Sunday, December 30, 2012

Little Busters! episode 12

Hello there from slacker land. Or really the holidays take a lot of work land. I don't think I have any real excuse so I will....just get on with the post.
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Come to me little birds so I can make you into stew!
Let us see where to begin first. Maybe subbers took a week off to for the holidays and I am not really that behind. So up now is Little Busters! episode 12. Spoilers for Mio becoming part of the group.
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Kyousuke excited? Such lies.
Episode Summary: Riki and his boys have decided to leave school and have some random fun that doesn't involve Masato getting in a fight with anyone. As they are walking through the town they run into Komari and all the other girls taking donations for a worthy cause. Kyousuke notes that he could never be like that but commends Komari for doing so. Komari explains that doing this makes someone happy which in turns makes her happy and the world spins on. Kyousuke is touched by these words but only has 5 yen and 10,000 yen. He feels compelled to give the 10,000 yen even though everyone else is like um no dude. Riki ends up donating money on his behalf as Kengo and Masato fight over who can be the cheapest. Riki looks on at this “fun” and wishes Mio could join in. At school the next day people are a bit mean to Mio as they brush past her like she is not there. She tells Riki she doesn't mind and walks on by. Riki catches up and says he wants her to become the manager of the Little Busters. For some reason she thinks they want to be an idol group and she starts thinking about how she can make it work since Masato and Riki are odd. She decides that Kyousuke and Riki will become a pairing. Riki is like um no for the baseball team please. She decided that she will be the manager since she already said yes.
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Fill me with your numbers!
Riki reintroduces her to everyone and Kyousuke loses his mind thinking they have a whole team. Riki reminds him that he said the word manager so Kyousuke decides it doesn't matter that they don't have enough members. Practice goes on and Mio serves everyone warm tea. Then everyone needs to give Mio their cellphone number and Mio doesn't know how to use a phone blah blah. Masato gets in on the crazy with the whole no girls ever call me! All in all Riki is pleased because everyone is friends. The next day instead of having practice Kyousuke decides they are going to learn how to make poems. Tanka poems and since Mio is an expert on them she explains in boring detail what they are. It is decided that everyone will write a verse and they will glue it together. This results in insane poems. Everyone is having fun and Mio slips out with Riki noticing. He goes after her and she is under her usual place with birds and crumbs. She says that everyone is just so bright and having friends seems so nice she got overwhelmed. Riki starts wondering if this was a good idea when Mio talks about how it might be too late for her to do this and about flying in the sky and reading all the books ever. Riki remembers that he Mio in town last week yet she was smiling and had no umbrella. Mio gets quiet but says she thought of a poem for the contest. But the next day at school she is absent. Riki is sad that no one else will really notice that she is gone. He hears a fellow classmate talking about how he just saw Mio in town yet it didn't seem like her. Riki looks up at the cloudy sky and thinks something really bad is about to happen to Mio. THE END!

