student body.  This is equal parts intentional and accidental.  Mai is also attending the school at the same college, and word got around pretty quickly who her boyfriend is.  The excitement and annoyance died out after a while but people still tend to give him a wide berth.  He's not exactly upset about the situation, preferring to not be tied to social interactions.  He and Mai are not the only ones going to the same college, Mai's half sister Nodoka and a member of her idol group, Hirokawa Uzuki, are also attending.  Uzuki, who helped his sister Kaede with choosing to attend an alternative high school, is even in the same major as Sakuta.  It was bad enough when everyone knew he was dating the countries most desirable woman, but hes also friends with two beautiful idols as well?  Life sure if rough for our hero!

    Given his nature, Sakuta is quite in-tune with those around him.  He quickly notices when a change overcomes Uzuki.  She had struggled with being able to 'read the room' and found her self constantly being ostracized from her peers.  She is quirky, impulsive and energetic.  Her behavior endears her to her fans but also makes others embarrassed.  This is one of the things that lead her to switching to online school.  Overnight she gains the ability of self and situational awareness.  This causes nervousness in Sakuta, who understands its nearly impossible for a human to do that normally.  With great trepidation he fears his year and a half break from 'adolescent syndrome' is at an end.  If it is the cause of her sudden change what would be the catalyst and is this actually a problem?  A friend of his, who has struggled her entire life with being comfortable and capable in social settings, is suddenly able to be a part of the group.  Does she even desire to undo her change?  Will it have adverse effects on her career as an idol, which is partially influenced by her spontaneous personality?  Beyond Uzuki, Sakuta begins to notice the uncanny level of 'sameness' that surrounds him.  In a world of fresh adults everyone begins to behave like one another, could this be a more widespread phenomena or if this just a byproduct of a world with less restrictions and formality than they experiences as children.

    It's really good to jump into a new chapter of Sakuta's life.  While they narrated the missed time as Sakuta putting his nose into books to pass his entrance exams, it may be nice eventually to show a little more of what transpired in that time period.  But, here we are, almost everyone is out of school and beginning their journey to adulthood.   With the maturing characters we also have a maturing narrative.  For once the characters are fully living lives for themselves and their personalities reflect those circumstances.  It is nice to see this evolve beyond the adolescent romance it always was into something more, something continuous.  It's difficult to say if Uzuki's issue is supernatural in origin, as it is just her gaining a far greater perception of herself and her interactions.  That perception has caused her normally confident facade to falter, which is the driving force of the concern, not solving some mysterious trigger or supernatural ailment.

     Its really nice to see the slow evolution of the story telling with this series and hopefully it can continue for quite a long time into the future.  The end of this volume sets us up for an encounter that's been brewing in the background for a few volumes now and presents an interesting, potentially story shifting, concept.  There could be someone who is able to trigger 'syndromes' in others.  This opens up a new set of paths for the story to take and may finally establish the post Shouko catalyst.  Speaking of Shouko, hopefully we see her again soon as well!!  Time will tell, but I am really enjoying the shift to mundane realism, at least in this volume.  If the author can keep up with new and exciting supernatural twist that would be great.  But if those supernatural elements fade away with the characters youth and is replaced with the realism shown in this volume, that will be just as welcome.

Book Eleven: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Nightingale review here!

Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Knapsack Kid - light novel

         Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Knapsack Kid (青春ブタ野郎はランドセルガールの夢を見ない) is a the ninth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The ninth volume was originally release in 2018 and in English in 2022.

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

Book Eight: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Sister Venturing Out review here!

      Sakuta has a strange dream about a young girl who looks like Mai when she acted in her first roll.  The girl appears lost on Shichirigahama beach.  He talks to her, trying to understand what is going on but in the end he is more puzzled.  He is almost positive the girl is Mai, but none of that makes sense.  He sees her again, but this time he isn't sleeping, before he can find out anything his Mai arrives, leaving the girl to disappear like the wind when he turns around.  He doesn't have a lot of time to sort anything out as Mai has sprung a surprise meeting with her mother, following her graduation ceremony.  The meeting is tense as the two women are still at odds with each other.  Mai's mother none the less approves of Sakuta.  Back at his home, celebrating with dinner, Mai surprises him with a marriage certificate.  She claims it is a good luck talisman for his studies and when the time is right they will make it official.  In addition, his father calls with news that their mother is finally in a mental state to see Kaede.  Apprehension sets in for both of the siblings, as they will be seeing their mom for the first time since they moved.

