So, I think it's about time I did another anime review since I've only done one and that was about...4 months ago? Heh.. ^w^"
Little Busters! Refrain is the second season to Little Busters! which involves all the same characters, but Little Busters! Refrain focuses more on the ending scenario of the visual novel developed by Key.
Just as a quick explanation, Little Busters! focuses on Riki finding new members to join the Little Busters! which Kyousuke named their baseball team which currently consists of him, Riki, Rin, Masato and Kengo. Riki ends up recruiting Komari Kamikita, Haruka Saigusa, Kudryavka Noumi, Yuiko Kurugaya and Mio Nishizono and as he does, finds out more about them and all their different back stories and mysteries they keep secret.
So with the plot of Little Busters! briefly explained, I'll start the Little Busters! Refrain review!
-spoiler warning; Do not read ahead if you have not yet watched the anime-
Before I start explaining the plot of Little Busters! Refrain, I'll introduce the main characters that feature in the anime :3
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This is Kyousuke Natsume!
Kyousuke is the leader of the Little Busters! and is also one year older than everyone else making him a third year in high school.
He is Rin's older brother and, even though it's not really shown a lot, he suffers from a brother-sister complex meaning he would prefer it if Rin called him onii-chan (which means brother but in a more affectionate way) but because of Rin's shyness and awkward personality, she prefers to call him Kyousuke :,3
He isn't always in the anime, but when he is, his presence has a real purpose for the current situation; he is a very important aspect in Little Busters! Refrain.
...oh yea! I hella fancy Kyousuke! Like, hella fancy him! Like, really reeeeeally luuuurve him~! <3He is Rin's older brother and, even though it's not really shown a lot, he suffers from a brother-sister complex meaning he would prefer it if Rin called him onii-chan (which means brother but in a more affectionate way) but because of Rin's shyness and awkward personality, she prefers to call him Kyousuke :,3
He isn't always in the anime, but when he is, his presence has a real purpose for the current situation; he is a very important aspect in Little Busters! Refrain.
This is Riki Naoe!
Riki is the male protagonist of Little Busters! and Little Busters! Refrain.
He is the fifth member of the Little Busters! and is considered to be the weakest because of his girlish looks and physical build :,) but as Refrain develops, Riki becomes a lot stronger and confident thanks to Kyousuke's artificial world.
Riki also has narcolepsy which is a disorder that causes someone to fall asleep at any given time and for Riki, this started when his parents died while he was a child.
This is Rin Natsume!
Rin is the main heroine of the story and to start off with, is the only female member of the Little Busters! :3
Rin is Kyousuke's younger sister and she is very shy and doesn't like to communicate with others; but she will easily interact with Kengo, Masato, Riki and Kyousuke since she has known them from her childhood.
Because of how shy Rin is, she is very anti-social and is often seen alone or playing with the stray cats she takes care of in the school grounds :) ..oh yea! Rin loves cats! ~(=^..^)/
Rin is the pitcher for the Little Busters! even though she starts out as not very good :,)
Komari-chan is Rin's best friend after she later joins the Little Busters! and Komari-chan helps to bring Rin out of her shell and become more confident within the group :)
This is Masato Inohara!
Masato is one of the original members of the Little Busters! after Kyousuke recruited him when they were children :)
Masato is Riki's room mate and he is also very fond of Riki; he is definitely not afraid to admit it outloud...awhh :3
He has a rivalry with Kengo who is also a member of the Little Busters! as Masato likes to prove he is the strongest which he does often by having very...'interesting' fights, let's say with Kengo :,)
And as you can probably see from the picture, Masato loves to work out and improve his muscle mass...a lot!
This is Kengo Miyazawa!
Kengo is one of the original members of the Little Busters! and was recruited after Masato :)
While Kengo seems cold and cynical, his passion and love for the Little Busters! is unmatched by anyone; he really loves everyone so much~!
Kengo is very skilled in the art of Kendo and often engages in battles (using the term 'battles' loosely) with Masato to prove who is the stronger one :,)
This is Komari Kamikita!
Komari-chan is the first person Riki recruits into the Little Busters! and she soon manages to befriend Rin and brings her out of her shell and helps her become more confident.
