Little Busters ~Refrain~ - Episode 12 Discussion / Poll

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Monoriu

Am I the only one who is a little disturbed by the fact that there was no attempt to call the emergency services? Did I miss it?

No, you're not the only one. This seemed very odd to me as well.

Why is nobody calling the ambulance, or the police? Even if everybody else on that bus is dead, it's kind of important to alert the proper authorities ASAP.

I suppose that Riki and Rin's cellphones might have been destroyed in the crash, but if so, it would have been nice to have that confirmed.

I know that if I was Riki, my very first thought (after getting Rin to immediate safety) would be calling 911 (or whatever the Japanese equivalent to that is).

[Monoriu]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

No, you're not the only one. This seemed very odd to me as well.

Why is nobody calling the ambulance, or the police? Even if everybody else on that bus is dead, it's kind of important to alert the proper authorities ASAP.

I suppose that Riki and Rin's cellphones might have been destroyed in the crash, but if so, it would have been nice to have that confirmed.

I know that if I was Riki, my very first thought (after getting Rin to immediate safety) would be calling 911 (or whatever the Japanese equivalent to that is).

There seems almost a rule in a lot of anime that the protagonists won't go to the authorities or adults for help. That makes sense in some situations, e.g. you can't really tell your mother that your magical girl friend died in a battle against a witch, and another just became a witch herself. But there seems no reason why Riki/Rin can't use their mobile phones to call emergency for a mundane traffic accident.

[MCAL]

Well, when you have been stuck in a never ending dream world and come back after finding out all your friends (To Riki, there are basically his family so to speak), acting completely rational is not the first thing from the mind.

[Leo_Otaku]

Coming from experience, when it involves you in an accident phoning doesn't necessarily come to mind as a priority. Phoning usually comes to mind for someone who is is witnessing an accident. Plus, I always assumed their phones are long gone, plus I wouldn't want to go near that bus myself. There are too many circumstances happening to look for a phone.

[Magicflier]

Originally Posted by Monoriu

Am I the only one who is a little disturbed by the fact that there was no attempt to call the emergency services? Did I miss it?

Originally Posted by Triple_R

No, you're not the only one. This seemed very odd to me as well.

Why is nobody calling the ambulance, or the police? Even if everybody else on that bus is dead, it's kind of important to alert the proper authorities ASAP.

I suppose that Riki and Rin's cellphones might have been destroyed in the crash, but if so, it would have been nice to have that confirmed.

I know that if I was Riki, my very first thought (after getting Rin to immediate safety) would be calling 911 (or whatever the Japanese equivalent to that is).

Originally Posted by Monoriu

There seems almost a rule in a lot of anime that the protagonists won't go to the authorities or adults for help. That makes sense in some situations, e.g. you can't really tell your mother that your magical girl friend died in a battle against a witch, and another just became a witch herself. But there seems no reason why Riki/Rin can't use their mobile phones to call emergency for a mundane traffic accident.

Leo_Otaku is right. If you are not just a witness nor a bystander and is facing an accident in front of your eyes. Calling for help would not normally be the first thought on your mind when people you really care about are involved. There are a few people that can keep calm in situations despite this like Kyousuke for instance; if he witnessed it, then it's likely he would've called for help despite his mind going hectic with various negative thoughts and scenarios.

...but we're talking about Riki here. Do you think he would've been calm enough to think straight to call for help? How about Rin? I know that it would've been 100% impossible for Riki and Rin if they didn't go through this "grow stronger in the dream world" thing. Riki would've fallen into a narcoleptic attack from shock or maybe even a trauma, while Rin would be too scared to even accept it as reality to even be able to do anything useful. Even now, look at Riki... despite growing stronger, he was still in a state of shock so I don't even want to know what might have happened if he didn't grow stronger in the dream world.

So the dream world has merits. Rin isn't shy anymore, so she'll probably call for help next episode... This was only the beginning of this crash scene. This episode was probably aimed to show us the depth of the crash. Don't blame those 2 kids too much.
(you have the right to start yelling at me with the "I told you so!" 's if Rin nor Riki calls for help next episode...)

