Little Busters!
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese visual novel
developed by Key
which was originally released, rated for everyone as a limited edition version, on July 27, 2007 playable on a Windows
PC
; a regular edition, also rated for everyone, followed on September 28, 2007. Little Busters! is Key's sixth game, along with other titles such as Kanon
, Air, and Clannad. Despite the first two releases of Little Busters! having a rating for everyone, there were still some suggestive computer graphics
that provided fan service
shots. An adult version
of the game entitled Little Busters! Ecstasy was released on July 25, 2008, unlike Kanon and Air, which were first released with adult content and then had later versions with such content removed. The title Little Busters! comes from a group of friends in the story named the Little Busters of which the main protagonist, Riki Naoe, has been a member since childhood. In June 2010, Key released an adult spin-off
of Ecstasy called Kud Wafter
, which expanded on the scenario of Kudryavka Noumi, one of the heroines from Little Busters! and Ecstasy.
The gameplay
in Little Busters! follows a plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the six female main characters, which increases to nine in Ecstasy. There are additional minigame
s added into the gameplay, such as sequences that resemble fighting game
s or baseball games, which serve to give the characters experience, obtain accessories to use during battle, and improve their statistics
. The game had an extended developmental staff which incorporated new members to the roles of an additional art director, scenario writer, and to work on the game's soundtrack.
There have been five manga
adaptations based on Little Busters! and five based on Little Busters! Ecstasy. Two are serialized in ASCII Media Works
' Dengeki G's Magazine
, another four are serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Festival! Comic, two are in Kadokawa Shoten
's Comp Ace
, one is in Ichijinsha
's Comic Rex
, and one is in Ichijinsha's Manga 4-koma Palette. A series of illustrated short stories were also serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine. An Internet radio
show aired between June 2008 and October 2011 hosted by the voice actors
of Rin and Kyousuke Natsume and Kudryavka Noumi.
requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that appears on the game screen which represents either dialogue
between the various characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two or three at a time. The time between these decision points is variable and can occur anywhere from a minute to much longer. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes.
In the original release, there are six main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. This is expanded to nine plot lines in Little Busters! Ecstasy due to two of the supporting cast being promoted to heroine status, plus the addition of a brand new character. In order to view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot to an alternate direction. Once a scenario for any heroine is completed, that scenario will be unavailable in the next play through because the last choice that will ultimately lead to that heroine's scenario becomes unavailable for players to choose. After the scenarios for the heroines have been completed, a final scenario called Refrain is made available which serves to bring everything to a definite conclusion and answers questions brought up throughout the normal gameplay. Completing the final scenario also again makes available all the heroine's scenarios that were previously made inaccessible during gameplay so that the player can revisit the scenarios again if he or she wishes, along with some extra decision points that were unavailable previously.
Members of the Little Busters group will often get into physical fights with either each other or with others. These sequences are shown to resemble a fighting game
, but no interaction from the player is required to fight. Each member of the fight has a set of statistics
attributed to them (which includes strength, stamina, agility, reflex, concentration, judgment, and luck) along with a life bar to keep track of how many hit points a fighter has left. The maximum number of hit points is determined by the given fighter's stamina rating. Weapons may be used along with any accessories the fighter has in their possession. There are additional "missions" that the members of the Little Busters will do to accomplish some goal that depends on the choices of the player whether the mission will be completed or failed. These missions are connected with the fighting game sequences and batting practice in that they serve to give the characters experience, obtain accessories to use during battle, and improve their statistics. However, these missions do not affect the main plot in any way—the player even has the choice to turn off some of the events, such as fighting games or batting practice, so that the player may focus on the main plot.
The first time that the game is played, Rin's statistics are too weak, but when the player completes several heroine's routes, Rin and Riki's statistics will start out higher than before when the player starts a new game, allowing Rin and Riki to stand a better chance against opponents with higher stats. Throughout the game, the player needs to direct Riki by choosing appropriate choices at decision points in order to solve the problem each girl is facing, excluding only Rin.
Despite the original release of Little Busters! having a rating for everyone, there is an ample amount of computer graphics
featuring the female characters in risqué situations, though never to the point to be considered sexual
in nature. This is in stark contrast to Key's previous titles Clannad and Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume that also have ratings for everyone, but those titles contain no such risqué situations or even any fan service
. Adult
elements to the game were added to the third release of the game, Little Busters! Ecstasy, along with additional story for the established scenarios and new scenarios for Kanata Futaki and Sasami Sasasegawa—two supporting characters from the original release. Also, a new heroine named Saya Tokido is only featured in Ecstasy. The new heroines' stories are unavailable to the player the first time the game is played.
on the school grounds which are adjacent to each other. Facing the dorms is the main school building where classes take place which also houses the cafeteria
on the ground floor. The school is four floors tall and offers a roof that anyone can go up onto if they wish. Beyond the main school building is the large schoolyard, with the pool area adjacent to the yard. On the other side of the field, is the baseball field, with the gymnasium
and tennis court beyond it which is closer to the main school building.
Childhood and adolescence
are two important themes in Little Busters!. The opening video of the visual novel starts with two lines written in English: "What 'Adolescence' do you have?" and "Do you remember 'Childhood'?". Riki Naoe, the male protagonist, has four childhood friends whom he grew up together with through adolescence and still hangs out with when the story begins. Thus, friendship is another theme presented in the form of Riki's relationships with his friends in high school, and is thought to be irreplaceable. The opening video of the original visual novel contains a third line written in English, "The irreplaceable one existed there," though another line was added into the opening video of Little Busters! Ecstasy: "This will remind you that you have to recollect 'Adolescence'."
, though he denies it.
Kyousuke's younger sister is Rin Natsume, the main heroine of Little Busters!, and is initially the only female member of the Little Busters. She does not communicate well with others due to her poor social skills and can be seen as inarticulate. Due to this, she is anti-social, and is usually seen alone. Rin loves cats and at school takes care of several strays; it is not uncommon for several cats to crawl onto her. Riki's roommate and fellow member of the Little Busters is Masato Inohara who loves to work out and improve his muscle mass. He has a particular fondness for Riki, which he is more than willing to express out aloud. Masato's rival and fellow member of the Little Busters is Kengo Miyazawa who is skilled in the art of kendo
and seemingly has a cynical personality, but his passion for the Little Busters is unmatched by any of the other members.
Riki meets five other girls attending his high school who later become members of the Little Busters; they are also all heroines in the game. The first is Komari Kamikita, a very childish girl who takes great interest in fairy-tales, picture book
s, candy, and clothing with many layers of frill
s. She is very clumsy, and will often not think before she acts. She performs well in her studies and is also surprisingly athletic, though this is somewhat hampered by the fact that she is quite weak and has never participated in any sport properly before. Haruka Saigusa is a schoolmate of Riki's from a different class, but despite this, always seems to find time to hang around in Riki's classroom. She is a problem child and will start an uproar for her own personal enjoyment, which causes her twin sister, the public morals chairman Kanata Futaki, to chase after her.
Kudryavka Noumi, known as for short, is a girl who is one quarter Japanese, and three-quarters Russian
. Her grandfather was Japanese, and per his influence on her, she came to know much about the Japanese culture, including the language. Despite having a poor handle on the English language
, she was able to skip a year in school due to credits obtained through studying abroad
, making her the youngest member of the Little Busters. Kudryavka will appear in Key's eighth game, Kud Wafter
, as the main heroine. Yuiko Kurugaya is Riki's classmate who has a self-sufficient personality, and is sometimes seen carrying a replica
of a katana
called Muramasa. She is seen as an older sister to everyone despite being the same age of almost the entire cast, and is referred to as by Haruka. She is fond of things or people she considers to be cute, such as several of the female cast of characters. Mio Nishizono is a calm girl who is very diligent. Due to having weak health, she is always seen with a parasol
when outside. She enjoys reading, especially when the story contains boys love elements, and her room is filled with books. She carries around a book of poems by Bokusui Wakayama.
despite being friends. They took Riki out and played together with him during his time of need, making him the fifth Little Busters member. In time, Riki enjoyed playing with them, and his grief over his parents gradually faded away. When the story begins, Riki and his friends are seemingly in their second year of high school, except for Kyousuke who is in his third year. They still hang out together, and enjoy their school life.
The story opens on Sunday May 13, 2007, and the next day at school, Kyousuke decides that the Little Busters are going to play a baseball game, except they do not have enough members to have a complete team. Kyousuke gives Riki and Rin the task of going around school to find more members to join, preferably girls so as not to leave Rin the lone girl. Riki finds five girls his age willing to help him out. They are: Komari Kamikita, a childish girl who is very clumsy; Haruka Saigusa, a problem child who likes to start uproars for her own enjoyment; Kudryavka Noumi, a one-quarter Japanese girl in the home economics
club who is very bad in English; Yuiko Kurugaya, a girl who is given respect from her peers, and has a self-sufficient personality; and Mio Nishizono, a calm girl with a weak body who is always seen holding a parasol
when outside. Throughout the game, Riki hangs out with these girls and learns more about them.
The story's main par takes place in what seems to be a normal high school, but in fact all took place in the school term previous to Little Busters!, and Riki and Rin are reliving it in an artificial world created by Kyousuke. They, and the other main characters, were involved in a bus accident during a school excursion
, and only the two of them will survive. Kyousuke created the artificial world to make them strong enough to deal with what will happen when they awaken in the real world. The world loops
, but though they forget what happens, Riki and Rin do grow stronger, and Kyousuke hopes that they will eventually be strong enough to leave the world. They do manage to survive and get away from the crash site before Riki collapses because he has narcolepsy
. Riki vows to fight against his narcoleptic condition, which was the reason why he was only able to save Rin and merely get away from the explosion before collapsing.