Rin is Kyousuke's younger sister and she is very shy and doesn't like to communicate with others; but she will easily interact with Kengo, Masato, Riki and Kyousuke since she has known them from her childhood.
Because of how shy Rin is, she is very anti-social and is often seen alone or playing with the stray cats she takes care of in the school grounds :) ..oh yea! Rin loves cats! ~(=^..^)/
Rin is the pitcher for the Little Busters! even though she starts out as not very good :,)
Komari-chan is Rin's best friend after she later joins the Little Busters! and Komari-chan helps to bring Rin out of her shell and become more confident within the group :)
This is Masato Inohara!
Masato is one of the original members of the Little Busters! after Kyousuke recruited him when they were children :)
Masato is Riki's room mate and he is also very fond of Riki; he is definitely not afraid to admit it outloud...awhh :3
He has a rivalry with Kengo who is also a member of the Little Busters! as Masato likes to prove he is the strongest which he does often by having very...'interesting' fights, let's say with Kengo :,)
And as you can probably see from the picture, Masato loves to work out and improve his muscle mass...a lot!
This is Kengo Miyazawa!
Kengo is one of the original members of the Little Busters! and was recruited after Masato :)
While Kengo seems cold and cynical, his passion and love for the Little Busters! is unmatched by anyone; he really loves everyone so much~!
Kengo is very skilled in the art of Kendo and often engages in battles (using the term 'battles' loosely) with Masato to prove who is the stronger one :,)
This is Komari Kamikita!
Komari-chan is the first person Riki recruits into the Little Busters! and she soon manages to befriend Rin and brings her out of her shell and helps her become more confident.
Komari-chan is quite childish in the sense that she likes fairy-tails, picture books, candy and also loves wearing a lot of frills :3
Komari-chan is quite clumsy but manages to do well in her studies :) she is quite athletic though this isn't very obvious since she hasn't done a lot of sports before and is quite weak.
She is Rin's best friend <3
This is Yuiko Kurugaya!
...sekshii, isn't she? ;3
Komari-chan is quite clumsy but manages to do well in her studies :) she is quite athletic though this isn't very obvious since she hasn't done a lot of sports before and is quite weak.
She is Rin's best friend <3
This is Yuiko Kurugaya!
...sekshii, isn't she? ;3
Kurugaya-san is the second person Riki recruits for the Little Busters!
She is seen as the 'older-sister' of the group and Haru-chin often refers to her as 'Anego' which does mean 'elder sister' :3
Kurugaya-san is very intelligent and frequently skips class to sit outside on the lawn area :)
She is also considered to be the strongest member of the Little Busters! and even beat Masato in a fight...but then again, she did use a muramasa :,) but even if she didn't, she could still SOO take him on! ^w~bb
Kurugaya-san is also very fond of cute things and people and takes a particular liking to Komari-chan, Rin and Kud :3 she is often seen teasing them in...just about PG-13 ways ;p
This is Haruka Saigusa!
MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER! <3
She is seen as the 'older-sister' of the group and Haru-chin often refers to her as 'Anego' which does mean 'elder sister' :3
Kurugaya-san is very intelligent and frequently skips class to sit outside on the lawn area :)
She is also considered to be the strongest member of the Little Busters! and even beat Masato in a fight...but then again, she did use a muramasa :,) but even if she didn't, she could still SOO take him on! ^w~bb
Kurugaya-san is also very fond of cute things and people and takes a particular liking to Komari-chan, Rin and Kud :3 she is often seen teasing them in...just about PG-13 ways ;p
This is Haruka Saigusa!
MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER! <3
Haru-chin is a schoolmate of Riki's and actually belongs in a different classroom but nevertheless always finds time to visit his classroom :,) she is the third person Riki recruits for the Little Busters! n.n
She is considered to be a problem child and enjoys causing little uproars which very much annoys her twin sister, Kanata, and will cause her to chase after her (since she is the public morals chairman).
Haru-chin is very bubbly and active and is also one of the most agile members of the Little Busters! and because of this, has the position as an outfielder as she rarely fails to catch the ball :3
She is also impressed by Kurugaya-san's BREASTS! ;3
This is Kudryavka Noumi!
