Similar to what occurred with the Clannad anime series, the anime adaptation of Little Busters! has had to be split up into two seasons. While the first began airing last year, the second is to be aired within Japan starting October 2013 under the title Little Busters: Refrain.
Refrain was the name of the final chapter in the visual novel this series is based off which unlocked when you completed the routes of all six game heroines (Funnily enough they only covered four of the six in the anime series – so hopefully Yuiko Kurugaya’s and Rin Natsume’s routes will receive fitting adaptations during this season). As you can tell from the video they will also be focusing on the backstory of the original Little Busters members and should be concluding with an ending you may or may not be expecting.
Little Busters! originated as an all-ages visual novel developed by KEY and published by Visual Art’s. It was later adapted into an 18+ edition “Little Busters!: Ecstasy” and finally all-ages editions for the Playstation Portable, Vita, 2, 3 with the aid of Prototype (Who also handled the recent console release of Kud Wafter). I reviewed the original all-ages edition back in 2010 and still consider it a worthwhile read through.
Unfortunately however as with almost every KEY visual novel, no official international release has been made. The anime series however has already been licensed by Sentai Filmworks and is to start heading to North America on DVD and Blu-ray later this year.
Correction: Only four of the six heroines had their routes covered in the first anime season to completion. Thanks @Aspirety!
