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Ol-Hybrius said: Just finished ! The animation is definitivly better than season one's. And the tone is more serious also, nothing bad to say about OP and ED too.
The episode still feels a bit "quick" to me (RIP Door-kun), and I'm confused with the flashbacks at the end. If Riki and Kurugaya have already been together, did this mean that Riki is reviving the routes again and again (while it was only once for each in the VN) ?
Anyway, that was more than satisfaying. But I'm still worried, not about the animation anymore, but about some rush. Wait and see. ;)
Hope you enjoyed that guest-pass :P, sadly cant get another for next week :( anyway, we still dnt knw how many episodes we going to get out of refrain.. 13... 24... or even 26.. im just scared to see them finally announce it :(, and maybe they rushing kurugaya's route to finally get into Rin/Refrain routes.
It was very nice bro' ! Arigatou gozaimashita ! *bow*
Anyway, JC Staff, stop making us suffering and annouce the amount of episode pleaaase ! x)
Ol-Hybrius said: Just finished ! The animation is definitivly better than season one's. And the tone is more serious also, nothing bad to say about OP and ED too.
The episode still feels a bit "quick" to me (RIP Door-kun), and I'm confused with the flashbacks at the end. If Riki and Kurugaya have already been together, did this mean that Riki is reviving the routes again and again (while it was only once for each in the VN) ?
Anyway, that was more than satisfaying. But I'm still worried, not about the animation anymore, but about some rush. Wait and see. ;)
I don't care if they rush Anego's route (which reminds me, it is actually pretty short in the VN) as long as they take their sweet time in Rin's route and Refrain. Despite the rush, it was actually pretty good, I hope that they will give us this quality episodes on a consistent basis. I honestly can't see this getting cramped in 1 cour.
Making the romance from Yuiko's route as something that already happened, and we'll only get flash backs?
The first half was so much fun :D...Smiling throughout.
Then the second half with Kurugaya's anger, how she blew the door away and her face when scaring those 2 away was DAMN EPIC!!! The emotions were conveyed perfectly!!
Loved the OP...ALL DAT FORESHADOWING!!
And the ED was really beautiful :*) Kengo and Komari wearing the Uniform looks soo good :D
Thank u JC!! PLZ KEEP THIS UP!!! >_<
So I wonder how many eps they're gonna spend on the Kurugaya route?
ExakaTeddy said: I noticed that in the ED song, in front of Kyousuke there is a stick looking object. At first I thought that it was some sort of baseball bat, but when i looked at it again, Kyousuke's hands/arms look as if they are by his side. Does anyone have any ideas as to what that is?
I'm pretty sure its a baseball bat
I'm not surprise if it's floating LOL
its a diploma. looks like the ed is his graduation day
Ol-Hybrius said: Just finished ! The animation is definitivly better than season one's. And the tone is more serious also, nothing bad to say about OP and ED too.
The episode still feels a bit "quick" to me (RIP Door-kun), and I'm confused with the flashbacks at the end. If Riki and Kurugaya have already been together, did this mean that Riki is reviving the routes again and again (while it was only once for each in the VN) ?
Anyway, that was more than satisfaying. But I'm still worried, not about the animation anymore, but about some rush. Wait and see. ;)
I don't care if they rush Anego's route (which reminds me, it is actually pretty short in the VN) as long as they take their sweet time in Rin's route and Refrain. Despite the rush, it was actually pretty good, I hope that they will give us this quality episodes on a consistent basis. I honestly can't see this getting cramped in 1 cour.
Don't mind either (sorry Anego... wait wait WAIT don't touch the door.. Anego noooooooooooo *BAMA*), but if they keep rushing the show...
Anyway, it's no time to complain for now, but to enjoy ! Maybe we should celebrate it with a pancake party ?
that was fast and pretty - it seemed they improved a bit visuals. I can't say I liked the OP but well it can be.
now for the "fast" part... already going with Anego arc is strange. It's pretty spoilerific (but there is enough of those already).
But if they want to fit it into 12 episodes than why not - there might be some material left, of course, but also it might be more dramatic. And since it's Key supervising the script we should assume they know what they are doing.
FEW HOURS AND 100 POSTS ALREADY
I LOVE THIS. THE DOOR KICKING ACTION
Edit: *cough*
It's disappointing they didn't put more detail into the bullying. It would've been better proof for kurugaya being able to act like that.
Also already adding in "I've been here before" Wonder how this will work.
I just had to laugh when Kyousuke played his guitar and started shouting at the top of his lungs LOL and then Riki had to pat him on the back cause it seemed he chocked hahahaha!
egnaro315 said: I still can't get over the fact that the hands linking were actually Kurugaya and Riki. I believed it was Rin and Riki ..for 2 months lol
I agree. That scene in the PV is a bit misleading, lol.
