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~Spoiler Free~

An anime adaptation of the new route additions in key's visual novel - Little Busters!: Ecstasy, Little Busters!: EX is a good summary of the arcs in the visual novel, however it cannot be compared to the masterpiece of which the VN is. That being said, covering three entire arcs over only 8 episodes of such an amazing visual novel cannot realistically be of the same standard as the visual novel. However, the eight episodes are indeed still of very high quality.

The expectations I had for this anime, were naturally very high given that I had just watched Little Busters!: Refrain, now one ... of my favourite animes that I have watched so far. However, I was not disappointed, and was instead met with an anime definitely worth the wait of one month per episode for. Little busters EX, although not nearly as sad as Refrain; still builds onto the series wonderfully and does it justice.

The characters in this anime are in a word, incredible. Keeping in line with the original series, each and every character has a tragic background that is completely contrary to the facade they portray in public at first. However as the main character (Riki) progresses, their facade is removed and their past is revealed. Choice of music in Little busters EX, like the original, is amazing, and Jun Maeda should be commended for this. If you liked air, angel beats or clannad, it is likely that you will enjoy little busters EX too. The art style is the same across the series, and is quite good.

The only con of this anime, would be that the second and third arcs could be a bit longer, as two episodes each can not adequately cover their stories in as much detail as I would like. That being said, they are still made very well. Saya's story however, is told across the first four episodes. This is probably because she is entirely new to the series, while the other two main heroines of little busters EX appeared in the original series, though only briefly.

If you have not yet seen this brilliant anime, then you should really stop reading this review and go watch it. However, if you haven't already, watch the original series first (Little busters and Refrain). Also, if you have the time, definitely give the visual novel a try as it explores all the characters in greater detail than the animes. However, currently Little Busters Ecstasy has not been fully translated yet.