Little Busters - Anime Spoilers & Speculation (for experienced Little Busters only)

[alunde]

I keep thinking someone is going to come up with some line out of Utena about "revolutionizing the world". The back-story is all wrong, but we've got some of the same images. Though Riki and Rin as Utena/Anthy is a bit of a stretch...

[Aspirety]

How many episodes is this season exactly? I thought it was 14, plus 7 for EX equals 21. That still leaves two episodes unaccounted for. Am I missing something? I'm seeing some sources say 13. Should we expect a Clannad-style recap episode at the end?

[DaBackpack]

Looks like I'll be crying two weeks from now... ;_____; I really hope they get that scene right.

[Deathscyther]

Originally Posted by elior

here the next episode titles

Spoiler for episode 10-12 titles:

10: And Again I Repeat
11 : The End Of The World
12 : A Single Request

looks like the big event will happen in episode 11

So episode 10 will be episode Kyousuke, episode 11 will be last episode: Little Busters and episode 12 will be the last Dream and the 'bad end'. Then episode 13 will be episode Rin, episode Riki, the good end and the epilogue. Sounds about right.

Episodes 11 and 12 will be tearjerkers. Time to get my tissues ready...

[Aspirety]

So, as a VN veteran, one thing I still don't understand is what the deal with the fuel leak and all that is. What is Kyousuke hoping to accomplish? Buying time? If he doesn't plug the leak does that mean Riki and Rin die? But that doesn't seem to be the case, because the whole story works on the assumption that Riki and Rin survive.

Or is it that he's hoping for a miracle where everyone survives?

[Deathscyther]

Originally Posted by Aspirety

So, as a VN veteran, one thing I still don't understand is what the deal with the fuel leak and all that is. What is Kyousuke hoping to accomplish? Buying time? If he doesn't plug the leak does that mean Riki and Rin die? But that doesn't seem to be the case, because the whole story works on the assumption that Riki and Rin survive.

Or is it that he's hoping for a miracle where everyone survives?

I think he's trying to improve the chances of Riki/Rin surviving. He knows that Riki/Rin aren't dying yet and they should be able to get away in time, but he can't be sure of this. He's helping them grow in order to overcome this disaster, but he can't be sure that they'll get away in time before the bus explodes.

[Leo_Otaku]

Originally Posted by Aspirety

So, as a VN veteran, one thing I still don't understand is what the deal with the fuel leak and all that is. What is Kyousuke hoping to accomplish? Buying time? If he doesn't plug the leak does that mean Riki and Rin die? But that doesn't seem to be the case, because the whole story works on the assumption that Riki and Rin survive.

Or is it that he's hoping for a miracle where everyone survives?

Sort of like if you get into a bad accident you should try to turn off the ignition off, so it doesn't possibly catch fire/possibly explode. He figures it is a last ditch attempt to stop the bus from exploding/catching fire. I'm sure he has no idea what is going on around him, only the fact that he wants to do something to help before he dies.

It also could be that he wanted to stall time in case their were survivors. From what I got out of the game was it was the explosion that killed everyone. It wasn't just the initial drop.

[Aspirety]

My memory is pretty foggy, I should probably replay Episode:Kyousuke before going into this again. But wasn't there some deal where time kept resetting in the real world when he was struggling to the gas leak? That especially confused me.

[Meltyred]

Originally Posted by Aspirety

My memory is pretty foggy, I should probably replay Episode:Kyousuke before going into this again. But wasn't there some deal where time kept resetting in the real world when he was struggling to the gas leak? That especially confused me.

Time probably kept resetting with each loop in the world, but for the logic behind that... instead of a wall of text, I will just say KEY Magic. That's why.
And when Kyousuke's control of the fake world became weaker, he could get further to the source of the gas leak, hence when he reached the Gas Leak, he mentions it's all over.

Anyway the Bus exploding actually kills everyone in a bad end where you try to save Kyousuke first.
The reason why Riki and Rin were relatively fine compared to the other survivors were that Kengo and Masato shielded them from most of the damage when the Bus crashed. So basically everyone was unable to move and unconscious.

[Deathscyther]

I liked how the anime handled episode: Kyousuke. I'm glad they left out the moment out that Kyousuke pictures Riki making a stretcher and Rin searching for items and helping the injured. This is way too foreshadowing.

Things I didn't like:
1) They forgot to show that Kyousuke was the one who turned everyone into Masato during Masato's arc.
2) They didn't show Kyousuke 'killing' himself once he's covering the hole where the gasoline is leaking from. This is important for understanding how the real world and the dream world are connected.

