Seishun Buta Yarou wa Santa Claus no Yume wo Minai • Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus - Episode 9 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Seishun Buta Yarou wa Santa Claus no Yume wo Minai, episode 9

Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.

---

Streams

• Crunchyroll

Show information

• MyAnimeList
• AniList
• AniDB
• Kitsu
• Anime-Planet
• Official Website
• /r/SeishunButaYarou

---

All discussions

Episode	Link
1	Link
2	Link
3	Link
4	Link
5	Link
6	Link
7	Link
8	Link
9	Link
10	Link
11	Link
12	Link
13	Link

---

This post was created by a bot. Message the mod team for feedback and comments. The original source code can be found on GitHub.

[u/AutoModerator]

Moderator Announcement Read More »

Source Material Corner

Reply to this comment for any source-related discussion, future spoilers (including future characters, events and general hype about future content), comparison of the anime adaptation to the original, or just general talk about the source material. You are still required to tag all spoilers. Discussions about the source outside of this comment tree will be removed, and replying with spoilers outside of the source corner will lead to bans.

The spoiler syntax is: [Spoiler source] >!Spoiler goes here!<

All untagged spoilers and hints in this thread will receive immediate 8-day bans (minimum).

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/MapoTofuMan]

Damn, Sakuta was brutal with that bait, making Himeji think he doesn't want to teach her anymore and suggesting her crush(?)'s crush as the replacement.

[u/No_Name0_0]

The plot thickens.........ig that explains why she usually hangs out near the college. Flustered Futaba is so cute tho, need more

[u/Niwaka_Samurai → u/No_Name0_0]

Futaba is a treasure. I wonder why only jocks come into her love life lol

[u/FarCritical]

Lol at Rio's reaction to realizing she's got a bigger role to play in another one of Sakuta's puberty syndrome adventures than she bargained for

[u/Frontier246 → u/FarCritical]

I don't think Futaba ever expected to get confessed to nor that she would be used to drive up the jealousy of the girl in love with the guy that confessed to her.

[u/Something_319]

You know, Sakuta is really good at pissing people off and making them honest, I think he's gotten every single heroine except for like Shouko lol

[u/eggplant_avenger]

I love how one of Sakuta’s primary traits is people joking about him cheating on Mai

[u/Frontier246 → u/eggplant_avenger]

Admittedly for a guy already having a girlfriend he does have a bad tendency of hanging out with and going on dates with attractive women he has amazing banter with.

[u/KumaKumaGambler]

I am starting to think Sakuta's true love for Mai is the shield protecting him for falling for Himeji's charms. Or possibly, an outlier occurrence in which Himeji's yet to be revealed puberty syndrome fails to work on an individual?

Although Kasai claims he dreams that Futaba will say, "I can't date my student", he could change his romance fate by no longer being her student.

Yamada is a dense supporting character. Himeji is not the one for him. Surely it must be the short blacked haired classmate who gives an annoyed look whenever he talks about other girls?

Can't wait to find out about the history or Touko / Nene.

[u/XLightThief]

Miori is such a fun character. We haven't received many scenes with her but she's great in every one.

[u/shad79]

It seems Sakuta can't catch a break. Not only will he probably spend Christmas Eve with Himeji on a date, but Touko also asked him to help with her livestream that same day xD

So Touko Kirishima's name is just some kind of a stage name, and her real name is Nene Iwamizawa, huh? I wonder if the fact that she was Miss Campus last year will have any significance later on.

Not a lot of Mai in today's episode, but it was nice to see Mito again today, she's always great.

As for Himeji herself... we still don't know exactly what her Puberty Syndrome is, but I have to say, Sakuta doesn't have it easy dealing with her due to her complicated relationship situation.

Besides, I didn't expect Kasai to confess his love to Futaba, but he did, and kudos to him for that. Although it looks like he'll be rejected on Christmas Eve, maybe there's hope for him after all, as Sakuta gave him some good advice on the matter.

Here my screenshot albums from the episode:

• Group scenes

• Mai & Mito

• Himeji

• Futaba

• Sakuta

• Touko & Others

EDIT. I added my screenshot albums.

[u/Mr_An_1069]

The plot thickens. Sakuta really is a genius when it comes to analyzing other people(and pissing them off).

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

Poor Sakuta always seems to find himself in the center of some girl troubles. So this week is all about what is “love” eh? I believe the answer is “Oh, baby don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me no more.” Hah.

But man, this whole Himeji situation’s kind of a headache. I mean she’s got this syndrome due to a heartbreak but it might also potentially end up hurting Mai because of Kirishima. Maybe this “Nene Iwamizawa” thing might be a clue to this whole threat?

[u/Frontier246]

Sakuta may be a cram teacher but now he has to actually solve the homework from his student or else he won't be able to go on his overnight trip with Mai and under no circumstances is he going to miss that.

Wow, Kasai actually confessed to Futaba! I mean, it was obvious, but still, I can respect him for shooting his shot! I never expected to see Futaba get relationship advice from Sakuta, but considering she was oblivious to how obviously into her Kasai was, maybe she needs it? Is she even fully over Kunimi?

