That is a good point. I suppose I’m just having trouble understanding the nature and magic behind this route. You could argue that Riki is a decoy protagonist, and that Kurugaya’s journey into self-discovery is the real route. She traps herself in this prison, never wanting to let this fleeting moment of happiness go, having finally understood it for the first time in her life. It reminds me of Mio’s route, in that they want some moments to last forever, never going forwards or back.
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I can accept this view the most in regards to her backstory. While I personally didn’t need to know exactly why she is the way she is (as I can relate to her pretty well already and can fill in some likely blanks myself), I certainly wouldn’t have minded her just talking a bit more about what life was like (or just more talking to her in general. Upon retrospect, the time you do spend with her is actually quite short, comparatively speaking.) That being said, I do think it actually would have been a tad out of character for her to do so, as my guess is that she doesn’t talk about it simply because there isn’t much to say. She didn’t enjoy life before, and she’s finally gotten to a point where she enjoys everyday life, so she focuses on that.
You can argue that, considering the reason they are going after Riki in the first place is only to screw with Kurugaya, (and considering her history of dealing with these issues/these same girls before), she likely would have felt obligated to step in regardless of whether or not any of the Busters were involved (IE: a world where Haruka and Kurugaya don’t join the other Busters, and the bullies go after Haruka instead given her [somewhat tenuous] connection/familiarity to Kurugaya. Bit of a stretch, I realize, as the whole reason they are going after her in the first place is likely because they see her interacting with Busters a lot, but hopefully the point itself stands.) I do agree that there are certainly elements of both, though. I think that is the extra kick in the ass that escalates the moment and makes the anger real, rather than another calculated response (for me at least).
I’ve struggled with this, and mainly with Key works for a long time now. Its rather disconnecting how often I’m drawn in just by how real characters like Kurugaya and Haruka (and many others) feel to me, only to be ripped out by the seemingly randomness of the situations some of them get placed into are, especially when supernatural or magical elements are thrown into the mix. I’ve often tried to rationalize it as a bigger statement as to the sometimes incredibly cruel and random nature of life, but many of them just strike me as too convenient or unbelievable. I think the only reason I was really able to accept it here is because I had already seen enough of the “weirdness” tied to the secret of the LB! world that I was willing to think of this outcome as at least plausible within its own context, and accept it for what it was.
This. For me, the route hinges on those last few moments when the world starts crumbling around them, and there is nowhere and nothing left to hide behind. No more fake laughs or half smiles. No more pranks or shitty jokes. It happens just like you expect it to; once the emotions are there, they tumble out: uncontrollable, irrational, heart-wrenching and wistful. The facade finally breaks, and then comes the final realization: of what Kurugaya was, what she is in that moment, and what she could still be, in another place. In another time.
Despite the bizarre nature of it all, despite the logical part of my brain that kept screaming about the believeability of the time loop and warped dream worlds, I resisted those anchors and saw something truly sublime: the conclusion to a genuine and hard hitting progression. A soul-crushingly bittersweet moment. The rebirth of a person. A warm memory surrounded by the cadence of an endless, cold rain. And this one will be sticking with me for a long time.
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Lots of great commentary, figured I’d just make a simple contribution. I personally feel Kuguraya’s is the most romantic route in the game - I’d almost but not quite go as far as to say it might be the only one with an actual romance. It’s entirely about the characters themselves, not a struggle against some external issue that gradually makes Riki and the heroine grow closer.
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This. This, so much. It actually further feeds my frustration into the anime adaptation of Little Busters. (Anime spoilers) I was fully satisfied with them taking out the romance of the other routes in season 1 because I really felt that they were unnecessary (and, in some cases, took away from the value of the story). But I was quite disappointed that they took away the romance entirely out of Kurugaya’s adaptation and half-assed it about her gaining strong emotions because of her friendship with the little busters. Call me corny, but I feel the amount of emotion that one gains from romance is infinitely greater than those of friendship. And the worst part is that it could have worked! Because of the whole timeloop thing, they could have put the romance in, retconned everything by the time Rin2 started, and the viewers would not be confused! But they didn’t and it left me quite salty
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In all seriousness though, I don’t remember them taking out the romance. They definitely watered it down, but it was still there. The confession, the date scene, it was still there. The Kanon-esque replacement of all Riki-specific dialogue with “Little Busters!” was certainly annoying, but the episode looked beautiful, and they only had 3 episodes to work with, so I forgive it. I’d already read the VN, so I wasn’t missing anything.
Oh and we got that one moment in the slumber party episode, and that was cute enough for me.
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This is the major reason I love this route - it isn’t Riki being led around by the heroine, dazed by what’s happening around him. Not until the end, anyway. 
This is a story of two people discovering love for each other, who strive to come to terms with what they’re feeling. Riki wants to feel worthy for the headstrong Kurugaya, and with the support of the original Busters he manages to spit out his feelings and become a better person who doesn’t need to be helped up by others all the time, anymore. Kurugaya is scared to understand what she’s feeling; maybe she feels unworthy of Riki’s affection, or perhaps she feels like she’d be a bad influence on him. Regardless, this is something new to her, and something she cannot explain with her immense intelligence. The way they fall for each other, in my opinion, is both beautiful and natural; they humanize each other. It helps that I can personally identify with not only Riki but Kurugaya as well. The romance of this route is really the highlight for me. It is not a melodrama, it is a love story.