Anyway, I hope they'll involve Rin more in last episode: Little Busters. I know that this is supposed to focus on the guys mostly and that The Last Dream is focused on Rin, but they made Rin act too stupid/naive during last episode: Little Busters in the VN...

Originally Posted by Aspirety

My memory is pretty foggy, I should probably replay Episode:Kyousuke before going into this again. But wasn't there some deal where time kept resetting in the real world when he was struggling to the gas leak? That especially confused me.

Kyousuke and the others were able to communicate with their consciousnesses, apparently because they were all close to death. With their thoughts, feelings, regrets and their common desire to save Riki and Rin they were able to create the dream world. It's basically a world close to death. Time stopped for them in the real world once they entered it. In theory, as long as their consciousnesses are able to sustain the dream world, it can continue on for all eternity, since time doesn't flow in the real world.

Kyousuke found a loophole which enables him to exit the dream world, though. Since the time in the real world doesn't flow when they're in the dream world, the world (or space–time continuum or whatever you want to call it) had to 'improvise' and decided that Kyousuke would return to the time and place where he was supposed to be, i.e. right before his time stopped. So each time he loses consciouness while crawling in the real world, he'll rest in the dream world before returning to the real world, which returns him to the starting point again. This happens when he goes back to the dream world voluntarily as well. It's a never-ending cycle. Basically, he saved his game right before entering the dream world. He can load this saved game, but he can't save his progress in the real world.

In order to keep blocking the leaking gasoline he decided to change the primary reason of his death in the real world (using glass to cut himself in his hand/wrist), so that the world would recognize this as the place where he'd die instead of the old location and time, which would make this his new reset point. Kyousuke basically cheated.

At least, this is my theory.

[Leo_Otaku]

Originally Posted by Deathscyther

Anyway, I hope they'll involve Rin more in last episode: Little Busters. I know that this is supposed to focus on the guys mostly and that The Last Dream is focused on Rin, but they made Rin act too stupid/naive during last episode: Little Busters in the VN...

I agree with this and was re-watching it and didn't quite feel like Rin needed to be kept in the dark at that point. It make her seem way too naive to me.

[Randrak42]

I'm gonna cry next episode...I always do at this point in the VN...even if the anime version turns out to be inferior I'll still likely cry like a little baby...

Dammit Little Busters...

[Deathscyther]

Originally Posted by Randrak42

I'm gonna cry next episode...I always do at this point in the VN...even if the anime version turns out to be inferior I'll still likely cry like a little baby...

Dammit Little Busters...

Same here. I always have to cry during last episode: Little Busters...

I have the feeling that the anime version will make me cry even more.

[Aspirety]

Originally Posted by Deathscyther

I liked how the anime handled episode: Kyousuke. I'm glad they left out the moment out that Kyousuke pictures Riki making a stretcher and Rin searching for items and helping the injured. This is way too foreshadowing.

Things I didn't like:
1) They forgot to show that Kyousuke was the one who turned everyone into Masato during Masato's arc.
2) They didn't show Kyousuke 'killing' himself once he's covering the hole where the gasoline is leaking from. This is important for understanding how the real world and the dream world are connected.

Anyway, I hope they'll involve Rin more in last episode: Little Busters. I know that this is supposed to focus on the guys mostly and that The Last Dream is focused on Rin, but they made Rin act too stupid/naive during last episode: Little Busters in the VN...



Kyousuke and the others were able to communicate with their consciousnesses, apparently because they were all close to death. With their thoughts, feelings, regrets and their common desire to save Riki and Rin they were able to create the dream world. It's basically a world close to death. Time stopped for them in the real world once they entered it. In theory, as long as their consciousnesses are able to sustain the dream world, it can continue on for all eternity, since time doesn't flow in the real world.

Kyousuke found a loophole which enables him to exit the dream world, though. Since the time in the real world doesn't flow when they're in the dream world, the world (or space–time continuum or whatever you want to call it) had to 'improvise' and decided that Kyousuke would return to the time and place where he was supposed to be, i.e. right before his time stopped. So each time he loses consciouness while crawling in the real world, he'll rest in the dream world before returning to the real world, which returns him to the starting point again. This happens when he goes back to the dream world voluntarily as well. It's a never-ending cycle. Basically, he saved his game right before entering the dream world. He can load this saved game, but he can't save his progress in the real world.

