Little Busters - Episode 18 Discussion / Poll

[taichi-kun]

she leaves the family just like that ? really? no consequences ? Bullshit
and what was that scene with the LB holding hands,that was really stupid...

And the mother and other father were living happily together while their daughters were suffering... ok.

[Rising Dragon]

I doubt their parents were living happily together all that time. Together, sure, but happy? Doubt it. Chances are though that if they tried to take back their children again it could get Haruka killed or them thrown in prison as well--look what happened to Shou, after all.

[Reckoner]

Overall I thought the episode was well done and the arc was adequately adapted, though it really could have used at least 1 more episode (the impersonating plotline got completely dropped in the anime really).

I think a lot of the misgivings in the episode as usual stem from some of the cuts to the source material, but I felt that the core message of Haruka's route as well the emotional confession scene by Kanata still remained basically in tact. I know other source readers might disagree, but at least that's what I felt.

As for the last message of the arc about there being "no evil people in the world," people are taking the line too literally. The meaning is essentially in that Haruka can't live her life in such a fatalistic manner (because these people are bad I can't be happy!), and that the only obstacle to changing her life for the better is herself. No one is stopping her from achieving happiness at this point.

[Triple_R]

Klash

Big, big thanks for all of that excellent info. The Haruka/Kanata narrative makes a lot more sense to me after you lay out all that game-based info.

I also now get the theme of this arc, once you make that subtle shift you mentioned. Yes, it's important to not let the circumstances of one's birth and life hold you down. That's a good lesson, I think.

[Enternal]

So uuhmm... Could I use your post as a reference. So that I don't need to keep repeating myself? The posts are just really thorough and great!

[taichi-kun]

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

I doubt their parents were living happily together all that time. Together, sure, but happy? Doubt it. Chances are though that if they tried to take back their children again it could get Haruka killed or them thrown in prison as well--look what happened to Shou, after all.

yes I understand.. but Futaki should have left the family earlier If It was that easy..

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by taichi-kun

yes I understand.. but Futaki should have left the family earlier If It was that easy..

As I stated: it is a huge mistake from the anime.
Due to her position, but also her age, Kanata has no way to leave the household, unless -they- toss her aside, which is unlikely.

[Zankoku12]

Make me wonder why people who want full explanation wouldn't just play the Vn already
Also,it's like everyone ignored Kanata's "I impersonated Haruka because I want to test you" bit on purpose....

And this arc is about the twin's reconciliation not how they're gonna burn that family's mansion and be free from them.There's no point questioning how they're gonna do it since it wasn't even explained in Haruka's route in the VN to begin with.Things like that are pretty much up to the viewer's imagination at this point....

As for the rain part,I feel like dark cloud and thunder was already done with Midori's troll smile,doing it again with Kanata would feel quiet cliche so they just skipped to the raining for the sake of it or JC staff was just lazy,that would explained all the inconsistent in this anime(after all,they were complaining about having low budget for this show.)

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by Zankoku12

And this arc is about the twin's reconciliation not how they're gonna burn that family's mansion and be free from them.There's no point questioning how they're gonna do it since it wasn't even explained in Haruka's route in the VN to begin with.Rhings like that are pretty much up to the viewer's imagination at this point....

While I agree the arc was by no means aimed to have "people having their just deserts" after what Kanata and Haruka endured so far, I digress for the second part.
Actually, I was a bit puzzled and annoyed by reading the VN at first regarding the complete absence of resolution regarding what happen to the twins after making up. It is actually even worse when you know that there is no way they can continue their "I hate you!" charade, so the spies will catch on quickly.

That was quite the weakness of the route, aside of being a tad too longwinded: there is no proper conclusion to have both girls "free" as of now, and it is a bit detrimental to the message behind that, considering it just toss aside the catalyst of the conflict.

[lildevilinhell]

Or maybe the message is that there is no convenient solution to all the problems (in the VN not anime)... They might've wanted to let the readers have some sort of happy ending, so they left it at that point without elaborating the bleak future awaiting them.

[taichi-kun]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

As I stated: it is a huge mistake from the anime.
Due to her position, but also her age, Kanata has no way to leave the household, unless -they- toss her aside, which is unlikely.

I see so It's a problem of adaptation.

I still have to read your posts from previous pages,maybe I'll find answers there.

But the resolution of this arc( the main family issues) was weak ,nothing will change that.

[Rising7]

I rationalize that just because Kanata states an intention to leave doesn't mean there won't be some prolonged period of struggle toward achieving that end or that she'd even succeed, just that it won't be the story focus. With or without that line, I'd agree that it's pretty unsatisfying to leave that plot thread hanging. And I kind of hope it wasn't ad-libbed in there to curtail future coverage of Kanata's route.

At the same time, I think that having developed a sense of self unattached to the family's approval over the course of this arc, Haruka (and I presume Kanata) have become well-equipped to mitigate the family's influence in their lives.

[Marcus H.]

Or maybe the message is that there is no convenient solution to all the problems (in the VN not anime)... They might've wanted to let the readers have some sort of happy ending, so they left it at that point without elaborating the bleak future awaiting them.

Well, I — as an anime-only viewer — think this is the main theme of Little Busters: all good things must come to an end eventually. The very first episode points to that, as do Komari's and Mio's story arcs.

About Kanata's "mask", there is a tendency for an actor to attached to the role that he/she realizes that it is becoming real to him/her. Kanata probably lived the lie for so long that she actually enjoyed the role rather than treating it like a piece of clothing that can be taken off when needed.

