Little Busters! - Kudryavka Noumi Route & Character Discussion

[Kanon]

Huh? You’re telling me there is another ending where you actually send her off to the fucking war torn hellscape where public fucking executions are happening?

What absolute incomprehensibility dumb idiots would do that?

Да, конечно, я действительно планировал следить за этим.

Я понимаю, почему вы должны отправить ее сейчас, я не получил это в первый раз, я посмотрел на нее слишком буквально, подземелье изнасилования метафорично, она бросилась в подземелье изнасилования, это ее наказание для себя не для того, чтобы идти видеть ее мать все это время. Выход из метафорического подземелья изнасилования символичен тем, что она понимает, что это не ее вина, поэтому я понимаю, почему это происходит.

Тем не менее, это все равно чертовски глупо, я боюсь, если вы не понимаете, что подземелье изнасилования является символическим, как и я все эти годы, тогда оно становится поразительно глупым концом и в буквальном смысле, это не черт возьми чтобы отправить ее в rapescape, я нашел ее глубоко глупым, это поставило ужасный кислый вкус во рту, который был там годами. Я думаю, что это слишком суровая метафора, особенно потому, что я честно считаю, что подземелье изнасилования является слишком тревожным и неприятным, Широкири, похоже, любят писать темное дерьмо, оно работает с Харукой, но здесь это слишком мало для меня. Deus ex с шестерней служит только для того, чтобы выглядеть как дрянной хук.

Таким образом, в заключение, при ближайшем рассмотрении я могу восхищаться написанием окончания этого маршрута, я нахожу большую часть маршрута скучным, но я могу по крайней мере понять, почему он заканчивается тем, как он это делает, немного меня обдумывая.

Новый эпилог с DVD ее матери был фантастическим, хотя и хорошим хорошим дерьмом (кроме ее матери по-английски), мы могли бы все это прекрасно справиться с «плохим» окончанием, хотя без каких-либо неприятных образов я действительно не хотел видеть или думать.

EDIT: Apparently there is a rule on Kaza that all posts must be in English or provide a translation.

[Tsukishiro]

These are some of my thoughts on the latter portion of her route.

It seemed to me that Kud’s imprisonment in the dungeon was a form of self punishment. While she was there, she directly stated that in the real world, similar events transpired but she chose not to go to Tevua. Of course, not going was the logical choice, but the resulting guilt never left her. As illogical as it was, Kud’s “good end” required her to go back. Riki rationalized it as Kud needing to reunite with her family so as to leave no regrets, but Kud had to go in order to have her own wish granted like the other heroines. But like Mio, the wish she thought she wanted was different than what she truly desired.

In order for her to make peace with the choice she made in the real world, she had to throw away her past, symbolized by the melted gears. At this point, a deux ex machina appears in the form of both Riki and Kud twisting the world to save her. Riki isn’t sure what happens and believes it to be a dream. Kud however, knew what had happened and why because she remembered the Secret. With Riki’s help, she became stronger mentally and overcame her regrets. Riki on the other had, gained the willpower and mental fortitude to unconsciously shape the world that he was placed in, not unlike Kurugaya in her route.

Just an afterthought, there’s no way she was raped in that dungeon. Even as a form of self-punishment that’s just crossing the line.

[cjlim2007]

Subsequent playthroughs really help…
The first time I read this route two years ago I was confused as fuck. Now that I have read refrain and then got to come back to this route fresh, it made so much more sense. One thing I would like to address that was pointed out earlier was Kud’s optimism. She believes that no one in this world is truly malicious in this case, some said she was naive. I for one thought she was actually mature in this sense for understanding empathy, especially for the people of Tebwa.

Anyways, before this reread I really didn’t like Kud that much but this playthrough really helped me feel for Kud as a character. She doesn’t seem all that bad now.

[Bread]

Kud as a character has a uniqueness that I think is very easily understated, that being how I believe her to be one of the games greatest supporting roles. What I mean when I say this is that the ways in which Kud plays into other routes as a supporting character are individually fantastic and deeply moving in a way that most of the other members of the cast just are not. That isn’t to say that her arc is any worse off, mind you. But if you compare, say, Nishizono, who has a fantastic and deeply moving arc, but then often minimal emotional play as a side character to Kud, who shines in her role as a support, you’ll find some interesting trends. Logistically, I am bound by spoilers as to give specific details, but it is fascinating that one of my most emotional moments in Little Busters came from Kud acting as a supporting character in Haruka’s route wherein a single line from Kud, with refrain context, almost drove me to tears in a story that wasn’t even hers.

Kud does a fantastic job at building the idea that the Little Busters are a group, that the new members all care for one another in the same way that the original five do, and it specifically through these small moments that that is able to occur.

basically Kud is a genius.

[Tidulimar]

As with all of these first posts in the LB topics, I have no Refrain knowledge yet.

I don’t think I have too much to say about Kud as a character herself. My first impressions of here were pretty high, she had best girl potential. However, even before getting to her route, that potential was more and more lost.
Kud is still adorable and quirky, things I liked about her at first. Unfortunatly, she ended up not being much more. Her route showed she is open, not shy and also has a darker side, but most of this was not really interesting to me. As such, I still like her, but think she is a pretty boring character otherwise. She ended up in the lower half of my best girl ranking.

