Siblings in Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

It's National Siblings Day!!

I've actually been wanting to write a blog post on Nodoka's arc from Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai for awhile now. It was the arc from that series that meant the most to me and National Siblings Day seems like a good time to highlight it.

But the more I thought about why I enjoyed Nodoka's arc, I realized that I didn't want to just summarize and analyze her it. I really just wanted to write about Nodoka and Mai's relationship and how I found it similar to my own relationship with my siblings.

As soon as Nodoka is introduced in Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai it is apparent that Mai and Nodoka aren't exactly close. They're half sisters and almost like rivals. Nodoka is an idol who wants to be just as popular and successful as her older actress sister. 

In Nodoka's arc, the two sisters literally switch places and try to live in the other's shoes. At first Nodoka doesn't think that she's capable of taking Mai's place. Her image of Mai is that she's more popular and more talented then she is in reality. Nodoka is also devastated to see that Mai is seemingly better at being Nodoka than herself.

Nodoka convinces herself that she'll never be good enough and that Mai could do without a little sister. That's when she's shown how much Mai has loved her. When Nodoka was a little girl, she would write letters of praise and love to Mai, and Mai kept all of them. It meant a lot that her little sister was somewhere happy and proud.

I have two younger siblings and they probably mean more to me than anyone. I didn't really grow up with friends and I guess some might say that I was lonely. But I always had my brother and sister. We grew up together, played games together, and watched cartoons and TV together. I was far from lonely.

Even though we're all young adults now and have our own interests and goals, we're still close. We might not say "I love you" and hug all the time, but we know that we're important to each other. Even if we tick each other off and get frustrated with one another, we never go out of our way to hurt each other or be cruel. 

Mai is a celebrity with countless fans who adore her. But they really don't matter to her compared to her little sister. It doesn't matter to me what I accomplish or how many friends I make, my siblings will always be more important to me.

But then there's another aspect of Mai and Nodoka's relationship that resonated with me, and that's that they're half-sisters. I mentioned that I have two younger siblings, but I also have an older half-sister. 

Like Mai and Nodoka, my older sister and I also happen to be pretty distant. Not only do we live in different cities, but there is a significant age difference between us. But despite that distance, we're still siblings and I love my older sister just as much as my younger siblings.

Though there are moments where I compare myself to her like Nodoka does to Mai. No matter what I accomplish, I sometimes look to my older sister and get a little jealous. To me, it seems like she has her life figured out while I'm still struggling. Of course, that's me on the outside looking in. But even though I may feel a little jealous, I love her and I want to one day be like her.

Anime is great because it can really put things into perspective. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai reminded me how important my family, specifically my siblings, are to me. I love them. So for this National Siblings Day, remember to show your siblings some love.