[Kudryavka]

Originally Posted by Zankoku12

Make me wonder why people who want full explanation wouldn't just play the Vn already

It's pretty expensive for people who aren't used to high visual novel prices.

[Benigmatica]

Originally Posted by kitten320

It doesn't look like you actually watched the episode... if Kanata was nice to Haruka, their family would kill Haruka.

What else did you want her to do? Don't forget that she is a teenager, there isn't much she could do on her own except choosing to be a bad guy in order to protect her beloved sister from getting murdered. She took all the blame and pain upon herself, I really don't see how you can hate her.

Now that she got a chance to escape from the family clutches, she told Haruka everything and is deeply sorry about hurting her. She couldn't forgive herself yet Haruka did. There is no reason for her to be mean anymore.

Besides Kanata was always nice to Kud behind the doors what means she was never really bad and as a child she did tell Haruka that they'll have to pretend to hate each other but one day they will find their parents.

She also lied about eggs so Haruka could feel happy about being superior at least in something. She also was against whole poster publication and tried to talk back to the family. In all honesty Kanata did quiet a lot to help Haruka in any way she could while being forced to be mean to her and suffering the beating up and isolation all this time while Haruka spent the last few years doing whatever she wanted.

Sorry for my earlier ramblings but I actually watched that episode. And I understand about Kanata's plight, from threatening with murder against Haruka and such. But still, I don't like Kanata, but I don't hate her very much...

[kitten320]

Well that's your right but in all honesty I can't see how anyone would act differently in her position.

If she were to "torture" Haruka with massive smile on her face, I think it would be far bigger push away. I would actually start to doubt her sanity


VN wise you can find all the routes walk through on youtube though they are hours long. I did slightly skip through Haruka's route.

[Zankoku12]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

While I agree the arc was by no means aimed to have "people having their just deserts" after what Kanata and Haruka endured so far, I digress for the second part.
Actually, I was a bit puzzled and annoyed by reading the VN at first regarding the complete absence of resolution regarding what happen to the twins after making up. It is actually even worse when you know that there is no way they can continue their "I hate you!" charade, so the spies will catch on quickly.

That was quite the weakness of the route, aside of being a tad too longwinded: there is no proper conclusion to have both girls "free" as of now, and it is a bit detrimental to the message behind that, considering it just toss aside the catalyst of the conflict.

If you considered Kanata's ending in the VN as the true conclusion for the twin then their tie with the family will be taken care of...kinda.
That's why even though the lack of explanation for Haruka's arc make it confusing and unsatisfied,I didnt' say anything because I still had hope that Kanata's arc will be the one to wrap it up,I never expect Haruka's arc to explain much anyway.
I mean if you take care and explained everything now then what's the point of Kanata's route?

Well, I — as an anime-only viewer — think this is the main theme of Little Busters: all good things must come to an end eventually.

More like the main theme of LB! is friendship and bond.LB!was never about vanquishing evil and do justice for everyone,they're simply helping each other because they're friends not because they think "Ah,that family is bad,we must do something."

t's pretty expensive for people who aren't used to high visual novel prices.

VN wise you can find all the routes walk through on youtube though they are hours long.

And one last note,at first I didn't understand why Haruka was so attached to Kurugaya or Kanata's special affection for Kud.
But now I realized the twin was just using both to fill their emptiness.Kurugaya is like the cool "onee-san" Haruka has always wanted,someone she could look up to.
While Kud is like the "cute imouto" Kanata have long lost.
Both Kud and Kurugaya are being the twin's idealistic and hidden desire.

[Tempester]

And so ends the worst route of the VN and by far the absolute worst part of the anime. Klash has already elaborated quite well on how much the anime staff screwed up on this route. I'm looking forward to Kud's route; whether it is done well or not, reading Animesuki's reactions will be very entertaining.

One thing about Haruka's route that really grated on me in the VN, and was pretty much the same here, was Haruka's life-changing statement: "There are no bad people in this world." Oh, really? What about the extended family members who made your childhood (and your sister's too) a living hell and possibly scarred you psychologically for life? Just because that one sister wasn't quite as much of a bitch as you thought she was (she was still a terrible person, though), doesn't make the world a nice place filled with well-meaning people. I realize that it's important for Haruka to move on with her life and not dwell on the past, and that taking revenge on her family may be overkill, but completely disregarding everything is just jarring.

On another note, it's interesting to see how the post numbers of Little Busters's episode threads have spiked for Haruka's route compared to the previous episodes. Whatever opinion you may have of this route, the insane melodrama certainly makes it entertaining in a way.

[Marcus H.]

One thing about Haruka's route that really grated on me in the VN, and was pretty much the same here, was Haruka's life-changing statement: "There are no bad people in this world." Oh, really? What about the extended family members who made your childhood (and your sister's too) a living hell and possibly scarred you psychologically for life? Just because that one sister wasn't quite as much of a bitch as you thought she was (she was still a terrible person, though), doesn't make the world a nice place filled with well-meaning people. I realize that it's important for Haruka to move on with her life and not dwell on the past, and that taking revenge on her family may be overkill, but completely disregarding everything is just jarring.

It may be part of Haruka's naivete, thinking that they are doing bad things for something good.

[Zankoku12]

What she possibly mean with that statement is that people who she thought was bad like her drunkard criminal father,her sister and herself aren't "bad" and bad as in useless,good for nothing,"you shouldn't exist" kind of bad.

Like someone said in this thread,people took that statement to literally. LOL