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.