The route itself I enjoyed quite a lot in turn. It had structure (being told in basically concluded mini-arcs), it had proper development of suspension, it even had a lot of the other girls especially in the first bit.
Maybe it’s just me having been in the right mood or simply not trying to think too much about it while reading leading to a higher enjoyment of the route.
The romance was one of the main highlights for me. I agree that was unnatural fast and it feld like Kud was pushing a bit too hard to be fully believable, but that did not really matter to me. Again, not thinking too much about it. I found it very endearing and maybe a bit cheesy, but I like cheesy romance in fiction.
Especially the nightly ritual felt very intimate without being a sex scene. I’d even say that’s picking the best out of a sex scene (and leaving it at that), especially when viewed in context of further developing a relationship. (And while I do not know for sure where the H-scenes are in EX, but I am aware that this scene is very likely to have one after the actual ritual, but that’s beside my point here).
The only thing I am not too sure about if I liked it was the scene in the clubroom. With everything happening especially after the choice I was not sure if they missed cutting out a H-scene there, because dialogue and CGs clearly were leading up to one. And I am pretty sure that sex was implied to have happened offscreen there. I am also pretty sure that there is an H-scene in EX.
I could not believe that was happening on-screen was actually happening. I mean, it ended up with nothing actually shown and I don’t even know why but it made me feel just very slightly uncomfortable, although the premise does not seem all too different from the nightly ritual scene. I think it’s the fact that she IS the loli of this cast.
Was the scene like that in vanilla? Was it even in vanilla? In the discussion so far, especially with @EisenKoubu mentioning NFSW CGs, a few people replied there would not be NSFW stuff and when trying to figure out what @EisenKoubu meant, noone even mentioned this scene. While it is not technically NSFW, just look (and zoom out!) at the final CG of that scene, where Kud is looking at Riki. That leads me to believe it was actually added in EX.

The big thing here however is the final part.
First of all, while I usually prefer more realistic routes, I really did “enjoy” the last part. Yet again, not thinking too much about it. Or rather, giving in to my suspension of disbelief. Especially considering that there is still Refrain for me to read, which will probably explain a lot of things a lot better. And with the theories I (and other’s) have about the secret of the world, it does not seem too unbelievable of a scenario.
What I did not realize before reading this thread, and what makes it even better, is the whole thing about that part being methaphoric and not to be taken at face value. This makes the writing quality for this even better.
The whole scene in the cave was really killing me on the inside. It did not make me cry (and I think it’s pretty much written to make you cry), but I felt so bad and helpless, t to the point where I could barely take it anymore and was about to just quit the VN to to take a break. Since the feels are an important part of a Key VN this made a great job at bringing me to this extreme level.
Shoutouts at this point to Suzuta Miyako, Kud’s seiyuu. While some don’t like Kud’s voice, and I neither like nor dislike her, the overall acting perfomance was pretty good. Not only in the cave, but especially there. And while I am at it, Komari as a character and her seiyuu Yanase Natsumi showed pretty decent english pronounciation. Much better than Kud’s mother
Speaking of her mother, the aftercredits scene (which I read was not in vanilla?) gave pretty good closure to her story overall, it’s almost a shame it wasn’t in vanilla. It was also a bit unexpected, as this was the first route to do this in Little Busters. But I see why they did not just put the credits after the scene - to really have it an epilogue, and end the actual story on a happy CG.
There are still a few things that I noticed in regards to the rest of the narrative. First off, the white uniform in the final CG, something we never saw before. But it shows in the opening, where Rin has a similar white uniform. There was also mention if a school trip, which might be related to what we heard in Rin1. This is going to be very interesting.

To wrap things up, while the route did not accomplish much in the end, I very much enjoyed reading it for the journey. It may be my favorite route so far, but that’s me speaking a day after finishing it, where it is still fresh on my mind. Nevertheless, it will probably end up in the upper half of my route preference in the end.
After all this, I am honestly interested in Kud Wafter. And All-Ages version of it though. The H-scenes would probably make me feel uneasy again, but as much as I enjoyed the romance, it would probably enjoy seeing more of it.

(while reading the route I though that would probably be my shortest route post so far. How wrong I was )

I was thinking if I can add a Key point, but I only got one idea for a decent one: What did you think about the ritual? What did it do for their relationship? Was it too intimate for your taste or just about right? (although I think that scene will get discussed in the thread and the podcast regardless, like most other points I could think of)

[Takafumi]

The only thing I am not too sure about if I liked it was the scene in the clubroom. With everything happening especially after the choice I was not sure if they missed cutting out a H-scene there, because dialogue and CGs clearly were leading up to one. And I am pretty sure that sex was implied to have happened offscreen there. I am also pretty sure that there is an H-scene in EX.

I don’t remember this at all. Granted it’s been 5 years since I read the route, but I think I’d remember the CGs of the VN at least. The only club room scene I can think of that had CGs was when her and Riki were studying and the bat pen made a cameo.
I remember hearing from someone that Kud got several additions in EX however, so it’s probably a new scene.

