Episode 03 – “I Wanted to Stay Here Forever”

So this impression will pretty much be me saying “I can’t believe what just happened” and “how could they do this” and any other iteration of said phrases. It would be a terrible post, but it would be my honest to goodness reaction. I definitely was not expected that twist at all, and I was pretty much in disbelief the entire time. That’s actually a problem that I have with emotional scenes in anime, and it’s more of a problem that lies with me rather than the series itself.

Whenever something big happens, I’m usually in such a state of disbelief that I can’t properly absorb everything that’s going on. Here, I was so shocked by Kurugaya disappearing that I didn’t really know what to think. Although when Riki wakes up on the new June 21, then things started to kind of hit me. I watched the ending again, and this time I felt a lot more emotional, which makes me feel better. That catharsis lets me know that I’m not a complete robot.

I thought that the end of the Kurugaya arc would provide answers, but I feel like I’ve been left with more questions if anything. We learn that Kurugaya never had friends before the Little Busters because of her genius status and that she made the wish to have a June 20th that would never end. The seasons continued to pass but the day remained the same. Nobody but her and Riki noticed that something was strange. Even snow in June didn’t tip anyone off.

But why? I’ll buy the time lock thing as a needed plot device, but why does Kurugaya disappear? My fear was that she knew she going to die the next day, which caused her to make the wish. But the way her disappearance is expressed makes it seem like she was almost never there to begin with. Kurugaya just up and leaves, taking everyone’s memories of her. The relationship between her and Riki is given the most focus, but now I’m thinking about the rest of the Little Busters and how much they would miss her if they knew. One does not just take away a main character after almost 30 episodes like this!

I should confess that Kurugaya was one of my least favorite characters from Little Busters!, but now that she’s gone, I feel really bad. I honestly don’t remember the last time I felt this combination of confusion and sadness. I really hope they don’t leave off Kurugaya’s departure like this. She mentions Rin before she leaves, so it must have something to do with her and maybe the reason she vanishes will become apparent in the future. Next episode it appears we’re finally getting to Rin’s arc, and I can only imagine what lies in store for this one. The series is also only going to be 13 episodes, so this is essentially the home stretch.

“The fireworks I saw with you will fade away like the snow.” ~ Yuiko Kurugaya

B.W.