Rin travels back into the artificial world again (which is created by Riki and Rin) where she uses Komari's star-shaped hair band to send herself and Riki back in time to the crash site. It is revealed that Kyousuke, who sneaked onto the bus (as a third year he was not allowed to go), managed to block the leak hole on the gas tank to prevent the explosion, despite his injuries being far greater than anyone else. Due to this, Riki and Rin work together to save everyone including Kyousuke at the crash scene. Everyone in the bus recovers from their injuries, although Kyousuke's recovery takes longer due to extensive injuries. Right after Kyousuke returns, which takes even longer than usual since he was trying to earn a driver's license
, the members of the Little Busters set out for another trip.
and Na-Ga
. Hinoue has been Key's signature art director since Key's first game Kanon
, and Na-Ga has been with Key since the production of Air working as one of the computer graphics artists to render background art used in Key's games. Due to having two art directors, character design was split between the two, though Na-Ga is responsible for the character design of the majority of the cast. Of the six heroines in the story, three were designed by each artist; Komari, Haruka, and Yuiko were designed by Hinoue while Rin, Kudryavka, and Mio were done by Na-Ga. For work on the scenario, Jun Maeda
contributed along with helping with composing
some of the game's music. Little Busters! is to be the last game that Maeda will contribute to through work on the scenario. Further writers include Leo Kashida who had worked on Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life, and two new scenario writers to Key—Yūto Tonokawa
, and Chika Shirokiri. Maeda wrote the scenarios for Rin and the entire male cast; Kashida wrote the scenario for Mio; Tonokawa wrote the scenarios for Komari and Yuiko; finally, Shirokiri wrote the scenarios for Haruka and Kudryavka. The music in the game, not counting Maeda's, was composed by four additional people including Key's signature composers Shinji Orito
and Magome Togoshi
, and two new composers—Manack and PMMK. Togoshi left Key in October 2006 before the visual novel went on sale.
of Little Busters! became available for download at Key's official website. In the demo, the player was introduced to the characters of the Little Busters group in the game through a short sequence that is typical of the gameplay found in a visual novel
. The demo did not give the player the chance to interact with the scene presented, making the demo a short kinetic novel
. The full game was released in Japan as a limited edition version on July 27, 2007 as a DVD playable only on a Microsoft Windows
PC
. The regular edition was released on September 28, 2007. The limited edition contained an arrange
album of some of the music featured in the game, and a 128-page visual guide book entitled . The book contained information and images on characters, background CG
, the art exhibition, images of the heroines published in various Japanese anime and gaming magazines, a question and answer section, information on the creators of the game, and lyrics of a couple of songs featured in the game. In an interview of Jun Maeda
and Yūto Tonokawa
in the August 2007 issue of Push!!
, it was reported that the story of Little Busters! is twice as long as Air's, but only half as long as Clannad's. However, this does not take into account the minigames in Little Busters! which serve to lengthen the game.
An adult
version of the game under the title , or Little Busters-EX for short, was released as a limited edition version on July 25, 2008 as two DVDs playable only on a Microsoft Windows PC; the regular edition followed on September 26, 2008. The limited edition came bundled with a remix album
of music featured in the game, and a 22-minute length CD containing a special broadcast of the Little Busters! Internet radio
show. Ecstasy contains new scenarios and new CGs, which includes two of the supporting female characters—Kanata Futaki and Sasami Sasasegawa—being promoted to heroines of the game, in much the same fashion as the existing female lead characters, along with the introduction of an entirely new heroine named Saya Tokido designed by Na-Ga and whose story is written by Jun Maeda. Tonokawa wrote Sasami's scenario, and Shirokiri wrote Kanata's story. Lines from the original game were rewritten as well for Ecstasy, and the total number of lines with spoken dialogue comes to 43,347 lines. The total word count in Ecstasy exceeds that of Clannad by about 4000 words, making it Key's longest work, and carries so much data that Ecstasy was released on two DVDs instead of one for the original release.
It was not decided until three or four months before the initial sale of Little Busters! that Ecstasy would be created. The regular edition for Ecstasy has several minor additions and changes to scenarios and minigames, including the addition of weapons available for use in the battle minigames. An updated version, 1.01, for the limited edition of Ecstasy was released by Key for free on their website on September 22, 2008; the regular edition of Ecstasy contains this update. An all-ages version of Ecstasy for the PC was released by Key on July 31, 2009 in a box set containing five other Key visual novels called Key 10th Memorial Box. Prototype
released a PlayStation 2
(PS2) port of Ecstasy entitled Little Busters! Converted Edition on December 24, 2009, which removed the adult
elements of the game. The PS2 version was available to try at Key 10th Memorial Fes, an event held in commemoration of Key's ten-year anniversary between February 28 and March 1, 2009. A PlayStation Portable
version of Little Busters! Converted Edition, also by Prototype, was released on November 25, 2010. Prototype will also release a version of Little Busters! Converted Edition ported to the PlayStation Vita, on February 23, 2012.
were serialized in the Japanese bishōjo
magazine Dengeki G's Magazine
, published by ASCII Media Works
. The stories, under the collective title Official Episode Collection, were published in two batches: the first six stories were published between the March 2006 and August 2006 issues, while the second batch of six were serialized between the October 2006 and March 2007 issues. In each of the two batches, one of the six stories centered on one of the six heroines, and were accompanied by a large image of the given heroine which took up most of the space for the first page in each story. This configuration left a small block of text on the first page, followed by usually a full page of text, with the given heroine's image used as a backdrop. Komari, Haruka, and Yuiko were drawn by Itaru Hinoue
, and Rin, Kudryavka, and Mio were drawn by Na-Ga
. The stories were written by the respective scenario writer for each girl: Jun Maeda
wrote Rin's, Leo Kashida wrote Mio's, Yūto Tonokawa
wrote Komari's and Yuiko's, and Chika Shirokiri wrote Haruka's and Kudryavka's stories.
A single-volume light novel
anthology
was released by Ichijinsha
on January 25, 2008 under their DMC Novel imprint
entitled Little Busters! Novel Anthology. The anthology was written by six authors, and illustrated by six artists. Four volumes of a short story compilation series by several authors entitled Little Busters! SSS were published by Harvest between April and November 2008. Harvest published a novel by Tasuku Saika entitled in September 2008. Ten volumes of another short story compilation series by several authors called Little Busters! Ecstasy SSS were published by Harvest between January 2009 and October 2010. Five volumes of an adult novel series entitled Little Busters! Ecstasy H&H written by several authors were published by Harvest between February and June 2009. Harvest published a novel by Osamu Murata entitled in March 2009.
Two volumes of a short story anthology compilation series written by Shin'ichirō Kodama, Ken'ichi Itoi, and Kachō entitled were released between May and July 2009. Paradigm
published a light novel anthology character series in three volumes titled Little Busters! Ecstasy Anthology between February and June 2010. Harvest published a light novel anthology character series in three volumes titled Little Busters! Ecstasy Character Anthology between June and December 2010. Harvest published an illustrated short story anthology titled Little Busters! Ecstasy 4-Page Short Story Collection in October 2010. Paradigm published two volumes of a light novel collection between December 2010 and April 2011.
An art book entitled was released on December 20, 2007. Published by ASCII Media Works
, the 206-page, hard-cover bound book contains a compilation of the published and promotional art from the visual novel, detailed character profiles and memo sections, and an overview of the visual novel's plot. Also included are all the CG
cut scenes from the game, concept illustrations, staff interviews, as well as a short story written by Yūto Tonokawa. A short section at the end of the book finally concludes the compilation with the melodic sheet music and lyrics of the vocal songs featured in the game. Included with the actual book were two pencil boards
. The statistics of the battle equipment used in the mini-games were listed on one of the boards. Another art book entitled was released on December 19, 2008 by ASCII Media Works.
A four-panel
comic strip
manga
entitled Little Busters! The 4-koma was serialized between the March 2006 and March 2010 issues of ASCII Media Works
' Dengeki G's Magazine
. The story was inspired from the visual novel and is illustrated by Yūya Sasagiri. Most chapters contain eight pages, and 15 separate comic strips. Some chapters such as 17 and 22 begin as a normal manga layout and follow with eight pages containing 16 comic strips. An additional "extra" chapter, published in the ninth volume of Dengeki G's Festival! on June 30, 2007, contained ten pages, and 19 full-color comic strips. Special chapters of the manga have been published in ASCII Media Works's manga magazine Dengeki G's Festival! Comic. The first tankōbon
volume was released on August 27, 2007, and was published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Comics EX
imprint
. The end of the first volume also contained a bonus
comic in a normal manga layout as well as two pages of comments by four Key
staff members: Itaru Hinoue
, Jun Maeda
, Na-Ga
, and Yūto Tonokawa. The fourth and final volume was released on April 27, 2010. Yūya Sasagiri also illustrates the Little Busters! EX The 4-koma four-panel comic strip manga, which had a preview in the April 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine and began regular serialization in the June 2010 issue. The first volume for Little Busters! EX The 4-koma was released on February 26, 2011.
Another manga titled Little Busters! and illustrated by Nobuyuki Takagi
started serialization in Dengeki G's Festival! Comic on November 26, 2007. The first volume of Takagi's Little Busters! manga was released on April 27, 2009; the third followed on April 27, 2011. A fourth manga, titled Little Busters! and referred to as the "official Little Busters! comic", began serialization in the May 2008 issue of Kadokawa Shoten
's magazine Comp Ace
and is illustrated by Mogura Anagura
. The first volume of Anagura's Little Busters! manga was released on September 26, 2008, and the second volume followed in April 2010.
A fifth manga adaptation titled was serialized in Dengeki G's Festival! Comic between January 26, 2009 and February 23, 2010 and is illustrated by Zen. A single volume of Saya Tokido School Revolution was released on April 27, 2010. Zen also illustrated the manga, which was serialized in Dengeki G's Festival! Comic between June 26, 2010 and April 26, 2011. A single volume of Sasami Sasasegawa Black Cat Fantasia was released on May 27, 2011. Zen illustrates the manga as well, which began serialization in Dengeki G's Festival! Comic on June 23, 2011.
An eighth manga titled began serialization in the May 2010 issue of Comp Ace and is illustrated by Juri Misaki
. The first volume of Wonderbit Wandering was released on September 25, 2010; the second followed on April 26, 2011. A ninth manga titled began serialization in the April 2011 issue of Ichijinsha
's Comic Rex
and is illustrated by Kazusa Yoneda. The first volume of Kudryavka Noumi will be released on August 27, 2011. A tenth, four-panel comic strip manga titled began serialization in the August 2011 issue of Ichijinsha's Manga 4-koma Palette and is illustrated by Misaki Sakura.