Kudryavka (or more commonly referred to as Kud) is the fourth person to be recruited by Riki for the Little Busters!
She is considered to be a problem child and enjoys causing little uproars which very much annoys her twin sister, Kanata, and will cause her to chase after her (since she is the public morals chairman).
Haru-chin is very bubbly and active and is also one of the most agile members of the Little Busters! and because of this, has the position as an outfielder as she rarely fails to catch the ball :3
She is also impressed by Kurugaya-san's BREASTS! ;3
This is Kudryavka Noumi!
Kudryavka (or more commonly referred to as Kud) is the fourth person to be recruited by Riki for the Little Busters!
Kud is actually only a quarter Japanese and three quarters Russian and, because of her grandfather, knows a lot about the Japanese culture :) she also has a favourite phrase known as..
"Wafuu~"
Kud also has two dogs, one is a large Siberian Husky called Strelka and the other is a small Schipperke called Belka! She is allowed to care for these dogs on the school premises as they are used by the Disciplinary Committee.
Kud is one of the weakest members of the Little Busters! but can also be quite strong as well. She can often be seen catching the ball, but more often is seen missing it and admitting defeat with a little wafuu~
This is Mio Nishizono!
Mio is the final person to be recruited by Riki for the Little Busters! although she doesn't play, she acts as the manager of the group! n.n
Mio is a very calm and diligent girl. She enjoys reading and can often be seen sat under a large tree with her parasol. She enjoys reading lots of books, but is always seen with her favourite poetry book by Bokusui Wakayama :)
At first, she refuses to join the Little Busters! but after Riki helps her through her struggle, she sees how much fun everyone has playing baseball and finally accepts his offer to join the group.
(pssst, hey! She also officially started the KyouRiki (Kyousuke and Riki) ship to which I absolutely worship!!! >//////<)
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Okie, so with the characters introduced, I'm now going to talk a bit about the plot line for Little Busters! Refrain :)
The Little Busters! and some other school members were all going on a field trip but the bus they were on was involved in a major accident and the only two survivors were Riki and Rin as Masato used himself to save Riki and Kengo used himself to save Rin.
So, Kyousuke and the other Little Busters! created an artificial world through their desires to want to save Riki and Rin in which Kyousuke then sets different trials for Riki and Rin to complete in order to help them become stronger so they'll be able to deal with the tragedy of the real world.
This world Kyousuke created constantly loops and Riki and Rin forget what happens each time, but Kyousuke's wish for them to become stronger does work and after Riki and Rin have successfully completed all his trials and have become as strong as they can be, Kyousuke reveals all to them both and after a tearful farewell, orders them to leave the artificial world through the school gates.
Once Riki awakens in the real world at the scene of the crash, he remembers the promise he made to Kyousuke which was to protect Rin so he hurries to find her and they both leave the site of the crash and collapse in a large field.
Riki then realises that he doesn't want to live in a world without all of his friends, so he tells Rin to stay in the field and he goes back to the site of the crash and tries to save everyone. When he enters the bus to find his friends, he is startled by the sight and becomes very afraid which then results in him having a narcolepsy attack.
Rin comes back to herself after being in shock momentarily and realises Riki is gone and travels back to the site of the crash to look for him. Seeing this all before her, she rejects these turn of events and travels back to the artificial world (this time created by her and Riki). She speaks with Komari-chan who tells her how she wants Rin to smile again and be happy! Rin says that she could never do that without Komari-chan...
Rin then visits Riki in the artificial world and helps him overcome his narcolepsy and they both awaken once again and are suddenly much more determined to save everyone.
They both work together to save their classmates, the first person they find being Komari-chan. After pulling Komari-chan out, Riki notices a trail of blood leading around to the side of the bus where Kyousuke is leaned up against it.
Riki and Rin realise he is stopping the gas leak which would cause the bus to explode within moments if released. After Riki awakens him, Kyousuke tells them to save everyone else and leave him there. After a teary moment (with slight hints of KyouRiki) Riki and Rin do as Kyousuke said and manage to take everyone out of the bus and carry them up onto the field with some sort of carrying device they made out of sticks and fabric.
