Arisunime — Ikumi Akagi, a former middle school classmate of Sakuta Azusagawa and now a nursing student at the same university, struggles with the effects of Adolescence Syndrome in Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus, an affliction that is inexorably linked to her past feelings toward Sakuta.
Ikumi’s desire to forget Sakuta stems from a deep emotional conflict rooted in middle school. As revealed in the Light Novel Volume 11 (Rascal Does Not Dream of a Nightingale), her syndrome arises from a mixture of admiration and jealousy triggered when Sakuta showed heroism—particularly in saving his sister from bullies—leaving Ikumi with feelings of inferiority and helpless guilt .
She channels these inner turmoils into a self-imposed heroic role—embracing a “#dreaming” trend on social media, where she orchestrates events for others to save, as a way to compensate for not being able to protect Sakuta herself .
In the anime adaptation, particularly Episode 6, her psychological battle becomes explicit. Ikumi sets a chilling ultimatum: she will be cured of her syndrome when either she forgets Sakuta, or he remembers the pivotal past event that triggered her condition. If she wins this contest, Sakuta is no longer allowed to intervene in her life — effectively forcing her to erase their emotional connection as a means toward healing.
This reveals her deep-seated desire to detach from the emotional burden Sakuta represents, believing that only by severing that link can she free herself from her instability and self-destructive compulsion to be a savior.
Ultimately, Ikumi’s yearning to forget Sakuta is not borne of resentment but of a conflicted need to escape guilt, envy, and the emotional pain attached to her perceived failings during their earlier years. Her ultimatum underscores how her affection and admiration for him have intertwined with her identity, and how forgetting him feels like the only way she might claim peace.***
