Just to clarify, this is a review for the collective of the little busters main story. not just refrain. i just put it here because this is where the main story actually ends. Disclaimer: i have not played or watched the EX routes (seya, futaki, or sasami)
As someone who's played through the main story of the VN and knows how most Jun Maeda plots rock, It's hard for me to fairly critique this anime being that a lot of what keeps little busters from being the cream-of-the-crop Story that Clannad was, is also what makes it such a uniquely memorable experience of arguably equal or at least similar quality. but with VN Adaptations, i feel you have to critique the piece both as a story overall, and specifically as an adaptation, which is what i intend to do here.
let's address the biggest double edged sword: basically all the events that happen throughout this series have their significance and coherence anchored to the big reveal in refrain. you take out refrain, and this is basically a run of the mill SoL with routes that not only vary from pretty good to kinda pointless, but also who's conclusions don't really make that much sense without said context.
Take Kurugaya's Route for example. The one that's considered the black sheep of the VN.
Spoiler, click to view
basically, all of the girls routes represent a regret or grievance they had before they died in the bus accident. Kurugaya really doesn't have a regret. her problem is that she has never felt any emotion or passionately loved/cared for anything/anyone in her entire life. what being introduced to Riki and the little busters gave her is the first experiences she's ever had with those feelings. this comes at a cost though: she doesn't want to let those experiences go, so what does she do? she selfishly loops the timeline of the artificial world so that she can be with Riki forever. ultimately, an unsustainable condition.Now, on the opposite side of that coin, what you also have is one of a few shows that is potentially more interesting on the second watch through,
Spoiler, click to view
because now you're watching it from the perspective of Kyousuke, Masato, Kengo, and all of the other characters that were in the loop. you know WHY people are doing things. you know HOW people are doing things and how certain ass pulls are happening, and you understand all the conflicts that present themselves in that process (like kengo's "Cheap Tricks" scene).
Now let's talk about the anime specific problems: The show's decent, but a lotta of stuff gets rushed and corners get cut, particularly in refrain. Spoiler, click to view
The bus scene especially sticks out to me, because while everything else in that scene is done pretty good, the CGI and frames on the bus itself are pretty sloppy, and that kind of breaks the immersion a bit. the overall scene is still good, and the fact that it's being fully actualized from the VN is something to be thankful for, but it could've been alot better. i also really dislike how Riki and Rin's Running away arc is confined to an ED. i think that arc is a pretty important moment of characterization for the both of them. i understand why the changes had to be made, but i don't think those were the spots to do it. There was alot of still frames and varying levels of effort in the crying face department, as well. Kyousuke's crying scene is great (of course), but a couple of Rin's Crying scenes not even 2 episodes later were kinda static and unconvincing. not quite Boruto level. but you could tell something was missing.Overall, I enjoyed the experience, but i'm saying that as a VN player. this was basically just a reimagining for me. extra content, so to speak. how does that translate to a first watcher's experience, though? this is what i worry about. i think it CAN be enjoyable as a standalone, but not the same way Clannad can. Clannad is regarded by many to be one of the greatest SoL/romance dramas of all time, and I'm willing to bet at least half the people who have seen it have never played the VN. It can even be argued that the anime is the SUPERIOR version of that story. that same argument CANNOT be made for little busters. I think most people would appreciate the experience just a tiny more if they played the VN first. For that reason, i can't absolutely glaze this anime. but it's a good enough experience. you get what you pay for.