    After Kaede's graduation ceremony they take the trip to the apartment their parents live, a place different from their home as a family.  Kaede is overcome with anxiety over how her mom will react but once they enter the living area of the small apartment the apprehension melts away and they being talking like no time had passed.  The visit has gone so well that Kaede ends up staying the night with them, leaving Sakuta to return to their apartment, not wanting to abandon their cat.  The next morning he wakes up to the strangeness that is an almost empty house.  It isn't until he is seated in homeroom that he realizes something is terribly wrong.  He is suddenly suffering from the same 'adolescent syndrome' that Mai had gone through when they first met, almost a year earlier.  Sakuta is suddenly non-existent.  Unfortunately the person he feels that can pull him back into reality, Mai, is out of town working.  He heads back to his parents apartment but his mother and sister do not see him.  In a fury of emotions he flees to the safety of the beach, the beach that he has been saved at more than once.  As if by design, the young version of Mai appears, even though it is late at night.  She leads him to the train and he falls into a restful slumber, the sound of the train comforting him with its lullaby.  He wakes to find himself in his bed, in the house he originally lived with his parents.  They can see him, they know who he is, but this is not his life, things are different and he understands he needs to return to his real life and correct his problem.  

   I will be honest, I wasn't excited to be revisiting the same 'adolescent syndrome' we went through in the first volume.  I was disappointed that we didn't get an new problem to solve, some fantastic new complexity and narrative gymnastics.  Instead we tread some already travel paths.  Beyond that it is nice to have the narration continue to move forward, into the future of the characters.  Too many stories particularly manga, stick with a small window of time.  Even though we have only covered about ten months across all nine volumes, it doesn't seem like there is an end to the story, even if we are seeing some repetition.  There are some threads for future issues that are being laid, taking us into a new sphere of conflict.  There was a moment of panic where I thought Sakuta was going to be reset to a time in the past, not end up in a parallel world, replacing that version of him.  This volume feels similar to Your Name and the final Kimagure Orange Road movie, at least the second half of the story where Sakuta is in full blown 'adloescnet syndrome' mode and I started to enjoy it more.

    In the end this was a good continuation of the franchise, it didn't have the drive and tension that early volumes did, but it did dig deep into Sakuta's psyche.  We see him try to work through his own issues this time, taking the experiences he has gained helping everyone else.  He realizes he has to work through this on his own, but in reality, he can't do everything alone, needing to still lean on those that are important to him.  But there was never any doubt that a positive resolution would be reached.  Instead we are set up for a shift in narration and a time skip.  But this is really the least enjoyable volume so far.  The next volumes could be quite interesting as we see an entirely new phase in the life of our slacker protagonist.

Book Ten: Rascal Does Not Dream OF A Lost Singer review here!

Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Sister Venturing Out - light novel

        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 the eighth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The eighth volume was originally release in 2018 and in English in 2022.

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

Book Seven: Rascal Does Not Dream Of His First Love review here!

    With the timeline generally back to its correct sequence and Shouko able to get her donor heart without either Sakuta or Mai dying, things seem to be looking up for our lovers!  Now everyone can concentrate on enjoying their youth.  Except for a few snags, Sakuta needs to seriously improve his testing abilities if he is ever going to be able to join Mai in college.  Kaede has a lot more work to do before she is able to really integrate back into society.  Now that things have calmed down and no one is in danger of anything supernatural, its time to hit the books!  Sakuta's problem has a solution that only requires attention and dedication.  Kaede, however, has some uncertainty in her path.  She has been able to attend school after the New Year, though she spends her time hidden away in the nurses office.  This is a significant improvement over the prior two plus years of being a shut in.  But her life as a middle school student is going to end as soon as it has begun.  Due to it begin compulsory, she is quarantined to graduate.  The question is, what will she do next?

    Kaede is struggling with living up to the expectations left behind from the version of her during her memory loss.  Through that Kaede's diary she understand how hard she worked to get better.  The daily struggles to learn about herself  and to fight against her fears.  The old Kaede feels tied to the other versions' wish to attend the same high school as her brother.  Everyone is willing to go along with her desires, even though the chances of her succeeding are impossible.  Mai, her sister and Sakuta do as much as they can to help her study.  Secretly, Sakuta attends a seminar for an online school with his sisters school counselor.  She feels that this type of options would be a better choice for Kaede, given that she is still greatly struggling with interacting with her peers.  In the end all they can do is support her as  much as possible, in the hope that she can gain more confidence in her self.  Kaede is ultimately the master of her destiny, facing an almost impossible challenge regardless of her choice.

    This was a much needed reprieve from the heavy emotional toll the two prior volumes exacted.  We return to a more mundane tale focusing on the Azusagawa siblings.  This is also the first volume that does not have any detectable episode of 'adolescent syndrome' outside of the lingering remnants of Kaede's problem.  Instead what we get is a critique on the Japanese education system and its rigid structure.  A number of different opinions and critiques are laid out over the course of the story, many of which present frustration in the standard system.  They question the unflinching march of standardization, that will chew up those who aren't able to keep up and spit them into a dire future.  People like Kaede, who has found her self being pushed out of the group and fleeing to the safety of isolation.  Abandoning her education in favor of health.  This has put her in a situation where it is almost impossible for her to catch up to her peers, cutting her off from success in the future.  The story presents a budding alternative education network presenting a possible solution for those students the traditional system carelessly abandons.  The question on everyone's mind though, will this be good enough for Kaede to reach her potential later in life?

    This volume feels like it was shorter than it was.  Aside from a small portion at the end, there was very little reflection on the events at the end of volume seven...as incredibly important as they were.  The characters are more than happy to move ahead and live a life or normalcy.  But the mundane has its own problems, especially with Kaede's persisting mental health issues.  A significant amount of emphasis though was really on the push for alternative education options for the youth of Japan, and I can't say this is a bad thing.   The biggest hurdle faced by the characters and people in reality is the public perception of these options.  Even if the institutions are able to have their students achieve the same requirements as their traditional counterparts, it doesn't mean they are without stigma.  The public school system is designed to educate and enforce societal hegemony in almost equal portions.  If a new school is a virtual work at your pace alternative, how does that provide the same experience the rest of the nation is expecting everyone to have?  This is a major problem that both Kaede and people in real life are going to face in this experiment in education that is beginning to unfold in the country.  On to the next volume where I suspect the supernatural will come roaring back into the narrative. 

 Book Nine: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Knapsack Kid review here!

Rascal Does Not Dream Of His First Love - light novel

       Rascal Does Not Dream Of His First Love (青春ブタ野郎はハツコイ少女の夢を見ない) is a the seventh volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The seventh volume was originally release in 2016 and in English in 2022.

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

Book Six: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Dreaming Girl review here!

    Following Mai's sacrifice Sakuta finds himself in a void of darkness.  He can't except the reality that he has lost the woman he loves and most like lost the girl who would grow into his first love.  All of his resolve and determination to take the past he thought was the best was instantly erased in Mai's incredible selflessness.  But what was the cost of her actions?  The entire country mourns for the loss of their young star, Sakuta is close to catatonia and the world is starting to blame him for robbing them of their Mai.  Rio and Yuuma hide him away from the prying eyes of the media, but when it come time for Mai's funeral he can not bear to accept reality.  As he sits in a corner, absorbed in his own emotionless state, the Tv comes to live, broadcasting the ceremony, showing an interview from a few days before her death, shaking Sakuta's foundation.  Unable to control his emotions he flees Rio's house, heading to the only place he can think of, the place were he was first saved, the beach were he first met Shouko.  In the midst of his breakdown among the cold sands and lapping waves she comes to him, but this is a different version of her.  This version was able to live because of Mai's sacrifice, living with Mai's heart inside of her chest.  She understands that something has changed, knowing that it was supposed to be Sakuta's heart in her.  She offers him a chance to correct the past...or more accuratly the present.  They are trapped in Sakuta's one 'adolescent syndrome' and seeing a future that might be prevented.  She shows him how she was able to move to the past before and lets him know that he will be fine as long as he is able to find someone who can hear him.