What I did not realize before reading this thread, and what makes it even better, is the whole thing about that part being methaphoric and not to be taken at face value. This makes the writing quality for this even better.

This is recognizable with all the nondescript and dreamy language used in the scene. Despite preferring the anime version where every environment is very solid, I do find it disappointing that they removed the strangely alluring atmosphere of the moment.

[HeliosAlpha]

The only thing I am not too sure about if I liked it was the scene in the clubroom.

Half the route takes place in that room. Is it this one?

Screenshot

That choice was added in EX, and it unlocks the sex scenes. (I believe the scenes themselves happen later; I frankly don’t give a fuck about the details.) As for the ritual, intercourse while lathered in chocolate was saved until Kud Wafter.

Suzuta Miyako

That’s a pseudonym. Her real name’s Wakabayashi Naomi.

[Tidulimar]

Half the route takes place in that room. Is it this one?

Exactly that scene, yes. And that choice as well.

That choice was added in EX, and it unlocks the sex scenes. (I believe the scenes themselves happen later; I frankly don’t give a fuck about the details.) As for the ritual, intercourse while lathered in chocolate was saved until Kud Wafter.

There was a lot of potential even without it being out of nowhere in that route, unlike most others. But yeah, figured it was added in EX, which means the originals probably did not have the same implication there.

That’s a pseudonym. Her real name’s Wakabayashi Naomi.

I heard that name before. I wonder why she used the pseudonym. But that does not really matter. Thanks for clearing that up!

[Naoki_Saten]

Here’s some historical and cultural info on some of the things referenced in Kud’s route. I’m sure it will help you appreciate the route even more.
I myself am not Russian, but I did grow up in a former Sovjet Country, the Russian language being one of those I was practically born with. Therefore, I can provide a little bit of info from my background.

All the following Sputnik-related stuff is info I got from Wikipedia.

Sputnik - the name of a series of space projects launched by the Sovjet Union during the Cold War. “Sputnik” means “Satelite”. I’ll skip most of them and only list the ones that have been referenced in the route one way or another.

Baikonur cosmodrome - the launch complex where the first artificial satelite - Sputnik 1 - was launched by the Sovjet Union. In LB, the Tevuan people have apparently built a “Novy Baikonur Cosmodrome”, meaning “New Baikonur Cosmodrome” where they carry out their space program.

Sputnik 1 - the first artificial satelite launched by mankind on 4th Oktober 1957. Sputnik 1 was rather simply-constructed and light. All it did was orbit the earth and transmit a radio signal until its batteries ran out.

Sputnik 2 - The second Sputnik project, featuring the first launch of a living creature into space on 3rd November 1957. The test subject chosen for this was Laika, a stray dog found in the streets of Moscow. Laika had several other nicknames, such as Kudryavka (Little Curly) or Zhuchka (Little Bug). She was described as “quiet and charming”. She was also taken to one of the scientists’ house to play with their children before the launch.
Laika was never supposed to survive the mission, since the technology required for a safe landing did not yet exist. She was put in a small capsule inside the rocket, hooked up to measure instruments to monitor her vital signs, chained on to restrict her movements to standing, sitting, or lying down and provided with 7-10 days worth of food and oxygen.
The Sputnik 2 project was very rushed. The heat control system had failed. Laika had died five to seven hours after launch, most likely from stress and overheating.

Sputnik 5, aka Korabl-Sputnik 2 (Ship-satelite 2) - Launched 19th August 1960. It contained 40 mice, 2 rats, several plants and most importantly, two dogs, “Belka” (Squirrel) and “Strelka” (Little Arrow). The spacecraft had safely landed on the next day, its passengers being the first Earth-born creatures to go into orbit and return alive. Later, Strelka gave birth to six puppies.
Sputnik 9, aka Korabl-sputnik 4 launched 9th March 1961. It contained a guinea pig, a Cosmonaut dummy, several mice and a dog named Chernushka (“Blackie”). The capsule has been recovered safely after the mission.

Yuri Alexejevitsch Gagarin - The first man in space. He completed his mission on 12th April 1961 and returned after orbiting the earth once in 108 minutes. He was promoted to the rank of “Major” while still in space.

Now some Russian stuff.

"Ni puha ni pera" - "k chertu!"
(This is not a purely russian thing, but I’ll explain it as such to make things simple.) According to Russian superstition, wishing someone good will jinx them, call misfortune upon them, or curse them instead. For example, when you’re in public and people gather around your kid going all “Ohhhh, that’s such a cute child! Look, he’s so adorable,” their stares might curse it. In fact, whenever I got a cold, my parents and grandparents would often wonder if I’d been “eye-cursed” like that. As a preemptive charm, they would loosely tie a red string around my wrist. When the kid has already been cursed, stroking its forehead and pretend-spitting left-right-left (or was it right-left-right?) is supposed to help.
Ni puha ni pera means “Neither fluff nor feather”. It’s a charm to wish hunters good luck. Only that, as we learned, actually wishing them good luck can Jinx them, so you’re supposed to say the opposite - that you wish for them to NOT find any prey - neither the fluff- nor the feather-clad kind. It became a good luck charm you cast on people when they set out to do something important. For example, my mother still uses it when I have have to write a test.
This is how it’s used: The one applying the charm says “Ni puha ni pera”. The one receiving the charm then replies “K chertu!” (To hell with it!/Go to hell!). If you don’t reply like that, the charm won’t work! According to my mom, that’s how you tell the one applying the charm not to worry or not to get any funny ideas over what might happen.
IIrc, there are three characters who explain this charm to Riki: Kanata (who’s got a pretty wacky interpretation), Kurugaya, and Komari (who learned it from Kurugaya). I’m pretty sure that Kanata’s interpretation of casting everything away as you go to hell is supposedly the Russian concept of happiness is… wrong. At least I’ve never heard anything like that.

