Random Curiosity

Following the recent anime adaptation by J.C. Staff, I found myself suddenly interested in playing the Little Busters! visual novel. After finally finishing it over the course of a few weeks… I gotta say: it was quite something. I’m not usually one to tear up/cry, but gosh darn, by the time it was all said and done—I just couldn’t help it. And so, here we are. One thing leads to another and what we have today is a quick retrospective on what turned out to be a superb experience.

**This retrospective is SPOILER FREE.

「最高の仲間たち」 (Saikou no Nakamatachi)
“The Best Friends Ever”

The frozen time will start to move. And that is when everything will begin…

「最後のひとり」 (Saigo no Hitori)
“The Last One”

It seems to me that we’ve had an unusual number of girls with eyepatches in anime lately…

「(鈴ちゃんが幸せならわたしも幸せだから」 (Rin-chan ga Shiawase nara Watashi mo Shiawase dakara)
“If You’re Happy, Rin-chan, Then I’m Happy Too”

It’s always interesting with a conspiracy tale like this one to wonder whether the style of the series has changed, or just the way I perceive it.

「あなたの大切なもののために」 (Anata no Taisetsu na Mono no Tame ni)
“For What You Find Important”

Ah, Kud-o – superficially you may seem like a moeblob at first glance, but there’s no one else quite like you. Kudryavka strike box!!

「わたし、必ず戻ってきます (Watashi, Kanarazu Modotte Kimasu/i>)
“I’ll Definitely Come Back

In summing up my thoughts about this episode, I can do no better than to quite Riki himself: “What was that??”

「50ノーティカルマイルの空」 (50 Nōtikaru Mairu no Sora)
“50 Nautical Miles in the Sky”

I had to go back and check, just to be sure she really said it, but she did – “Wafu, wafu! Thank you nano desu!”

「恋わずらいをいやせ」 (Koiwazurai o Iyase)
“Heal Lovesickness”

Time for one last diversion before we likely stick to “route” episodes until the end of the first season, but this stand-alone episode might just have been more relevant that it first appears.

「きっと、ずっと、がんばるのです」 (Kitto, Zutto, Ganbaru no desu)
“I’m Sure I’ll Keep Doing My Best”

It was always going to be hard for this episode to live up to a preview that consisted of Kud saying “I AM A JAPANESE STUPID”, but on the whole I think this one did pretty well.

「答えは心のなかにあるんだ」 (Kotae wa Kokoro no Naka ni Arun da)
“The Answer is in Your Heart”

And so ends the Haruka Arc – or was it the Kanata Arc – and I can’t imagine anyone could complain about a lack of drama now.

「誰かにそばにいて欲しかったんだ」 (Dareka ni Soba ni Ite Hoshikattan da)
“I Wanted Someone to Be Close to Me”

Well now, that was certainly an eye-opening ending.

「そんな目で見ないで」 (Sonna Me de Minai de)
“Don’t Look At Me Like That”

Playtime’s over. Again. For now.

「ムヒョッス、最高だぜ」 (Muhyossu, Saikō da ze)
“Hell Yeah, This Totally Rocks!”

Don’t worry, Chairman-san – I don’t think I’d have noticed he was a guy either.

「だからぼくは君に手をのばす」 (Dakara Boku wa Kimi ni Te o Nobasu)
“So I’ll Reach Out for Your Hand”

Building on the one that came before, this episode of Little Busters felt very much like a part of the Key universe.

「終わりの始まる場所へ」 (Owari no Hajimaru Basho e)
“Where the End Begins”

Though there’s still plenty of mystery, that was an episode that clarified an awful lot of things in my mind.