However the author of Yuiko’s route, Tonokawa, was involved in the production of the anime. It’s impossible to know if his consultancy led to this additional scene or not, but at the very least it can’t be called outright untrue.
The fact that Yuuto Tonokawa participated in the production of the anime is kind of irrelevant, mostly because his efforts were clearly not directed towards Yuiko’s route and more to his other character, Komari. There are 2 reasons why they didn’t elaborate Yuiko’s route or even attempted to stay true to the VN.
The first is the fact that it would have greatly impacted the Rin and Refrain routes. KEY have this annoying tendency of forcing the protagonist to be romantically involved with the “Main heroine”. Story-wise, Riki would not have been as invested in saving Rin or being with her in Refrain if he was even slightly aware of previously losing what could have been perceived as his “true love”. So the producers of the anime simply reduced Yuiko’s route to appear as a slight infatuation from her part and never showed just how much Riki struggled to confess and be with her.
The second reason is simple: money. Domestically, Yuiko didn’t manage to be as popular as the other LB girls. That made her less bankable. It’s because the Japanese are more into lolis like Kud, misunderstood shy people like Rin, klutzy girls like Komari or easygoing like Haruka. That’s why they made Kud’s route a 5 episode one, they made a spin-off with Kud as the main heroine and even made an anime for that VN. I’m sure that Yuiko appears really intimidating to the average Japanese VN reader, with her sharp wit, very strong personality, her ability to be so self-sufficient and confidence in her skills. Nowadays you see the trend in full swing: the “protect” syndrome. An anime char is made cuter and more endearing by their inability to do things right, especially when it’s a little girl who is short but “of legal age”. Anime is art, but it’s also business, so I can understand why they did what they did… that doesn’t mean I agree with them or with what they did. Earning a living and managing a business is much more important than giving a character an amazing story that only a small part of the fandom will appreciate.
I disagree. I think that’s where most of the attention went. Tonokawa’s style of presentation and metaphorical concepts are far more present in Yuiko’s route than anywhere else, and it has the most additional clarification included.
Though after reading the rest of your post, I realize you’re focused entirely on the fact that they cut out the date scene. We’re talking about completely different things here.
I’d like to hear you elaborate this part here with examples included - sounds like you’re hitting an important point I might have missed 
What do you mean “the rest”? Are there parts of my comment you didn’t read? Well, I did warn about the content being spoiler-heavy. But I already said that I’ve read all 179 previous comments and I could swear you mentioned about having finished reading Refrain. That aside, are we really going to compare the anime to the VN? I would honestly hope we keep discussing more about the VN since that is the original material. In the anime, the characters actually act out of character, which is a total disaster. I thought the anime was supposed to be the animated version of the VN, not a standalone show with the characters borrowed from the VN. But then again, Clannad’s anime adaptation introduced Nagisa’s victory parade during the tennis match in ep 17 (or 18? idk - forgot. that’s when I dropped the anime after previously having finished reading the entire Clannad VN) and showed all the other heroines cry over losing Mr Protazaki (Protagonist Okazaki) But that is for another thread 
For some examples, see: https://plsnohate.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/explaining-kurugaya-yuiko/
Everything beyond the part I quoted.
When I responded to “mostly because his efforts were clearly not directed towards Yuiko’s route” I did so on the topic of screenplay assistance (such as helping the team to visually depict what were previously metaphorical texts, and similar advisory notes); not direction which you go on to talk about. The rest of your post beyond that point is wholly unrelated to Tonokawa’s involvement.
As someone who also feels quite bitter about the portrayal of Yuiko’s route, I would also like to chime in on this. I definitely don’t think this is an issue of money; heck, I am totally fine with Yuiko’s route being only 3 episodes because it’s very succinct in what it tries to say. Any more than that and it would have felt like filler.
What I AM angry about cuts deeper, though. It’s the fact that they removed any sort of romance between Yuiko and Riki. Now, this isn’t a problem with Yuiko herself; this is something they ALWAYS do with VN adaptations. I figure it is because it becomes difficult to explain why the MC has romantic feelings for one character in one episode, then shifting to another character in the next episode. And this usually isn’t a problem with other routes because, as you say, the romance is mostly a product of circumstance. But with Yuiko’s route, I strongly feel that the romance is an integral part of her route. Sure, the whole “I experienced emotions through ~friendship~” kinda works, it lacks the impact that one would feel from a romantic love.
So, yeah, I don’t blame Tonokawa, nor the anime studio, but the whole industry for not having the balls to introduce non-linear elements to a linear medium such as anime.
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I really like this route well at least refrain at this point. its was kinda of fun seeing the little busters (well, kyousuke, Masato and Kengo) doing the stupid fireworks and other dumb match making things. Kurugaya is my favourite heroine in little busters and has made me release its always the big chested older sister that I like the most in visual novels, not always their route but there waifuness.
wHAt hoESTallY cOnFUses me the most is that she says to RIki she doesnt understand emotions but why would she prank everyone then if she didnt want a reaction? I dunno? It least it was funny.
Its also nice that they actually had a little busters route that didnt have a dark backstory but rather just a more releastic character development, dont get me wrong I like dark routes but its nice to have something other than expected, of which I expected something dark from this route.
The ending felt very much incomplete but I haven’t completely refrain yet so ill add more once I read refrian.
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She does want the reaction, the issue (I believe) is that she just doesn’t know what the reaction is going to be. There’s a trend throughout the route where Kurugaya does or says something weird, Riki calls her on it, and she replies with something to the effect of “I thought everyone would do X.”
Depending on your perspective, it can help if you view social interaction or etiquette as a skill or a muscle, which must be flexed periodically and consistently in order to maintain efficiency. Given the context, we are talking about a person who has been isolated from most of distractions of your average childhood. This has made her, by her own admission, hyper intelligent on a wide variety of topics, other than one really important one, which is, how to act in a group of friends. Hence her quirky contradictory nature, further muddled by the fact she’s typically rather aloof and confident, regardless of how anyone responds.
It’s not even viewed as a problem for her until she meets the Busters. Before, people thought she was smug and cold, so responded in kind. Why would you associate with people who denigrate you, anyhow? However, when she joins the Busters, she’s constantly saying and doing strange things, like she’s trying to come up with a formula, wherein she lands on the “correct” answer.
It’s akin to an experience I’m sure everyone has had at some point, you’re in a conversation with people you aren’t super familiar with, you try to crack a joke and no one laughs. But then you say something serious or not intended to be a joke, but the group finds it amusing and laughs. I refer to it as a formula before as I think that might be partially how she’s looking at it in her own mind, but ultimately she’s just trying to figure out the group dynamic. What will fly, and what won’t. Seeing as she has no baseline for how to act, she tries out a number of potential solutions. That occurs mainly in the early portion of the route/common, but then you get to the scene with the bully girls, and then emotion starts to factor in more and more as to how she responds to situations.
5 Likes
Well explained
