That living
Meant losing" -Naoe Riki
Coming of Age is a really tough genre to pull off, especially in recent anime. You have to establish characters, and as the story progresses, force them to endure certain events and cause them to grow up, whether from a child into an adult or grow as a human being. Little Busters pulls off coming of age as good as I've ever seen an anime do it. And it does it while adding such emotional power to the story that only enhances the impact that the story will leave on you. This is thanks in no small part to Key, of whom the original Visual Novel was originally conceived. Key knows how to touch your emotions. And some would say that they've been hit or miss with some of their stuff. But when it comes to Little Busters, which I just finished rewatching, the messages they convey are on par with their best.
Many people dislike the first season of LB (For reasons other than adaptation decay). And I can't really blame them for doing so. When you watch this anime, you'll see season 1, and you might feel a little disappointed. Because to be completely honest, it is exactly what you'd expect from a Key Visual Novel adaptation. Protagonist meets an assortment of girls, and helps them out with their problems, which tend to have a lot of sad moments sprinkled throughout them. It also consists of a lot of moe characters doing moe things. And has a few stand alone episodes that at first, feel like they aren't really important to the overall plot, but in the end, are integral. But don't let that ruin things for you, the first season is vitally important to the success of this show. I for one loved the first season, it had many lovable characters, hilarious comedy, some very good story arcs, and subtle nods to "something more" that was yet to come. Season 1 establishes all of its characters, it gets you attached to them. Which will make the emotional jolt the story takes in season 2 much more meaningful to watch. This anime succeeded where the incredibly similar Angel Beats didn't, in its length. Angel Beats threw at you 15+ characters, and tried to make you get attached to them in just 13 episodes, which, is almost flat out impossible. Little Busters as a whole is 39 episodes. It gives you an immense amount of time to get invested into these people's lives. More comparable to Clannad, season 1 serves as pretty much the 26 episode prequel to let you know who everyone is, what they're like, and attempts to prepare you for the much bigger and better sequel.
When season 2 rolls around, it will begin to take a turn. A turn down a path that's quite unlike season 1. It introduces things into the story that you hadn't seen before. Those nods to "something more" in season 1 all come to fruition here. All your questions will have answers. Your opinions will change. And, unlike most anime that have come out within the past 4 years, you will see the growth of a character. This is a Key anime. And as said before, some Key anime are hit or miss. Some of them, like Angel Beats, exist only to make you cry. It's not trying to tell you a good story, nor is it trying to throw out real character depth. It exists solely for the purpose of pulling at your emotions. And if you're like me, that won't work, because you can't become emotionally invested in a story and characters in only 13 episodes devoid of meaningful development. LB isn't just some melodramatic tear fest, forcing you to cry is not Little Busters' one and only objective. This is a show that's going to tell you a story. A story that you can become easily invested in, and if you cry along the way, so be it. Little Busters Refrain takes the Clannad After Story method of establishing characters in a first season, and putting them to the test in the second. Really forcing them to do what they are capable of doing. No longer is our protagonist just a protagonist, he is, in Clannad's case, Tomoya Okazaki, a man who has lost everything, a man who has given up, but a man who still finds hope, and must fight his hardest to regain the things that he once held dear. Little Busters, has Naoe Riki. A boy who is young, naive, and not ready for the real world, Relying too much on others to do what they think is right rather than what he thinks. Throughout Refrain, he has to grow stronger, not particularly physically, but stronger as a person. Grow into someone who can deal with loss, and overcome hardship. Little Busters conveys the theme of growing up insanely well. Saying that you can't rely on your friends forever. Your going to have to deal with very bad and awful situations, and your friends won't always be there for you. You have to become independent. You have to grow up.
As I said earlier, I just finished rewatching Little Busters. Now, I've rewatched a lot of anime now, and while Little Busters is one of my all time favorite anime, it is not my absolute favorite. But I can say that it was definitely the most rewarding rewatch I've ever experienced. I never knew just how much season 1 references things that have to do with season 2 that you won't understand until you get there. You're able to more knowingly understand certain character motivations, and some things they say will make a lot more sense knowing the overall outcome. My opinion on the characters was different the second time around, and it made for an incomparable rewatch experience. Originally, I had thought that I just loved LB, not that it was a great show by any means, but upon seeing it a second time, I can objectively say that it's one of the best anime I've ever seen to date, season 2 specifically. It is something that will grip you, attach to you, and emotionally drain you. Something I feel takes what both Anohana and Angel Beats did, and does it 10x better. With a coming of age story that will surely blow you away from start to finish, it's something that I'll wholeheartedly recommend to anyone and everyone who either wants a great story with great characters and character development, or if you just wanna sit back and cry a whole days worth of tears.
Little Busters ~Refrain~ is a masterpiece among modern day coming of age anime.
Thank you for reading.
