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Bunny Girl Senpai, for as ridiculous as its title might imply that it is, is actually one of the better shows I’ve seen in a while. It’s writing is genuinely interesting and engaging, and it’s characters, while somewhat archetypical to the Slice of Life genre, have more than enough personality on their own to be story centers. It also happens to get a lot right about being a teenager in the modern world.

One of the main things that it gets right is the stress of insecurity. As a teenager, sometimes it really does feel like the world out to get you, and that every minor inconvenience can be catastrophic because teenagers often care way too much. This can be seen clearly in the first arc of the show with Mai. Mai’s fear of being forgotten and not having enough attention manifests when almost everyone eventually forgets her, including Sakuta. Sure, Puberty Syndrome isn’t actually real, but that’s also kind of the point.

Puberty Syndrome as a storytelling mechanic is meant to show the exaggerated worry of teenagers in real life. Everyone has a different internal fear that manifests as something different.

The other major thing it gets right about being a teenager is relationships. Whether they be casual friendships or romantic endeavors, almost every relationship in high school is important. The friend groups teenagers form in high school are often people they see every day and are likely to spend time out of school with. In Bunny Girl Senpai, Sakuta shows this extremely well. As was shown in one of the last few episodes, Sakuta has been friends with Futaba and Kunimi since middle school, and their friendship has remained strong throughout high school.

Friendships with females can also become more complicated. Speaking from a lot of personal experience, I had many female friends that I was interested in dating because a lot of them were super cool. Sure, a lot of it probably had to do with hormones, but nevertheless, the feelings remained there. Those types of feelings can also be seen in the show’s second arc, in which Tomoe must pretend to be Sakuta’s girlfriend for almost a whole month, and ends up falling in love with him. Proximity to others can have a deep effect on how teenagers, and people in general, feel about each other, because the more you hang out with someone, the more you come to understand and appreciate certain things about them.

There are also a few details that feel a lot more accurate because of the technology available in 2018. One great example in Bunny Girl Senpai is when Tomoe is studying in her room but then pulls out her phone to watch a video on YouTube only to have an ad playing that features Mai. Seeing Mai then reminds Tomoe of her fake relationship with Sakuta. A small detail such as that, while not adding much on its own, does help with the atmosphere of the show.

At the end of the day, Bunny Girl Senpai is a Supernatural Slice of Life series so a lot of its events can be classified as unrealistic. However, in order to have a good Supernatural show, it does need to be based at least somewhat in reality, and Bunny Girl Senpai has that more than covered.

What do you guys think of Bunny Girl Senpai? Has the show been relatable to you in some way? Let me know in the comments below. Also, if you want to support the Aniwriter through donations or are just feeling generous, consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. Otherwise, thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!