Kud Wafter: The Fear of Moving Forward As a Key fan myself its kind of a shame that I didnt remember this movie exist until recently. Its like I saw the announcement of it somewhere but then forgot it. Nevertheless I remembered it and so gave it a try as any good fan will do. If you yet watched Little Busters or played it well you need to watch it first before stepping on to watch Kud Wafter. As for spoilers perhaps there will be a major spoiler since I talked about the driving force why I came to love this movie and lowkey trying to interpret what this show wants to express. That being said lets see what I see on Kud Wafter and what experience they offer. Dream and Its Two Sides of The Coin Being so passionate about something doing things with all of your might to chase your dreams. Well its so difficult in doing so hence why its so romantic and poetic. The beautiful romanticization of struggle in chasing dreams and being so passionate in doing so in our society is just merely a romanticization. A whatif story. Theres no easy way toward the dream. Its all a cruel obstacle that often leads peoples attempts futile. Hence why so there are so many inspirational stories out there both fiction and not. Just imagine how many kids proudly state their dreams in kindergarten in contrary how many are there of them who can state it properly or being the same dream in high school? The more a person grows the more they know how harsh the reality is. Maybe they shifted their dream more realistically following the demands of both conditions and environments. Not even daring to the thought of their silly childhood dream. And thats what Kud Wafter has to offer in this movie. Giving Up and Staying in The Comfort Zone Kudryavka is so inspired by her incredible mom doing her best as a cosmonaut Russian term for astronaut at the International Space Station ISS and decided to become a cosmonaut too or perhaps it was. If you experienced Space Brothers Uchuu Kyoudai you probably would know how difficult of being for an astronaut. Its not a joke. Astronaut is arguably considered a pinnacle job all around the world becoming it you need to burden your shoulder with the hopes of billions of people questioning yourself am I a worthy person for people to burn their money their time their efforts and all of theirs to send me over the atmosphere?. You need to possess the fittest body that mankind can have all along the cuttingedge knowledge of a field study with a massive incredibly quick brainwiring to make the fastest and wise decision whenever its needed. Not to mention the intense and tough competitions from all over the world who share the same goal of being astronauts. Its unimaginably tough. Knowing all of these slowly young Kudryavka gave up the dream of being a cosmonaut. Transferred to Japan and attending a new high school Kudryavka meets Riki the main protagonist in Little Busters who in this sequel becomes her lover. Fun high school life and Riki comforts her. Dictated the thought Ah its nice being here I have all I need. As long as I have Riki Ill be happy no matter what into her brain. Creating the most comfortable imaginary reality that entrapped her. Bondage her with an endless chain stopping her from moving forward. A Wakeup Call Entrapped in her ideal reality Kudryavka living her high school life with her beloved Riki making the water rocket with her friends vowing to marry Riki and also fucking with him in her room. Kudryavka living her life. But is it true? Is this a life that she wishes for? if so then why does Himuro a genius roommate of hers when she was studying in Russia come into her ideal reality knocking on the door? Isnt it mean theres somewhere in Kudryavkas heart that still longing for chasing her dream? Well lets end the talk about the story before we go too far now lets talk about my insight on Kud Wafter. Wellwritten Lines and Befitting Symbolism Ok ok ok hold on you symbolismnerds let me explain first. Watching Kud Wafter shares the same experience as watching SchoolLive they have a slow yet instant wakeup call about what actually happens in the show. It happens throughout lines and chains in Kud Wafter the moment Kudryavka says Itll be alright as long as you dont give up to her new friend Shiina at the beginning already indicating something happens in this show. That scene where Kudryavka slowly left behind her mom alongside her growth increasing packed with absolutely relatable lines hits home so badly. Its happening to the majority of growing kids in society When did that time when I actually gave up on my dreams?. Especially to me who grows up so passionate about stars planets galaxies and space. I remember buying home tons of astronomicalrelated books for kids when I was a schoolgrader reading them so passionately. Wishing that I too can become an astronaut. And as time goes by I can see myself growing in that particular Kudryavka scene. Slowly stopping towards my own dream. And here I am writing useless stuff about anime. Merely able to just speculate a whatif story. Well life goes on I guess. Feeling so related to Kudryavka seeing the chains appears in her school sealing her in her own world its easy for me to recognize that these endless chains are symbolling her fear that declining her to move forward. And so she said it in the very movie. Also I love that last ignition scene of the water rocket. A water rocket made from an empty coke bottle has to have somebody to drink it up before it can fly then has to have somebody to create the additional parts to make it able to fly then has to have somebody to pump the air to the bottle and at the end you only you yourself who tilt the button to ignite and launch the rocket. People maybe will help you to encourage you to strengthen you but at the end of the day its you yourself who decides either to stop or ignite the launch of yourself towards your dream by simply moving a step forward. The Weak Point It has to be said that this is my main concern about Kud Wafter. With a total of 51 min of duration it has more than enough 30 minutes and more to dive more deeply into the characters and their relationship if were using Pomposans ideal 90minute movie duration as a reference. Like when I browse what actually Kud Wafters visual novel is about they all said that its a romance story of Kudryavka and Rikis focused story. Well its not like Ive some experience in reading them tho so take that with a grain of salt. Nonetheless their romance story which happens to be wrapped in an insert song duration just felt too short. In The End Thats all that I can say about Kud Wafter. To put it briefly Kud Wafter is a bittersweet love letter to all of us who once gave up on our silly dream. A very enjoyable watch definitely recommended.