The Importance of Seasons — Bunny Girl Senpai
Before I start this piece, I want you to take a moment for yourself as I ask you this single question: Out of the four seasons — Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn — which one is your favorite?
Did you manage to pick one for yourself? If so, let’s begin this journey together as we traverse through the series Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (Bunny Girl Senpai).
On a warm and bright sunny day, we begin this story in the month of May: Clear skies, orange-cladded sunsets, spring near its end, and summer just a breath away. Exam season is upon us and our protagonist, Sakuta Azusagawa, skims through a book at the library.
Out of the corner of his eye, he witnesses Mai Sakurajima, a renowned model, actress, and senpai at his high school, stroll through the aisles of the library in a bunny suit — people being unaware of her existence. The two teens meet, Mai explains her dilemma to Sakuta, and the main conflict of the story follows.
Adolescence Syndrome, or Puberty Syndrome, is an anomaly that affects the youth through supernatural experiences, stemming from moments of heightened anxiety or stress.
Sakuta’s own experience with P.S., involving his sister Kaede, allows him to not only empathize with Mai but also the rest of our ensemble of characters. However, Sakuta’s role in all of this isn’t one of the typical hero’s journey. Opposite from the knight in shining armor saving the damsel in distress, his role in this adventure is more of a support role, such as a guide. Both his guidance and experience stem from a battle with the Adolescence Demon in the past — the three giant scratch marks on his chest being his proof.
But our main focus here are on the five powerful women overcoming their own adversities: Mai Sakurajima, Tomoe Koga, Rio Futaba, Nodoka Toyohama, and Kaede Azusagawa. All of them share the commonality of dealing with P.S. and its supernatural symptoms throughout the series. However, the time-frame in which these situations happen is most important to note. The seasons in where they toil, struggle and overcome are metaphors of their own character: The weather, the specific events, and even the color palettes of certain scenes birth an environment wholeheartedly devoted to a character’s personality and growth.
Mai Sakurajima | The Season of Spring
The symbol of Japanese springtime is the Sakura (or cherry blossom). Like that of a cherry blossom tree, its roots deeply entrenched into the Earth, Mai Sakurajima’s character encompasses its traits of beauty and fragility. Mai’s demeanor is both professional and sincere — her youth as a rising star paved way for her existence in the spotlight, albeit her struggle to uphold. Many people avoid her presence because of the atmosphere she creates around her. Not only that but her bitter experience with show-biz and family causes her to go on a hiatus, allowing for Puberty Syndrome to sprout from her anxiety of disappearing.
And so, like the blooming of a cherry blossom tree, we are reminded that life has an abundance of beauty yet is tragically short. Its bloom only lasts two weeks of an entire year, leaving its existence ignored until next Spring. We can compare this to Mai’s existence as it begins to wither away more and more until even the people closest to her start to forget. It is not until a deep blue night, where Sakuta’s conversation with Mai gives her the realization of going back into show-biz for her sake alone. We see her fragileness in how she responses to Sakuta’s remarks, but we also see her maturity when she finally admits so. This is the first step for her renewal in both her passion and existence. She overcomes Puberty Syndrome, falls in love with Sakuta, and blossoms back into the spotlight.
She is the spring of our four seasons. Her blossoming of love for Sakuta is also very reminiscent of a springtime romance. And how her character’s existence is that of a cherry blossom tree — the symbol of spring in Japan. We, the audience, can truly cherish her beauty and fragility within this story of Bunny Girl Senpai.
Tomoe Koga | The Season of…
During the transition from spring to summertime, Japan experiences an extra season from the months of June to July. Even if the days are spoiled with 100% sunshine, you can never predict whether the heavens surprise you with a hint of rainfall.
Tomoe Koga is a 1st year at Sakuta’s high school. Tomoe’s Adolescence Syndrome originates from her past. Before moving to Tokyo, she lived in the countryside, being friends with the unpopular kids of her class. In her transition from country to city life, she changed her appearance and grew an anxiety towards people not being fond of her (or accepting her for who she is).