So very little seems to be happening in most of the shows I watch. Am I just being too critical or am I being raised in America and I need aliens and explosions to keep my attention. I like slice of life animes too! I need them to keep me grounded amidst all the animes that explode my brain and other people's bodies.
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The worst thing EVER!!!!
Just....everything is so slow and so dramatic and so.....slow. Which I guess is real life. Not every day is amazing. And maybe when you are partaking in the fun of exchanging phone numbers it doesn't seem to drag on and on. But to me it is like watching a football game. Like....this probably seems more interesting if you are playing in and feeling the rush, not watching plays that take 5 seconds each and 4 minutes to reset.
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And then the world ended.
Riki is like a dog with a bone. He sees someone to help and he needs to see it through. Whether he likes it or not. Although at the end he does seem to get it, that maybe some people don't want to be helped. Of course it will turn out that Mio wants and needs help but in real life some people do want to be left alone and they are okay with that. They aren't running around feeding birds and writing sad poems. But for the first part of the episode Riki was like oh...poor Mio.
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Um...yeah. Let me go get some change....
That came about because the Little Busters were having a special moment at the beginning of the episode. The guys are all out, celebrating the fact that they found the gates of the school and actually are in town. Time away from the girls! What should we do first? Oh run into the girls who are all together earning money for whatever Komari wants to earn money for that day.
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Komari is collecting happiness ya'll.
They were collecting good will folks. Kind feelings. Oh Komari. Oh Kyousuke being taken in by someone else's dramatic words. X__X That was a lot of cash though folks. I was kinda expecting Yuiko to take it and say THANKS leaving Kyousuke penniless. Komari is a good girl though and even though Kyousuke is dramatic he is a good guy too. Less so Kengo and Masato who sorta sucked a but of the fun out of the giving situation. But this would all be better if Mio was apart of their group. Riki can't have fun if he knows someone is out there unhappy the fun times they are having now are not happening. And since Riki's main purpose in life is to remind us fun times are not always going to last...he needs to have as much fun as possible with as many people as possible.
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She can work with that folks.
I do like Mio though. Even if she is down on herself for being a forgotten pebble on the road. She knows the kids are playing baseball but her mind goes to idols. She wouldn't be good for either job but I still think it was hilarious. But that might be my yaoi colored glasses talking here folks. XD Kyousuke and Riki pairing. Marketing Masato would be hard though. Not my cup of tea.
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And why would I be good at this job?
I am surprised that she said yes though. Even to the idol part. She seems like the kind of person who doesn't want to get involved, even if that is just to keep herself from getting hurt. And these people are crazy. A lot happens with this group and they are loud and all over the place. So her saying yes to anything is odd. Maybe she should have done baby steps. Like I will be your friend Riki and work my way up to baseball team amounts of friends later.
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No actual baseballing for her.
But she is the new manager and all makes sense. Especially since we all know that Kengo will at least show up to the games and help. He probably won't go to any practices but he won't leave Kyousuke hanging. Mio can't be in the sunlight so this is the only position she can take without....well whatever her problem is. Melting or what have them. Kyousuke having his dramatic moment and then saving himself when it didn't work out in his way...is typical Kyousuke.
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Everyone under the age of 20 understands phones better than people over the age of 40. You are a disappointment Mio.
After practice the most complicated and over blown way to give out phone numbers took place. I know Mio doesn't have any friends but don't her parents call her? This is the year 2012, all kids know how to use cellphones. Masato would have been AWWW if his stupid pieces of paper didn't keep flying away. But the other girls were nice with their attempts to not make Mio feel number and even start the conversation with the phone numbers. All really good girls, just a bit insane and out there in the universe.
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I almost fell asleep there too guys.
I know Kyousuke was just trying to involve Mio and make her feel part of the gang...but the poem thing was boring. I know they made it into something interesting but the idea was so boring. I guess they couldn't all go to the library and read a book so this is all Kyousuke could come up with. At first when the poem starting making sense I got worried that everyone got taken over by pod people. But then things got stupid and I felt better. Ah this is the group I know and love. Well I guess love is a strong word.
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Well she ran away to be all sad like didn't she?
While Mio is holding onto a deep dark secret...I can still see why a normal person would have run away from that. It was just way too much way too fast. I don't think anyone meant to leave Mio out but they all are so loud and have such strong personalities I can see how that might all be overwhelming. Mio wasn't upset at that, knowing no one meant ill will. It was just...a lot at once and with a huge group it is hard to include everyone at once.
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So dark indeed.
But Mio is holding onto something dark. At this point I don't think she has a twin as I think that is Haruka. I probably would assume that if Haruka wasn't in the picture but she is so I must go with theory B. Mio has a split personality. That if she is exposed to the sun she might melt and become a second person. But if you notice there was no sun out on the day she was missing from class. Wait I am contradicting myself as she was smiling in the sun at Riki that past trip out and now she is smiling on a cloudy day.
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I think my thought train derailed.
Wait now I am confused. X___X What is going on? If it is not a twin does she have a split personality? She was out in the grey clouds smiling and skipping school. But when she was talking to Riki she was inferring about running out of time, implying she was dying. But we already did that arc with Komari didn't we? HMM FOLKS! I was all set to talk about this split personality thing but now if Mio is smiling in the sun and in the darkness I don't know what is up with her.
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It better be good and dramatic. That's all I can say.
I don't know what is going on with Mio and neither does Riki. So he must put on his superhero cape and get to the bottom of it. Something bad is coming. Reading all these books, talks about birds, and avoiding the sun. What is going on with this girl? Guess we will have to wait to find out won't we? Until next week!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello @Christina and @Eternia


Obviously this is Mio's story arc.

I think Mio is bipolar. What I meant by that is one moment Mio's ecstatic and the next moment she's feeling depressed. I could be wrong, and she's probably possessed by a supernatural entity with unknown intents. Maybe this being manifests itself during Mio's vulnerable moments. It's quite plausible since this show has supernatural events (i.e. ghost hands) and aren't afraid to take inspirations from Key's other works (Clannad, Angel Beats, etc.) regarding mystical creatures.

