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**monir** · 2013-11-16, 00:25

Welcome to the discussion thread for Little Busters ~Refrain~, Episode 7.

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elior · 2013-11-16, 10:49

this was great episode and very good begining to the importend arc in the show

Kanon · 2013-11-16, 11:39

I take it we've finally entered Refrain now.

A new loop has started. Rin and Riki's memories were wiped but their strong feelings remained. Kyousuke's previous failure with Rin -who is now worse off than she has ever been- seems to have taken quite a toll on him. He's so depressed he can color the walls black just by leaning on them

Everything rests on Riki's shoulders now, and he's off to a pretty good start. I'm sure he won't make the same mistakes as Kyousuke.

Yye1 · 2013-11-16, 12:01

Wow, so we have finally entered Refrain, pretty good start

Team Rocket Elite · 2013-11-16, 13:26

Yep, Refrain has finally started.

MCAL · 2013-11-16, 14:51

And so it begins...

ginger02 · 2013-11-16, 15:54

As someone who never read the visual novel, I have no idea what's going on now.

MCAL · 2013-11-16, 16:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger02

As someone who never read the visual novel, I have no idea what's going on now.

As some one who has read the VN, I can assure you that's natural.

DmonHiro · 2013-11-16, 16:59

Oh boy... here we go. It's time for a feel-trip. Damn it, Kyosuke sure blew it last time... His pain was subtle in episode 6. Now.... not so much...

Deathscyther · 2013-11-16, 17:14

That was a good episode. They went through the start of Refrain pretty fast, but the important scenes made it in. I have high expectations for the remaining episodes.

I like how 'the light' returned in Rin's eyes after throwing her first fastball. On the other hand, they made Kyousuke look even more depressed by adding a layer of 'darkness' around him. This was a nice touch.

And Riki...I know you're not a genius when it comes to thinking of fun things to do and I know Rin isn't really mature for her age, but you can't expect to entertain her by putting on a mask and then be like 'Peekaboo!'. She's not that childish...

ChampDream · 2013-11-16, 17:37

is feel weird seeing Kyousuke depressed like that, it look like is up to Riki to fix everything.

DmonHiro · 2013-11-16, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChampDream

is feel weird seeing Kyousuke depressed like that, it look like is up to Riki to fix everything.

Well, his plan did backfire something awful. You make yourself the bad guy, throw everything away for the greater good, and then find out that you made things WORSE.

GDB · 2013-11-16, 17:47

As someone who hasn't played the VN... I'm starting to get bored with the series now that all the interesting girls are gone. That and Riki/Rin spending entire episodes trying to figure something out that we, the viewers, already know.

Dr. Casey · 2013-11-16, 18:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by GDB

As someone who hasn't played the VN... I'm starting to get bored with the series now that all the interesting girls are gone.

My interest level is taking the precise opposite road, but Haruka's presence is sorely missed. (I find her by far the most attractive of the Little Busters cast)

I always love stretches in stories where everything's shrouded in mystery and nothing makes sense. The fog of confusion is sure to be blown away this next episode or two, but for the moment I'm enjoying the sheer mindfuckery of the beginnings to the Refrain story arc.

Reckoner · 2013-11-16, 18:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by GDB

As someone who hasn't played the VN... I'm starting to get bored with the series now that all the interesting girls are gone. That and Riki/Rin spending entire episodes trying to figure something out that we, the viewers, already know.

I wouldn't ask you to tell me what you think you know, but judging from the message boards I been reading in general, a lot of anime only viewers are actually pretty confused and don't know what's going on. Either that or their guesses are actually off the mark. So I think saying that the viewers know what's going on is a bit of a stretch.

Maybe you have gotten bored these last few episodes, but this to me is the core of Little Busters! Without Refran the story cannot be justified in any way. This is where everything is tied together.

Leo_Otaku · 2013-11-16, 20:35

Really good episode. I thought for a minute they were going to cut out some story but realized they have some episodes still to go. I loved how they played the game opening track in there. I can't recall if it was in the game as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reckoner

I wouldn't ask you to tell me what you think you know, but judging from the message boards I been reading in general, a lot of anime only viewers are actually pretty confused and don't know what's going on. Either that or their guesses are actually off the mark. So I think saying that the viewers know what's going on is a bit of a stretch.

Maybe you have gotten bored these last few episodes, but this to me is the core of Little Busters! Without Refran the story cannot be justified in any way. This is where everything is tied together.

I really agree with you here. This is the core of Little Busters. There is also more to these last episodes than just figuring out things.

Gavisi · 2013-11-16, 22:04

So happy with that last scene. For those who haven't played the VN, the music that starts when Masato says "you've come far enough" is the title screen track. When I played the VN, I found the combination of the music ("wait this isn't in-game music!") and Masato suddenly admitting there's something up with the world, to be an incredibly powerful tone shift. It's still one of my strongest memories from the VN.

I do think this episode was confusing and could've used a bit more explanation. The VN doesn't spell things out, but has extra clues that help you figure out on your own why Riki suddenly doesn't remember the events of the semester.

GDB · 2013-11-16, 22:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavisi

I do think this episode was confusing and could've used a bit more explanation.

I don't know, the title of the episode itself seemed like a pretty good explanation.

Dr. Casey · 2013-11-16, 23:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by GDB

I don't know, the title of the episode itself seemed like a pretty good explanation.

You're speaking in riddles.

