DAYUM LOOK AT THIS MAN, HE’S A SAVAGE.
kindaofarightsavagetoo
Rin2 was a wild ride and I really enjoyed it. That said, my favourite parts of it actually had no Rin in them. The reveal of Kyousuke holding Lennon curled up in his arms (which is spoiled by his trading card. Nice work guys! Thankfully I had friendos to keep me away from it), and obviously the baseball game where Kyousuke sets himself up as both a villain and a Christ figure for Riki, were such beautifully executed scenes. I was fully expecting the novel to pull something like this, but that in no way lessens the perfection of the first half (two thirds?) of Rin2.
I mainly want to focus on Kyousuke, he’s such an interesting character. He’s been foreshadowed as a Christ figure for ages, all the way back when he was reading his manga by the windowsill he was ‘holy’ and ‘innocent’ and all this other jazz because of Riki putting him on this unreachable pedestal, pure sweet perfection that Riki can never reach. And then, in Rin2, Kyousuke tears all of that down at a breakneck pace. He pulls a bunch of what I can only describe as Game Master Bullshit and puts himself very intentionally in a position where Riki thinks of him as a bad guy, forcing Riki to act. Thinking back on all of the previous routes, we’ve learnt all about the good intentions of humans, how no one is evil, and honestly Kyousuke’s plan to help Rin mature is Kanata-levels of nonsense.
This isn’t even a theory-crafting session, it is 100% clear to me that this is a test or ‘mission’, whether it will be revealed that Kyousuke in-universe is testing Riki or whether this will just pan out by the end of Refrain to be a final test for Riki, I’m not entirely sure. What I can say for sure is that I will not make Kyousuke my enemy. He’s so clearly being set up as Riki’s antagonist that I can’t possibly believe it can last. Riki also sees almost every other Buster as an enemy, this is totally blowing things out of proportion and I fully expect to have a ‘getting the band back together’ sequence either as the initial conflict or somewhere towards the middle-end to show how much they’ve all grown as characters.
I also noticed the final nod to the field trip at the end of the route, it’s happening. We’re heading full speed ahead towards a tragedy of Visual-Novel-starting proportions and I look forward to seeing how it all pans out. I honestly don’t care too much at this point about like, ‘predicting events’, I think the time for that is long past. Of course I will be constructing an interpretation based on the ending, but I’m not the kind of person to reach for a crazy interpretation, this is the part to take in what the novel is telling me (bearing in mind the themes of the previous routes) without restraint.
That said, if I may, I had mixed feelings on uncovering that Rin isn’t supposed to make it to the field trip. I wonder if that will change? I would find it strange if she were not part of the route, and certainly the ‘constructing the van’ portion of the novel that I think exists should involve all of the Busters. My current theory going in is that she also was part of the accident but Riki isn’t sure if she survived, and so only by believing that she had the strength to survive can he too pull himself forwards to face the truth, whatever that may be.
Anyway, enough theory nonsense, enough flowery words. I embark on the greatest journey of my Kazamatsuri experience soon… I’ll see you all on the other side of Refrain! 
Gee whiz would you look at the adorable spoiler… oh and there’s a Lennon there too 
7 Likes
I tooootally forgot to post in this topic because I was too excited to start Refrain. I guess you can’t blame me. Refrain is great, after all.
Now, I don’t have much to say on this route, because I don’t have much to think about this route. It is, after all, an incomplete story. But I do have a lot of feelings about this route…
And boy did this route sure make me uncomfortable. Their entire journey, starting from Riki challenging Kyousuke, to running away with Rin, just made me feel awful. Maybe it was because I knew that this was the wrong decision to make. Maybe because I knew that they only had despair waiting for them. Maybe I just didn’t want to see them in that situation again. Probably my only recompense while reading this route was seeing Rin actually do something (the laundry) for once, and even then it is meant as a cute little thing about her being embarrassed about her underwear…
Either way, fact of the matter is that this route made me feel very uncomfortable. And I loved every second of it. I just love it when writing is able to transpire the mental faculties of the reader and actually make them feel something; feel something that one of their characters is feeling, or feel something that the author wants them to feel. Sasuga Maeda. Sa-su-ga.
Sidenote, to continue discussion:
You hit the nail right on the head there, eh. Maybe if they learned to help each other out; you know, the kind of mature love that a married couple should have; instead of her being completely dependent on Riki, they could have actually made something out of it. But Riki says it again and again, Rin is, at heart, still a kid. She has yet to understand what love is all about. And, I think even by the time they “elope”, Rin is incapable of figuring out this kind of selfless love needed to succeed.