After everyone is saved, Rin and Riki go back to get Kyousuke. He tries to tell them to leave and save themselves, but they refuse to leave him. So they help Kyousuke up from the bus and start walking away. As they are just leaving the site of the bus crash, Riki turns around after being alerted by something and the bus then explodes.
Visual Novel False Ending;
After the bus explosion, Riki, Rin and Kyousuke get caught up in it and die. The only survivors are the people they managed to carry up to the field.
I do believe this is the false ending of the VN that I've heard about. I do plan on trying to play the VN at some point so I can find out for sure.
Visual Novel/Anime True Ending;
Even though Kyousuke, Rin and Riki were barely a few feet away from the explosion, they somehow survive it. Seriously though, it would be impossible to survive that explosion because they were honestly SO close to the bus! OwO;
But I'm happy they did survive :,)
After the incident, everyone received some sort of care from hospitals and were all discharged and no deaths came from the accident.
Kyousuke however, after the accident became comatose because his injuries were far more serious than everyone elses.
Rin and Riki are sat in their classroom and Riki is woken up by Rin singing and the other members of Little Busters! enter and express their concerns for Kyousuke and hope he awakens soon.
As if almost on cue, Kyousuke jumps up onto the open window and flips through just like old times :) Riki tells him he should be careful since he has just recovered but Kyousuke assures him he is fine and healthy.
Kyousuke then tells them all that he has planned another field trip. He rented a minibus for them all and they travel down to the beach and have a day of fun taking pictures and just being SO thankful for the fact they are all well and alive.
They can all now happily live in the real world and move on ahead <3
My thoughts on Little Busters! Refrain
Honestly, while watching this anime...I was struggling SO much to wait for the next episode! I was so desperate to find out what the secret of the world was I nearly went looking for spoilers several times!
I did read accidental spoilers though. One being about the bus crash and another about Riki and Rin, but seriously...Riki and Rin? Who didn't even see THAT one coming from episode 1 of Little Busters!? :,)
But I really did love this anime SO much <3 not as much as Little Busters! though. I think the reason for that is because this season was much more serious than the first season which was just a perfect balance of emotion, school life and developing relationships and friendships :)
But I love this season very much! Especially Kurugaya-san's route...dear GOD, I didn't half cry at that one! :,<
What I liked the most was seeing how Masato and Kengo joined Little Busters! :) and, even though it was sad, I liked finding out about Riki's parents, how they died and what caused his narcolepsy. I also liked the gradual development leading up to the secret being revealed even though it was killing me having to wait :3
I do wish though that this season was longer ;u; to me, 13 episodes just isn't enough! Especially for a story as moving as Refrain.
I would of liked more episodes for Masato and Kengo's routes. I mean, seriously. They covered their routes in ONE episode each! They could of gone into SO much more depth. That kind of upset me and is one of the reasons I must now play the VN.
Also, the false ending of the VN?
I wish that had been included and then after that, shown the real ending. I would of loved to see that because it would have been that AMAZING feeling when you realise everyone is alright!
A bit like CLANNAD After Story :3 you know, how Tomoya was living in this imaginary world where Nagisa had died, but in reality, she hadn't.
But I digress, back to Little Busters! Refrain :,)
I was told by a friend that the ending of Refrain was really depressing, so I was waiting for this awful ending that never happened. I mean, I'm glad it didn't happen...but since this ending featured in the VN and because of the real ending, I would of liked to have seen it.
So, my only complaints really for Refrain is that there weren't enough episodes to really capture the emotion of Masato and Kengo's routes and also the false ending not being included.
Overall, I give this anime a...
9/10 because everything else was just perfect! <3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, I'm assuming that you're reading this because you have watched the anime.
If you haven't watched it and read ahead anyway just to get an idea of what to expect and...basically have everything spoiled for you, do go and watch it! :,)
Key Visual Novels are amazing and you never regret watching a VN by them being produced into an anime <3 they're just SO inspiring!