There have also been many sets of manga anthologies
produced by different companies and drawn by a multitude of different artists. Six volumes of the earliest anthology series, a collection of four-panel comic strips released by Enterbrain
under the title Magi-Cu
4-koma Little Busters!, were released between September 2007 and July 2008 under their MC Comics imprint. Three volumes of an anthology series released by Ichijinsha
under the title Little Busters! Comic Anthology were released between October 2007 and July 2008 under their DNA Media Comics imprint. Three volumes of an anthology series released by Ohzora under the title Little Busters were released between November 2007 and January 2008 under their Twin Heart Comics imprint. Another anthology was released in a single volume by Harvest on December 20, 2007 entitled . A manga anthology titled appeared in Comp Ace.
Fourteen volumes of a collection of four-panel comic strips released by Enterbrain under the title Magi-Cu 4-koma Little Busters! Ecstasy were released between November 2008 and May 2011. Four volumes of an anthology titled Little Busters! Ecstasy Comic Anthology were released by Ichijinsha between November 2008 and August 2011. Six volumes of the anthology Little Busters! Ecstasy Ecstatic Anthology were released by Ichijinsha between July 2009 and March 2011. An anthology published by Brain Navi titled was released in December 2008. Two volumes of a manga anthology based on the Little Busters! Ecstasy H&H novel anthologies were released by Harvest in June and August 2010. Another anthology titled appeared in Comp Ace and a single volume was released in April 2010. Each of the anthology series are written and drawn by an average of twenty people per volume.
show to promote Little Busters! called had a pre-broadcast on June 9, 2008, and started regular broadcasting on June 23, 2008. The show was hosted by Tomoe Tamiyasu
and Hikaru Midorikawa
, who voice Rin and Kyousuke Natsume from the Little Busters! visual novel, for the first 35 broadcasts. Starting with the following broadcast on March 2, 2009, the show's title was changed to , and a third host was added, Miyako Suzuta
, who voices Kudryavka Noumi from the Little Busters! visual novel. The show's final broadcast, episode 170, was on October 24, 2011. The show was streamed online every Monday, and was produced by the Japanese Internet radio station Onsen.
An exclusive 22-minute broadcast of the show was included with the first press release of Little Busters! Ecstasy sold on July 25, 2008. The first volume of a CD compilation containing the first eight broadcasts (including the pre-broadcast) was sold on August 15, 2008 at Comiket 74
, and was sold for general sale on September 24, 2008. Volumes two through four were released between November 26, 2008 and March 26, 2009, containing the remaining broadcasts of Natsume Brothers! through episode 35. The first volume of a CD compilation for Natsume Brothers! (21) containing the first nine broadcasts was released on June 26, 2009. Volumes two through seven were released between September 25, 2009 and September 22, 2010, containing the broadcasts through episode 63 of Natsume Brothers! (21). Volume eight was released on November 26, 2010, containing the broadcasts from episode 99 to 107; episodes 64 through 98 of Natsume Brothers! (21) were not sold in CD compilation volumes. Volume nine was first sold at Comiket 79 in December 2010, and later for general sale on January 28, 2011, containing the broadcasts from episode 108 to 116. Volumes 10 through 13 were released between May 27 and September 30, 2011, containing the broadcasts through episode 152. An exclusive broadcast of Natsume Brothers! (21) was included with the release of the PlayStation 2 version of the game, Little Busters! Converted Edition, on December 24, 2009.
leitmotif
s—the original six heroines, and Kyousuke Natsume. Rin's theme is "Ring Ring Ring!"; Komari's theme is ; Haruka's theme is ; Kudryavka's theme is ; Yuiko's theme is ; Mio's theme is ; lastly, Kyousuke's theme is "Boys Don't Cry".
Little Busters! Ecstasy features a remix
ed version of "Little Busters!" as the game's opening theme, instead using the version that was included in the album Rockstar Busters!, making slight alterations and renaming it to "Little Busters! (Ecstacy Ver.)". Ecstasy also features remixed versions of the ending themes "Song for friends" and "Alicemagic". The former is a remix version featuring less lyrics and is renamed to "Song for friends (No Intro Ver.)", while the latter is the remix included on Rockstar Busters!, but renamed to "Alicemagic (Rockstar Ver.)". The remix of "Alicemagic" is used as the ending theme for Kanata's and Sasami's stories, and the remix of "Song for friends" is used as a replacement for the original version as the ending theme for Rin and Yuiko. A new theme song featured in Ecstasy is Saya's personal ending theme "Saya's Song" and is sung by Lia
. Saya's leitmotif is called and is a remix version of the song on Riya
's 2005 album Love Song released by Key Sounds Label
. Kanata's leitmotif is "Will&Wish", and Sasami's theme is .
A maxi single
entitled "Little Busters!" was released on May 25, 2007. This first single contained "Little Busters!", "Haruka Kanata", and "Alicemagic" in original and instrumental versions. As with Key's previous works (excluding Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume), a music album came bundled with the limited edition release of the game; the album, released on July 27, 2007, was called Semicrystalline. and contained arranged
versions of ten tracks of the game's music. Eight of the tracks were background music while the last two were remix versions of "Little Busters!" and "Haruka Kanata". The game's original soundtrack was first released on August 17, 2007 at Comiket 72
containing three discs with 43 different tracks along with a piano version of one of the background music tracks, a short version of another BGM track, plus short and instrumental versions of the theme songs. Of the fifty-three total tracks, three were left out of the visual novel. The original soundtrack was re-released in Japanese stores on September 28, 2007. Two more albums were released at Comiket 73 on December 28, 2007: another arrange album entitled Rockstar Busters! and an image song
single called "Rin no Hisoka na Koi no Uta / Mission:Love sniper" sung by Tomoe Tamiyasu
, the voice actress
who voiced Rin in the game.
On February 29, 2008, a trance
remix album
of Little Busters! themes entitled OTSU Club Music Compilation Vol.2 was released by OTSU—a disc jockey
unit composed of a number of different remix artists. An EP
was released on May 4, 2008 containing original and remix versions of "Little Busters!", "Faraway", and "Alicemagic"; the remix versions are from the second OTSU Club Music Compilation album. A remix album
entitled Ontology containing arranged versions of nine tracks from Little Busters! Ecstasy was released bundled with the limited edition release of that game on July 25, 2008. A soundtrack containing the additional music tracks in Ecstasy entitled Little Busters! Ecstasy Tracks was released on August 15, 2008 at Comiket 74. An image song single called "Saya no Nemureru Requiem / Saya's Song" sung by Harumi Sakurai
, the voice actress who voiced Saya in Little Busters! Ecstasy, was released in February 2009 as a limited edition, and for general sale in March 2009. Two more image song singles were released in December 2009 at Comiket 77: "Raison / Pickles o Oishikusuru Tsukurikata" sung by Keiko Suzuki
who voiced Kanata Futaki in Little Busters!, and "Neko to Garasu to Marui Tsuki / Alicemagic (Aroma Tablet mix)" sung by Tomoe Tamiya who voiced Sasami Sasasegawa. Each of the albums released were on Key's record label
Key Sounds Label.
, taken from the Japanese Amazon
website, Little Busters! was the number one top seller between July 26, 2007 and August 17, 2007 for Japanese PC game sales. The game dropped to third highest the following week taken from August 24, 2007, which was also the game's last appearance in the ranking. Little Busters! was the highest selling game for the month of July 2007 on Getchu.com, and dropped to twelfth in the ranking the following month. Regardless of the drop in ratings earlier in the year, Little Busters! ended up as the most widely sold game of 2007 on Getchu.com. A cover version
of "Little Busters!" appeared in the sequel of Front Wing's visual novel Time Leap entitled Time Leap Paradise to be released on July 24, 2009.
From mid-May to mid-July 2008, Little Busters! Ecstasy ranked first in national PC game pre-orders in Japan. The limited edition version of Little Busters! Ecstasy ranked first in terms of national sales of PC games in Japan in July 2008. Ecstasy sold quickly in Akihabara
on its first day of sales, and by the end of the first day about half the stores were already sold out of the game. By the next day, the majority of stores in Akihabara were sold out of Ecstasy. Only four days after Ecstasys initial release, Key reported that many stores were already sold out of the game as well. Three months after Ecstasys initial release, Key reported that the game had already sold over 100,000 units.
Getchu.com hosts a yearly voting poll called the "Getchu.com Bishōjo Game Ranking" where game users vote online for the best games of the previous year in several different categories. For the 2007 ranking, the categories were: overall, scenario, theme songs, background music
, visuals, gameplay system, and heroines. In February 2008, users cast votes for more than 470 different titles released in 2007, and among the rankings, Little Busters! ranked first in all categories aside from visuals (placing third), and gameplay system (placing second). Rin ranked as the number one most popular heroine, while Kudryavka ranked fourth, and Komari ranked thirteenth. For the 2008 ranking, the categories were: overall, scenario, gameplay system, graphics, opening theme video, vocal theme songs, background music, individual characters, individual voices, and game title naming. In early 2009, users cast votes for more than 400 different titles released in 2008, and among the rankings, Little Busters! Ecstasy ranked second overall, second in scenario, third in gameplay system, twelfth in graphics, fifth in opening theme video, third in vocal theme songs, second in background music, fifth (Saya Tokido) and tenth (Kudryavka Noumi) for individual characters, first (Kazane's
role as Saya Tokido) and sixth (Tomoe Tamiyasu
's role as Rin Natsume) for individual voices, and second for game title naming.
title to receive coverage in an entire issue of Dengeki G's Festival!, a special edition version of Dengeki G's Magazine
which is published in irregular intervals each year by ASCII Media Works
; the issue in question was the ninth, published on June 30, 2007. Along with a full eighty pages of information on Little Busters!, the magazine came bundled with a double-sided hug pillowcase
, a small cell phone
cleaner which could also attach to a cell phone, and a B5 size jigsaw puzzle
. ASCII Media Works published the third volume of another special edition version of Dengeki G's Magazine named Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe on June 30, 2008 which had a focus on Little Busters! Ecstasy. Along with again containing about eighty pages of information pertaining to the visual novel, the magazine also comes bundled with an ergonomic
mousepad
, a jigsaw puzzle, and a deck of playing card
s. The third volume of another magazine in the Festival! line, Dengeki G's Festival! Comic, was sold on July 26, 2008 with Rin and Dorj on the cover, and the magazine came bundled with a hug pillowcase, a notepad
, and a B2 size poster.