And this is also why I never ship Rin with Riki. She doesn’t get love, and I don’t think she will until a few more years.
6 Likes
Perhaps, as I’ve walked this journey and been pierced with the warm and familiar lances of what it means to be a friend, the character of Rin Natsume, like those of Komari and Kud, has grown on me. I’ve said it before, and it rang true even more when I dove into Rin2: the Little Busters are more than characters than characters to me. They are more than reflections of myself. They are truly like my actual friends, that I care about and miss deeply when they aren’t around. This cast, moreso than any others, feel so real to me.
Rin was admittedly my least favorite character at first. She was physically abusive toward Masato and had nothing to offer my narrative interests that the other characters could not. I think she hit me in a low place, representing my faults moreso than my neutral or positive traits. This applies to lots of people, I’m aware, but I just so happened to be one of them. Thankfully, her violence is restrained to the common route, and her true character is fleshed out during the route. I wonder, why is Rin the way she is? Was she born with this inability to communicate to lead, or is it all a result of her past trauma?
Here it is, the rainfall that finally pounds the Earth from the darkened skies above. Kengo, the mystery, the enigma, reveals his true power in this route. In the first common route, Kengo wants nothing to do with baseball, and spends all his time in the kendo club. Then, in the second common, he gets the entire part with saving Koshiki and then decides to give the Busters his all. He, like Riki, has just been slowly unraveling into a character just as important as Kyousuke or Masato. I knew I wasn’t going to be let down by this loyal friend of mine.
Continuing from Rin1, Rin hates going to the new school, and Riki is at a loss for what to do. He is defeated at every turn, as the Hydra continues to regrow its many sinister heads and blocks his path. One of Rin’s cats is old and Kyousuke espouses to Riki the importance of accepting loss, oddly mirroring the recent loss of my own beloved pet, which ironically Little Busters helped me deal with. We get Rin and Sasami of all people having a spark of understanding as Sasami gives Rin her glove, as Rin’s is torn from obviously going through multiple timelines. 
After a bit of running around, the shadow reveals itself to be none other than Kyousuke, cradling Lennon in his arms in the dark of the night, and speaking of ‘the secret of the world’. It was all a game; nay, a test, from Kyousuke to his sister and Riki. To help others, to establish a foundation for life, and to put the needs of others above your own. Not for your own gain, but for the happiness of others.
Then we come to the climax of this story. Kengo stands with Riki against Kyousuke’s plan. Masato stands with Kyousuke, though he is incredibly reluctant and upset about it. Riki, for some odd reason, believes that getting a home run on Kyousuke will somehow compel him to bring Rin back from the sister school. For the first time, this web of steel snaps, and the Busters, the very definition of unity to me, is broken. Riki places no faith in himself and instead has Kengo bat for him, and Kengo sadly misses. This is not important, so much as Kengo’s reaction. It was a shock to see him explode the way he did, and basically tackle Kyousuke to the ground in absolute rage the likes of which had yet to be seen in the game by anybody. Kengo, the blue to Masato’s red, the calm and collected kendo god, succumbing to his emotions and letting them control his actions, left me in awe. Then, Kyousuke stands up and declares the game called, as Riki fears him to be the messiah himself, his shirt being torn at the side where Longinus stabbed Jesus, whose blood healed Longinus’ blindness.
From here, Riki decides to take Rin and simply run far away, ignoring the advice of Kengo whom Riki sees as his only ally. They go primal, and admittedly the route loses my interest here. At the Natsume’s grandfather’s house, Riki does all the work despite his narcolepsy, while Rin lounges around and gathers mouths that Riki cannot feed. I hated Rin here. She simply places burden on Riki for no reason, and then whines when there are not enough resources to sustain them. Slowly, surely, the thread dangles further and further, until Riki runs into (and away) from the police officer who is merely doing his job. This leads to the couple being captured, and the next scene is Riki alone in the classroom, lamenting his poor plan and the loss of Rin who is now alone as well. The field trip gets mentioned, and here my theory was solidified as I unsheathe the cold sword and walk into the battlefield of Refrain.
This is the main problem with the route. Rin and Riki are not in a romantic relationship. They are friends who are locked in a fantasy because they don’t know any better, and cannot crawl from the cave and into the light of the painful world. Only when it is forced on them far too soon than when they are ready is the ugly, dirty truth of the world shown in its angelic light. Perhaps if Rin was a little more considerate of the situation, rather than still being dependent on Riki, it would be a much more tolerable route for me. The entire game we’ve been leading up to the two of them needing development, but here it has yet to show.
