I’d have to say that the part about calling Riki “onii-chan” was her own coping mechanism, not a part of her mental affliction, even though it was the same for kojirou’s wife. A predisposition for that kind of coping mechanism might be hereditary in the family.
The way this makes it distinct from being part of her “flashback syndrome”, and the reason I think they’re different, is that once Riki really put his foot down and started insisting that he wasn’t her “onii-chan”, she gave in surprisingly quickly. That, and the fact that resolving that point alone made her feel even worse, rather being progress, makes me think it was a self-imposed coping mechanism rather than part of her actual mental affliction.
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One fairy tale discussion, with lots of symbolism on the side, coming right up!
Among other things, fairy tales are a way of communication to Komari. She’s writing fairy tales herself, Takuya spent a lot of time reading and writing some for her, and Riki could finally get through to her and cure her from her affliction by ways of a fairy tale (and a hug. That stuff’s magical).
Komari talks a lot about fairy tales during the shooting star viewing. She doesn’t like sad fairy tales. The fact that many fairy tales as we know them today have been rewritten and given a more pleasant ending shows that many people feel the same, she concludes. Even “A Dog of Flanders” supposedly got an adaption with a happy ending. She describes it as “helping” or “saving” the sad story. What Riki did for Komari in the end was the same, only that he didn’t hide the sad parts.
Komari’s broken state can be described as a failed attempt at rewriting her story. But while the sad things could be forgotten, they could never be erased and made her suffer all the more.
I’ll focus on a certain fairy tale that’s particularly significant for Komari: The Little Match Girl.
To put it short, it’s story about a poor girl freezing to the death on the street in the night of New Year’s Eve while seeing a shooting star and a series of pleasant delusions, including the reunion with her dear late grandmother.
(The tale is rather short, so you should give it a quick read. There’s bound to be more connections to be found between the tale and Komari’s route than what I’m adressing here!)
It’s from this fairy tale that Komari has learned the concept of “death”. She started associating shooting stars with it. Thanks to Takuya, she doesn’t hate them, but she never forgot the association. She does associate them with one other thing: wishes.
In the epilogue, Komari presents Riki’s/Takuya’s fairy tale, the last page of which she had drawn herself. The fairy tale where she is the main character. On that page, she disappears. With this, and her commentary that “it’s not only sad,” Komari shows that she… well, what exactly? Do you think it’s a sad bittersweet thing like what @BlackHayate02 suspects?
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To put it in the sappiest way possible, I think the final page represents Komari’s eventual death or disappearance from Riki’s life. Yes, it is sad one day they will be apart, but now that Komari can face reality with Riki, they can go on to make many memories together, helping each other up when they fall. Komari no longer fears what may happen, what reality may present, because she has Riki and her friends to help her, and she can spread the spiral of happiness even further, immortalizing herself in Riki’s heart and world.
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A bit of analysis on how the Little Match Girl connects to Komari
First, let’s begin with summarizing the Little Match Girl.
Summary
A poor girl was selling matches on the street on new year’s eve night.
She pleaded to people to buy her matches but no one shared a glance at her.
Soon, everyone on the street disappeared (went home) and her feet were frozen from walking on the snow bare foot ( she had shoes but they were removed ).
The girl sat on the corner of an alley hoping to avoid the snow. She tried to keep herself warm so lit one of her matches.
It was then a furnace appeared in front of her. To keep herself from freezing, she took a step towards the furnace.
The fire suddenly disappeared along with the furnace. The cold weather attacked her again from all sides.
She lit another match and this time, a table with an amazing feast appeared. The goose roast ( it was something she wanted to eat for a long time) seemed to be walking towards her.
Once again as she stretched her hands, the fire disappeared and so did the feast and the table.
Lighting another match, she saw a Christmas tree full of candles. However, as she went closer to the tree, the match died out and all the candles flew up to the sky (no they didn’t disappear this time) .
The candles turned into stars to fill the night sky. It was then a shooting star passed by. The girl thought, “Oh someone is dying” as her late grandmother told her that when a comet falls, someone is dying and going up to heaven.
The girl lit another match and saw her grandmother. She was just standing there, smiling.