An art exhibition
of Little Busters! was held in Osaka
, Japan between May 3 and May 4, 2007, and in Tokyo, Japan between May 24 and May 25, 2007. A large amount of the character and background art featured in the game was showcased, along with original art used to promote the character artwork, and other production sketches drawn when the game was still in development. Flowchart
s outlining the story for the game were on display, along with the flowcharts for Clannad. Also at the exhibition was a life-size mannequin
of Rin Natsume with a baseball glove
in one hand, though instead of a baseball, a cat was in the glove. This mannequin was later put onto the Japanese Yahoo!
Auction
website in late September 2007 and sold for 764,000 yen
(about US$
6,500), a far cry from the original wish of selling the figure for 5,000,000 yen (about US$42,600).
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
developed by Key
Key (company)
Key is a Japanese visual novel studio which formed on July 21, 1998 as a brand under the publisher Visual Art's and is located in Kita, Osaka, Japan. Key released their debut visual novel Kanon in June 1999, which combined an elaborate storyline, an up-to-date anime-style drawing style, and a...
which was originally released, rated for everyone as a limited edition version, on July 27, 2007 playable on a Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
; a regular edition, also rated for everyone, followed on September 28, 2007. Little Busters! is Key's sixth game, along with other titles such as Kanon
Kanon
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and originally released as an adult game on June 4, 1999, playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. An all ages version for the PC was released in January 2000, and was later ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable...
, Air, and Clannad. Despite the first two releases of Little Busters! having a rating for everyone, there were still some suggestive computer graphics
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
that provided fan service
Fan service
, fanservice, or , is a term originating from anime and manga fandom for material in a series which is intentionally added to please the audience. It is about "servicing" the fan - giving the fans "exactly what they want"...
shots. An adult version
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
of the game entitled Little Busters! Ecstasy was released on July 25, 2008, unlike Kanon and Air, which were first released with adult content and then had later versions with such content removed. The title Little Busters! comes from a group of friends in the story named the Little Busters of which the main protagonist, Riki Naoe, has been a member since childhood. In June 2010, Key released an adult spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of Ecstasy called Kud Wafter
Kud Wafter
is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Key and was released on June 25, 2010 as a DVD playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. The game is Key's eighth similar game in its history. Focusing on the title character Kudryavka Noumi, also known as for short, the gameplay follows a plot line which...
, which expanded on the scenario of Kudryavka Noumi, one of the heroines from Little Busters! and Ecstasy.
The gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
in Little Busters! follows a plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the six female main characters, which increases to nine in Ecstasy. There are additional minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s added into the gameplay, such as sequences that resemble fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s or baseball games, which serve to give the characters experience, obtain accessories to use during battle, and improve their statistics
Statistic (role-playing games)
A statistic in role-playing games is a piece of data which represents a particular aspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a integer or, in some cases, a set of dice....
. The game had an extended developmental staff which incorporated new members to the roles of an additional art director, scenario writer, and to work on the game's soundtrack.
There have been five manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptations based on Little Busters! and five based on Little Busters! Ecstasy. Two are serialized in ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
' Dengeki G's Magazine
Dengeki G's Magazine
is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and serializes manga and light novels based on such games. The "G's" in the title...
, another four are serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Festival! Comic, two are in Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
's Comp Ace
Comp Ace
is a Japanese computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. Comp Ace began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, Comptiq. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and was published quarterly for the first three volumes which had cover...
, one is in Ichijinsha
Ichijinsha
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga-related publication, including magazines and books. The company was first established in August 1992 as a limited company under the name Studio DNA which main purpose was to edit shōnen manga. In January 1998, Studio DNA became a public company and...
's Comic Rex
Comic Rex
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Ichijinsha. The first issue was sold on December 9, 2005, and is sold monthly on the ninth. Manga collected into bound volumes which were serialized in this magazine are published under Ichijinsha's imprint...
, and one is in Ichijinsha's Manga 4-koma Palette. A series of illustrated short stories were also serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine. An Internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
show aired between June 2008 and October 2011 hosted by the voice actors
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
of Rin and Kyousuke Natsume and Kudryavka Noumi.
Gameplay
Little Busters! gameplayGameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that appears on the game screen which represents either dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
between the various characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two or three at a time. The time between these decision points is variable and can occur anywhere from a minute to much longer. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes.
In the original release, there are six main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. This is expanded to nine plot lines in Little Busters! Ecstasy due to two of the supporting cast being promoted to heroine status, plus the addition of a brand new character. In order to view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot to an alternate direction. Once a scenario for any heroine is completed, that scenario will be unavailable in the next play through because the last choice that will ultimately lead to that heroine's scenario becomes unavailable for players to choose. After the scenarios for the heroines have been completed, a final scenario called Refrain is made available which serves to bring everything to a definite conclusion and answers questions brought up throughout the normal gameplay. Completing the final scenario also again makes available all the heroine's scenarios that were previously made inaccessible during gameplay so that the player can revisit the scenarios again if he or she wishes, along with some extra decision points that were unavailable previously.
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
, but no interaction from the player is required to fight. Each member of the fight has a set of statistics
Statistic (role-playing games)
A statistic in role-playing games is a piece of data which represents a particular aspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a integer or, in some cases, a set of dice....
attributed to them (which includes strength, stamina, agility, reflex, concentration, judgment, and luck) along with a life bar to keep track of how many hit points a fighter has left. The maximum number of hit points is determined by the given fighter's stamina rating. Weapons may be used along with any accessories the fighter has in their possession. There are additional "missions" that the members of the Little Busters will do to accomplish some goal that depends on the choices of the player whether the mission will be completed or failed. These missions are connected with the fighting game sequences and batting practice in that they serve to give the characters experience, obtain accessories to use during battle, and improve their statistics. However, these missions do not affect the main plot in any way—the player even has the choice to turn off some of the events, such as fighting games or batting practice, so that the player may focus on the main plot.
The first time that the game is played, Rin's statistics are too weak, but when the player completes several heroine's routes, Rin and Riki's statistics will start out higher than before when the player starts a new game, allowing Rin and Riki to stand a better chance against opponents with higher stats. Throughout the game, the player needs to direct Riki by choosing appropriate choices at decision points in order to solve the problem each girl is facing, excluding only Rin.
Despite the original release of Little Busters! having a rating for everyone, there is an ample amount of computer graphics
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
featuring the female characters in risqué situations, though never to the point to be considered sexual
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
in nature. This is in stark contrast to Key's previous titles Clannad and Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume that also have ratings for everyone, but those titles contain no such risqué situations or even any fan service
Fan service
, fanservice, or , is a term originating from anime and manga fandom for material in a series which is intentionally added to please the audience. It is about "servicing" the fan - giving the fans "exactly what they want"...
. Adult
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
elements to the game were added to the third release of the game, Little Busters! Ecstasy, along with additional story for the established scenarios and new scenarios for Kanata Futaki and Sasami Sasasegawa—two supporting characters from the original release. Also, a new heroine named Saya Tokido is only featured in Ecstasy. The new heroines' stories are unavailable to the player the first time the game is played.
Setting and themes
The main part of the story takes place at a high school in Japan. There is a "secret of this world" that Kyousuke speaks of; Kengo and Masato are also aware of this. The characters live in either the male or female dormitoriesDormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
on the school grounds which are adjacent to each other. Facing the dorms is the main school building where classes take place which also houses the cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
on the ground floor. The school is four floors tall and offers a roof that anyone can go up onto if they wish. Beyond the main school building is the large schoolyard, with the pool area adjacent to the yard. On the other side of the field, is the baseball field, with the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
and tennis court beyond it which is closer to the main school building.
Childhood and adolescence
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
are two important themes in Little Busters!. The opening video of the visual novel starts with two lines written in English: "What 'Adolescence' do you have?" and "Do you remember 'Childhood'?". Riki Naoe, the male protagonist, has four childhood friends whom he grew up together with through adolescence and still hangs out with when the story begins. Thus, friendship is another theme presented in the form of Riki's relationships with his friends in high school, and is thought to be irreplaceable. The opening video of the original visual novel contains a third line written in English, "The irreplaceable one existed there," though another line was added into the opening video of Little Busters! Ecstasy: "This will remind you that you have to recollect 'Adolescence'."
Principal characters
The player assumes the role of Riki Naoe, the protagonist of Little Busters!. He is seen as weak due to his girlish appearance and physical build but is very straightforward and has more common sense than most of his friends. He is a member of a group of friends called the Little Busters, which originally consisted of four members, but expanded to five with Riki during his childhood, and later to ten over the course of the story which includes the game's six heroines. The leader of the Little Busters is Kyousuke Natsume, who is the eldest member. He often comes up with absurd ideas, but almost always follows up with a reasonable explanation along with it. He suffers from a lolita complexLolicon
, also romanised as lolikon or rorikon, is a Japanese portmanteau of the phrase "Lolita complex". In Japan, the term describes an attraction to underage girls or an individual with such an attraction...
, though he denies it.
Kyousuke's younger sister is Rin Natsume, the main heroine of Little Busters!, and is initially the only female member of the Little Busters. She does not communicate well with others due to her poor social skills and can be seen as inarticulate. Due to this, she is anti-social, and is usually seen alone. Rin loves cats and at school takes care of several strays; it is not uncommon for several cats to crawl onto her. Riki's roommate and fellow member of the Little Busters is Masato Inohara who loves to work out and improve his muscle mass. He has a particular fondness for Riki, which he is more than willing to express out aloud. Masato's rival and fellow member of the Little Busters is Kengo Miyazawa who is skilled in the art of kendo
Kendo
, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
and seemingly has a cynical personality, but his passion for the Little Busters is unmatched by any of the other members.