8 Likes
Okay so before i read little busters the only reason i was interested in this form of Japanese literature (Manga, anime, Vn) only for bewbs! (Yeah i was that kind of guy).
My first impression when i saw Rin - ‘oh what a cute girl! She’s the main heroine, her route is going to be fantastic.’
Now my impression after reading all other amazing routes(don’t count kud), by now my previous hentai self had died a miserable death after being purified by this holy work of digital literature media.
Anyway onto Rin, the ‘let’s date’ scene was bullshit.The way Rin asked Riki, seemed like she was only interested in it because it was something new. She was like - ‘Oh date! That sounds like something fun, let’s try it’.
Riki was worse then her - ‘Oh Rin just asked me to go out with her, to be honest i didn’t really think of her that way until now but my heart is really racing now, is this love?.’
Hell no Riki! Anyone’s heart would rage like that if someone asked him/her out of the blue to go out with her/him. Take a minute and think clearly about this, Don’t go with the flow and make a decision in haste. But still he does exactly that.
To be honest the reason i dislike this route is because Riki gets the least attention from the heroine from any other route. The most attention he got was when she asked him to date her. Immediately after that Rin’s attention shifts to ‘the secret of the world’ and after that when Riki runs away with her, she engrossed herself with cats. Remember whenever cats and Riki both are present, cats get prioritised. This means cats are more important then Riki.
Now enough criticising let’s look at her strong points. I’m surprised by this but she shines more in other heroines route and common route. The examples are, when She takes care of komari after she breaks down in her route or when she protects her during the sword fight in common route, in mio’s route when she tells Riki to believe in himself. These are the instances when i truly thought of her as my friend.
Her route… only contains one scene involving her that is memorable. When her cat Miles was dying i was surprised by how mature she seemed, at that moment my respect for her went yay high. Sadly it didn’t last long, it only made me think that ‘if only she was like this with people instead of cats then i would have actually fallen for her’.
This maturity was the biggest thing needed for her character development. And she does get mature but only at the end of refrain when she has a nice little chat with komari that everyone is dead and she’s going to be alone. by this far it’s too late. She’s no longer the main focus. Now it’s kyousuke.
I read somewhere in this forum that suginami was a stepping stone for Rin so the relationship between her and Riki can begin. If we go by that logic then i will say that Rin was also a stepping stone… for Kyousuke!. The only way Kyousuke gets to shine is… yes! send his little sister away so she can become strong while he fights with riki. If we compare the scenes of kyousuke’s reveal that he was the messenger and cheap tricks easily surpass the rest of Rin route.
Rin is only there to drive the plot forward and give us refrain. Expecting anything else is foolish.
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There’s one thing that has bothered me for the entirety of Rin2 all the way up to playing Refrain. As we all know, Kyousuke wanted Rin to grow. That’s why he sent her off on that mission to the sister school. Unfortunately, his means were a tid bit too extreme, and we all know that that did not end up well. At all.
But that begs the question: What does Rin actually need to grow?
Kyousuke thought he knew what she needed, but he was wrong. And, seeing Rin how she is, it’s a very difficult question to answer. How can you get a girl like that, childlike mind as she is, totally antisocial, to grow into a person who can stand on her own two feet? I’ve thought about this for a while and I’ve realized, Rin has a whole bundle of problems, all of which need to be solved:
- She needs to open herself up to people, and not isolate herself in fear of being changed by others
- She needs to face the sad things in this world head-on, and not sweep them under the rug
- She needs to learn what it means to feel, and what it means to love
- She needs to learn that there are truly no evil ones in this world
- She needs to build her own self-confidence, and find what makes her useful in this world
But, most importantly:
- She needs to make more friends
Does all this sound familiar to you? Well, allow me to explain my Eureka moment from Episode: Rin
(everything following this will be spoilers to the Refrain route; I was tempted to put it in that topic, but this is all about Rin, and in Rin’s topic it shall stay)
All throughout Refrain, we see Rin being as childlike as ever. She pays no attention to the problems that Riki is facing, and she just wants to have fun. Even as the boys are parting, she is completely oblivious to the situation, and just keeps pitching the ball as Riki instructs. One could blame this all to her regression after Rin2 but, really, hasn’t Rin always been this way? Hasn’t she always been completely oblivious, not facing the problems, and just finding the fun things in life?