Fast forward to the present, and Sakuta discovers that Tomoe’s P.S. loops a single day. Sakuta’s caught in the middle of this loop, and he aids her in her quest to get rid of it. However, Sakuta isn’t aware that Tomoe is the cause of this phenomenon and that his kindness in helping her has caused her to develop feelings for him. As she rolls and rolls the dice, she prays for an outcome, a future, where Sakuta falls in love with her.
But Tomoe is lying to herself. She knows that Sakuta is in love with Mai and that his feelings for her will never fade. And as the loop comes to its end and Tomoe confesses to Sakuta, hoping that her feelings will finally reach his, we see a spectacle of rainfall come into frame — something different from the other loops we bear witness to.
In the midst of all of this, there is a special Japanese phrase to explain this rainfall in the middle of a sunny day. Kitsune no yometori, is a Japanese phrase to explain a few things: The phenomenon known as a “sunshower,” and its literal translation: Fox weddings, a Japanese legend. Wet hair, the smell of the ocean, and one heartwarming confession later, Sakuta admires that Tomoe has tried her hardest. She cries out, in one last effort, to say, “I love you.” The P.S. event ends and Sakuta wakes up on June 27th, the very first day of the loop. Sakuta realizes that it wasn’t the looping of days, rather Tomoe’s Adolescence Syndrome allowing her to create simulations of the future itself.
Tomoe is the unofficial Japanese season named, Tsuyu, or translated to “plum rain.” During this season, sunshowers, like the one on their last day together, are rare occurrences. Also, Kitsune no yometori is called fox weddings because in Japanese legend, they happen during sunshowers, and people describe the phenomenon as being tricked or witnessing an illusion — similar to the simulation Tomoe has created for her and Sakuta. The concept of fox weddings works perfectly for Tomoe’s experience because, at the end of it all, Tomoe tells Sakuta, “You have made me into an adult.” It comes off as a joke, but in the Japanese folklore of fox weddings are held when a youthful fox reaches adulthood — a metaphor for Tomoe’s growth into a better person.
Rio Futaba | The Season of Summer
From the fragrance of the countryside to the array of colors bursting in the sky from fireworks, summer is a season filled with relaxation, festivals, and friends. No matter the weather, be it typhoon season or unexpected rainfall, the summer heat will follow, and you will be reminded of its warmth until fall.
Rio Futaba is a 2nd year at Sakuta’s high school. She’s also a part of the trio of Sakuta’s friend group — the ones he refers to as “friends for life.” Futaba is the unsung hero of this story, as her unrivaled knowledge in certain studies allows her to have insight on every P.S. event in the series.
Futaba’s calm, collected personality allows her to read situations, but it comes at a price. As a child, she grew up in a lonely home — her parents always being overseas due to work. This neglect created a lonely atmosphere around her, dragging into her social life. But this allowed her to meet another outcast, Sakuta, who was shunned from his peers due to the rumored Hospitalization Incident.
Futaba’s ability to reach out to Sakuta shows that although reserved, she carries emotions of empathy and love, especially for the ones related to her. Her longing for Yuuma Kunimi, the third person in their friend group, was a result of him reaching out to Futaba. Even though the act was merely a genuine gesture of kindness, it reflects the anxiousness within Futaba. At an early age, Futaba’s body developed faster than her peers. This resulted in boys starting to gaze at her, making Futaba hate her own body. This discomfort, mixed with her conflicting feelings for Kunimi, created a perfect environment for P.S. to occur, creating a clone from her mind with the perception of herself.
Later in the story, Sakuta discovers her clone uploading pictures of herself online. She refers to this as an act of “self-mutilation,” but it later backfires when a stalker makes advances towards her. Sakuta helps her escape, calls for Kunimi, and they go out to the beach, reaffirming their friendships to the other Futaba while enjoying a late-night together.
A cool summer’s night, a bag full of sparklers, and the moonlight sparkling on the water’s surface is the perfect atmosphere for a trio of friends to fool around together by the seaside, all of them forgetting the stresses and worries of everyday life. It’s truly a warm sight to behold and this allows Futaba’s other self to reconcile with her emotions.
