Warning: Contains spoilers for Little Busters! and light spoilers for Little Busters!: Refrain
"We’ve spent time together that made our hearts dance. But every story has to come to an end. No one can stay a kid forever. Time passes, and people grow up. There will come a day when we will no longer be together.”
-Kyousuke Natsume
Based on the Visual Novel by Key, Little Busters!: Refrain (am I the only one infuriated by the colon after the exclamation point?) is an adaptation of some of the routes left out of the first season that leads into the Refrain route, which is the finale of the visual novel.
And, going into Little Busters Refrain, I can't say I expected to be hit with a profound and beautiful tale of friendship and tragedy like I was. Even if the poignant and soul touching opening that replaced the absolute banger that was the opening to the VN used in the first season should've warned me that this season would be a bit less happy-go-lucky than the first. The second red flag I probably should've picked up on is that Little Busters! is a Key novel, and anyone familiar with Jun Maeda knows that he loves making innocent SOL shows then gut punching you and kicking you while you beg for mercy.
Little Busters!: Refrain gives you a taste of what's to come through the form of the first three episodes (Yuiko's route), a tonal shift compared to the first season with an air of mystique and intrigue that makes the viewer really want to know what the secret of the world is that was constantly referenced but never explored in Little Busters!
However, this is really all a precursor to the meat of the story. As, at it's core, Little Busters!: Refrain is a story about the original 5 members of the Little Busters. In the first season, they were never fleshed out too deeply to give screentime to the heroines who make up the routes of the first season. Yet, in this season the reverse is true. The cast recruited in the first season takes a back seat to let the original members truly shine.
Little Busters!: Refrain deeply establishes the history of the group of friends known as the Little Busters. In this season we are treated to the backstories of all 5 members of the group and how they were all brought together by the real protagonist of the story, Kyousuke.
While yes, Riki may be the person we see the show through and the catalyst for the plot moving forward, the real center of this story is Kyousuke. A character who was hilarious yet very mysterious in the first season but didn't have enough showcased about him to get a full grasp of who he is. And who is he? Well, I think he's probably the greatest character that Key has ever made.
Kyousuke is an icon, someone who Riki respects and looks up to. He's the glue that keeps the Little Busters together and their ever-confident leader who always pushes forward in search of new exciting things for the group to do.
From the first moments of the first episode of last season we are told that Kyousuke is the person that Riki relies on and trusts to lead him. We see this trust pushed to it's absolute limits in Refrain and see character deconstructions of both Kyousuke and Riki.
Little Busters! is a coming of age story. It's about Riki learning to become independent and not be completely dependent on Kyousuke, while still being able to lean on those he trusts for support. It's a coming of age story where Riki isn't ready yet, but there is no other choice but for him to grow up. In this we see Kyousuke push Riki forward into becoming stronger. There's a reason that Kyousuke made Riki be the one to recruit the new members for their baseball team, he could've done it himself quite easily.
It's really in it's last arc, and on it's focuses on the interactions between Riki, Kyousuke and the other 3 members of the original Little Busters that makes this story elevate from a "good" story to an "exceptional" story. I haven't even mentioned anything much about Rin, Masato or Kengo but they each have as much depth as Kyousuke and Riki and incredible stories of their own, that are told through the final route too. (Even if they are a tad rushed in the adaptation)
This review could've been a full breakdown of almost every scene in the show, however, I didn't want to ruin this experience for anyone yet to see it. Please, do me a favour and watch this anime. And once that's done play the Visual Novel for an even greater experience. Just... get some tissues ready.
I'll leave you now to enjoy the masterpiece that is the opening song to this anime. I think it perfectly captures the difference between this season and the last.