She has. And that’s why she could never grow. Even after Kyousuke sends her off to the sister school. she refuses to see her purpose there, and shuts off from the entire world. And her growth remains stagnant…
Until we get to Episode: Rin. What I believe Episode: Rin implies to us is one simple thing: Riki isn’t the only one who learned from the girls’ stories. Rin was there. As much as a background character she might have seemed in the other routes, she still watched Riki from the sidelines. She observed the other girls, saw their problems, and watched as Riki helped fix these. And this growth is kept all locked up in her head until we get to Episode: Rin and she remembers everything.
Her parting with the girls came as a heavy-hitting blow to me, emotionally. And they never do explain, why is it that Rin has these scenes with them, but Riki never does? Wasn’t it Riki who learned and grew from these routes?
Yes, Riki did grow. Grow enough to be the man who can support Rin. But Riki never had the problems that the girls did. He couldn’t heal himself by learning from them, since he couldn’t relate to those problems.
But Rin did. And Rin learned, from all of them. These were all things that Kyousuke couldn’t teach Rin; they were things that he didn’t even know Rin needed to learn. With Komari being the one she had to learn from, more than others. Komari’s wish was that Rin could face all the sad things with a smile. As her hairpin fell, akin to a shooting star falling from the sky, her wish was granted. It was at that moment that everything Rin observed from her friends, from all the other members of the Little Busters, came to her. It was at that moment that she realized that: she has to open up to others to grow; that she has to face the sad things in life; that she learned to love; that there are no evil ones trying to push her down; that she has to find her place in this world; and that she truly did make friends in this small, temporarily world.
And it was at that moment that Rin grew.
16 Likes
So, after the rant on the bad parts of the route, let’s get to the good parts! And it’s all about the boys.
First of all, we have two incredible transformations. Kyousuke, who was the most dependable and perfect person on earth became an unbeatable enemy, a cruel villain. Rin was not the only reason. What bothered Riki the most was how Kyousuke was supposedly planning to destroy the Little Busters, Riki’s safe haven and the symbol of friendship. That he’s using this group of friends for an elaborate scheme. This new villain isn’t exactly generous with his kindness. He stands by his goal and demands only one thing: strength.
Riki is trying to be defiant, but Kyousuke proves his dominance time and time again. Riki can only watch on helplessly as his world, his happiness is slowly coming apart. The secret of the world? Who cares about that?
And that’s where the second transformation happens. Kengo, who was always there, but either kept watching on from the sidelines or only joined in to have fun, has become the new most dependable friend. The one who treasures friendship as much as Riki. He does not waver and offers to help him challenge the unbeatable Kyousuke. He offers Riki everything he wished for: “If you win… the Little Busters will be eternal. You’re not alone. I’ll be there for you.”
Masato is still unchanged. He’s still there, doing work. If Riki needs someone to cheer him up, Masato is there. He’s prepared to do homework in Riki’s stead, knowing it would take him all night to finish. If Riki needs the room, Masato leaves, not asking for anything in exchange. Even with the Little Busters split apart, Masato does what he always does. He said he decided on it a long time ago, and Riki finds that mature.
And then, the four of them clash. Yes, Masato is on the enemy team, though unwillingly. “Consider the irony of the situation. Four friends glaring at one another defiantly.”
Think about it: By opposing Kyousuke, Riki is putting the Little Busters at Risk. Kyousuke has yet to disband them. If Riki stays silent and complies, maybe, just maybe, they can keep playing. And who knows? Maybe Kyousuke was right after all? His plans always work out, right? It would be so easy to give up. It would be pathetic. They would probably just be keeping appearances. Riki could still lie to himself and find comfort in this lie. But Riki chose Rin over the Little Busters.
The match. The rain. Riki is a wreck, but he can rebuild his confidence with Kengo’s help. And…
Cheap Tricks. Called Game. Something terrible had happened, but what? What made Kengo, the most disciplined, the most calm and collected person ever, the man who was always in control, get violent on his friend?
So Riki decides to run away. I don’t think this was merely an escape. Yes, Kyousuke was unbeatable and could not be trusted anymore. But Riki actually still had options. He could give in to his weakness in a different way. But he didn’t. He once again chose Rin over the Little Busters, displaying his trademark dedication. He left behind everything he knew and held dear just to save one girl.
7 Likes
So, despite this being the route tied to my namesake, this is actually one of my least favorite routes. However, I think that’s what makes it a great route.