The original Futaba later finds out about this event, and she retreats to the place where she finds comfort. During this night, a typhoon’s storm rages, forcing Sakuta to race around town to find Futaba alone in their classroom. This storm can be seen as a metaphor for Futaba’s mental state — Uneasy, dark, and heartbroken. She envies her other self for progressing faster with Kunimi, and she wants to disappear from this world. To reassure Futaba, Sakuta mentions that the friend group all has plans to meet at the train station to watch the fireworks — an event they used to do together in the past — and Sakuta wants Futaba to come. Notice how the roles are now reversed and inside the classroom where they first met, Sakuta reaches out to Futaba, returning the favor from when they first met.
After Sakuta’s collapse, Futaba is seen with him in the hospital, and he reaffirms to the original Futaba that, “It’s okay to hate yourself.” Hearing this gave her relief, and as she phones her other self, the two Futabas become one again, ending her Adolescence Syndrome event and the near-completion of her character arc.
When August 19th shows up, Futaba is seen wearing a Yukata and her glasses, a sign that she’s starting to feel comfortable in her own skin again. As the summer night colorfully glows from the festival’s firework show, Futaba confesses to Kunimi. Unaware of what to say, Futaba is okay with not hearing his answer, telling us that Futaba is content that Kunimi is happy in his relationship.
Futaba is the season of summer. Her relationship with her friends and most importantly, herself, mirrors the enjoyment of summer days and nights with the ones we cherish the most. Also, did you notice the festival attire at the end of the episode? Japanese summer festivals hold significant meaning, especially in the countryside, as festivals grant protection to a farmer’s crops from insects and extreme weather, such as floods and typhoons. The fact that Futaba’s character arc ends during a summer festival’s night and after a typhoon’s storm shows the audience that Futaba is starting to be at peace with herself. The summer festival and the previous typhoon are metaphors of Futaba’s mental state, protecting herself from the storms to come.
Nodoka Toyohama | The Season of Autumn
As we continue through life, we begin to grow out of our youth. Like the colorful autumn leaves, we shed away our childhood innocence as we march towards adulthood. Sometimes, we see the change in ourselves. Other times, we see that change in others. But no matter when it happens, we must accept that change within ourselves, even if it means toiling through it all.
Enter Nodoka Toyohama. She is the younger half-sister of Mai Sakurajima and an idol from the group, Sweet Bullet. As a child, Nodoka looked up to her Mai. When they first met, Nodoka’s eyes beamed with inspiration and curiosity, giving her someone to look up to as she started a pursuit into the spotlight. Time passed and Nodoka’s eyes, from a brown-ish color, turned into a blue hue, the same color as Mai’s eyes. Its Nodoka’s march towards adulthood.
However, it's more complicated than what meets the eye. Nodoka and Mai are half-sisters — and their mothers used both of them in their proxy war, trying to one-up the other. And as Nodoka grew older, she never got the love or affection she needed from her own mother, resulting in Adolescence Syndrome to happen.
Nodoka and Mai switch bodies, forcing them to adapt to each other’s daily life. Nodoka, currently in Mai’s body, sees how much pressure Mai actually has in her return debut into acting. We see this when Nodoka collapses during a commercial shoot. But what truly breaks Nodoka isn’t this — it is when Mai, in Nodoka’s body, performs at the Sweet Bullet concert. Later, Nodoka’s mother congratulates Mai and she envies this. Like Futaba’s P.S. episode, Nodoka wants to disappear from this world. Futaba had an inferiority complex with herself and Nodoka has an inferiority complex towards Mai. When she was about to drown herself, Sakuta stops her, revealing to Nodoka that Mai would be heartbroken if something were to happen to her.
To prove this, in a little box inside the cupboard, Sakuta shows Nodoka a collection of letters that Mai has kept since childhood. It’s revealed that these were Nodoka’s letters to Mai, showing us that Mai has treasured these throughout the years — her keepsakes of a little sister’s love. This kept Mai going during her struggles growing up. And with one last hug together, the sisters revert to their original bodies, ending Nodoka’s arc.
