The release of the Little Busters! anime made me squeal, especially since I had no idea that there were plans of it! I've seen the opening of visual novel and while I never got around to actually reading it, Little Busters! charmed me with its music, lovable-looking characters and feelings of friendship.
Which are what I was expecting to see in the anime!
Now, while I did get my pretty people, friendship theme and BEAUTIFUL music, I also felt somewhat... lacking/disappointed. While the introduction of the main five did move and lighten my soul, a few off bits started to become more obvious as the story progressed.
The most glaring issue that was stabbing at me was the lack of character development. I'm not exactly an expert on what 'character development' is supposed to be made of, but I know a good development when I start feeling FOR and WITH the character and not shedding a tear just because 'wow, that's sad'. Perhaps things just progressed too quickly, or perhaps the character personalities make realistic development a bit difficult, but I know that I wasn't feeling my heart wavering as much as it should during a certain character's arc.
Secondly, there are a number of 'filler' scenes that I can live without seeing. Gags and jokes are fine the first few times, but there's no need to keep doing the same thing just because the audience liked it before. Some comical scenes are also pretty empty and give off the feeling of someone 'trying too hard to crack a joke'.
Finally, there are the character stereotypes and unrealistic reactions. It's difficult to stay interested in a character that you've seen in about a dozen other anime and while unexpected reactions can be pretty amusing, some unrealistic reactions are only worthy of an eye roll.
However, while some of the characters' actions and reactions are unrealistic and surreal, the characters' thoughts and feelings are definitely real and relatable. This is what won me over. This is what I hoped to see and feel in this anime.
Realistically, this anime is nothing special, nothing fancy. Nothing you'd want to lose sleep over. But emotionally, this anime speaks a lot. While our youth is definitely a time when we must enjoy and experience happiness, when we all should feel light and carefree, it's not always smooth sailing. Little Busters! shows how experiences and friendships can slowly mold the youth into the strong and capable people they can be, one little step at a time.