The former half of the route seems like any of the others, really. You’ve got your basic story premise and nothing’s really happening at any big pace. And when it abruptly ends before you’ve completed all the other routes, it felt strange but fitting for how short it was. What caught me off guard, however, was how quickly the route kicks into gear once you pass that point and move onto Rin 2. And that’s where my true dislike of the route starts. Which again, I think is what makes it a great route. Here’s why.
The route makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable. While I’m not sure if there’s any personal reasons behind that, I can tell you there’s plenty of game-related reasons behind it. You spend not only the Rin route but the entire game getting attached to these characters and the relationships they have with each other, the stories they experience. And even though most players, myself included, are well aware of the overarching plotline tying them all together, what I didn’t expect was for everything to fall apart.
To spend all that time, all that effort, solving problems and building relationships, and have everything crumble to pieces. For Rin to be thrust into a life of unhappiness, for no one being able to reach the other girls, for Kyousuke, the character Riki has spent the whole game looking up to (and by extension, the player has likely started to look up to him as well) has now become some sort of antagonist figure. And with the baseball match and the cheap tricks, the friends literally start to fight each other.
Compared to all the other routes, everything felt so wrong.
Add to that the fact that the character Riki is now relying on is Kengo, the one character who was often not on board for all of the stuff that happened, especially so at first.
Fast forward to Riki and Rin running away to her grandfather’s house without a plan, and the relationship between the two of them slowly falling apart as well. To reiterate my point, everything was wrong. And it made me feel so uncomfortable. And I don’t like feeling like that. So naturally, I don’t enjoy the route. But I feel that’s the point. To make readers feel like that. And they did an amazing job.
So yeah. I dunno about any of you guys. But this route is complicated for me. One of my least favorite routes. Yet one of the best routes in the game.
15 Likes
I think what makes it great is that it doesn’t have fear of taking all of, as you said, the reader’s comfort zones (such as knowing that when Kyousuke appeared in a route, he was a sign of support) and push them out of those boundaries. I also think it’s pretty effective within the context of the story itself because what makes a group of friends genuine isn’t how much fun times they’ve had together, but also how many burdens they’ve overcome together.
This is the largest one to date, breaking all of the habits and points where the reader would rely on the story by having Kyousuke appear to be having more ill will towards Rin’s mental well-being than usual and Masato who mysteriously stays out of this despite the fact that he almost feel like decking out one of the girls bullying Kudryavka and the ones gossiping about Haruka; so the fact that he’d be so silent about the way Rin was pushed away from the group and destroyed is more than ominous on its own.
Overall I think it’s a great route that regroups all that you’ve seen so far in the game and just destroys it to precisely show you how precious it is and how strong it is to either survive to this trial or not. 
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I don’t like having precious things destroyed. Curse good writing and its ability to cause these feelings. I feel like it destroyed ME.
Your point about Riki taking action with all the other girls but taking action far too late with Rin is indeed ominous, but also is likely due to his trust and belief in Kyousuke. Whereas he sought Kyousuke’s advice in the other routes, in this route Kyousuke is essentially more of a commander than an adviser. And when you haven’t been given a reason not to trust him until it’s too late, I dunno if I can blame Riki for that. Not entirely, anyway. He needed to also be stronger and think for himself.
But that’s the whole point, isn’t it?
5 Likes
Well, that’s exactly the thing. Rin2 is meant to be so fucking ominous it’s not even LB anymore. 
In previous routes Kyousuke stood as someone who understood Riki, or otherwise was willing to fully trust what he said and give him as much advice as he could within the knowledge he had, but he always left the choice to Riki to figure out. Here, on the other hand, he tries to keep that appearance up but it’s a lot colder in an evident way to the reader.
Masato was always silently providing support (burying the kitty’s body in Komari’s route, covering for him when he wasn’t at the dorm, and otherwise making sure to provide him as much space as he needed unless he was specifically called out to) to Riki throughout the game and then he suddenly sides with the side that encourages Rin’s suffering…
Kengo was the friend who’d always kept himself at a distance to some degree, but then becomes the sole person you can rely on because suddenly no one seems to care about Rin’s well-being anymore besides those two and Komari, but even that is weird because you’ve never really been made to trust him as much as the other two except in very specific situations.
Suck it up, it’s meant to be so ominous you’d cry because it’s like your own personal group of friends is coming apart and THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN FUCKING DO ABOUT IT BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE A CHOICE.
6 Likes
I hadn’t even considered that part about Masato! You’re totally right. I suppose a new question would be, why do you think he did it? He spent the entire game prior supporting Riki and Rin whenever he could. So why not this time?
