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「リトルバスターズ！世界の斎藤は俺が守る！」 (Sekai no Saitou wa Ore ga Mamoru!)
Boy, talk about a mood shift…
It seems a bit odd to watch the “Sekai no Saitou” OVA right after the 11th episode of Refrain, but that’s just the way the timing worked out. You could hardly draw up two episodes that more effectively highlight this series in its polar opposite modes – the OVA is very much in the spirit of the first season at its most light-hearted and absurd, but having just seen what went down in the TV anime certainly casts the hijinks of this special episode in an unusual light.
That said, I think this was certainly among the funnier episodes of Little Busters!, although it seems more than anything else to be a special delivery for VN veterans. As far as I can tell it’s composed of several mini-chapters of the VN, games within the game, as well as some anime-original material (mostly fanservice) thrown in for good measure (and several pairs of breasts get a good measure). While as an anime-original viewer I had a good chunk of the references fly over my head (for example the repeated appearances of a certain blonde girl we’ll be seeing much more of next year) until after the fact, there was a lot here that I couldn’t help but laugh at, knowing the characters as well as I’ve come to know them.
The OVA is basically split into two plot threads (though calling them “plot” is probably being a bit generous), the first being the establishment of a new battle ranking system for all ten of the Little Busters (this being set during the S1 timeframe, all the auxiliary girls are present). Naturally Riki is at the bottom – as with everything Kyousuke does, even in light-hearted episodes, the idea is to make Riki grow stronger. The other involves the girls in the cast going to Kuragaya for life advice one by one – advice which generally amounts to “troll Komari” in several different forms. Well, trolling Komari is comedy gold in my book – we get stuff like Rin adding an “Oop!” at the end of every Komari “Yup” and Kud saying “God Damn!” (in Engrish) at the beginning of every sentence and “Touch me and I’ll beat the shit out of you!” (in Kud-o Japanese) at the end.
I’ve generally found the comedy in LitBus to be hit-and-miss, but in this episode the batting average is pretty high. Kud-o’s “God damn!” alone punched the ticket for me, but Rin following suit worked too. I also enjoyed seeing Mio at her kawaii-creepy best (though the whole “NYP” business with the Science Club went over my head – or something). The breast-size jokes are pretty tired at this point, but Kuragaya was certainly in her element at the top of the food chain in every sense this episode. As for the battle game, it starts off innocently enough with Riki plowing through the lower ranks (you can only challenge the person directly above you) like Mio and Kud using industrial tape and glue, but eventually Kyousuke introduces the titular “Mask the Saitou” element, which kicks the lunacy up a few notches. The best part here was when Kyousuke – who was Saitou all the time, obviously – faked an attack on himself while talking to Riki on the phone as the rest of his class looked on, befuddled.
Stay tuned for the end, because the ED credits (it’s very reassuring to hear the more upbeat S1 OP and ED again – until you actually pay attention to the lyrics) contain maybe the best gag of the episode, on the whole. And there’s a funny little vignette after they finish as well.
ED Sequence
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Harya Hora Umau!
Omg this was hilarious to the max. Poor Komari! Goddam! she got trolled HARD! Touch me and I’ll keel u! Hahaha it was nice to see a cameo of Saya too. Though I almost missed most of them the first time.
Well, Kurugaya managed to get to avenge her lost to Komari in the Yui Chan vs Komari Max incident. With interest.
Never cross Kurugaya. Ever.
Vielen Dank! Enzo.
Two things stuck out this episode. Kuragaya = best girl. Kudo = best wafu.
And well, Kyousuke = best Saito.
No, technically it debuted after the 9th BD Volume of Season 1 appeared on the market..
Which means around the same week as LB Refrain Ep10;
its just that it only got subbed post-Episode 11.
Hmmm, I noticed QUITE A LOT of cameos of that certain character for this episode in almost every crowd scene..Though unless there’s plenty of girls with the same hairstyle & ribbons, or if Tokido Saya has a teleportation ability, the multiple camera angles at a same place tend to show her in different geographical positions all the time.
On another note, this OVA is noted to be an exclusive bonus for those who bought ALL 9 BDs of Season 1….guess that probably means there won’t be any more OVAs..
I wanted to see an anime version of the Muscle Sensation arc 🙁
And Refrain’s only OVAs is the EX episodes..
Would it be too much to hope for extended scenes of some episodes?
Eg the infamously shortened Riki & Rin runaway scene,
or more to Kurugaya’s arc like adding Operation Love-Love Hunters, or her & Riki’s hangout at the cafe & in the rain..
One does wonder whether Mio was deliberate in exaggerating her imitation of Komari’s action, at any case, Mio tossing a baseball is so cute.
The only complaint for this otherwise perfect episode: Not enough Mio lingerie service. 🙁
Oh well, there’s always the official artwork from various magazines. 🙂
http://cs.sankakucomplex.com/data/c7/d8/c7d830982dc9d3ed87dfe59dd5557a87.jpg
well, LB OVA is in S1 mood. and timing is indeed important. watching it now, after ep11, when 2 eps left, is different. but it’s actually a great reminder of LB friendship symbolism. how much this is in LB lovely spirit and atmosphere. that’s part of the meaning of friendship in LB-style – having fun! tons of fun!
and of course we also get to see how the theme of getting stronger and overcome your weakness. it still there all along. even for a funny OVA known as mask the saito.
seeing the girls again brought a smile upon my face. seeing them having fun, laughing, trolling Komari, kud-o waufu, crazy Haruka, devious kurugaya and so..oh god it was so fun to watch. especially now, when refrain press so hard with those touching emotions, having a comic relief in LB style was a good thing.
sure, VN veteran will enjoy here since it revolves around VN, especially mask the saito episode, but also some other mini-episodes. but it applies for anime fans as well, they’ll find this very funny and fun to watch.
…why did this come out smack dab in the middle of the climax of season 2??
Anego = Oppai
Oppai = Anego
battle of plot versus justice!
How are there people that disagree with a direct quote from the anime itself? You can’t handle Anego’s boobs?
Well, there are always people who downvote for the most frivolous of reasons.
I still remember one time, when someone asked an innocuous question about which TV station was a certain Noitamina series shown in Japan, to which I answered Fuji TV, as Noitamina is run by Fuji. For that innocuous answer I got a baffling 4 downvotes. WTF man??
Stay strong, I’ve given you an upvote for your efforts.
Can’t object to a fanservice OVA, although it’s quite a mood-shift.
I’m sure the mood will shift back with the next regular episode, don’t worry.
The fanservice is strong with this one.
Anego!! I missed her (and Mio’s) trolling.
And yeah, the lyrics definitely hinted what was going on.
Little Busters (the OP) is COMPLETELY FULL of references to the secret of the world… but you won’t realize it or understand them until you actually learn the secret.