Anyways, I wasn't entirely content with how Kurugaya's route has been handled so far. I'm usually not the type to be bothered by pacing, but I really didn't plan on seeing that moment with the girls come so soon. I guess it was due to my expectations that I was bothered by it that much. I suppose it's understandable, too, seeing how this arc will pretty much be receiving the same number of episodes that the others have. If I were to look at this optimistically, I would at least say that it gives more time for Refrain (and that can easily excuse any flaws in pacing).
The scene where the teacher discovers the door was handled a lot more differently as well. In the VN, the teacher ends up feeling sorry for Masato because he supposedly "had an accident", but now it looks like he was just joking around with Kengo.
Seeing Kurugaya snap is always a brilliant experience! Though having witnessed it in the VN beforehand took off some of the impact. Still badass though. <3 Kurugaya.
Definitely not a bad first episode though. Other than the few nitpicks I had, I really did get psyched from the way it was presented. The animation is noticeably better, the nostalgic value is still there, and the cast of Little Busters is still one that I admire greatly! Really, can't wait to see how the rest of this series turns out. God only knows how much I've been craving an adaption of Refrain.
The scene where the teacher discovers the door was handled a lot more differently as well. In the VN, the teacher ends up feeling sorry for Masato because he supposedly "had an accident", but now it looks like he was just joking around with Kengo.
Yeah, I'm a bit sad they didn't put in the bit where Kurugaya trolls Masato with the door, that was too funny. poor Masato. At least he received special consideration xD
Woohoo, worthy of a great and impressive first episode for me! Yep, as I though, it conveniently follows through every heroine's relationship with Riki before moving on to the main arc, but even here in Kurugaya's arc, they still manage to run the apparent turn of events in the background through foreshadowings in Riki's mind.
The animation is still the same as the first season, but the OP/ED...I think the OP will grow on me later on, but the ED is just great!
Oh shit, this is better than I expected. Hopefully J.C Staff will set it straight with this season and make it even better.
Yea, we were all excited and happy about his episode, but someone has done there research and turns out we might only be getting 13 episodes after all, they checked the code of the refrain website and only goes up to "story 13" :/
I have a feeling it'll get alot better but right now it's all so very meh, it felt a bit rushed aswell and as if they expected the viewer to have just finished the first series.
CorpseDemon said: I have a feeling it'll get alot better but right now it's all so very meh, it felt a bit rushed aswell and as if they expected the viewer to have just finished the first series.
Well, you definitely SHOULD watch the first season. It's common sense. It's one's lost who didn't finish the first season.
CorpseDemon said: I have a feeling it'll get alot better but right now it's all so very meh, it felt a bit rushed aswell and as if they expected the viewer to have just finished the first series.
haha of course, what I meant is that it felt unlike a first episode and more like the first series aired straight before, no building into anything and it just got straight into an arc.
CorpseDemon said: haha of course, what I meant is that it felt unlike a first episode and more like the first series aired straight before, no building into anything and it just got straight into an arc.
it might feel a bit rushed but someone said this season is only going to be 13 episodes. If they want to adapt this decently they will move through this arc at a relatively quick pace to save time for Refrain (The only reason to adapt the entire VN)
DeathDoUsPart said: Yea, we were all excited and happy about his episode, but someone has done there research and turns out we might only be getting 13 episodes after all, they checked the code of the refrain website and only goes up to "story 13" :/
Aww dang... but I guess it's alright as according to this:
VN Spoiler, DON'T READ IF HAVEN'T PLAYED VN!
badgerkins said: My thoughts on how season 2 will go. DONT READ IF YOU HAVENT PLAYED REFRAIN THE VN.
First episode will be common route stuff to ease the viewers in. Maybe a little refresher on what happened in season 1.
First, getting Kurugayas route out of the way, that will be 3 eps.
Ep 2 - Riki and Yui hanging out in the PA room and bonding and Love Love Hunters.
Ep 3 - Date and fireworks and failed confession.
Ep 4 - Yui accepts his confession and they become lovers. Time stops, snow drops and Yui explains its all a dream.
Then Rin 2 for 4 eps.
Ep 5 - Riki wakes up and ponders whether he was dreaming or not but decides to keep quiet. He finds the love letter and rejects Suginami. Rin then asks him out and then the rest of the episode can be them being awkward together.
Ep 6 - In comes the next task to show the visitors around. They do a good job and then Rin gets picked to take part in the student exchange. Rest of the ep is spent on Riki and Rin thinking whether its a good idea or not but reluctantly they go through with it. Riki finds Kyousuke at night with Lennon and questions about the secret of the world.
Ep 7 - Rin leaves and Riki trys to contact her the next few days but she can't keep it up. Then he confronts Kyousuke and he says she'll be back in the weekend. When shes back, Riki decides to run off with her but is stopped by Kengo and convinces them to defeat Kyousuke with baseball.
