And so the review wars begin. Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai is one of the few anime I've finished in recent years, and it's for a good reason that I feel many MAL users and reviewers have missed.
Spoilers. Duh.
On the surface, this show is a sort of mix of OreGairu and the Monogatari series, borrowing a number of aspects from both. Some seem to make these similarities out as a problem, which I find utterly ridiculous. All art is derivative, and Bunny Girl is nowhere near similar enough to another series to be considered a rip-off.
Bunny Girl
...
is a layered, and surprisingly nuanced experience, which is NOT to be taken at face value. Many of the complaints I've seen about the show claim that it doesn't make any sense, or that its "supernatural" elements aren't realistic enough. I think the most important thing to understand about Bunny Girl is that it doesn't take place in the real world, and it's not trying to be a complicated, believable work of science fiction. The supernatural elements don't need to make sense, as they aren't meant to. The majority of the show's plot elements are symbolic and combine to create a much more cohesive thematic work. I'd like to begin by speaking about the so-called supernatural plot, and the way Futaba is used in its context.
The afflictions that various characters suffer from are not real. They are rather visualizations of the characters' mental states and difficulties and are visible to the other characters because they are involved in their plights. No, Mai is not actually a goddamn invisible superhero. It's because of her exit from the modeling limelight, which has caused a sort of dissociation and resulted in her FEELING invisible to those around her. The show exaggerates this for dramatic effect because there isn't much of a story without it, but regardless, the idea is sound, and this extends to the other characters. There are some exceptions, of course, as it can be assumed that Kaede actually does suffer from a dissociative disorder of sorts, which isn't unexpected given her circumstances. The cuts all over her body, however, can absolutely be called symbolic, metaphorical, or whatever other pretentious label you want. The point is, the show's got depth. Not absolutely everything needs to be taken entirely at face value, as I've seen so many do on the reviews for this show.
This brings me to Futaba, as I've seen many criticize her various musings about the potential causes of characters' afflictions. Just about everything she says is complete, unfettered bullshit, and it's 100% intentional. The suffering of the characters can't just be boiled down to random philosophical concepts. Hell, sometimes the things Futaba says are so absurd and unrelated she could be considered comic relief. The audience is not supposed to take her explanations as gospel. The intent is for the audience to see through her pseudo-scientific crap and understand the teenagers' problems for what they really are: real, modern, and human struggles that can't be pinned down by a 19th century thought experiment.
I think the protagonist, Sakuta, is also worth mentioning, as though he is something of a trope, I believe he is executed pretty well. He is quite similar to characters like Hikigaya Hachiman or Araragi, but I don't really think there's much of a problem with it. He fits perfectly well into the story, and his unending self-sacrificial tendencies are expressed physically in a giant fucking wound on his chest, that bleeds when he can't help others. Additionally, he isn't just the white knight that many make him out to be, as he undergrows a great deal of growth and maturation throughout the show. I'll admit I was genuinely surprised that instead of trying to restore Kaede to her braindead self, he accepted that she needed to be her own person and left it alone. Additionally, the character of Makinohara is essentially the physical manifestation of Sakuta's maturity, changing in age and providing him goals and insight into himself and the world around him. She's there when he needs to grow, and disappears once he fully comes into his own. I suppose you could call her a Deus Ex Machina, but I think her sole existence as a metaphor justifies her inclusion.
For those of you that have trashed on the show, dropped it, or whatever else, I highly encourage you to give it another try keeping in mind some of the things I've said here. It's exceedingly rare that an anime with this amount of heart and nuance comes out, particularly in the Rom Com genre, and I really do believe it deserves a fair chance. And for those of you who haven't seen it, give it a watch. It's not perfect, but it has quickly become a personal favorite, and not only did I thoroughly enjoy it, but I genuinely took things away from it, and that's the absolute best effect a work of art can have.
Dec 28, 2018
And so the review wars begin. Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai is one of the few anime I've finished in recent years, and it's for a good reason that I feel many MAL users and reviewers have missed.
Spoilers. Duh. On the surface, this show is a sort of mix of OreGairu and the Monogatari series, borrowing a number of aspects from both. Some seem to make these similarities out as a problem, which I find utterly ridiculous. All art is derivative, and Bunny Girl is nowhere near similar enough to another series to be considered a rip-off. Bunny Girl ... |
