Warning: Contains spoilers for Little Busters and light spoilers for Little Busters: Refrain Weve 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 220https://s4.anilist.co/file/anilistcdn/media/anime/cover/large/bx18195SXGTMYGxwvxI.png 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 cant 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 shouldve warned me that this season would be a bit less happygolucky than the first. The second red flag I probably shouldve 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. https://i.pin.com/originals/82/fa/56/82fa569ef91e0d7e2de65d2ff12bfc4a.jpg Little Busters: Refrain gives you a taste of whats to come through the form of the first three episodes Yuikos 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 its 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. https://d235zo2kjgm9jl.cloudfront.net/original/1X/ed147b66d73586db081398dfd353929a9fa3899b.jpg 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 didnt have enough showcased about him to get a full grasp of who he is. And who is he? Well I think hes probably the greatest character that Key has ever made. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/Nw5Y0MU8KY/Ur8ihailj7I/AAAAAAAABgI/XYjphjQaso0/s1600/Kyousuke+Natsume257E.jpg Kyousuke is an icon someone who Riki respects and looks up to. Hes the glue that keeps the Little Busters together and their everconfident 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 its absolute limits in Refrain and see character deconstructions of both Kyousuke and Riki. https://ritobasu.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/vlcsnap2013121417h02m07s57.jpg Little Busters is a coming of age story. Its 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. Its a coming of age story where Riki isnt 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. Theres a reason that Kyousuke made Riki be the one to recruit the new members for their baseball team he couldve done it himself quite easily. Its really in its last arc and on its 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 havent 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 http://www.animeevo.net/wpcontent/uploads/2013/12/LittleBustersRefrain1116.jpg https://randomc.net/image/Little20Busters/Little20Busters20Refrain2020082020Large2005.jpg This review couldve been a full breakdown of almost every scene in the show however I didnt want to ruin this experience for anyone yet to see it. Please do me a favour and watch this anime. And once thats done play the Visual Novel for an even greater experience. Just... get some tissues ready. Ill 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. https://youtu.be/w95F62kwzII