Ep 8 - After the loss, Riki still runs away with Rin and the the episode is spent with them living in the abandoned house and finally getting caught. It all ends but Riki isn't having any of that and resets the world.
Then we have Refrain for 5 eps.
Ep 9 - Flashes of images of the bus crash. Riki wakes up like usual. Its going like the first episode but instead Riki attempts to stop the fight but Masato and Kengo don't listen. He then tries to find Kyousuke but doesn't see him. He then gets deja-vu and wonders whether it has happened before. Riki then looks after the weakened Rin and wonders how she came to this state and consults Kyousuke but all he does is sulk. Riki and Rin play catchball. Kengo asks to do something fun because he can't do kendo due to breaking his arm in the fight so they climb out the class window. After, he suggests catchball with Rin and Masato but Kengo is acting odd but agrees. They play but then Kengo and Masato leave LB after Riki picks up the baseball bat.
Ep 10 - Riki ponders on what happened and asks Rin but she can't say anything but deep down knows something. They then try to reform LB with Riki being the new leader and asks Masato to join but he won't, vowing to become the strongest. We switch to his point of view and he narrates instead of Riki. He goes crazy and eventually is recruited with the fight and flashbacks to his past.
Ep 11 - Now with 3, they ask Kengo to join but he refuses. Riki learns from Masato and Rin that by defeating his father, he joined the gang. They go to his dojo but don't learn anything new. Eventually Riki confronts Kengo but he speaks in riddles. He goes to Kyousukes room and finds out Kengo is lying about something. Its the next day and the 3 watch Kengo closely in class. Riki sees that Kengo is using both his hands. Later, the gang come up with the plan to make Kengo use his broken arm. It works but Kengo is still being wishy washy with his answers. Riki challenges Kengo in a game of baseball. Now Kengo is narrating his side with flashes of the events of him cursing Kyousuke, catch ball with Rin and promising Riki to always protect him. We then come to the baseball match and he loses and joins LB.
Ep 12 - We're now in Kyousukes narrative. We get flashes of the events up to Rin 2 and reveals that hes the mastermind behind all the tasks. Now in the present, hes depressed and regretful and we see Riki, Rin and Masato asking him questions. He goes to sleep and we switch back and forth to the bus accident. Later, the 3 aswell as Kengo are in his room. Riki offers Kyousuke a hand and now the original members are back together and play baseball. One by one, they dissapear and Riki and Rin wake up in the bus accident but can only save themselves due to Rikis narcolepsy.
Ep 13 - Last episode. We see Rin runnung through school, seeing all the girls. We're then at the hospital with Riki in bed and Rin by his side. They both vow to become stronger and create their own world. Now we're back to Rin running through school again but nobody is there. She see Komari and makes a wish. We then go back to the bus crash and this time, Riki and Rin and able to save everybody. Forward in time and Riki wakes up to Rins singing. All the LB members come in one by one. Lastly, Kyousuke comes from the window and then we get the Little Jumpers ending and an awesome shot of them at the beach.
Anyway, would like to see others peoples speculations for next seasons episodes :]
CorpseDemon said: I have a feeling it'll get alot better but right now it's all so very meh, it felt a bit rushed aswell and as if they expected the viewer to have just finished the first series.
CorpseDemon said: haha of course, what I meant is that it felt unlike a first episode and more like the first series aired straight before, no building into anything and it just got straight into an arc.
I get what you mean. Yeah, it likely would've been for the better if they had included a few more scenes from the beginning of Kurugaya's route before getting to the point it has reached so far. But this arc is only getting 3 episodes, so it just can't be helped.
DeathDoUsPart said: Yea, we were all excited and happy about his episode, but someone has done there research and turns out we might only be getting 13 episodes after all, they checked the code of the refrain website and only goes up to "story 13" :/
Aww dang... but I guess it's alright as according to this:
VN Spoiler, DON'T READ IF HAVEN'T PLAYED VN!
badgerkins said: My thoughts on how season 2 will go. DONT READ IF YOU HAVENT PLAYED REFRAIN THE VN.
First episode will be common route stuff to ease the viewers in. Maybe a little refresher on what happened in season 1.
First, getting Kurugayas route out of the way, that will be 3 eps.
Ep 2 - Riki and Yui hanging out in the PA room and bonding and Love Love Hunters.
Ep 3 - Date and fireworks and failed confession.
Ep 4 - Yui accepts his confession and they become lovers. Time stops, snow drops and Yui explains its all a dream.
Then Rin 2 for 4 eps.
Ep 5 - Riki wakes up and ponders whether he was dreaming or not but decides to keep quiet. He finds the love letter and rejects Suginami. Rin then asks him out and then the rest of the episode can be them being awkward together.
