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「ブタ野郎には明日がない」 (Buta Yarou ni wa Ashita ga Nai)
“There Is No Tomorrow for a Rascal”
To kick off the new arc, we’re building off of the foundation created from Futaba’s lesson on the theory of Laplace’s demon in which someone holds the key to knowing the mechanisms behind every atom. But instead of it unlocking the secrets behind the Adolescence Syndrome as a whole, it gives Sakuta a clue on who is causing him to get stuck in a time loop. However, your mileage will vary on whether you appreciate that the only person that can get Sakuta out of this time loop is Koga, and she’s looking to capitalize off of a misunderstanding to date him.
One fear that new-timers to the series have is whether Mai will be phased out in favor of every arc’s newest girl. While she shows up at the end to possibly play a larger role in Sakuta’s new dilemma in having to fake a relationship with Koga now that the school thinks they broke up, the fact that a misunderstanding occurred regardless does not give Mai a vote of confidence. Admittedly, I am biased in disliking misunderstandings in their entirety, and the fact that Mai automatically walks away from Sakuta under the assumption that Koga following over him was proof of infidelity did little to convince me not to get frustrated about the twist of events. It certainly doesn’t help that Koga is gung-ho about their “break-up” because that means she can try to convince him to play along with the rumors by dating her.
The impact of Sakuta’s new predicament, while irritating, is still brought out because of how effective the story shows the chemistry Sakuta and Mai have. With their lunchtime banter, it definitely brought out cuter moments where they agreed to go out at some point soon until she’ll reciprocate Sakuta’s confession. It was funny to see Sakuta holding out for Friday to repeat only to move onto the next day where Mai is upset at him, and the revelation that Futaba is a student that has a crush on Kunimi was a humorous development too. At the same time, Sakuta didn’t seem quick enough to try to reach out to her to explain himself, especially considering how quick Koga was able to capitalize off of the rumors. Luckily, Mai hasn’t been completely discarded since she should be playing a larger role given that she’s still willing to visit him and hear him out on why he didn’t explain himself, so it’s not like this is the end of their relationship altogether. However, I can’t say I’m excited to see an arc where Sakuta is stuck in a fake relationship with Koga because her plight reminded him vaguely of her sister.
Aside from the relationship drama, it’s also important to explore Laplace’s demon. Whereas the Schrodinger’s cat theory felt oddly lumped into the previous arc, Laplace’s demon is integrated into the story to look into the structural composition of past, present, and future. If the present is seen as the effect of the past and the cause of the future, then the wheels may already be set in motion for a certain future to happen based on one intellect or formula that knows how every atom will fall into place. As with Schrodinger’s cat, it simplifies the process by linking the current syndrome’s effect to the idea that there must be a way out of Sakuta’s time-loop because there is a series of events that must fall into place for reality to shift back into normalcy. By finding the correct pattern of behavior/actions to trigger the next day, every atom is shifted towards the correct direction, allowing for time to pass naturally and for events to unfold as the universe will allow it. Does this explain anything about Adolescence Syndrome? Considering that it would only apply towards Koga’s syndrome as the barrier that prevents time from moving naturally past the next day until the correct shift in public opinion and her subconsciousness occurs, different theories are situational to different cases. Taking the Bakemonogatari parallels further, you could probably call this arc “Koga Demon” and the last arc “Mai Cat” to differentiate which theories are the most relevant in determining which is the most relevant theory to follow as a guide into how Sakuta would need to resolve a specific case. Off of this logic, Adolescence Syndrome appears to change its rhyme, reason, and mechanics with a specific guideline depending on who its target is, and the only constant is how it all ties into public perception. How Koga’s emotions and feelings about dating end up allowing time to progress will be interesting to look into, but it will also have to keep in mind how theming each syndrome behind a theory will be relevant to the case. With such a broad principle like using determinism as a means of figuring out that every action has a predictive reaction, Sakuta will just have to guess the right action to let time calculate the right outcome for the present to get back on track with the future.
