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(Sora no Ao Umi no Ao)
“The Blue of the Sky and the Blue of the Sea”
Enter Nishizono Mio (formally, anyway), and shes quite different than the other cast members we’ve met so far.
Youll have to forgive the brevity of this post. In addition to this being finals week at my language school (Kanji alone would take more study time than I spend awake on an average day) as LiA readers know Ive been pole-axed by a bout of food poisoning thats left me quite useless, so between those two things Im just able to keep my head at the water-level blogging wise. And a somewhat groggy head it is too, as I havent been able to hold down solid food for a couple of days. Still better to keep in the flow of things at least a little than to wallow in digestive misery.
I wont claim that I brought any deep analytical skills to the table with Little Busters this week, or that the episode merited them to begin with, but what struck me was that this was the episode that sort of tied together all the notions of what the series is really about indeed, touching on several of the points in last weeks post. As a show thats primarily about friendship, Little Busters is thus by definition just as much about loneliness. Each of the girls in the cast has a quality to them that makes them different in some way, not part of the social circle and, as Nishizono points out, Riki is the sort of person that likes to look after other people. Theres a reason he got that way, of course because when he was the lonely and isolated person, Kyousuke took a similar interest in him, and gave him a new lease on life with the Little Busters.
Given all that, its no surprise that he should take such an interest in Mio as the lonely-heart girl who spends every day under a parasol reading a book, alone, shes the perfect avenue for his pay it forward view on life. In many ways, this felt the most Key-like of all the chapters so far. It was certainly the most low-key and melancholy (more than Komaris final ep, which was more melodramatic than melancholy) and Mio is the most mysterious of all the girls weve met. In most Key works theres always a sense that everyone has a sad or even tragic story under the surface just waiting for the right moment to emerge, and that certainly applied to Mio. She even says herself when Riki asks her why shes unable to participate in gym class and must hide under that parasol all-year long: Ask me some other time, and if I trust you well enough Ill tell you. Though I doubt that time will ever come.
Theres certainly plenty thats unusual about Mio. Her constantly red face, her mysterious medical condition (assuming thats what it is) and the little book shes always reading (though we do solve that one later). Shes called names like rock by the side of the road and the especially cruel Shadowless by her classmates. Its through the intervention of Kuragaya that we discover the book she loves is a poetry collection by Wakayama Bokusui, a tanka poet who died young and somewhat ominously is perhaps best known for the death haiku he wrote near the end of his life. Shes certainly a lonely and lost soul by any available measure, and as such a perfect candidate for the Little Busters except that shes unable to play baseball. But for her, admitting an interest in watching is in itself a pretty significant step forward and admission of trust.
Next week continues the trend of alternating introduction and stand-alone episodes, as it looks like were in for a test of courage turn of events. Itll be interesting to see which girl is in line for the next official arc, and how quickly we get to that point.
Preview
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My favourite heroine appears!!! I like her cynism the most and her outspoken character.
puni puniii!
I hope you get well soon, GE!Anyway, Mio and her mysterious persona (and epic BGM) adds a new spice to the group! And now that we have all the members already, we only have to wait for few episodes left until the next arc, I guess. I hope they will pick Rin1 first.About Mio, her original VA is being pregnant and her current seiyuu made her sounds a bit like Nagato (still pretty awesome, though)
this pondering fucking sickens me. I never will understand those who can stomach this stuff.
Pondering?
I think she meant “pandering”.
Are you pondering what I’m pondering, Pinky?
I like her… but, i did not like this episode :s
Wonder who Riki will pick to go for the test of courage. I’m playing the game simultaneously now and I’m really liking the friendship bonds that is so prominent in the game. Kyousuke/Masato/Kengo are also the bestest bros ever.
I so hope it is Kurugaya.
The seagullwonder if she is sadleft alone without being touchedby the blue of the seaor the blue of the sky*waited for 10 eps to post this*
~ The meal ready yet?~ Such a cute kitty kitty cat,~ A blazing beam~ Dedicated to you who worries over the harshness of your recent nighttimes~ Sir, you have been KO’d- LB
“When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much.”~King Eric~
Riki, how could you? Kicking a girl in the butt! Yes, I know it was an accident… (turns and directs dissatisfaction at JC Staff)Over time, Mio’s nickname of “Shadowless” will take on a completely different meaning altogether. Of all the LB heroine routes, Mio’s route actually took some time to comprehend because of its “abstractness”, in every sense of the word. And won’t really become fully apparent until all routes are cleared.
