Little Busters ~Refrain~ - Episode 13 [END] Discussion / Poll

[Flower]

Welcome to the discussion thread for Little Busters ~Refrain~, Episode 13.

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[Meltyred]

Oh wow..
This episode actually surprised me....
And them fan service...

[Proto]

A fitting end. I'm satisfied. *clap clap*

[Narzia]

The first quarter of the episode.
What.

The actual ending came as no surprise though, like Clannad, you could argue all day about alternate (and quite depressing) interpretations of the ending, but I choose to go with the most positive one.
There isn't much I want, or even could say about this episode itself. I liked the episode, and it ended pretty much the way I expected it to and it gave the show a fitting closure.

..or not considering technically all the girls' problems remain unsolved in the real world, but hey the power of friendship will eventually overcome it, I'm sure.

Now, about that EX...


Also, the scene with Rin sitting on the bed with Riki and "writing" in his hand while he was sleeping is utterly adorable.

[GDB]

Good ending. Lot more uh... naked Riki than I expected, though.

Also liked the brief cameo by some of the Kud Wafer girls.

Originally Posted by Narzia

..or not considering technically all the girls' problems remain unsolved in the real world, but hey the power of friendship will eventually overcome it, I'm sure.

Actually, isn't Haruka's the only one that isn't resolved? Unless Kanata was in the accident too, in which case their relationship was fixed and it'd only be their parents stuff that isn't resolved.

[Proto]

In most cases their problems are about acceptance, in which case they'll probably be fine. Maybe. The only thread line that depends on external factors (Haruka's) may get some closure during Kanata's arc I guess.

[Yye1]

Hmm a fitting and satiafying ending. liked the focus on friendship over romance

[Meltyred]

An issue I had was the fact that they had done Kick the Can already.
WHERE IS DA ANIMATION, I WANNA SEE IT SO BAD!

[MCAL]

Well that was executed much better than the VN. And no deus ex machina "Go back in time" that made no sense then and would make no sense now.

Overall, I give this a 9/10. Despite not having the balls to go against the true end, JC Staff really made this really good.

Again, I'd like to change the score I gave this episode an 8/10.

EDIT: And yes... You can interpret that ending both ways.

[Kanon]

I don't know how to feel about this ending. On one hand, I'm happy they all survived. On the other, I thought Rin and Riki saved everybody way too easily especially after the show repeatedly told us there would only be two survivors. I feel a bit cheated, and I feel this makes the whole series a bit less meaningful. At least it's not as bad as Clannad After Story.

I would have liked the epilogue to show Haruka making up with Kanata and Kud reuniting with her mother, since none of that ever happened. If you want to make a happy ending, might as well go all the way.

[Meltyred]

Kud's family are most likely dead than anything, so no won't happen.

[novalysis]

Originally Posted by Meltyred

Kud's family are most likely dead than anything, so no won't happen.

Well, Kud Wafter still hasn't been animated yet. I wonder whether JC Staff really was serious when they claimed they'd animate everything.

Also, I do hope that the Drama CD the Field Trip in the ending is based out on get's animated too.

Other than that, it's an adequate end to Little Busters. Hard to see how much better it could have been done, given how the adaptation proceeded.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I would have liked the epilogue to show Haruka making up with Kanata and Kud reuniting with her mother, since none of that ever happened. If you want to make a happy ending, might as well go all the way.

The last episode of EX will be Kanata's episode, so I'd imagine we may see that there.

[Haak]

Better than expected.

I honestly like the fact that Riki decided to try and save them for the simply fact that it makes sense. There's no reason for him to assume they're all dead and there wasn't really any reason for us to assume so either. My first thought when Riki discovered the crash was that they could have very easily been in critical condition but totally savable, so i'm glad that logic won out in the end (Still no attempt to contact authorities though).

That said there were a few problems with the ending. For one thing everyone was saved. I don't mind a couple of the gang being saved but I think it would've been better if most of them had died so we get some sort of sense that Riki's journey had merit to it. But as it stands all Riki's journey really amounted to was being strong enough to have the will to save his friends from a traumatic car crash. Considering how much of a bro Riki has been throughout the show, I honestly didn't expect that to be an actual problem for him but apparently it was. I chalk that to the fact that we never truly saw any of Riki's failures in the fake world and them leaving a very key piece of information right at the end: Riki developing narcolepsy from a previous traumatic car crash.