I mean, I get that there's been a time loop back to May 13th, but there's nothing thus far to explain why this May the 13th is so different from the one depicted in the first episode of the original series.

DmonHiro · 2013-11-17, 03:13

I think it's easy to guess why this May 13th is so different. Time does loop, but not everything gets rewritten. Kyosuke, Masato and Kengo seem to retain their memories. Rin and Yuiko seem to remember fragments. Others, like Riki, don't remember anything except vague feelings. But either way, some things carry over from one loop to another. The girls that disappeared didn't come back the next loop. Rin's trauma from the previous loop stayed with her in this one. And Kyosuke knows how badly the last loop went, and it's killing him inside. He made Rin worse.
Masato and Kengo seem to know how the script goes, but this time, Riki is pushing it off the rails. They were extremely shocked when Kengo hit Riki, but then they continued the "story" like it was "supposed to" go.

View Poll Results: Little Busters ~Refrain~ - Episode 7 Rating
Perfect 10	1	3.03%
9 out of 10 : Excellent	11	33.33%
8 out of 10 : Very Good	14	42.42%
7 out of 10 : Good	5	15.15%
6 out of 10 : Average	0	0%
5 out of 10 : Below Average	0	0%
4 out of 10 : Poor	0	0%
3 out of 10 : Bad	0	0%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad	1	3.03%
1 out of 10 : Painful	1	3.03%
Voters: 33. You may not vote on this poll

2013-11-16, 11:39	Link #3
Kanon Kana Hanazawa ♥ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: France Age: 37	I take it we've finally entered Refrain now. A new loop has started. Rin and Riki's memories were wiped but their strong feelings remained. Kyousuke's previous failure with Rin -who is now worse off than she has ever been- seems to have taken quite a toll on him. He's so depressed he can color the walls black just by leaning on them Everything rests on Riki's shoulders now, and he's off to a pretty good start. I'm sure he won't make the same mistakes as Kyousuke. __________________

2013-11-16, 12:01	Link #4
Yye1 Wide Right Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Edmonton, Canada	Wow, so we have finally entered Refrain, pretty good start __________________ Don’t you open your mouth about the best. Or I’m ma shut it for you real quick. - Richard Sherman "Me and my girlfreinds are goin to go see Sex and the City." We're like: "Great! Now i dont have to take you to see that shit!" -The Great Philosopher Chris Rock

2013-11-16, 13:26	Link #5
Team Rocket Elite Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008	Yep, Refrain has finally started. __________________ A miracle that you believe in when you know it won't happen......... is hope.

2013-11-16, 17:14	Link #10
Deathscyther Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: The Netherlands Age: 35	That was a good episode. They went through the start of Refrain pretty fast, but the important scenes made it in. I have high expectations for the remaining episodes. I like how 'the light' returned in Rin's eyes after throwing her first fastball. On the other hand, they made Kyousuke look even more depressed by adding a layer of 'darkness' around him. This was a nice touch. And Riki...I know you're not a genius when it comes to thinking of fun things to do and I know Rin isn't really mature for her age, but you can't expect to entertain her by putting on a mask and then be like 'Peekaboo!'. She's not that childish... __________________

2013-11-16, 10:49	Link #2
elior Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011	this was great episode and very good begining to the importend arc in the show

2013-11-16, 14:51	Link #6
MCAL Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012	And so it begins...

2013-11-16, 15:54	Link #7
ginger02 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012	As someone who never read the visual novel, I have no idea what's going on now.

2013-11-16, 16:59	Link #9
DmonHiro Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Romania Age: 37	Oh boy... here we go. It's time for a feel-trip. Damn it, Kyosuke sure blew it last time... His pain was subtle in episode 6. Now.... not so much...

2013-11-16, 17:37	Link #11
ChampDream Alive Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: in my really nice house	is feel weird seeing Kyousuke depressed like that, it look like is up to Riki to fix everything. __________________

2013-11-16, 17:47	Link #13
GDB Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Age: 38	As someone who hasn't played the VN... I'm starting to get bored with the series now that all the interesting girls are gone. That and Riki/Rin spending entire episodes trying to figure something out that we, the viewers, already know.

2013-11-16, 22:04	Link #17
Gavisi Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2013	So happy with that last scene. For those who haven't played the VN, the music that starts when Masato says "you've come far enough" is the title screen track. When I played the VN, I found the combination of the music ("wait this isn't in-game music!") and Masato suddenly admitting there's something up with the world, to be an incredibly powerful tone shift. It's still one of my strongest memories from the VN. I do think this episode was confusing and could've used a bit more explanation. The VN doesn't spell things out, but has extra clues that help you figure out on your own why Riki suddenly doesn't remember the events of the semester.

2013-11-17, 03:13	Link #20
DmonHiro Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Romania Age: 37	I think it's easy to guess why this May 13th is so different. Time does loop, but not everything gets rewritten. Kyosuke, Masato and Kengo seem to retain their memories. Rin and Yuiko seem to remember fragments. Others, like Riki, don't remember anything except vague feelings. But either way, some things carry over from one loop to another. The girls that disappeared didn't come back the next loop. Rin's trauma from the previous loop stayed with her in this one. And Kyosuke knows how badly the last loop went, and it's killing him inside. He made Rin worse. Masato and Kengo seem to know how the script goes, but this time, Riki is pushing it off the rails. They were extremely shocked when Kengo hit Riki, but then they continued the "story" like it was "supposed to" go.