Little Busters does not rely on fanservice and other cheap tricks to hold your interest.
Little busters rin happy ending series#
As a series rooted in the theme of friendship, Refrain does a magnificent job of making the viewer feel like they are a part of the story rather than merely spectators. It is one of very few anime where the relationships between the characters feel genuine rather than forced or manufactured. Perhaps you found Rin adorable or Kyousuke amusing, but Refrain succeeds in elevating the main five much higher than that. The story directly follows the events of the first season by developing characters who were largely overlooked in the past. Perhaps that is a testament to how strong the characters are.įor anime-only viewers, Little Busters: Refrain is certainly no featherweight. There are so many things that could have, should have been better, and yet it still manages to be one of 2013's best anime. Other important scenes, such as Masato's backstory, are misrepresented as something silly when they should be serious. Large sections of story (including half of Rin's route) are skimmed over or ignored entirely in the anime. Some dreadful abomination in the end? I don't believe so, but the visual novel is still undeniably the superior experience. It is the second best Key anime to date.Īs somebody who regards the Little Busters visual novel as one of the most emotional stories they have ever experienced, I was sceptical hearing about an anime adaptation of Refrain. If you have developed any sort of attachment to the characters in Little Busters, you will undoubtedly shed at least a few tears by the end of Refrain.
Where the first season blundered with its melodrama, Refrain instead provides a much more thoughtful and meaningful story. And now, everything will begin.It is rare to find a sequel as emotionally powerful as Little Busters: Refrain. Is it too much to ask for everyone to be happy?! I want to stay optimistic that there will be some happy ending to extract from this, but I just can’t see it at the moment. Kyousuke mentions that everything will begin again, and the fact that the next episode is titled “The End of the World” worries me. It’s like Angel Beats! but without the possibility of reincarnation. These characters that we’ve grown attached to were merely ghosts to begin with and had to disappear when Kyousuke’ power began to fade. If that’s true, that is just incredibly sad and upsetting. He mentions he and the others that he brought to meet Riki and Rin all shared the same fate, which I assume means died prematurely somehow. Like, is Kyousuke really escaping from a bus accident or is that just a symbol of his eternal struggle? I guess regardless, we know for sure that Kyousuke has some power over reality and it might be because he isn’t supposed to actually be there.
It’s honestly hard to tell sometimes what is actually happening because I feel like what I’m seeing could be just an abstract presentation. With these memories, come very startling and upsetting revelations. I appreciate this because it’s practically been an entire year since I’ve watched the first season. Kyousuke’s memories are artistically superimposed around various bits of scenery, as we painfully relive the events of the previous reality from his perspective. I love how they go about handling the flashbacks. Just like how Kyousuke was there to save Riki in his time of need, Riki is now in that role. And now, Riki has taken on the same leadership role that Kyousuke had been to bring the Little Busters together in the first place.
It’s the complete role reversal that makes things so unsettling and emotional because for the entire series, Kyousuke has been this pillar of strength for Riki. Except this time, I guess you can say that he’s in the most need of help. This episode appears to follow the pattern of focusing on one of the original members of the Little Busters, and this time it’s Kyousuke’s turn. Brilliant, but I don’t know if my emotions can handle the repeated beating. So I just finished re-watching Angel Beats! yesterday, and now I wake up to this.