Even so, you guys need to understand that not everyone can stay calm when someone they really care about just happen to end up in a accident in front of you. Some just start wasting time thinking of negative scenarios, and start running to the site of the accident to try and help them yourself... or you could say to confirm whatever is on their mind with their own eyes. Call it a late reaction to the scene!

[Reckoner]

How about the basic fact of the matter being that they don't appear to be in a populated area and any call to help would most likely be too late? The call to help should happen once the people there are out of danger (the bus looks like it's about to explode because of the gasoline and a spark setting it to fire).

[Mcfart]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

How about the basic fact of the matter being that they don't appear to be in a populated area and any call to help would most likely be too late? The call to help should happen once the people there are out of danger (the bus looks like it's about to explode because of the gasoline and a spark setting it to fire).

Pretty much this.

[Zankoku12]

In LB!,it's a fact that adults are all useless.
Not to mention the last time polices appears,it instantly become bad end.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Magicflier

Calling for help would not normally be the first thought on your mind when people you really care about are involved.

I completely disagree. Calling for help is the most normal and natural response to being caught in a nasty situation where help is needed.


Honestly, it's not even a question of staying calm. It's a question of wanting to do everything you can to get the best outcome possible. It's also a question of people naturally wanting to get help when caught in a nasty situation. Even if I was in shock and horror, I'd still be calling 9/11 (because I'm in shock and horror, and I'd want to get help).

And so what if they're not near a populated area? The sooner you make that 9/11 call the sooner help arrives, regardless of the distance that they're driving from.

And saying that adults are useless in this show is meta-commentary that doesn't apply to what's frankly the most appropriate thing to do in situations like this.


Finally, Riki has been carefully prepared for this exact moment by Kyousuke. That mental preparation ought to take at least some of the shock away. Heck, if I was Riki, I'd be thinking "If I wake up at the crash-site, I'm calling 9/11 as soon as I get Rin to safety" even as I'm running out of the fake world. I do find it a bit strange that Riki's plan is to desperately search through that crashed bus before he appears to even think about calling for help.


Sorry, guys, but I find the responses Monoriu and I have received to be a bit defensive. The writing in this show is open to critique just like it is in any other anime show.

In any event, my criticism is not a fatal one. It's not like I'm saying it ruins the episode or anything that severe. But it is something that I did find odd, and that I still do. I hope that at the very least they do call for help next episode (or that it's confirmed that they're not able to).

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Sorry, guys, but I find the responses Monoriu and I have received to be a bit defensive. The writing in this show is open to critique just like it is in any other anime show.

In any event, my criticism is not a fatal one. It's not like I'm saying it ruins the episode or anything that severe. But it is something that I did find odd, and that I still do. I hope that at the very least they do call for help next episode (or that it's confirmed that they're not able to).

You're free to criticize what you want, but as you open up your opinion about it, people are also free to give their take on it as well. No one has been rude to you guys.

In any case, I think you're assuming too many things. It's possible they don't have cell phones on them (How many times are cell phones confiscated in anime when going on trips?). It's possible they're in such shock that they haven't been able to think clearly. Or maybe, this detail is so inconsequential to what is going on that is hardly worth a second thought?

I think the far bigger thing in the picture here isn't some insignificant detail like this, but the more thematic and narrative choices being made, which you already alluded to in a previous post. I'm going to refrain (pun not intended) talking about this because I am a VN reader so whatever I have to say is a spoiler and I'm not sure what the anime is doing 100% yet, but I'll just say at the very least that I agree with your concern about it.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I know that if I was Riki, my very first thought (after getting Rin to immediate safety) would be calling 911 (or whatever the Japanese equivalent to that is).

For reference, it's 110 for police, 119 for ambulance or fire truck.

[Magicflier]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I completely disagree. Calling for help is the most normal and natural response to being caught in a nasty situation where help is needed.


