The Rascal Does Not Dream anime is set to return to our screens this summer for a new TV season, after several novels being adapted in film form (which are sadly not available in the UK). In the meantime, the original light novels have reached their conclusion in Japan, and Yen Press is likewise approaching the end, so what better time to return to the series and find out what awaits our protagonist?

The previous entry, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out, followed Sakuta’s little sister Kaede, who was starting to figure out her plans for high school and work through her trauma. And with Sakuta quickly approaching college while Mai has already graduated, it feels like Rascal Does Not Dream is approaching the end of an era and is preparing itself to move on to some entirely different storylines.

Perhaps it’s no surprise then that as we reunite with Sakuta for Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid, we find him diligently studying for college while involved with another case of Adolescence Syndrome. In this case, he meets a small child who looks just like a younger version of his girlfriend, Mai. But she vanishes before he can get to the bottom of why she’s there. Is Mai going through something, or is it somehow related to Sakuta instead?

And if that wasn’t enough, Sakuta’s daily life is turned upside down when his father informs him and Kaede that their mother is getting better and wants to see Kaede. It has been two years since their mother was hospitalised due to a breakdown after Kaede’s bullying. It’s at that point that Sakuta and his sister moved out to live on their own together, an event that changed the course of both their lives significantly.

Sakuta has a lot of mixed feelings about reuniting with their mother, which is the meat of this whole storyline. He’s glad that she’s improving to the point where she can recover at home going forward, but he’s worried about the strain their meeting will put on Kaede. His sister has only just started to figure out her future and has begun interacting with the outside world, but if meeting with her mother goes poorly, that may lead to her shutting herself away again. But on the other hand, if this goes well, it could mean the family lives together again, which would also be a substantial change in their lives.

Our protagonist is so busy worrying about Kaede that he doesn’t even take the time to consider his own feelings on the matter. His sister wasn’t the only one who lost their mother’s love and support after the breakdown. To live on their own, Sakuta had to grow up fast when he was in a difficult period in his life, preparing to enter high school. While Sakuta continues fretting over Kaede, his friends and loved ones try to encourage him to think about himself, too.

In contrast to the previous book, this one does lean more into the supernatural elements of Adolescence Syndrome that we’re more used to seeing across the series. However, the themes of growing up and the complicated feelings we may hold toward our parents are still dealt with realistically and thoughtfully. Author Hajime Kamoshida has always been great at writing the complicated emotions of a teenage cast of characters and conveying that to a reader in a way that’s not melodramatic or over the top; it’s balanced perfectly.

It makes sense to deal with the topic of their mother now before Sakuta enters the next stage in his life with college, too. With this explored, it feels like all of the original storylines have been tied up neatly, leaving the way forward open for some new challenges for our protagonist.

As mentioned, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid comes to the West thanks to Yen Press and continues to be translated by Andrew Cunningham. As always, this is a release that reads well and includes  several colour pages at the beginning by illustrator Keiji Mizoguchi. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of interior illustrations this time around, and instead, there’s a selection of character profiles, which are nice but so basic that they’re clearly meant to fill space. Still, I’m sure this is simply down to unfortunate circumstances, and hopefully Mizoguchi’s work will be back in full force next volume.

Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid is Volume 9 of the series, and Yen Press has since released Volumes 10 through 14 in English. The series reached its conclusion in Japan with Volume 15 in October last year, but there’s no sign of that one in the English schedule yet. Presumably, it won’t be too far out, but I suspect we’re looking at 2026 at this point, unless it turns up in the December schedule.

Overall, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid is another excellent entry in this thoughtful series. This feels like a story we’ve been waiting to see for a long time, but also feels like perfect timing in terms of where the story is going from here. Sakuta is always so busy being concerned about everyone around him that having a storyline where he’s forced to deal with his own feelings is incredibly rewarding.

Our review copy from Yen Press was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.