I like Mio’s character and enjoyed her route in general, but it sometimes had trouble deciding how metaphorical or literal it was going to be. It’s one of the difficulties of poetry, I suppose.
I think with Mio the proverb: “never judge a book by its cover” applies pretty well with her.
I guess Mio can’t become an idol team manager since she’s watching them play baseball. It’s pretty interesting seeing Little Buster members pop in all the time whenever there’s something happening. While personal drama does drive the plot I probably enjoy the anime best when I can see as many Little Busters as possible participating in whatever’s happening.You know which team you have to be in for the test of courage Riki, no girl matters when you can choose Masato and Kengo.
I do agree that animation quality falls short compared to other KEY adaptationsbut LB is all about heart and content.
Oh, sorry! wrong poster!Reply meant for @MCAL
Another nice episode. I like Little Busters more for passing the time on a Saturday night. It’s a very relaxing series. The only problem I really have with it so far is with too much stills in animation (And Komari’s arc, but that was more the VN’s fault then the JC Staff), but everything else has been beautiful looking, very Moe and the art has been very consistent (Is it just me or have there been no irregular faces at all so far) that I can’t really hold it against it too much.
Here it come the formal introduction of “Parasol Holding Silent Beauty”. I nearly slip in her route once. Aside for her route and Haruchin route that i fell to bad end several time other route is rather easy. That aside i still cannot get used to Mio voice since i’m already used to her snarky comment in VN.
This ep played it straight. 90% is VN material(except for that unintentional kick, LOL)I’ll make my guess:Considering the time frame and the turn of events, next arc will probably be Kurugaya’s.
I have a feeling Kurugaya will go near the end. If JC Staff is extending the show for another two cours or so after the first two are done (A decent possibility), I think the order will go Kud, Haruka, Mio, Kurugaya, Rin 1 and 2 (maybe just Rin 2), and Refrain.Seeing as Little Busters is a lot about Riki’s growth as a character, I feel that starting out with Komari (The least mature) and ending with Kurugaya (The most mature. At least to me) would be the best bet (Rin would really be last since she is considered the main heroine of course. Though I am for Kurugaya all the way). Of course that would be how I would personally do things and I have no idea how things will go. Regardless, considering the nature of her arc, it is probably best to do Kurugaya near the end.
I have a feeling that Kurugaya’s arc will be majorly cut out or not animated at all, which is unfortunate because she is my favorite character. Romance plays a bigger role in her arc than in the others and its ending would also make it pretty difficult to make the story continue into refrain.Maybe if they do one of those “Another world” episodes Kyoani did with Clannad, we’ll see her arc.
If anyone else doesn’t want to know the major plot twist of Little Busters then don’t click that spoiler.Actually, there have been some hints that JC Staff is indeed going for the resets. Its very hard to notice, but the previous episode had several moments where the time and date are either replaced with symbols (On Riki’s Phone) or is conveniently blacked out (On Riki’s alarm clock after his Narcolepsy attack). Also during the beginning of episode seven, it immediately starts with Riki suddenly waking up. That wouldn’t have been a big deal though had the episode not happened right after Komari’s arc if you get what I mean.
@MCALThat’s an interesting theory. (MAJOR PLOT SPOILER AHEAD)If they are doing it on purposethen we might see the resets. Though I believe the only major ones happen in Rin1, Rin2 and on Kurugaya’s route. It’s fishy that we didn’t see any reset after Komari’s arc :/
Latest news about the original seiyuu of Mio.
What a great coincidence that this episode aired on the day of her baby’s birth!
No it didn’t the episode aired on Saturday
Thank you GE for blogging this considering your condition. You’re a real trooper. Hope you get better!
Thanks, JPB. Making some progress today.
Mio got her ass kicked.
I haven’t read the VN but I’m curious, is the in heroineKomari?
If you’re asking who the main heroine is, it’s Rin.
I’m pretty sure there’s no such thing. The whole LB is the main heroine.
F$#K YEAH!!!!! Bro, u just convinced me not to drop this series!!!! Seriously, I just didn’t think I’d handle the series as well if Komari was the main girl, glad my thoughts were wrong. Besides, I always favored childhood friends in my VNs & anime. PS: I still can’t accept Riki’s baby face.
Main heroine is Kyousuke, supporting heroines are kengo and masato
B..but Riki is the best girl!