ED2 Sequence
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Preview
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“One fear that new-timers to the series have is whether Mai will be phased out in favor of every arc’s newest girl.”
It seems that Bunny-gatari is following the format that Monogatari is following. The main girl takes a back seat for the other arcs yet having some role in all the arcs one way or another.
Personally this show is Monogatari Lite for me. I got no complaints about that.
Or Bakemonogatari if they had a bigger animation budget with less surreal animation. (Granted, surreal animation is part of Studio Shaft’s charm.)
I don’t know what to feel about this arc. On one hand, Sakuta and Mai’s interactions are still carrying the show. On the other, the (should I say) Ground Hog Day trope feels off, IMO. And I think the main reason for that has to be this arc’s central character.
I understand where Tomoe is coming from, I really do. But that doesn’t mean she can have my sympathy. It’s just that her personal problem doesn’t feel like it has the same amount of impact as Mai’s or even Sakuta’s sister’s, and so when she asks Sakuta to “date” her just to avoid some guy she doesn’t like while also not wanting to be alone, all because it’s “embarrassing” to be alone, I just can’t help myself but to not root for her. Maybe this is just me thinking like an adult, but it’s still a feeling that I cannot change at the moment. And in turn, it makes Sakuta’s dilemma of having to choose between really being with Mai or fake being with Tomoe feel unearned.
Perhaps it’s still early to be saying all this, but I figured I had to get it out.
Such is relationships there is this delicate balance where a misunderstanding can creat a rift. I am hopeful of Mai and Sakuta but, their relationship is last arc. The treasure of this Anime is Sakuta solving various issues from different maidens which I find interesting just like monogatari with out the disorganized time line.
On that note I hope there is an arc for little miss chemist:
https://randomc.net/image/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2024.jpg
Well then you will be delighted that
Show Spoiler ▼
Feel like they wanted to copy Bakemonogatari relationship-wise, but chickened out and made this awkward situation where pride and misunderstandings and other hijinx result in romantic ambiguity.
I kinda wish more LNs would embrace harems beside the “magical school battle harem” genre. This new heroine doesn’t measure up to Mai, so it’s not like I appreciate the competition… Still, it was a fun episode.
https://randomc.net/image/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2010.jpg
Lol he trying every choice on VN.
So this kouhai causes an Endless Eight wannabe, then manages to break the loop but at the cost of Sakuta’s relationship upgrade. Next she follows him at his workplace, then wants a Nisekoi just to preserve her social standing in class? No sympathy from me.
Suzumiya Haruhi reference nice.
“Let’s put a gimmick in this to make it different, but let’s keep all the common places and clichés.”
Brilliant.
There’s no doubt what Koga is asking is selfish. Yet, for a common high school teenager “small” problems like that may feel like impending doom. I think Sakuta chosing to help her is in-character, since he’s not acting only out of pity. Not helping her may have negative consequences for him, courtesy of the Adolescence Syndrome, and he certainly doesn’t want to be stuck in a loop again.
not enjoying the lack of mai, hope she gets more screentime in the future
https://randomc.net/image/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2010.jpg
<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3
“Kyon-kun, denwa.”
“Dormammu, I’ve come to bargain!”
Glad it didn’t take eight episodes before time could move forward again.
https://randomc.net/image/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2019.jpg
Ah, the good old “Not what it looks like” scenario…
https://randomc.net/image/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai/Seishun%20Buta%20Yarou%20wa%20Bunny%20Girl%20Senpai%20no%20Yume%20wo%20Minai%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2020.jpg
…multiplied by 2. XD
So far, Mai still seems to be safe as the show’s “best (bunny)girl,” especially with that scene of her visiting Sakuta’s place. Unless Tomoe reveals a backstory that successfully elicits Sakuta’s–and the audience’s–sympathy in the next episode.