The Rascal Does Not Dream (Seishun Buta Yarō) series was originally a light novel series, which had Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is the first volume. Hence, I refer to this series by the shorthand (Bunny Girl Senpai) as a whole, despite it being the title for only its first volume. The light novels have been adapted into multiple seasonal anime series and movies. It was with the anime that I first discovered this series. Thus, my review of this book might be heavily informed by my experience with the anime. I have no plans of reading the light novels, sticking tojust the anime and the manga.

I first watched the original anime series, which adapted the first five light novels, including the original version of this book during the height of the pandemic lockdown. There was a more than a hint of nostalgia upon getting my copy of this manga version and reading the first few chapters.

The anime was mostly told from the point-of-view of Sakuta, the eponymous rascal, but for the manga, the manga author established early this story from Kaede's perspective. It retold the first encounter of Sakuta, Mai (bunny girl senpai), and Kaede from the little sister's position as the titular character of this volume.

It feels like a new take given it has a different art style from previous volumes of the manga or the anime, but the emotional punch remains of the events of the story remains. This series has its main characters suffering "adolescence syndrome", a phenomenon that differs from each case. Kaede suffers from a form that took her memories and her anxieties appearing as bruises on her limbs..

The moment after Kaede fulfilled the goals she set out for herself and the return of the original Kaede still backs an emotional punch after all these years. The Kaede without the memories was an alternate identity that surfaced to deal with her anxieties, but it was that Kaede that his reader has made an emotional connection.

I originally interpreted the ending of this storyline in the anime as a sad affair. Sakuta was able to form a bond with alternate Kaede in those two years. The day before she disappeared was the best one, they had a day to themselves to check the list on Kaede's goals. The return of the original Kaede turned that into an unexpected farewell and seemingly erased all that hard-won progress. In the manga, the author went out of their way to assure the reader that the alternate Kaede still existed within the original. But right now, that Kaede was assured of Sakuta's unconditional love and contented to remain hidden.

That is how this manga ended on positive feelings, rather than the gut punch realization of the anime this reader experienced.