If you have watched the anime and have anything you want to share and your thoughts on it, please leave them in a comment below as I will read what you write and enjoy doing so :3
So, thank you VERY much for reading this anime review! I hope you enjoyed it and it was informative about Little Busters! Refrain :)
I will try and do more anime reviews here (even though I do video reviews on my YouTube channel) it's just...easier to write them, to be fair :,)
So, follow my blog if you would like to find out when I do more reviews! n.n
Thank you (..again!) for reading and I'll be back with another blog soon!
BYESIES~!
xoxo~
"Wafuu~"
Kud also has two dogs, one is a large Siberian Husky called Strelka and the other is a small Schipperke called Belka! She is allowed to care for these dogs on the school premises as they are used by the Disciplinary Committee.
Kud is one of the weakest members of the Little Busters! but can also be quite strong as well. She can often be seen catching the ball, but more often is seen missing it and admitting defeat with a little wafuu~
This is Mio Nishizono!
Mio is the final person to be recruited by Riki for the Little Busters! although she doesn't play, she acts as the manager of the group! n.n
Mio is a very calm and diligent girl. She enjoys reading and can often be seen sat under a large tree with her parasol. She enjoys reading lots of books, but is always seen with her favourite poetry book by Bokusui Wakayama :)
At first, she refuses to join the Little Busters! but after Riki helps her through her struggle, she sees how much fun everyone has playing baseball and finally accepts his offer to join the group.
(pssst, hey! She also officially started the KyouRiki (Kyousuke and Riki) ship to which I absolutely worship!!! >//////<)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okie, so with the characters introduced, I'm now going to talk a bit about the plot line for Little Busters! Refrain :)
The Little Busters! and some other school members were all going on a field trip but the bus they were on was involved in a major accident and the only two survivors were Riki and Rin as Masato used himself to save Riki and Kengo used himself to save Rin.
So, Kyousuke and the other Little Busters! created an artificial world through their desires to want to save Riki and Rin in which Kyousuke then sets different trials for Riki and Rin to complete in order to help them become stronger so they'll be able to deal with the tragedy of the real world.
This world Kyousuke created constantly loops and Riki and Rin forget what happens each time, but Kyousuke's wish for them to become stronger does work and after Riki and Rin have successfully completed all his trials and have become as strong as they can be, Kyousuke reveals all to them both and after a tearful farewell, orders them to leave the artificial world through the school gates.
Once Riki awakens in the real world at the scene of the crash, he remembers the promise he made to Kyousuke which was to protect Rin so he hurries to find her and they both leave the site of the crash and collapse in a large field.
Riki then realises that he doesn't want to live in a world without all of his friends, so he tells Rin to stay in the field and he goes back to the site of the crash and tries to save everyone. When he enters the bus to find his friends, he is startled by the sight and becomes very afraid which then results in him having a narcolepsy attack.
Rin comes back to herself after being in shock momentarily and realises Riki is gone and travels back to the site of the crash to look for him. Seeing this all before her, she rejects these turn of events and travels back to the artificial world (this time created by her and Riki). She speaks with Komari-chan who tells her how she wants Rin to smile again and be happy! Rin says that she could never do that without Komari-chan...
Rin then visits Riki in the artificial world and helps him overcome his narcolepsy and they both awaken once again and are suddenly much more determined to save everyone.
They both work together to save their classmates, the first person they find being Komari-chan. After pulling Komari-chan out, Riki notices a trail of blood leading around to the side of the bus where Kyousuke is leaned up against it.
Riki and Rin realise he is stopping the gas leak which would cause the bus to explode within moments if released. After Riki awakens him, Kyousuke tells them to save everyone else and leave him there. After a teary moment (with slight hints of KyouRiki) Riki and Rin do as Kyousuke said and manage to take everyone out of the bus and carry them up onto the field with some sort of carrying device they made out of sticks and fabric.
After everyone is saved, Rin and Riki go back to get Kyousuke. He tries to tell them to leave and save themselves, but they refuse to leave him. So they help Kyousuke up from the bus and start walking away. As they are just leaving the site of the bus crash, Riki turns around after being alerted by something and the bus then explodes.