Did he do it because he was loyal to Kyousuke, or did he do it because he believed the same?
4 Likes
I think it’s more about his stance as a neutral element to the group. He’s not really meant to side with either Kyousuke or Riki, but it doesn’t balance out if he sides with Riki and it could impact Rin much more harshly if there was even more infighting than there currently is since we know what stakes are on here.
He said it himself that he hadn’t trained this hard in his life for something like this, and it’s obvious to anyone he’s keeping himself out of the matter precisely to not influence things because it’s not his position to make any decisions in the group; he just works them out somehow. In that sense, Masato is pretty mature and courageous as a whole to willingly take on the boys infighting without ever trying to influence things because he knows he doesn’t know best and it’s not his role in this group’s dynamic to do so. 
11 Likes
On that we can agree. Masato is a good boy.
It didn’t take away from the shock factor, though. I think what made it even more…wrong, for lack of a better word, was how obviously Masato wasn’t okay with it. He was doing it because he felt he had to. It didn’t inherently feel like it was Masato vs Riki, or Kengo for that matter.
In fact, I’d dare say that out of all the people in that entire scene, Masato was probably the unhappiest. Kengo and Kyousuke and Riki clearly have their firm stances. And while Masato does as well, his is rather different. To sort of reiterate what you said, his stance is not of for-or-against. But more of an “I must” kind of way.
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Exactly why he’s such a good boi too; taking on the unpleasant roles for the sake of the group because he doesn’t want to bring more oil to the fire by making Riki have to stand entirely against Kyousuke like an enemy by suddenly having his entire group against him which would’ve been a larger psychological blow than it already was.
Why are they all such good bois? 
6 Likes
-through tears- They’re such good bois.
But really, I feel that despite being the Rin 2 route, this route does more for ALL of the main Busters than any of the other routes do. They all show small differences and other sides of themselves on the other routes, but this route in particular just bares their entire beings for the reader to see. And everything changes. Even though this is the Rin 2 route, it felt like the most “Little Busters” route of all of them.
6 Likes
I suppose it all comes down to what is expected from a route. In terms of the romance Rin2 is without a doubt the weakest of the routes. The romance isn’t weak in the way that Komari and Kud are, but rather the weakness comes form a lack of focus. Where Komari and Kud feel insubstantial because the romance is not brought on by much of anything and is, in that way, passive, Rin’s romance is simply not an item of focus.
None of this is to say, however, that the Rin route is poor in terms of its writing. Something completely unique about the later half of Rin’s route is what expectations it expects form the audiance and therefore what kinds of narratives and plots it is allowed to construct. Rin2 is allowed greater freedom to touch on certain topics because it assumes that you understand the themes and events of the narratives prior. This is, naturally, unlike the other heroine routes in which one can play in any order they choose. This mainly comes to ahead, or I should say most interestingly comes to ahead when considering them themes of the story and how they relate to Natsume Kyousuke.
One of the my favorite elements of the Umineko no Naku Koro Ni visual novel is how the narrative instructs you on how to dissect it and Little Busters does something similar in a thematic way with how it handles the portrayal of Natsume Kyousuke. That is to say, consider some of the themes that the story has conveyed thus, particularly in the routes of Komari and Kud, but in the story as a whole. Namely I am referencing the ideas about empathy and how there is no such thing as a binary definition of good and evil in this world. Just how Haruka praises how Kud is able to look at the world without those simplifying scarecrow tactics so too is the reader taught that things are never as simple as that in the context of the game. Kanata is not evil. Kyosuke is not evil. There is no evil.
In this way, Rin2 functions as a test to not only Riki and Rin, but also the reader. The route tests whether or not the reader has learned the lessons that the story has been trying to teach by presenting Kyousuke as a dark and seemingly malicious figure. And much like how we inevitably see that both Riki and Rin fail in their tests, so too is the story structured in a way that makes many of the readers “fail” to call Kyousuke’s bluff. Rin’s route is a story in which the bad end is hardwired into the narrative and that is fascinating.
And this brings me to the greatest strength of the route, the role of the supporting cast. When looking at the routes thus, there have only been a handful of important secondary cast members, in some cases these characters are even route specific. Rin 2 involves its secondary cast in a major way. All of the boys as well as Komari play a major role. While I think Haruka’s route’s simple use of secondary characterization is one of its stronger points, the development of the secondary cast in Rin’s route is certainly nothing to scoff at. Of particular note is Kengo. Outside of his role in Common, the man has yet to really get any sort of development, but here we see the depth of his loyalty and friendship.