Honestly, it's not even a question of staying calm. It's a question of wanting to do everything you can to get the best outcome possible. It's also a question of people naturally wanting to get help when caught in a nasty situation. Even if I was in shock and horror, I'd still be calling 9/11 (because I'm in shock and horror, and I'd want to get help).

And so what if they're not near a populated area? The sooner you make that 9/11 call the sooner help arrives, regardless of the distance that they're driving from.

And saying that adults are useless in this show is meta-commentary that doesn't apply to what's frankly the most appropriate thing to do in situations like this.


Finally, Riki has been carefully prepared for this exact moment by Kyousuke. That mental preparation ought to take at least some of the shock away. Heck, if I was Riki, I'd be thinking "If I wake up at the crash-site, I'm calling 9/11 as soon as I get Rin to safety" even as I'm running out of the fake world. I do find it a bit strange that Riki's plan is to desperately search through that crashed bus before he appears to even think about calling for help.

I said this is Riki we're talking about, not you. I disagree on your disagreement. Calling for help is the most normal and natural response to being caught in a nasty situation, but I was trying to say that it would've not been the first thought for such weak-hearted and very timid people. I'm saying this by experience, not because I simply made it up. If you were to try and get help despite the shock, then you're part of the more dependable people that analyzes the situation calmly despite everything happening. I already told you that there are people who can keep calm mind like you. You need to understand there are very useless people as well as dependable that can't call for help instantly because of overload of shock. This is a matter of you calling for help quicker than Riki would because of Riki wasting time with his shock. That's all...

Don't know what you want Riki to think, but putting everything into consideration about his personality; I doublt Riki would be thinking that he would call for help right after leaving the world. I'm very sure he was determined to leave everyone behind to protect Rin as Kyousuke wanted, since he doesn't even know the situation himself. How bad in a state was everyone? So he wanted to confirm with his own eyes to see if they're all right, and is still in time to be saved. Help never came accross his mind first, it's his "Are they alright? I want to see them. Please be alright!" thoughts that controlled his thoughts first. So he can't help but go to the site himself.

[erneiz_hyde]

I disagree.

If anything, I think calling for help is what most weak and timid person would do in the first place. It's the confident and strong willed who dashes head first towards a disaster to help people. In that sense, you could say Kyousuke definitely succeeded in making Riki stronger.

[Monoriu]

I just think it would be nice to spend a few seconds to show that they did call for help. I mean, calling for help and rushing in to help your friends aren't mutually exclusive. One can make the call, then rush in. The call won't take more than a minute. Alternatively, there should be a line or two showing why they couldn't make the call. No signal, no phone, phone damaged, whatever. As it is, I feel that the story-telling is missing an important piece.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Monoriu

The call won't take more than a minute.

But the bus could explode in less than a minute, meaning that single minute would be the difference between saving a few people and standing by and watching everyone die.

Plus, one would hope someone on the road (like the guy who nearly hit them, perhaps) would've already called an ambulance.

[Monoriu]

Originally Posted by GDB

But the bus could explode in less than a minute, meaning that single minute would be the difference between saving a few people and standing by and watching everyone die.

Plus, one would hope someone on the road (like the guy who nearly hit them, perhaps) would've already called an ambulance.

See, these are ok explanations that I am willing to accept. Problem is, nobody said so on screen.

[MCAL]

But the thing is, does it really need to be explained? I don't think it is too hard to surmise various reasons why. I don't think this really test suspension of disbelief.

[Monoriu]

Originally Posted by MCAL

But the thing is, does it really need to be explained? I don't think it is too hard to surmise various reasons why. I don't think this really test suspension of disbelief.

I was bothered, yes. That's why I raised the issue to see if it is just me.

[GDB]

Also, didn't Japan ban cell phones at school? Meaning they probably didn't even have them on them.

[erneiz_hyde]

When did such a ban happen? O_O

Spoiler for source material, unrelated to main plot:

Pretty sure they have cell phones. There was a whole segment of Kyousuke answering questions on an online BBS, with cellphone screen as background.