So the Little Busters Anime has ended (Excluding EX coming soon) and I feel it’s time to make a post for the Anime viewers to show them some of the cool things they missed out on from the Visual Novel. This isn’t gonna be a whining post, nor is it gonna focus on changes made to the narrative – instead I’m gonna focus on some of the light-hearted content which didn’t or couldn’t make it to the Anime in their entirety. The Anime was only the tip of the iceberg of what Little Busters has to offer, so I’m going to share some of the cool things you’ll want to see!

The Batting Minigame

(Click above image for Youtube footage)

I’ve already talked at great length about the batting minigame in my other posts, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. There’s nothing more relaxing and therapeutic than hitting those balls around the field trying to rack up a combo. There’s no winning or losing; it’s just all about having fun with friends. Somehow, I feel these brief departures from the narrative really contribute to the feeling of camaraderie and friendship between the Little Busters.

The Battle Rankings

(Click the above image for Youtube footage)

These were briefly touched on in the OVA, but in the VN the Battle Rankings took place throughout the entire common route. You’d spend your time building up stats through batting practice and exchanging powerup items with other fighters, and in between your own battles you’d wander around school watching other fighters do their battles. They were always random and quirky, and it was endless entertaining to see the rankings change and the titles each character got. The variety of titles in the game was immense, no two playthroughs were the same. For me, the best part was that with enough luck, even the most unlikely person could win the battle rankings, as pictured above 😛

Kyousuke’s One Question – One Answer

(Click the above image for Youtube footage)

Album of some screenshots here.

This was a funny little thing they included in the game with no connection to anything. At a random point in the common route, Riki is given the choice to scan a QR code. Later on, he’ll look it up on his phone and you’re taken to ‘Kyousuke’s One Question – One Answer’ website, where he answers random questions posted to him by other students. The answers are all hilarious and show just how great Kyousuke’s sense of humour is. He practically invented the AMA. And there’s so many of them! Over a hundred. If you want you can spend an hour or two just reading his answers. It gave me many good laughs when I bothered to read them all.

Kick the Can

(Click the above image for Youtube footage)

Here’s one a lot of fans were a bit bitter over its exclusion from the Anime. The Kick the Can scene accompanies many of the great group shenanigans scenes like the Test of Courage and the Puppet Show. There’s not much to say about it really – it’s just a game of Kick the Can, but the Little Busters own it perfectly. It’s easily one of the funniest scenes in the game, and it perfectly illustrates just how much fun the gang can get up to together.

Muscle Sensation

(Click above image for Youtube footage)

Lastly, the Muscle Sensation is a bonus mini-route included in the game if you can find it. It requires you to play with Masato at every opportunity you’re given (the alternatives are usually either do something plot-related or fight someone in the battle rankings). Once you do all of them and reach a certain scene, you can access the Muscle Sensation. I won’t spoil what happens, but it’s definitely the most hilarious and bizarre ending to the Visual Novel.

I’ll wrap it up here for now. If anyone has any suggestions for things to include on this list, then let me know in the comments and I might throw it in! I hope our Anime viewers enjoyed their journey through the story of Little Busters, and perhaps might consider someday playing the original game it was based off of! Little Busters Saikou!