Impression
Looks like my suspicions were confirmed, huh? There were numerous hints everywhere (the most obvious being Riki’s continued feeling of deja vu) but we’ve finally been given some conclusive proof – there’s a time loop at work here. I was under the impression that Riki’s narcolepsy was actually triggered by his attempts to remember the past he’s forgotten, but now that he’s lived through a loop, I suppose that can’t be possible. There must have been some sort of change that made him remember this loop as well, instead of having his memories reset along with everyone else’s. The radio broadcast, constant rain and weird focus on what date it was (June 20th) actually reminded me of the whole Endless Eight gimmick that KyoAni had the audacity to air. Speaking of the rain… Kyousuke knew it was going to stop raining in time for the fireworks show. I might be over-thinking this, but how did he know? Was it just a good guess, or… has he already experienced that evening before? He acts like an idiot a lot (and is supposedly a lolicon too) but I have a feeling he knows more than he’s letting on. Riki said it felt like Kurugaya had been a member of the Little Busters for much longer than a month – how many loops have there been exactly?
Kurugaya’s arc features something that’s absent from all the others so far – love. I didn’t think it’d play such a prominent role actually, so I was very surprised when she confessed straight out. I’m actually not sure how seriously I should be taking that; Riki himself seems to be trying to brush it off as best as he can. While he says he hasn’t fallen in love with Kurugaya, his monologues are starting to suggest otherwise; he sounded surprisingly smitten with his onee-san during their alone time together. I’m guessing that poor Rin’s feeling jealous, or at the very least confused over her feelings. She was watching the fireworks alone, you know? Keep fighting, Rin-chan! Actually, wait – technically, she’s forgotten again hasn’t she? I wonder if Riki has to do something right to let time advance? As in, a wrong move (on the romantic front or whatever) resets time, and he has to try and get things done correctly this time. It’s the first time he’s remembered, so I guess we’ll find out more next week.
JC Staff have really wasted no time in delving straight into the supernatural, alongside weird bouts of slice of life, which this week involved a discussion on whether (21) actually looks like the word loli. Does it really? Seems like a bit of an abstract stretch to me… maybe if the brackets were straighter perhaps. You’re so weird, Kyousuke. (AI! AI! AI!)
It’s probably because you’re thinking about loli as it is in English, If you think about it in Japanese, write it in hiragana it looks like ろり or katakana ロリ
I SEE IT! I feel like I’ve been… enlightened O_O
A time loop, eh? Good deductions, it really does seem like a time loop right now so far… so no surprise a lot of people think it’s one XD Riki probably started blushing when he was alone with Yuiko because of what Kyousuke said. It became stuck in his head. As you said, he hasn’t really fallen in love with Yuiko. Riki does look up to Kyousuke by a large degree, so being influenced just by a few words isn’t really a surprise.
Yeah it would have been weird if Riki had just suddenly fallen in love with Kurugaya, even if JC Staff are progressing at quite a fast pace.
Also, are you perhaps implying it’s not actually a time loop? xD
Hrm, let’s see what happens. XD