Little Busters!: Ecstasy is an additional (and likely final) eight episode addition to the Little Busters franchise that was coupled with the DVD release of Refrain. Although LB! EX certainly had its moments, its ultimate downfall was due to its script writing. Simply put, the plot was not strong enough to keep the show flowing in a straightforward, unidirectional manner.
Before I jump to my criticisms, I want to say briefly that I certainly enjoyed LB! EX. In fact, I watched it twice just to make sure I'm not imagining any of the cons that I listed, but unfortunately, they are there, and there are some
...
pretty glaring issues that I can't ignore.
The main issue I had with LB! EX was the same issue I had with the first and second seasons of LB (and pretty much any VN from Key that is adapted). By trying to incorporate a bunch of supernatural elements into the plot line, we are ultimately left with, frankly, a mess that doesn't follow any coherent flow. A good example of this in Saya's arc. Yet despite having the most screen time of the three heroines, Saya's arc was by far the weakest arc simply because there are a lot of unanswered questions that forced us to accept things at face value. For instance, how and why exactly does Saya come into existence? Who exactly are the Darkness executives, and why are they such an integral part of this world? And why was Saya able to make it out at the very end of her arc? Frankly, any creator that leaves so many open questions cannot argue that they have a strong, well-written script, no matter how feels-y or charming it can get.
Fortunately, LB! EX is not all bad. The other two heroines, Kanata and Sasami, finally get some much needed screen time. Although the two of them showed up every now and then throughout the first season, they are the stars of their respective arcs and we get to learn substantially more about their past. For Kanata, it's a continuation of the first season - that is, what we learned about Kanata's past in the first season gets even more depth. In the first season, we learned about why Kanata has such a tough exterior for her personality, and LB! EX builds on this by describing the sacrifices that Kanata made for her sister.
As for Sasami, we go straight to her past and learn about her bond with a stray cat that she took in at an early age. Unfortunate circumstances separate the two, but it is in Sasami's arc where the two reunite and resolve their differences.
The one thing I really liked about Kanata's and Sasami's arc is their consistency (in terms of their plot) to their parent story. As I've already indicated, Kanata's arc was a more in-depth description of her past and carries over some of what we learned about her in the first season. As for Sasami, her arc borrows the concept of the "a new, secondary supernatural world that is controlled by one particular character" from LB! Refrain. Although I still can't follow how such a world gets established (Refrain didn't explain this that well), the more important thing is that it's not a new concept that comes straight out of the blue.
As for themes, a lot of what is used is recycled from the previous two seasons. If you're looking for something new, something deeper, something more meaningful than the previous seasons you will definitely not find it here. Love and the testing of one's friendship are all concepts that we've seen not only in this show but in a lot of other anime out there. Although these two concepts are not executed worse than the other two LB seasons, it doesn't really bring anything new to the table either.
As for characters, well, frankly put - there's nothing really special here. Saya is your stock-of-the-mill tsundere who falls for Riki apparently because of the amount of time that they spent together during their childhood (this love development certainly could have been fleshed out more, but I'll just set that aside for now). Sasami and Kanata are a bit more realistic, but even so, I'm sure you could name other shows out there where you've seen cold/mysterious personalities.
As for character development, it's certainly present in LB! EX - to a degree. It certainly could have been fleshed out more, but you do have to remember that there are only eight episodes to LB! EX portioned into three separate arcs, so nothing truly spectacular can happen within that given frame. Still, Saya begins to open up to Riki towards the end of her arc (as with most tsunderes, lol); Kanata finally realizes the true meaning of sisterhood and friendship and how important the two are to her; and Sasami confronts her past, resolves it, moves on, and carries on with her life. At the end of Sasami's arc, you can see that she is clearly no longer held back by her past as she is more willing to take part in activities that she would have obviously avoided during the first season of LB.
Obligatory statement regarding the art: it is well-illuminated, consistent, and well done. J.C.Staff is godly when it comes to art designs and certainly sets the standard high in the anime industry.
And sound: I wouldn't say there's anything too exceptional regarding the voice acting. It's consistent, like the artwork. I will say this, however: LB! EX probably has some of the most interesting and meaningful OP and ED that I've seen thus far. The lyrics that they use in each song apply directly to what is happening in the anime. Yes, okay the OP remixes the first season's OP, but it's an electric guitar. Come on. Who doesn't like electric guitars?
In conclusion, will you enjoy LB! EX? Certainly. I doubt you'd drop the show. If you're reading this, you're probably thinking about watching the series, which means you probably made it through the other two seasons just fine. But do I think it is the best thing ever? Nope.
Actually I take that back, maybe the electric guitar solo is the best thing ever.
tl;dr
Pros:
+ Some of the plot is consistent with previous seasons
+ More screen time to side characters that was direly needed
+ Some development
+ Good art
+ Electric guitars, just because
Cons:
- Development could have been fleshed out more, but it passes
- Some of the plot doesn't really make any sense and leaves unanswered questions
- Stock-of-the-mill anime archetypes that aren't really original in the slightest
Overall: 4. Although consistent, the plot is simply too weak to stand on its own.
Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Little Busters! Ecstasy, LB!: EX
Japanese: リトルバスターズ!EX
More titlesInformation
Type:
Special
Episodes:
8
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Jan 29, 2014 to Jul 30, 2014
Producers:
None found, add some
Licensors:
Sentai Filmworks
Studios:
J.C.Staff
Source:
Visual novel
Theme:
School
Duration:
24 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#13702
2
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Popularity:
#3131
Members:
57,886
Favorites:
159
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Your Feelings Categories Jan 30, 2016
Little Busters!: Ecstasy is an additional (and likely final) eight episode addition to the Little Busters franchise that was coupled with the DVD release of Refrain. Although LB! EX certainly had its moments, its ultimate downfall was due to its script writing. Simply put, the plot was not strong enough to keep the show flowing in a straightforward, unidirectional manner.
Before I jump to my criticisms, I want to say briefly that I certainly enjoyed LB! EX. In fact, I watched it twice just to make sure I'm not imagining any of the cons that I listed, but unfortunately, they are there, and there are some ... Jul 11, 2023
Only 1/3 routes are well adapted. Why bother...
This is a spoiler-free review from the perspective of a fan of the visual novel who read EX routes in the VN before watching (Thank god). The Ex routes in Little Busters are three additional routes unlocked after completing Refrain. In my opinion, they feature some of the best stories in Little Busters, but unfortunately, this anime adaptation of 2 of them is awful. Saya: Saya's route in the VN is one of my favourite works from Maeda, despite its quirks. However, this route is already, from the get-go, very difficult to adapt arc because of how it's structured into ... |

