Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus (light novel) (Volume 13) (Rascal Does Not Dream

Rascal Does Not Dream of… Light Novel #13

by Hajime Kamoshida, Keji Mizoguchi (artist), Andrew Cunningham (translator)

Sakata, Mai, and Ikumi's shared dream only deepens the mystery of Touko Kirishima. Is she really the same person as Nene Iwamizawa? And what does it mean if Sakuta isn't the only one who can see her?

Genres: Light Novel, Manga, Slice Of Life, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2023

Reviews

[Eddy Celin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely blitzed through this in a day, granted it's only 180 pages, but I adore this series, and Sakuta Azusagawa is probably in my top 3 favorite protagonists of all time.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

This premise has pretty much run its course by this point, and the series is only continuing on the strength of its characters. It seems that this was the beginning of the series finale.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

wellp, my frantic reading to catch up to where the anime left off so i can find out how the story ends without having to wait for the movie is done, and i'm ready to move on to the parts of the story i don't know yet... and i'm not gonna lie, as dumb as it probably sounds, i'm super nervous! i know shit is about to get very real.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

When you think about it, most of the volumes is girls dealing with the fact that no one can be as perfect as the protagonist's girlfriend. This poor girl is even copying the disappearing act but instead of bunny girl it's a sexy santa costume - an obviously inferior choice. Being overshadowed by Mai's fame and losing her local stardom she breaks up with her boyfriend and hides from the world refusing to accept being second to her. Thanks to our brave hero she reunites with her boyfriend and they both come to terms with the misery of having to lead happy life together. I know it's aimed at teens and I'm overthinking it but the drama feels really disproportionate to the situation.

Hard to see her as a victim but of course we learn that she was in fact not the villain of the last few volumes as if the conspicuous mysterious maybe-friend wasn't an obvious twist waiting to happen from the first volume she appeared in. Having read all the volumes so far one thing I know for a fact is there are no red-herring characters so it's obviously her - although no idea how she fits into the ever expanding platonic harem.

[FaDoug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another perfect book in the "Rascal" series, who could have guessed?

"Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus" was particularly engaging thanks to its love of red herring and subverting expectations. This was the first novel where I found myself really getting surprised by everything that was going on. I'd spend an entire chapter totally convinced I knew what was going on, and then *WHAM*, it turned out I was completely off the money and the truth was all that more bizarre. It worked really well and had me captivated the whole time.

And now, with this character's arc over, I have to wonder what's going to happen next. There's only a few volumes left and I'm incredibly excited to see where everything goes from here! Keep 'em coming baby!

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume had to be the weakest of the whole series. But I still adore these characters and want to see what happens in the end. Speaking of the end, there are only 2 volumes left. Vol 15 will be the final one… I can’t wait to see how the author ties it all together. They seem to be really good at making all the pieces fit. It’s definitely going to be bittersweet.

[Kayleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful