Let's Play Little Busters!

[Karifean]

Let me make that five ^^

You might want to grab a bag of donuts before reading this part. Mmmh... donuts.

Chapter 1, Part 16

So last time we found Aikawa, our lovesickness patient, and resolved to call Haruka by her first name from now on. Also, we finished off Saturday, May 19th, and so...

Music for this part: Waking up in the Morning



That would actually be pretty awesome.



Don't mind them, Kyousuke. I'm up for some baseball.



Hah hah. Okay that face makes up for the disappointment of not playing baseball. Just look at that face.



You can guess how Masato and Rin reacted to those news.



Not positively, at least.




We're still lacking members, actually...



He's got you there.



Kyousuke is such a good speaker.



An ulterior motive for agreeing, huh.




There's no going against Kyousuke's will. But for the heck of it, I picked "Don't go".




You heard me the first time. Don't make me repeat myself.






I went with "Yes, it's true". Just to see what happens.



Music for this part: In The Town of Incessant Rain



Ah man, now you're making me feel bad.






Well he's an idiot! ...but fine.



Ah well...





Music for this part: Boys Don't Cry



Well that turned around quickly.





Ah, that face



they're such kids.



True enough, we've never seen this background before.




He says that in a really rough voice.



I love this group so much.

So because I kept declining I now get treated to hearing this next scene with really raspy voices. Such little details make this visual novel all the more fun.



Another background we've never seen before. This is turning out to be quite a nice Sunday.




Kyousuke and traveling? Huh.



Ah I see. That explains that.



Gone for a day, huh.



I feel like this whole scene does wonders to further establish just how much Riki really treasures his group of friends.



A depressed look just from the thought of being alone for a day. By the way, the raspy voices stop here.





I can so see Kyousuke doing that.



...



It's probably not hard to tell who that is even without hearing the voice, is it?




Definitely her.

Music for this part: Magic Ensemble



Hiya, Komari.




Huh.




So she's doing this completely voluntarily.



You're pretty good at making people you don't know into people you know really well, though.





Ah yeah, the spiral of happiness, right?



Heh. He really is.




Around 5 cents or 100 dollars, huh.






I don't know whether to call that cheesy or deep.



You're not gonna donate the 10000 yen, are you?



...dude.





...Thanks Komari. He totally would have done it, too.




I wonder how much money she manages to raise. For... uh, what is she collecting donations, anyways?




So the two guys arrive.



They don't seem too happy about it.



Tee hee. I especially like Kengo's "You know I can't refuse you".



I love this trio so much ^^

Hmm, trio ...




*sigh* too shy to come along, is she?






Ah, sure.





This gives me such a nostalgic feel. It's like watching my brothers argue over totally meaningless things.




And then there's this guy.





It's not quite the same, huh.





Komari is not quite on the same level as these guys.



Not everything is as touching to others as it is to you. Sad, but true.




Not that this guy would ever learn or care about that.



It's wonderful, isn't it ^^




Hmm, I also don't have any friends I've been with since childhood. But I don't regret that.




Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly.



Oh, right, picture book, I remember.




Great, thanks.



See ya later.

Music for this part: My Brave Smile





Hmm, well. A person who finds happiness in bringing other people happiness, I guess you could call them a "good person". Whatever way you like to look at it.





Hmm, I suppose. The last time must have been before the game started... and the game started with Kyousuke returning, so it must have been quite some time ago.





Heh. No matter what Kengo says, he really enjoys the company of the other Little Busters, doesn't he?



I like that line. To me, that's exactly what the Little Busters are like. Looking at it from the outside, it's like "kids fooling around". But of course, you would never want to stop being a part of it.

So the strolling around comes to an end. "Independent training", huh?



Well Riki's there too.



The others aren't just quite AS motivated as you are.




I'll look for a partner, why not.




Since we're gonna go through Rin's route, might as well go with her.





