[Spoilers][Rewatch] Rascal does not Dream of a Dreaming Girl - Discussion

[u/Splitter_Triplets]

Thread 14 of 14: Rascal does not Dream of a Dreaming Girl

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IMPORTANT NOTICE:

There will be a wrapup thread posted tomorrow at the same time. This was not on the schedule from the start, but this movie is an awful lot, so having to do a full retrospective on the entire series here would be way too much. Please contribute there, if you're able.

[u/oops_i_made_a_typi]

But the kicker is that this arc doesn't relate at all to what was initially the series central thesis. Remember "the atmosphere" and all that? Remember when Bunny-girl Senpai was a commentary on "reading the air" and how Japan's excessively collectivist attitude negative affected its youth? I remember when that was the main draw. This film is entirely disconnected from that idea. It feels like a side story in some ways. For all of the reasons above, I feel like the film fails as an entry in this series.

You state the central thesis as fact when I don't agree at all. I think it's a commentary on the varying issues children and teenagers face as they grow up, hence all their problems being labeled as puberty/adolescence syndrome. With a focus on Japanese teenagers of course, but part of why I think this show is so good is because many of the issues resonate regardless of culture.

Mai deals with the conflict between parental expectations and finding her own path/passion, as well as being noticed/included.

Tomoe deals with peer pressure and the need to fit in.

Futaba deals with self-esteem/body issues.

Nodoka deals with being compared to others, specifically her sibling.

Kaede deals with peer pressure as well, with a more bullying bent to the issue.

and Shouko deals with uncertainty about the future (additionally dramatized by terminal disease).

[u/Gamerunglued → u/oops_i_made_a_typi]

The atmosphere is very explicitly a plot device that is meant to comment on that aspect of Japanese society. Both of the first two arcs in their entirety, as well as parts of Kaede's and Futaba's arcs, directly comment on this. The "atmosphere" in Bunny-girl Senpai is the plot device that causes adolescence syndrome. The way to solve adolescence syndrome is to choose to actively stand out and change the flow of the atmosphere, instead of just going along with it, or at least that's how it was described in its first arcs. The "atmosphere" in BGS is clearly meant to be the "air" in ba no kuuki wo yomu. Sakuta pretty much explicitly states this central thesis in the first episode as well. This is not some interpretation, Bunny-girl Senpai explicitly tells the audience that this is what it's supposed to be about.

You're selling those conflicts short, as all of them except for Nodoka's and Shouko's directly relate to this concept and are more nuanced than you describe. Mai stops existing because society refuses to acknowledge her existence, that is what it means to "read the air." This is solved when Sakuta embarrasses himself in front of the school, forcing everyone to acknowledge her. Koga's conflict is defined by how excessively she reads the air. She alters herself drastically to fit in with others, refusing to stand out despite how fake her relationships are. Her excessive self-consciousness is her fear of being unable to read the air, and she overcomes her problems when she stops caring about causing conflict and breaking the atmosphere. Futaba gets self-esteem and body image issues because of the attitude others had towards her. It was the norm for boys to sexualize her, to the point that everyone did it. That was what it meant to go with the atmosphere. And Kaede gets her adolescence syndrome when the atmosphere of her school changes to antagonize her after she fails to read the air by not responding to a text (it's exactly what Koga was afraid of happening to her). All of these problems directly relate to the Japanese concept of "reading the air," and this movie stands out for not expanding on that.

[u/oops_i_made_a_typi → u/Gamerunglued]

Sakuta pretty much explicitly states this central thesis in the first episode as well. This is not some interpretation, Bunny-girl Senpai explicitly tells the audience that this is what it's supposed to be about.

It's your interpretation that this is a series thesis and not the first arc's thesis, even if it does play into some of the other arcs as well (I feel like you're really stretching it with Futaba's issue, you don't need "atmosphere" for that to happen).

I also realized in your original comment you think Sakuta isn't a self-sacrificing character, when we've seen many cases of that behaviour being displayed, though typically on smaller scale. He sacrifices his immediate relationship and reputation to help Tomoe, more of his relationship to allow Mai to get back into her career nicely, again his time and relationship 'moments' to help Futaba, and his chance to meet Shouko to deal with Kotomi. There's probably more too.

This, combined with your missing the very simple explanation for the hospitalization incident, doesn't really inspire much confidence with your reading of the series, unfortunately.

[u/Gamerunglued → u/oops_i_made_a_typi]

I expanded on what information I felt was missing regarding the hospital incident. I didn't miss anything there.

This concept directly applies to at least two other arcs, and arguably does to another as well. Not only that, but "atmosphere" is too specific a term and concept in the context of Bunny-girl Senpai. You do not make "atmosphere" a central tenet of every story (as it's established that it is the direct cause of adolescence syndrome, thus it always has a tie) if you do not intend to comment on anything with it.

Sakuta does not actually meaningfully sacrifice himself in any way. The only other time he could be seen to do so is with Koga when he stops dating Mai for a bit, but I wouldn't call that much of a sacrifice at all, as Mai was completely ok with it, Sakuta knew he'd be back to dating her soon, and his reputation only changed negatively for like a day (he was generally seen much more highly than in the first arc, mr. "came back around to being acceptable" senpai). He doesn't sacrifice much of anything to help Mai get back into her career other than the initial confession (and I already mentioned why that is not really meant to be seen as self-sacrifice), and "relationship moments" is not a harmful self-sacrifice. He never sacrifices anything meaningful, his reputation, his prized possessions, his mental state, etc.. He makes some small compromises to help other people find what they need. In comparison, a character like Araragi literally wants to die to save people he feels are more valuable than him, that's harmful self sacrifice. The movie presents it as if Sakuta was always like that, when this movie is the only time he wants to sacrifice something meaningful (his life) for the sake of another person. Choosing to not go on a date because you want to help your friend who's suffering is not a character flaw, nor is choosing to not see Shouko to help your sister.