The characters’ names:
Kud’s russian name is Kudryavka Anatolyevna Strugatskaya. Kudryavka being her first name, Strugatskaya being her surname (family name) and “Anatolyevna” is her so-called “Father’s name”. The father’s first name is added like that to their children’s names. From that, we know that the first name of Kud’s father is “Anatoly”.
Kud’s japanese surname is “Noumi”. I’m assuming they just took her Grandma’s surname, who’s her only Japanese in her family.

Kud’s grandpa is named Ivan Sergeevich Strugatsky. When he was referred to as “Ivan Sergeevich” in the VN, it was translated as “Comrade Ivan”. That’s either an overly liberal translation or just plain wrong. They just politely called him by his name, which you do by calling the person’s first and father’s name.

Kud’s mother is C. Ivanovna Strugatskaya. The C. supposedly stands for Cherusha (that’s how people called her), though I’m not sure if that’s her full name or just an abbreviation.

EDIT: It’s an abbreviation/nickname derived from her full name, which is “Chernushka”

Kud’s father only appears “off-screen”. He’s the cameraman in her mom’s video in the epilogue. He’s referred to her as “Tolya”, which is the short and informal version of “Anatoly”.

Comments:
The first dog in space that died from overheating was Laika/Kudryavka/Zhuchka. Yet the dog tag that Kud left behind, along with the melted machine parts, while partially unreadable, most likely reads “Chernushka Strugatskaya” (Чернушка). Historically, however, Chernushka was part of the successful Sputnik 9 mission, which she survived.

[HeliosAlpha]

If you don’t reply like that, the charm won’t work!

So what is this thing she replies with?

[Naoki_Saten]

When she asks Riki to cast the charm on her before departing, she doesn’t reply. Basically, she messed up the charm because the author’s research was lacking, I guess.

In the epilogue DVD scene, Kud’s mom says “K chertu!” before Kud casts the charm, so that one’s been messed up as well. As I said, I believe those to be mistakes on the author’s part.

The Russian in the screenshot is exactly what she says next: “All’s well that ends well.”

[Pepe]

A bit delayed from my goal of finishing this route alongside the original schedule but I guess that matters less and less now. But hey, it is time to once again revisit what used to be my favorite character route in Little Busters! (though if you ask me again what my favorite would be I would no longer have an answer).

Before I continue, I’d like to make a disclaimer. No matter how much shit I fling at Kud for being overhyped and whatnot, I have to get this across. I like Kud. I joke around about how, compared to all the other girls, she is the most normal (despite her obvious quirks) but I really do mean it. I think she is a fun character and out of all of them, I think she would be the one I would have the least qualms about hanging out with. So yeah, Kud is a great character despite all the shit the community gives her and I wish I could say the same for another overhyped white-haired Key character

Which now leads me to my second disclaimer: objectively, I don’t think this was a very well-written route. It takes multiple directions without enough foreshadowing, as well as not explaining things well enough for the readers, only making sense in hindsight. Where it does excel, however, is in the emotional investment it brings to the readers. Of course, since emotional investment is a very subjective thing, I can’t expect everyone to agree with me, but the ending of this route never fails to make me shed a tear as I read it.

Now then onto my actual analysis of Kud’s route and character. Her main conflict spurs from one teensy thing: Kud sure does have some self-esteem issues. Her whole life she has longed to be a “gear” that would help the world and be useful. And hey, with a mom like that, I’m not even surprised. They never showed it, but I can imagine her whole life she has been compared to her mother, thus adding in to her self-esteem issues.

I feel like this point explains eeeeverything about the route. The first half of her route focuses on her dysphoria between being an “exotic foreigner” and being, well, herself (who is unabashedly Japanese). Because of her desire to fit in, and also because of Japanese society being very adamant about labeling any person who looks foreign as someone incapable of being Japanese (horrible horrible aspect of their society, mind you), she takes on this role of an “exotic mascot,” greeting everybody with a “guddo mo-ningu” in her horrible broken English. And she does that simply because she wants to fit in. She knows they’ll never accept her for who she is, so instead of paying no mind to them, she chooses to live up to their expectations and play the part, regardless of the disconnect it brings her. Seems she’d rather change herself over changing the world

But as she gets closer to Riki, we see more and more of her real personality, and this is were she truly shines. During their time in the clubroom, gone is her facade of the exotic mascot and we get to see her cheerfulness, her sadness, and her problems. And of course her clinginess to riki in their relationship but that’s beside the point (she really is like a dog, isn’t she?)

