Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl

Sakuta Azusagawa is a high school second-year student content with his daily routine and his relationship with Mai Sakurajima, his girlfriend and upperclassman, for the past six months. Their life is calm and joyful until external events begin to disrupt their peace. The story sets the stage in Fujisawa, highlighting their daily interactions and closeness.

Sakuta's first love, Shoko Makinohara, appears unexpectedly, complicating his life. She exists in two forms — a middle school girl and an older version who has already helped him in the past. Their presence introduces a mysterious connection that becomes central to the unfolding events.

Sakuta learns that the middle school Shoko suffers from a severe heart disease that urgently requires a heart transplant. This revelation motivates Sakuta and Mai to consider ways to help her survive, highlighting the emotional stakes involved.

Sakuta recognizes a link between his own injuries and adult Shoko's presence, revealing that she is from the future and her heart donor was himself. This discovery explains her return and adds urgency to their efforts to save her.

Adult Shoko confesses she came from the future to save Sakuta, who was declared brain dead after a traffic accident. Sakuta decides to sacrifice himself to let her live, leading to a near-fatal encounter where Mai pushes him aside, getting hit instead. This act drastically alters their fates.

Mai sacrifices herself to save Sakuta, resulting in her death and her heart becoming the donor for Shoko. Sakuta is devastated and in shock, unable to accept her loss, which sets the stage for his subsequent actions to alter the past.

Adult Shoko helps Sakuta understand he can return to the past to prevent Mai’s death, risking the erasure of her existence. Sakuta makes a decisive choice, traveling back in time to change the tragic events and save Mai.

Sakuta returns to Christmas Eve, wearing a bunny costume to be seen by people around him, aiming to prevent Mai’s death. He calls his past self to warn him and ultimately pushes him away from the car, disrupting the fatal incident realistically but causing unintended consequences.

By altering the events, neither Mai nor Sakuta dies in the accident, but this also means Shoko loses her heart donor and is destined to die. Sakuta and Mai choose to continue searching for a way to save Shoko, risking their own potential losses to do so.

Understanding the pain her presence causes, Shoko decides to erase her memories of meeting Sakuta and Mai to create a future where they never face sadness. She writes down her hopes, knowing she might never meet them again, and passes away, fading from existence.

Time rewinds to New Year's, revealing Mai starring in a film based on Shoko’s story, though she doesn’t remember her. Sakuta and Mai visit a shrine and a beach, where they finally encounter a healthy, young Shoko for the first time, indicating their connection across timelines.