    Sakuta awakes to Christmas Eve, he still has the ability to right the situation and correct his choice, to overcome the incredible despair.  But it will not lead him completely to happiness, he recognizes that his new course will mean Shouko's death and more pressing, he finds himself in the same situation Mai was in when they first met.  No one can see him, he himself is numb to the world, cut off, only an observer.  he knows, from Shouko's words, that he needs someone to recognize him, like he could see Mai.  If he doesn't succeed it will all be for nothing.  Frantically he tries everything he can think of to have someone open the box and observe him, resolve the Schrodinger's Cat thought experiment, prove that he exists and is real.  Will he be able to find someone who can see and hear him?  Afterwards what will he do to protect his future with Mai?  The memories of the future without her has deepened his love for her to a level he never could imagine.  But that new found love is tainted by the understanding that he is sacrificing Shouko's life and her future, her love for him, to prevent the deep and suffocating pain he experienced in the future.  With time running out for himself and the two most important women in his life, he must fight against reality trying to keep him from being.

    My eyes were moist and strained the entire time reading this volume.  I know I had to do it in one sitting but it was hard.  The written word feels overwhelmingly more powerful than the movie.  I can't say if I would have preferred to read the books as they were being released, waiting months to continue the tragedy after the unexpected death of Mai at the end of book six.  Would I have been better off not going from that directly into this one, emotionally wasted as it was.  Would it have been less brutal to me if my serotonin has time to replenish its self?  I feel wasted and worn out, even though I knew full well how the story would go from watching the movie first.  It is hard for something to be that impactful and moving.  Without the investment in the characters from all of the proceeding story it would probably not be as crushing as it was.  One of the few stories that has left me even close to this desolated is the depressing, supposedly autobiographical, story Koi Sora, a crushing tale of a teenage girls first love and the crushing emotional toll of how she lost that love.  This story arc is not dissimilar in some aspects, but something about the words written on the pages and the combination of the original authors story crafting and the translation teams efforts puts this in a class all by its self.  This is probably the most emotionally taxing story I have ever encountered.

    I really enjoy the Rascal Does Not Dream story for many reasons.  Its lovable characters, the enjoyable mysteries and its way of emphasizing common struggles of youth and humanity in general in supernatural ways.  The supernatural aspect is very light to the touch in most cases, light enough that it may not even be really supernatural, but more an observation by the characters that force it into that realm.  This arc though somewhat forces the supernatural aspect by using time travel as the focal point.  But it tries from time to time, to correct that forced idea by saying whats really happening is a dilation of time from different perspectives.  It works to some degree, but this story definitely leans more heavily into the fantastical.  That is in no was a negative point and I wonder if there could have been a way to unravel the story the way it did with a little more subtly.  I say that and sound like I dislike time travel, but in actuality its one of my favorite story types, since its one that is hard to pull of in a meaningful way.  That is not to say this arc was bad or diminished through the time travel aspect, no but something is nagging me that says it could have been even more impactful.  At a few points between book six and seven the time travel concept seemed to slightly cheapen what was going on.  The sheer force of emotion in the story its self erases that feeling rather quickly each time it comes to the surface.  In the end, I can't think of a more impactful narration that I have read than these last two books.  With these done I am to the point where the story is brand new, as nothing animated has been released at the point of this review.  There are movies about to come out that do follow this up, but its all new territory from here.  I enter the realm of reading the story before viewing the story.  And I can not even guess how the series will follow up this incredibly end to the first seven volumes.  All I know is I need it to be fun and carefree, I can't handle that level of depression for now.

Book Eight: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Sister Venturing Out review here!

Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Dreaming Girl - light novel

      Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Dreaming Girl (青春ブタ野郎はゆめみる少女の夢を見ない) is a the sixth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The sixth volume was originally release in 2016 and in English in 2021.

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

Book Five: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Sister Home Alone review here!

      Adult Shouko crashing at Sakuta's apartment sure is awkward, especially when Mai, his beautiful and jealous girlfriend makes a surprise visit.  Sakuta struggles with understanding why Mai is so upset with him, when all of his groveling and apologizing does little to temper her steam.  What he fails to understand is Mai is more upset with her self, upset she forced the love of her life to rely on the compassion of another woman in a time of need, the return of his 'adolescent syndrome'.  Before he can make it up to her, he needs to understand the relation between both Shouko's.  Younger Shouko is once more in the hospital due to her declining heart condition.  Sakuta begins to visit her every day, if possible, to try to understand what is going on.  She shows him an old, incomplete piece of homework she has, an assignment asking her the imagine her life into old age.  Shouko has been pragmatic given the openess about her confition and realizes it is unlikely she will live to see high school, let alone be a grandparent.  She could never bring herself to complete it and hand it in, leaving it mostly blank.  But suddenly new items have appeared on the sheet, items that look to have been there the entire time but are new to Shouko.  The items line up with things that the older Shouko has accomplished since staying with Sakuta.

