Little Busters Bookclub Podcast 4: Kurugaya Route

Key News Blog Discussion
#1

We had to take a break for Christmas, but we’re back once more for another podcast! For this episode, I Aspirety am joined by Bizkitdoh, Pepe, MagusVerborum and Zosonte as we examine the dream of a certain misunderstood girl. Hopefully this one provides some new perspective on how to think of this route. About mid-way through the podcast we get into newcomer Magus’s grand theory of Little Busters and how this applies to Kurugaya route; we’ve clearly marked where it is in the video so you can choose to listen or skip over it as you please.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://kazamatsuri.org/little-busters-bookclub-podcast-4/
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#2

Absolutely great job, guys. I especially love the in-depths analisys of Kurugaya’s and Riki’s actions, thoughts and motivations.
You could say I enjoyed this podcast more than the actual route and it definitely helped me appreciate the latter more.

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#3

Then it seems the goal of the podcast has been reached. :umu:

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#4

GOD DAMN IT WHY DID I GET A SHOUTOUT FOR GOOD DISCUSSION FOR THIS ROUTE. I posted one whiny, uninformed post where I flat out admit I didn’t give the route the respect required for a proper analysis and outright stated I wasn’t even paying attention near the end. Then buggered right off out of the thread after posting my rant.

At the end Aspi said he hopes this podcast helped people appreciate this route more, and I…

Understand a few of the choices it made better now but still think it’s complete garbage and hold no regrets of not giving it the proper respect and read this time.

#5

Following a similar thought process, I’m kinda disappointed how little input and recognition the forum posts actually had. There was but an obligatory shout out of almost everyone who posted in the thread during the bookclub with no mention of what they actually posted. I imagine there’s some idea of forum posts being the initial content for bookclub followers with the podcasts as a closing summary and wrap up, but that ends with the podcast feeling rather shallow. There is no doubt some interesting information (generally about music) but that commonly comes from the “guest” people who—if not on the podcast—would be writing it out in a discussion thread.
Now, I haven’t watched one of the bookclubs in a while, so I dunno if this format change was intentional or just a natural evolution, but it really feels to me like there’s a long duration and little amount of content, and it really feels disconnected from the forum discussion. Maybe I’m wrong in believing the podcast should be considered a primary source for the bookclub with the forum posts being more of a board of proposed discussion (being that I’d much rather look up a podcast than read through several sections of a forum.) Maybe this podcast was just a one-off for these problems though.

I also find it weird that references towards discord are included either without being clarified entirely or without being relevant. This is more of a petty complaint, but still, weird inclusions.

#6

The main tool for the forum discussion to feed into the podcast is the Key Points, since it can be difficult to navigate an entire 100 posts and remember all the worthwhile discussion. Those Key Points give us a quick reference of things to focus on. But it seems not many people are making use of them these days. More and more the podcasts are feeling supplementary to the forum discussion, which is not good, but I feel there needs to be a balance.

We need to be able to draw upon the forum discussion when talking “such and such posted that… And I think…” but we can’t solely rely on the forum discussion, otherwise it’s boring because the podcast isn’t accomplishing anything new. It’s its own product, but I don’t want it to feel too disconnected from the forum discussion. Maybe a change of organisation is in order, maybe we need more cooperation between forum posters and the podcast to create something more cohesive. Maybe someone could prepare a digest of the main discussion points and how they go? Sounds like a lot of work though.

Well thanks for your concerns, it’s something that’s been bothering me as well. I’ll keep it in mind, so let me know if you have any suggestions too.

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#7

It’s probably obviously, but I loved this podcast. It was great hearing all of you pop off about how much you loved the little nuisances and moments of the route, your favorite scenes, the lengthy breakdowns of all the characters, and so much more. I was smiling along with you guys so much my face started to hurt a bit. :grin: Since watching the anime ages ago, I’d been waiting and hoping for the opportunity to be apart of a timely discussion regarding Kurugaya, whose episodes in Refrain had continued to stick with me all this time as some of my favorite episodes of any anime I’d seen ever, when the rest of the anime itself became no more than a blur in my memory. It’s not an understatement for me to say I wanted to play the LB! VN almost entirely to see Kurugaya’s route (and largely Haruka’s as well) to see how it stacked up. I’m pleased to say it exceeded expectations, and Kurugaya’s place in my heart and mind has now been properly and permanently cemented. That alone would have been enough for me.

I’m still genuinely shocked I got picked for MVP on this one, as there were so many absolutely stellar posts in this bookclub alone, and that’s not even to mention the older posts from the veterans on this site; so many incredible insights and perspectives that I had never even considered before arriving here. I’ve never been apart of a bookclub like this, and honestly, it’s been a total joy to read everyone’s opinions on all the routes and characters (even the characters I personally didn’t enjoy all that much). I’ve been practically racing home everyday to see what’s going on here. And there’s still so much more to talk and read about! If only these sunny days and fun times would last forever, huh?

Either way, it was an awesome discussion, an awesome podcast, (they’ve all been great so far, really) and I’m excited to see the discussion in the other threads bloom leading into their respective podcasts as well.

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#8

Have to say I really, really enjoyed this podcast. Hearing about Kurugaya and her emotions really helps me understand that chunk of her route much better. Seeing it the way you guys have analyzed and interpreted her “lack of emotions” makes it SO much better than what I was getting out of it for the two initial reads. I love having all this insight, rather than seeing it from just my own perspective. Totally makes me enjoy the game that much more.

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#9

I can’t believe I never actually left a comment here, but my goodness even if Haruka is #bestgirl I feel as though this route is still my favourite pre-Refrain route by a good margin. I love Kurugaya, I love the mystery, i love the distinct lack of answers (and implications) held within the route. It’s such a strange beast in the context of the novel as a whole and it was an absolute pleasure to share my thoughts on it with you all!

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#10

It sure was fun watching you tweet up a storm as I did all our editing :deino:

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#11

Absolutely loved the points about the kind of meta-narrative, of the route “ending” but then the game showing what happens next. It made me think about the route in a new way which makes me like it even more.
Pepe and Biz shaped my thoughts for me on some of the things I love about the route really well too.
Fantastic podcast.

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#12

Ayy glad to hear you liked it bonecuss :smiley: I have no idea what I was smoking to have thought up that whole meta narrative issue but i’m glad you were able to connect to it as well

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