Really. It’s that simple. And this is what LB Refrain is all about.
After watching the first season of LB, I was seriously looking forward to the second season of LB. In the first season, you had a series of arcs that centered around nearly all of the LB’s new additions. These arcs – even though they used supernatural/surreal plot elements that were presented in a very Key-/visual-novel typical fashion – did flow surprisingly well as they were all built around the same common themes: friendship and identity. Sure, not too much character development for the original five members of LB (although there was some for the new additions, but definitely not fully flushed out – after their arc was over they didn’t change much anymore), but the plot was definitely solid.
But damn, the second season – talk about wasted potential.
The second season is the complete opposite: strong character development, but a super weak, unsubstantiated (haha get it because my username) plot.
The second season was arguably more moving and emotionally stirring than the first season, but to achieve this, it introduces a series of plot elements that are (1) poorly transitioned, (2) out of the blue, and (3) very deus ex machina. Sure, the same themes that were present in the first season are also here in the second season, but the plot (despite being built around these themes) is executed much, much worse than the first season. Kyousuke’s “powers”, for one, came out of nowhere. There were no hints during the first season that alluded to what Kyousuke could do. In the first season, Riki and Rin were only given “clues” and Riki knew something was up with Kyousuke, but we, as the viewers, are not given sufficient clues to Kyousuke’s true powers until halfway through the second season.
Another example of poor transitioning is towards the last three episodes when Riki and Rin “switch” worlds. If you’re just another average anime watcher like me, these last three episodes were pretty hard to follow. When you think Riki and Rin finally left the “fake” world into the “real” one, somehow, just somehow, one of them is able to transition back into the “fake” world to search for some lost clues. This transitioning was not only hard to follow, but personally I thought the “fake” world disappeared because of Kyousuke’s lack of control over his powers – so how are they able to go back into the “fake” world? Again, there are some plot elements like these are not fully explained and thus left me extremely confused.
Although Kyousuke’s little monologue towards the end of Refrain does string together these weird supernatural/surreal plot elements together, by this point in the series the damage is already done. Everything seems too coincidental, too artificial, and too forced for anything to seem even remotely coherent.
One more downside: the new, supporting members of LB play a significantly less role during the second season. They were pretty much the entire basis of the plot throughout the first season (since the friendship theme was only primarily explored through their presence); in the second season, they simply fall out of the picture. If they were better incorporated into the second season I feel like Refrain could have been even more impressive.
The plus side: very strong character development that is blatantly and obviously pointed out by Kyousuke. Throughout Riki and Rin’s arc, Riki and Rin grow, mature, and do what even Kyousuke thought was impossible. This character development is fully flushed out and is substantially better than the first season. Definitely a nice way to tie the entire series off.
Also: the art is still crisp and never ceases to amaze me. (Go J.C.Staff!) Some of the soundtrack is recycled from the first season, but the voice acting is still on point. No major complaints on that front.
So, to summarize, what is LB Refrain? It gives you feels just for the sake of feels and does so through a series of plot elements that doesn’t make any sense.
tl;dr
Pros:
+ Strong character development
+ Emotionally stirring
+ Strong thematic content that was present in the first season and also in Refrain
Cons:
- Questionable plot elements that are poorly explained/linked
- Although the characters are developed well, the plot does not have an equal level of depth
- Poor transitioning
- Hard to follow, especially towards the end of Refrain
- Supporting members drop in significance
Story: 4
Art: 6
Sound: 4
Character: 7
Enjoyment: 6
Overall: 5