    With Futaba Rio's help, Sakuta begins to understand the circumstances behind the existence of the older Shouko and how that is tied into 'adolscent syndrome'.  Young Shouko's internalized desire to keep living, experiencing a life she realizes she will never have, creates a parallel Shouko which moves faster through time.  Through and unknown cause, older Shouko has come back from the future.  Sakuta approaches her about this idea, after recognizing a sign that Rio told him to look out for.  Understanding that her secret has been revealed she tells Sakuta everything.  But he chooses to keep this from everyone else, fearing the possibility that someone could alter the present enough to prevent younger Shouko from receiving the medical treatment that she needs to be the adult version staying at his house.  Older Shouko tells him that she wants one last thing before he 'adolescent syndrome' is resolved and he can return to his live with Mai, a date with her on Christmas Eve.  Mai then offers to go on a date with him at the same time, placing Sakuta in a very stressful situation.  Before he can stress about which of the loves of his life to be with on this magical couple outing, he learns the truth about how older Shouko survives to adulthood and why she continues to show up in Sakuta's life.  He is suddenly faced with a incredible weight on his shoulders that he see's no way to make everyone happy.

    This emotionally devastating book is part one of the movie of the same name.  Both hit incredibly hard and can be quite stressful.  The tension is incredibly thick and at a few times, even though I knew the story, I found myself on the verge of tears.  This book is the culmination of everything that came before it, the set up and conditioning of the characters and their motivations.  You know these characters rather intimately at this point, have experiences joy and suffering with them over all of these hundreds of pages, between 6 volumes at this point.  We know once Sakuta understands the reality of the situation how he will choose to respond.  He is entirely driven my selflessness and a desire to make take on everyone's pain.  He never wants to be helpless like he felt with his sister almost three years prior.  At his lowest moments older Shouko pulled him out of darkness with her caring and maturity.  She made him the person he is now, one who will do everything in his power to ensure everyone's security and happiness.  But how large of a price is he willing to pay this time?

    Past volumes of the series have had their dramatic moments peppered with light hearted banter and silliness, but this volume is heavily overshadowed by gloom and depression.  It is an emotional roller coaster filled with equal parts frustration and dread.  There are two parallel emotions running through its pages. the first being the frustration we feel for Mai as she tries to understand her place in Sakuta's heart.  The other is the struggle of the younger Shouko and her impending demise.  Sakuta is who he is because of both versions of Shouko and Mai struggles with that level of comparison.  Yet she can't bring herself to hate the little girl going through more stress and pressure than she could ever imagine.  Mai wants to be selfish, knowing what older Shouko's existence requires.  She struggles with those feelings in her self and her understanding of Sakuta's resolve and personality.  But at the same time both Shouko's are trying to help Sakuta to make the correct choice, a choice that may not be the one he wants or can live with.  The air is thick with sadness and frustration as time marches one and no one can stop it.  It may be best to take a break between this volume and the follow up, because you may not have enough emotional energy left to continue.

 Book Seven: Rascal Does Not Dream Of His First Love review here!

Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Sister Home Alone - light novel

     Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Sister Home Alone (青春ブタ野郎はおるすばん妹の夢を見ない) is a the fifth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The fifth volume was originally release in 2015 and in English in 2021.

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

Book Four: Rascal Does Not Dream Of Siscon Idol review here!