Yeah, it's basically just a pick-and-choose-who-gets-stat-ups. Since I picked Rin, maybe I can beat Sasami's minions next time.




Maybe we can still do something.



Hmm...



I think it's fairly obvious whose voice that is, even if you can't hear it, isn't it?

There's only one person who apologizes like that.





Of course it's her.

Music for this part: Magic Ensemble




You really don't need to be in tears all the time.



Well I can probably guess what happened.



If you've already had a hunch of what happened, this should just be confirmation.




Pastry?



Mmm, sounds deli~sh.



I sure wouldn't say no, though. And it doesn't look like Riki has any intention to do so either.





Just saying "we have donuts" is probably enough, ain't it?





Would you look at that, even Rin's shyness can't prevent her from eating donuts with Komari.




Mmm... just thinking about it...




...this choice actually has a long-term effect. But you don't want to know what that is...

For now I just went with the top option, the basic donut. I'll go with the others in subsequent playthroughs.





It seems I made a good choice without knowing.



A nice little pre-dinner snack. Sounds good.



Tee hee. Now you get to enviously watch as the others still have donut.



Maybe he just heard Komari praising the plain donut and rolled with it. That reminds me though, donuts aren't common in Japan, are they?



How sweet~




Everyone can have donuts, there were six of them after all.







Slowly but surely, she's opening up to others.



That leaves...




Yeah, you already finished your donut.




Idiot.



That was very nice of her, wasn't it?






Heh, Kyousuke is still always looking out for his younger sister, isn't he. He's probably happy that she managed to interact with Komari a bit more.

So, skipping ahead until after dinner...




That's probably true, actually.



Whatever you say...



Okay, so short version of what happened, Rin was feeding her cats and apparently offered something to Sasami as well, which she took as an insult. Really, do they need any reason to be fighting at this point?




How else could it end but in ...

Music for this part: Heroic Battle





Ah dang it. I hoped I could beat them.



So that's the end of this part. Turns out I was able to get all of Sunday May 20th into one part after all. I really appreciate this day, honestly. The Little Busters are basically a family for Riki, and it's nice to just see them interact and live their lives like that.

Next time, another week begins. See you then.

[Karifean]

Chapter 1, Part 17

May 21st

Alright, so after that nice little Sunday, time for another whole week of school. The baseball match is on the 26th, so we better find the remaining members quickly!

Music for this part: Waking Up In The Morning



I'm more worried about the cats.



Gee, really?



I think I already know who they're going to be.





Haha, "I'm so damn sorry" captures the sarcasm quite well.




Subtle, Kyousuke... subtle.




Haa, Riki you're too kind.



Whatcha talking about? Kurugaya and Haruka are both pretty useful. They can actually throw back a ball without smashing it right in your face.

Alright, so it's class time.



Hmm, annoying, but it happens.

Music for this part: Magic Ensemble




You really don't need to overreact like that...



She's gonna get called on, isn't she?



Wait for it...



Naturally.



But then all of a sudden...




Yay! Way to go Rin!



Heh, I guess it worked out in the end.



Hmm, could this be the book we were looking for?



I guess it's not. But let's take a look, shall we?



I agree. Sounds like something she'd make.



A different vibe, you say?



Spoiler alert: This story is not going to be important AT ALL in Komari's story arc.



...yeah.





She doesn't seem upset at all. That's fortunate.




W-well, I suppose that would make sense.



To hear that from her.



Anyways, I guess the storybook isn't finished yet. Maybe we'll get to see it again sometime.



Rin?



Ah, that. I guess it's about time to get cracking on that task.

Music for this part: Ring Ring Ring!




By this point nobody cares about her lisp anymore.



To be fair, you could probably recognize all the characters by their hair. Actually there are only two characters that would be hard to tell apart.



Villains tend to be like that.





Well, we're off to a great start.




No kidding. And for a second there I thought she could actually make it.