The girl knowing that her grandmother would too disappear if the candle dies out, she lit all her remaining candles. It was much warmer than before and her grandmother’s silhouette turned much clearer. In order not to lose her grandmother, she jumped towards her silhouette.
The girl’s grandmother hugged her tightly. It was no longer cold nor hungry. They both ascended to heaven surrounded by a warm light.
I personally felt that Komari’s broken state is the story of the Little Match Girl. Here are some reasons why I think that :
- The repeated delusions that kept disappearing can be compared to Komari’s cycle of struggle when she had to come to terms that Takuya is dead.
- Lighting another match each time can be seen as an equal to Komari choosing a substitute for her “Onii chan” each time since both the actions are coping mechanisms to avoid the sad reality.
- They both chose to avoid reality each time it came to bite them back and instead chose a delusion in which nothing sad happens.
- The ending of the Little Match Girl is the bad end to Komari’s route. In the ending of the book, the girl chooses to avoid reality forever. In the bad end of Komari’s route, Riki states that Riki and Komari are separated from the outside world forever.
It was then, Riki came to rewrite Komari’s story once and for all. The main reason that the Little Match Girl died was because no one was there to help her. When Riki told Komari that he will always be there for her (as Riki Naoe not as Onii chan). Komari felt that she could be able to accept sad things if she were with Riki.
In other words, the Little Match Girl found a reason to live in the world which is a mixture of happiness and sadness.
Or at least I felt that way. What do you guys think?
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In the story of the Little Match Girl, the girl lights all of her matches at once to keep the vision of her loving grandmother within alive as much as she can. I want to argue that Komari regressing into her broken state after seeing the dead cat is analogous to that part of the story, but this time it’s a cry for help, for Riki to come and help her. She wants him to be like the grandmother in the story, who I think represents both Takuya in the past and Riki in the present.
In the story, the girl dies with a smile on her face, as others pass her by and wonder what happened; I think this mirrors the ending of the route, where in Komari’s fairytale ends with her disappearing, telling Riki it’s not all sad because she still felt the warmth of his and Takuya’s love before she inevitably left Riki’s life. Of course, the end of the fairytale representing the bad end is just as valid too, but I think it’s open ended enough to where you can argue that the end of the fairytale can match both ends of the route.
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I have a thought. In komari’s route, it is always said that komari’s eyes see the better (good) in things and at the end she wishes that riki could also see it.
Quote on quote ‘May your eyes see better, just a little better’.
In Mio’s route we are presented with ’ good intentions’ and ‘bad intentions’ choice two times. At the first time it does not affect Riki much but the second choice screws up Riki if he fails to see the good in Midori (bad intentions).
Did komari tried to guide Riki like this?.
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Not a super long post this time, but as I close even further on the Secrets this world holds I’m seeing more and more Shinto symbolism, especially tied to Komari 'Kami’kita.
There are numerous points in the story where she is engaging birds and flowers and such, she is strongly associated with nature. Her association with the Sun could also be tied directly to the Sun goddess Amaterasu. One of the most commonly known stories about Amaterasu involves the goddess shutting herself in a cave, depriving the world of her sunlight. Eventually she is brought forth again by many attempts by the other gods to get her attention and draw her back to the outside world. One such attempt involved the decoration of a Sakaki tree with ‘fine white clothes and a mirror at its center.’ I believe this parallels Komari’s detachment and ‘withdrawal’ into her own memories before Riki shows her what she is doing with the book that serves as a parable to her life, himself being represented by ‘the white’ (in Shinto, white represents purity, similar to how in Western cultures it’s represented by a blank slate). The brother of Amaterasu is Susanoo, god of storms. Susanoo causes all sorts of trouble for his sister, and once again this parallels the use storms in the cat scene and in the Bad End.
In Shinto, Red is also for protection against illness/sadness, in the scene where Komari breaks down in Riki’s room she takes off her red hair ribbons, symbolic of the traumatic state she’s in. As a side note, I don’t think it’s at all a coincidence that both of the Natsume siblings have a bright red colour for their names in the batting practice screen. It’s also worth noting that the orange colour we see in the title screen and in flashbacks (a colour here strongly associated with memory) in Shintoism is the colour of the arches one passes through to enter their shrines, supposed to prepare you for entrance.