What’s interesting about Kengo in this route isn’t his appreciation of the friendships that he has, but rather his appreciation for the idea of friendship itself. This is much more nuanced than the former. Kengo’s grievances with Kyousuke isn’t necessarily that he took away his friends, but rather that Kyousuke doesn’t seem tor respect or care for the idea of the Little Busters as an institution the way that he himself does. This makes even more sense going forward into refrain, but of course that is a discussion for a later date.
And while he does not get quite the emphasis or development that Kengo does, we get to see an interesting facet of Masato as well in the decisive baseball game. Masato is a very important piece in this game board, as he further muddles the idea of binary morality. Masato seems on a surface level as a tool of Kyousuke but it is made clear that he does not agree with the man on a moral level. This is particularly important comming from Masato, a man who, save a few scant occasions, has been all smiles. What this does at a narrative level is to remind the audience to keep thinking and to consider the events presented at more than face value.
The weakest part of Rin’s route is, really, the lack of Rin and the denial of her agency throughout the narrative. But unlike with Kud’s arc where the agency being denied to her only weakened her character, in this case the denied agency is on purpose. In that way this aspect of the route isn’t weak, per se, but just unenjoyable. Rin’s flaw throughout the entire game is that she is someone who is okay being led by the hand. In her childhood it was Kyousuke and in the routes conclusion she is willing to give up her agency to Riki. When they run away not only is the choice itself a demonstration of their weakness but the segment is filled with everything that makes Riki and Rin fail in their pursuits. Rin imposes living expenses onto Riki while contributing nothing to their escape plan, fine with being coddled and protected just like she always was. Meanwhile Riki demonstrates a complete lack of understanding for what it takes to be an adult, relying on his inheritance and not planning for the future enough to create a stable life.
In this game that is all about maturity and what it means to grow, Riki and Rin do not understand what it means to be an adult. And even on an indivisual level, Riki fails to make use of his greatest talent, his empathy, and doesn’t in any way trust that Rin can make her own choices. Riki fails to understand the world and Rin fails to take action for herself.
As a tragedy, as the second act of the three act structure, Rin’s route is a fantastic element of the grander narrative that is Little Busters, even if as a heroine arc it suffers from a lack of focus.
Friendly loaf, signing off.
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Rin - A story about becoming conscious of one’s own weakness
Completing all the heroine routes, things have finally started coming to light. Masato stopped joking around and Kyosuke, who Riki always admired is stopping Riki. So far, I liked this route the most and these are my views on this route.
So first, let’s look at the way Rin developed as we progressed through the game.
When we played Rin 1, it was obvious that she wasn’t confident enough to do anything and would always depend on Kengo, Masato, Kyosuke or Riki. She wouldn’t be able to call Komari by her first name and she would avoid talking to rest of the Little Busters whenever possible.
But now, things are different. Just as Riki points out, Rin now calls Komari her friend. She can do things on her own, she knows how to behave formally, and she helps Kud in moving in along with Riki.
But since the transfer student program to save the sister school, the way I see it, Rin has done nothing except avoid reality. She runs away with Riki but even while being in a tough situation, she brings in more and more cats to entertain herself while Riki is working as hard as he can to support the entire family (including cats) . This shows that she still didn’t want to come to terms with the fact that they were being chased and things weren’t the way they used to be. Even till the end, when Riki tried to run away with Rin after being found, she still wanted to bring the cats with her and in turn ended up being caught.
Just why is it that Rin who showed such tremendous growth suddenly so weak now?
Now let’s think, what was it that made Rin become so strong? I remember saying in another post that Riki, whose name means strength is the reason why Rin is able to grow stronger but here is the truth :
She says the people around her is what gives her the strength. Not a person. I was thinking about this for a while and came up with a conclusion. Riki as his name suggests is Rin’s strength but
strength is a vague term.
Strength, although commonly associated with physical strength, it can also be understood as the good qualities possessed by the individual that makes them reliable or trustworthy as an authoritative figure.
This is where we should look at the other heroines and the original Little Busters along with their good qualities. Although they are not perfect on their own, if we think carefully about their usual behavior, or at least how they change by the end of their respective routes, we can find at least one strength for each of these characters that when together, can bring enormous results.
