Rascal Does Not Dream’s Heroines Say Goodbye in Yokohama. Konomi Kohara Went Into the Finale Without Reading the Novels

Four of the voices behind Rascal Does Not Dream’s university heroines stood on a Yokohama cinema stage on Saturday to say thank you, and a little bit goodbye. Their film, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend, closes a story the series’ lead has voiced for about eight years. Here’s what Sora Amamiya, Aya Yamane, Konomi Kohara and Reina Ueda told the crowd, and why the man who plays Sakuta arrived at one recording session dripping with sweat.

The stage greeting took place on 14 November at Yokohama Burg 13. Amamiya plays Uzuki Hirokawa, Yamane plays Ikumi Akagi, Kohara plays Sara Himeji and Ueda plays Nene Iwamizawa. The film opened in Japan on 16 October as the final chapter of the anime, which is based on Hajime Kamoshida’s novels from Dengeki Bunko. The official report on the event calls it the best start of any film in the series, and says the audience ran from fans who had already seen it more than ten times to people watching for the first time.

Amamiya opened by reading the room. “Maybe it’s because a lot of you have already seen it, but you all have such bright, clear smiles,” she said. “From the feel of the room, I could tell you think it’s a really good film.”

Hear the voices: Asami Seto’s Mai opens the second trailer with her confession, and Ikumi and Sara, voiced by Aya Yamane and Konomi Kohara, are among the heroines who follow. Video: Aniplex, on YouTube

She skipped the novels on purpose

Kohara, who voices the high school student Sara, said the final script still caught her off guard. “When I got the script and was told this was the end, I thought, ‘Ah, so there’s going to be turmoil here too,'” she said. “I’d expected Sakuta to handle things fairly calmly again, but there are scenes where he looks rattled, and I felt I couldn’t tell how it would turn out until the very end.”

That surprise was partly by design. “This time I deliberately went in without reading the original, so when I read the script my first impression was, ‘What is going on?'” she said. It’s a real choice actors make on long adaptations. Some read every book so they know where a character ends up. Others protect the first read, so they meet each twist the way the character does. Kohara chose the surprise, and as she pointed out later, her lead co-star went the other way.

Ueda, who plays Nene, described reading her script with curiosity and a little dread. “The question of who Touko Kirishima really is had been left unanswered at the end of the Santa Claus arc, so I was really excited to see the rest of it, like solving a puzzle,” she said. “The series has shown everyone’s weak spots and the parts they don’t want others to see, so I kept reading the script wondering what side of them we’d see this time, with a feeling a bit like peeking at something scary.”

Uzuki grew, and so did the attachment

For Amamiya, the role got bigger as the story went on. “As the story went on, Uzuki got more scenes and more moments where she says something important, so her presence grew, and my attachment to the work grew with it,” she said. “There are so many characters, and they all think and feel differently. Coming into contact with each of them has saved me in some ways too. It’s a work that holds up my everyday life.”

Yamane gave the crowd some homework. “There are lots of new discoveries, so after you’ve seen the film, please go back and watch again from Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai,” she said. She also admitted the venue got to her: Yokohama is a pilgrimage spot for both her and Ikumi, “so I got a little too excited (laughs).” Then she got serious. “I think there’s a character you’ll relate to, one who makes you go, ‘Ah, I get that,'” she said. “For me, that was Ikumi.”

The lead who ran in sweating

Kaito Ishikawa, who voices Sakuta Azusagawa, wasn’t on stage on Saturday, but his co-stars talked about him anyway. “Kaito Ishikawa, who plays our lead Sakuta, had read the original novels thoroughly and really understood the heroines’ stories, and the way he stood there, ready, made a big impression on me,” Kohara said. “We’ve run this whole way together from the TV series to the films, so I think Sakuta’s dependability will come through to you on the screen.”

Image: Aniplex, from the film's official opening footage

Ishikawa had his own story from the final sessions, which he told in an interview with Animate Times last month. “Normally I get to the studio with time to spare, but that day the session was early in the morning, so I thought I’d better get something in my stomach and stopped at a convenience store,” he said. Then he happened to check his schedule and found he’d got his call time wrong.

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“When I rushed into the studio, the recording was just about to start. I managed to catch my breath, but I just couldn’t stop sweating,” he said. His castmates started asking if he was feeling unwell. “I stood in front of the mic without any time to talk to anyone, so nobody had any way of knowing what had happened to me. But the room should have been cool, and there’s an actor at the mic sweating like crazy. Of course they’d be worried.”

Anyone who has ever sprinted from a train to a booth will know that feeling. On the work itself, Ishikawa said this film is different from earlier arcs, where Sakuta could fix things by acting. “This time he can’t move, even when he wants to,” he said, and playing it left him with what he called a sense of having “decided to swallow it.” The cast talked about how sad it was to finish, he said, but there was also a feeling of letting go. “After all, we’ve been involved with the same work for nearly ten years.”

A newcomer then, still dreaming now

The closing words were the most personal. “When Bunny Girl Senpai aired, I was a newcomer who had only just started out as a voice actor, so I never imagined I’d be in it,” Kohara said. “Even standing here today, I still feel like I’m dreaming.”

Ueda hoped people would see Nene in a new light. She played her, she said, hoping viewers would sense “so this is the kind of girl Nene really was.” She ended with a thought on how people read the ending. “Each person’s own interpretation is the greatest treasure, and I think it’s the right answer,” she said, “so I’d be happy if you enjoy this story in your own way.”

Image: Aniplex, official trailer

Amamiya had the last word, and it was advice to come back later. “Whether it’s tomorrow or the day after, if you leave it a little while and watch it again at a different time, I think the way you take it in, and the characters you relate to, will change,” she said. “I think it’s truly a work that makes you feel, ‘I’m glad I met you.'”

Next stop: North America, with an English dub

Fans outside Japan get their turn next year. Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment are taking the film to cinemas in the United States and Canada for three days only, on 21, 23 and 24 February 2027, in Japanese with English subtitles and in an English dub, The Outer Haven reports. The English cast for the film hasn’t been named yet.

Until it is, the Japanese trailer above is the best way to hear how this cast sounds as the story closes. Judging by Saturday, they’ll miss it as much as the fans will.

Sources: official report on the university heroine stage greeting, published by Animate Times, 15 November 2026; Kaito Ishikawa interview, Animate Times, 31 October 2026; The Outer Haven, 29 October 2026; Aniplex official trailer and opening footage on YouTube. Quotations from Japanese sources are translated by Voice Over Herald. Images: official event report, via Animate Times (main image); Aniplex (film stills). © 2024 Hajime Kamoshida/KADOKAWA/Aobuta Project.

Lee este artículo en español: Las heroínas de Rascal Does Not Dream se despiden en Yokohama. Konomi Kohara llegó al final sin leer las novelas

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