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I’m preeeetty sure none of those were kept in the anime. They kept the little love-love hunters but never expounded on it further. Ok maybe the date was there too, but I am positive that they removed the entire confession scene.
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Ayy ayy, I gots a key point thingamabob. To what extent do you feel Yuiko changes throughout the route, and by what means?
Also, I hope there’s a further podcast for post-refrain content. The final CG from this route (that unlocks after the end of the game) bookends the running weather motif throughout the route, where sky = adventure, rain = enclosure, snow = isolation and sun = reprieve, with Yuiko represented as a reflection.
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I have not viewed that from this perspective. Thinking about it, you are right. While I as a reader would have enjoyed more, it’s more fitting for her character not to.
On the other hand, other routes have the characters talk about their past in some weird and not very fitting moments as well. But I considered that weird on their routes so I guess Kurugaya handled it better.
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Yuiko’s change begins far before the route even begins, back when she first joins the Little Busters. A sense of camaraderie and happiness washes over her, but perhaps she pushes it away subconsciously or doesn’t even realize it. It is a single crack in that dam of her heart, that she patches up with the illusion of being defective because she doesn’t want to understand something she can’t explain.
Then, in the route her feelings for Riki surface, as she states things like how he makes her lose her composure. When presented with his confession, she runs off. Simply spending enough time with Riki, who wants to understand her, is enough for her to change into what she considers “human.” She becomes a living, beating heart who makes a wish to never let these feelings end. She becomes the exact opposite of who she thought she’d be, that’s how I see it.
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So, Anego. I knew from the first time she was introduced that she’d be one of my favourite characters. Philosophical, quick-witted, charmingly selfish, and with very subjective world view, she was my favourite character during my first playthrough.
To me, the way she, within three lines, goes from basically admitting it was on purpose and asserting philosophy, to acting like there’s something wrong with him, to denying doing it outright, shows quick wit and spontaneity, which are never bad things to have.
When they’re talking about the “sidewalk café”, she says that it’s beautiful because of its simplicity, and Riki’s sarcastic about it. This type of exchange happens a lot between these two, and it makes me think of an old favourite quote of mine: “Must you ruin everything with your logic?” She always manages to describe life so simply, as if higher understanding was a matter of perspective rather than knowledge.
I can’t not talk about this. I think I’ve fallen in love. As someone who’s least favourite words are “moral”, “justice” and “objectivity”, I can hardly express how much this appealed to me.
However, though my favourite character to begin with, Kurugaya doesn’t really have staying power, and past the bullying arc, her route didn’t really improve (or change at all) my opinion of her. She does have emotional development, but to me she never felt like anything more or less than what was immediately obvious.
Getting past my opinion of her, I wanted to address the last scene of her route, when she’s playing the piano and says “I hope he comes soon.” Notice how they make her seem more… girly? The wistful look on her face and how she’s not wearing the jacket, even the tone of her voice. At first, I thought it was kind of a nice touch, something like a “maiden in love” image. But looking back, I’m not sure how to feel about it. This is pretty much the only part where what I said earlier doesn’t apply, the only part where she isn’t really the same Kurugaya we know. However, it actually feels like they’ve taken it too far. It feels like she’s lost a lot of what we loved about her, she gives a completely different impression from her usual cool, sexy demeanour.
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I should have realized it on my original post, but…oh well.
I realized that talking about it, as interesting it might be, would totally be looking backwards. But not forward, as we are taught to do by herself and the route in general.
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I think it’s because she’s no longer the Yuiko we’ve come to know. She is not the cool, witty, and confident woman who seems to know everything and be one step ahead of others. She is a woman in love who puts her newfound feelings above the rest of herself, desperately clinging to her true, new self, because she never wants to forget what Riki helped her become. That’s my takeaway from that scene, anyway.
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I don’t disagree with that, but I don’t think it was necessary to change so much about the rest of her character. I think this is a good way to put it: she stopped being “anego” and awakened to her inner “Yuiko”. But I don’t think those two are irreconcilable. I think she can still be
without taking away everything that made her “anego”.
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Believe me, I agree with you - I want her to be the anego we’ve come to know and love. I hope that is still the case, because I have yet to know the full story. Perhaps the true ending will satisfy that desire, but this is all I could glance from what we’ve given here.
Light hint at a spoiler… I can say is that there’s a reason for you to discover in future playthroughs. It isn’t just an unaddressed change (or at least, it isn’t unaddressed as of EX.)
I mean, I’ve cleared the game, so I know what happens, but I was thinking of this under the context of being a standalone ending.
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Oh, I don’t even bother to think of this portion of the route as a standalone ending; the route is blatantly incomplete without the refrain+true end. There’s a good reason for why almost everyone places it right before refrain in a play order.
Well I’m admittedly a little salty about it, because the first time I played LB about a year ago, I had no idea there was a true ending to her route, and only found out about it when I just so happened to replay the route. And there are bound to be others who did/will do the same, so there are surely people who think this actually is her “true ending.”
Gotta use them guides man. These are modern Visual Novels; you either miss out on loads of impossible-to-guess endings, or you look stuff up.
