Wednesday 23 October 2013

Little Busters! Refrain - Episode 3

What looked like a case of déjà vu on Riki's part has now escalated far beyond that, as he finds himself reliving the 20th of June over and over and over again - a series of events that led to me suffering from brief flashbacks to Endless Eight.

Although most of those around him seem to have no recollection of previous instances of the same day, Kurugaya also seems to be experiencing the same effect - not that she appears to be bothered by it as Naoe is; indeed, she almost seems to revel in it as she seeks to keep hold of her memories of the fireworks of that night.


Things are only getting stranger and stranger for Naoe however - first, he experiences snowfall in the middle of summer, then finds himself unable to wake his friends or even locate Kyousuke, all the while suffering from a nagging feeling that something important has been forgotten.  Eventually, he stumbles upon Kurugaya once again, and the truth is revealed - to never move on from the happiest day of her life is simply Kurugaya's dream, and somehow Riki has been pulled into it.  This allows us some insight into Kurugaya's past, exploring her childhood as a genius in both academics and athletics that led to her being viewed as aloof and thus shunned by those around her - until the Little Busters came along, of course.  Having experienced so much, and ultimately experienced love, for the first time, Kurugaya is ready to move on.  But to where?

As a finale to the current arc, this episode of Little Busters is really as proficient as you could ask of it - slightly touching but perhaps not as much as it hoped to be, and capable of exhibiting its "time loop" plot device in a way that made its point without becoming overly repetitive.  Taken as a whole though, this conclusion leaves a lot more questions than it answers - a state of affairs which hopefully bodes well for the rest of the series as I'm actually curious to piece together where it's headed, and curiosity isn't something I can say I've boasted before while watching this series.

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