(I hope this clears up any misunderstanding I had with @Naoki_Saten on the #lbspoilers channel on discord; I was busy so I couldn’t clear up my point back then)

The only time this facade bothers her is when she sees that Riki is being affected by it. And her response? She tries to disconnect from Riki, because she blames herself for Riki being put under fire (as opposed to blaming the heathens who push their pre-conceived notions of society on everyone else). But Riki finds out, thanks to Masato surprisingly, and reassures her that all is well, and he doesn’t give a damn as long as he is with her. Aww, how sweet~

And then we move to the second half of the route where the writer pulls the rug out from under our feet. Well, I can’t say it was totally unexpected, what with the news segments being broadcast earlier, but it would have been nice to hear it from Kud’s mouth. Well that’s an aside, but the important takeaway here is that, once again, Kud blames herself. She blames herself for not being able to help, and blames herself for not being there to see the launch. So once confronted with the opportunity to go back, what would be the right thing to do?

Naturally, the sane thing to do would be to stay fucking put. As we have seen, her going back to Tevua was a situation that not only put her life in jeopardy but her grandfather’s as well. But what would that have done for her self-esteem? If she stayed (as we saw in the bad end), she would become a wreck after seeing her mom’s execution. She would continually blame herself, and no amount of words would be able to get her self-esteem to a point where she can continue to live life normally. And thus, the right decision, at that point, was to tell her to go. Tell her to become a useful gear.

Fast-forward to the metaphorical rape dungeon, as @Kanon calls it. We see her suffering but we also see her repentance. Despite being in this situation, she has no regrets because it made her feel like a useful gear. Well, not if Riki has anything to say about that! Stepping in with his majestic voice out of nowhere and telling her that her place is to continue staying with Riki. And that is what really breaks her chains of self-esteem: realizing that you can be useful to the world even by being useful to just one other person.

This is the point where most naysayers would shout Deus Ex Machina or something along those lines. And to them I say, they have missed the whole problem. The definition of such is “any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot” but I will argue that escaping the dungeon was, in no way, the difficulty of the plot. The sole difficulty of the plot was helping Kud get over her self-esteem issues. And Riki did that. Everything else was just an instrument that played a part in helping her realize that, including the whole metaphorical dungeon. She had to suffer to realize her suffering was pointless, and she had to be bullied to realize there is something more important to her than herself.

I have to thank the new, post-credits scene for helping me realize this. This was a really really great scene! I’m glad they added that in. But the important note here was her mother’s message to her: “find something more important to you than yourself, and be a gear for that”. For her mom, it was space exploration. And for Kud, it was finding someone to cherish for her life.

So let’s leave this route with this message in mind: stop trying to live up to people’s expectations! In life, the only way to find meaning is to be useful to what we find important in this world. So find your important thing in life, and be a wonderful little gear for that

[Zosonte]

For me, my first impression of Kud was that she reminded me of a wispy cloud in a darkened sky. I didn’t really notice her, and thought of her simply as a shorter version of Komari. Like Komari though, I warmed up to her. She seemed lonely, yet ambitious. A clump of snow resting on the ground waiting to form into a ball.

Like the other characters, I too sympathize with Kud. A world that was thrown at her that she is forced to bear; she chooses not to run from it but embrace it, and aspires to become like her mother the glorious cosmonaut. Perhaps I do not have the drive or the concrete she does, but I did know what it was like to be the odd one, to seek a place to fit in and find nothing but the cold and merciless stares of the others. I think most people know this as well.

Komari’s role in this route is interesting. When I first saw the picture book, I believed it was a gift from her grandfather, but after looking up the story and seeing the differences with the picture book in the novel, it was obvious who it was. Komari does seem to be in this route more than anyone else, for reasons I can only speculate; perhaps their similar personalities are what bring them together. Speaking of other heroines, I’d like to bring it back to Haruka’s route where Kud essentially tells Haruka to quit her tantrum and treasure what family she does have, rather than Kud who is filled with regret at not going to see her family one last time. Finally, we have Masato, who’s profoundly intuitive advice and covering for Riki helps him more than once. Once again the steel bond between the Busters is shown, just in time for Rin2 and Refrain.

Onto the route proper. We have an entire studying arc that I can’t help but think is far too long for very little benefit. Kud and Riki bond over studying for Kud’s test which she eventually passes just fine, though this has far little bearing in my opinion to merit its length. Yes, this is where you can argue that their feelings for each other develop, but the I think the actual premise itself could have been executed better, or just have their romance be the main focus instead of presenting Kud’s tests as a source of conflict. Only when they do enter a relationship do things shine. The scenes where they paint each other, Kud painting a tree on Riki and Riki painting a gear onto Kud, is perhaps the most intimate and personal scene I’ve ever seen from Key, not counting H-scenes from other novels. I don’t consider those as intimate anyway. It is beautiful, done in the courtyard beneath the twilit sky, and a touching moment of love between two people. This route to me is also both similar and a deconstruction of Kurugaya’s route. Whereas Kurugaya outright states that she likes Riki because he isn’t some macho guy, here Kud allows Riki to take the lead, almost to a creepy level when we reach the final choice.