Extra point: Oh, and Komari’s life-philosophy the ‘Spiral of Happiness’ fits perfectly within this, it describes the relationship between Kami (who help and guide humans) and humans (who give offerings to the Kami) and how they interact with one another. Kami and humans live in a symbiotic relationship in a sense, and if one side stopped their giving then the other side would wither, it’s a mutual bond of happiness. It’s a perfectly natural thing. Wholesome even, like Belgian waffles.
So basically what I’m trying to say is that there’s a lot of Shinto stuff going on, and Komari is Amaterasu. Any questions? 
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F U E ?
My opinions on Komari tend to either be agreed with or disagreed with on a 100% point. I’ll just get it out of the way first. I don’t like her. She’s not the type of character I’m a big fan of. Every shoujo has a childish moe character, but I feel that it’s a bit overdone with Komari, especially in the way that she talks.
However, I respect what she does for the story and believe that her route is one of the better ones in the entire game. Hats off to one of the more realistic routes in the game. One of my favorite parts about the Komari route is that realism itself. It makes it easy to follow the entire story from Point A to Point B, and therefore requires minimal effort to get sufficiently wrapped up in the events emotionally. Komari, for me, is a lot like Rin from Katawa Shoujo. Whereas I felt that Rin in the common route was great and Rin in her own route was terrible, it’s the opposite for Komari. I heavily dislike Komari in the common route, but the more I got into Komari’s route, the more I liked her.
Komari’s route also holds the honors for one of the moments Little Busters has made me cry, specifically when Little Melody kicks in when Riki is reading her the book he made. I also really really loved the scene where Komari breaks down after seeing the dead cat, I think it was executed absolutely perfectly. The one detail of the route I had to take issue with was that Kojirou’s wife, who just so happened to suffer from the same emotional triggers as Komari Kamikita, just so happened to also be named Komari Kamikita. I felt like they could have easily thought up several different explanations that weren’t your typical anime-coincidence. But it didn’t detract from the route at all.
Another interesting thing I noticed is that, Refrain spoilers ahead, Choosing the bad end to the route essentially makes Riki do the same thing Kengo wants to do, and just let things continue as they are, so long as the people in question remain happy. I thought it was a very interesting comparison.
All in all, I really don’t have all that much to say about the route since most of the things about it are very straightforward. I may not like Komari that much, but her route is one of the absolute best in the game.
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Authors don’t make coincidences happen just to point out how big a coincidence it was, unless it’s for comedic effect. Giving two characters the same name is a stylistic device, much like metaphors. It’s to further accentuate that Kojirou is the bad end Riki and his wife was the bad end Komari, displaying what would happen if Riki takes the easier way out. A side character exists in order to support the main characters and the story itself. They don’t exist in order to cement their own individuality, but to contribute to the plot.
I can’t help but point out that judging Key routes by realism is rather pointless. We all know that Key writers usually trade off realism for a greater emotional impact - and it pays out. Sometimes, they add supernatural elements to an otherwise realistic setting to create ‘magical’ moments with a special mood. Sometimes, they use it to create even more emotinal developments. For some stories, they don’t use any supernatural elements at all, but that doesn’t make them automatically better or worse.
Similarly, judging stories by one’s personal capability of instantly understanding them is just barking up the wrong tree. Also note that leaving the reader in the dark is also a stylistic device.
Nice job finding that similarity to Refrain, though.
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I agree with Rin on this point: your interpretation is quite interesting and probably right, but when I first read this it completely broke my immersion, it was a struggle to take the rest of the route seriously.
To be fair, I didn’t like her/her route that much also before that, I appreciated Komari more when she appeared in other routes (Refrain included) than in her own.
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I guess that would make them a literal plot device
(please not that despite “plot device” having negative connotations, some plot devices have great execution)
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I much agree with you that more realism doesn’t necessarily make a story better or worse, but we’re all quite used to supernatural Key stuff so a bit more realism at times can nevertheless be nice to have. Not that I want them to stop using supernatural plot elements mind you, but the diversity is certainly appreciated.
Also @Rin, quite a nice find on the Refrain comparison, I hadn’t actually noticed that myself. And I too thought the Komari scene with the dead cat was very impressive and it was quite unsettling to see the her lose it completely.