In order to keep blocking the leaking gasoline he decided to change the primary reason of his death in the real world (using glass to cut himself in his hand/wrist), so that the world would recognize this as the place where he'd die instead of the old location and time, which would make this his new reset point. Kyousuke basically cheated.

At least, this is my theory.

Oh thank you! This explains so much. It sure seems super convoluted, but it's as good an explanation I've heard.

Also, to get back on topic, the preview images for Episode 11 are up. http://litbus-anime.com/refrain/index.html#story11

[DaBackpack]

Kyousuke crying really got me this time, dare I say that part was better in the anime than in the game!

Other than that, I think I still much prefer the game version to the anime. I wish they kept the part with "Faraway" playing as soon as Riki decided "There comes a time when you have to stop playing..." that was pretty powerful for me. But I guess moving it to Kengo's goodbye was OK too.

Was still a pretty good episode though.

EDIT: I watched it again, and... well, I'm not really satisfied.

I can't place my finger on what exactly I didn't like about it... but... the VN part was WAY better.

[Randrak42]

The VN is way more personal, you experience the scenes differently so it makes sense that emotional things will have a bigger impact on the people.

[Deathscyther]

I liked the anime version very much. There were parts that were better in the anime, although there were parts that I liked more in the VN as well. All in all, I was very content with the anime episode.

I like that the anime focused more on Kyousuke's feelings for Rin. This sentence was really strong: 'I wanted to stay with that awkward little girl forever....But I can't protect you anymore. I'm sorry, Rin.'

I also love this little exchange:
*Rin pitches*
*Kyousuke catches the ball and smiles*
Kyousuke: 'Good, right down the middle.'
Riki: 'For a girl she throws hard.'
Kyousuke: 'Good pitch, Rin! Thanks, Riki.'

The scene with Riki remembering everything that happened in the other time-loops was good too. I don't remember this happening in the VN.

Finally, the scene were Kyousuke sees his fallen comrades on more time was a nice touch as well.

I was hoping that they'd give Rin a bigger role in the anime, but I think they made it seem like Rin didn't hear the conversation between Riki and Kyousuke, which means that she didn't know what was happening at that point. Still, she didn't look very surprised when both Masato and Kengo disappeared. I still think that this could have been handled better. But I guess they want to save Rin for Komari.

Originally Posted by DaBackpack

I wish they kept the part with "Faraway" playing as soon as Riki decided "There comes a time when you have to stop playing..." that was pretty powerful for me.

I agree, but I like how the anime did it as well.

[Dark Faith]

Originally Posted by Deathscyther

I was hoping that they'd give Rin a bigger role in the anime, but I think they made it seem like Rin didn't hear the conversation between Riki and Kyousuke, which means that she didn't know what was happening at that point. Still, she didn't look very surprised when both Masato and Kengo disappeared. I still think that this could have been handled better. But I guess they want to save Rin for Komari.

This part bugged me quite a bit. Rin simply stood there without saying a word while people vanished into thin air, as if that's the most natural thing in the world.

I honestly can't remember if she acted the same way on this scene in the VN (though I suspect she did), but the anime only makes it more glaring.

[Crashmaking Zoomatic]

Originally Posted by Dark Faith

This part bugged me quite a bit. Rin simply stood there without saying a word while people vanished into thin air, as if that's the most natural thing in the world.

I honestly can't remember if she acted the same way on this scene in the VN (though I suspect she did), but the anime only makes it more glaring.

Yeah, she acted the same way in the VN, and it was one of my least favorite parts. I was really hoping they would change it or do -something- about it in the anime. Sure, they made it so she didn't overhear, but still...it's really awkward. Oh well. Still looking forward to the parting of the girls, next episode! To me, that hit the hardest in the VN.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by Dark Faith

This part bugged me quite a bit. Rin simply stood there without saying a word while people vanished into thin air, as if that's the most natural thing in the world.

I honestly can't remember if she acted the same way on this scene in the VN (though I suspect she did), but the anime only makes it more glaring.

The difference is that in the VN, you have sprites. Rin's sprite just disappears for most of the entire scene and if you stopped to think for a moment (coupled with her few confused reactions), it came off like she was barely involved.

I thank the anime for including that earlier scene with Rin trying to remember something that she forgotten and make it seem like she didn't actually overhear what Kyousuke was telling Riki so it made her confusion and lack of emotional reaction more believable (Still wasn't enough IMO). Her emotional scene will be coming next episode and this way it makes more sense. As riki learned the secret of the world this episode, so too will Rin in the next one. I think Maeda originally intended this to be the case, but he did it awkwardly in this regard.