Kud had been watching the news for a good while in the cafeteria, and it is revealed that her mother is a cosmonaut who’s rocket explodes after takeoff, dooming her home nation of Tevua into a financial and geopolitical crisis. Despite Shirokiri Chika writing Haruka’s route as well as this one, I did not expect the civil unrest or the theme of progress versus stability presenting themselves, that seemed far out of scope for any traditional Key novel cough. Riki is presented with a choice: to convince Kud to stay with him at the school and forsake any chance of seeing her mother and the rest of her family ever again, or return to her home in and risk her safety in the ever erupting volcano of her Austronesian island home. My problem with this is that Kud cannot make up her mind, and the decision is purely made by Riki. Many have criticized this route for not being character driven, but only here do I have a real problem with it. Perhaps if she had already made up her mind to stay and Riki pushed her forward to go would my ire be alleviated, I don’t know.

Regardless, the events of the route play out relatively the same for a while no matter what choice you choose. Tevua devolves into further chaos, and Kud’s mother is executed on live television, which is broadcast to the entire world, including the school. In the bad end, this puts Kud into shock and she faints, and after leaving her to Kyousuke Riki faints from his narcolepsy in his typical fashion, heralding the trumpets of failure. In the good ending, Kud goes to Tevua and is captured by a colleague of her mother’s, and submerged as a sacrifice to the local gods, her body painted in a dark reprise of the earlier scene. This is a double-edged sword, as the most disruptive and blatant use of Key magic appears, granting Kud and Riki not only the power to hear each other’s thoughts, but also giving Kud superhuman strength, apparently. Essentially, the power of love breaks her into freedom, and she escapes. One thing of note is that Kud mentions a field trip that Riki cannot seem to remember. This solidifies my theory about a tragic accident or something happening in Refrain.

The situation in Tevua calms down, and Kud returns to a waiting and hapless Riki. They make up, and in typical Key fashion everything is wrapped up like a Christmas present. Kud now lives without regret, and can embrace both her dreams and herself. At least, that’s what I’ve gathered.

The sole difficulty of the plot was helping Kud get over her self-esteem issues. And Riki did that. Everything else was just an instrument that played a part in helping her realize that, including the whole metaphorical dungeon. She had to suffer to realize her suffering was pointless, and she had to be bullied to realize there is something more important to her than herself.

I want to thank @Pepe for helping me make sense of the message here. While this route may not have had the romance of Kurugaya’s or the provocation of thought like Mio’s, it is still very much a Key route to me, and that alone brings it merit. I can see why some don’t like it, but I do. It is simple and somewhat disjointed but otherwise it seems to be a nice lock to the chest that opens to Rin2 and Refrain.

[Aspirety]

but also giving Kud superhuman strength, apparently.

Pretty sure there’s a misunderstanding here. My reading was that she threw the gear to the ground, and the chains binding her immediately shattered into hundreds of rusty fragments. I’d find the screen but I’m not on my computer right now. But yeah, it wasn’t her physical strength that broke those chains.

[Bread]

Kud’s character and arc are hard to discuss for the simple reason that the quality and focus of who she is and what she stands for across the narrative is a bit unfocused. She at once is responsible for many moments of intense emotion while having an arc that I think, as a cohesive and airtight story, is one of the weakest. That is to say that Kud has moments and heights that exceed many other cast members in her role as a supporting character–particularly in instances such as Haruka’s route–while having her own character arc suffer in a few ways. Allow me to explain.

The best thing Kud ever did was be a good friend. Little busters is a story about friendship and I do not think it hyperbole to say that Kud’s many instances of friendship in the other heroine routes is exemplary and downright moving. Of particular note is how she interacts with Haruka and Kanata in their respective stories. Like Komari, she shines as a tool to help create the idea that the little busters as a group is one that cares for one another, particularly when things get rough. Furthermore, her playful and excitable relationship with Masato is one of the greatest in the narrative. This is all to say that Kud’s character is exemplary and a well welcomed part of the story at large.

However, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that her arc expresses some of Little Busters’ flaws fairly clearly. Namely is the opening section of her story which, like Haruka’s route, suffers a bit from meandering to the point. The entire portion of the narrative in which Kud studies for exams is quite slow and drawn out. This isn’t to say that I do not understand why it exists. Clearly it is to endear the audience to her character through the charm of everyday life and to humanize her. But where say, Mio’s humanizing everyday life still took strides to hint at her inner conflict relative to the grander plot of her route, the opening segment of Kud’s route is a lot more fluff than content. There are, of course, hints at Kud’s longing for connection with others and foreshadowing to her time in Tevua, particularly regarding the rigor of her schooling, but I think that relative to all of the other routes, Kud’s suffers from the most padding.

None of this is inherently wrong, but I found the padding a bit excessive. I already was endeared to Kud and her character in common and wanted to more quickly get into the meat of the conflict that surrounds her.