I think it would've been better if only those that weren't a part of Little Busters during their childhood survive but without any of their memories from the fake world, so Riki and Rin make friends with them all over again (although I don't mind Komari dying)

I could have also done without the Newtype moment. Most of Riki's inner journey moment was fine but I didn't need the narminess of naked Riki trying to be born.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I don't know how to feel about this ending. On one hand, I'm happy they all survived. On the other, I thought Rin and Riki saved everybody way too easily especially after the show repeatedly told us there would only be two survivors. I feel a bit cheated, and I feel this makes the whole series a bit less meaningful. At least it's not as bad as Clannad After Story.

I would have liked the epilogue to show Haruka making up with Kanata and Kud reuniting with her mother, since none of that ever happened. If you want to make a happy ending, might as well go all the way.

Since the anime ended I think there's no way I can spoil anything anymore, but here's a minor rant from a VN reader like me.

Spoiler:

Jun Maeda cut off his balls after Air. Kanon, Clannad, and Little Busters all suffer from these happy endings that undercut the emotional struggle and thematic presentation of the narrative. In Clannad's case, it's actually even more severe than it is here.

In the visual novel, as events progress you are first presented with the "Normal" ending. In the normal ending, Riki's narcolepsy kicks in after moving away from the bus and all his friends die in an explosion. Riki and Rin are left in the hospital depressed and there's a sense that all that Kyousuke gave Riki was for this moment and he would have to live life with everything his friends imparted on him. It made actual damn sense, and this should have been what the ending was about.

However, this is where Jun Maeda decides he has no freaking balls and gives you a choice in the visual novel like "it's not enough." This is where Riki somehow goes back to his birth and cures his narcolepsy in some sort of dream world, goes back in time and then redoes the moment after awakening from Kyousuke's dream world and saves the Little Busters. In the VN this is pretty much the WTF moment, what in the world are you thinking?!!!!? Yeah suffice to say, it was a poor choice.

At the very least, JC Staff did the decency of removing the deus ex machina feeling of the visual novel unlike the Clannad AS anime. So while it undercuts the emotional impact and themes of the story, it doesn't quite come off as badly. However, it's still annoying as hell and I really wish they had gone with a more BITTERsweet ending.

[MCAL]

@Reckoner

Spoiler:

I agree with you. Just one thing. As a VN Kanon came out before Air.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by MCAL

@Reckoner

Spoiler:

I agree with you. Just one thing. As a VN Kanon came out before Air.

Ah well I guess the anime order got me confused then.

[Zankoku12]

I'm about the only one in the world who is still feeling sad for you,Kurugaya.

[Meltyred]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Ah well I guess the anime order got me confused then.

Guess you didn't read Tomoyo After huh...

[Dr. Casey]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Since the anime ended I think there's no way I can spoil anything anymore, but here's a minor rant from a VN reader like me.

Spoiler:

Jun Maeda cut off his balls after Air. Kanon, Clannad, and Little Busters all suffer from these happy endings that undercut the emotional struggle and thematic presentation of the narrative. In Clannad's case, it's actually even more severe than it is here.

In the visual novel, as events progress you are first presented with the "Normal" ending. In the normal ending, Riki's narcolepsy kicks in after moving away from the bus and all his friends die in an explosion. Riki and Rin are left in the hospital depressed and there's a sense that all that Kyousuke gave Riki was for this moment and he would have to live life with everything his friends imparted on him. It made actual damn sense, and this should have been what the ending was about.

However, this is where Jun Maeda decides he has no freaking balls and gives you a choice in the visual novel like "it's not enough." This is where Riki somehow goes back to his birth and cures his narcolepsy in some sort of dream world, goes back in time and then redoes the moment after awakening from Kyousuke's dream world and saves the Little Busters. In the VN this is pretty much the WTF moment, what in the world are you thinking?!!!!? Yeah suffice to say, it was a poor choice.

At the very least, JC Staff did the decency of removing the deus ex machina feeling of the visual novel unlike the Clannad AS anime. So while it undercuts the emotional impact and themes of the story, it doesn't quite come off as badly. However, it's still annoying as hell and I really wish they had gone with a more BITTERsweet ending.

You know what would've been a ballsy ending for Little Busters?

Spoiler:

If Kyosuke crashed the van on the way to the beach, and they all ended up dying anyway. Maximum trollin'.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought of this

I can perfectly understand the feelings of those disappointed with the ending, though I myself like it. I'm glad the Little Busters will continue being able to experience things together and deepen their friendships/life stories, and happy endings that I don't expect to come are always pretty powerful ones to me - I was completely sure that the school bus tragedy was unavoidable and that Riki and Rin were destined to just have to deal with it the best they can.