The Rascal Does Not Dream series is coming to an end, and its final film now has a North American release. Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment will bring Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend to theatres in the United States and Canada for three days only, on 21, 23 and 24 February 2027. It will screen in Japanese with English subtitles and with an English dub.
Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend is the fourth film in the franchise, which also includes two television series, and serves as its conclusion. It picks up directly after Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus (2025).
The story continues with university student Sakuta Azusagawa, whose search for the truth behind the mystery known as “Puberty Syndrome” sees the line between his dreams and reality grow increasingly blurred. It begins with actress Mai Sakurajima revealing to a cheering audience that she is the mysterious Touko Kirishima, making real the dream Sakuta had on Christmas Eve. After her announcement on 1 April, seemingly impossible events from people’s dreams begin to happen in real life.
When #DREAMING, a social media hashtag where people share dreams that later come true, suddenly vanishes, Sakuta starts to feel a growing gap between reality and his own perception. In the middle of this, he receives a message from a version of himself in another possible world, warning him to stop Touko Kirishima before reality is rewritten. Sakuta sets out to restore the world to how it was, uncover the truth about Touko Kirishima and confront Puberty Syndrome directly.
The film is directed by Soichi Masui and based on an original story by Hajime Kamoshida, published by Dengeki Bunko, with animation production by CloverWorks.
The series began with Sakuta as a high school student who unexpectedly found a bunny girl in the library. She was a former actress and popular upperclassman who had somehow disappeared from everyone’s view, leaving Sakuta as the only person who could see her or remember she existed.
All three previous films and both seasons of the anime are available to watch on Crunchyroll.