The actual conflict of the narrative is captivating when it does, in fact, start. While I do have some problems with the core choice of the narrative being done by Riki and not by Kud, I would say that beyond that the pacing problems are resolved and the plot is gripping. Of particular note is Kud’s voice acting, which is probably up there with Haruka and Kengo as some of the best in the game. I would have preferred if the ending choice was “Decide for Kud” or “Make Kud choose for Herself” rather than “Have her go” or “Have her stay” as I feel that the actual choice doesn’t respect the character’s agency much, but I do once again understand why it is the case. Kud was weak and shaken and torn between her interests. I just would have preferred it be done a bit more delicately.

The emotions run high and we come to the ending which I feel is a very very mixed bag. In context, the scene in the prison does well to draw out emotion in that good Key way. However, the scene itself is so clearly a deus ex machina, a real one, not like some other routes, that it takes me out of the experience a bit. The communication between the two when many thousands of kilometers apart is one thing, but the teleportation of the gear extends the magical realism to near cracking, particularly given how said action was not suggested as something possible in the narrative prior, or is something as tame as to be acceptable without that context. But plenty of people have railed against that already, so I feel no need to. Again, the star here is Kud’s phenomenal voice acting, which does well to make the scene emotional if a little flimsily conceived.

Ultimately I remember Kud’s arc for its themes, that there is no such thing as an evil person and that no matter what the world tells you you should be sincere to your dreams and ideals. The ideas about empathy do well to teach the reader about some things that will happen later on in the grander narrative while the talk of ambition and dreams is inspiring in a way that I don’t feel the game tries to be in many other moments. However, the execution i bogged down by some unnecessary padding and a plot solution that hits you over the head like a broken gear from a blown up rocket. I still nearly cried though, so it’s worthy.

Kud is the best supporting character in the game, even if her own story is just pretty okay~

[machelmore]

Alright, haven’t finished rereading Kud’s route yet, some of this is just from what I remember:

I didn’t like Kud. I liked her a little, more than Mio or Komari on my first playthrough, but never too much. And while those two more or less grew on me (especially Komari) over time, my opinion of Kud probably got worse, if anything. There’s just nothing to her, she’s completely one dimensional.
To address this:

Kud is the best supporting character in the game, even if her own story is just pretty okay~

Honestly, it was largely the other routes that made me think worse of Kud, her own route didn’t really do much of either for me. Am I the only one who thinks she’s actually pretty arrogant? (Clannad: Much like Nagisa, who I didn’t like either) She’s just absolutely certain that she knows what’s best for other people, and that she can properly understand them and sympathise with their circumstances. Haruka spoilers: Kud, you’re not Haruka. To be honest, you don’t know shit. Yes, you have your circumstances too, and I’m not even gonna talk about who’s circumstances are “worse”, but they’re different. Stop acting like you have any right or ability to lecture Haruka. And yet, Kud can’t even can’t even face up to her own problems properly.

It’s not really important to anything else, but Kud’s character design… I mean, I lean towards (21) myself, but Kud takes it way too far. It actually makes me glad that the h-scenes aren’t in any of the versions I’ve read, because Kud’s would probably make me outright uncomfortable.

Now, the route itself. I don’t like Kud, and this is probably my least favourite route, but I liked it decently enough. One idea I had that I thought was worth discussing was: Her chains, are they real at all? It’s pretty much accepted that the part where Kud throws the gear, and when it breaks the chains break along with it, represents her low self-esteem and let go of the idea that it’s okay for her to be sacrificed as long as she can be useful that way. Once this happens, Key magic breaks the chains alongside the gear, and she’s able to escape.
But what if those chains actually don’t exist, they’re purely psychological? It could be that she was just thrown in the well((?) I can’t remember what it was, specifically), because the Tevuans (or whatever they’re called) didn’t think there was a way out. After she breaks free of her mental chains, she gains the will to continue living, she decides that it’s not worth being sacrificed after all.

Finally, something completely unrelated, how dare they change the final CG from the original.

Swiggity swoogity where that booty?

[Aspirety]

The absurdity of the ending is there to illustrate just how strange this world is. The strange magic exists in this route to tell us NOT to take it at face value, and to think about why scenes like this might’ve been included, and what they add to the narrative.

[Naoki_Saten]

Let me tell you the story of someone who grew up as a Third Culture Kid, like Kud.

As I have mentioned before, I was born in a former Sovjet country. I grew up with two native languages and two religions. After celebrating my 10th birthday in my home country, my family immigrated to Germany. That means, except for my family, I had to leave behind everything I had. That includes my childhood friends, whom I’ve been playing with ever since Kindergarten. Part of why observing the core Little Busters members is tugging on my heartstrings is because they are childhood friends who grew up together. Something I had long lost.

Everything was new and I did not know what to expect. It was a whole different world, the possibilities of which I couldn’t possibly gauge. I couldn’t speak German when I entered school. That made communicating with my ‘peers’ very difficult. Back at home, I had started learning English in the first grade, so I could communicate the important things to the teachers if need be, but my classmates, whose curriculum was much milder, weren’t as proficient. It is no wonder, then, that anywhere I went, I felt completely isolated. I was always alone. My parents could only relate to my struggles to a certain extent due to the difference in age and obviously, they couldn’t accompany me to school. And my brother was several years younger than I, thus attending a different school. Only a few years later did our circumstances become comparable. So I had to adapt to the new and foreign environment all on my own.