- Mio - Formal ways of speech and vast knowledge in forms of literature
- Komari - Optimism and the ability to find the good in the bad
- Kurugaya - Intelligence and the ability to persuade others
- Haruka - The ability to forgive others (by the end of her route)
- Kud - Bravery to face the world despite the oppression
- Masato - Physical strength and the ability to advise others (we actually see him do this a few times)
- Kengo - Calm and collected, can grasp the situation quickly
All this while it wasn’t just Riki who was the source of Rin’s strengths. Rather, it was everyone around them who gave them the strength!
And now, you might ask me “But what about Kyosuke?”
If we look at these strengths, they are all qualities found in good leaders. Who is the leader of the Little Busters? It’s Kyosuke. Which brings me to my next point which is about Natsume Kyosuke
Throughout the route, Kyosuke has been seen characterized as a sort of God by Riki; as Someone who can manipulate reality and the future to his will. This is something I actually agree with Riki about. You could, at least in this route view Kyosuke as the God of the world or rather, the God of this world.
In order to learn the secrets of this world, Riki and Rin must defeat Kyosuke, the one person who knows the answer to everything.
Another thing to note is that Kyosuke is described as a crucified Christ heavily implying his actions are for the Little Busters’ good and that Kyosuke himself was also in pain.
But if so why won’t Kyosuke just tell Riki what is the secret?
(note : this is just a theory) It is because this secret is the truth, a painful truth that Riki is not yet strong enough to face. That is why Kyosuke states :
The first sign of which is the loss against Kyosuke.
I remember saying that Rin has been avoiding reality too much but to be honest, I believe this is more focused on showing Riki’s weakness.
To begin with, let’s take a look at what Kengo said :
He never said that everything will fall once Rin stops following Riki but rather, when Riki lets go of Rin. This means that Riki must be the one pulling Rin by the arm and the tragedy of the route happened because he was too weak to do that.
And finally, this brings me to the last point! The final choice of the route
Rin’s name means bell and as I have stated in another post, bells symbolize expansion of consciousness . Back then, I had no idea how this is really related at all, but now everything makes sense.
The final choice implies that Riki is now aware of his weakness and also shows his determination to become stronger. But what was it that gave him this determination? It was none other than Rin. This is why the two need each other.
Riki is now conscious about his own weakness and is willing to become stronger in order to face the truth or in other words, the secret of the world.
To further prove this point, let’s look at the title screen upon completing Rin 2, the New Game option fades away to reveal the final route : Refrain. This means Riki is ready to accept reality and wishes to proceed forward.
However, if you choose to give up, the New Game option still exists suggesting that Riki has also chosen to deny reality and decided to go back to the time Rin was still with him.
Taking all that into account here are some of my speculations for Refrain :
Rin and Riki will be the ones to partner up against Kyosuke.
Riki is going to try to become like Kyosuke who is his symbol of strength
Note : Don’t tell me that I’m right even if I am.
So my closing words about this route is that despite its short length, it was interesting to see the changes in Rin from the different playthroughs as well as the change in personality of other characters as well.
…
Feels a bit rambly but those were my thoughts! Please feel free to share your thoughts on my views and ideas!
Also, a question for everyone : What do you think about Kyosuke’s motives? Just what is he planning and why is he suddenly acting so harshly towards Riki? Also, what do you think about the sudden change in Masato’s and Kengo’s behaviour? Do they also know the secret of this world?
Also I love you @machelmore I wouldn’t have noticed I skipped a picture if it were’t for you
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As I said, what I found nigh unforgivable was her biting the hand that feeds her. Rin just hanging around and not contributing was nothing new. She did improve a little bit after Rin1, but all of that development was wiped clean by Kyousuke’s failed scheme. So while it’s not exactly “fine”, it was to be expected. But biting the hand was pure backstabbing. It’s Rin telling Riki that all his effort, all of his sacrifices didn’t mean shit to her, that HE isn’t even all that important. Taking and not giving back is one thing, but being ungrateful and throwing it all away is going way too far.
I also think that Rin has completely failed as a heroine on a fundamental level due to her inability to feel romantic love. Riki never stood a chance. His feelings would not be reciprocated no matter how hard he tried. Rin cannot be a proper heroine since she can neither reciprocate nor reject Riki’s feelings. Therefore, she’s just a little sister character in my eyes.
You could say that we, the readers, have been expecting romance, only to realize that romance could not exist in this route anyway. We have expected Rin to develop, only to be met with reluctance to develop even though her situation was absolutely dire.
So there you have it. My criticism on Rin is based on things: Her selfish betrayal of the protagonist and her inability to reciprocate his feelings in the first place, thus her complete failure as a heroine.
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