‘Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend’ Anime Feature Gets North American Release with Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll revealed today the North American theatrical release date for the brand-new supernatural anime film Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend. The narrative centers on university student Sakuta Azusagawa as he unravels the enigma known as “Puberty Syndrome,” causing the boundary between his dreams and reality to increasingly blur.

The movie will be shown exclusively in theaters via Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment for a limited engagement of three days on February 21, 23, & 24, 2027, in both the United States and Canada — in Japanese with English subtitles as well as a dubbed English version.

Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend is the fourth feature film and the concluding chapter of the Rascal Does Not Dream series, which also features two television adaptations. It continues the story following Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus (2025) and picks up right where the previous installment ended.

Series Synopsis: Sakuta Azusagawa, an average high school student, never anticipated encountering a bunny girl in the library. Even more surprising, the girl he encounters isn’t just anyone — she’s a former actress and a popular upperclassman — or at least she was, until she inexplicably vanished from everyone’s memories. Now, Sakuta is the only individual who can see her or even recall her existence. Perhaps the feeling of being invisible is merely a sign of puberty.

The film is directed by the franchise veteran Soichi Masui, based on an original story by Hajime Kamoshida (published in Dengeki Bunko). The animation production is handled by CloverWorks.

All three films and both seasons of Rascal Does Not Dream can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

Film Synopsis: “Actually, I’m Touko Kirishima.”

The crowd erupts in applause as the esteemed actress Mai Sakurajima reveals herself to be the enigmatic Touko Kirishima, bringing to life the very vision Sakuta Azusagawa had on Christmas Eve.

Following Mai’s stunning revelation on April 1, seemingly fantastical occurrences from people’s dreams start to emerge in reality.

As the mysterious social media hashtag #DREAMING, where individuals share dreams that eventually come true, suddenly vanishes, Sakuta finds himself feeling increasingly disconnected from reality and his own perspective. Amidst the chaos, he receives a message from himself in an alternate world:

“Stop Touko Kirishima, before reality is rewritten.”

Determined to restore the world to its original form, Sakuta embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind Touko Kirishima and confront the essence of Puberty Syndrome itself.