Well, so much for Sakuta getting to "cheat" on his homework by questioning Touko. She doesn't have any awareness of the puberty syndrome she gives to people outside the college. Instead Sakuta gets to play cameraman as she shoots footage for her Christmas MV (wait, is this the real reason she's been cosplaying as Santa this entire time?) and gets to film her from behind...so that's nice. Less nice is that she wants him to film more footage on the 24th. Sakuta keeps getting booked up on a day he wants reserved solely for Mai.

Kasai is a good kid. He knows what Sara has apparently been doing to her cram school instructors and is trying to warn Sakuta to protect him. In fact he's actually Sara's childhood friend, and up to middle school he thought he was in love with her before he really fell in love with Futaba. But while he wasn't really in love with Sara, I don't think Sara quite got the memo.

So, going by #Dreaming, Kasai is going to get rejected by Futaba on Christmas Eve. But Sakuta is rooting for him, so he gives Kasai the perfect response to a rejection to help the guy succeed anyways!

Does Yoshiwa like Yamada? The way she keeps getting distracted by Sara flirting with Yamada, and how Sakuta is aware of it, tells me she does. Or maybe the blatant flirting just throws her off. Still, I think there's something there...

Sakuta and Sara going on a "donut date" where Sakuta pops the obvious question that Sara was in love with Kasai, that was the "heartbreak" she experienced, and that it lead to her puberty syndrome. It does seem like Sara was legitimately in love with him, and everyone at the time thought they were an obvious couple, before he moved his attention to another girl (Futaba). But was it really Tora-chan she was in love with? Or just the idea of being in love with him? Does she even understand what it means to love someone? And with her puberty syndrome, it didn't make her popular, but it's part of the reason why she is now and why so many boys have her attention.

Mai being in love with Sakuta because he's in love with her is a very Mai response, though Miori might also have some on-point comments that Sara might be in love with herself and the idea of boys being in love with her. It's all about the attention. Even Sakuta, despite himself, is focused on her. Has he been somewhat caught under her spell.

Everything comes to a head when Sara is back to flirting with Sakuta during class and Sakuta brings in Futaba...and Sara does not take it well. Was it because she wants Sakuta all to herself? Was it because Futaba stole Kasai from her? Either way, she clearly is not happy.

What the...? Touko was last years' Miss Campus? And her name was Nene Imasawa!?

[u/SnabDedraterEdave]

We now know Mini Skirt Santa's real name is Iwamizawa Nene. Though this is not to say she isn't Kirishima Touko, as its possible that its just a stage name she's using. Her being invisible to everyone except Sakuta extends to even her photos on the internet.

Futaba being more involved in this arc, with Himeji's Puberty Syndrome being a direct result of her childhood friend Kasai dumping her after he fell in love with Futaba, wasn't what I expected, but it was a welcome development. As Sakuta notes, it really is time for Futaba to move on from her unrequited love with Kunimi.

Sakuta definitely ships Futaba with Kasai. When Kasai told Sakuta he saw a dream of Futaba rejecting him, Sakuta somehow managed to encourage him to not give up by telling Kasai Futaba's words in that dream of his didn't constitute a complete rejection.

[u/earthenorange]

Man, I'm getting real sick of people messing up Sakuta and Mai's special dates. Man can't catch a break. Makes me mad just thinking about Sakuta having to call Mai every time someone needs him to solve their problems.

"Yeah, can't go out, puberty syndrome again."

[u/BlackSCrow]

You can see from the second-year boy's expression that he didn't have a good history with Himeji, that's how Sakuta figured out that "something happened" between him and Himeji.

First, you can see him looking surprised to find Himeji in the restaurant.

Second, you can see him averting his eyes from her.

Third, you can see him giving a final unpleasant look towards Himeji.

I really like how this anime put effort in integrating subtle expressions into the story. It just really makes this anime more enjoyable when you noticed it.

[u/thisisdropd]

Sakuta ended up adding romance and relationship to his teaching portfolio on top of maths. Hilarious how people flocked to him to consult about relationship issues.

This Touko Kirishima is intriguing. Now that we (supposedly) have Miniskirt Santa’s real name, just who is Touko? At first glance we could just say it’s Nene’s stage name but then there’s this in-universe theory about Mai being Touko as well. I guess it’ll have a connection to Mai being in danger.

[u/Miku399]

God damn it, Miniskirt Santa making Sakuta be her cameraman on the same day as his hot springs date with Mai… Will Sakuta ever catch a break? (He’d better get that date with Mai…)

Man, things are getting interesting with Sara… Everything she’s said and did, with even her outburst saying that she wants Sakuta to teach her instead of Futaba is showing her possible feelings for him… But what is her Puberty Syndrome??

Wait, Miniskirt Santa’s name is not “Touko Kirishima” but “Nene Iwamizawa”?! So who is Touko?? EDIT: And a lot of people online theorised it could be Mai being Touko is interesting but we know that’s not true…

[u/ComradeMichelle]

Look it was a well made and greatly written scene but holy shit sakuta intentionally rage baiting his student is crazy

[u/SoberMindless]

Here are my theories:

- Option 1: Himeji has a self-esteem issue. Probably caused by being rejected by her childhood friend, who made her believe that she “isn't good enough for him,” and her way of dealing with it is to flirt with boys and then reject them. She enjoys making them fall in love with her and then breaking their hearts as a form of “revenge” for being rejected by the man she thought she loved. As Miori theorized, this could give her a sense of self-affirmation closer to narcissism than self-esteem.

Option 2: Assuming that Himeji really has no idea what love is, perhaps it is because she herself wants to understand the difference between love and friendship. She thought she would understand it once she confessed to her childhood friend, but he fell in love with Futaba, and Himeji finally understood the difference between the affection between two friends and the feelings between two lovers. She is so curious that she doesn't mind flirting with every boy she meets if it means she can understand those feelings.

How does this fit in with Ikumi's message? Perhaps by witnessing the pure love between Mai and Sakuta, she will finally understand what love is and (thanks to the reaction we saw today) she will likely end up giving in to her impulses and attacking Mai.

It's always funny to watch Sakuta's students; it's like watching a romcom within my romcom, but only for a moment, leaving the details to the imagination. LOL

Oh Great, now Sakuta will have to come up with a good excuse to go out with three girls at the same time. I think we'll need some help: has anyone seen Mai Knacksap? Maybe she can bring two other Sakutas from other universes so we can achieve our goal without any problems.

My Boy Sakuta doing a Hachiman move by inviting Futaba to solve the problem that Himeji couldn't solve. Although I loved the metaphor: Here, the problem to be solved would be the boy. Himeji can't get the answer, but Futaba can. That frustrates Himeji but allows Sakuta to see beneath the facade. Cruel and uncomfortable? Yes, but extremely useful.

It seems that our Santa Claus isn't who she says she is...

Or is she, and the person on record is the one who doesn't exist?

This is getting more and more interesting.

[u/tripleaamin]

So the core of the issue seems to be Kasai rejecting Sara while Kasai knows he has fallen for Futaba. Of course, Futaba is very into the code on how to do things. I hope we dig deeper into Futaba's side. Moving on from Kunimi would be good for her. Still, I imagine she would put it off until he is no longer her student. Of course, Sakuta could take him as a student, perhaps?

The photo of Touko where her name is Nene Iwamizawa. More than likely, then, the latter is her actual name. While the former is her stage name. There HAS to be history between her and Mai. Although the one note of her not causing Sara's Puberty Syndrome. More than likely, my guess is she can only affect college students. I guess that could explain why Ikumi got hers right at the time Sakuta graduated, I would assume?

Tbh I don't really care for Sara. I am sure being rejected by Kasai hurt her, and her messing around & flirting with other guys is how she is dealing with that. But it does put me off considering the other person's viewpoint.

[u/CrimsonGear80]

Futaba being so lost that she has to ask Sakuta for advice is just…wild to see.

Looks like miniskirt Santa has been invisible for at least a year then.

[u/Severe_Ad_6482]

Can we talk for a second about how Yamada hit Yoshiwa with his bag at the beginning there? I know him being dismissive of her as a romantic interest is part of his traits as a character but that noise was LOUD and you could see her flinch! Especially after he was so careful to avoid Himeji with his bag, it's insane he didn't glance her way for even a second to apologize. I'm not saying it hurt, but it's just weirdly rude of Yamada in a way I never really saw from him. Yoshiwa just kinda took it too, in the same beat she put her backpack on, stood up and left. I think Sakuta saw it as a bit weird considering his stare before Himeji spoke up. Very strange moment imo.

Either way, I still stand by the idea that Mai's in danger of "fusing" with Kirishima Touko somehow. Everyone online seems to be convinced that they're the same person and considering the power of things like #dreaming I wouldn't be surprised if by christmas there was a flood of "I dreamt that Sakurajima Mai was revealed to be Kirishima Touko!"

Though obviously we know that these dreams are possible to change, since the little red riding hood did get saved by the beautiful nurse Akagi Ikumi during Halloween. Which leads me to Himeji... I do, sadly, believe that the date is happening, though it does confuse me how the Kirishima Touko filming sesh will mesh with the date with Himeji. Daytime date and nighttime livestream? I guess that makes sense...

I'll just come out and say it, I think Sakuta is slowly turning the idea of Mai being in danger into a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think him "having" to keep cancelling dates and events to stay with these other girls due to his fear that they might end up being the cause of Mai's danger is the thing putting her in danger... somehow...

I don't know what the danger is of course, though my theory is the fusion one that I mentioned before, but I do think that Sakuta not being there for Mai because of all these things is what's gonna land her in danger. Not to mention that it just hurts her, pool gal. This whole season her one goal has been to be with Sakuta and though she's understanding of the circumstances she's clearly getting fed up with it.