Little Busters - Episode 16 Discussion / Poll

[Klashikari]

It isn't really a matter of being "slapstick" or not. Hell, Masato and Kengo combined with Rin and all is still slapstick, but it didn't particularly make the discipline commitee acting against them (with few exceptions such like Masato and Riki entering in the girls' dormitory).
The problem was however stated (not exactly shown that well) by several characters, be it the commitee or other characters like Masato: whether or not Haruka's pranks aren't that of a major problem that lead to lasting consequences, she is a recidivist in her practices, and even defy those who are supposed to do their job, albeit overzealously.

Picture it yourself: I can't see anyone letting slide someone's prank when it is repeated countlessly even after several punishments and lecture (I'm not talking about the extent of Haruka's pranks per se, but rather how often she is bringing troubles for no real reason).
Kiljoy or not, there are rules to be respected to a certain extent, and whereas not every students can pretend to be completely white in that regard in a general sense (be it seriously or in a laid back anime sense), it is natural to have a "bias" when it is just repeated.
In a purely comedy show, you have such antics as the norm and a commitee like that are also played for giggles as either the straight man or the antagonist. But in LB case, it isn't a purely driven comedy show, so you have a sense of balance in term of mood and events.
Heck, Masato who is often the receiving end of many characters' "physical abuse" just can't stand Haruka's nagging approaches, despite Rin dealt much more pain to him than Haruka.

Simply speaking, expecting Haruka's actions as normal and "okay" because it is played for comedy doesn't really work as LB isn't something akin to any pure slapstick show.
It is also why her reputation is known as troublemaker and it isn't only the discipline commitee, but also other characters (even nameless ones, but that wasn't shown in the anime). In fact, most characters often jump on the gun when some troubles arise, thinking it is Haruka's doing (except when it goes serious, such as the vending machine incident, which was motivated by the commitee bias).

Note that I do not state that Kanata's behaviour is level headed by any means, but the commitee decisions and stance are rather "normal" given the circumstances. Harsh with mean remarks due to bias? Sure. But irrelevant/unfounded? No.

Regarding what she says to the LB, bear in mind that her comments are done due to specific circumstances.
-The first time was a warning due to furniture damage, which is considered as vandalism. No matter how funny it was, you can't discard that the LB were careless about it.
-The second time was Riki and Masato in the girls' dormitory. Of course, you can say that Masato and Riki didn't have any ill intention, but at the same time, they could simply ask girls to help Kud by the entrance.
-Kanata's remarks regarding the LB are hardass sure, but are based on their antics: surely battles on school grounds, even for the kicks aren't really what you would expect and it is well known as a good number of students watch the battles and even assist to the weapon selections. As such you can't expect a discipline commitee to let slide a bunch of kids putting a show like that.
Also, she took action against the girls in episode 15 only when it really went out of hand with their ruckus, to which could have been done much earlier.

Also note that due to the rules, Kanata could also jump on them for the cafeteria incident, especially there was no way for her to not know the LB took action for that, yet she let it slide.

So really, circumstances regarding her approach to the LB isn't exactly that affected by Haruka's presence.

[taichi-kun]

Nice episode, poor haruchin

I should have asked this earlier, but after the midori event,is mio popular at school..? It doesn't seem so..

[Rising Dragon]

Maybe not, but she seems to be more active and outgoing, so chances are things will improve for her and they won't be calling her mean things anymore.

[orpheus2]

I know she is just doing her job but she should separate her personal bias from her work. I have to agree that Kanata did not spread those posters. I am guessing it's the disciplinary committee.

[kitten320]

I'm sure Futaki has her reasons, she seemed to be remembering her and Haruka's past fondly enough.

I doubt that poster thing is her doing but she did go over board what made her look more like bully this time around.

[Rising Dragon]

Yeah, I doubt Kanata spread them as well, but she's also the only one who's shown to be mean enough to do something like that.

The only other really "mean" girl we've seen is Sasami... and she's not on the same level as Kanata was this episode, and she's more concerned with her rivalry with Rin anyway. Haruka probably doesn't even register as a blip on her radar. So we'll probably get introduced to some new minor character in the next episode or two, kinda like Midori.

[Kudryavka]

Damnit.

Futaki is such a BIIIIIITCH!!

Why can't she just leave Haruka alone?? Or tell her calmly to stop causing trouble?!! She has to break her and her bench!!

UUURRGGRRRRRAAAHH!!!! I am so mad! Let's see ho she fixes her doodoo!!?

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

In a purely comedy show, you have such antics as the norm and a commitee like that are also played for giggles as either the straight man or the antagonist. But in LB case, it isn't a purely driven comedy show, so you have a sense of balance in term of mood and events.

This is the crux of our disagreement.

I don't get a "sense of balance" in term of moods and events in LB.

LB may not be a purely comedy-driven show, but it is primarily comedic, imo. I mean, we're now 16 episodes into LB (that's a good, long stretch and plenty of time for an anime show to develop an identity for itself), and I'd say that a solid majority of those episodes would fit more neatly into "comedy" than "drama". The only ones that struck me as more dramatic than comedic are the ones focusing heavily on one specific girl as we delve into the latter portions of her route. So, out of 16 episodes, I'd say 10 to 12 have been primarily comedic, and only 4 to 6 have been primarily dramatic.

Honestly, Kanata and her committee have come across to me as being played for giggles as both straight man and antagonist. In fact, that's precisely how they came off to me just one episode ago in Episode 15!