Plot devices are very useful things to have
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Does anyone familiar with psychology know what term is used for what Komari used to forget about her brother or is it sort of a ‘made up’ mental condition?
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I would say Dissociative Amnesia
From webMD
Dissociative amnesia occurs when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving him or her unable to remember important personal information. With this disorder, the degree of memory loss goes beyond normal forgetfulness and includes gaps in memory for long periods of time or of memories involving the traumatic event…With dissociative amnesia, the memories still exist but are deeply buried within the person’s mind and cannot be recalled. However, the memories might resurface on their own or after being triggered by something in the person’s surroundings.
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Ah OK interesting thank you.
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Yeah, I really don’t like this route, it lacks depth especially and from the time where she entered her depressed state to where she enters it to when the route finishes is about 30minutes, far less than it needs to be and from when Riki decides to create the picture book to the route finishing is about 10mintues or less. i personally think the entire route lacks impact, it could have been really good but was rushed heavily. This could be due to how it was done infinitely better in a different visual novel called, “Fruits of Grisaia”, so maybe I am being to harsh but I felt that it felt both unrealistic and lacked any emotional impact.
I also don’t feel how her character operated in her depressed state that realistic either and left her feeling both 2D and flat. I will however state that making her character super bubbly and cheerful based on her depressing background though is really realistic as its a form of escapism which does give a 3D depth to her character and although I have read a few posts about people saying she is a little too bubbly of which I did agree while still in the common, I can now say confidently that this actually makes this route better.
The best character development in this route was honestly Masatos, of which I have much greater respect for now. He may fool around with everyone and say/do stupid things but he is actually pretty understanding without being told anything with how he decided to bury the cat and stay at Kengos for a few nights.
Thanks for reading
P.S. Komaris eyes when she is depressed is really creepy,
------When Komari Cries, her brother won’t be left alive -Ryukishi 07
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Something I just thought that would have made this route more interesting, would be to have the route stay mostly how it is and then Riki try something else instead of the picture book that seems to work against Komari for the short term but does either nothing or makes komari’s situation worse, and then eventually Riki thinks of working on the picture book. Instead of it takeing 5 minutes of real time and ZERO effort for Riki, I think that maybe turning the old man into some retired artisit or something and help Riki good at drawing, this would give importance to the old man, as well as actually displaying RIki putting in effort as before it kinda of made you feel like, Oh so you do nothing and you fix her extreme deprresion. By making it take Riki a period of 3-6months to cure her once he first sees her depression, this doesn’t cheapen the fact of her Depression of which helping a friend with depression as it doesnt take one afternoon like it did in this route. Does need to extend the length that much maybe 1.5 hours and possibly fit one or two more depression cycle with komari to show that this is serious problem.
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It’s not rare for Key to make light of trauma, though this is one of the most egregious examples. If you want other attempts, you can just read the Bad End where Riki solves the problem with his Diki.
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Never imagined I’d be, even in an indirect form, defending an aspect of Komari’s route. But this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, as I’m working hard on a number of writing projects, and this question of “Does X story arc/chapter/route/episode need more time or less” comes up a lot. I’m endlessly fascinated by the question, as there isn’t necessarily a right answer, its mostly subjective and to be handled case by case.
Although I actually mostly agree with your two posts, as the vast majority of this route was a fluffy snoozefest, ironically enough, that was the point, and I think there’s a compelling reason as to why. That is, the entire route is one long setup to kick you in the chest. The instantaneous contrast from a bright, bubbly girl down to a dark, emotional train-wreck should, by its very nature, already communicate the severity of what’s happened to Komari. In this particular case, I actually don’t think you need a long, drawn out sequence of even more heavy events, as the aforementioned contrast should have already accomplished that. There are other routes that need long buildups to secure their emotional pay-off. I’d say the bigger flaw with a lot of Key stuff is that they sometimes beat your over the head with some point, and because of that sometimes the message gets lost in translation. Oddly, that didn’t happen to me here. IMHO, Komari’s route is pretty run of the mill anime drama trope shit, but at least it doesn’t overstay its welcome. That’s about the nicest thing I can say about it.
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