SPOILERS BEWARE Little Busters EX offers three more routes to whats already in store for this fantastic series. After finishing Refrain I went into these specials without too much expectations since I had already finished the main story but oh boy was I wrong to expect anything. EX offers eight more episodes exploring three more characters which we didnt really know much about and honestly all of these arcs were great. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/996019520378507264/unknown.png Sayas route being the first one in EX completely blew me away here was me going into these specials thinking lets just watch more Little Busters without too much expectations but what I got instead was Sayas route which was fantastic from the beginning to the end this route was incredible and thats not even mentioning that Saya has so much potential as waifu material. The first arc covers four of the episodes in EX and is by far the best arc here as well as potentially being my favorite arc in all of Little Busters. The fact this route focuses specifically only on Riki and Sayas relationship completely surprised me since for the most part romance was missing in both seasons. However this short arc had so much romance so much lovely and heartwarming moments that it made this experience stand out above most. By the end of the final episode of this arc everything relating to Saya is explained. Saya is actually a young girl called Aya who materialised into Kyousukes closed off world as Saya Tokido which is a character from his favorite manga it is also Ayas favorite since its the only manga she had when she was alone and travelling with her father. After spending enough time with Riki in the world and many resets later she is finally satisfied and leaves the closed off world and manages to wake up as a child once more after surviving her accident which is shown in the backstory. As you know by now I am a sucker for romance and great backstories and this arc excelled in both. It was quite genuinely a sublime arc from start to finish. Naturally this also introduced a beautiful song fitting for this conclusion which only made this that much more memorable. Saya is blessed and I love her so much already from only these few episodes. This arc alone makes me that much more hyped for the VN. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/996015882729955429/unknown.png https://www..com/watch?v=RZQlYrZyhclist=RDRZQlYrZyhcstartradio=1abchannel=PaleCrimson The next of the arcs to be shown in EX is Sasamis which again is still a great arc but nothing quite like Sayas which was on an whole another level. A nice touch EX shows is that the OP sequence changes as it now shows Riki holding his hand out to Sasami instead of Saya in these two episodes. Its a minor change but I can appreciate the attention to detail. In this arc Sasami has turned into a cat and can only turn back to normal in front of Riki and his dorm room. The reason she turns into a cat in the other world is to remind her of Kuro her pet cat she once had but had to leave behind when her family relocated. The second episode of this arc was yet another beautiful yet bittersweet backstory which again hit me right in the feels. Sasami who we knew practically knowing about besides the fact she would have her occasional scuffle with Rin here and there. However once you explore Sasamis character further you realise shes actually really wholesome and pure at her core. Another sweet short arc for a side character which was pretty unknown up to this point. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/996016819657785384/unknown.png The final arc is Kanata who is the character we knew the most prior to EX from Harukas arc back in S1. Likewise we also see her grabbing Rikis hand in the OP sequence for these last two episodes. We already knew Kanata has been abused as a child and that she had scars which she has to hide under her clothes however when she puts out the fire the sprinklers go off making her clothes wet and see through revealing those scars. What follows is likely Kanatas inner subconscious how she perceives everyone will see her after this incident using words like disgusting which in reality is not the case of course. It is revealed Kanata is getting forcefully married into the Saigusa family which would ultimately take away all her freedom for the rest of her life but the Little Busters are there to crash the party. It was revealed that Kanata had to give up her future in order to save Haruka so this is how she had been living her life but in the end they decided to run away from that cursed house. This arc gave a bit more insight to Kanata as a character which is always welcome of course but it wasnt anything that Im going to lose my mind over. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/996017713380085831/unknown.png Overall coming into EX with little to no expectations may have been a blessing in disguise since Sayas arc left me completely astonished by how incredible it was. Incredible character and an incredible arc. Sasamis arc was short but wholesome which I also thoroughly enjoyed and Kanatas provided further insight into her character. Honestly seeing a girly side of Kanata was a breath of fresh air as for the longest time she had to put on a character to mask her true emotions and feelings. In the end she wanted Haruka to be happy and if that meant sacrificing her own future then so be it. Truly a wonderful big sister. In all honestly for those that watched the first two seasons and enjoyed them as much as I did then you really shouldnt be sleeping on EX since its such a wonderful addition to the Little Busters franchise. I already had strong intentions on checking out the VN sometime in the future but after experiencing Sayas arc these intentions only skyrocketed further. I really adore Little Busters at its core thank you for another memorable experience Key 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/996017849967587338/unknown.png S1 Reviewhttps://anilist.co/review/17093 S2 Reviewhttps://anilist.co/review/17431