Impression
Ahh, Masato. I did feel sorry for poor Muscles after seeing things from his point of view the second time round – but it doesn’t change the fact that he initially refused to join the reformed Little Busters, deciding to act as an obstacle for Riki to overcome. A test of his strength, if you will – to see if he’s as strong as Kyousuke (though the current Kyousuke seems like a complete wreck to be honest). I think Riki’s really managed to take his ringleader role in stride – I was actually quite impressed with the way he handled things 😀 It turns out that he’s much more like Kyousuke than he might have thought, especially in the way he decided to initially trick Masato, then fight him up front (like a man) to prove who the strongest really is. I liked that flashback Masato had too, of how he finally found somewhere he belonged after a good beating from Kyousuke. He met the a similar end this time round, but everything has quite a bit more weighting now, as Riki’s one step closer to restarting the Little Busters each time he convinces someone to join. Though unlike what happened with Masato, Riki will probably need more than just a plan, some tricks and a few punches to get Kengo’s support once more. I wonder what happens once everyone’s back together – and by everyone, does that include the girls as well?
Masato’s words made much more sense after learning about it from his point of view… but that in itself raised a hell of a lot of confusion too. I take it this is one of those things that will be eventually explained by the time all of this ends 😀 His rampage really did look like a wild madman’s rage (muscles yay yay?) but I suppose it’s a different story once you realize he was seeing fake Masatos everywhere. Even Riki and Rin looked like Masato for some strange reason. Seeing how he was able to make people appear and disappear in the other world, I almost thought it was another one of Kyousuke’s cheap tricks until I remembered he was still sitting all depressed in his room. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that Masato really is damn strong – that stone bust must weigh a ton, yet he was able to uproot it and start dragging it all the way around the school (and up a small hill) just to chase after Riki, who would have never defeated him had he not been tired out first. Well, all’s fair in love and war.