Rin is really good at this conversation thing, isn't she?




Ah geez. Some things don't change.




Luck isn't on my side.



Printing Mission Failed out of habit now, are we? Cheeky.




Uh... maybe you shouldn't have said that.



That's about what I expected.



Rin's lack of social understanding is quite unique.



Yeah, you hit the nail on the head.



True enough. I can't see Kengo x Sasami happening, like, ever.



Didn't we just establish that we DON'T need to defeat Kengo?



Oh well I guess that makes sense. Good thinking.



That's the problem though. Kengo is strong. Like, really strong.



It's not going to work. But let's hear it.






Okay I'll give her one thing: it's creative. I sure wouldn't have come up with that. And at first glance, it sounds like it could actually work. Let's not go into the dozens of problems that come up at second glance.




That glare is enough to frighten Aikawa and Riki into submission, so we're really going through with it.

Music for this part: Mission Possible



When was the last time she said her name correctly?



Doesn't have quite the same impact though ^^






Okay this was pretty hilarious.

Ahem.



This is so stupid.




Ah cripes.



Dang it. There goes our plan.



It completely backfired, no less.



*gulp*



...



Yes, yes, blame Kyousuke.



Well if Kengo had been distracted by something, maybe. But alas no. No such luck.




*sigh* I guess our task isn't quite done yet. Let's let Aikawa have some time to recover.




If you don't pick "Go buy juice" here you are locked out of Kurugaya's route. While we're not going to go through her route now, there are no interesting alternatives, so might as well go with that.



Maybe we can try going there sometime to find out what's so special about that place.




Nice try, Riki. But you should well know it's impossible for you to run from Kurugaya.

Music for this part: Heart-Colored Capriccio



Teleportation.




Maybe we should just leave it at that.



I see he still hasn't learned his lesson.



There's no escape. Face it.



Now that's going a bit far. She just likes tea is all.



See?

But Riki is still not set on staying here.



She's the one who gets straight 100/100 scores on everything, isn't she? This may be productive. Knowing her, probably not though.



Eh.... what?



She seems less human the more I interact with her.



...




Is it that hard to grasp?



Fighting does not mean enmity.




I don't think she's capable of understanding the relationship between Masato and Kengo.




Haha, well said Riki.




It's not that tough, really.



...

......

.........

That. Is creepy.



Me neither. But I do want to. Kurugaya is a fascinating person.

So that does it for now. Next time we may or may not recruit a new member for our baseball team, and you may or may not be able to guess who it is ahead of time. So much mystery!



The common route ends on May 26th, so we're over halfway there. Personally I'm looking forward to getting to the character routes.

[Karifean]

In related news, Planetarian is about to be released on Steam! If this does well enough, there's a chance that more visual novels, Key or not, get an overseas release at last. So if you're a nice person and wish to help this cause and/or you're interested in a Key visual novel that takes between 2-4 hours to read through, you may consider buying this for just ten dollars.

Chapter 1, Part 18

So last time we talked to Kurugaya over a cup of tea and she expressed her confusion at how Masato and Kengo are friends despite them constantly fighting.

For now, I guess Riki is a bit worried about Mio again.



Maybe she doesn't want to be followed?

Music for this part: Approaching Light




Great way to invite yourself, isn't it?



That's kind of you to offer that.



I've never had Onigiri before. Do they taste good?



It really is nice of her to feed Riki like that every day, huh. ^^



Mm, I can almost picture it.




Enviable, I suppose. Yeah I guess you can't really dislike...



Oh. Well.




Somehow Mio manages to make you look at many things in a different light. I like it.



Meaningless resistance... still better than not doing anything... it might be.



Oh no, it's actually quite fascinating. It makes me think about things.




Looking for members again. Well we only need two more, so it shouldn't take that much longer.

Music for this part: Showing Signs of a Mystery



So we fruitlessly look around a bit, until...





Is it another new cat?



