Series synopsis
Little Busters!, also known as リトルバスターズ! is a Japanese comedy animation television series that premiered on Tokyo MX on October 6, 2012. It ended on December 28, 2013. It stars Yui Horie, Tomoe Tamiyasu, Hikaru Midorikawa and Nobutoshi Canna.
Riki was a child when his parents died, leaving him hopeless and depressed. What saved him was a group of four kids calling themselves the Little Busters. They took Riki out and played with him during his time of need. He really enjoyed being together with them, and his grief gradually faded away. Now in his second year of high school they still hang out, fight and live together, and enjoy their school life.
Premise
Riki was a child when his parents died, leaving him hopeless and depressed. What saved him was a group of four kids calling themselves the Little Busters. They took Riki out and played with him during his time of need. He really enjoyed being together with them, and his grief gradually faded away. Now in his second year of high school they still hang out, fight and live together, and enjoy their school life.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Yui Horie as Riki Naoe (voice)
- Tomoe Tamiyasu as Rin Natsume (voice)
- Hikaru Midorikawa as Kyousuke Natsume (voice)
- Nobutoshi Canna as Masato Inohara (voice)
- Yusei Oda as Kengo Miyazawa (voice)
- Natsumi Yanase as Komari Kamikita (voice)
- Hikaru Isshiki as Yuiko Kurugaya (voice)
- Keiko Suzuki as Haruka Saigusa (voice)
Supporting cast
- Shiho Kawaragi as Mio Nishizono (voice)
Guest cast
- Naomi Wakabayashi as Kudryavka Noumi (voice)
- Yuiko Tatsumi as Mio Nishizono (voice)
- Sora Tokui as Sasami Sasasegawa (voice)
- Akemi Kanda as Rei Kawagoe (voice)
- Ai Nonaka as Sakiko Watanabe (voice)
- Ryo Hirohashi as Yukari Nakamura (voice)
- Natsumi Takamori as Schoolgirl C (voice)
- Noriko Aoki as Katsusawa (voice)
- Yuu Kamonomiya as Kyousuke Natsume (child) (voice)
- Kenta Matsumoto as Schoolboy E (voice)
- Kitsune Kagura as Student C (voice)
- Atsushi Tamaru as Student D (voice)
Episodes
This series spans 3 seasons with 49 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 10 | August 28, 2013 | November 28, 2020 |
| Season 1 | 26 | October 6, 2012 | April 6, 2013 |
| Season 2 | 13 | October 5, 2013 | December 28, 2013 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
I'll Protect the Saito of the World! Kyousuke impliments a Battle Ranking system, with Riki slowly moving up the ranks, whilst Yuiko has fun teasing the other girls by giving them dubious advice. Meanwhile, a mysterious fighter known as Mask the Saito appears and starts defeating other members of the Little Busters and moving to the top of the rankings. Mask the Saito then confronts Riki in a battle, but he is stopped by a moving story by Komari and admits defeat, revealing himself to be Kyousuke, who passes the mask onto Riki. |
August 28, 2013 |
| 2 |
EX1 Secret Agent: Saya Tokido While Riki Naoe goes to the classroom to pick up a Japanese lit notebook at nighttime, he is approached by Saya Tokido, who urges him to flee. After he hears a distant gunshot, he finds her abandoned student handbook left in the classroom. |
January 29, 2014 |
| 3 | EX2 The Two in the Labyrinth | February 26, 2014 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Team Name Will Be... the Little Busters The leader of the "Little Busters," Kyousuke, returns to school after a job hunting break and calls the old gang together. He suggests that they all do something that they can only do now, while they're young - and that something is playing baseball. Now all Kyousuke, Riki, Masato, Kengo, and Rin need to do is find enough new members to make a complete baseball team... |
October 6, 2012 |
| 2 |
If You're Happy, I'm Happy Riki meets the cheerful, easygoing Komari on a visit to the school rooftop, and decides to invite her to join the Little Busters. Meanwhile, one of the cats Rin is taking care of strolls along with a mysterious note tied to its tail... |
October 13, 2012 |
| 3 |
I Like Cute Things, You See Riki is called out for tea and a chat by Kurugaya Yuiko, a mysterious girl who rarely shows up to class. He invites her to join the Little Busters, but when she meets the team's resident musclebrain, Masato, sparks instantly fly. |
October 20, 2012 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
It Struck Without Warning Following the loss of their first baseball game, the Little Busters have a pancake party. While returning from the party, Yuiko overhears some girls badmouthing her, claiming that they will pay her back for being humiliated in the past. |
October 5, 2013 |
| 2 |
It Was Raining Back Then, Too After waking up, Riki learns from Yuiko that she was taking care of him while he was asleep and cannot shake the suspicion that the whole situation has happened with them in the past. Some time later, Kyousuke and the other boys point out that Riki is behaving strangely since his last encounter with Yuiko. |
October 12, 2013 |
| 3 |
I Wanted to Stay Here Forever The day of June 20 keeps repeating without anyone taking heed of it, except for Riki himself, and no one else seems to find it strange even when it starts snowing. Riki decides to look for Kyousuke to ask for his advice but he is nowhere to be found. |
October 19, 2013 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Tokyo MX |
|---|---|
| First aired | October 6, 2012 |
| Last aired | December 28, 2013 |
| Runtime | 24 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Saturday |