It's hard to take their concerns seriously when they're usually played this way, imo. And it's harder still when they choose to be downright abusive about it.


I get what your saying overall, but if the anime intended for us to see moral ambiguity in the Haruka/Kanata feud, with both sides being equally at fault and equally flawed, then this anime as failed considerably on that mark, imo. It's made Haruka's mischief-making seem like small potatoes compared to Kanata's strict legalism that alternates between being hilariously over-the-top (last episode) and disturbingly over-the-top (this episode).

[Kudryavka]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I get what your saying overall, but if the anime intended for us to see moral ambiguity in the Haruka/Kanata feud, with both sides being equally at fault and equally flawed, then this anime as failed considerably on that mark, imo. It's made Haruka's mischief-making seem like small potatoes compared to Kanata's strict legalism that alternates between being hilariously over-the-top (last episode) and disturbingly over-the-top (this episode).

The game handled it in this way too. Kanata seems way worse than Haruka.

[Zankoku12]

It's simply because Kanata is trying her very best to look like a total bitch while Haruka act like a helpless lamb most of the time LOL

[Kudryavka]

Yea you're right Zan.

But I can't blame Haruka since, well, she has a hard past as you see in the scene with the men yelling...

And speaking of which, why were those all men? I was under the impression that they were mostly women. Women are usually the ones who do that.

[Zankoku12]

Originally Posted by Kudryavka

Yea you're right Zan.

But I can't blame Haruka since, well, she has a hard past as you see in the scene with the men yelling...

And speaking of which, why were those all men? I was under the impression that they were mostly women. Women are usually the ones who do that.

Every figures look very distorted so I can't tell but maybe there're woman in there but only the men are talking ? Or maybe that house is full of men,after all they have 2 husbands per wife

[Triple_R]

To be fair, I think Kanata is still capable of being a nice person and a likeable character. In fact, it's very simple for her to become that. She just needs to get over her insanely over-the-top hatred of her sister. I get the impression that once she gets pass that, Kanata will be fine.

[Kudryavka]

Oh yea, the house is full of men, two men for every woman, LOL. forgot about that

Or maybe they only do that for the heir?

Anyway, it just seems weird to me because women are more often the ones behind psychological domestic abuse towards children. When abusive men are angry at a daughter, they usually just let mom handle it because they think they "can't handle women" and their traditional role of being hands-off in parenting in general. Also men aren't known to gang up to pick on someone unless it's physical. Females are much better known for ganging up to mentally break people.

I just hope it's not yet another example of "Look, only men can hurt children and women are always nice and pure!" like I've seen in a lot of anime. -_-;

[kitten320]

^Can't fully agree, men love to talk just as much as females and bad wording is a normal thing for them too.

They might use violence more but mental abuse is something they do just as much. Spreading rumors is common between them as well. Actually I met few cases where guys love to spread rumors and bad mouth even more than females 0_o

So yeh, that's just a stereotype.

[Klashikari]

Responses to triple R and kudryavka:

TL;DR…

long answer involving game comparisons, no spoiler

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[Kudryavka]

Very insightful, Klash.

Spoiler for Comparison to the game:

For the record I don't really dislike Kanata so much anymore (in the game), I just felt the game handled it that way. Not as badly as the anime apparently, but we still get a view skewed towards Haruka's side there.

I personally initially disliked Haruka for fooling around so much and liked Kanata more for trying to keep her antics under control. I think my view of Kanata just seriously tanked when I saw her being as bad and mean, if not worse than her sister. It was way easier to see the evil intent that Kanata had to Haruka because of that.

I decided to suspend my judgment on Kanata until I see [mod edit: more].

But man that bench scene! T-T It gets me every time...

Originally Posted by kitten320

^Can't fully agree, men love to talk just as much as females and bad wording is a normal thing for them too.

They might use violence more but mental abuse is something they do just as much. Spreading rumors is common between them as well. Actually I met few cases where guys love to spread rumors and bad mouth even more than females 0_o

So yeh, that's just a stereotype.

No absolutes here, of course. I'm just saying that the chances of, according to that shot, only the men in Haruka's family picking on her? That's already unlikely since there are, you know, actually other women in the family. Just saying why it's even more unlikely. Possible, but I tend to be skeptical of "it's possible" when it comes to manmade products and situations like this show. A conscious decision was made to only have men (or at least men's voices and men's silouhettes the immediately visible ones) there, and that gets me thinking, why do that...?

[Reckoner]

@Klashikari

Game comparisons a bit...

TL;DR…

 

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Originally Posted by Triple_R

I get what your saying overall, but if the anime intended for us to see moral ambiguity in the Haruka/Kanata feud, with both sides being equally at fault and equally flawed, then this anime as failed considerably on that mark, imo. It's made Haruka's mischief-making seem like small potatoes compared to Kanata's strict legalism that alternates between being hilariously over-the-top (last episode) and disturbingly over-the-top (this episode).

Klashikari is talking from a VN reader's perspective so his perspective is one of a person who already went through the whole route. This specific point will be expanded upon in the upcoming episodes.

[Klashikari]

Went ahead and replied in the game reader thread instead, as it isn't convenient to go on here.

That being said, my perspective for the "balance" was indeed based on the VN, but more importantly, due to the same time frame that the anime has depicted (as Riki's comments and narration do explore his own exhaustion regarding Haruka's antics, way before shit hit the fan).

[Triple_R]

Thank you for the reply, Klash. I can now see how Kanata has perhaps been done a disservice by the adaptation approach taken here.