Little Busters! What is the secret to this world?

Little Busters! (リトルバスターズ!)

(Anime 2012- 2013)

Visual Novel Created By: Key

Anime Directed By: Yoshiki Yamakawa

I never played the visual novels nor have I watched the second season of Little Busters!, but with what I do know from the first season, I think I could guess what the secret of this world is. Or at least, I would like to try to guess. Plus, answering this question would make a fun post for my blog, so that’s what I’m going to do right now.

I will provide my thoughts on the story arcs, and analyze these arcs to see if there is some sort of overarching commonality that could imply what the secret to this world is according to the anime, Little Busters!. This study purely came out of my head, and you can take it as it is or provide your own thoughts in the comments below.

So now let’s begin.

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Facing Death: Komari Kamikita’s Arc

After Komari’s brother died, Komari lives in denial where she isn’t sure that her brother ever existed in this world. One day, Komari and Riki linger around town in search of her memories. While walking in the rain, Riki spots a dead kitten and Komari’s memories of her brother returns. Soon after, she cries uncontrollably.

Before passing away, Komari’s brother, Takuya, creates a picture book for her and tells her that he may not be here (in the real world) when she wakes up and that this is all a dream (he never existed in her life.) Komari resorts to a defense mechanism and considers Riki, her brother. Riki creates a new picture book for Komari, and in this picture, he tells her that she should accept her brother’s passing and that even though he is gone, she still has friends to support her.

Death is inevitable. For those who are still living, it may be difficult to accept the death of someone so dear to you, and it may result in depression or great suffering. However, for those who are alive, we must accept death as a natural cycle of life, and be able to have the strength to continue living.

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The Forgotten: Mio Nishizono’s Arc

Mio Nishizono is a quiet, timid student. She is easily forgotten by her classmates and does not have any real friends. One day, the real “Mio” disappears, and another “Mio” whose true name is “Midori” replaces her. Everyone forgets the real “Mio,” except Riki.

On the beach, Mio tells Riki that Midori is the imaginary sister that she created. What was once make-believe transformed into reality for her, where one day, Mio loses her shadow. Mio decides to disappear from this world, but Riki saves her and she gets her shadow back.

Being forgotten by others is the worse feeling ever. Trust me, I know. Also for introverts like Mio, it is tough trying to make friends or even socialize with other people. Thus when you are ignored or forgotten, you feel like your life doesn’t matter and no one cares about you. Mio has these feelings; hence, it is the reason she would want to disappear from this world. Yet we are reminded that everyone does matter and everyone does have  a social circle that they belong to. Throughout my life, I have been a wandering soul, but I eventually found my group of real friends. We have been friends for nine years and counting.

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The Abandon: Haruka Saigusa’s Arc

Throughout her life, Haruka Saigusa has constantly been ridiculed by her family; as a result, she acts out at school, much to the public morals chairman, Kanata Futaki dismay. When Haruka’s bad behavior causes an uproar for Kanata and the whole school finds out that Haruka’s father is actually a criminal, Riki and the Little Busters gang try to mend the rift between the two, who happened to be twin sisters.

When one’s home is threatened, it leads a person to become defensive and lash out. For Haruka, she faces abandonment from her biological parents, her distant relatives, and her sister. Yet her sister, Kanata did not actually abandon her but instead was trying to protect her from their relatives’ ridicule.

When it comes to family, I think the worse fear we have would be abandonment. Yet, we must also realize though that family is blood and one shouldn’t leave a family member behind. If one does, then he or she is losing the one real unconditional love he or she has.

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Fear of Failure: Kudryavka Noumi’s Arc

Kudryavka “Kud” Noumi constantly reads books about astronomy and cosmology. She has dreams of being an astronaut just like her mother, but she fears that she isn’t good enough to be one. As a result, she ran away from home because she couldn’t handle the coursework. Yet when the rocket ship that her mother is supposed to be on malfunctions, Kud must decide whether to return home or not to check on her mother despite leaving on bad terms.

Failure is the biggest fear that young adults have in regards to the world of academics and future career goals. Kud puts too much stress and pressure on being the best ideal student so that she can make her mother proud, but when she fails to meet these standards, she acts too hard on herself and labels herself a failure. Kud’s storyline is relatable on so many levels. We try hard to succeed in academia that we constantly forget to relax and remain “grounded.” Sometimes, we just need to take a step back and consider that doing the best we can is acceptable. That’s a lesson I learned in my life actually. Don’t add too much pressure and stress on yourself. Sometimes we just need to let life flow its course without the need for us to control it constantly.

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Rin and Riki’s Challenges Arc

Throughout the anime, Rin and Riki are given special tasks written on a note and delivered by a cat. These tasks include cleaning the boys’ dorm shack, preparing the cafeteria meals for students, curing the love sickness of a male student, and creating a puppet show for a group of kids. By completing these tasks, Rin and Riki will be one step closer in finding out what the secret to this world is. Yet, sadly they don’t reveal the secret in season one, so I may have to watch season two to find out.

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Now when I look through these different scenarios,  I can’t help but consider that the secret to this world is friendship. In some way or form, people are dependent on each other in terms of a helping hand or just needing someone there for comfort when you are feeling down. It is this sort of support that is needed for people to continue growing and living, and if one doesn’t have that, they feel completely alone: physically, emotionally, and mentally. So friendship or some form of a closely knitted relationship is the key to this world. And it is within these relationships that love, hope, and faith are brought out.

That’s what I think. What do you think? Any thoughts?

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