I'm definitely curious to learn more of this supernatural edge with Mio! What and who is she?

@Eternia (if you're reading this): No doubt you've heard of the controversy regarding J.C. Staff animating this show instead of KyoAni. I read on the forums (several months before LB aired) that LB fans are not too pleased with J.C. Staff working on this show. My question is: have the fans been more accepting of J.C. Staff? Did J.C. Staff deliver on LB and earned the fans' approval? Or are they still angry? What's the overall opinion of LB fans regarding J.C. Staff right now?

That's all, everybody.



eternia said...

Oh, I am reading. I am reading a lot of blogs and tenchi's is one of them that I visit regularly.

JC Staff seems to be finishing each girl's arc in a few episodes, so I think spoiler is really not needed at this rate. :-) Is that an evil twin? Nah. Is that her split personality? Why is she not afraid of the sun? See for yourself~

Well... KyoAni did great job on Kanon and Clannad. In fact, I rated those two as 10/10, since I was crying like a baby while watching them. Angel Beats is great too even though it's not Key's visual novel, but Jun Maeda is involved, if I am not mistaken. KyoAni is very good at tearjerker anime.

Little Busters! is a bit more on the comedy side, so I don't see a problem with JC Staff animating it. But honestly, the art is a bit lacking. The art is much better in visual novel, the girls are cuter and more distinct, while all of them seem to have same faces in this anime adaptation. JC Staff is slacking off in this, and put more budget in Sakurasou no Pet Kanojo.

Oh, if you are wondering why each girl only gets a few episode, I heard it's because they are adapting this anime from Little Busters! EX. EX version has porno contents, and it has three additional routes, for Riki to woo and have sex with. *ahem*

They really have to rush at this rate, because other than Komari and Mio, there are still Yuiko, Kud, Haruka, Rin; and then Sasasegawa Sasami, Futaki Kanata, Tokido Saya. The latter three are the additional routes I talked about. Oh, of course, they have to animate the true route for the ending, which is called "Refrain". It will reveal the so called secret of the world.

Anonymous said...

Hi @Eternia

First anonymous here again.

Why would J.C. Staff be putting more resources on Sakurasou no Pet Kanojo than LB? Like I mentioned before, J.C. Staff is under heavy scrutiny from LB fans who prefer KyoAni. J.C. Staff has a rather poor to mediocre track record regarding animation according to what LB fans said on the MAL (myanimelist) forums. Several months before LB aired, the president of J.C. Staff tweeted that the company was awared of fans' anxiety and would do its best to assuage their worries. If J.C. Staff fails LB then it proves to the entire anime community that they are incompetent and their reputation as a company would be shattered.

I agree with you that the art style of LB could use a little more work. It's 2012 (soon to be 2013) for the love of God! Come on J.C. Staff! Most of the other anime shows (Psycho-Pass, Boku Wa Tomodachi, Guilty Crown, or Bakemonogatari) have much better art quality! If J.C. Staff wants to prove that they are a worthy company, then they should have put some more efforts in animating LB to compete with the other companies.

They should have just done one show only for this season and that's Little Busters instead of dividing their resources. It would allow them to expand the episodes from 24 to 55+ total. Also, they wouldn't have to rush the girls and give each character the time to develop. In my opinion, LB has more priority than the other show.

That's all.

Christina said...

Anonymous- Hello there! Given the nature of this show I feel that having a twin is probably not what is going on either. Well I think that because I think someone else has a twin yet it hasn't been announced yet. I would go with the bipolar thing too IF she wasn't so obsessed with birds and the sky. If she was just sitting alone under the tree looking sad maybe. I could even overlook the "I don't have long to live issue too". But maybe when she is a vampire and when she is exposed to sunlight she sparkles....I mean has a split personality. XD

Eternia- I appreciate my regular reader Eternia. She puts up with my antics and often gives me important information that escapes me or isn't explained well in the show. XD

I am a fan of things looking pretty. I don't really pay attention to voice actors/actresses all that much except when I realize OH that is who she sounds like. Nor do I pay attention to studios most of the time. Maybe I should though so then I could have a better idea on what might suck or what might be amazing.

While Little Busters! still falls in the pretty category I can see that it is not up to par with Clannad or Angel Beats. The pacing seems about the same to me but it could be a little cleaner. They could look a little more people like and less like they all just changed wigs and are blobs.