      With the possibility that Mai may be stuck in her half-sisters body resolved it was time for Sakuta to move on to a normal high school life.  All the crises' have been averted and everyone's 'adolescence syndrome' have been resolved...with the exception of his sister Kaede and by extension himself.  As a bit of a refresher, two years prior, when both siblings were living with their parents and enjoying a normal life as students, Kaede was the target of vicious abuse at the hands of her peers.  The onslaught of hatred streaming from her classmates caused her to shut her self in, refusing to interact with anything.  The pressure grew to such a level that it triggered 'adolescent syndrome', resulting in physical wounds from words and text.  Sakuta at first didn't believe or recognize what was going on, until he saw the psychological manifestations himself.  Once he understood the cause of the trauma he begged anyone with authority and expertise to believe him.  But they all made excuses, unwilling to believe the impossible.  The weight of his powerless created a void in his heart that in turn manifest into three grisly wounds across his chest, hospitalizing him.  It was at that point, trying to get to a place of safety, that he met Makinohara Shouko, at the point of complete desolation and ennui.  The older girl convinced him that he had the ability to build hope for himself and his sister, that what was important was improving the future not worrying about the past.  In the small amount of time he spent with her, he became enamored with her, falling completely in love.  He convinced his parents to let he and Kaede live on their own, away from their old lives, to help overcome the stresses of her situation.  He enrolled in the same high school Shouko went to, but was never able to reconnect with her.

    Skip to the present, more than 2 years later, and Kaede is struggling with her situation and her lack of improvement.  She decides, with the help of those around her, that she will work hard to return to some level of normalcy for a person her age.  She makes a list of things she wants to accomplish in the last two months of the year.  Even though he is skeptical about her chances of meeting all of her goals, he dutifully does what he can to help her.  Slowly, through the support of those around her and force of will, Kaede begins to see progress with her list.  She is able to travel to the beach near Sakuta's school and have a picnic with Mai and her half-sister.  But as they turn to leave, a figure from Kaede's past makes a sudden appearance.  Kaeda's reaction to her old friend shocks everyone forcing Sakuta to reveal a secret about her condition..  The next day, due to the physical and mental exertion she went through, Kaede falls into a coma-like state.  Sakuta rushes her to the local hospital, unsure of what is going to happen, but fearing that her 'adolescent syndrome' will come back in full force.  The uncertainty of what this means for his sister overwhelms him, leaving him helpless and panicked.  Just as his own 'adolescent syndrome' resurfaces a lost connection returns, to try and guide him once again to a brighter future.  But what will happen to he and his sister as things with their situation suddenly begin to change?  Will he be able to find out the truth behind the Shouko of two years ago?

     This volume covers the final arc of the anime and is a catalyst to the story.  We finally see the extent and truth behind Kaede and by extension Sakuta's past that lead them to the beginning of the series.  A lot of mental baggage is unloaded in this volume, particularly Sakuta's fears and regrets.  Through him we also see more of Kaede's struggle.  Prior to this she was only a side line character, even if her situation was the entire reason for the story over all.  But with the lack of external distractions from the slowly growing cast of characters we see the siblings at their most intimate.  The vast majority of the story focuses exclusively on the Azusagawa's, with Kaede's difficult path to improvement and Sakuta's concern for the evolution of the situation.  The first climax in the middle of the story brings us a twist to the plot that has not been remotely hinted at, putting a nice fresh perspective on the characters and the story over all.  The ending sets us up to resolve one of the truly important story lines in the series, the older Shouko.

    This volume is a stressful and emotional one to work through.  Once we know the deeper truths behind Kaede's situation we are presented with a significantly more complex problem that doesn't exactly have a good resolution.  It puts an new perspective on the responsibilities that Sakuta has taken upon himself, in the fleeting chance that his life might return to the way it once was.  The revelation also puts his parents current role into better perspective, a perspective less filled with disgust.  Up until this point it has been hard to respect the decision to essentially abandon their children, the youngest of which is suffering from severe emotional trauma.  They appear selfish and uncaring.  Yet, we can now better understand their position and ultimate reluctance to change their lives in the hope of progress.  Settle in though, with the next two volumes its only going to be more intense at an emotional level.  We are delving into the story that is covered in the first movie and that is some intense story telling.

Book Six: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Dreaming Girl review here!

Rascal Does Not Dream Of Siscon Idol - light novel

    Rascal Does Not Dream Of Siscon Idol (青春ブタ野郎はシスコンアイドルの夢を見ない) is a the fourth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The fourth volume was originally release in 2015 and in English in 2021.

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

Book Three: Rascal Does Not Dream Of Logical Witch review here!

