Well, this show seems to have come out of nowhere, at least for me. I’ve heard almost nothing about it prior to this season, and so went into this first episode completely blind. I was somewhat apprehensive about what to expect, given the name of the show… but I must say, i’m pleasantly surprised.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Senpai is about as strange as you might expect… but not in a bad way. One day, Sakuta Azusagawa meets the famous child actor Mai Sakurajima in the library, wearing a bunny suit. However, nobody else appears to be able to see her. He learns that the cause is a mysterious phenomenon called Adolescence Syndrome, something that he’s seen before, with his younger sister Kaede…

Honestly, the premise of the show is really, really interesting. I want to know more about this Adolescence syndrome, the various ways it can manifest, what causes it… pretty much everything, really. We already know that it can not only cause physical harm, but also make people’s existence start to fade… and this may only be the start.

Clover Works did a great job on this, in my opinion. The atmosphere is really well done, the show looks and sounds great… and I really love the interactions between Sakuta and Mai. Their sarcastic snips at each other are hilarious, but more than that, they feel so REAL. So often in anime I see dialogue that feels so unnatural, or forced, but the growing friendship between these two reminds me of how I talk to some of my own friends; i.e. sarcasm and casually poking fun at each other.

Not only that, but it also shows some attributes of the reality of life. Kaede, for instance, accidentally ignored one of the popular girls in school, and was bullied to the point where she  can’t leave the house or even interact with social media anymore. Mai was struggling with the lifestyle of a child actor, and just wanted to be a normal girl for once and have friends. And of course, Sakuta’s best friend’s girlfriend hates him, because he’s a loner, and is hurting her chances at popularity. It’s a well-written and clever commentary on the modern world and the problems of society, while still staying interesting and entertaining all the way through.

This was honestly a really solid first episode, and i’m very excited to see more of these characters and this story. If you guys enjoy Slice-of-Life, or somewhat supernatural, mystery-type shows, I definitely recommend giving this one a try. Well, I’d honestly like to know, though. Those of you who’ve started on this show, what did you think of it? Did you enjoy the first episode as much as me? Let me know down in the comments, and i’ll see you all in the next post!