Riki meets five other girls attending his high school who later become members of the Little Busters; they are also all heroines in the game. The first is Komari Kamikita, a very childish girl who takes great interest in fairy-tales, picture book
Picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
s, candy, and clothing with many layers of frill
Ruffle
In sewing and dressmaking, a ruffle, frill, or furbelow is a strip of fabric, lace or ribbon tightly gathered or pleated on one edge and applied to a garment, bedding, or other textile as a form of trimming...
s. She is very clumsy, and will often not think before she acts. She performs well in her studies and is also surprisingly athletic, though this is somewhat hampered by the fact that she is quite weak and has never participated in any sport properly before. Haruka Saigusa is a schoolmate of Riki's from a different class, but despite this, always seems to find time to hang around in Riki's classroom. She is a problem child and will start an uproar for her own personal enjoyment, which causes her twin sister, the public morals chairman Kanata Futaki, to chase after her.
Kudryavka Noumi, known as for short, is a girl who is one quarter Japanese, and three-quarters Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. Her grandfather was Japanese, and per his influence on her, she came to know much about the Japanese culture, including the language. Despite having a poor handle on the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, she was able to skip a year in school due to credits obtained through studying abroad
Study abroad
Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students...
, making her the youngest member of the Little Busters. Kudryavka will appear in Key's eighth game, Kud Wafter
Kud Wafter
is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Key and was released on June 25, 2010 as a DVD playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. The game is Key's eighth similar game in its history. Focusing on the title character Kudryavka Noumi, also known as for short, the gameplay follows a plot line which...
, as the main heroine. Yuiko Kurugaya is Riki's classmate who has a self-sufficient personality, and is sometimes seen carrying a replica
Replica
A replica is a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance. An inverted replica complements the original by filling its gaps. It can be a copy used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference...
of a katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
called Muramasa. She is seen as an older sister to everyone despite being the same age of almost the entire cast, and is referred to as by Haruka. She is fond of things or people she considers to be cute, such as several of the female cast of characters. Mio Nishizono is a calm girl who is very diligent. Due to having weak health, she is always seen with a parasol
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
when outside. She enjoys reading, especially when the story contains boys love elements, and her room is filled with books. She carries around a book of poems by Bokusui Wakayama.
Story
Little Busters! story revolves around the main protagonist Riki Naoe, a young male high school student. When Riki was a child, his parents died, leaving him hopeless and depressed. A group of three young boys and one girl his age saved him who referred to themselves as the Little Busters, a group dedicated to fighting evil and preserving justice. The leader of the group was Kyousuke Natsume who had a younger sister named Rin. The other two members were Masato Inohara and Kengo Miyazawa, who were rivalsSports rivalry
A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the...
despite being friends. They took Riki out and played together with him during his time of need, making him the fifth Little Busters member. In time, Riki enjoyed playing with them, and his grief over his parents gradually faded away. When the story begins, Riki and his friends are seemingly in their second year of high school, except for Kyousuke who is in his third year. They still hang out together, and enjoy their school life.
The story opens on Sunday May 13, 2007, and the next day at school, Kyousuke decides that the Little Busters are going to play a baseball game, except they do not have enough members to have a complete team. Kyousuke gives Riki and Rin the task of going around school to find more members to join, preferably girls so as not to leave Rin the lone girl. Riki finds five girls his age willing to help him out. They are: Komari Kamikita, a childish girl who is very clumsy; Haruka Saigusa, a problem child who likes to start uproars for her own enjoyment; Kudryavka Noumi, a one-quarter Japanese girl in the home economics
Family and consumer science
Family and consumer sciences is an academic discipline that combines aspects of social and natural science. Family and consumer sciences deals with the relationship between individuals, families, and communities, and the environment in which they live...
club who is very bad in English; Yuiko Kurugaya, a girl who is given respect from her peers, and has a self-sufficient personality; and Mio Nishizono, a calm girl with a weak body who is always seen holding a parasol
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
when outside. Throughout the game, Riki hangs out with these girls and learns more about them.
The story's main par takes place in what seems to be a normal high school, but in fact all took place in the school term previous to Little Busters!, and Riki and Rin are reliving it in an artificial world created by Kyousuke. They, and the other main characters, were involved in a bus accident during a school excursion
Field trip
A field trip or excursion, known as school trip in the UK and school tour in Ireland, is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment...
, and only the two of them will survive. Kyousuke created the artificial world to make them strong enough to deal with what will happen when they awaken in the real world. The world loops
Time loop
A time loop or temporal loop is a common plot device in science fiction in which time runs normally for a set period but then skips back like a broken record. When the time loop "resets", the memories of most characters are reset...
, but though they forget what happens, Riki and Rin do grow stronger, and Kyousuke hopes that they will eventually be strong enough to leave the world. They do manage to survive and get away from the crash site before Riki collapses because he has narcolepsy
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, or dyssomnia, characterized by excessive sleepiness and sleep attacks at inappropriate times, such as while at work. People with narcolepsy often experience disturbed nocturnal sleep and an abnormal daytime sleep pattern, which often is confused with insomnia...
. Riki vows to fight against his narcoleptic condition, which was the reason why he was only able to save Rin and merely get away from the explosion before collapsing.
Rin travels back into the artificial world again (which is created by Riki and Rin) where she uses Komari's star-shaped hair band to send herself and Riki back in time to the crash site. It is revealed that Kyousuke, who sneaked onto the bus (as a third year he was not allowed to go), managed to block the leak hole on the gas tank to prevent the explosion, despite his injuries being far greater than anyone else. Due to this, Riki and Rin work together to save everyone including Kyousuke at the crash scene. Everyone in the bus recovers from their injuries, although Kyousuke's recovery takes longer due to extensive injuries. Right after Kyousuke returns, which takes even longer than usual since he was trying to earn a driver's license
Driver's license
A driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
, the members of the Little Busters set out for another trip.
Development
For the first time in Key's history, two artists were given the position of art director for the visual novel: Itaru HinoueItaru Hinoue
is a female Japanese artist from Osaka, Japan, and is one of the founding members of the software company Key. Hinoue's choice of her pseudonym stems from the manga C by Shō Kitagawa; the protagonist in the manga was named...
and Na-Ga
Na-Ga
Na-Ga is a male Japanese artist who is employed as a graphic designer and illustrator for the company Key known for such famous visual novels as Kanon, Air, and Clannad among others...
. Hinoue has been Key's signature art director since Key's first game Kanon
Kanon
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and originally released as an adult game on June 4, 1999, playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. An all ages version for the PC was released in January 2000, and was later ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable...
, and Na-Ga has been with Key since the production of Air working as one of the computer graphics artists to render background art used in Key's games. Due to having two art directors, character design was split between the two, though Na-Ga is responsible for the character design of the majority of the cast. Of the six heroines in the story, three were designed by each artist; Komari, Haruka, and Yuiko were designed by Hinoue while Rin, Kudryavka, and Mio were done by Na-Ga. For work on the scenario, Jun Maeda
Jun Maeda
is a Japanese writer working for the software company Key; he has majorly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the visual novels the company produces. His birth name in kanji was written as , though there is no change in pronunciation...
contributed along with helping with composing
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
some of the game's music. Little Busters! is to be the last game that Maeda will contribute to through work on the scenario. Further writers include Leo Kashida who had worked on Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life, and two new scenario writers to Key—Yūto Tonokawa
Yuto Tonokawa
is a Japanese scenario writer originally from Saitama, Japan working for the visual novel developing company Key under Visual Art's. He began working with Key on their sixth game Little Busters! and wrote the scenarios for two of the main heroines: Komari Kamikita, and Yuiko Kurugaya. Tonokawa also...
, and Chika Shirokiri. Maeda wrote the scenarios for Rin and the entire male cast; Kashida wrote the scenario for Mio; Tonokawa wrote the scenarios for Komari and Yuiko; finally, Shirokiri wrote the scenarios for Haruka and Kudryavka. The music in the game, not counting Maeda's, was composed by four additional people including Key's signature composers Shinji Orito
Shinji Orito
is a Japanese musical composer originally from Hyōgo, Japan working for the software company Key. Before forming Key, Orito worked for another software company named Leaf where he contributed to four games...
and Magome Togoshi
Magome Togoshi
is a Japanese video game composer for visual novel studios. He began work as a composer in 2000 where he started working for the software company Key under Visual Art's to produce music for Air. Between then and 2006, Togoshi helped compose music for four more titles by Key, along with other games...
, and two new composers—Manack and PMMK. Togoshi left Key in October 2006 before the visual novel went on sale.
Release history
On June 1, 2007, a free game demoGame demo
A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
of Little Busters! became available for download at Key's official website. In the demo, the player was introduced to the characters of the Little Busters group in the game through a short sequence that is typical of the gameplay found in a visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
. The demo did not give the player the chance to interact with the scene presented, making the demo a short kinetic novel
KineticNovel
is a brand of the Japanese software publishing company Visual Art's. Visual novels produced on the KineticNovel label are not done like other traditional visual novels in that no choices are given to the player to advance the story in alternate directions, and there is only one end...
. The full game was released in Japan as a limited edition version on July 27, 2007 as a DVD playable only on a Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
. The regular edition was released on September 28, 2007. The limited edition contained an arrange
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
album of some of the music featured in the game, and a 128-page visual guide book entitled . The book contained information and images on characters, background CG
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
, the art exhibition, images of the heroines published in various Japanese anime and gaming magazines, a question and answer section, information on the creators of the game, and lyrics of a couple of songs featured in the game. In an interview of Jun Maeda
Jun Maeda
is a Japanese writer working for the software company Key; he has majorly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the visual novels the company produces. His birth name in kanji was written as , though there is no change in pronunciation...
and Yūto Tonokawa
Yuto Tonokawa
is a Japanese scenario writer originally from Saitama, Japan working for the visual novel developing company Key under Visual Art's. He began working with Key on their sixth game Little Busters! and wrote the scenarios for two of the main heroines: Komari Kamikita, and Yuiko Kurugaya. Tonokawa also...
in the August 2007 issue of Push!!
Push!!
is a Japanese magazine published by Max that focuses on adult games. Each issue includes a DVD supplement. It was first published in 1993 under the name of . Originally published by Shinyusha, the magazine transferred to the publisher Max....
, it was reported that the story of Little Busters! is twice as long as Air's, but only half as long as Clannad's. However, this does not take into account the minigames in Little Busters! which serve to lengthen the game.