With the foliage of fall, trees withstand the harshness of winter cold and summer heat, growing back its leaves and then letting them go again. It’s a cycle and this can be connected to Nodoka. Nodoka is the season of autumn — her leaves representing the shedding away of childhood innocence. However, like the roots and trunk of a tree, she still keeps a part of herself, a foundation, to grow and persevere throughout the years. And she’s not alone: Mai, the season of spring, tells her, “Be happy on your own terms.” It’s with this reminder that Nodoka can be happy with herself, seeing that she has a sister that cherishes her, not for material worth, but for who she is. Without spring, there’s no growth. Without fall, there’s no trimming away at the parts you need to discard in order to grow into the person you need to become.
Kaede Azusagawa | The Season of Winter
The last season: The feeling of togetherness with family, being cozied up at home, and looking forward to the New Year, the future. This is the season of winter.
The Kaede we all know at the start of the series is the younger sister of Sakuta. Although having a phobia towards strangers, Kaede shows a kind, tender love towards her brother, Sakuta.
But before her amnesia and P.S. incident, Kaede was a social butterfly. She had a normal teenager's life. However, during her middle school years, some classmates showed some animosity towards Kaede, resulting in her being bullied to an extreme extent, to a point where her psychological pain transformed into physical pain on her body. Deep purple bruises and slashes showed up whenever she accumulated stress, overwhelming both her body and mind to a point where she lost all of her memories. This altered the relationship of her entire family, resulting in Sakuta and Kaede living separately from their parents.
Through it all, Kaede struggles and struggles. She is relearning who she was, what she liked, and the sudden shift of atmosphere and personality was a shock to Sakuta. The little sister he’s come to know for all his life was suddenly taken from him. This makes him stress out, resulting in him being admitted to the hospital due to scratches appearing on his body, too. This is known as the Hospitalization Incident, explained to Mai early in the series as the true premise behind the rumors.
Like the panda onesie she wears, Kaede became a homebody, preferring to be away from society. Yet, she was never truly alone — Sakuta stayed by her side. Through thick and thin, both sister and brother toiled through the physical pain P.S. forced onto them. Knowing she had someone by her side, Kaede slowly eased into achieving her goals. Like the promise of New Year’s Resolutions, Kaede had a list of goals to achieve, not only for herself but together with Sakuta.
The current Kaede knows that her brother regretted not helping the past Kaede when she was being bullied. She is also aware that the old Kaede could come back. Knowing this, she makes a set of goals for her brother and herself to achieve, in order to leave behind happy memories of the two that Sakuta could cherish. She knows she doesn’t have a lot of time left, yet she prays for just a little more to complete these goals. And she wholeheartedly does. Sakuta’s heartbroken that the Kaede he spent the last two years raising was gone. He went through the same experience twice of losing a sister, but he lost a different version of Kaede each time. Yet, Kaede, even without her past memories, leaves behind an existence that was nothing short of the feeling of family.
Kaede Azusagawa is the final season, winter. Her care and love for Sakuta goes beyond the warm fires, holidays, and winter festivals — It’s a warmth only achievable by family itself. Her existence was a miracle, a glimmer of hope during a dark time in her life where she shut out her mind in order to cope. Her list of goals to achieve was a metaphor for a New Year’s Resolution — promises to ourselves as we continue to grow and look forward to the future, not abandoning ourselves but seeing things through, even if there’s no such thing as a promise for tomorrow. Her existence was that of Yuki or “snow,” fragile and ultimately disappearing. But the word also has the meaning of hope, meaning that we should continue living, through all the changes and uncertainty, in order to have a meaningful life.
Afterword
This is a long piece but I hope you guys enjoyed your stay. Which season or character arc was your favorite? This was a long but fun project to pursue and being able to critique and make my own connections with films and anime makes the experience ten times better. I encourage you all to do the same and to find meaning, even in the little things. Planning on turning this into a video essay.
See you soon :))
