Resonant Riley and Amazing Allison in… A Magical Mishap
Student Transfer Scenario Review:
Riley Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Assistant by Choripan
Build Released: 9/3/2021
Length: 1.9 Hours
Played using Student Transfer Version 6.1
TFGS Thread – Download – No Flowchart
The following is a review of a fan-made Scenario for the visual novel Student Transfer. For more information about Student Transfer, please consult my dedicated Student Transfer page or the official Student Transfer website.
Between The Festival, A.S.A.P., Graceful Misfortune, Backtracking, and of course the MaidenSwap route introduced in Version 5, Choripan— or just Chori— has proven himself to be one of the top creators in the Student Transfer community. Whether his work is comedic, dramatic, existential, meticulously detailed and thoughtful, or just low-key horny, you’re pretty much going to get something worthwhile from Chori. And his latest Scenario, Riley Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Assistant, is definitely more of a comedy than anything else.
As the title implies, the Scenario follows Riley, the occasionally used boyish male student at Tina Koya, as he is struggling to keep his after-school magic club going following an exodus of club members. With no club members left, the only way Riley can keep this club going is to make a splash during the Tina Koya summer festival talent show. Desperate for aid, Riley puts out an ad for a magical assistant, Allison Stein volunteers, and the two form an awkward alliance to try to put on the best magic show possible… Only to quickly run into some issues.
They try to make things work out, but struggle to find the right common ground with their different approaches. Then, just as things are ramping up and doubt stirs between the two, some fellow in a cloak waves their magical staff, switches the two’s bodies, and the only way they can return to normal is if the show is a success. Now in each other’s bodies, Riley and Allison only have two weeks to train, write, and rehearse for a full magic show while stuck inside each other’s bodies. Thus forcing them to test their convictions like their lives depend on it… because they pretty much do.
From this initial starting point, anybody with a moderate degree of media literacy can piece together how things will play out. This unlikely duo band together, share their knowledge, the leader is demanding, the subordinate has different ideas, there is a crisis as the event is near, but after sharing a revelation, the two agree on an approach that better suits their shared strengths, allowing them to achieve their goals, while finding a valuable relationship in the process.
It is a familiar but incredibly effective storytelling mold, and one that works well here due to something that I have come to really admire from Chori’s recent string of Scenarios, and that’s the sense of focus. Riley Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Assistant knows what it is about, is comfortable with its own goals, and does everything it wants to within two hours. There’s no need for expansion, no potential untapped, and no detrimental fluff. It’s exactly the sort of thing I love seeing as a reader, and absolutely hate doing as a writer.
Now, that’s not to say the Scenario is bereft of anything else. There are anecdotes involving minor characters who only exist in a single scene. A running subplot centered around Allison’s friend Irene. And the Scenario boasts a deluge of incidental gags, because Chori thought they would be funny (and they are).
However, the Scenario never feels the need to meet any sort of quota or checklist of body swap scenes. No exploration of one’s identity, no solo or partner-based sexy times, and no minutia about the awkwardness of being another person physically and socially. Because that’s not what this story is about, and not what the writer wanted to focus on here, and as somebody who loves that sort of stuff, I think Riley Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Assistant is all the better for this approach.
Writing-wise, it definitely could have used an editing pass— which I only say in every other review because it’s true— as there were a scattering of moments where I remembered that Chori is an ESL writer. He has improved dramatically over the past few years, but English is a nonsense language developed by cave trolls, so it is hard to avoid certain mistakes. Despite this, the script still shines vibrantly due to the chemistry of its (probably) titular duo, solid sense of humor, and a level of experience that a writer typically develops when they spend a matter of years working with an established universe.
The Scenario is also quite the looker too, boasting custom outfit for both Allison and Riley, in addition to a custom CG that’s… probably an edit of a manga panel, which I always love to see. A deluge of detailed animations that really help hammer home the comedic aspects of certain scenes. Sound effects that really do help make the proceedings of the Scenario feel subtly more substantive. Some Little King’s Story royalty free music inserted for comedic effect. And more bonks than any other Scenario I can think of. It’s not as ‘mind blowing’ as other Scenarios I could name, but I still consider what Chori put together here, with help from certain contributors from the ST community, to be quite impressive.
The only solid criticism I have for this Scenario is… well, it’s title: Riley Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Assistant. I don’t know enough about the mechanics of English to know what is or is not truly grammatically incorrect (I was in remedial English, where they don’t teach you what propositions, clauses, or adverbs are) but I know when something sounds right. Riley Does Not Dream of A Bunny Girl Assistant and Riley Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Assistants both match my informal smell test of ‘word goodliness,’ and I can only assume that the awkward wording of this title was in some way intentional.
Regardless, Riley Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Assistant is yet another great entry in the ever-growing catalog of Student Transfer Scenarios, and one that comes with a full recommendation. The writing’s great, it’s genuinely funny, the main characters make for a positively adorable duo, and the presentation is robust in a manner that most premium visual novels can only dream of being.
I would consider giving Chori another Natalie.TF Certified DOPE Award, as I did with Backtracking, but this Scenario only meets two of the three arbitrary criteria for that award. It is a ‘complete’ story that needs no additional updates to be a fully satisfying experience. It is of a very high quality with its writing, presentation, and overall storytelling. But I did not adore its concept as much as I went along with it.
Backtracking had an insatiably horny MILF-loving TSF enthusiast who wrecked his brain just so he could get a better bust. While Riley Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Assistant has an anemic-style shota-kun pervert trying to put on a magician show while in the body of his bunny girl assistant. Don’t get me wrong, I like that, but I’m a TSF boomer. I learned to like (pretty much) everything.
The title is a parody of “Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai” which is the english translation of an anime. Just thought I’d give you some context as to why it’s named like that. It’s also really good, and tackles a variety of supernatural and psychological issues.
Ah. I never heard of this series, which just speaks volume to how out of touch I’ve gotten with anime over the past few years. Thanks for clearing that up. ^^