An adult
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
version of the game under the title , or Little Busters-EX for short, was released as a limited edition version on July 25, 2008 as two DVDs playable only on a Microsoft Windows PC; the regular edition followed on September 26, 2008. The limited edition came bundled with a remix album
Remix album
A remix album is an album consisting mostly of remixes or re-recorded versions of a music artists' earlier released material.One of the earliest remix albums was 1971's Aerial Pandemonium Ballet by Harry Nilsson, which was released by Nilsson after the successes of Everybody's Talkin and The Point!...
of music featured in the game, and a 22-minute length CD containing a special broadcast of the Little Busters! Internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
show. Ecstasy contains new scenarios and new CGs, which includes two of the supporting female characters—Kanata Futaki and Sasami Sasasegawa—being promoted to heroines of the game, in much the same fashion as the existing female lead characters, along with the introduction of an entirely new heroine named Saya Tokido designed by Na-Ga and whose story is written by Jun Maeda. Tonokawa wrote Sasami's scenario, and Shirokiri wrote Kanata's story. Lines from the original game were rewritten as well for Ecstasy, and the total number of lines with spoken dialogue comes to 43,347 lines. The total word count in Ecstasy exceeds that of Clannad by about 4000 words, making it Key's longest work, and carries so much data that Ecstasy was released on two DVDs instead of one for the original release.
It was not decided until three or four months before the initial sale of Little Busters! that Ecstasy would be created. The regular edition for Ecstasy has several minor additions and changes to scenarios and minigames, including the addition of weapons available for use in the battle minigames. An updated version, 1.01, for the limited edition of Ecstasy was released by Key for free on their website on September 22, 2008; the regular edition of Ecstasy contains this update. An all-ages version of Ecstasy for the PC was released by Key on July 31, 2009 in a box set containing five other Key visual novels called Key 10th Memorial Box. Prototype
Prototype (company)
is a Japanese software company established on March 27, 2006 by Toshio Tabeta, a former producer of Interchannel. While still with Interchannel, Tabeta's team was responsible for mainly developing and publishing versions of visual novels originally published by Visual Art's for consumer platforms...
released a PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
(PS2) port of Ecstasy entitled Little Busters! Converted Edition on December 24, 2009, which removed the adult
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
elements of the game. The PS2 version was available to try at Key 10th Memorial Fes, an event held in commemoration of Key's ten-year anniversary between February 28 and March 1, 2009. A PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
version of Little Busters! Converted Edition, also by Prototype, was released on November 25, 2010. Prototype will also release a version of Little Busters! Converted Edition ported to the PlayStation Vita, on February 23, 2012.
Books and publications
A series of twelve short storiesShort story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
were serialized in the Japanese bishōjo
Bishojo
is a Japanese term used to refer to young and pretty girls, usually below university age. Bishōjo is not listed as a word in the prominent Japanese dictionary Kōjien...
magazine Dengeki G's Magazine
Dengeki G's Magazine
is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and serializes manga and light novels based on such games. The "G's" in the title...
, published by ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
. The stories, under the collective title Official Episode Collection, were published in two batches: the first six stories were published between the March 2006 and August 2006 issues, while the second batch of six were serialized between the October 2006 and March 2007 issues. In each of the two batches, one of the six stories centered on one of the six heroines, and were accompanied by a large image of the given heroine which took up most of the space for the first page in each story. This configuration left a small block of text on the first page, followed by usually a full page of text, with the given heroine's image used as a backdrop. Komari, Haruka, and Yuiko were drawn by Itaru Hinoue
Itaru Hinoue
is a female Japanese artist from Osaka, Japan, and is one of the founding members of the software company Key. Hinoue's choice of her pseudonym stems from the manga C by Shō Kitagawa; the protagonist in the manga was named...
, and Rin, Kudryavka, and Mio were drawn by Na-Ga
Na-Ga
Na-Ga is a male Japanese artist who is employed as a graphic designer and illustrator for the company Key known for such famous visual novels as Kanon, Air, and Clannad among others...
. The stories were written by the respective scenario writer for each girl: Jun Maeda
Jun Maeda
is a Japanese writer working for the software company Key; he has majorly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the visual novels the company produces. His birth name in kanji was written as , though there is no change in pronunciation...
wrote Rin's, Leo Kashida wrote Mio's, Yūto Tonokawa
Yuto Tonokawa
is a Japanese scenario writer originally from Saitama, Japan working for the visual novel developing company Key under Visual Art's. He began working with Key on their sixth game Little Busters! and wrote the scenarios for two of the main heroines: Komari Kamikita, and Yuiko Kurugaya. Tonokawa also...
wrote Komari's and Yuiko's, and Chika Shirokiri wrote Haruka's and Kudryavka's stories.
A single-volume light novel
Light novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
was released by Ichijinsha
Ichijinsha
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga-related publication, including magazines and books. The company was first established in August 1992 as a limited company under the name Studio DNA which main purpose was to edit shōnen manga. In January 1998, Studio DNA became a public company and...
on January 25, 2008 under their DMC Novel imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
entitled Little Busters! Novel Anthology. The anthology was written by six authors, and illustrated by six artists. Four volumes of a short story compilation series by several authors entitled Little Busters! SSS were published by Harvest between April and November 2008. Harvest published a novel by Tasuku Saika entitled in September 2008. Ten volumes of another short story compilation series by several authors called Little Busters! Ecstasy SSS were published by Harvest between January 2009 and October 2010. Five volumes of an adult novel series entitled Little Busters! Ecstasy H&H written by several authors were published by Harvest between February and June 2009. Harvest published a novel by Osamu Murata entitled in March 2009.
Two volumes of a short story anthology compilation series written by Shin'ichirō Kodama, Ken'ichi Itoi, and Kachō entitled were released between May and July 2009. Paradigm
Paradigm (publisher)
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. The company mainly publishes novels based on adult visual novel video games....
published a light novel anthology character series in three volumes titled Little Busters! Ecstasy Anthology between February and June 2010. Harvest published a light novel anthology character series in three volumes titled Little Busters! Ecstasy Character Anthology between June and December 2010. Harvest published an illustrated short story anthology titled Little Busters! Ecstasy 4-Page Short Story Collection in October 2010. Paradigm published two volumes of a light novel collection between December 2010 and April 2011.
An art book entitled was released on December 20, 2007. Published by ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
, the 206-page, hard-cover bound book contains a compilation of the published and promotional art from the visual novel, detailed character profiles and memo sections, and an overview of the visual novel's plot. Also included are all the CG
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
cut scenes from the game, concept illustrations, staff interviews, as well as a short story written by Yūto Tonokawa. A short section at the end of the book finally concludes the compilation with the melodic sheet music and lyrics of the vocal songs featured in the game. Included with the actual book were two pencil boards
Shitajiki
Shitajiki is a Japanese word for various types of materials placed under a sheet of paper for writing, either to prevent marking on the sheets below or to provide a better surface for writing...
. The statistics of the battle equipment used in the mini-games were listed on one of the boards. Another art book entitled was released on December 19, 2008 by ASCII Media Works.
Manga
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
entitled Little Busters! The 4-koma was serialized between the March 2006 and March 2010 issues of ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
' Dengeki G's Magazine
Dengeki G's Magazine
is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and serializes manga and light novels based on such games. The "G's" in the title...
. The story was inspired from the visual novel and is illustrated by Yūya Sasagiri. Most chapters contain eight pages, and 15 separate comic strips. Some chapters such as 17 and 22 begin as a normal manga layout and follow with eight pages containing 16 comic strips. An additional "extra" chapter, published in the ninth volume of Dengeki G's Festival! on June 30, 2007, contained ten pages, and 19 full-color comic strips. Special chapters of the manga have been published in ASCII Media Works's manga magazine Dengeki G's Festival! Comic. The first tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volume was released on August 27, 2007, and was published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Comics EX
Dengeki Comics
is a manga publishing label affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works and is aimed at a male audience. Aside from the main Dengeki Comics label, there is the related Dengeki Comics EX label which publishes a lesser number of manga volumes...
imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
. The end of the first volume also contained a bonus
Omake
means extra in Japanese. Its primary meaning is general and widespread. It is used as an anime and manga fandom term to mean "extra or bonus". In USA, the term is most often used in a narrow sense by anime fans to describe special features on DVD releases: deleted scenes, interviews with the...
comic in a normal manga layout as well as two pages of comments by four Key
Key (company)
Key is a Japanese visual novel studio which formed on July 21, 1998 as a brand under the publisher Visual Art's and is located in Kita, Osaka, Japan. Key released their debut visual novel Kanon in June 1999, which combined an elaborate storyline, an up-to-date anime-style drawing style, and a...
staff members: Itaru Hinoue
Itaru Hinoue
is a female Japanese artist from Osaka, Japan, and is one of the founding members of the software company Key. Hinoue's choice of her pseudonym stems from the manga C by Shō Kitagawa; the protagonist in the manga was named...
, Jun Maeda
Jun Maeda
is a Japanese writer working for the software company Key; he has majorly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the visual novels the company produces. His birth name in kanji was written as , though there is no change in pronunciation...
, Na-Ga
Na-Ga
Na-Ga is a male Japanese artist who is employed as a graphic designer and illustrator for the company Key known for such famous visual novels as Kanon, Air, and Clannad among others...
, and Yūto Tonokawa. The fourth and final volume was released on April 27, 2010. Yūya Sasagiri also illustrates the Little Busters! EX The 4-koma four-panel comic strip manga, which had a preview in the April 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine and began regular serialization in the June 2010 issue. The first volume for Little Busters! EX The 4-koma was released on February 26, 2011.
Another manga titled Little Busters! and illustrated by Nobuyuki Takagi
Nobuyuki Takagi
is a male Japanese manga author. He originally worked as an electrical engineer and published dōjinshi under the pen name "Boo", though he wanted to create manga professionally...
started serialization in Dengeki G's Festival! Comic on November 26, 2007. The first volume of Takagi's Little Busters! manga was released on April 27, 2009; the third followed on April 27, 2011. A fourth manga, titled Little Busters! and referred to as the "official Little Busters! comic", began serialization in the May 2008 issue of Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
's magazine Comp Ace
Comp Ace
is a Japanese computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. Comp Ace began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, Comptiq. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and was published quarterly for the first three volumes which had cover...
and is illustrated by Mogura Anagura
Mogura Anagura
is a Japanese manga author who has created mostly dōjinshi, but is also the illustrator of the third Little Busters! manga adaptation which began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine Comp Ace on March 26, 2008.-External links:*...
