Little Busters! - Episode 18

As if life wasn't tough enough for Saigusa, now her twin sister is pretending to be her in a concerted effort to steal the few things that she has left in her life.

It's safe to say that the relationship between Futaki and Haruka is at an all-time low as a result of this, and even Naoe is going to have a hard time picking up the pieces given that neither party is willing to be entirely honest with either one another or themselves as they both insist that the situation is irretrievable at this juncture.

Dig a little deeper, and this mindset is unsurprising given the violence and obsessive mindset of the family to which both girls are attached, and even as the truth about the twin's desire to reconcile their relationship comes out it still seems impossible in the face of the power of those above them.  Eventually however, it's Saigusa who makes the big breakthrough by refusing to be cowed any further and deciding to do anything to put things right, in turn persuading Futaki to take the risk of enraging the family and taking the next step together jointly - that step being to find out about their true parents.

Although the ending to this episode didn't feel as fleshed out as perhaps it should have done to the point of appearing a little rushed, it is at least still pretty much the strongest story arc Little Busters has delivered - it's no classic in the wider world of Key works but it was at least mildly effective at bringing us some sympathy for its characters and a desire to see things put right.  That probably sounds like me damning the series with faint praise and... well, I guess it is, but I'll take what I can get for a series that has underwhelmed for the most part, and it was good to at least find some episodes that threatened to at least tickle my heart strings slightly if nothing more.