Doesn't sound like it's a new cat. Not that it matters much.




But it only stays relaxing for so long, because soon enough, someone appears.



I think I know who it is already.



I like how she's now called Haruka instead of Saigusa in the name box, in accordance to Riki now calling her by her first name.



There's only one thing Haruka flees from like that.



She just cannot stay out of trouble...



Whatever...





A "gray object"?




*sigh* well she got caught.



Bye Haruka... I guess.

In her place, someone else joins us.



I feel like it's been a while since we've seen Kud, hasn't it?

Music for this part: Exotic Toybox




Strelka? Or rather, стрелка?




Ah, that dog. Her "best friend", if I remember correctly.



Hee. Neat to see Rin, the cat girl, get along with a dog.



I... don't know what to make of that either.



Yeah. It was relaxing, until a certain ruckus happened.



I just noticed Rin also calls Haruka by first name. Huh, that's kinda surprising.




They seem to get along quite well.




Eh heh. Sorry, I don't hear it.



A cat and a dog, huh.




Guh.



Sorry Kud, that might be a little too much to ask.



Or not?




She can say Strelka just fine. That might work out actually.




It's cute thinking about it.




Rin still looks a little lost.






Ah well. I guess it's still too tough for her.




To confirm that yes indeed you can call people by their names?



It might not be a bad idea to change the subject for now...





Kud is really cute.



Uh... eh?



Oh okay then.




Hmm. My Russian is not good enough to know a word like that. But well, now I do.




A nickname that became her name? Hmm.





Wow. Kud got Rin to be able to call her by name that quickly. That's a first.




You're on the disciplinary committee too?



Oh good. I don't particularly like the disciplinary committee.



Shii yuu.




At least remember that I'm looking for members, please...



Again?



I guess there was a longer time gap between that scene and now than it seemed.



Hmm, sure?




Let's let her be.




That Engrish. What's that first sentence supposed to mean, anyways? "It it's gratt tomato"?



Riki... maybe you should explain yourself first.




Thankfully, no harm meant, none taken. So now let's start over and actually ask this time, shall we?




That many?




I'll say. I didn't know half of those.




This bodes well.



I don't really follow, but whatever.




Gaah, don't make that face. It scares me.



So...



Great, then. I can imagine Masato's reaction already.





Ah, this group. I just love it ^^




This time the test doesn't seem to be as pointless as the three times before. Let's start with basic knowledge.






...

......

.........



............

...............

..................



People have different interpretations of "basic knowledge" I guess.




Whoa! Kud has all sorts of scary facial expressions!



Well... we finish up our basic knowledge catchup and now let's have some testing.

Music for this part: Race





You're not the first person to say that.



And, does she do well?






Turns out that Kud is an exceptionally good catcher! That's certainly good.



Heh, strangely right, eh?



I think she'll pass.



Geez, you guys are mean.



"Go fetch"?



Ah man. You guys.



Yay! Celebration! One team member to go!





Haha, Kud in the battle rankings. This is going to be cute.

Alright, I'll call it here. I'm writing this literally 15 minutes before Planetarian releases and I'm going to buy it as soon as it hits the store.

Next time we're gonna start locking ourselves out of routes. It's not necessary - since locking yourself into Rin's route takes priority over all other characters - but if I don't do it now I'll probably never be able to show these scenes later on, and going with the other option serves as a nice buildup towards the character route itself, so I'll be showing those when we get to the character in question. See you then.



Although I'm starting to wonder if anyone is still reading these.

[Karifean]

Well it's been a while. At this point I'm wondering if I should continue this LP or not. University started again so my free time has been cut down by a lot but the lack of updates is mostly due to a lack of motivation. I love Little Busters, it's one of my all-time favorites and I would continue this Let's Play, but not if it's just talking to myself the whole time.

So I'll ask; do you want me to continue this LP? I would be glad to, if there was interest. If there is none, I'll let it die.