On a day like any other, Sakuta is in the library, and there he spots a wild bunny girl. This wild bunny girl, or rather, Mai Sakurajima, a semi-retired actress dressed like a bunny girl, catches no one else’s eye. In fact, Sakuta seems to be the only one that can see her on that day and on many other days. This phenomenon, called Puberty Syndrome, is rumored on the internet. As Sakuta decides to solve the mystery, he grows closer to Mai and other girls that suffer the same malady.
Don’t judge an anime by its name should be said about this show. It is a bit harem-esque, certainly, but also a nice slow burn romance. If you are looking for similar anime recommendations, then give these try.
Anime Like Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
For Fans of Slow Romance
Golden Time
Banri Tada has finally been accepted into a private law academy in Tokyo, but due to an accident, he is without all his memories. During his freshmen orientation, he meets Mitsuo Yanagisawa who is consummately stalked by Kouko Kaga, a girl from his old school. Banri begins to hit it off with both of them. As they spend more time together, their fates seem intertwined, but for better or worse?
In both of these romance-oriented series, there is a mystery afoot. One that seems somewhat normal, but also a little supernatural. They are romantic comedies, to be certain, but not quite the normal romantic comedy you are use to. It is this taste of mystery that makes them refreshing to watch.
Love, Chunibyou, and Other Delusions
Everyone has that stage in their life where they think themselves special, different from mere humans. This phenomenon is called Chunibyou Syndrome and most common in pre-pubescent children. In middle school, Yuuta Togashi thought himself the Dark Flame Master. He has since grown out of it upon entering high school and looks back at those cringe-worthy times with displeasure. Unfortunately, after a chance meeting with Rikka Takanashi, a girl believing to have a God in her eye, she attaches herself to him and brings that Chunibyou past back out.
Like stories about kind of strange girls with strange possibly mental afflictions? Well, Chunibyou is really a must watch. Like Bunny Senpai, it is a show about a condition that sets in at puberty and makes young kids act hella strange.
Re:Zero
When Subaru Natsuki goes out for a midnight snack run, he suddenly finds himself transported to another world. As a bewildered teen in a land of swords and magic, he wanders around and ends up attacked by thugs. After being saved by a mysterious woman, he agrees to help her get back something that was stolen. Unfortunately, it ends in both their deaths. With his dying breath, he finds that he possesses the power of revival, escaping his death by the repeating the last few hours.
Though both shows have their own settings, they share the same theme. Both of these anime series are about a boy falling for a girl rather quickly. Due to this, he then decides to save her from the issues that she has going on around her.
For Fans of Invisible Girls
Another
Ever since 1972, class 3-3 in Yomiyama North Middle School has had a strange tradition of pretending that one of their students did not exist. When Kouichi Sakakubara transfers into the class, he finds himself drawn to a girl that no one seems to notice. Not paying heed to the warnings of his classmates, all hell is about to break loose.
Another and Bunny Senpai, surprisingly, start off similar. Yes, Another is of the horror genre, but both shows start off with a boy noticing a girl that no one else can see. The difference is that while Another has its supernatural element, invisibility isn’t really part of that. Despite also being horror, Another is about falling in love as well, just more gruesome.
Charlotte
Yuu Otosaka has the ability to slip into other people’s mind and control them for five seconds at a time. He has been using it to get good grades, but after he is caught by the enigmatic Nao Tomori, he is forced to transfer to a special school to safeguard children with these powers from discovery. At this supernatural new school, he is forced to join the Student Council where he uses his powers to hunt down other young people who are using and abusing their own powers.
As well as having a girl that can go invisible, both shows are tied together by various supernatural phenomenon, but it not quite people shooting fire from their finger tips. No, it is more low-key in both shows to the point where you could almost believe it.
Clannad
Tomoya Okazaki is a delinquent who finds everything dull and believes he will never amount to anything. That is, until a girl named Nagisa catches his eye one day on his way to school. Suddenly, Tomoya begins to notice Nagisa more and more. She is sickly and weak, but she always tries her best in order to follow her dream of reviving the school’s drama club. Claiming he has nothing better to do, he decides to help Nagisa, and along the way ends up helping several other girls and potential drama club members. However, as he learns more about the girls and helps them overcome their problems, he might just be able to overcome his own as well.
In both shows, you will encounter characters that are or slowly become invisible for various reasons. However, both shows also feature a main male character that ends up helping a small harem’s worth of women damaged in their own special ways.
For Fans of Sassy Girls
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU
Hachiman Hikigaya firmly believes that a joyful youth is something that people make up just to lie to themselves. After writing an essay criticizing relationships, he is forced to join the Volunteer Service Club that is aimed at helping others solve their problems. With the only other member being the icy Yukino Yukinoshita, they use their wits and cold views on society to help others.
While Bunny Senpai has a supernatural element to it that it doesn’t share with SNAFU, the similarities lie in the main character. In both shows you have main characters with similar levels of snark and main females that are of what one would call an elevated class. Both shows are also about helping people as well, in all technicality.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Kyon had long given up on his belief in the supernatural until he meets Haruhi Suzumiya. Haruhi, a strange girl in her own right, is interested in all things supernatural, but laments the lack of intriguing clubs on campus. Kyon, however, inspires her to create her own club, and thus, the SOS Brigade is born. Unfortunately for Kyon, he is also roped into joining this new club dedicated to all things supernatural.
At a glance, it seems the biggest similarity here is that Haruhi has the occasional bunny girl as well. While this is true, they are actually quite similar in the fact that they are very slow love stories about girls that definitely aren’t normal.
Bakemonogatari
After surviving a vampire attack, high school student Koyomi Araragi finds he has several supernatural side effects that remained after being cured including the ability to rapidly heal. While trying to live a normal life after the event, he ends up catching a classmate, Hitagi Senjougahara, as she fell down some stairs. As he catches her, he discovers that she is near weightless after being inflicted with a curse. After enlisting the help of the easy-going wandering Shinto priest that helped him with his vampirism, Araragi finds himself embroiled in not just Senjogahara’s issue but several different supernatural events afflicting those in his town.
While Bunny Senpai isn’t as supernatural as anime can get, if you crave more strange girls with supernatural afflictions, they are thoroughly explored in the Monogatari series. It is literally jam-packed with them.
If you have more anime recommendations like Bunny Senpai, let fans know in the comments section below.