. The first volume of Anagura's Little Busters! manga was released on September 26, 2008, and the second volume followed in April 2010.
A fifth manga adaptation titled was serialized in Dengeki G's Festival! Comic between January 26, 2009 and February 23, 2010 and is illustrated by Zen. A single volume of Saya Tokido School Revolution was released on April 27, 2010. Zen also illustrated the manga, which was serialized in Dengeki G's Festival! Comic between June 26, 2010 and April 26, 2011. A single volume of Sasami Sasasegawa Black Cat Fantasia was released on May 27, 2011. Zen illustrates the manga as well, which began serialization in Dengeki G's Festival! Comic on June 23, 2011.
An eighth manga titled began serialization in the May 2010 issue of Comp Ace and is illustrated by Juri Misaki
Juri Misaki
is a female Japanese manga artist notable for drawing the Clannad manga. She is also known by the pet name .-External links:*...
. The first volume of Wonderbit Wandering was released on September 25, 2010; the second followed on April 26, 2011. A ninth manga titled began serialization in the April 2011 issue of Ichijinsha
Ichijinsha
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga-related publication, including magazines and books. The company was first established in August 1992 as a limited company under the name Studio DNA which main purpose was to edit shōnen manga. In January 1998, Studio DNA became a public company and...
's Comic Rex
Comic Rex
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Ichijinsha. The first issue was sold on December 9, 2005, and is sold monthly on the ninth. Manga collected into bound volumes which were serialized in this magazine are published under Ichijinsha's imprint...
and is illustrated by Kazusa Yoneda. The first volume of Kudryavka Noumi will be released on August 27, 2011. A tenth, four-panel comic strip manga titled began serialization in the August 2011 issue of Ichijinsha's Manga 4-koma Palette and is illustrated by Misaki Sakura.
There have also been many sets of manga anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
produced by different companies and drawn by a multitude of different artists. Six volumes of the earliest anthology series, a collection of four-panel comic strips released by Enterbrain
Enterbrain
is a Japanese magazine publisher established on April 1, 2000. Enterbrain magazines are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy guides. In addition, the company publishes a small selection of anime artbooks. Enterbrain is based in Tokyo, Japan...
under the title Magi-Cu
Magi-Cu
was a Japanese manga magazine published by Enterbrain and was sold monthly on the twenty-fifth. The name comes from the phrase Magical Cute. The magazine was first published on April 27, 2001 under the title Magi-Cu Premium. It kept that title for three years until 2004, when it was changed to...
4-koma Little Busters!, were released between September 2007 and July 2008 under their MC Comics imprint. Three volumes of an anthology series released by Ichijinsha
Ichijinsha
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga-related publication, including magazines and books. The company was first established in August 1992 as a limited company under the name Studio DNA which main purpose was to edit shōnen manga. In January 1998, Studio DNA became a public company and...
under the title Little Busters! Comic Anthology were released between October 2007 and July 2008 under their DNA Media Comics imprint. Three volumes of an anthology series released by Ohzora under the title Little Busters were released between November 2007 and January 2008 under their Twin Heart Comics imprint. Another anthology was released in a single volume by Harvest on December 20, 2007 entitled . A manga anthology titled appeared in Comp Ace.
Fourteen volumes of a collection of four-panel comic strips released by Enterbrain under the title Magi-Cu 4-koma Little Busters! Ecstasy were released between November 2008 and May 2011. Four volumes of an anthology titled Little Busters! Ecstasy Comic Anthology were released by Ichijinsha between November 2008 and August 2011. Six volumes of the anthology Little Busters! Ecstasy Ecstatic Anthology were released by Ichijinsha between July 2009 and March 2011. An anthology published by Brain Navi titled was released in December 2008. Two volumes of a manga anthology based on the Little Busters! Ecstasy H&H novel anthologies were released by Harvest in June and August 2010. Another anthology titled appeared in Comp Ace and a single volume was released in April 2010. Each of the anthology series are written and drawn by an average of twenty people per volume.
Internet radio show
An Internet radioInternet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
show to promote Little Busters! called had a pre-broadcast on June 9, 2008, and started regular broadcasting on June 23, 2008. The show was hosted by Tomoe Tamiyasu
Tomoe Tamiyasu
is a female Japanese voice actress and singer, generally performing for adult games, and is from Hiroshima, Japan. She debuted in 2005 as a voice actress and started her singing career in 2006. Tomoe has been the host of three Internet radio shows, and has been a guest on a fourth...
and Hikaru Midorikawa
Hikaru Midorikawa
is a Japanese voice actor from Otawara, Tochigi who is represented by Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Softon in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Tamahome in Fushigi Yugi, Seiran Shi in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Heero Yuy in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Kaede Rukawa in Slam Dunk, Zelgadis Greywords in...
, who voice Rin and Kyousuke Natsume from the Little Busters! visual novel, for the first 35 broadcasts. Starting with the following broadcast on March 2, 2009, the show's title was changed to , and a third host was added, Miyako Suzuta
Miyako Suzuta
is a female Japanese voice actress mainly for adult visual novels. She is also known by the name .-Voice roles:*Angel Type as Miyū Yuzuki*Anonymous as Aya Shiomi*Aozora no Mieru Oka as Haruna Nishimura*Arpeggio Kimi Iro no Melody as Aya Hirose...
, who voices Kudryavka Noumi from the Little Busters! visual novel. The show's final broadcast, episode 170, was on October 24, 2011. The show was streamed online every Monday, and was produced by the Japanese Internet radio station Onsen.
An exclusive 22-minute broadcast of the show was included with the first press release of Little Busters! Ecstasy sold on July 25, 2008. The first volume of a CD compilation containing the first eight broadcasts (including the pre-broadcast) was sold on August 15, 2008 at Comiket 74
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
, and was sold for general sale on September 24, 2008. Volumes two through four were released between November 26, 2008 and March 26, 2009, containing the remaining broadcasts of Natsume Brothers! through episode 35. The first volume of a CD compilation for Natsume Brothers! (21) containing the first nine broadcasts was released on June 26, 2009. Volumes two through seven were released between September 25, 2009 and September 22, 2010, containing the broadcasts through episode 63 of Natsume Brothers! (21). Volume eight was released on November 26, 2010, containing the broadcasts from episode 99 to 107; episodes 64 through 98 of Natsume Brothers! (21) were not sold in CD compilation volumes. Volume nine was first sold at Comiket 79 in December 2010, and later for general sale on January 28, 2011, containing the broadcasts from episode 108 to 116. Volumes 10 through 13 were released between May 27 and September 30, 2011, containing the broadcasts through episode 152. An exclusive broadcast of Natsume Brothers! (21) was included with the release of the PlayStation 2 version of the game, Little Busters! Converted Edition, on December 24, 2009.
Music
The visual novel Little Busters! has six main theme songs, starting with the opening theme "Little Busters!", sung by Rita. There are four different ending themes; three depend on what heroine's story is completed, and the last is the game's final ending theme. The ending theme for Rin and Yuiko's stories is "Song for friends"; the ending theme for Komari and Haruka is "Alicemagic"; the ending theme for Kudryavka and Mio is ; lastly, the final ending theme is "Little Busters! (Little Jumper Ver.)". One last theme song is an insert song played near the end of the game's story called . The insert song and each of the ending themes are also sung by Rita. When the visual novel is completed at least once, a set of 45 music tracks are available to play on the menu screen. Seven of the main characters from Little Busters! have background musicBackground music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
s—the original six heroines, and Kyousuke Natsume. Rin's theme is "Ring Ring Ring!"; Komari's theme is ; Haruka's theme is ; Kudryavka's theme is ; Yuiko's theme is ; Mio's theme is ; lastly, Kyousuke's theme is "Boys Don't Cry".
Little Busters! Ecstasy features a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed version of "Little Busters!" as the game's opening theme, instead using the version that was included in the album Rockstar Busters!, making slight alterations and renaming it to "Little Busters! (Ecstacy Ver.)". Ecstasy also features remixed versions of the ending themes "Song for friends" and "Alicemagic". The former is a remix version featuring less lyrics and is renamed to "Song for friends (No Intro Ver.)", while the latter is the remix included on Rockstar Busters!, but renamed to "Alicemagic (Rockstar Ver.)". The remix of "Alicemagic" is used as the ending theme for Kanata's and Sasami's stories, and the remix of "Song for friends" is used as a replacement for the original version as the ending theme for Rin and Yuiko. A new theme song featured in Ecstasy is Saya's personal ending theme "Saya's Song" and is sung by Lia
Lia (singer)
Lia is a female Japanese singer-songwriter who is a former member of I've Sound. Lia has also participated in happy hardcore singing, producing four such albums with this style of singing; these albums have her name in all capital letters. She is notable as the singer for the opening and ending...
. Saya's leitmotif is called and is a remix version of the song on Riya
Riya
Riya, born February 18, is a female Japanese singer from Fukuoka, Japan. In her early career, she admired Akino Arai. Riya eventually became the lead singer and lyricist to the J-pop band Eufonius, which debuted in 2004.- Albums :...
's 2005 album Love Song released by Key Sounds Label
Key Sounds Label
Key Sounds Label is a Japanese independent record label formed in 2001 as a brand of the publishing company Visual Art's. Key Sounds Label was formed to catalog and release music related to visual novels produced by the brand Key, also under Visual Art's, known for developing such titles as Kanon...
. Kanata's leitmotif is "Will&Wish", and Sasami's theme is .
A maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
entitled "Little Busters!" was released on May 25, 2007. This first single contained "Little Busters!", "Haruka Kanata", and "Alicemagic" in original and instrumental versions. As with Key's previous works (excluding Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume), a music album came bundled with the limited edition release of the game; the album, released on July 27, 2007, was called Semicrystalline. and contained arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
versions of ten tracks of the game's music. Eight of the tracks were background music while the last two were remix versions of "Little Busters!" and "Haruka Kanata". The game's original soundtrack was first released on August 17, 2007 at Comiket 72
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
containing three discs with 43 different tracks along with a piano version of one of the background music tracks, a short version of another BGM track, plus short and instrumental versions of the theme songs. Of the fifty-three total tracks, three were left out of the visual novel. The original soundtrack was re-released in Japanese stores on September 28, 2007. Two more albums were released at Comiket 73 on December 28, 2007: another arrange album entitled Rockstar Busters! and an image song
Image song
An image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album for an anime, game or dorama that is usually sung by the seiyū or actor of a character, in character...
single called "Rin no Hisoka na Koi no Uta / Mission:Love sniper" sung by Tomoe Tamiyasu
Tomoe Tamiyasu
is a female Japanese voice actress and singer, generally performing for adult games, and is from Hiroshima, Japan. She debuted in 2005 as a voice actress and started her singing career in 2006. Tomoe has been the host of three Internet radio shows, and has been a guest on a fourth...
, the voice actress
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
who voiced Rin in the game.
On February 29, 2008, a trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
remix album
Remix album
A remix album is an album consisting mostly of remixes or re-recorded versions of a music artists' earlier released material.One of the earliest remix albums was 1971's Aerial Pandemonium Ballet by Harry Nilsson, which was released by Nilsson after the successes of Everybody's Talkin and The Point!...
of Little Busters! themes entitled OTSU Club Music Compilation Vol.2 was released by OTSU—a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
unit composed of a number of different remix artists. An EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
was released on May 4, 2008 containing original and remix versions of "Little Busters!", "Faraway", and "Alicemagic"; the remix versions are from the second OTSU Club Music Compilation album. A remix album
Remix album
A remix album is an album consisting mostly of remixes or re-recorded versions of a music artists' earlier released material.One of the earliest remix albums was 1971's Aerial Pandemonium Ballet by Harry Nilsson, which was released by Nilsson after the successes of Everybody's Talkin and The Point!...
entitled Ontology containing arranged versions of nine tracks from Little Busters! Ecstasy was released bundled with the limited edition release of that game on July 25, 2008. A soundtrack containing the additional music tracks in Ecstasy entitled Little Busters! Ecstasy Tracks was released on August 15, 2008 at Comiket 74. An image song single called "Saya no Nemureru Requiem / Saya's Song" sung by Harumi Sakurai
Harumi Sakurai
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan employed by Office CHK. She has been in this business since 2002.-TV Anime:*Angel Beats! - Yuri Nakamura*Bakuman - Ōtsuki Nanami*Fairy Tail - Lisanna*Gunparade Orchestra - Azusa Hikomura...
, the voice actress who voiced Saya in Little Busters! Ecstasy, was released in February 2009 as a limited edition, and for general sale in March 2009. Two more image song singles were released in December 2009 at Comiket 77: "Raison / Pickles o Oishikusuru Tsukurikata" sung by Keiko Suzuki
Keiko Suzuki
is a female Japanese voice actress from Osaka, Japan. She voices characters from visual novels, and has notably been in the cast of five Key titles. She is also known under the name .-Voice roles:*Iinazuke as Stinrorra Grana Mishal...
who voiced Kanata Futaki in Little Busters!, and "Neko to Garasu to Marui Tsuki / Alicemagic (Aroma Tablet mix)" sung by Tomoe Tamiya who voiced Sasami Sasasegawa. Each of the albums released were on Key's record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Key Sounds Label.
Reception
From mid-June to mid-July 2007, the limited edition of Little Busters! ranked second in national PC game pre-orders in Japan. The limited edition version of Little Busters! ranked first in terms of national sales of PC games in Japan in July 2007. The game (which includes the regular edition) ranked consecutively seven more times achieving sales rankings of fourteenth, twenty-fifth twice in a row, thirty-seventh, thirty-ninth twice in a row, and forty-first between the months of August 2007 and February 2008. According to public sales information published at GamasutraGamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
, taken from the Japanese Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
website, Little Busters! was the number one top seller between July 26, 2007 and August 17, 2007 for Japanese PC game sales. The game dropped to third highest the following week taken from August 24, 2007, which was also the game's last appearance in the ranking. Little Busters! was the highest selling game for the month of July 2007 on Getchu.com, and dropped to twelfth in the ranking the following month. Regardless of the drop in ratings earlier in the year, Little Busters! ended up as the most widely sold game of 2007 on Getchu.com. A cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Little Busters!" appeared in the sequel of Front Wing's visual novel Time Leap entitled Time Leap Paradise to be released on July 24, 2009.
From mid-May to mid-July 2008, Little Busters! Ecstasy ranked first in national PC game pre-orders in Japan. The limited edition version of Little Busters! Ecstasy ranked first in terms of national sales of PC games in Japan in July 2008. Ecstasy sold quickly in Akihabara
Akihabara
, also known as , is an area of Tokyo, Japan. It is located less than five minutes by rail from Tokyo Station. Its name is frequently shortened to in Japan...
on its first day of sales, and by the end of the first day about half the stores were already sold out of the game. By the next day, the majority of stores in Akihabara were sold out of Ecstasy. Only four days after Ecstasys initial release, Key reported that many stores were already sold out of the game as well. Three months after Ecstasys initial release, Key reported that the game had already sold over 100,000 units.
Getchu.com hosts a yearly voting poll called the "Getchu.com Bishōjo Game Ranking" where game users vote online for the best games of the previous year in several different categories. For the 2007 ranking, the categories were: overall, scenario, theme songs, background music
Background music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
, visuals, gameplay system, and heroines. In February 2008, users cast votes for more than 470 different titles released in 2007, and among the rankings, Little Busters! ranked first in all categories aside from visuals (placing third), and gameplay system (placing second). Rin ranked as the number one most popular heroine, while Kudryavka ranked fourth, and Komari ranked thirteenth. For the 2008 ranking, the categories were: overall, scenario, gameplay system, graphics, opening theme video, vocal theme songs, background music, individual characters, individual voices, and game title naming. In early 2009, users cast votes for more than 400 different titles released in 2008, and among the rankings, Little Busters! Ecstasy ranked second overall, second in scenario, third in gameplay system, twelfth in graphics, fifth in opening theme video, third in vocal theme songs, second in background music, fifth (Saya Tokido) and tenth (Kudryavka Noumi) for individual characters, first (Kazane's
Harumi Sakurai
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan employed by Office CHK. She has been in this business since 2002.-TV Anime:*Angel Beats! - Yuri Nakamura*Bakuman - Ōtsuki Nanami*Fairy Tail - Lisanna*Gunparade Orchestra - Azusa Hikomura...
role as Saya Tokido) and sixth (Tomoe Tamiyasu
Tomoe Tamiyasu
is a female Japanese voice actress and singer, generally performing for adult games, and is from Hiroshima, Japan. She debuted in 2005 as a voice actress and started her singing career in 2006. Tomoe has been the host of three Internet radio shows, and has been a guest on a fourth...
's role as Rin Natsume) for individual voices, and second for game title naming.
Exhibitions
Little Busters! was the only KeyKey (company)
Key is a Japanese visual novel studio which formed on July 21, 1998 as a brand under the publisher Visual Art's and is located in Kita, Osaka, Japan. Key released their debut visual novel Kanon in June 1999, which combined an elaborate storyline, an up-to-date anime-style drawing style, and a...
title to receive coverage in an entire issue of Dengeki G's Festival!, a special edition version of Dengeki G's Magazine
Dengeki G's Magazine
is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and serializes manga and light novels based on such games. The "G's" in the title...
which is published in irregular intervals each year by ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
; the issue in question was the ninth, published on June 30, 2007. Along with a full eighty pages of information on Little Busters!, the magazine came bundled with a double-sided hug pillowcase
Dakimakura
A ' is a type of large pillow from Japan. The word is often translated in English simply as "hug pillow". From a semantic standpoint, dakimakura are no different from Western orthopedic body pillows, and are commonly used by Japanese youth as "security objects"...
, a small cell phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
cleaner which could also attach to a cell phone, and a B5 size jigsaw puzzle
Jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces.Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture...
. ASCII Media Works published the third volume of another special edition version of Dengeki G's Magazine named Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe on June 30, 2008 which had a focus on Little Busters! Ecstasy. Along with again containing about eighty pages of information pertaining to the visual novel, the magazine also comes bundled with an ergonomic
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities.The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows:...
mousepad
Mousepad
A mousepad or mouse mat is a surface for enhancing the usability of a computer mouse.-History:During a 1968 presentation by Douglas Engelbart marking the public debut of a mouse,...
, a jigsaw puzzle, and a deck of playing card
Playing card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
s. The third volume of another magazine in the Festival! line, Dengeki G's Festival! Comic, was sold on July 26, 2008 with Rin and Dorj on the cover, and the magazine came bundled with a hug pillowcase, a notepad
Notebook
A notebook is a book or binder composed of pages of notes, often ruled, made out of paper, used for purposes including recording notes or memoranda, writing, drawing, and scrapbooking....
, and a B2 size poster.
An art exhibition
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
of Little Busters! was held in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan between May 3 and May 4, 2007, and in Tokyo, Japan between May 24 and May 25, 2007. A large amount of the character and background art featured in the game was showcased, along with original art used to promote the character artwork, and other production sketches drawn when the game was still in development. Flowchart
Flowchart
A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents an algorithm or process, showing the steps as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting these with arrows. This diagrammatic representation can give a step-by-step solution to a given problem. Process operations are represented in these...
s outlining the story for the game were on display, along with the flowcharts for Clannad. Also at the exhibition was a life-size mannequin
Mannequin
A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...
of Rin Natsume with a baseball glove
Baseball glove
A baseball glove or mitt is a large leather glove that baseball players on the defending team are allowed to wear to assist them in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter, or thrown by a teammate.-History:...
in one hand, though instead of a baseball, a cat was in the glove. This mannequin was later put onto the Japanese Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
Auction
Online auction business model
The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet. The functionality of buying and selling in an auction format is made possible through auction software which regulates the various processes involved.Several types of online auctions are...
website in late September 2007 and sold for 764,000 yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
(about US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
6,500), a far cry from the original wish of selling the figure for 5,000,000 yen (about US$42,600).