 

    Sakuta thought that the biggest obstacle in his love like with celebrity actor Mai was her management team until he meets her sister.  Half-sister to be more exact, up and coming idol Toyohama Nodoka, who is barely younger than her famous sibling.  Mai's father left her mother even before she was born, marrying another woman and quickly having another child with her, Nodoka.  Mai's mother forced her daughter into the spot light as a way of getting back at her ex-husband.  After Mai's meteoric rise to stardom, Nodoka's mother attempted the same thing, seeing this as a challenge of which daughter was best.  Unfortunately, success has been hard for the younger girl to obtain, causing a wide range of emotions regarding Mai and her own mother.  In a moment of desperation Nodoka runs away from home, seeking shelter with her sibling, only to trigger 'adolescent syndrome'.  Nodoka's life has been focused on trying to become her older sister, pushed on by her mother, who only wants to taste the success her husbands ex-wife has tasted.  These feelings of idolization mixed with resentment causes the girls to switch bodies.  And just when Sakuta was hoping to have a normal high school romance with the love of his life.

    Since this is the fourth event Mai had experienced, she is pretty quick to recognize whats going on but isn't hopeful that a solution will be found any time soon.  The consummate professional, she sets up a plan for each girl to assume the role of their bodies as quickly as possible, not wanting to jeopardize either career.  Tensions flare quickly with both sisters professing a hatred for the other, leading them to refuse to interact on any level.  This forces Sakuta to act as intermediary, ensuring Nodoka, in Mai's body maintains her presence in school and to pass along any 'messages' between them.  Mai immediately goes to work learning all of Nodoka's songs and dance routines, while also assuming her roll in normal life as well.  Nodoka quickly realizes her ambitions are greater than she is ready to take on.  On her first job as Mai, shooting a commercial, the overwhelming expectation and pressure, internal and external, causes her to collapse and have the shoot cancelled.  Her mood darkens even more when she realized that Mai is doing a far better job at being her than she does.  Sakuta is desperate to rerturn things to normal but doesn't know what it will take to break the spell of despair and resentment of both girls.  Maybe he will never be able to have Mai all to himself at this rate!

     To be honest, this was an arc in the anime that I didn't enjoy going through and was not looking forward to revisiting in the light novel.  But it was a really enjoyable story in the end.  We get to see a deep dive into Mai's life and personality, even if much of it is from her half-sisters perspective.  Sakuta is quite receptive of both girls parental problems, given his own conflicts.  With each 'adolescent syndrome' incident we see Sakuta putting most of his effort into a solution, but we really get to see how far he is willing to go for Mai in particular.  He doesn't even bother to consult the ever pragmatic Futaba Rio until the end when he gives her a synopsis of the occurrence.  He really threw himself fully into solving this, much like he did in the first book.  His and Mai's emotional connection really does come through in the story.  And as is the case, we add another member to the pool of teenagers struggling with significant emotional anguish who happen to be rescued by our hero.  How much more can this guy do?  Moving into this story and the next we have a less than obvious candidate for the next 'adolescent syndrome' sufferer.

    Stepping back a bit, one thing that I thought about a lot in this volume is the hidden impact translation and localization have on a text.  You trust that the people doing that work are doing a good job in translating the personality of the story as well as they are translating the actual text, but its hard to tell in the end.  I think about that anytime I read books by Murakami Haruki and wish that my reading comprehension in Japanese is better than it is.  Need to really brush up on my kanji.  Anyway, the dialogue and writing in general in this volume felt better than anything that has come before.  If flowed easily and worked well to get you into the headspace of the characters.  It made me realize that some of my praise for the writing is obviously on the translation and localization efforts of Yen Press and the work those people have done, on top of the work that the original author has done.  It truly is an enjoyable story with quality narration.  I was a fan of the story from the first episode of the anime and I am excited to be close to moving into uncharted territory as I make my way through the original source material.  Its nice to recognize the efforts put in by everyone responsible for what I hold in my hands, and I just wanted to express my gratitude for everyone's efforts.  This truly is a well done story, even if the books are super easy to read.  I feel there's too much stigma still regarding manga, comics and light novels as being les than respectable literary creations.  I read a lot of deep thick novels as well, but there is something to be respected about a story that is created as deftly as this one in as minimal a format as possible.  On to volume 5!!

 Book Five: Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Sister At Home review here!