Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5: Ikumi's attempts to become a hero of justice begin to backfire

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5 officially aired on August 2, 2025, continuing the anime’s adaptation of the Nightingale Arc. The latest installment revolved around the Dreaming trend, where individuals could send prophetic messages over the internet.

The spotlight of the arc ultimately fell upon Ikumi Akagi, Sakuta’s middle school classmate, who had been given a mysterious Adolescence Syndrome by Santa Claus. While trying to use the supernatural irregularities around her for good, her attempts at changing the future risked causing more harm than good.

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Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5: Sakuta tries to stop Ikumi from using the Dreaming trend

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5: Sakuta and Ikumi

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5 began with a flashback of Sakuta’s middle school life, where he tried creating awareness about Adolescence Syndrome and its effect on his sister. However, none of his teachers or classmates, including Ikumi, took him seriously.

Back in the present, Sakuta was scouring the internet for signs of the Dreaming Trend when he was approached by Saki. After a short chat about their shared encounter at the matchmaking party, Saki revealed that the real reason for approaching Sakuta was so that her friend, Ikumi, could talk to him.

Ikumi and Sakuta spoke outside, where she explained that Saki was her first friend in university and had helped her with her volunteer organization. Sakuta then asked Ikumi why she wished to be a nurse, to which she answered that she wanted to help others.

Sara as seen in Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5 (Image via Studio CloverWorks)

He asked her if that was the reason she used the Dreaming trend to become a hero of justice, while also cautioning her not to interfere with the future too much. Although Ikumi left after inviting Sakuta to a middle school reunion, he understood that his words did not affect her.

Later, during his tutoring job, Sakuta questioned his students about the Dreaming trend. Juri shared that she had written a post about scoring the winning point in her Volleyball match and that it ended up happening. Just as Kento began arguing against it, claiming it was due to hard work, Sara entered the room, requesting to observe the class.

At the end of the day, both Sakuta and Sara left together on the same elevator, where they clumsily bumped heads with one another.

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Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5: A crowded house

When Sakuta went back home, he was greeted by Mai, Nodoka, Kaede, and Uzuki. He ate the curry prepared by all four of them and received tickets to Sweet Bullet’s upcoming campus performance. Mai agreed to join him on a date. Once everyone left, Mai and Sakuta discussed Shoko’s trip to Okinawa and the Dreaming trend.

Sakuta relived his traumatic experience as a middle school student, though he didn’t hold anything against Ikumi, who simply joined her classmates in isolating him. The couple agreed that misusing the Dreaming trend to change the future could result in misfortune of its own. Sakuta then created a social media profile and posted a message under the Dreaming trend.

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Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5: The campus festival

On November 6, as Sweet Bullet performed in the campus festival, Sakuta and Mai joyfully toured the stalls while buying food for the idol group members. However, while going to a stall to buy tacos, they noticed that Ikumi was wearing a cast on her arm. Saki revealed it had happened when Ikumi tried to help a person from falling off the stairs at the train station.

Motivated by Mai, Sakuta chased after Ikumi. The two shared a private conversation for the second time in the episode, where Ikumi expressed embarrassment over her injury despite having been warned by Sakuta. She then reminded the protagonist of his middle school yearbook quote, where he had said that he wished to be kind.

When she asked him if he had reached his goal, Sakuta posed the question right back to her. While he tried to indicate that her use of the Dreaming trend to save others was harmful, Ikumi remained persistent.

Ikumi and Sakuta as seen in Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5 (Image via Studio CloverWorks)

When she started leaving to stop a boy from tripping in the clock tower, Sakuta explained that it wouldn’t happen since he was the one who wrote the original Dreaming post. Ikumi was relieved that no one was hurt, but told Sakuta not to do such a thing again.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5 ended on a cliffhanger as Ikumi suddenly fell to the ground after being attacked by a mysterious force. Sakuta inferred that it was caused by her Adolescence Syndrome.

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Final thoughts

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus episode 5 dove deep into Ikumi Akagi and her connection to Sakuta Azusagawa. By using the Dreaming trend, she started playing a hero of justice, only to end up hurting herself in the process. Sakuta, having experienced the consequences of trying to change the future firsthand, tried convincing Ikumi to stop, though it was in vain.

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