Alright, alright... there is a lot I want to talk about for Refrain. But I'm making this a thread simply because I want to just discuss how Refrain builds from Season 1 and how it works PHENOMENALLY.
Little Busters! is a character-centric work, I mean with 10 main characters, that is to be expected. We get flashbacks to the past and how Kyousuke helped Rin, Masato, Kengo, and Riki get to where they are now from trying times. And their youth is what brought them together.
Fast forward to Riki's second year in high school and that still has remained true, but now with Kyousuke starting the Little Busters back up as a baseball team, Riki feels inclined to help out Kyousuke by scouting out team members. And this is where the other 5 come in.
In Season 1, we get to fully know 4 of the 5
In order; Komari, Nishizono, Haruka and Kud
We fully know what they have been struggling and having trouble with, to which Riki tries to help them as best he can, with assistance from the rest of the Little Busters which in and of itself is great for a series to convey the proof of friendship and that everyone is always there for each other.
With this, we get to see everyone's resolve;
And at the end of Season 1, we see all of these messages get reflected... in Riki himself, the person who helped all of them is also the person who gets to learn that he is more than he makes himself out to be. He has gotten stronger, and he needs to proceed to get stronger.
So now, enter Refrain and the first arc focuses on the 5th person... Kurugaya
Kurugaya's problem is with not really being able to feel something and she has never had a moment like that up until the Little Busters conduct something for both Riki and Kurugaya. It's then at that moment, she does start to feel something and it's precious to her... but the day starts again as if that moment never even happened. But both Riki and Kurugaya know because of her own wish, she knows something about the world they live in that Riki doesn't.
Her resolve was accepting things as the way they were though, and thus her disappearing hits a lot deeper. It's a sad resolution, but very impactful. From here on, we get the Rin arc and Refrain arc and these arcs are the ones that tell us the core message of Little Busters!
"Even if all hope is lost and nothing seems fair, it's pointless in trying to run away from problems and sad things... it's time to grow up and face your problems head-on."
This is a motivation carried not just by Riki, but also by Rin.
Both were weak characters... but thanks to Kyousuke's overarching effect on Riki, and Rin trying her best thanks to the encouragement and love she felt for the Little Busters, they were able to try and be strong. Not having anything that holds them back... not even depressing and traumatic situations.
They were able to surpass Kyousuke's strength and effect on the group and grow beyond expectation to build their own leadership together. The theming is here, the catharsis at the end is here, the resonance is here too... but not just for one character, for multiple. We can do anything by working together, and with that, we can do amazing things by ourselves with nothing holding us back either... it's outstanding how powerful that message is and I can't believe I would have ever come out of this feeling amazed even now that something like that was able to do this with no flaws or gripes whatsoever.
I am legitimately stunned at the sheer impact that this series has left on me. While Season 1 was great and provided a very nice SoL experience, Refrain took it to another level. I say without a shadow of a doubt... Little Busters! Refrain is a masterpiece!
So you know what, it's a 10, and it's my number 1 now...
No joking around, this is amazing.
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