Among the many high-profile anime series that have debuted in the new season is Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus (Japanese title: Seishun Buta Yarou wa Santa Claus no Yume wo Minai). It’s a continuation of the popular Seishun Buta Yarou series that made a huge splash back in 2018. Now, everything that made fans fall in love with the show is back!
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It’s Great Having New Seishun Buta Yarou to Enjoy!
The story jumps several years into the future, when Sakuta and Mai Sakurajima are attending university together. As usual, she’s busy with her modeling career, and he’s busy helping all the cute girls around him overcome various supernatural Puberty Syndrome challenges. This time, the action surrounds a mysterious “mini-skirt Santa” girl who claims to be a popular singer named Touko Kirishima, who only Sakuta can see. The anime series adapts volumes 10-13 of the light novels by Hajime Kamoshida.
It’s great having all the girls back. Mai Sakurajima, the most beautiful girlfriend in the universe. Little sister Kaede. Deadpan science girl Rio Futaba. Mai’s half-sister Nodoka. Snarky Tomoe Koga. They’re all back, with lots of new girls, too!
Why can’t anime fans stop thinking about Marin Kitagawa? Read my review of My Dress-Up Darling 2 here!
Why Has the Rascal Does Not Dream Series Been So Successful?
It’s hard to say why the Seishun Buta Yarou series has been such an unqualified hit, hitting all the right notes with fans right from the start. Some reasons might include:
- The mechanic of “the snarky MC needs to help a bunch of girls with their supernatural issues so he can get back to dating his straight-haired kuudere girlfriend,” which feels like it was borrowed from Monogatari Series, is obviously enjoyable for fans to watch.
- Sakuta, as a main character, is quite unique: he’s supportive and helpful towards the girls who need his help, yet he wants nothing more than to be sandwiched by Mai’s thighs. As do we all.
- Mai Sakurajima is an S-rank girlfriend who immediately won the hearts of all viewers.
- The structure is part of its success. I’ve written before about how anime avoids classic story structures like the overused Hollywood three-act story arc system — well, all except for Your Name, the most profitable anime movie in history — which is perfectly fine. But the way the story arcs inside the wider Seishun Buta Yarou series functions, each focusing on a different girl and her unique supernatural issue, is quite relaxing to watch unfold.
Seishun Buta Yarou is Truly an Amazing Achievement
It’s been great to see this anime get tons of support from Kadokawa and Aniplex. Assuming things keep going as they’re going, we should have a good shot at seeing the entire Seishun Buta Yarou series get animated, in TV series or movie format.
This is quite an achievement. We can all name dozens or hundreds of anime series that only got one or two seasons, animating just a tiny slice of the original works. It’s so common to have stories cut off in the middle, with creators basically saying, “If you want to know which girl wins in the end, read the manga or light novels!” Only a few series — Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Fruits Basket 2019, Kanon 2006, Clannad + Clannad After Story, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU — can boast to have gotten their entire stories animated in such a gorgeous fashion. And fans who have properly followed along will really be happy when the story gets concluded!
Thanks for reading this blog post about the new Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus series. Are you excited to see the return of Sakuta and his wonderful harem of cute girls? Tell us in the comments below!
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Happy New Year from your Friend in Japan, J-List! We hope 2026 is a year of happiness and peace for you. To get things off right, we’re having a huge site-wide New Year’s Sale through Jan. 6, giving you $15 off all in-stock products. Start browsing now!