Ep 6 - In comes the next task to show the visitors around. They do a good job and then Rin gets picked to take part in the student exchange. Rest of the ep is spent on Riki and Rin thinking whether its a good idea or not but reluctantly they go through with it. Riki finds Kyousuke at night with Lennon and questions about the secret of the world.
Ep 7 - Rin leaves and Riki trys to contact her the next few days but she can't keep it up. Then he confronts Kyousuke and he says she'll be back in the weekend. When shes back, Riki decides to run off with her but is stopped by Kengo and convinces them to defeat Kyousuke with baseball.
Ep 8 - After the loss, Riki still runs away with Rin and the the episode is spent with them living in the abandoned house and finally getting caught. It all ends but Riki isn't having any of that and resets the world.
Then we have Refrain for 5 eps.
Ep 9 - Flashes of images of the bus crash. Riki wakes up like usual. Its going like the first episode but instead Riki attempts to stop the fight but Masato and Kengo don't listen. He then tries to find Kyousuke but doesn't see him. He then gets deja-vu and wonders whether it has happened before. Riki then looks after the weakened Rin and wonders how she came to this state and consults Kyousuke but all he does is sulk. Riki and Rin play catchball. Kengo asks to do something fun because he can't do kendo due to breaking his arm in the fight so they climb out the class window. After, he suggests catchball with Rin and Masato but Kengo is acting odd but agrees. They play but then Kengo and Masato leave LB after Riki picks up the baseball bat.
Ep 10 - Riki ponders on what happened and asks Rin but she can't say anything but deep down knows something. They then try to reform LB with Riki being the new leader and asks Masato to join but he won't, vowing to become the strongest. We switch to his point of view and he narrates instead of Riki. He goes crazy and eventually is recruited with the fight and flashbacks to his past.
Ep 11 - Now with 3, they ask Kengo to join but he refuses. Riki learns from Masato and Rin that by defeating his father, he joined the gang. They go to his dojo but don't learn anything new. Eventually Riki confronts Kengo but he speaks in riddles. He goes to Kyousukes room and finds out Kengo is lying about something. Its the next day and the 3 watch Kengo closely in class. Riki sees that Kengo is using both his hands. Later, the gang come up with the plan to make Kengo use his broken arm. It works but Kengo is still being wishy washy with his answers. Riki challenges Kengo in a game of baseball. Now Kengo is narrating his side with flashes of the events of him cursing Kyousuke, catch ball with Rin and promising Riki to always protect him. We then come to the baseball match and he loses and joins LB.
Ep 12 - We're now in Kyousukes narrative. We get flashes of the events up to Rin 2 and reveals that hes the mastermind behind all the tasks. Now in the present, hes depressed and regretful and we see Riki, Rin and Masato asking him questions. He goes to sleep and we switch back and forth to the bus accident. Later, the 3 aswell as Kengo are in his room. Riki offers Kyousuke a hand and now the original members are back together and play baseball. One by one, they dissapear and Riki and Rin wake up in the bus accident but can only save themselves due to Rikis narcolepsy.
Ep 13 - Last episode. We see Rin runnung through school, seeing all the girls. We're then at the hospital with Riki in bed and Rin by his side. They both vow to become stronger and create their own world. Now we're back to Rin running through school again but nobody is there. She see Komari and makes a wish. We then go back to the bus crash and this time, Riki and Rin and able to save everybody. Forward in time and Riki wakes up to Rins singing. All the LB members come in one by one. Lastly, Kyousuke comes from the window and then we get the Little Jumpers ending and an awesome shot of them at the beach.
Anyway, would like to see others peoples speculations for next seasons episodes :]
Seems to me that episodes 9-13 are rushed. But in any case that this will only be 1 cour, I'll just have faith on JC Staff that they won't screw this up.
That might actually work really well. Was expecting Refrain to be 2-cour and added a few more episodes to Kurugaya's route, but I'm not too disappointed with it being 1-cour. Fewer episodes can be a desirable thing since it would mean the budget would be less spread out.
Still, I can't help but remain somewhat skeptical. The pacing could certainly work in favor of animation, but what worries me is how well it's written. The shift of narration was definitely a great call. Dedicating an entire episode to certain scenes also seems very fitting. But the way the adaption of Rin2 looks on episode 8 leaves me with a little bit of doubt.
planetarian said: I never did get to Refrain in my play through. I stopped during Rin2 because I couldn't take how much of an asshole kyousuke became in it.
The last straw was when he cheated during the batting contest,
I mean what the fuck was that? uninstalled the game there and never looked back.
I don't even care why he did it,
I thought the guy was my friend, and he wasn't. he was just a
manipulative
asshole through and through.
Read it until the end. You'll understand why he had to be that way. His actions are easily forgivable if you knew what the outcome was.