Visual Novel False Ending;
After the bus explosion, Riki, Rin and Kyousuke get caught up in it and die. The only survivors are the people they managed to carry up to the field.
I do believe this is the false ending of the VN that I've heard about. I do plan on trying to play the VN at some point so I can find out for sure.
Visual Novel/Anime True Ending;
Even though Kyousuke, Rin and Riki were barely a few feet away from the explosion, they somehow survive it. Seriously though, it would be impossible to survive that explosion because they were honestly SO close to the bus! OwO;
But I'm happy they did survive :,)
After the incident, everyone received some sort of care from hospitals and were all discharged and no deaths came from the accident.
Kyousuke however, after the accident became comatose because his injuries were far more serious than everyone elses.
Rin and Riki are sat in their classroom and Riki is woken up by Rin singing and the other members of Little Busters! enter and express their concerns for Kyousuke and hope he awakens soon.
As if almost on cue, Kyousuke jumps up onto the open window and flips through just like old times :) Riki tells him he should be careful since he has just recovered but Kyousuke assures him he is fine and healthy.
Kyousuke then tells them all that he has planned another field trip. He rented a minibus for them all and they travel down to the beach and have a day of fun taking pictures and just being SO thankful for the fact they are all well and alive.
They can all now happily live in the real world and move on ahead <3
My thoughts on Little Busters! Refrain
Honestly, while watching this anime...I was struggling SO much to wait for the next episode! I was so desperate to find out what the secret of the world was I nearly went looking for spoilers several times!
I did read accidental spoilers though. One being about the bus crash and another about Riki and Rin, but seriously...Riki and Rin? Who didn't even see THAT one coming from episode 1 of Little Busters!? :,)
But I really did love this anime SO much <3 not as much as Little Busters! though. I think the reason for that is because this season was much more serious than the first season which was just a perfect balance of emotion, school life and developing relationships and friendships :)
But I love this season very much! Especially Kurugaya-san's route...dear GOD, I didn't half cry at that one! :,<
What I liked the most was seeing how Masato and Kengo joined Little Busters! :) and, even though it was sad, I liked finding out about Riki's parents, how they died and what caused his narcolepsy. I also liked the gradual development leading up to the secret being revealed even though it was killing me having to wait :3
I do wish though that this season was longer ;u; to me, 13 episodes just isn't enough! Especially for a story as moving as Refrain.
I would of liked more episodes for Masato and Kengo's routes. I mean, seriously. They covered their routes in ONE episode each! They could of gone into SO much more depth. That kind of upset me and is one of the reasons I must now play the VN.
Also, the false ending of the VN?
I wish that had been included and then after that, shown the real ending. I would of loved to see that because it would have been that AMAZING feeling when you realise everyone is alright!
A bit like CLANNAD After Story :3 you know, how Tomoya was living in this imaginary world where Nagisa had died, but in reality, she hadn't.
But I digress, back to Little Busters! Refrain :,)
I was told by a friend that the ending of Refrain was really depressing, so I was waiting for this awful ending that never happened. I mean, I'm glad it didn't happen...but since this ending featured in the VN and because of the real ending, I would of liked to have seen it.
So, my only complaints really for Refrain is that there weren't enough episodes to really capture the emotion of Masato and Kengo's routes and also the false ending not being included.
Overall, I give this anime a...
9/10 because everything else was just perfect! <3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, I'm assuming that you're reading this because you have watched the anime.
If you haven't watched it and read ahead anyway just to get an idea of what to expect and...basically have everything spoiled for you, do go and watch it! :,)
Key Visual Novels are amazing and you never regret watching a VN by them being produced into an anime <3 they're just SO inspiring!
If you have watched the anime and have anything you want to share and your thoughts on it, please leave them in a comment below as I will read what you write and enjoy doing so :3
So, thank you VERY much for reading this anime review! I hope you enjoyed it and it was informative about Little Busters! Refrain :)
I will try and do more anime reviews here (even though I do video reviews on my YouTube channel) it's just...easier to write them, to be fair :,)
So, follow my blog if you would like to find out when I do more reviews! n.n
Thank you (..again!) for reading and I'll be back with another blog soon!
BYESIES~!
xoxo~