It took me a year to learn the new language, but only a day to realize that everyone at my new school was fundamentally different from me. To the other kids, everything about me was different and weird. The way I look, the way I talk, the way I dress myself, the way I move, my thought process, and my interests. They had fun watching me struggle with the their native language, and hearing how strange mine was. “Hey, hey, how do you say ‘Penis’ in Russian?” Why did they want to know? In order to shout out those words for several weeks in every situation imaginable. Kids certain ages sure are easy to entertain…
Sometimes, when I did things, they would start laughing. I thought it was a good thing, so I kept doing it, but I eventually realized that they were making fun of me. And that they had gotten the wrong idea. Their image of me was off to a ridiculous extent. Full of confidence, they would talk about what they thought why I am the way I am. Even after I had learned the German language and was capable of communicating normally, I would still slip up a lot and every mistake I made was still funny to them. It wasn’t just the kids. The teachers, too, would often misunderstand my words and intentions and scold me. I don’t think most kids had wanted to be mean, but I did have to deal with actual bullies, as well. To be fair, though, I was only faced with outright hatred on very, very few occasions.

I have changed schools several times. One of the hardest things about it was that every time, I also had to say goodbye to the few friends I did have and start from zero again. As a foreigner, and a shy kid on top of it, making friends really wasn’t easy. The people I tended to get along with back then were simply those who would talk to me normally, the same way they talked to others. I didn’t want to be alone, so I was quick to trust kids who seemed nice. Unfortunately, it didn’t always end well. No class was like the previous, but It always started with me becoming an outsider. As I was growing up and getting accustomed to this not-so-new-anymore country, the differences between me and my peers kept waning. My cultural background was becoming less and less obvious and it became easier to blend in. But to this day, I remain different from everyone around me. Needless to say, I am also different from people my age in my home country. Don’t get me wrong, though. I only attribute a small fraction of it to the cultures I came in touch with and to my nationality. I am by no means as interested in cultures as Kud is. I think what made the difference was my starting point and the big change in environment in the middle of my growth.

I hope this post has helped you understand, even if only a bit, what it’s like to grow up in a foreign country. I hope it made it easier for you to relate to Kud’s everyday struggles.

[Mogaoscar]

After reading Naoki’s post, it came to my mind. If they are in Japan and Kud speaks perfect Japanese (even if annoying with the なの), why the hell does she try to speak English at first when she herself knows that she’s bad at it? They are in Japan after all, and Japanese is supposed to be the main and almost only communication language…

However, let me tell you that the situation that you lived and that is so similar to Kud’s isn’t necessarily the standard for a “Third culture kid”. Due to economic agreements here in Spain with China, there are an awful lot of Chinese 1€ stores, and behind every one of them, there is a whole Chinese family that emigrated from China (normally due to them having more than one child or some of them being girls).

So with all of this, when we were in what I think that corresponds with 8th grade, we got a new student, a Chinese girl called Yi Jie, although she presented herself as Naomi and, to date, we call her that way. She had just arrived from China and had studied Spanish for a month. Guaranteed that she had serious issues communicating, but being surrounded by the Spanish culture, she quickly learned the basics of the language, and, in about 2 years, she could perfectly speak the language (with a strong accent), but otherwise grammatic-wise perfectly. And yeah, kids would ask her for translations of silly words, and the typical “how is my name written in Chinese?”. She always answered such questions and even tried to teach some of us the spoken language. She never disliked doing any of that according to herself and I know she’s not lying because that’s something I asked her last year one day that we went out to have dinner out with a couple of friends from our high school days.

Well, as I have already spoilered, she stayed with us all they way until college. In class, no one ever laughed at her for doing weird stuff. Some may have been surprised and would ask why she would do some rude things, like belching when eating and so on. But she never took it as something personal. She was extremely understanding that she was in another country and that things were different. She also quickly dropped some of those habits and acquired the ones of the Spanish people. By the time we started the last two years of High School you couldn’t tell that she wasn’t Spanish aside from her accent. Hell, she even learned Catalan too!

She made some close friends, she’s now attending university, and in fact, she’s one of the few friends from high school that I still talk to and go out with from time to time. And many times have we all asked her about her experience during the first years here in Spain, and asked her to be completely honest so that if we ever did anything that annoyed her, she could tell us. Well, to Naomi, all this culture shock was, rather than an annoyance, something that intrigued her. She was curious about the cultural and historical reasons for the different habits and etiquette in Spain. Like how we don’t make slurping noises while eating spaghetti because we simply find it annoying to have that kind of noise, or why we normally have lunch at 2 or 3 pm because of the Spanish Civil War aftermath.

So, tl;dr: she didn’t find it as hard and, in a way, depressing as what the impression I got from Naoki. I guess the main difference is Naomi not having to go from school to school. Now that I think of it, the names are really similar, maybe you’re destined to be together.

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At this point I don’t know if this post really belongs to this thread. I guess it does, after all, we’re discussing Third Culture Kids, right?