Dante012 said:Hey guys! This is a post for people who want to try (or retry) the Little Busters experience. I love this story.
But the anime butchered it, and the Visual Novel is way too long for what it's worth in my opinion.
So, here is the best way to experience this story according to me.
1)
Watch the first season. Sure, it lacks a lot of elements from the VN routes it adapts. But it also gets rid of most superficial/useless scenes.
As a result, it has a better time/story ratio in my opinion. Each character has enough screentime for their story, and the season does show the powerful moments of the VN.
People who complain about the first season are usually people who know the VN (which is understandable). But if you go blind, the first season is definitely not a bad experience.
At this point, you'll know if you like the setting and the characters. Maybe you might find the story boring ; if that's the case,
bear in mind the story changes drastically after you finished it. The most interesting parts are in season 2.
2) If you like it (or at least if you want to keep going), you should
watch the first episodes of season 2 (Refrain). These adapt the last character routes of the VN, and just like the first season, it adapts them pretty well although you miss some stuff.
Watch up until episode 6, "After the Escape".
3)
DO NOT watch the end of the anime, because these last episodes utterly RUIN the entire experience.
Switch to the Visual Novel instead. Find a full save on the net, that will allow you to unlock the final route instantly, Refrain, which is the last part you need to see to get the full story.
Read that route entirely. Bear in mind you'll have to go through it twice.
4) Cry the hell out! It's a very powerful story.
At this point, as you may know,
this story is not really over yet. You still have to learn three stories, which are adapted by the OVAs (Little Busters EX). What's the best, then? The OVAs or the VN?
5)
For Saya's route, watch the OVAs. You miss nothing from the story (aside from the s*x scene, which is actually emotional in the context but is definitely not required to get the story).
The route in the VN is a pain in the *ss, you have to go through a sort of dungeon game which is probably not what you want out of a book.
6)
For the other two routes, the VN is undeniably the way to go. Each of those stories were butchered by the OVAs that adapt them. Once you completed Refrain, you can start a new game and go through each of these routes. They might be the best part of Little Busters in my opinion, so you should definitely not miss them!
7) I said you missed some stuff. The truth is, most of what you miss is just detail (cool detail, but not necessary). If you feel like you need more of it, go through the entire Visual Novel. You can also choose to simply browse the net about what you missed, which is a quicker solution. Both these solutions will complete your experience.
8)
Go through all of it a second time! Little Busters is a genius story:
you'll see the story in a completely different way after you know everything about it, so it is of capital importance to experience it twice. Trust me: you have no idea how different the second time feels compared to the first.
You might wonder why you would make it that complex. You could just read the VN, after all. Problem solved.
It is a solution, but I honestly have an issue with the reasoning behind the idea that "the VN is better": people are too automatic with this argument.
VN is an unpopular format and, in the case of Little Busters,
is way too long for newcomers to enjoy.
The anime has a much more tolerable format and length for most people, which is why I strongly advise it over the VN except for Refrain and two EX routes, which are butchered by the anime.
TL;dr:
If you're not used to Visual Novels, you'll most likely prefer the anime
up until season 2, episode 6. After that, you should definitely
read the Refrain Route of the Visual Novel, as it got butchered in the anime.
Then, you can go through the first 3 OVAs (which adapt Saya's route), but for the other two EX routes, you should read the VN.
This was my take on the best Little Busters experience. If you try it this way, I hope you enjoyed it!
