Eh. Refrain didn’t have much build up until Yuiko’s route, so it’s a big no for me.
Isn’t that one reason why Refrain is so good? That you don’t see it coming, the foreshadowing was there but it wasn’t obvious (at least in the VN), and then becomes noticable, reflecting on the extreme relevance of the previous routes is great. I enjoyed Refrain even more just because I didn’t expect it. At least that’s my opinion anyway.
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I liked Refrain, I’m just saying that it would have been better with build up in at least more routes. The main reason that I was disappointed in LB was the build up. I think build up’s are what makes Key have good visual novels. And anime’s since they’ve done 2 anime originals. (Refrain spoilers) I also don’t like the reflecting. Cause the other routes were pretty forgetful, so you have to re-do/re-watch it to realize it. That’s not a bad idea, but not a good one either. Refrain made me only satisfied for the ending. Not really a fan of (Refrain spoiler) All the girls disappearing and the original LB left only.
Refrain best.
I would disagree on this whole heartedly. Just being unpredictable isn’t … good? By almost any stretch of the word. It needs to make both thematic and narrative sense for a ‘twist’ to really work. Refrain does that.
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As far as the anime goes, it’s why Refrain isn’t so good. You have to sit through a full season of mehness before you see worthwhile stuff… and then the ending is so mismanaged that you begin to question if it was even worth watching. That’s what I’ve heard from people who didn’t read the VN first at least~
I agree. Also I think predictable is not necessarily bad, After Story was very predictable for me; but the build up and actual execution made it very good.
Still for me Refrain is the best.
Also surprised to see that Tomoya After has more votes than AS. Is it really that sad? The final route of the other fandisc Kud Wafter wasn’t that sad at all.
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I think the point is to vote on the best final route, not the saddest. While you are more likely to remember things that affect you emotionally it doesn’t have to be sad for one to consider it the best. While I haven’t read it myself, I have read that Tomoyo After’s ending is sadder than After Story’s for some people.
I didn’t like AS, mainly because Nagisa was annoying. The Akio and Ushio stuff was nice, but nothing spectacular.
Tomoyo After was just a better story to me.
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I didn’t like her in the school arc very much but I liked her a lot in After Story.
I’m still debating Air and After Story as the only other 2 I’ve experienced are Terra which was a letdown and Refrain I’ve heard was much better in the VN than anime so I kinda excluded it for myself.
Reading through this thread makes me want to play the VNs so badly I can’t even
I mean, as far as all the Key anime go, I always thought After Story did the best job of concluding the series, but clearly the VN of Little Busters! is most commonly thought to do the best job of all.
It’s only a shame that you had the twist spoiled for you by the Anime, that you couldn’t experience it in the Visual Novel the first time.
Are there any people here who watched the anime first and still loved the VN?
Me. I got introduced to the anime by a friend of mine claiming it to be “even sadder than CLANNAD” which was a ridiculous idea to me at the time. Alas the LB anime may not have surpassed CLANNAD for me, but it still made me get attached as hell to all the characters. I went for the VN almost directly afterwards and, well, 
I’m grouping Moon with Terra here, otherwise I would probably vote for something else. Refrain is a close second, followed by Air.
If we’re talking best adapted final route to anime, easily Clannad: After Story.
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Little Busters Refrain was incredible. I watched the anime first and enjoyed it, but the visual novel was much better. In terms of anime, I think Clannad After Story was the best adaptation.
I pick Refrain, while not perfect I still really love a lot of what was presented. I never did like Terra (except the music) but the anime is making some changes that I hope will reflect in the new version of the game.
I did enjoy AIR and Tomoyo After though too and Clannad I really enjoyed too.
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Refrain is certainly my favorite, although I gotta say After Story comes pretty damn close. Refrain naturally had the most emotional impact on me overall, and I think what really makes it is the usage of the group dynamic of the childhood friends. These guys really have history, and their shared relationship not just throughout the events of the VN but even before it make allow Refrain to really just hammer in the gravity of the situation. It takes what we already know of their dynamic and uses that to push the development of the leads while also providing a lot of new insight into the others. It wraps up perfectly imo, and by the end I didn’t feel wanting for more by any means.
Terra is not Rewrite’s final route.
where is that oppai route…
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